Here & There …

There is still money to be made in the record biz. So says Sony BMG U.K. chief – Guardian Unlimited U.K.

Looks like Australia is the latest country considering disconnecting music pirates – Brisbane Times

Judge to impose settlement for Paul McCartney / Heather Mills divorce – Associated Press

An MP3 player for the SCUBA set – Slashgear.com

The rising star that is Amy Macdonald – The Times Online U.K.

News Flash! Baby boomers still wanna rock! Film at 11 – Modesto Bee

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Lots of new April dates along with a few May shows make up the latest update for Clutch. New shows include April stops in Cleveland, Bozeman, Flint, Indianapolis, Dallas, New Orleans and Knoxville, while the May side of the update shows the band playing Asheville, Jacksonville and Fayetteville.

L.A.-based Black Cobra will be slithering through parts of eastern, central and mountain states next month. Markets include Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Tampa, Lincoln, Fort Collins and Salt Lake City.

The Kills fatten up their U.K. touring plans with new dates for March and April. Cities include Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, London and Oxford.

And Collective Soul updates with a couple of new gigs – April 5 in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, and Richmond, Virginia, on April 22.

During the past couple of hours we also updated the itineraries for Bruce Robison, D. B. Bryant, Corb Lund, Guttermouth, John Hiatt, Lee Ritenour, Levon Helm Band, Minsk, Patrice Pike, Richard Marx and Slough Feg.

And that’s the halfway mark on this fine, fine Presidents’ Day 2008. More tour data coming up in Your Latest Update, scheduled for around 3 pm (PST), from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History (from Associated Press)

In 1968, David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett as lead guitarist in Pink Floyd. Barrett’s departure was preceded by increasingly erratic behaviour, said to have been caused by excessive use of LSD.

In 1969, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees married singer Lulu in England. Three-thousand fans showed up.

In 1972, Neil Young got a gold record in the U.S. for his album, Harvest, which includes the number one single, “Heart of Gold.”

In 1973, the syndicated radio show “The King Biscuit Flower Hour” debuted with Blood Sweat & Tears and a then-unknown Bruce Springsteen.

In 1974, KISS released their first LP.

In 1986, Don Everly of The Everly Brothers was sued by his mother in an effort to have him sign over title to the house in Nashville where she had lived since 1958.

In 1988, Michael Jackson gave a free sneak preview of his national tour to 420 third-graders of a school in Pensacola, Florida. The kids were bused to the Pensacola Civic Centre where Jackson was rehearsing after they had sent the superstar a rap video in his honour.

In 1992, Vince Neil quit as lead singer for Motley Crue, after eleven years with the group. He said he wanted to spend more time on his race car driving.

In 1995, Bob Stinson, a founding member of The Replacements, died in Minneapolis of complications from drug and alcohol abuse. He was 35.

In 1997, a U.S. Christian TV network cancelled Pat Boone’s weekly gospel music show after he appeared in black leather and fake tattoos on the American Music Awards show.