Eddie Van Halen could be out of action for six months after undergoing emergency surgery.
Van Halen, lead guitarist in the band of the same name, had been suffering from a severe case of Diverticulitis. The disease is a digestive disorder which involves an inflammation and infection of the colon.
This month’s issue of Uncut (September 2012, Take 184) features Joe Strummer on the cover – inside is an in-depth exploration of his secret history, after The Clash split up to his redemption in the late ’90s. To complement this, our archive feature this week finds Strummer looking at the demise of The Clash – from their epic Sandinista! album to their bitter disintegration. This excerpt is taken from a longer piece in the September 1999 (Take 28) issue of Uncut. Words: Gavin Martin
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Dr. Dre has signed up to develop and act as an executive producer on a new crime drama series for American television network FX.
According to Deadline, the rap mogul will oversee the production of the series, which will be written by Sidney Quashie and will focus on both the music industry and the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.
Quashie will executive produce alongside Dr Dre, with Daniel Schnider from the producer's company Crucial TV and Brad Bertner also signed up executive produce the show. A one-hour pilot has initially been commissioned.
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips answers your questions in An Audience With… in this month's new issue of Uncut, out now. In this week's archive feature we head back to our June 2008 issue (Take 133), to find the band's frontman looking back over their back catalogue, taking in Vaseline, drug addiction, union picket lines, the religious right and nothing short of the collapse of civilisation. “My agenda is to go somewhere where we’ve never been before…" Interview: Jaan Uhelszki
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Bill Doss of Olivia Tremor Control has died at the age of 43.
A singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he was also a co-founder of the Elephant 6 collective, and played with the Sunshine Fix and Apples in Stereo, as well as being part of cult indie rock group, Olivia Tremor Control.
The band announced the news on their website – via Rolling Stone - writing: "We are devastated by the loss of our brother Bill Doss… We are at a loss for words." A cause of death has not yet been announced.
Blur played two intimate gigs at London's Maida Vale Studios yesterday (July 31) and aired a number of rare tracks.
The four-piece, who recently broadcast their two new songs, "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan" from a secret UK location via a live video stream performance on Twitter, first performed an intimate session for BBC Radio 6Music, which you can see at the bottom of the page.
A rare Beatles album has sold for just under $15,000 (£9,581) at auction.
The album, which is a rare edition of the Fab Four's first US release Introducing…The Beatles, sold last Thursday (July 12) for $14,999 (£9,580) on eBay to a private collector.
The record, which contains "Love Me Do" and "PS, I Love You", is the first Beatles album to have been released in the United States.
Jon Lord of Deep Purple has died at the age of 71.
The co-founder and keyboard player with the metal pioneers passed away today (July 16) after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and was surrounded by his family at the London Clinic.
Tom Petty is a man of many guitars, most of which seem to make an appearance on stage at some point in tonight’s proceedings. Here’s a red Fender, a blonde Rickenbacker, a white Gibson, back to the Fender, and on. It seems fitting, I suppose: Petty’s first show in the UK for 13 years is very much about craft and musicianship.
