In today’s Soundbites, our weekly take on news, reviews and tabloid gossip, Bob Geldof slags off his biggest hit, Cheryl Cole is set to be unleashed on America and we take a look at Cold War Kids’ new track. There’s news of the midweek UK charts, while Courtney Love is after a reality TV show.
If you’re dreading the annual barrage of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?‘ which will be underway soon, you’re not the only one. The track’s writer, Bob Geldof, who penned the song back in 1985 to raise money for Africa, has told Australia’s The Daily Telegraph he thinks he has written ‘two of the worst songs in history.’ “I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. One is ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?‘, the other one is ‘We Are The World‘,” he said. “Any day soon, I will go to the supermarket, head to the meat counter and it will be playing. Every fucking Christmas.” Indeed.
Cheryl Cole has landed a £3m deal to join Simon Cowell on the US version of X Factor, according to those ever-reliable folks at The Sun. “It’s a dream come true,” an ‘insider’ told the paper. “Cheryl was absolutely delighted. She has really charged the American execs. They love her good looks and the way she wears her heart on her sleeve. And of course her chemistry with Simon played a huge part in it. They are great together.” The series is due to air in America towards the end of 2011.
The 2006 album ‘Robbers & Cowards‘ displayed a rare talent lurking in Cold War Kids, but after all the accolades afforded to their first record, things went a bit, well, cold for the band after ‘Loyalty To Loyalty‘ followed in 2008. Now, the group have returned with new track ‘Royal Blue‘, and immediately there’s a vibrancy which was missing from too much of their second album. This early taster suggests the band may be ready to make a fresh impact, 5 years after their impressive debut.
Cold War Kids – Royal Blue by Hypetrak
Courtney Love is hoping to be the latest musician to muscle in on the reality show genre, and has apparently approached hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons with a view to launching a show called ‘Rock Chick’, which will mentor young female rock hopefuls. Footage on Simmons’ own reality series showed her suggesting Joan Jett and Debbie Harry as potential guests, adding: “I’m good at mentoring girls, that’s my strength.”
Midweek UK chart sales released today suggest there will be no change at the top of either the UK Albums or Singles on Sunday with Take That and the 2010 X Factor finalists still at number one. Unsurprisingly after it’s huge first week sales, Take That’s ‘Progress‘ has seen a drop in sales of 28% this week, but is still more than 12,000 units ahead of Olly Mur’s self titled debut, which enters the midweeks at number two.