The Cure, one of the most revered British bands of the past quarter-century, have unveiled their plans to release four A & B side singles, one each month starting May 13th, 2008 leading up to the release of their thirteenth studio album, as yet untitled, which will be out on Suretone/Geffen Records September 13th.

It will be the band’s first album of new music since 2004’s self titled album ‘The Cure’. Physical and digital singles will be available for purchase in store and on all digital partners.

Why the 13th of each month? The forthcoming album is The Cure’s thirteenth studio album….a lucky number indeed!

First single “The Only One” (released May 13th) includes the b-side “NY Trip”.

Second single “Freakshow” (released June 13th) includes the b-side “All Kinds Of Stuff”.

Neither b-side will appear on the album; both tracks were produced by Robert Smith and Keith Uddin.

July 13th and August 13th singles will be announced shortly…

The band is currently getting ready for a U.S. tour, kicking off May 9th, 2008 at the Patriot Center in Washington DC (see www.thecure.com for complete tour itinerary.) 65daysofstatic will open on all dates.

Led as always by lead singer/guitarist Robert Smith, The Cure line-up comprises of longtime members bass player Simon Gallup, drummer Jason Cooper and, back in the band for a third time, guitarist Porl Thompson.

The Cure first formed in southern England in 1976 as Easy Cure. In 1978 the ‘Easy’ was dropped, and The Cure was signed to the Fiction label. In May 1979 their debut album ‘Three Imaginary Boys’ was released to great acclaim.

Other landmark Cure albums include Pornography (1982), The Head on the Door (1985), Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987), Disintegration (1989), Wish (1992), Wild Mood Swings (1996), the Grammy-nominated Bloodflowers (2000) and their last full length release, the self-titled set The Cure (2004). 2006 saw the Suretone/Geffen release of Festival 2005, an award winning 5.1 DVD featuring 30 songs, shot by fans, band members and professionals during the summer of 2005’s European festival run.

The Cure May/June 2008 North American tour dates:

Dates could be added or changed! Go to The Cure’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

May 9th Washington DC Patriot Center
May 10th Philadelphia , PA Wachovia Spectrum
May 12th Boston, MA Agganis Arena
May 14th Montreal, QC Bell Centre
May 15th Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
May 17th Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
May 19th Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
May 21st Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
May 23rd Salt Lake City, UT E Center
May 25th George, WA Gorge Amphitheater – Sasquatch Festival
May 26th Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
May 29th Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
May 31st Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
June 1st Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium
June 3rd San Diego, CA Cox Arena
June 4th Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
June 6th Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
June 8th Austin, tX Austin Music Hall
June 9th Houston, TX Toyota Center
June 11th Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
June 13th FT. Lauderdale, FL Band Attlantic Center
June 15th Atlanta, GA Gwinnett Center
June 16th Charlotte, NC Charlotte Bobcats Arena
June 18th Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University
June 20th New York, NY Madison Square Garden
June 21st New York, NY Radio City Music Hall

The Cure on amazon.co.uk

Single clip available to stream at www.thecure.com.

The Cure Myspace
The Cure Official Website

The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian will host Live Earth D.C. Native Roots will also be performing for Live Earth D.C.

More Live Earth locations, lineups and information:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

Trisha Yearwood Official Website
Garth Brooks Official Website

- Band Weblogs

Live Earth will probably be their biggest gig and as I look through their tour dates I see they’ll be playing at Fenway Park in Boston for two nights – July 28th and 29th. I’ve been to Fenway Park to watch “my team” the Red Sox play (Wow, can that Dice-K pitch!). If you like the Red Sox and The Police, then that would be the show to go to – if tickets are still available.

Then again, from what I’ve been reading recently, there’s been some speculation as to whether or not The Police will even finish their reunion tour. It seems band members Sting (Gordon Sumner) (vocals, bass), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums) have been a bit frosty at times on stage according to some not so great reviews of their live show.

Also, Sting’s son Joe Sumner (his band Fiction Plane is supporting The Police) was quoted in the press regarding tensions in the band and now onlookers can only speculate all the more now that their MTV Unplugged recording has been postponed according to The Police website.

Who knows what will happen, maybe all of this is just hype. I’ll be interested, though, to watch their set for Live Earth (on TV). I’ll be looking out for any onstage antics as well as listening for those familiar songs, like “Walking on the Moon.”

Watch The Police – “Walking on the Moon” video:

Dates could be added or changed! Go to The Police Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

July 5 2007 Wrigley Field Chicago, Illinois
July 6 2007 Wrigley Field Chicago, Illinois
July 7 2007 Giants Stadium [Live Earth] East Rutherford, New Jersey
July 10 2007 Dolphin Stadium Miami, Florida
July 11 2007 St. Petersburg Times Forum Tampa, Florida
July 14 2007 Churchill Downs Louisville, Kentucky
July 16 2007 Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio
July 17 2007 Palace of Auburn Hills Detroit, Michigan
July 19 2007 Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 20 2007 Hersheypark Stadium Hershey, Pennsylvania
July 22 2007 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
July 23 2007 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
July 25 2007 Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
July 26 2007 Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
July 28 2007 Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts
July 29 2007 Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts
July 31 2007 Rentschler Field Hartford, Connecticut
August 1 2007 Madison Square Garden New York, New York
August 3 2007 Madison Square Garden New York, New York
August 4 2007 Virgin Festival Baltimore, Maryland
August 5 2007 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey
August 29 2007 Globe Arena Stockholm
August 30 2007 Globe Arena Stockholm
September 1 2007 Vestereng Aarhus
September 4 2007 National Indoor Arena Birmingham
September 5 2007 National Indoor Arena Birmingham
September 8 2007 Twickenham Stadium London
September 9 2007 Twickenham Stadium London
September 11 2007 AOL Arena Hamburg
September 13 2007 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam
September 14 2007 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam
September 16 2007 Geneva Stadium Geneva
September 19 2007 Stadthalle Vienna
September 22 2007 Olympiastadion Munich
September 25 2007 National Stadium Lisbon
September 27 2007 Olympic Stadium Barcelona
September 29 2007 Stade de France Paris
September 30 2007 Stade de France Paris
October 2 2007 Stadio Della Alpi Turin
October 6 2007 Croke Park Dublin
October 8 2007 Sportpaleis Antwerp
October 9 2007 Sportpaleis Antwerp
October 10 2007 SAP Arena Mannheim
October 13 2007 LTU Arena Dusseldorf
October 15 2007 MEN Arena Manchester
October 16 2007 MEN Arena Manchester
October 19 2007 Millenium Stadium Cardiff
October 31 2007 Madison Square Garden New York, New York
November 3 2007 Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey
November 8 2007 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario

Sting
Stewart Copeland
Andy Summers

The Police Official Website
The Police on Myspace

Live Earth Information

By: Jenny May – Band Weblogs

Not a bad way to start out the summer, really. Rihanna is set to perform at the worldwide concert event Live Earth Tokyo, Japan at Makuhari Messe this Saturday, July 7th, 2007.

Rihanna will be singing on stage for what Live Earth organizers are calling the biggest concert event ever. Something tells me that as the reigning number 1, whatever Rihanna wants on Saturday, she’s going to get it.

Watch Rihanna featuring Jay-Z – “Umbrella” video

Buy Rihanna – Umbrella on amazon.com.

Other acts set to perform for Live Earth Tokyo, Japan include: Abingdon Boys School, AI, AI Otsuka, Ayaka, Cocco, Genki Rockets, Kumi Koda, Linkin Park and Rize.

Live Earth on Band Weblogs

Watch Live Earth concerts – live broadcast on MSN

Rihanna Official Website
Rihanna on Myspace

By: Jenny May

The Live Earth Hamburg, Germany lineup is set to include: Chris Cornell, Enrique Iglesias, Jan Delay, Juli, Katie Melua, Lotto King Karl, Mana, Mando Diao, Maria Mena, MIA, Michael Mittermeier, Reamonn, Revolverheld, Roger Cicero, Samy Deluxe, Sasha, Shakira, Silbermond, Snoop Dogg, Stefan Gwildis and Yusuf.

Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent worldwide concert event to raise awareness about climate change and to combat global warming. Over 2 billion people are expected to watch Live Earth.

More Live Earth locations, information and lineups on Band Weblogs:

Live Earth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany on MSN

By: Jenny May – Band Weblogs

A special music event will be held at the To-Ji Buddhist Temple in Kyoto later in the day.

The lineup is scheduled to feature: Bonnie Pink, Michael Nyman, Rip Slyme, UA and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Live Earth Japan on MSN

More Live Earth locations, lineups and information on Band Weblogs:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Brazil – Rio
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

After missing a couple of shows and TV appearances in the UK due to checking himself into rehab, I’m sure Richie Sambora fans will be hoping to see him back, playing his guitars on stage alongside Jon Bon Jovi and the boys.

Bon Jovi tour dates in support of their Lost Highway album are set to include stops in Canada as well as several shows in their home state of New Jersey at the Prudential Center in Newark in October and November.

Watch Bon Jovi video – (You Want To) Make A Memory:

Bon Jovi 2007 “Lost Highway” tour dates:

*Dates could be added or changed! Go to the Bon Jovi Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

June 24 2007 The O2, London, United Kingdom

July 5 2007 Marcus Amphitheater Summerfest Milwaukee, WI
July 7 2007 Meadowlands Sports Complex – Live Earth, Giants Stadium East Rutherford NJ
July 11 2007 Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta Canada
July 12 2007 Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta Canada
July 20 2007 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Arena Cheyenne WY
July 21 2007 Country Jam USA Eau Claire, WI

October 25 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
October 26 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
October 28 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
October 30 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey

November 1 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
November 3 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
November 4 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
November 7 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
November 9 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
November 10 2007 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey

Bon Jovi Official Website
Bon Jovi on Myspace

Live Earth on Band Weblogs

By: Jenny May

Lenny Kravitz
Pharrell Williams
Macy Gray
Xuxa
O Rappa
Marcelo D2
Jorge Ben Jor
Jota Quest
Vanessa Da Matta
MV Bill

The Live Earth Brazil concert event will take place in Rio de Janeiro at Copacabana Beach.

Tickets to the Brazil concert are, believe it or not – free.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will be the only free Live Earth concert.

For the latest news and up to date information go to Live Earth Brazil on MSN.

Live Earth: The Concerts For A Climate In Crisis

More Live Earth line-ups and information on BandWeblogs.com:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

By: Jenny May – Band Weblogs

The lineup for the Shanghai Live Earth concert is:

Anthony Wong, Eason Chan, Evonne Hsu, Huang Xiao Ming, Joey Yung, Sarah Brightman, Soler, Winnie Shin, 12 Girls Band and Artists from the popular television programs “My Hero” and “My Show” will also perform.

Tickets for Live Earth Shanghai at the Oriental Pearl Tower go on sale Wednesday 20th June, 2007. Additional information is available at www.ticketpro.biz.

Live Earth Shanghai will be filmed and broadcast by the Shanghai Media Group. The show will be broadcast live on the Art & Entertainment channel and shown on Dragon TV one week later.

Live Earth Shanghai China will be streamed at http://liveearth.cn.msn.com.

More Live Earth Shanghai information
Information about Oriental Pearl Tower

Live Earth information on Band Weblogs:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

Metallica announced their “well kept Metallica secret” that fans have been “chatting about for weeks” on their Official Website. Apparently their show won’t be a full on Metalli-show and their performance will be available shortly after to download for a small fee on iTunes and on the Metallica download site: www.livemetallica.com. All proceeds from download sales will benefit four climate charities that Metallica has selected: Sierra Club, The Apollo Alliance, WWF and Rainforest Action Network.

Other acts scheduled to perform at Wembley Stadium for Live Earth London include Madonna, Duran Duran, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Spinal Tap.

The Live Earth SOS organizers are expecting the events to bring together 2 billion people from around the world to raise awareness about climate change and combat the climate crisis.

Live Earth Links:

Live Earth information on Band Weblogs
Live Earth on MSN
Metallica Official Website

By: Jenny May

The whole Al Gore and the seven continents idea for the Live Earth concerts did concern me for awhile when Antarctica was thrown into the mix. With all of the controversy surrounding Live Earth as it is, the thought of Al Gore flying bands down to Antarctica for a Save the Earth campaign was a bit extreme to say the least. For awhile, things got quiet regarding Antarctica so I began to think that it just wasn’t going to happen there.

Now it’s been confirmed that Nunatak is set to play at the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station, and that Nunatak is a house band made up of scientists that already reside in Antarctica. Good idea. Their performance will be viewed via a high-speed datalink. I think the only thing that did stop Al Gore from flying more people down there was that he physically can’t make it happen. July is winter in Antarctica, and apparently no planes or boats can get in or out at that time.

Watch a sneak preview video of British Antarctic Survey’s band, Nunatak, rehearsing for Live Earth:

I think that area of the world is precious and the fewer people that frivolously make the trek the better. On the other hand, that is one of the places in the world that I would love to go…hypocrital? Maybe if I stow away on some ship that’s going there anyway for important reasons, then I won’t be leaving a carbon footprint behind! It’s not easy dampening our natural desires to explore. These are confusing times.

Nunatak band members are:

Matt Balmer – Electronics Engineer – Singer, Guitar
Tris Thorne – Communications Engineer – Fiddle
Ali (Alison) Massey – Marine Biologist – Saxophone
Rob Webster – Meteorologist – Drums
Roger Stilwell – Field General Assistant (polar guide) – Bass

I’m looking forward to hearing them!

Learn more about Nunatak – Live Earth and Rothera Research Station in Antarctica.

Live Earth on Band Weblogs:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth South Africa
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

By: Jenny May

At this point it doesn’t look like tickets have sold out yet according to Live Earth on MSN Website. Tickets can be bought through Computicket.

The lineup is set to include Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Danny K, Joss Stone, The Parlotones, The Soweto Gospel Choir, UB40, Vusi Mahlasela and Zola.

For more up to date information about the artists performing at Live Earth South Africa and more, go to the Official Live Earth Blog.

More Live Earth news and opinion on Band Weblogs:

Live Earth Hamburg, Germany
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan
Live Earth Shanghai, China
Live Earth Antarctica
Live Earth Australia
Live Earth Giants Stadium, USA
Live Earth London, UK

I wonder what Duran Duran’s set list will look like. Maybe some oldies but goodies from the “Save A Prayer” and “Rio” era? And is Andy Taylor really out of the band? Actually, to answer my last question, all I had to do was look at the Duran Duran Live Earth promo photo to see that he’s not there. Everyone else is though: Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes (who recently designed the first ever video guitar – “Pixelator” for Fender), John Taylor and Roger Taylor.

Watch “Save A Prayer” video by Duran Duran

Duran Duran Official Website
Duran Duran on Myspace
Live Earth Official Website

By: Jenny May

So far the bands scheduled to play at the Australian Live Earth Concert, set to take place at Aussie Stadium in Sydney include: Crowded House, Jack Johnson, Wolfmother, John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins, Eskimo Joe, Sneaky Sound System, Paul Kelly, Ghostwriters, Blue King Brown and Toni Collette and The Finish. The Live Earth worldwide concert event is on 7/7/07.

Tickets for Live Earth Australia go on sale in Australia Friday May 18, 2007 at 9.00 a.m. AEST at: www.ticketek.com.

Other Live Earth concerts are being held in Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Wembley Stadium in London and Rio de Janeiro before concluding at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

For more information go to the Live Earth Official Website.

Acts scheduled to perform at the US concert in New Jersey are to include:

AFI, Akon, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Fall Out Boy, John Mayer, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Kenna, KT Tunstall, Ludacris, Melissa Etheridge, Roger Waters, Sheryl Crow, Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Keith Urban and Taking Back Sunday.

From LiveEarth.org, “Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 16 2007 and will be available at livenation.com/liveearth or by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171. All ticket information is available at LiveEarth.MSN.com. All proceeds will benefit the Alliance for Climate Protection and other international NGOs.”

More information about Live Earth and the bands playing at Wembley Stadium in London. Also Live Earth locations around the world: Hamburg, Germany, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tokyo, Japan, Shanghai, China, Antarctica, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sydney, Australia and Washington, D.C.

Live Earth is going to be the most talked about music event of the summer. I can say that with confidence, and there are many reasons why people will be discussing the worldwide concerts that will be taking place to help raise awareness about climate change and global warming. You could spend days debating the subject. For instance, the fact that Al Gore is the co-chair of Live Earth is just enough information to have caused a mass media feeding frenzy. Some people like the idea of Al Gore’s involvement, some people don’t and they all have their reasons for it.

Then there are the questions about the concert goers who will be traveling to the shows and all of the equipment that needs to get to the shows and the “carbon footprint” that the concerts will leave behind. Is it justifiable?

And of course with Live Earth founder Kevin Wall’s recent announcement of concert venue locations and headlining acts like Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers brings to light a fresh debate of more carbon footprints and is this hypocrisy?

Quite a few people that I’ve talked to about Live Earth think that rather than having only a handful of concert locations around the world for thousands of people to have to travel to, why not put on local gigs? To Think Globally, Act Locally, with local clubs set up to host a special Live Earth night.

Say for example, if Radiohead and Supergrass, two bands that happen to be from my town which is Oxford, were to announce that they are headlining Live Earth down the road at The Zodiac or the New Theatre for the locals – that would be brilliant. Of course this is just a hypothetical wish. Seriously though, have there been any local arrangements made throughout the towns and communities for Live Earth?

I obviously don’t have all the answers and am simply a bystander without a car, who has no plans to travel to the shows but will be happy to watch the Live Earth concerts either online or on TV. However, if there is a local event happening in Oxford, that would be a different story. I would be there with bells on.

Live Earth Official Website

By: Jenny May