Culture Club ( left ) and Scissor Sisters.
Have Boy George and the Culture Club parted ways for good? The other members of the Culture Club are carrying on with Sam Butcher as the new lead singer after placing an ad on gumtree.com, according to timesonline.co.uk. Considering what a new sensation adding J.D. Fortune did for INXS, it's a miracle it took the lads this long to eye a replacement vocalist for a proposed world tour and reality show. The program thankfully will focus on acclimating with the new singer—I don't think I could handle another elimination-based talent show.
Naturally, Boy George threw in his two cents per bbc.news.co.uk: 'They're my gay love songs about my boyfriend. He can't sing them, can he?' The Boy, who turned down an offer to regroup with the Culture Club, is rumored to be working on a reggae-flavored solo project and duets with Amanda Ghost on her upcoming single, Time Machine. Also Ghost and the Crying Game singer will write material for Kylie Minogue's forthcoming album, per news.com .au.
The Boy is not the only one passing on this reunion. Guitarist and pianist Roy Hay is not returning either, but new romantics may recall Hay was not the quartet's original guitarist 20-plus years ago. My advice to remaining original members Mikey Craig and Jon Moss: Keep Zee Asha as a back-up singer if Helen Terry still is not returning calls.
The Pet Shop Boys 'wouldn't normally do this kind of thing,' would they? The iconic duo is touring stateside once again to promote the Rhino set Fundamental amidst an onslaught of several other releases. Is this the beginning of the end? The duo's latest is produced by Trevor Horn, who worked with Lisa Stansfield, Tina Turner and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, to name a few. The progression and return to form are anything but minimal here in comparison to the boys' previous pop effort ( 2002's Release ) , film score ( Battleship Potemkin ) and remix EP ( Disco 3 ) . Easily the synth-pioneers' best work since 1999's Nightlife, Fundamental includes the familiar long song titles, snarky world view and, of course, that signature singing voice.
The British pair is releasing a live album, Concrete: in Concert, which appears to be available only through import shops. This 17-track double-disc set was recorded at the Mermaid Theatre for Radio 2 with the BBC Concert Orchestra on May 8 and features cameos by Rufus Wainwright and Robbie Williams. The documentary A Life in Pop is slated to come out this fall on DVD, chronicling the first 20 years of the Pet Shop Boys' career. This piece originally aired in the U.K. on BBC4. Initially released overseas in 2003, the dual-disc collective Pop/Art contains 35 remastered singles, including two new songs recorded especially for this package.
Still can't get enough of the Pet Shop Boys? A special biography on the group has been written by Philip Hoare and Chris Heath to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the breakthrough album Please and their current world tour. Would it be too much to ask for a live DVD of the Pet Sop Boys' Fundamental Tour with lots of close-ups of back-up singer and dancer Andy Love?
And for more guilty pleasures, Bananarama now has not one, but two remix projects. Twelve Inches of Bananarama includes retakes of '80s gems such as Venus and Cruel Summer, as well as harder-to-find songs like More Than Physical and Tripping on Your Love. The two remaining members of the British girl group also recently issued Drama: The Remixes. The track listing offers nine scorching hot mixes of Move in My Direction and Look on the Floor ( Hypnotic Tango ) , the two strongest songs from the pair's recent Lab release, Drama.
Not to be outdone, the legendary Nina Simone is posthumously debuting with her very first remix collection. Just don't expect to see the beloved reworkings from the Verve Remixed series. Nina Simone: Remixed and Re-Imagined contains 13 songs, including Groovefinder's spin on Ain't Go No/I've Got Life and revamped versions of Simone's covers of The Look of Love, Here Comes the Sun, To Love Somebody and Oooh Child. Samples of these lounge-ready remixes can be heard at myspace.com/ninasimone.
It didn't take a wave of a magician's wand, but the Scissor Sisters cracked the Top 40 with the sophomore outing Ta-Dah. Some of the songs sound like they were drawn up in the Wild Wild West ( I Can't Decide, Intermission ) , while others capture the band's energy and humor as seen during live shows and videos ( She's My Man, Kiss You Off ) . Sir Elton John guests on piano for the international hit I Don't Feel Like Dancin'. Unfortunately, a series of concert dates was postponed during the U.S. leg of the tour. Per the band's official Web site, the Scissor Sisters have been performing with a temporary replacement while drummer Paddy Boom is out with back troubles. Be assured, these outrageous hipsters are planning to make up those missed shows after some commitments overseas.
Visit scissorsisters.com/tour for the band's latest concert schedule.
