BY David Byrne
with Tony Peregrin
What's that smell? Another pop singer is putting out a fragrance. J-lo, Britney Spears and Celene Dion already have their own perfumes on the market, and now Madonna is plotting beauty counters as her latest retail territory to conquer. Expect the scent titled 'Madonna' to be available later this year around the same time as her next album. Who knew Debbie Gibson would have started such a trend years ago with her very own Electric Youth Perfume?
And those teen pop stars of the '80s are making a return and it's not 'Only in My Dreams.' Debbie Gibson is overdue with a concert in Chicago at the Cubby Bear Lounge on June 24. Now going as Deborah and fresh from headlining at L.A. Pride, the Broadway veteran singer will be promoting her latest single 'Naked.'
Gibson's pop-rival Tiffany appeared on NBC's reality show, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in which bands and singers from yesteryear compete with the winner donating a sum to a charity of choice. Some of the other bands scheduled to appear on the interactive program include the Motels and Sophie B. Hawkins.
Per the drag queen supermodel's website, RuPaul will be performing at Pride Fest Chicago on Saturday, June 25. RuPaul recently made appearances at gay pride festivities in Baltimore and Milwaukee while still promoting her sizzling album RuPaul Red Hot! Also on June 25, club diva Pepper Mashay is due to stop by Hunters to make sure we all get 'soaking wet' during her show, 'Signed, Sealed and Delivered.'
One of last year's headliners for Chicago's Pride Fest was Chicago-born Loleatta Holloway. The legendary disco singer just released a double-disc collection of her catalog on Anthology via Salsoul. Holloway is best known for her club hit 'Love Sensation' which was sampled by many including Black Box, Capella, and Marky Mark. The big-voiced diva's roots began with singing soulful ballads before the disco era took off and 33 of her choice cuts are gathered here on her 'Anthology.'
While Kylie Minogue is making headlines with her recovery from the treatment for her breast cancer, the now breast cancer-free Anastacia will be appearing with Ben Moody on the Fantastic Four soundtrack with a new guitar-based song 'Everything Burns.' This will precede her long awaited self-titled album expected to hits shelves this August. The upcoming album's first single 'Left Outside Alone' has a new video, since the original came out overseas well over a year ago.
Missing the good old tunes like Evelyn Champagne King's 'Love Come Down?' Roisin Murphy, vocalist from the band Moloko, has a new single 'If We're in Love' with the funky disco appeal of the gems from back in the day. Her delivery clearly recalls her hits with Moloko like 'Sing it Back' and she is readying her solo album Ruby Blue for release overseas this summer. Is this the end of Moloko as we know it? Even Murphy is not sure, but she suspects it is per her recent interview with Q Magazine.
Adult film star Fredrick Ford shows his versatility by putting out an EP 'Dirty Little Secret' through his website. Ford performed his cover of George Michael's 'Too Funky' at the Grabby's and the video costars porn stars Johnny Hazzard, Aprad Miklos, Cory Koons and Tony Serrano. Ford's rendition is darker and more dance floor ready than the Brit's.
That is a lot of diva ... the enduring and irreplaceable Patti LaBelle releases an album of covers on Classic Moments now out on Def Jam. Here Patti works with Mary J. Blige on a remake of Aretha Franklin's 'Ain't No Way' and even takes a stab at 'Land of the Living' with the original artist Kristine W. LaBelle is slated to appear on Good Morning America to sing some of the cuts from 'Classic Moments' July 1.
Slipped Disc
With the release of Love Box, Groove Armada completed a career-long cycle, returning to the sound that made this duo famous. The band's fourth album is a slipped disc, yet still brought acclaim to the minds behind the machines Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. The standout track 'Remember' recalls Groove Armada's earlier chill-out hit 'At the River' with weathered, sampled vocals and accessible chords. Another highlight comes in the form of having Neneh Cherry as a contributing vocalist on the ballad 'Think Twice'—not to be confused with the Celene Dion tune of the same name. Richie Havens croons on the gorgeous 'Hands of Time,' but even the more upbeat cuts like 'Madder' and 'Easy' fall perfectly into place among the soulful grooves this duo is remembered for on Love Box. Groove Armada still DJ's live sets and recently released a greatest-hits collection and in 2003 Andy Cato released an album Pursuit of Happiness with his side project The Weekend Players.