Newsbites: Olympic bosses snub Jimmy Page

Newsbites: Olympic bosses snub Jimmy Page:

Hurt: Jimmy Page (pic Kevin Nixon)

Jimmy Page says he’s offended that UK Olympics bosses didn’t ask him to take part in the London event. Organisers have tried and failed to secure a Free reunion and a Sex Pistols set – and even asked the Who if late drummer Keith Moon was available. But they didn’t approach the Led Zeppelin guitarist, who appeared at the Beijing Olympics to promote the London games. “I’m feeling rather hurt,” Page says. “We put so much into Beijing.” [Telegraph]
US President Barrack Obama yesterday presented Bob Dylan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour. Obama said: “There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music” and praised Dylan’s work for “not just what music sounded like, but the message it carried and how it made people feel.”
Cult singer Ian Astbury married the Black Ryder singer Aimee Nash in Las Vegas at the weekend. They tied the knot while the Cult were in town as part of their current tour. The paid met when the Black Ryder supported Astbury’s outfit in Australia.
Slash documentary The Cat in the Hat will be released as a double-disc blu-ray set in August. It includes the main feature plus wide-ranging audio interviews with the guitarist, with a running time of 131 minutes.
Burton C Bell of Fear Factory reports ex-bassist Byron Stroud has apologised for remarks he made about why he left the band. Stroud said: “Life’s too short to spend it with people that don’t love and respect you.” Now Bell explains: “Byron apologised for saying whatever he did. He made a personal decision to leave the band and we respect that.” The pair continue to collaborate on their City of Fire project.
Corey Taylor has hinted Slipknot are getting ever closer to recording their first record since the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010. The frontman tweeted: “To anyone asking, Slipknot is not currently working on an album. Yet. We are putting together demos, but we’re not recording. Yet.” A best-of compilation, Antennas To Hell, is released in July.
VXN, the Vixen offshoot band, have changed their name to JanetShareRoxyGina – or JSRG – to distance themselves from the active lineup of Vixen. It features three former members of the band, Janet Gardner, Share Ross, Roxy Petrucci, plus guitarist Gina Stile. Gardner says: “It feels good to be reunited with Roxy and Share. When we started jamming some old songs with Gina, we knew this was right.”
Bob Geldof believes he could have achieved solo success at the level of Sting or Paul Weller if he hadn’t spearheaded the Live Aid charity concert in 1985. He reflects: “It’s completely damaged my ability to do the thing I love. If it hadn’t happened I would have been able to make the transition from the Boomtown Rats to a solo thing.” [London Evening Standard]
The Hard Rock Cafe has announced its second UK “guitar amnesty”. They’re inviting owners to donate guitars in any condition to be repaired or used for parts, and refurbished instruments will be given to the Barnardo’s charity. Donors receive a goodie bag plus a “warm, fuzzy feeling of a good deed done”. Find out more at www.hardrockcafe.com
Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch believes singer Brent Smith is in best-ever shape after dealing with his drink and drugs issues. Kerch says: “He can breathe now. He can more around the stage and he doesn’t just stand there trying to make it through ha set. It’s improved him as a person, and as a result Shinedown is the strongest it’s been in ten years.”
Kreator have released a video containing clips of each track from upcoming album Phantom Antichrist, along with commentary about the band and their music.