Stewart Copeland on recording The Police’s ‘Synchronicity’: “We drove each other crazy”

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It’s no secret that members of The Police have had their differences over the years. In a new interview, drummer Stewart Copeland opens up about just how bad things got during the recording of their final album, Synchronicity.

Copeland’s new book, Police Diaries, is out now, and he tells the New York Post the dysfunction in the band was so bad during the recording of their #1 album it felt like “hell on earth,” particularly when it came to working with Sting.

“It was a very uncomfortable place — and we drove each other crazy,” he says. “We now understand where all that tension came from. And in fact, given that understanding, I’m very grateful that we got as many as five albums out of Stingo, because by then … he had a very clear idea of how the arrangements should go.”

Copeland explains that when the band started out it was a collaborative effort. However, he says, “It became more and more compromise for him — and it got tougher and tougher for him to make those compromises.” 

“The times when I came the closest to homicide, the times when it became absolutely critical that I choke the life out of this man, were when he would come over to me and tell me something about the hi-hat,” he says.

Copeland says that in the end, he and Sting simply had major differences when it came to making music.

“Sting was looking for a beautiful place, and to create something serene and moving and, dare I say, intellectual,” he explains. “For me, it’s about burning down the house — it’s a party.”

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Pete Davidson and John Mulaney postpone stand-up shows in Maine following deadly mass shooting

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In the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people and injured 13, Pete Davidson and John Mulaney have decided to postpone stand-up gigs they had planned in the Pine Tree state for this weekend.

In a joint statement on his Instagram, Mulaney wrote, “We are devastated by the events in Lewiston.”

He added of the respective gigs that were to take place in Portland and Bangor: “Shows scheduled for this weekend in Maine on Saturday 10/28 and Sunday 10/29 have been postponed.”

The message, signed “John and Pete,” closed with “We are thinking of you all.”

Meanwhile, a sweeping dragnet effort is underway on the ground and in the air in New England as law enforcement partners fan out in their search for Robert Card, the alleged suspect in the shooting.

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Docuseries about John Lennon’s murder, narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, to air on Apple TV+

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A new three-part docuseries is set to take a deep dive into the murder of The Beatles legend John Lennon.

John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial, narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland, will air on Apple TV +, promising the “most thoroughly researched examination” of Lennon’s 1980 murder.

According to a press release, the series will feature “exclusive eyewitness interviews and previously unseen crime scene photos, shedding new light on the life and murder of music and cultural icon John Lennon and the investigation and conviction of Mark David Chapman, his confessed killer.”

The series includes interviews with eyewitnesses to the murder, Lennon’s friends, detectives and prosecutors, and Chapman’s defense lawyers and psychiatrists.

So far, an airdate for the docuseries has not been announced.

Lennon was shot by Chapman outside his New York apartment, The Dakota, on December 8, 1980. Chapman pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life in prison. He became eligible for parole in 2000 but still remains in jail.

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Jonathan Majors’ accuser arrested on “multiple charges,” but won’t be prosecuted

ABC

Grace Jabbari, the woman whose accusations led the New York Police Department to charge Loki star Jonathan Majors in a domestic violence incident, has herself been arrested in New York on multiple charges.

However, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will not prosecute her, reports ABC News’ Aaron Katersky.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the DA’s Office noted it “has officially declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit. The matter is now closed and sealed.”

Earlier this week, a New York City judge rejected a motion from Majors’ attorneys to dismiss the charges against him stemming from the incident on March 25.

His trial on the multiple misdemeanor assault charges is set to begin November 29.

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Jason Aldean’s bringing his Highway Desperado Tour to you

ABC

Unable to make it out to see Jason Aldean‘s Highway Desperado Tour? Not to worry, the country superstar’s bringing his entire performance live to you.

Jason and streaming service Veeps are teaming up to livestream his October 27 concert at West Palm Beach, Florida’s iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre. It’s the second to last date on the Highway Desperado Tour, with the final show happening October 28 in Tampa, Florida. 

Tickets are on sale now at veeps.com.

Jason’s new album, Highway Desperado, which features the #1 single “Try that in a Small Town,” arrives November 3. It is available for preorder and presave now.

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Paramount+ cancels ‘Fatal Attraction’ reboot, Kiefer Sutherland’s thriller series ‘Rabbit Hole’

Paramount+/Monty Brinton

Paramount+ announced it won’t be ordering second seasons for two of its high-profile shows.

Fatal Attraction, a much-hyped series reboot of the 1988 Glenn Close/Michael Douglas thriller that starred Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson in the former stars’ respective roles, has been slashed by the streaming service.

Rabbit Hole, a twisty conspiracy thriller show starring and co-produced by 24 veteran Kiefer Sutherland, will also not be returning for a sophomore frame.

In a statement, a rep for the streaming service noted, “We want to thank both series’ entire creative teams, crews and the fantastic casts for their dedication to bringing these series to life.”

The statement added, “Both Fatal Attraction and Rabbit Hole will continue to be available on Paramount+ for audiences to discover.”

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Watch Flea eat red hot chicken wings on latest episode of ’Hot Ones’

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen

Flea lives up to his band’s name in the latest episode of Hot Ones.

On Thursday, October 16, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist appeared on the popular YouTube show, in which host Sean Evans interviews celebrities as they eat chicken wings covered in progressively hotter sauces.

During the episode, Flea talked about his memories of past Red Hot Chili Peppers rehearsal spaces, injuries he’s suffered while performing and his passion for basketball and music education, all while acquitting himself well as the spice level of the sauces kept increasing.

The heat does overcome Flea at a couple points, though, leading to tears, a runny nose and a whole host of indescribable noises.

Other musicians who’ve guested on Hot Ones include Dave Grohl, who called his appearance a “bucket list” experience.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Ruben Studdard announces upcoming eighth album, ‘The Way I Remember It’

Sono Recording Group

Ruben Studdard is ready to give R&B fans a taste of the soulful tunes he’s known for delivering. 

He’ll do so, he says, by way of his new studio album, The Way I Remember It, expected out on Friday.

Earlier this year, Studdard dropped off the album’s title track, one he calls a “classic storytelling song.”

“It describes the moment a man meets the woman that he plans to spend the rest of his life with,” he says of the track. “I think this song is beautifully written and produced and Mr. Belewa Muhammad did such an amazing job on it. I literally heard the song at 1:00pm and by 1:30pm, I was already recording it,” he says. 

He also released the love ballad “W.I.F.E.,” a song dedicated to his “best friend.”

“She is the engine that the Ruben Studdard bus runs-on,” the singer says of Kristin Moore-Studdard

The American Idol alum is also proud of the album’s new official single, “Masterpiece.” He writes that it’s a track “I instantly fell in love with in the studio.”

“The lyrics fully describe how special one’s significant other is. It’s one of those, yes, that’s it songs,” he says.

He’ll perform “Masterpiece” during an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show on November 17.

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Mini doc recounts Jimi Hendrix Experience’s gig opening for The Monkees

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A new mini documentary is giving fans a look at Jimi Hendrix’s rise to fame in the U.S. 

From The Monkees To The Hollywood Bowl features previously unseen footage recounting the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s stint as openers for The Monkees in July 1967, a performance that was not embraced by The Monkees’ young fans.

Jimi Hendrix Experience eventually left the tour. By that August, they were opening for The Mamas and the Papas at the Hollywood Bowl, which helped them break big in America. Those gigs happened right before the release of the band’s debut album, Are You Experienced.

From The Monkees To The Hollywood Bowl features interviews with Monkee Micky Dolenz and Hendrix manager Chas Chandler as well as former Experience band members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell.

The short film comes as the new live album, Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl August 18, 1967, is set to drop November 10. The concert, one of the band’s opening gigs for The Mamas and the Papas, features performances of classics like “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Foxey Lady,” along with covers of The Beatles‘ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” Bob Dylan‘s “Like a Rolling Stone” and more.

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Freddy Krueger’s glove, Jason’s mask and more: Prop auction makes for ultimate Halloween costumes

Propstore

If you love scary movies — and have very deep pockets — the U.K.-based memorabilia company Propstore has what could be the makings of the ultimate Halloween costume.

As reported, upward of $13 million worth of movie props, costumes and other memorabilia are up for grabs during the company’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction, running from November 9 to November 12. But the collection includes some exceedingly rare thriller and horror props, too.

To name a few, Freddy Krueger’s blade-fingered glove as seen in 1984’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street and its 1985 sequel is going under the hammer; it’s expected to fetch as much as $460,000.

Mario Kirner, the owner and curator of The Friday the 13th Museum, is offering a screen-used hockey mask worn by the infamous Jason Vorhees in 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. That’s expected to fetch anywhere from $46,000 to $92,000.

A shooting script from The Shining, complete with annotations from directing legend Stanley Kubrick, is another big-ticket item up for grabs, expected to fetch as much as $69,000.

There’s even a makeup display of Bill Skarsgård‘s Pennywise the Clown from 2019’s It Chapter Two, which is estimated to sell for at least $7,000 and as much as $13,800.

As is almost always the case, even the high-end estimates can be surpassed when the hammer finally falls.

Oh, and if you are well-heeled enough to buy one of the screen-used costume pieces that are going up for auction, we were just kidding — please don’t go wearing them for trick-or-treating next year.

Check out all the items hitting the auction block here.

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