Billy Idol has debuted an official lyric video for “Rita Hayworth,” one of the four brand-new songs featured on the pop-punk veteran’s recent released EP, The Roadside.
The clip, which you can watch now on Idol’s official YouTube channel, mixes grainy footage apparently taken from the car driving around the streets of Hollywood mixed with ominous cartoon animations depicting the song’s theme of a young woman navigating the seedy side of the movie business.
In the hard-driving tune, Idol sings about the woman being approached by “some nothin’ producer” who tells her she looks like Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth. “You’re swimming with Jaws/ This dream town will swallow you whole,” Billy belts out in the chorus. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Idol co-wrote “Rita Hayworth” with his longtime lead guitarist Steve Stevens, along with songwriters Sam Hollander and Grant Michaels.
The Roadside was released on September 17, and also features songs titled “Bitter Taste,” “U Don’t Have to Kiss Me Like That” and “Baby Put Your Clothes Back On.”
The bulk of the EP was written, recorded and mixed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The record, which was produced by Butch Walker, is Idol’s first collection of new original songs since his 2014 album Kings & Queens of the Underground.
Idol currently is halfway through a four-date Las Vegas residency at The Cosmopolitan that will wrap up this week with shows on Friday and Saturday. Billy then will head to Playa Mujeres, Mexico, for an October 26 performance at the star-studded 80s in the Sand festival. Idol also has acoustic duo gigs with Stevens in four U.S. cities in late November and early December.
A long, long time ago — 50 years ago this Sunday, to be exact — Don McLean released his classic anthem “American Pie” and his studio album of the same name. Now the singer/songwriter has announced initial dates for a 2022 U.S. tour that will commemorate the milestone anniversary.
The trek kicks off with a three-show engagement, January 28-30, at The Blue Note club in Honolulu, and currently is mapped out through a February 24 concert in Tucson, Arizona, with more dates expected to be announced soon.
Among the confirmed shows is scheduled on February 3 — the 63rd anniversary of “The Day the Music Died” — at the historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The Surf Ballroom is, of course, the venue where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper performed on February 3, 1959, before perishing in a plane crash later that evening. The date of the tragic incident is now known as “The Day the Music Died,” and served as an inspiration for McLean to write “American Pie.”
Besides “American Pie,” fans at the tour shows can expect to hear McLean hits including as “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” “Castles in the Air,” “And I Love You So” and his cover of Roy Orbison‘s “Cryin’,” as well as newer material.
Details of the U.S. tour follows Don’s recently announced plans for a 2022 European trek marking the 50th anniversary of “American Pie” that will run from September to November. Check out his full schedule at DonMcLean.com.
McLean also was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August.
Snoop Dogg is being taken to court for allegedly posting a viral video on Instagram without permission.
The “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper is being sued by FreedomNews.TV for using copyrighted footage of a protestor scaling a New York City office building, according to Billboard.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court stems from an incident in April during which a protester fell to the ground while attempting to climb the façade of JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in Manhattan.
The post, which Snoop titled “Dummy of the Week,” has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. He’s being accused of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the removal of “content management information” used on copyrighted works.
“Defendant purposefully failed to include the video credit originally conveyed with the video in order to mislead the public into believing that defendant either owned the video or had legitimately licensed it,” FreedomNews.TV wrote in the lawsuit.
As previously reported, the hip hop icon is joining Martha Stewart to host Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween special, which debuts October 21 on Peacock
Superheroes are usually hard to damage, but while Jason Momoa is certainly no weakling, he’s no superhero. That’s what he told Ellen Degeneres in a remote interview from London, as he detailed a series of injuries he sustained playing the King of Atlantis in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
“I’m getting old, that’s what’s happening,” the 42-year-old star said with a laugh on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“I messed up my eyes. I just got something in it that kind of cut it up,” the actor with the comic-book physique admitted, adding, “I’ve got to get surgery, I have a hernia, I’ve got ribs out. I’m just getting beat up.”
Momoa then explained, “I love my job and I get a little too excited, then the age thing, you know…I’m an aging superhero right now.”
That said, he told Ellen’s audience that all his dings were worth it. “It’s gonna be a great movie, you’re gonna love it,” he enthused.
Jason also told Ellen that while he’s in London shooting the 2022 film, as always, he’s traveling with two stuffed animals — Piggy Big Spirit and Potato.
Momoa explained that they’re his companions whenever he’s without his kids with wife Lisa Bonet — 14-year-old Lola Iolani Momoa, and 12-year-old Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
Prince Michael Jackson is carrying on the historic legacy of his late father by hosting the annual Thriller Night Halloween costume party at the Jackson family estate.
Michael’s youngest son has teamed with Taj Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, to design an immersive haunted house for the event on October 29th at the Jackson Hayvenhurst mansion in Encino, California.
“I’m so excited to to host our event this year; although we had a virtual event with Omarion in 2020, there’s magic on the Hayvenhurst property and it’s so great to be able to share it with everyone after we’ve been cooped up for almost a year,” Prince Michael says in a statement. “Every year we try to out do ourselves and this year I think we’ve done just that!”
For the first time, guests will enjoy live performance during Thriller Night. Chris Tucker will deliver a stand-up comedy show, and two-time Grammy winner Elijah Blake will sing.
There will also be a Legacy Room featuring Michael Jackson‘s most memorable costumes from both the “Thriller” and “Ghost” videos, and an exhibit showcasing of some of his awards, including the plaque for selling 100 million units of the landmark Thriller album.
Thriller Night will benefit Prince Michael Jackson’s non-profit organization, The Heal Los Angeles Foundation. Tickets can be purchased on the foundation’s website.
Flavor Flav is in trouble once again for domestic violence.
The Public Enemy co-founder was arrested earlier this month in Henderson, Nevada, on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery, according to TMZ.
The alleged victim, who has not been identified, claims that he grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Flav’s attorney, David Chesnoff, told TMZ, “In alleged domestic violence cases, there are often 2 sides to the story, and we will explain our side in the courtroom and not in the media.”
This is the fourth time Flav has been arrested for domestic violence.
In 2012, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor domestic violence charges for assaulting his then-fiancée Elizabeth Trujillo and threatening her teenage son with a knife.
In 1991, Flavor pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Karen Ross, which resulted in a jail stint and losing custody of his children at the time. Two years later, he was arrested again for domestic violence, along with cocaine and marijuana charges.
As news of his arrest was being reported, the 62-year-old former reality TV star declared Tuesday on Instagram that he’s been sober for one year.
“1 year up, lotz more to go,” Flav wrote. “Next year I pray my whole family will be walkin the same path I am.”
Måneskin has premiered the video for the band’s new single, “MAMMAMIA.”
The bloody clip finds each member of the Italian outfit fantasizing about killing vocalist Damiano David in various different ways, including drowning him in a toilet, stabbing him, and beating him with a guitar. Mamma mia, there’s a lot of blood.
You can watch the “MAMMAMIA” video streaming now on YouTube.
“MAMMAMIA” dropped earlier this month. It follows Måneskin’s breakout singles “Beggin'” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave.”
Sweet has just released a new single, an updated version of their song “Everything,” which originally appeared on the veteran U.K. glam-rock band’s 2002 studio album, Sweetlife.
Sweet’s current U.K. incarnation is led by the band’s sole surviving original member, guitarist Andy Scott, who says he was inspired to record a new rendition of “Everything” while watching his group’s latest lineup rehearse the tune.
“During the rehearsals for Sweet’s forthcoming UK tour 2021, we were trying out various songs from our back catalogue that could be added to the set list,” explains Scott. “As soon as I heard Paul Manzi and Lee Small‘s vocals on the song ‘Everything,’ I knew that we needed to get it down and record it as our new single.”
He adds about “Everything (2021),” “I think the new version is a far superior production. It’s much closer to how I envisaged it when I co-wrote the song back in the day.”
“Everything (2021)” is available now via streaming services, and you also can check out a music video for the song at Sweet’s official YouTube channel.
Sweet kicks of their 2021 U.K. tour in late November. Check out their full schedule at TheSweet.com.
(NEW YORK) — Family members of a former NHL player who had cocaine and fentanyl in his system when he died are now speaking out to warn people about the risks of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
Jimmy Hayes, a 31-year-old father of two who played seven seasons in the NHL, was found dead at his home near Boston on Aug. 23.
His death was ruled accidental.
“I hope getting Jimmy’s story out there can save someone’s life,” Hayes’ father, Kevin, told the Boston Globe. “If this can save someone from the pain, great. It’s just so sad. I pride myself on being pretty mentally strong. I’m a street guy. But there’s just no formula for this. You have a beautiful, all-American boy who made a terrible mistake and it cost him his life.”
Hayes’ wife, Kristen, told the Boston Globe she was “completely shocked” that her husband’s death was drug-related, telling the newspaper, “I was so certain that it had nothing to do with drugs. I really thought it was a heart attack or anything that wasn’t that [drugs].”
Hayes was a Boston native who played over 300 games in the NHL for four different teams. His dad Kevin told the Boston Globe that Hayes came to him over a year ago and told him he was “hooked” on pain pills, and later sought treatment.
“So he gets help and everything was on the path to recovery, I thought,” said Kevin. “But this [expletive] is so powerful.”
Hayes is the latest well-known celebrity to die with fentanyl in his system.
The singer Prince fatally overdosed on fentanyl in 2016.
“The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams died in September of a drug overdose which included fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.
In February, Dr. Laura Berman, a nationally known relationship and sex expert, shared a warning for parents when her 16-year-old son died after taking what she described as fentanyl-laced Xanax from a person he allegedly met on Snapchat.
What to know about the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl
In the United States, illicitly manufactured fentanyl is the primary driver of the significant increases in drug overdose deaths in recent years. More than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In September, the country’s top law enforcement officials announced the seizure of more than 1.8 million counterfeit pills during a coordinated series of law enforcement raids throughout the country since early August.
The pills are often made to resemble real prescription opioid medication like Oxycontin, Vicodin and Xanax or stimulants like Adderall, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Most are made in Mexico, with China supplying the chemicals.
“We cannot stress enough the danger of these counterfeit pills,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said at a Sept. 30 press conference. “We’re seeing these pills being illegally sold in every state in the United States. They are cheap, they are widely available, they can be purchased online and on social media — so through people’s phones, and they’re extremely dangerous.”
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is used frequently in medical settings. Developed for the pain management treatment of cancer patients, it is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the DEA.
“It is a very good and effective medicine at relieving pain in appropriate quantities managed by anesthesia,” said Dr. Kimberly Sue, medical director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition and an addiction specialist at Yale University. “What we’re seeing in the opioid overdose deaths in this country is related to fentanyl that is obtained outside of the context of medical prescriptions, usually on the street.”
In the case of an overdose death, fentanyl can cause a person to stop breathing, according to Sue.
Sue said that when people take medications that are not prescribed to them, they are playing “Russian roulette,” given the prevalence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl on the streets today.
“In the case of a pill that you buy off the street, people should assume there is fentanyl present even if it is labeled as some other medication,” she said. “I’ve taken care of many patients who think they’re buying an oxycodone or heroin and there’s nothing in it. It’s just fentanyl.”
Sue stressed that there are now resources like fentanyl test strips, which identify the presence of fentanyl in unregulated drugs, and naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, that can help save people’s lives.
“These are really tragic deaths because they are preventable,” said Sue. “I tell my patients, ‘You have to use all these strategies to try to stay alive and keep your friends alive.'”
If you or someone you love is in need of help, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit HERE to reach SAMHSA’s 24-hour helpline that offers free, confidential treatment referral and information about mental and/or substance use disorders, prevention and recovery.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Quinn Owen and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — More than 60,000 law enforcement officers were assaulted in the line of duty in 2020, including more than 40 who were killed, according to the FBI.
The total of 60,105 was an increase of 4,071 from 2019, with FBI drawing on reports from some 9,895 law enforcement agencies.
Among those assaulted, about 31% sustained injuries. In 2020, 46 officers were killed, down from 48 in 2019, FBI data showed.
Most of the assaults on officers happened after they responded to disturbance calls, including family quarrels and bar fights, according to the FBI.
“Police officers across the country are facing an increase in violent crime and violent acts committed against them,” said Laura Cooper, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. “Facing these dangerous situations is another reason why it has been difficult for police agencies to find recruits who want to put on a uniform and put their lives on the line.”
Vernon Stanforth, president of the National Sheriffs Association, said the staggering numbers weren’t a surprise “after this troubling year for law enforcement.”
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund President Jason Johnson said the increased assaults on officers come at a time when they’re “seemingly under attack on all fronts.”
In the first nine months of 2021, 54 officers were feloniously killed while on duty compared with 37 over that same time period in 2020, according to the latest FBI data. Among those deaths, 20 were unprovoked attacks.
A new LELDF report showed that from June 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, in the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the subsequent protests, the percentage of officers quitting or retiring had increased by double digits compared with 2019.
This year, high-profile police killings have already dominated headlines, including the case of Chicago officer Ella French, who was shot during a traffic stop in August.
French, 29, was the first Chicago police officer since 2018 killed in the line of duty and the city’s first female officer killed in the line of duty since 1988.
