NEWS DIGEST: Wednesday, February 20

9:54 AM GMT 20/02/2008

Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner and The Rascals' Miles Kane have announced details of their upcoming side project LP. Recording under the name, The Last Shadow Puppets, the duo will release their debut LP, The Age Of The Understatement on April 21. A single of the same name will preceed the album on April 14. Be sure to check out the new issue of MOJO (on sale March 5) for exclusive news from the pair.

Fresh from her five Grammy-wins and another stint in rehab, Amy Winehouse has revealed she will perform two songs at tonight's Brit Awards. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne will host the event, due to kick off at 8pm GMT at London's Earls Court. "I heard her rehearse last night and she sounded absolutely great," said Brits Chairman Ged Doherty. Paul McCartney will close the show after accepting the gong for Outstanding Contribution To Music.

U2 have reportedly ensconced themselves in their Dublin studio with long-serving cohorts, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, as they begin sessions for their new studio album. "We're going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece," Lanois told Billboard.com. "There's so much material. When you get Eno and I and those guys in the room, before lunch there's like eight things." The new record will be the band's first since 2004's, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Cat Power has annouced a clutch of UK tour dates. She'll play:

Hammersmith Apollo (June 8)
Bristol, Colston Hall (9)
Birmingham, Academy (10)
Manchester, Academy (11)

A copy of the Rolling Stones' 1976 release Black And Blue signed by the band as well as members of the Beatles, is expected to fetch upwards of £5,000 when it goes under the hammer later today. The album, which also includes signatures from Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney, was originally bought by a fan from Derbyshire. He paid £3.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Grooverider has been jailed for four years in Dubai for possessing cannabis. The drum'n'bass star was arrested in November 2007 after he was caught with 2.16g of the drug."I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in a recent interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted." A Radio 1 spokesperson added: "Grooverider has paid a very high price for a serious mistake".

And finally...Happy Birthday Randy California! The Spirit man would have been 57 today. HERE he is at Glastonbury in 1982.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 9:54 AM GMT 20/02/2008

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