NEWS DIGEST: Thursday, April 24

10:10 AM GMT 24/04/2008

Paul McCartney will perform a huge show in the Ukraine on June 14. The Independence Concert, due to take place in Kiev's Independence Square, will be free to attend and will be broadcasted live on Novy TV. A statement from Macca reads: "I’m very excited because on the 14th of June I’ve been invited to play a concert in Independence Square, Kiev. Me and the band are going to be there and we’re going to have to a great evening and we hope to see you there. So come along, it’s going to be great evening hopefully for the Ukraine. Pull together, groove, rock and roll – all together”.

The show has been put together by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. “One could not imagine this 30 years ago" says Pinchuk. "Nobody could even dare to hope for this 20 years ago. One could only dream about it 10 years ago. 5 years ago we could only envy our neighbours for whom this became a reality. And finally the day has come. For the first time we have the opportunity to hear the songs that changed the world and created a new culture. The songs that we grew up with and became who we are."

Yoko Ono is currently embroiled in two legal disputes over the use of material pertaining to John Lennon. The ex-Beatle's widow has objected to the use of Lennon's anthem Imagine in new documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The film is sitting at number 10 in this week's US box office chart.

Filmmaker's Premise Media have said they used only "a very small portion of the song". A statement went on to say: "Based on the fair use doctrine, news commentators and film documentarians regularly use material in the same way we do". Ono hopes legal proceedings will stop Premise Media, C&S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures distributing, selling and promoting the movie.

This all follows recent revelations that a film of John Lennon smoking a joint and discussing dropping LSD into Richard Nixon's cup of tea has been obtained by a group of memorabilia collectors in Massachusetts. The nine-hour film was shot over three days in February 1970 at the couple's Tittenhurst Park estate and reportedly shows Lennon working on songs Remember and Mind Games, while discussing the imminent split of The Beatles.

World Wide Video have claimed that they bought both the original tapes and the copyright from Anthony Cox, Ono's ex-husband, eight years ago. The company had intended to release an edited version of the film entitled 3 Days In The Life, but was stopped by a court order from Ono's lawyers. World Wide Video then filed a lawsuit against Ono for infringing copyright. The case continues in Boston next week...

And finally...What's the perfect length for a pop song? Why it's 2 minutes and 42 seconds says Joshua Allen.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 10:10 AM GMT 24/04/2008