Mojo - The Music Magazine

Paul Weller will play a series of woodland-based gigs this summer as part of Forestry Commission Live Music 2009.

The Modfather will be performing at:

Thetford Forest, Near Brandon, Suffolk (June 5)
Delamere Forest, Delamere, Cheshire (12)
Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Near Edwinstowe, Notts (19)
Westonbirt Arboretum, Near Tetbury, Glos (20)
Cannock Chase Forest, Near Rugeley, Staffs (26)
Dalby Forest, Near Pickering, N Yorks (27)

Tickets go on sale this Friday (Jan 16) at 9am via 01842 814612 and www.forestry.gov.uk.

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Phil Manzanera, Roxy Music's guitarist, writer and producer, will be playing three dates at London's Ronnie Scotts with his Firebird V11 band on February 9, 10 and 11.

“The last time I was at Ronnie Scotts was to see the great Charlie Mingus," recalls Manzanera. "I was accompanied by Robert Wyatt, and the performance left a lasting impression on me. I’m delighted to be returning, some 40 years later, to play on that hallowed stage and with such a great band of musicians.”

Tickets are on sale now from www.ronniescotts.co.uk / 020 7439 0747

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Bruce Springsteen has been awarded the 2008 Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

The Boss picked up the gong for his title track from the Mickey Rourke-led The Wrestler. This is the second time Springsteen has scooped a Globe - he originally picked up the Best Original Song accolade in 1994 for Streets Of Philadelphia.

The Wrestler has already been released as a digital single and will appear as a bonus track on Springsteen’s new album, Working On A Dream, due for release on January 27.

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Prince will appear in court in Italy after being accused of plagiarism by two Italian songwriters.

The Court of Appeal in Rome judged that the star's 1994 hit The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, had “borrowed heavily” from the 1983 song ‘Takin’ Me To Paradise’, written by Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino.

"Our song was first released in 1983, at the height of the Italian dance boom and it appeared on assorted compilations that were distributed internationally," said Bergonzi.

"When we first heard Prince's song we immediately took action, but this case has been dragging on for 15 years and it isn't over yet, such is the slowness of the Italian legal system. We only decided to go public with our story now."

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Bono has been extolling the virtues of Frank Sinatra in his first column for the The New York Times. "I was lucky to duet with a man who understood duality, who had the talent to hear two opposing ideas in a single song, and the wisdom to know which side to reveal at which moment" he says. You can read the whole shebang HERE.

In other Bono related news, U2 will now play at the Brit Awards ceremony in London on February 18. The nominations for all categories will be announced on January 20.

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Scott Walker will guest on Bat For Lashes’ new album, Two Suns (out April 6). The reclusive singer will perform with Natasha Khan - the brains behind BFL - on a track called The Big Sleep.

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And finally...Happy Birthday Chris Bell! The Big Star songsmith/guitarist would have been 58 today. Here's some great archive footage of the band in and around the studio in 1971.