On December 5th, BLUR will give the first performance at London's Elephant and Castle Coronet since it underwent renovation. The historic venue originally opened in 1910 . . . KISS will make "Symphony, Alive IV in Concert From Melbourne" available on pay per view from December 12th through January . . . BRITNEY SPEARS was forced to pull out of the MTV Europe Awards show set for Thursday in Scotland after catching the flu . . . PAPA M, fronted by former ZWAN guitarist DAVID PAJO, will release a collection of singles early next year . . . A 1954 Les Paul "Black Beauty" guitar owned by GRAHAM NASH was stolen from a New York City cab on October 23rd. Nash is seeking information about the guitar through jensencomm@aol.com. . .

THRICE and THURSDAY will donate partial proceeds from their November 3rd show in San Diego to the city's Fire Relief Fund . . . The ATARIS and ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES contribute covers to The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show, due December 2nd . . . JOHN HIATT, ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL and SONNY LANDRETH will perform on DELBERT McCLINTON's tenth annual Sandy Beaches Cruise, which launches from Ft. Lauderdale on January 11th . . . COUNTING CROWS launch a ten-date California tour on December 8th in San Francisco . . . ERIC CLAPTON will launch a fourteen-date tour of Japan later this month before touring Europe . . .

KID ROCK and BROOKS AND DUNN have joined the lineup for the November 10th tribute to JOHNNY CASH to be held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville . . . Rapper DIZZEE RASCAL, who recently won Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize for his debut Boy in da Corner, has signed with Matador, who will release his album in January . . . BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN made surprise appearances at the fourth annual Light of Day Concert to Benefit the Parkinson's Disease Foundation on November 1st in Asbury Park, New Jersey . . . A rare guitar given to PAUL CARRACK by RINGO STARR is among the items missing after Carrack's touring van was stolen last week while he was touring the U.K. . . .

PANTERA guitarist DIMEBAG DARRELL and drummer VINNIE PAUL have started a new band, DAMAGEPLAN, which will release its debut, New Found Power, on February 10th . . . Swedish rockers OPETH were unharmed after their tour bus was caught in the middle of a gunfight between police and bank robbers in Oslo, Norway, on October 27th . . . TEENA MARIE and RICK JAMES have lined up a twelve-date tour to run into December. The dates are their first together in twenty years . . . Des Moines officials have dropped drug possession charges against SLIPKNOT bassist PAUL GRAY (stemming from a June arrest) after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence . . . VELVET REVOLVER drummer MATT SORUM called on his bandmates to play on his solo debut, Hollywood Zen, available on mattsorum.com . . .

(November 4, 2003)