Never let war get in the way of a good soccer match. In fact, let it be an excuse. In order to help raise money for Kosovar refugees, Britain's high-profile stars are donning their tube socks and lining up on the field.| On May 19, Sting, Noel Gallagher, the Spice Girls, All Saints and Dave Stewart will assemble at Tottenham Hotspur's stadium to play an all-star match for Kosovo. Not only will the luminaries kick about a football, fans will be treated to a half-time event featuring an acoustic set by Sting, Stewart and his erstwhile partner in the Eurythmics (and in marriage), Annie Lennox. Promoters hope to raise at least $1.6 million for the refugees. Speaking of Sting, he just summoned veteran producer-engineer Hugh Padgham, who's currently working on the new 311 record, to do some knob turning on his latest project . . .

Mod revivalists The Jam are getting the tribute treatment, and the cream of the Brit-rock crop have contributed tracks. Noel Gallagher, Reef and the Stereophonics all give a nod to the band, and Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene recorded "Carnation" with that flower of British pop Liam Gallagher. Now, the Beastie Boys have managed to tear themselves away from planning this year's Tibetan Freedom Concert and record a track for the yet-untitled album, which should be out next February. Does this mean we can expect Paul Weller to return the favor and turn up at next year's Tibetan show? . . .

Just as Courtney Love shocked fans on her brief tour of duty with Marilyn Manson by showing her, uh, assets when so moved, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has followed suit. Three years after the scarlet-haired vixen accidentally exposed a breast at the VH1 Fashion Awards, the singer's petite anatomy has made another public appearance. She spilled the beans herself on Garbage's Web site about an after-show encounter in San Diego: "So get this ... we played a show in San Diego last night and upon leaving the venue in our tour bus we heard some fans in a car, racing along beside us on the highway. They were screaming out for Alanis, thinking she was inside. I peeped out the bottom of the window blind and saw that the car was jammed packed with boys all desperate to catch a glimpse of their beloved star. I couldn't help myself. I pushed up the window blind as far as my neck, lifted my shirt over my breasts and flashed them for a full thirty seconds. There are now four or five hideously happy young men cruising the city of San Diego under the false impression that Alanis Morissette has extremely small breasts with nipples like rosebuds and an uncontrollable penchant for groupies" . . .

Public enemy number one in the mid-Eighties, W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless, has a few not-so-kinds words for media mouthpieces on news magazine programs that insist on blaming the music of Marilyn Manson, KMFDM and Rammstein for the death of fifteen people in the Littleton, Colo. Massacre. "I'm not defending any of these bands, but what's really bothering me is I'm starting to see an inquisition here, and what 20/20 did was outta line," says Lawless. The singer is singling out a segment from the ABC program that inferred the music of Manson, in particular, was corrupting the minds of youngsters. "Unlike the Eighties, where you had Tipper Gore who was trying to create a political platform for her husband and never gave a shit about censorship," he says, "this is a whole different issue and people have died now." Lawless is particularly unsettled by the witch-hunt mentality of the media who attempt to blame art instead of parents for warped values. "I'm really, really disturbed about this," he says. "Everybody's got a f---ing excuse for one reason or another why they can't take responsibility for what they've done. And sonuvabitch, if you can't bring a kid into this world and teach him the difference between right and wrong, go get yourself spayed or neutered" . . .

On a related note, the members of the abovementioned German industrial band Rammstein have weighed in on the Littleton school massacre, releasing the following statement: "The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values" . . .
The hits just keep on coming for -- or rather, at -- Sean "Puffy" Combs. Already lined up for a criminal court trial in June for his alleged part in the beating of Interscope exec and Nas manager Steve Stoute (and out $15,000 in bail money), the Bad Boy mogul could now face a multimillion dollar civil suit courtesy of Mr. Stoute. According to the New York Daily News' Rush & Molloy, who cite "insiders," Stoute has enlisted the services of high-profile attorney Thomas Puccio to help him get a sizeable chunk of monetary retribution from the Combs' coffer in a personal injury suit. Calls placed to Puccio, Stoute, Combs' lawyer Jay Goldberg and manager Benny Medina were not returned by press time . . .

Pat Schmaljohn, a veteran Boise musician best-known for his role as co-founder and bassist of the Treepeople, whose Doug Martsch went on to form Built to Spill, died at his home last weekend. Authorities and family members offered no details as to the cause of death, but acknowledged that he had committed suicide. In addition to his role in the Treepeople, Schmaljohn also ran the prolific Silence label and published a Boise weekly called Streetmag . . .

BLAIR R. FISCHER, JOE ROSENTHAL, HEIDI SHERMAN, RICHARD SKANSE, JAAN UHELSZKI, ARI VAIS(April 23, 1999)