+ 6 - 5 | § ¶George Michael - no criminal record this time...
George Michael is reported to have admitted to possession of a class C drug following his arrest over the weekend. However, making a tongue in cheek reference to his previous arrest in 1998 for 'lewd conduct' in a Los Angeles public toilet - which inspired the record and video for Outside - he promised: " I won't make a record out of this one - even though it is tempting."
+ 5 - 6 | § ¶George Michael Arrested!
George Michael was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning - thought to be on suspicion of possessing class C drugs. He has been bailed to return to a police station next month. "We were called by a member of the public to a man seen slumped over the steering wheel of a car on the street close to Hyde Park Corner," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said, "A search of the man revealed what was believed to be controlled substances."
+ 9 - 3 | § ¶Nick Rhodes and John Taylor's new '70s/'80s album
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and John Taylor are putting together a compilation album called Only After Dark "to recreate one of the UK’s most dynamic and exciting moments in music. The late ‘70s and dawning ’80s". This is a great collection featuring some of the most influential artists - ranging from John Foxx and The Human League to Gary Numan and Donna Summer - on the early electro and New Romantic movement. The album is scheduled for release on May 1st, 2006.
Track listing:
Human League – Being Boiled (Fast version) (3.39)
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Computer Games (3.32)
David Bowie – Always Crashing In The Same Car (3.29)
Psychedelic Furs – Sister Europe (5.38)
Simple Minds – Changeling (4.11)
Mick Ronson – Only After Dark (3.30)
John Foxx – Underpass (3.53)
The Normal – Warm Leatherette (3.22)
Bryan Ferry – In Crowd (4.33)
Brian Eno – The True Wheel (5.11)
Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric? (5.17)
Kraftwerk – The Robots (single edit) (3.45)
Donna Summer – I Feel Love (3.48)
Wire – I Am The Fly (3.06)
Magazine – Shot By Both Sides (3.57)
Grace Jones - Private Life (5.11)
Iggy Pop – The Passenger (4.41)
Ultravox – Slow Motion (3.29)
+ 7 - 4 | § ¶Put All 80s Radio On Your Site!
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And remember, you can also add free 80s headlines to your site just like the ones on the front page of The 80s Empire. These will provide your visitors with information, news and gossip on 80s music, 80s life and 80s style. All you have to do is paste a small block of HTML into your web page and we do the rest. From now on, your site will be regularly updated with all the latest 80s news headlines. Get the HTML HERE. It's all free so why not give it a try!
+ 8 - 3 | § ¶Pete Burns Reveals All!
Pete Burns' autobiography Freak Unique: My Story
+ 8 - 3 | § ¶JoBoxers - exclusive new interview
They were mean, moody and not a little on the hunky side. And they also did some great songs. JoBoxers' two really big hits were Boxerbeat and Just Got Lucky. But while they were certainly successful, they never became really massive. I wonder why not? I suspect that they may just have been the right band at the wrong time. This was, you have to remember, at a time when bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club were topping the charts. Pop videos were all about escapism - suntans, frilly shirts and martinis on tropical island paradises. And here was this lot wearing boots and braces and faffing about in dockyards and building sites! Their 'street tough' image wasn't quite in tune with the mood of the times. The funny thing is, if you you look at their old publicity photos now, their image looks a lot cooler than, say, Simon Le Bon in mascara or Adam Ant as kitted out as Prince Charming. What's more, their music sounds great. Anyway, it turns out that there is a lost album of JoBoxer tracks which may yet see the light of day - as I discovered when I talked to JoBoxer bassist, Chris Bostock...
+ 4 - 6 | § ¶Barry Manilow Comeback Sensation!!!!
After a string of hits in the late '70s and early '80s, it seems that Barry Manilow has barely been seen (or heard) since. Well, that's all changed. You might have thought that the chances of Manilow having a top selling album in the 21st century were about as likely as George Michael getting married to Samantha Fox. Just to prove that the strangest things really do happen, Manilow has now zoomed to the top of the US album charts with the recently released 'Barry Manilow: The Greatest Songs of The Fifties'. Whatever next? Joe Dolce sings Gershwin perhaps?
+ 4 - 8 | § ¶A new 12" /80s/ Dance Album
12" / 80s / Dance
Out February 27th.
The 12"/80s series was one of the success stories of 2005 in the Uk. The first two installments performed strongly in the compilation album chart. Now the 12"/80s brand is back with a new party album12"/80s/Dance is a new 3-CD collection of 30 extended mixes of classic dance party music featuring three distinct genres: Pop, Club and Soul & Funk you are sure to find some long lost favourites on here.
The "12" / 80s / Dance" eCard here
+ 6 - 7 | § ¶80s Fashions On Their way Back!
Big shoulders, puff-sleeves and leggings could be on their way back according to a CNN report on New York's Fashion Week: "Several nods to the 1980s have made their way to the Fashion Week catwalks," (the report says of the new Charles Nolan range). "Shirred sleeves, booties and power suits, among them -- but Nolan's black leggings, worn under almost every skirt and dress, was the most obvious reference. Know what? They didn't look bad, especially when worn with the flat slingback or kitten-heel riding boots the models were wearing."
+ 6 - 6 | § ¶Dead Or Alive - back in the charts!
No sooner has Pete Burn escaped from The Big Brother house than he's found himself zooming up the UK pop charts. The classic Dead Or Alive single, You Spin Me Round (originally a hit in 1985), entered the Top Twenty at number 5. See The Official Radio One charts.
+ 6 - 6 | § ¶FREE '80s Headlines For Your Web Site
You may have noticed the '80s Headlines that appear on the front pages of The 80s Empire, All 80s Radio and Dark Neon web sites. You can add similar '80s headlines to your own web site just by cutting and pasting a few lines of code. The headlines link to news, reviews, opinion pieces and other '80s-related stories from The 80s Arena. The great thing is that, once you've pasted the code into a web page, you don't have to do anything to display all the latest headlines. So, even if you don't have time to update your web site yourself, our headlines will carry on giving your visitors new things to read. Oh, and incidentally - it's completely free....!
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+ 5 - 7 | § ¶Died in 1984 Richard Burton on stage again!
Welsh actor and one-time husband of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, will reprise his role in Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds when it goes on stage this spring. Burton, who narrated Wayne's multi-million-selling War Of The Worlds album (released in 1978) will be digitally recreated as a huge 3D image which will 'speak' the narration taken from the album. The new stage version is produced by Wayne and opens in Bournemouth on 13th of April before touring to other venues later in the month. It will feature Justin Hayward, tenor Russell Watson and Manfred Mann's Earth Band vocalist, Chris Thompson. Visit the site of the musical HERE
+ 6 - 5 | § ¶Smash Hits to close!
After 28 years of publication, top UK pop mag, Smash Hits is finally to call it a day. Smash Hits was essential reading for pop fans in the 1980s. Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys was once its Assistant Editor (this was at a time when I was a cub reporter for rival pop magazine, Number One 
). The final issue of Smash Hits will appear on the 13th of February.
+ 5 - 6 | § ¶Pete Burns makes monkeys of the lot of 'em!
After all the fuss about his so-called 'gorilla' fur coat, it now turns out that Pete's colobus monkey fur coat was nothing to get worked up about after all. The fur probably dates from the 1930s or '40s (hmmm.... just like King Kong 
) and it isn't illegal after all... (More on the Beeb)
+ 6 - 5 | § ¶Morrissey album, single and show
The UMD "Who Put The 'M' In Manchester?" will be released on the same day as the single "You Have Killed Me", taken from Morrissey's forthcoming studio album "Ringleader Of The Tormentors", to be released by Sanctuary Records on April 3rd 2006. On 22nd May 2004, Morrissey returned to his hometown of Manchester to play a very special comeback show. Celebrating his 45th birthday with 20,000 well-wishers from the city, which has provided years of lyrical inspiration; "Who Put The "M" In Manchester?" Morrissey of course! The live in concert UMD entitled "Who Put The "M" In Manchester?" will be released by Sanctuary Visual Entertainment on 27th March 2006.
+ 4 - 6 | § ¶Boy George in court
"Boy George is due to appear before a court in New York accused of possessing cocaine..." The former Culture Club frontman could face up to five-and-a-half years in prison if convicted. (BBC News)
