Boy George jailed for 15 months

Boy George has been jailed for 15 months for falsely imprisoning a male escort in his flat in east London.

The singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, denied the charge and claimed the victim, Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, had stolen photos from his laptop.

O'Dowd, 47, admitted handcuffing him to a wall in April 2007 but said he did so in order to trace the missing property.

Judge David Radford told the former Culture Club singer he was guilty of "gratuitous violence".

O'Dowd's family and supporters reacted emotionally as the singer was handed the jail sentence at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Gay website

Judge Radford said: "Whilst I accept that Mr Carlsen's physical injuries were not serious or permanent, in my view there can be no doubt that your premeditated callous and humiliating handcuffing and detention of Mr Carlsen shocked, degraded and traumatised him.

"He was deprived of his liberty and human dignity without warning or proper explanation to him of its purpose, length or purported justification."

The singer, best known for 1980s hit Karma Chameleon, was also told to pay £5,000 costs.

The two men first came into contact through a gay social-networking site and met up for a pornographic photo shoot at O'Dowd's Shoreditch flat, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

O'Dowd believed Mr Carlsen stole data, including personal photographs from his laptop, during the photo shoot.

The court was told that weeks later O'Dowd invited the Norwegian back to his flat and it was then that he, with the help of a second man, chained Mr Carlsen to his bed and beat him.

'Self-destructive behaviour'

Mr Carlsen testified that he was manacled to the bed, but managed to escape and ran from the flat wearing only his boxer shorts, trainers and a pair of handcuffs.

During the trial the court heard that the escort sold the story of his ordeal to a Norwegian magazine for £5,500, which he said he needed to flee the UK as he was "too scared".

The singer has previous convictions for theft as a juvenile in 1977 and a drugs offence 10 years later.

He was also given community service in New York in 2006 after admitting to falsely reporting a burglary at his flat there.

Boy George, who is now a DJ, was one of the most well-known stars and recognisable faces in the 1980s.

With Culture Club he notched up seven British and nine American Top 10 hits and sold more than 50 million records.

He has also struggled with drug addictions and he told the world about his personal battle in his autobiography Take It Like A Man.

Earlier his barrister Adrian Waterman told the court that O'Dowd was the "antithesis of the haughty bullying star".

He said: "At the heart of the matter was a descent into self-destructive behaviour at the hands of the drugs."

Following the sentencing, O'Dowd's solicitor, Steven Barker, said: "George is on the road to recovery, I sincerely hope this sentence does not knock him back."

Frank Miller To Director ‘Buck Rogers’

The producers behind “The Spirit” obviously have a lot of faith in Frank Miller, because they have just handed him another directing gig. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller is in the final negotiations to direct “Buck Rogers” for Oddlot Entertainment and Millennium Films.

“Buck Rogers,” for those of you feeling lost, was one of the first major sci-fi stories. In fact, it was the very first sci-fi comic series, kicking off with its first strip in 1929, and it ran until 1967. The series followed an ordinary American and former Air Force pilot who was exposed to a gas that put him in a state of suspended animation for 500 years. He wakes up in the future, where he’s eventually recruited to help battle intergalatic menaces to Earth.

It had a brief revival in the ’80’s (E.T. gets the idea for his communicator from a Buck Rogers strip), and the character has been adapted numerous times for radio, television, and movies.

Miller has been rumored to have the directing job for months. He will be writing and sketching his own version of Buck Rogers and not surprisingly, it’s expected to be dark, with his usual focus on corruption, sex, and violence. As the original Buck Rogers was good, clean, all-American fun, you can expect a fair amount of controversy when his take is revealed.

It’s really quite surprising that Miller would get another directing job before “The Spirit” even hits theaters. Buzz on the comic legend’s debut has been mixed, and negative reviews are beginning to hit the press as we speak. Will Oddlot and Millennium regret they didn’t wait until the critical reviews and box office numbers were tallied?

Are you interested in seeing Miller’s take on Buck Rogers? Or should he just stick to comic books?

Guitarist says no Smiths reunion

Johnny Marr, former guitarist with The Smiths, has quashed rumours that his old band are to reunite.
The legendary 80s group, fronted by Morrissey, were rumoured to be reforming for American festival Coachella. “The stories circulating about a Smiths reunion are as usual untrue,” explained Marr in a statement. The guitarist is a member of Wakefield band The Cribs and is set to record an album with them in 2009. “I’m very excited about writing and recording with The Cribs for a new album, to be released next summer,” added Marr, “and we’re playing shows in February, so going back in time isn’t in my plans.” The Smiths split in 1987, just before the release of their fourth album Strangeways, Here We Come, and have so far resisted any offers to reform.

Original Village People Vocalist Undergoes Surgery

Victor Willis, original lead singer of the Village People, underwent surgery July 8 in San Diego to remove benign nodules from his vocal cords, according to a press release. Willis, who was scheduled to hit the road Aug. 9 as part of the 2008 Disco Dance Tour, is expected to fully recover and return to the stage by October.

According to the press release, Willis' voice originally became hoarse in 2007 after he played several concert dates. His doctors advised vocal rest, forcing the cancellation of European and Canadian tour dates scheduled for March and April of this year.

Willis began rehearsing again in June in preparation for his upcoming US tour but when his voice began to get horse again, surgery was recommended.

Boy George's US tour is cancelled

Boy George has just announced tour dates in South America

Boy George has cancelled his North American solo summer tour days before it was due to start because he has been denied a work visa by US officials.

The former Culture Club frontman had been scheduled to kick off his 24-date tour on 11 July in Las Vegas.

The singer said he has been banned because of a forthcoming false imprisonment trial in London.

Speaking to US news programme The Today Show, the 47-year-old said: "It's a disaster because of the fans."

'Kind people'

He was arrested last year after a 28-year-old male escort from Norway accused the singer/DJ of false imprisonment by chaining him to a wall and assaulting him, claims which the star denies.

The singer - whose real name is George O'Dowd - has promised fans he will return to the US early next year for the tour.

"If I have to wait it'll be even better," he said.

I love America and I am really sad that it appears that I am not allowed to visit a place I have called home at various times in my life

Boy George

In a message posted on his website, George said: "I am getting my life together and was really looking forward to performing in concert for all my loyal fans.

"I love America and I am really sad that it appears that I am not allowed to visit a place I have called home at various times in my life.

"But what has happened to me has nothing to do with the American people - they are kind people with big heart."

Tom Casey, a spokesman for the US State Department, told reporters immigration files are confidential.

He added: "There often are difficulties for individuals who either are currently subject to criminal charges or otherwise may have criminal records."

Meanwhile, George has announced six autumn tour dates in South America, starting in September in Brazil.

Bucks Fizz Back Together Again?

Since their heydey in the early ‘80s, Bucks Fizz has performed in a variety of mystifying incarnations. Jay Aston was the first of the classic line-up to leave (in 1985), to be replaced by Shelley Preston. Various other members came and went in the succeeding years and, for a while, David Van Day (formerly of Dollar) joined. later David left, teamed up with ex-Bucks Fizz singer, Mike Nolan - and suddenly there were two Bucks Fizzes!
The current line up of ‘The Original Bucks Fizz’ http://www.myspace.com/originalbucksfizz is Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Shelly Preston. According to another Bucks Fizz site on MySpace ‘Buck5Fizz recently starred in the Comic Relief video with Peter Kay & Matt Lucas..."It's the first time Cheryl & Jay had been in the same room for 20 years. We are all hoping to put all our differences aside and tour later this year as a five piece. We are all very excited at the prospect" ‘....
Interesting to see if that really happens. In the meantime, your next chance to see the ‘Original BF’ is on the Gay Pride Main stage on 24th May in Birmingham. The group will share a bill with Sonia, Brotherhood of Man and Scooch. Sounds good to me. And here, to get you in the mood, is the ever-popular Making Your Mind Up...

SirGeorge.us

Square Pegs on DVD May 20th 2008

 

In 1982, long before Sex and the City, and before roles in films like Honeymoon in Vegas, Flight of the Navigator and Footloose, Sarah Jessica Parker first came to national attention in the short-lived CBS series Square Pegs. The show co-starred Amy Linker (D.A.R.Y.L.), and the cast also included Jami Gertz (Twister, ER, Still Standing), Tracy Nelson (Father Dowling Mysteries) and Merritt Butrick (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock). The show's theme song was by The Waitresses, who appeared in the first episode.
Other guest stars in the program's 20-episode run included Don Novello (as "Father Guido Sarducci"), disc jockey Richard Blade, John Densmore (the drummer from The Doors), popular '80s music group DEVO, Tony Dow (Leave It To Beaver), Martin Mull (Mr. Mom, Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Bill Murray (Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters), Steve Sax...and the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers!
With Sarah Jessica Parker back to theaters soon in Sex and the City: The Movie, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally decided that it's time to bring Square Pegs - The Complete Series to DVD! All 20 episodes are coming to a 3-disc set which includes an exclusive new interview with Parker, along with a couple of "minisodes" (3-6 minute super-short versions of regular Sony-owned television episodes from classic primetime shows).
Cost will be $29.95 SRP, and the street date is May 20th (about a week and a half before Sex and the City: The Movie hits the box office). Video is full-frame, audio is English - Stereo, and Subtitles will be in French. Running time is approximately 460 minutes. It's still a few weeks before the folks at Sony formally announce this, so all info is taken from an early heads-up sent to retailers, and is subject to change.

SirGeorge.us