Music Essence

If Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie is to be believed, Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty and Kate Moss are to tie the knot soon. Rumors about their impending marriage were doing the rounds, which was accidentally confirmed by the 42-year-old Bobby Gillespie at the Q Awards. According to Daily Mirror, Gillespie is reported to have said that he was so happy for Katie. He admitted to having seen her engagement ring. Gillespie said, “I would love to DJ at the wedding, but I haven’t received my invite yet. This is the happiest I have ever seen her, She really is in love.” Rumors were afloat when the super model and Pete were seen together shopping for rings last week in Florence. Here’s wishing the couple good luck.

Frances Ingram, a self-confessed greatest fan of singer Robbie Williams, has bet that she will marry him. According to bookmakers, the 33-year-old from Chester will win £10,000 if she manages to convince her idol pop star, whose album Rudebox has just been released, to marry her. She has placed a £10 bet at odds of 1,000/1 that she will marry Robbie. In case her dreams do not translate to reality, Frances Ingram will accept a one-time date with her superstar idol. She bet on that another £40 at odds of 100/1, being sure that Robbie will be ready for a date. To back her claim to being his greatest fan, Ms Ingram has even got Williams’ initials tattooed on her back. It will be interesting to see how Robbie Williams responds to this one.

Pop star Mariah Carey’s Hong Kong concert this Saturday has been called off at the last moment because of poor ticket sales and “unreasonable demands” made by the pop queen. The promoters, Concerts Asia, made this announcement through their website, which reads, “As promoters of the Mariah Carey Hong Kong concert, we have decided to cancel the event effective immediately due to both the poor response of public ticket sales and also due to specific last minute demands which we find wholly unreasonable and not with the best interests of Hong Kong, us and also the fans.” However, the “unreasonable demands” have not been spelled out. Only about 4,000 tickets could be sold though the publicity campaign was quite strong.

Kurt Cobain has achieved the distinction of becoming the top-earning dead celebrity internationally, overtaking King of Rock Elvis Presley. Forbes.com has reported that the last one year has seen the late Nirvana lead man amass $50 million. Cobain had committed suicide at his Seattle home 12 years ago, when he was only 27. His widow, Courtney Love had sold a 25% stake in his song catalog and that took him past Elvis Presley to take the number one position. The number one position had been held by Elvis for the past four years, and he could manage to earn $42 million. Charles Schulz of Peanuts comic strip fame is placed third with an earning $35 million.

Pete Doherty’s recovery from drug addiction had Courtney Love’s unseen hand. She had got Pete’s mother to support the struggling Babyshambles’ star performer. Love was in touch with Pete’s family over the phone and made both Pete’s mother and Kate Moss accompany the pop star to a 12-step meeting. Courtney knows all about the rehab program having undergone the same herself. She admits having come close to losing all that she had worked for, but it was her friends and daughter that made her come back from hell. She fondly remembers Mel Gibson for the help that he extended. The 42-year old star realizes how important it is to have support from friends and family at this juncture, and that is what she is doing for Pete.

There was another twist to the Madonna’s attempt at adopting one-year old Malawian David Banda, when his biological father Yohane Banda claimed he never intended to let go his son for good. He was under the impression that Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie were only going to educate his son, and then return him home. Yohane, who is illiterate, said that he signed the adoption papers only after the government officials explained to him that his son would return home after he had grown up. According to Yohane, he was given to understand that Madonna and Ritchie would educate and raise their son the same way they were doing at the orphanage. Madonna has maintained her silence since.

American TV channel NBC will not be showing Madonna’s controversial cross act, as confirmed by an NBC spokesperson. Madonna had appeared on a mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns during her recent Confessions world tour. Some religious groups had threatened to boycott one of the commercial sponsors to the concert. They were in the process of deciding which company to boycott, when the news to remove the controversial act from the concert was made public. However, NBC has not put forth the reason for editing the contentious portion, saying that the network did not disclose editorial decisions.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs holds responsible his fear of marriage for the breakup of his relationship with Jennifer Lopez in 2000. They were a couple for two and a half years before the split happened. Thereafter, the Latino sensation married dancer Cris Judd, and then singer Marc Anthony. In between she was engaged to actor Ben Affleck. Lopez wanted a commitment from the hip-hop star, but he was not ready to commit to her. The rapper told Vibe magazine, “Everybody who ever meets the girl winds up marrying or wanting to marry her. I couldn’t be like Cris and Ben and Marc.” Diddy is back with his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter and says that if he is ever ready to marry, it will be Kim.

Oprah Winfrey and U2 singer Bono were in Chicago to promote the launch of the latter’s Red campaign in the US. Efforts are on to raise funds to fight the spread of AIDS, TB and malaria in Africa. The Irish singer and the US talk show queen were at Michigan Avenue to promote the sales of special-edition clothing, accessories and gadgets. According to Bono, the campaign is not about asking people to give a charity. They are approaching the consumers to buy Red products from retailers like Apple computer, Gap, Converse, Motorola, and Emporio Armani. They in turn will be writing checks for the charity. Oprah and Bono came out of Apple store with a handful of shopping bags. The Red campaign has collected $12 million for the African campaign since its launch in the UK.

Madonna’s bid to adopt a Malawian child has run into rough weather. The pop star had filed papers related to the adoption of one-year-old David Banda at a Malawian Court on Thursday. An organization named ‘Eye of the Child’ that is opposed to the adoption is fighting for an injunction. The Civil Liberties Committee, a human rights group, is backing the organization to check Madonna have her way. According to the Eye of the Child, they are concerned about safeguarding the future of the child, who cannot express an opinion in the matter. The child, who was living in an orphanage, will be under Madonna’s care pending final approval from the court.