The Alive hitmakers began their gig at the British capital's O2 Arena 15 minutes late and played right up until the venue's official curfew at 11:00 p.m. (local time). After concluding their third encore, singer Vedder told the crowd, "We usually finish after this song - but not tonight!"

Neil tells the U.K.'s The Sun that believes GNR's loyal fans have finally grown sick of the band, thanks chiefly to Rose's failure to turn up to rehearsals and perform live shows.

Is Tommy Lee coming back to the Crue? According to a posting on Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose's Facebook page, Wed night's (August 19) Motley Crue concert at the Comcast Center Event in Mansfield, Massachusetts will likely mark his final appearance with the Crue as the temporary replacement for Tommy Lee. more

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company's iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman for the EU executive, which oversees the safety of consumer products sold in the 27-country bloc, said Apple had described the reported incidents as isolated. more

R.E.M. has set an October 26 release date for R.E.M. Live At The Olympia, a two-CD set featuring 39 songs recorded during the band's "working rehearsals" in the summer of 2007 in Ireland. more

A rare performance from folk icon Tim Buckley, who died in 1975 at 28 , will find a new audience this summer. "Live at the Folklore Center, NYC -- March 6, 1967" is being released August 25. by the Tompkins Square label. more

Sheryl Crow has sold her music publishing catalog to First State Media
Group, a Dublin, Ireland-based investor in publishing assets. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale earlier Wednesday, said the deal was valued at about $10 million. [Really?] more

The Parson Red Heads' Parlour to Parlour adventure concludes this week with part two of their interview, in which we get a tour of their communal pad in L.A. and see them have an unexpected run-in with the LAPD. more

Sony Music International Japan are reportedly set to reissue the Riot albums Thundersteel (1988) and The Privilege Of Power (1990) with bonus tracks. Each title will be digitally remastered to their highest quality. more

TV talent shows such as The X Factor are guilty of "cheap exploitation" because they do not pay contestants, performers union Equity has claimed. It is calling for all contestants who reach the final round this year to be paid and have legal status as workers. more

Shudder To Think has announced a one-off show on Wednesday, September 2 at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. This will be the band's only appearance in support of their upcoming live album, Live From Home, which is due out September 15, 2009.more

Paramore have announced details of a one-off London gig, which is likely to see them debut new material from forthcoming album 'brand new eyes'. The band are set to take to the stage at the capital's O2 Islington Academy on September 7 more

So is the new KISS any good? The readers over at Blabbermouth seem to be loving the first full track preview.

Byrne will join Billy at six solo Southern California small club dates August 26-31 with special guests Spirits in the Sky--the band Billy assembled to play at a tribute show in Los Angeles at the Echoplex in July for late Seeds frontman Sky Saxon. Spirits in the Sky includes Mark Tulin of The Electric Prunes and Kerry Brown of Catherine and the Ancient Chinese Secrets.

Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

Next, on Thursday, September 10, Osbourne will be honored at a tribute event to kick off the three-day music festival. The tribute event honors icons that have made an impact on the legacy of The Sunset Strip. On Osbourne's first US tour with Black Sabbath in 1970, the band performed a five-night stand (November 11th-15th) at the legendary Whisky A Go-Go.

Turn Off The Dark, the production the Dublin band has written music and lyrics for, is set to open on Broadway in New York in 2010.

Former Guns N' Roses axeman Slash lands in second place because " A remarkably precise player who had to put up with more crap from his lead singers than any other guitarist on this list. Does he make the cut partially because of the hat? Yes. Yes he does."

Lead single "Slow Poison" impacts Modern Rock Radio September 15th. The band will play shows in more than 30 cities across the country throughout the fall. The tour is in support of their much-anticipated third studio album, slated for release in November 2009. Pre-sale tickets go on sale today. General public on sale starts this Saturday, August 22.

"I went to this20place called Blakes in London, which was a hangout for rockers," recalls Joey Molland. "It was a cool little place. One night I saw a friend of mine there named Mark Clarke; a bass player from Liverpool who'd played with Uriah Heep and Colosseum. We were just talking and having a laugh and I asked him, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'I'm going up to Jerry Shirley's this weekend. I'm going to stay there and we'll probably have a jam � why don't you come with us.' I didn't really know Jerry, but I thought it would be cool. So Mark calls him and Jerry says. 'Come on up.' We go on up to Jerry Shirley's house � he had a lovely little farmhouse outside of London. We found out that day that he had just left Humble Pie. Later on that night we had a jam; I think it was Clem Clemson, Jerry, Mark, myself and there may have been one or two others. We had a lot of fun, just playing rock 'n' roll songs and blues songs.The next morning Mark, Jerry and myself decided to put a band together. We thought, 'Why not. But do we have any songs?' I had a couple of songs, which I played to them. One was called 'Once Again A Love Song' and the other was called 'Dark Cloud'. Likewise, Mike had a couple songs. We also got a keyboardist, a guy named Dave Kafinetti from the band Rare Bird. He went on to be the keyboard player in 'Spinal Tap'. What a knockout guy!" Kafinetti was replaced before the recording of t he album by Peter Wood who co-wrote 'Year of the Cat' with Al Stewart.

Rolling back musical barriers with every forward-thinking phase of their career, Dusseldorf's Zen masters of electronic minimalism laid the foundations for four decades of computerised pop and dance music. By chain reaction and mutation, they have influenced generations of artists in all genres, mapping musical futures yet to come. From Bowie to Daft Punk, Aphex Twin to Portishead, Dr Dre to LCD Soundsystem, and almost everyone in between, the mark of Kraftwerk is endless, endless.