MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018
U2 - MONTREAL
Several employees at a Montreal-area music venue confirm that U-2 are practising there ahead of their upcoming tour.
They told The Canadian Press the Irish group has chosen Place Bell in Laval to prepare for the ``eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE'' tour, which begins in Oklahoma on May 2nd. Several employees could be seen wearing badges with the name of the tour. U-2 are playing Montreal's Bell Centre on June 5th and 6th.
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OBIT - YVONNE STAPLES
Yvonne Staples of The Staple Singers has died at the age of 80. The Chicago funeral home Leak and Sons says Staples died yesterday at her home in Chicago. Yvonne replaced her brother Pervis in The Staple Singers in 1970 when he went into the military.
She sang on their hits ``Respect Yourself'' and ``I'll Take You There.'' Family friend Bill Carpenter says Yvonne did not care for attention on her singing and thought of her sister Mavis as the star. He says Yvonne had a keen business sense and was Mavis' road manager until recent years.
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VEVO - SECURITY BREACH
NEW YORK (AP) _ Vevo took down the most popular music video in the world for a spell after it was targeted by hackers.
``Despacito'' by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee was replaced by an image of masked people pointing guns. The hackers also targeted videos by Taylor Swift, Drake, Selena Gomez and Shakira. Vevo says the breach was contained and it's working on reinstating the affected videos. A YouTube spokesperson says access was disabled after seeing ``unusual upload activity'' on some Vevo channels.
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U2 STAGE PIECE - UTAH AQUARIUM
The 50-metre-tall creation known as The Claw that arched over U2's stage set during their ``360 Degrees'' tour will be installed at an aquarium in Utah. The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper will include The Claw as an architectural structure for its 9-acre expansion. The Claw was one of two used during U2's tour from 2009 to 2011. U2 tour director Craig Evans says it's bittersweet to see it go, but they're pleased it will enhance the mission of the aquarium.
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JARED LETO - HITCHHIKING ACROSS THE U.S.
Singer Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars says the takeaway from his journey across America last week is that Americans have had enough of politics and want more action. Leto started in Chicago and hitchhiked to Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas and Sedona, Arizona, before ending up in Los Angeles to celebrate the release of the band's ``America'' album. Leto says America is made up of people, not political parties, and they're looking for good leaders. He says he asked everyone he met along the way what America means to them and he got ``surprising answers.''
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GWEN STEFANI - VEGAS RESIDENCY
Gwen Stefani will headline a Las Vegas show this summer. Caesars Entertainment says Stefani will do a residency at Planet Hollywood beginning in June. She has scheduled shows for June, July, December, February and March. Stefani calls the show ``an incredible honour.''
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CARRIE UNDERWOOD - UPDATE
Carrie Underwood says she's healing well after a fall outside her home in November. Underwood writes in an open letter that her wrist is ``almost back to normal, about 90 per cent there and the docs say that last 10 per cent will come in time.''
She adds her face ``has been healing pretty nicely as well.'' She says the ``forced relaxation'' has let her spend more time with her husband and son. She's also working on a new album. The first single, ``Cry Pretty,'' is out today.
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(The Associated Press)
