I skipped last week since it was a slow news week. Not actually slow since all the music blogs had tons of crap they were reporting. Just nothing new or interesting to me. (In a bad mood, sry)

Let's see how much of this stuff I can put together.  I'm trying to keep on top of my links by using twitter (which automatically goes to facebook) so if you wanna get this info faster please follow us there (some of the stuff below is probably duplicated on twitter and facebook as well)

Apparently I'm still not back on track but managed to go through my leads and pick out some interesting stories.  So if you've been AWOL like me for the last couple of weeks then this should help you get caught up, read on!

A couple of  weeks ago we mentioned that Bez was convicted of assult because he choked his girlfriend because he though she stole his money.  NME is reporting that he rejected to perform unpaid work (aka community service?) and instead took a four week sentence in prision.

The Ex-Happy Mondays star has been convicted of assault.  He apparently attacked his ex-girlfriend, Monica Ward,  because he accused her of stealing money from him.  He "grabbed her neck with both hands and throttled her" according to the UK Press Association.  He will be sentenced on August 25th.

For those of you that don't know, Bez is the legendary dancer for the Happy Mondays.  And he's had problems getting a visa to tour with the Monday's when they play the US because of past drug charges.

The headline of NME's story is Shaun Ryder Reforms Black Grape.  Which is fine, but what I found interesting is, "[the reunion] will coincide with the release of a Shaun Ryder greatest hits album".  What the?  I'm not a walking music encyclopedia but this is the first time that I heard of a singer of two bands releasing a greatest hits collection.  I tried using my google-fu to get more information about this release but didn't find anything substantial.  In any case, it should be interesting to see the tracklisting when it comes out.

BB's got all the deets, including this quote from S. Ryder regarding the album's potential release date: *"Knowing us, it'll probably come out in about two years time. I mean, the other one, we had that in the can for, what, two years before that got released, because of legal problems. It took us eight or nine years to sort out all that."*  - Source

Happy Mondays' dancer Bez has been declared bankrupt for the second time, it has emerged. - Source

What a day for news for old school folks like us.

First up... We already know that the HAPPY MONDAYS are reforming for select dates this spring/summer, including this year's Coachella Festival in Indio, CA. What we were NOT expecting was today's exciting news, which is that the Mondays have recorded a NEW ALBUM. That's right, there will be a spankin' new Happy Mondays record later this year. The band have inked an international deal with Sanctuary Records.

Even MORE intriguing is the lineup for this weekend's Versus Cancer charity fundraiser this weekend in Manchester. The show, organized by The Smiths' Andy Rourke, is promising surprises by the truckload... what we DO know is that the headliners are nothing to sniff at: a "semi-acoustic" set from Noel Gallagher, The Charlatans, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bernard Butler, David McAlmont, and the biggest gig thus far from the Electric Milk Band (which features Gaz from the Mondays alongside Oasis original member Bonehead!)

Sound good, eh? Well, there's more. Festival insiders are not only confirming that New Order's Peter Hook will be joining Echo and the Bunnymen onstage, they are ALSO confirming that estranged Stone Roses' Mani and Ian Brown will be performing together. Add to that a finale being described as mind-blowing... Roses reunion? Or a monster Charlatans-Oasis-Roses mega-jam? Either way, it'll be one hell of a gig...

With the announcement of the Coachella line-up comes the annual Intriguing Reunion Rumors. Yes, HAPPY MONDAYS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN are reuniting to play the fest... but right now, there is nothing to indicate that those gigs will be anything other than one-off reunions (but what a reunion it'll be!)

On the OTHER hand, though, one of the bands that drew our attention on the Coachella line-up was CROWDED HOUSE, who split up several years ago, and, with the death of drummer Paul Hester, seemed unlikely to regroup. Well, we can confirm via official press release that the House is BACK. They're NOT just reuniting for Coachella. The band will embark on a year-long reunion world tour in 2007... and that's not all. Sources are now cofirming that the Neil Finn album that's being recorded now is, in fact, a full-on Crowded House reunion record. Auditions will be held for a replacement for Hester, but it's official that Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, and Mark Hart will all be participating in the reunion album AND tour. THAT's some good news.