Excellent Online

BREAKING TOUR NEWS UPDATE: BAUHAUS is coming to Chicago! Tickets for the one-off show, to be presented at the Riviera Theater on August 27, go on sale this Friday, June 19. With a month-long gap between this show and the previously scheduled sold-out triad of shows on the West Coast in July, it's looking pretty good for a full scale American tour.

Bad news today from the Wall of Sound camp: It has today been disclosed that Will White, one half of the PROPELLERHEADS, is in hospital battling what a spokesperson describes as an "extremely serious illness." The spokesperson for Wall of Sound and Propellerheads told NME that White has been unwell for some time, but that the nature of his illness was only recently diagnosed. The thoughts and prayers of the Excellent crew are with White, in hopes of a full recovery. Needless to say, ALL future Propellerheads plans, including all UK summer festival appearances, have been scrapped.

Not too upset with chart performance this week are EMBRACE, whose critically acclaimed debut album, "Good Will Out," shot straight in at #1 on this week's UK album charts.

The battle of the British football anthem appears to have a clear winner. BADDIEL/SKINNER AND THE LIGHTNING SEEDS' re-hashed version of "Three Lions" has shot straight to #1 on the UK charts, while this year's official anthem, the Spice Girls/Ian McCullough ENGLAND UNITED collaboration, "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World," debuted last week at a disappointing #9, and has now dropped this week to an insignifigant #19.

DODGY have called it a day. Or more specifically, singer/songwriter Nigel Clark has called it a day, announcing his departure to pursue a solo career. Drummer Matthew Priest and guitarist Andy Miller will continue to work together, possibly even under the Dodgy name (pending a legal outcome.) In the meantime, Dodgy have confirmed that they WILL play their previously scheduled slot on the Guildford Festival this August as a goodbye show.

First off, we can now confirm/expand on two previously stated stories. THE VERVE have indeed pulled out of the Tibetan Freedom Fest. NME reports that bassist Simon Jones collapsed directly following a show in Germany. The band has flown home to England to await medical test results, and hope to restart the tour as soon as possible.

The solo album from GRAHAM COXON of BLUR even has a release date in the States. It's August 11 (a near simultaneous release with the UK version,) and will be distributed on our shores by Caroline Records.

A caution for those planning UK trips this summer: This year's Phoenix Festival has been cancelled, reportedly due to low advance ticket sales. What with the reformation of New Order being the main draw, we're all dumbfounded. BUT, both New Order and the Prodigy have been rescheduled to headline this year's Reading.

And what would we be without pop gossip? Yes, kids, time to put down your new issues of TigerBeat... for the unthinkable has happened. ROBBIE WILLIAMS (ex-TAKE THAT) has popped the question to NICOLE from ALL SAINTS. Satan will most likely be administering the vows.

NME has confirmed the release of BLUR guitarist GRAHAM COXON's first solo release, "The Sky is Too High," slated for release on August 10th. Every instrument on the album is played by Coxon himself. Meanwhile, Blur will be holing up into the studio once the World Cup is over with; the band is confirming that William Orbit has been approached for producing.