No Rock And Roll Fun

POP JOBWATCH: Sad news this week that the Afghan Whigs have decided to call it a day, but thats sort of balanced by reports that Soft Cell are being recharged. Also back from the dead, Gary Numan turned in his first Peel Session since 1980 on Wednesday, getting a muted but respectable response on the Peel egroup. Heading back to the dead are the rag-tag of Popstars rejects who look set to have their attempt to cash in on their five minutes of fame scuppered. Talking of ITV's dire dirgeosoap (why won't anyone admit this? Its like watching a tomato canning factory, only with self-obsessed tomatoes), the jostling to cash in is now well underway. Granada Media Group has been forced to drop its share of the dead cert number one first single* to save itself from falling foul of ITC rules on promotional tie-ins, but keeps a share of future earnings; The Sun got hold of the maligned Girl Thing doing their version of the band's first single, only to be told if they put it up on their website, the single of choice will be changed - just as InnerSpin got dumped when the name leaked out; but shrewedest cash-in so far goes to Bravo, who have mysteriously chosen to resurrect their Dolls House webcam voyeur site in the week when one of the PapSters was reported as having been a previous inhabitant. Sitting at home ruefully sucking a thoughtful tooth, meanwhile, will be Girl Thing, freshly dropped now that their svengalis has more fresh flesh to play with.