The Kooks don't feel the love

Luke Pritchard thinks he detected some cooling towards The Kooks:

"We've been working solid, been playing a lot in Europe and in the rest of the world because we've done alright in America and in Europe so we have things over there.

"But I think it's a good thing because for us, although I think our second album, 'Konk', I'm really pleased with it, there was definitely a sort of backlash to it or felt like maybe a good time to go away and also leave a bit of space.

"You need to leave a bit of space between you and people and then when we come back, because we've been working on a third record and when we come back we really want it to be fresh."

I'm not sure it was a backlash, Luke. I think people really did dislike your band. But not as a backlash, as nobody was really that keen on you in the first place.

Darkness at 3AM: Why, yes, you're close, Luke

Luke Pritchard, head prefect with the Kooks, reckons he could well be dating that Agyness Deyn, oh, yes:

"Agyness is hot. I heard she might be here so that's pretty cool.

But he added: "She used to go out with my mate so I can't really go there."

She's hot and cool simultaneously. Like a baked alaska. What a shame, though, that Luke is unable to consider dating her. Because it would be wrong.

Luke Pritchard: Ladies' man, he bets

Yesterday, we had Michael Eavis sounding like a bad throwback to a 70s sitcom. Today, Luke Pritchard from The Kooks offers what sounds like a tribute to 1970s jazz mags:

"She didn't show up but I heard Carmen Electra was coming to our show," he said. "Can you imagine fucking Carmen Electra? How cool would that be?"

When asked if he would genuinely be interested in having sex with Electra, Pritchard said, "Of course, man! We all would have [hooked up with her on the night of the gig]! Anyone would have!

"When you're in a big band, you can go anywhere and do whatever you want. I'd like to fuck Carmen Electra!"

Doubtless his fans would rush to point out that his tongue was in his cheek as much as his cock was his hand, but we're not so sure. Not to mention that if his band was so big he can behave like he's Vladimir Putin, how come Carmen Electra didn't show up in the first place?

The attitude isn't, sadly, surprising, but the lack of understanding that some things that are greeted with rounds of applause in the van between gigs probably shouldn't be raised in interviews is.

[Thanks to Peter D for the tip]

Alex Turner, we salute you

Can you still nominate people for OBEs and so on? Only, surely, Alex Turner deserves one for his brave attempts to save us all from the Kooks. Luke Pritchard reveals all:

"We've had a weird relationship with the Arctics since we first met. I had to kick Alex in the face because he was trying to pull the leads out of my guitar pedals while we were on stage."

Next time, we're sending Alex Turner out with wirecutters.

Darkness at 3AM: Off to Maidstone

The 3AM Girls seem a little more fond of One Big Weekend, although it seems their access was limited to little bands complaining about the bigger stars, like The Fratellis, who had a point about Madonna's arrival:

Singer Jon Fratelli told us: "Who does Madonna think she is?

"I'm not into all this - we're all here to perform together. What happened to rock 'n' roll? Why is she even here? Everything has been changed around just for her and her ridiculous entourage.

"That's why we brought our own security team of midgets to look after us - and they're doing a great job. If she has an entourage then we're going to have one, too. Those people also ate all the food, so we had to order 18 pizzas from Domino's.

How very Live TV of them.

Meanwhile, The Kooks were wailing that Kylie wouldn't let them go to her party last week:

Luke, 23, (below) told us: "We heard she was having a party so asked if we could come." But Kylie moves in her own way - and said no way!

"We were gutted. I like her and her songs. I won't give up. "We'll try again next time we're in the same city."

We love the way Luke thinks there's something mysterious about Kylie saying no, as if that's just the kind of strange response you'd only expect from her, rather than the default position for anyone offered the chance of spending time with The Kooks.

So, did the 3AM Girls get any big story?

The Hoosiers frontman Irwin Sparkes has hired a bodyguard for his scared girlfriend - after she freaked out about an online fans' forum that went on about cooking and eating her!

No.

Gordon in the morning: No new Amy album

Gordon's readers might have assumed, from all his talk a couple of weeks ago about "listen to Amy's new songs" that there might have been a new album on the horizon. Anyone with half a mind would have realised the chances of a new record this year - with the artist incapacitated and the old one still selling strongly in the US off the back of the Grammys - was unlikely.

But Gordon's still surprised, reporting there's not going to be an album made from scratch this year.

Madonna's purchase of a new flat gets a Bizarre treatment, with Emily Smith trumpeting this as:

New split talk: Madge buys flat

But then, as the piece concedes:

The superstar singer, 49, has won a legal fight to buy a third £3.5million apartment in the Manhattan block where she already has a huge two-storey pad.

So, if she was at breaking point, it's not as if she didn't have anywhere to go before this. And, we suspect, if she needed to book into a Travelodge for a couple of nights, it wouldn't exactly break the bank, would it?

Meanwhile, Gordon has short shrift for the Kooks, as he reads on a website Luke Pritchard's explanation of why Max Rafferty quit:

“Things got a bit much for him, I think. Not to get some fucking violin out . . . but it can be really difficult being in a band, especially when you’re like that.”

I was beginning to enjoy Luke’s honesty until he said that. Don’t give me that “it’s difficult being in a band” crap.

Millions of people would love to swap places with them.

Well... yes, they might, Gordon, but that doesn't make it any easier having an addictive personality being in one.

Amy Winehouse hates The Kooks. Really, really hates them.

You'd almost have to feel sorry for Luke Pritchard, singer with The Kooks. No matter what anyone's done, nobody deserves to be given the wrong side of Amy Winehouse's tongue:

"All I said to her was that I enjoyed her latest album. And suddenly, out of the blue, she had a really massive go at me. At one point she told me to fucking pull my head out of my arse. It was really weird. Everyone was just standing around looking at her.

"It's strange because she was really nice to begin with. But when I went up to her at the photoshoot she suddenly turned really cold. She's crackers. I fucking don't give a shit. Some people are just like that - artists like Van Morrison who's really moody."

You know who else suddenly starts shouting at people for no reason? The men who sit by the bus stop at the end of the lane drinking the vinegar from No Frills Beetroot.

But perhaps Amy is just like Van Morrison.