Temple cast out: Eddy Temple Morris quits XFM

As XFM continues its dwindling days while Capital preps Radio X, station stalwart Eddy Temple Morris has quit and taken his Remix show elsewhere.

His farewell comes via Facebook:

For reasons that are personal, and shall remain private, I've made a very hard decision to resign from the radio station I love.

The Remix has been on Xfm for over 15 years and while I look for a new and more appropriate spiritual home for the show, Soho Radio - the excellent London based internet radio station - have very kindly offered to host the show in the meantime.

You might want to read between the lines:

Right now I'd say to all the doom and gloom brigade that new music and the way it's consumed is at such an interesting and exciting place now. It's a time for positivity and forward thinking, not fear and regret. The landscape is changing so fast. I can see a new level playing field emerging, where record labels aren't beholden to FM radio any more.

The last Remix show on Xfm, show number 797, will be a pre-recorded Best Remixes of The Millennium special broadcast tonight, September 4th. Show 798 will be broadcast live on Soho Radio next week in exactly the same slot. Friday 10pm till midnight on www.sohoradiolondon.com

Cotton gone: Fearne leaves Radio One

Fearne Cotton - who, with her Very work is very much the Marshall Ward of our times - is leaving Radio One:

"I have had the most incredible decade broadcasting on Radio 1, meeting wonderful people, helping break artists and watching live music from the world's best," she says.

In her ten years on the station, not a single record or live performance she introduced was anything less than "really, really, fantastic".

Fearne's replacement is, surprisingly, Simon Bates. "I did this show before and I absolutely ruled," explained Bates at a press conference, "and I'm delighted to be returning to my spiritual home." The press conference broke up when he realised he was speaking to an empty room, and that the call from the BBC had actually been a dream. A beautiful dream, but... a dream nevertheless.

Clara Amfo is actually taking over the slot, and this feels like a significant moment. With Zane Lowe also moving on, it looks like the era when Radio One recruited by picking high-profile names off TV and dumping them on the air is now behind it. Amfo - despite already having landed the chart show job - is so (relatively) obscure that she doesn't yet qualify for a little box on the side of her Google search results, and her Wikipedia page is a bit of a mess.

I suspect that won't be the case much longer.

Venuewatch: The Hydro

There's trouble at the Hydro, the music venue spin-off of the SECC in Glasgow. A few weeks after it opened with a Rod Stewart gig, the manager has quit. There's a lot of politeness about it public:

The SECC said: "John believes this is the natural time to take on his next career challenge and allow a new successor to consolidate the potential of the new, expanded SECC campus and enlarged business. He will announce his future plans at a later date."

City council chief executive George Black said: "Having driven this complex and successful project to completion, I wish John well in his future endeavours."

Mr Sharkey said: "It is undoubtedly a massive privilege to have had the opportunity to see the SSE Hydro from its gestation through construction to its successful opening and now it's time for me to take on another challenge."

According to the Herald, though, behind the scenes there's been a hell of a battle over the size of salaries being paid by the project. Not to everyone, of course. Just to the management.

Who over

I know it's an era ending, but it's rather strange to see the NME describe The Who announcing that they'll wind up after their 50th anniversary tour as "quitting". Yeah, only doing a half-century. Fucking lightweight quitters.

False FLAG case dropped

Hey, nothing says hardcore punk like running to the lawyers to sort out a spat over trademark ownership, right?

The battle between two zombie versions of Black Flag is over, with Black Flag's Greg Ginn losing an attempt to slap an injunction on Keith Morris' FLAG.

There was a side-spat, too, over whether Henry Rollins had any right to royalties on the Black Flag tshirts bought by children everywhere these days.

Some poor judge had to come to conclusions:

(1) the court found that SST had no rights in the trademarks;
(2) Ginn seemed to have no individual rights in the Black Flag trademarks;
(3) even if either had had any rights in those marks, they had abandoned those rights through a failure to police the mark for nearly 30 years;
(4) the defendants’ claim that the Black Flag assets were owned by a statutory partnership comprised of various former band members – even if these members only consisted of Henry and Ginn, based on (a) accepting Ginn’s argument that he never quit and given that there is no evidence or allegation that Henry ever quit – has merit;
(5) that even if the plaintiffs had some trademark claim in the marks, there was no likelihood of consumer confusion between Black Flag and Flag given the ample press coverage over the dispute; and
(6) the trademark application and registration that Henry and Keith made was done in good faith (e.g. not fraudulently) – and is thus not necessarily subject to cancellation – given that they understood their actions to have been done on the part of the Black Flag partnership (see No. 4, above).

Yeah, the most interesting part of that is the discovery that, legally, Henry Rollins is still a member of Black Flag. If this sets a precedent, it'll no longer be enough to quit a band by sneaking out a backdoor when the touring group stops over at a Village Inn, or by sleeping with the bassist's husband. It's going to be in writing, with 28 day's notice.

I think, legally, this means that The Beatles are still going and Yoko, as representative of Lennon's estate, is a member.

Slayer, drummer part ways

I sort-of have a vague but distant family interest in who drums for Slayer, so am interested to hear that the tiny stool behind the big kit is vacant again.

Dave Lombardo has discovered that - according to his Facebook page - the band were being diddled:

"As of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I'm saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.

"Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer's tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us.

"Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry and Tom to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best...play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates."

This is the second time Lombardo has left Slayer. Last time it was about not earning enough, too.

Dub off: David Rodigan quits Kiss

I think David Rodigan was the only surviving member of the original (legal) Kiss FM line-up from 1990; but he's gone now, resigned in protest at the marginalisation of his show and reggae in general on the network:

David Rodigan said he was leaving Kiss FM after 22 years "with great sadness" after being moved to a midnight slot.

He said the change "left me no option but to make a stand for my passion".

Sunday nights at midnight is a pretty grim slot, especially compared with the veritable shop window he occupied before:

The DJ's hour-long Sunday show had previously been broadcast at 23:00 GMT.

Seriously, though, even though it's just another hour later, there comes a point where you have to take a stand against the chiseling away of the slot; a point beyind which too much piss has been taken.

And so another link to Kiss' past vanishes; another flavour out of the mix.

The James Blunt era is officially over - possibly

The NME headline might oversell it a little:

James Blunt quits music industry

You know that's not quite true, because otherwise today would be a bank holiday and people would be hugging in the street.

It is, however, going to be a while before he troubles us again:

[Blunt] told The Daily Mail that he has no further plans to write music. Speaking to a reporter from the paper, Blunt said:"I just want to take some time out for myself. I haven’t got any plans to do more songwriting. I have been chilling out since I finished my world tour and I’ve spent a lot of time in Ibiza, where I have a villa."

But that isn't quite the same thing as smashing all his guitars, destroying his four track and having himself hypnotised so that he is unable to go within five hundred yards of a piano. While we may hope its permanent, at the moment music and Blunt are just on a break.

Of course, music might not have noticed anyway.

Lyor Cohen quits Warners

Lyor Cohen, the man who knocked Warners back together after it escaped from Time Warner, has announced he's got something better to do with his time:

"To all the artists and employees who live and die for the music every day, and who personally sacrifice for the good of the creative process: 'keep on keepin' on' in the tradition of a company that respects and honors the artistic community," Cohen said in a statement.

The label is making warm noises about understanding his need for a new challenge, although what could be more challenging than keeping the leaky old Warners ship afloat we struggle to imagine.

Danny out the Script is now the second-most-famous person on The Voice

Trouble at The Voice, with both Jessie J and Tom Jones finding better things to do with their time instead of joining the next series.

Jessie J is desperately trying to arrange a tour so she has an excuse when the BBC pop round with an invite, while Tom Jones is apparently unable to think of any more anecdotes mentioning Elvis, so really can't see the point.

"I did think I had a tale left about meeting Marvin Gaye" explained Tom, "but then I remembered that I'd used it on the second programme. And, to be frank, the sort of new anecdote I was minting on this show - 'I once had a Nespresso with Danny out the Script' - weren't helping."

Will I Am will almost certainly come back, providing he's allowed to bounce up and down. Mr Am added: "And to go on a train. I wanna go on a train. And have ice cream. Oh - look, there's a pony."

Danny from The Script isn't yet sure he'll be coming back. A friend said "he realises last time he was lucky nobody realised he was only there to drop off a parcel; he doesn't reckon he'd be that jammy twice."

Moyles packs up

Chris Moyles is finally leaving the Radio One Breakfast Show in September, or "a good five years after he should have gone."

There's two questions, of course - the first is who will take over? MediaGuardian reckons Greg James is the most likely candidate, although there's every chance the station could try Fearne Cotton in the job for an awkward nine-month period before realising it won't fly and having a panicky reshuffle.

Question two is: what now for Moyles? You've got to suspect part of the reason he's stuck in the role for so long is because there's nothing obvious for him to go on to - Radio 2 doesn't seem an obvious fit; 6Music way beyond his reach. Noel Edmonds is showing no sign of tiring of Deal Or No Deal and proper television isn't really something he excels at - that quiz thing on Channel 4 is only made bearable by playing the 'how did this get commissioned again' game.

As DLT has proven, it can be difficult for someone who fitted the perfect mould of Radio One Breakfast Show host to make that shape slide in elsewhere. Chris Moyles, like Prince Charles, is looking forward to years of not having the role for which he was bred.

Duffy has had enough-fy

The frankly rotten sales of her second album have sent Duffy to a dark place, reckons the Sunday Mirror, which claims a friend says she's thinking of giving it all up:

A pal of the Welsh warbler reveals: “She’s really down about the last ­album, Endlessly.

“It didn’t sell well and charted terribly and she isn’t trying again and making a comeback.

“She wants to have a quiet life and start over. Duffy made a truckload of cash with the first album and through her endorsements with Diet Coke, so she’s ­comfortable and able to enjoy some down-time. She’s not got management right now and has met a few people about taking over. But she’s just not interested."

It's surprising quite how badly the second coming of Duffy went - Well Well Well, the first single off Endlessly, stalled outside the top 40; Endlessly did make it to the top ten - just - but doesn't even appear to have gone Gold yet in the UK.

The suspicion has to be that she was a highly-weaponised delivery system for Bernard Butler's work, and once she struck out on her own, she has found the world a colder place. To be fair to her, she was always going to struggle to find something that was going to outrun Mercy - still the number one choice for cereal adverts and unthreatening faux-edgy restaurant dining room music.

Irving Azoff makes it clear LiveNation aren't putting on a big show

Hey, don't be all crying: it turns out that Barry Diller always planned to step down from LiveNation. So says, erm, still-at-LiveNation executive chairman Irving Azoff:

As usual the press reports are ridiculous. It was always Barry Diller's
intention to step down from LNE COB during first year after TM/LN
merger. I look forward to continue to work with him during his time on
the board. I thank him for the many years of dedication and loyalty to
everyone at TM.

Yes, in pretty much the same way David Miliband was always hoping to be a backbench MP, I'll bet.

Of course, Azoff needs to tell people that this was all a secret plan and not really the outcome of him and Diller falling out. Oh, but Diller has also been playing nicely as he attempts to negotiate his severance package. Sorry, confirmed the official line. Sorry, agreed that this was always the plan:

“I have always said, since the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, that I only planned to stay as chairman through the transition and integration of the two companies. It’s been almost a year and I informed the board today that while there was no rush, the board should start the process now to appoint a new chairman.”

It was always the plan. All he wanted to do was oversee the union, and then he'd leave happily. He always said he'd do that. Always. And this was exactly how he'd planned to have his departure announced. Always.

LiveNation management tantrums creates opening

Barry Diller - who, in his head at least, was responsible for the megalithic monoplistish LiveNation-Ticketmaster - has walked out the company in a huff and a half:

Barry Diller, the media mogul who claimed credit for the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, said Tuesday he would resign as chairman of the merged company after a boardroom power struggle with another media giant and director, John Malone, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Diller's resignation letter was eventually accepted by the company after he had coughed up a five pound processing fee and a three quid convenience charge.

Kennedy was shot

Shaking off the traveller's dust from my boots, I'm still trying to understand the astonishing Telegraph piece where Sarah Kennedy fumes at rumours she was drunk during one of her Radio 2 programmes:

Kennedy admitted that she had done a bad edition of her Dawn Patrollers show on Radio 2 in early August, during which she had sounded slurred, but put it down to not having slept the night before.

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was grieving from two unexpected deaths and I had got into a right tiswas with my sleep. I live near Wormwood Scrubs prison and that night there had been a police helicopter with its noise and its lights. Then the police started, with their dogs. I took a sleeping pill but I overrode it. I just couldn’t sleep. But you can’t just ring the BBC and say I can’t come in.

“I agree that I sounded slurred. I have a lazy tongue, if I’m not giving it my all.”

Kennedy also blamed her Radio 2 producer, Mark Hagen, who she said had not told her there had been a problem with her show. “What’s the point of a producer if he allows you to do a bad show and go home thinking it was OK?” said Kennedy. “If the producer doesn’t say, ‘You’re sounding slurred’, what the ****’s the producer there for? We could have put records on back-to-back. That happens when people are being sick in waste baskets.”

So according to Kennedy, it's impossible to ring up and tell the BBC you're sick, but your producer will quite happily let you sit in the studio while he plays records back to back because you're too unwell to work?

I was going to have a go at Kennedy for blaming everyone but herself for her bad show, but I suppose she did at least have the grace to include her tongue as one of the many conspirators who brought her down, alongside the police, prisoners at the Scrubs, her producer, manufacturers of inadequate sleeping pills and the rest of the world. Mind you, she even makes her tongue sound like an outside agent of collusion rather than part of her own body.

In addition, Kennedy then started trying to work out who claimed she had been broadcasting drunk (apparently unaware that 'anyone who heard this or many other of her shows' is the answer to that one):

“I have no quibble with the BBC,” said Kennedy. “But please put this in your piece. I would give my two feet to know who’s got it in for me at the BBC. Is it Alan Dedicoat? I have known for an awfully long time that I have got an enemy at the BBC and I would love to know who it is.

“I go in and I smile and I do my best. I don’t do the politics. You don’t see me in Boujis. You don’t see me in The Grey Horse or wherever it is they go. Chris Moyles - I’ve never met. Dermot O’Leary - I’ve never met. Yet they’re believing in these urban myths.

She doesn't get involved in the politics. But she will happily name names to the Telegraph and insist they appear in print.

Still, she's leaving Radio 2 with her head held high:

“Sometimes you have to step away,” said Kennedy. “I walked out of Game for a Laugh, I walked out of Busman’s Holiday. You know when it’s time.”

Busman's Holiday? Surely that's just a step-up from saying 'I turned my back on the six items or less checkout in Morrisons the other day'?

Hobgoblin off: Mary Anne Hobbes quits Radio One

Let's hope that whoever replaces Mary Anne in the small hours on Radio One picks up where she's been leading, and isn't just another Vernon Kaye/Scott Mills grin-with-headphones.

Mary is leaving with her head held high:

Yesterday i resigned from BBC Radio1, after an amazing multi-dimensional 14 year career.

The great freedoms the BBC have given in me as a broadcaster, have allowed me to help break so many confrontational artists as diverse as Slipknot and Skream, and of course, the whole genre of Dubstep in recent times.

My current Experimental show is in peak condition, it’s never been stronger. And although it’s a very emotional decision to leave the show that I love so much, it’s also an optimum moment to bow out, at the very top of my game.

My work for Radio1 on the Breezeblock, Rock Show, many fascinating documentaries about everything from David Bowie to Dubstep, on daytime, at festivals and award ceremonies, has been exceptionally rewarding. These have been glory days not just for me, but for all the artists who have shared my BBC platform, and of course, the listeners everywhere from Beijing to Berlin, Baltimore to Blackpool, who shared a great passion for future sound.

I will continue to DJ live, work in film, and curate at Sonar festival in Barcelona.

I have also accepted a new job mentoring and teaching students at the University of Sheffield’s Union Of Students radio station, TV station and the newspaper that operate out of their superb Forge Media Hub, which presents me with a really exciting new challenge.

My last show on BBC Radio1 will be broadcast:
September 8th>>9th … Wednesday night >> Thursday morning… 2-4am
www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs

Thank you so much for listening...

Truly, Sheffield's gain is our loss. I wish it hadn't have taken me quite so long to warm to her - although given she used to do the rock show, perhaps the fault wasn't entirely mine or hers, so much as her parish.

The Save 6Music march was a success - sort of

It wasn't quite the way of saving 6Music people had in mind, but I think everyone will take this:

Sony Award Winning DJ George Lamb and co presenter Marc Hughes have taken the decision to move on from BBC 6 Music. George presented both the prime-time-mid-morning weekday show and the morning weekend show with Marc.

George has fashioned a statement. I suggest you read this with a loop of cackling in your head, breaking off every sixth word to let off a klaxon:

"This isn't a decision we've taken hastily. We've been reviewing our situation for some time and we've always looked for opportunities to maximise the shows potential. I leave 6music with fantastic memories, and will always look back at my three and a bit years with great joy.

Marc and I have been overwhelmed by the support we've had from the 6music management and our incredible listeners from day one.

We're super excited about developing our new show based on our tried and tested 3L's principle - Listening, Laughing and Learning. This wouldn't have been possible without 6music and I wish everyone at the station the best of luck in this transitional period and my support for the station will always remain“

Yes, there's the threat of a new radio show there - apparently due some time in 2011 - but it won't be taking up valuable time on 6.

Now all we need is for the BBC to keep 6Music on the air.

Miley Cyrus shuns music

Given that she was dealing with an audience that was decaying faster than an isotope of Ununquadium, it's perhaps wise of Miley Cyrus to bail out of the almost-music business that she's in:

She recently revealed on The View that she's become a bit disheartened because "the music industry isn't as positive as I'd like it to be."

Well, that's true. Like every other industry in the world - with the possible exception of the one that makes little hats for dogs to wear on holidays - the music industry turns out to be full of people miserably trying to make a living.

Still, having decided that the music vibe might be a bit too down for her, Miley's decided to get out. And what will she do instead?

"I've got a record coming out in June and then I'm done," she said. "I just want to work in movies. That's what I like and that's what I want to be doing."

Oh. Yes. Hollywood. Just the place to relocate if you think music is too downbeat and back-biting.

It's like quitting the army to work in the private security industry.

Akon flees the capital

Did you realise dry-humping accident magnet Akon was working for Capital Radio? No, I didn't either. I'd somehow missed his glorious arrival:

The multiplatinum-selling and Grammy nominated singer joined Capital earlier this month, with the station's group programme director, Paul Jackson, promising "London is going to love him!".

And now it's too late, after turning in just 120 minutes' work, he's quit. Apparently there was a scheduling conflict:

"Due to Akon's commitments, including working on a brand new album, we won't be broadcasting a regular show on 95.8 Capital FM for the time being," added the spokesman. "Our conversations about future shows are ongoing as we explore other opportunities that may work for both of us."

"Oh... hang on a moment, I've just remembered I got some other stuff to do on Sundays... that's when I rinse out my socks and make a packed lunch to take to work. Sheesh, sorry, guys. And I'd somehow completely forgotten all my other commitments when I signed up. I guess I ought to buy a diary or something."

Yes, that's plausible. Nothing at all odd about that. No.

Crows fly: Geffen loses band

Another step in the move towards the record industry becoming little more than a library of old tracks: Counting Crows have quit Geffen after 18 years:

Eighteen years ago, when Counting Crows signed our first record contract, we were an unknown band signed to DGC, the cool indie-flavored boutique label of Geffen Records.

Our label mates were Sonic Youth, The Posies, Nirvana, The Sundays, Maria McKee and That Dog, to name a few. Bands knew each other, played on each other's records, toured together... It was a dream environment to be a musician, even for that time.

A lot of things changed in seventeen years. DGC disappeared except as a logo on our records, and Geffen became one of many labels of a much larger conglomerate. Still, Geffen and Counting Crows never stopped working together and never stopped succeeding together. We made great music and together we sold a lot of records. We're still here.

But these days, it's a different world for a band than it is for a label. A lot of people think it's a tough time to be a band but we don't feel that way. The internet opens a world of limitless possibility, where the only boundaries are the boundaries of your own imagination. We want a chance to push those boundaries back as far as we can. Unfortunately, the directions we want to go and the opportunities we want to pursue are often things that our label is simply not allowed to do. We've been friends for a long time and we've worked together for a long time so they understand the direction we need to go in and we understand why they can't always go there with us. We all want what’s best for everyone which is why we've decided to part ways.

Eighteen years ago, Counting Crows was just a little band from Berkeley. Geffen Records helped put us on the map and then they were our partner for almost two decades. We want to thank every person who worked hard for so many years to make us a successful band. We're going to go out now and see what the world has to offer a band with a lot of ideas and a lot of energy and, hopefully, a lot of years left in a career that's already surpassed our wildest dreams.

This is a big change for us but it's a border we've been wanting to cross for a long time so we want to celebrate it. The best way to do that seems to be to give a little something to all of you since, after all, you've been with us the whole time too. So, in the spirit of this new frontier we're entering, we offer you our homage to a certain lady who honored us last year by expressing her longtime deep and abiding worship of our band by naming her entire album after one of ours. From us to you, Live from The Royal Albert Hall in London, our tribute to Madonna: "Borderline". Dig it.

We've covered a lot of road on this ride and, as far as we're concerned, the busses still have a lot of white lines ahead of them.

We are on our way. We will see you soon. We are coming, as Elton said, "From the end of the world to your town."

To be fair, the band have been honest and generous in their description of DGC in the early days, although you have to wonder what a label that had That Dog and The Sundays and Nirvana on-board saw in Counting Crows. Could it be that "signing Counting Crows" was a symptom of the decline of the label in the first place?

Perhaps the most interesting piece of this letter is that Geffen - or at least some people there - know what the band want to do, know what needs to be done, but are incapable of making it happen. It's easy to portray everyone in record labels as incompetent buffoons, but the tragedy is that there are a lot of bright, switched-on people working in those offices who do understand how bands need to approach the future, and even have ideas about how it could be done. They're just not allowed to put those plans into action. And, thus, a two-decade partnership and investment has to be trashed.