News

Country music legend Willie Nelson was forced to cancel a fundraising gig in Denver yesterday (August 19) after he was admitted to hospital with "breathing problems". The singer, who has released over 200 albums and has won seven Grammy Awards during his lengthy career, was scheduled to play at a charity event for the Dumb Friends League in Colorado, but had to scrap the commitment and be taken to a nearby medical facility for checks instead.

British filmmaker Tony Scott, director of Top Gun, has died after jumping from a bridge in Los Angeles. Scott, 68, was seen parking his car and jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbor at 12.30pm local time on Sunday (August 19). According to official sources quoted in the Daily Breeze, Scott leapt "without hesitation". A suicide note was found inside Scott's car, a black Toyota Prius, said US Coast Guard Lt Jennifer Osburn. A representative from the LA County Coroner's Office told the BBC: "We have no reason to believe it was not a suicide."

Pizza Hut and Home Depot have denied that they produced adverts that used songs by The Black Keys without their permission. In June of this year, Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, as well as producer Danger Mouse, submitted a lawsuit alleging that Pizza Hut and its advertising agency used "significant portions" of 'Gold On The Ceiling' in an ad for Cheesy Bites Pizza while Home Depot used the track 'Lonely Boy' in an advert for power tools.

Animal Collective are currently streaming their brand new album, 'Centipede Hz', ahead of its official release. The Baltimore band don't release their 10th studio LP until September 3, but fans can hear the LP now at www.radio.myanimalhome.net – the band's online radio station which they launched last month. You can also watch the video for their new single 'Today's Supernatural' by clicking at the bottom of the page.

The Fall and The Undertones are to play a gig in honour of late Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Both bands will perform at Epic Studios on October 10 as a launch event for the new John Peel Festival Of New Music. The show will also see Peel favourites Bearsuit and Dingus Khan play before the three day festival itself kicks off in earnest with over 50 acts performing across 10 venues across the city from October 11-13.

Three members of Pussy Riot have been found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The verdict was delivered to Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 at Moscow's Khamovnichesky Court today (August 17). Prosecutors had requested a three-year prison term in the event of a guilty verdict. The sentence is expected later today (August 17)

Throughout August, American record label Kill Rock Stars are making available previously unreleased tracks by singer/songwriter Elliott Smith. The label has already released outtakes of "Punch And Judy" and "Alameda", and have now issued an alternative version of "Angeles", from Smith's 1997 album, Either/Or. Kill Rock Stars are also releasing Smith's complete discography digitally this month, packaged together as 'The Indie Years', at: http://www.killrockstars.com/elliottsmith/

Steely Dan Donald Fagen is scheduled to release a new solo album, Sunken Condos, on October 16, according to the musician's website. Sunken Condos will be Fagen's fourth solo album. His first three solo albums were The Nightfly (1982), Kamakiriad (1993) and Morph The Cat (2006). Sunken Condos will feature eight Fagen originals and one cover, which Fagen describes on his website as "an Ashkenazi recasting of Isaac Hayes' Out Of The Ghetto".

The Horrors have revealed that they will start work on their fourth album as soon as the festival season is over. Guitarist Josh Hayward told NME that the band expect to go off in a new direction for the follow-up to Skying. He said: "We've started some new material but it's still gestating. I've been telling people the new album is going to sound like Hawkwind, but I'm sure it'll take a big tangent when we get in there. That's what usually happens. It's never a premeditated thing – we just see what's happening when we play together."

Paul McCartney has sent a message of support to Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist punk band who face three years in prison for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin inside a Moscow church. The message, which appears on the homepage for McCartney's website, reads: