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VELVET REVOLVER star SCOTT WEILAND is looking to follow bandmate SLASH’s literary example and pen his own memoirs.
Weiland reveals he has a publishing deal to write an autobiography.
The rocker has mixed emotions about the project - he’s excited to think his life is worthy of a book, but he’s not looking forward to revisiting his dark days as a drug abuser.
He says, "You make a lot of records, write a lot of songs, but all of a sudden you go into a whole different vein, and it’s a little bit scary to dive into." Weiland has selected celebrated ghost writer David Ritz to help him pen the tome.
Meanwhile, bandmate Slash, whose eponymous memoirs were released earlier this month (Nov07) confirms there has been "some interest" in adapting his book for the big screen.

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Trumpeter HERB ALPERT has donated $30 million (£15 million) to pay for a new music school at the University Of California, Los Angeles.
The music mogul gave the money to the university’s Los Angeles campus via his Herb Alpert Foundation.
The UCLA Herb Alpert School Of Music will combine the existing departments of ethnomusicology, music and musicology in the university’s converted Schoenberg Hall.
In announcing the donation, the 72-year-old says, "The landscape of music has changed so dramatically in the last few years and the ways of making, delivering and sharing music have become so diverse, there needs to be a new approach to music education."

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Rapper KANYE WEST is planning to shun the spotlight when he weds fiancee ALEXIS PHIFER in the near future.
The couple had planned to wed before the end of 2007, but the recent death of West’s mother Donda could delay plans.
But one thing is already fixed - West wants to wed in private and has no intention of making his nuptials a media event.
He tells American magazine GQ, "I’m just going to go and get married, I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.
"It’s not to prove anything to anyone - it’s for me, for stability in my life, and I’m so happy that I found someone that I really love, that challenges me, that keeps my life interesting, that’s just as crazy as I am."

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LED ZEPPELIN have donated VIP tickets for their upcoming one-off reunion show to an online charity auction.
The Stairway To Heaven band are reforming for a tribute concert to late Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun at the O2 Arena in London on 10 December (07), and the bandmates have decided to let a favourite charity benefit from hard-to-get tickets.
The charity packages, which include access to Led Zeppelin’s after-show party, are being auctioned on CharityFolks.com to raise money for MusiCares and the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund.
Last week (ends16Nov07), a Led Zeppelin fan paid $166,000 (£83,000) for two tickets to the comeback gig, raising money for British charity Children In Need in the process.

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Rap mogul DAMON DASH and former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND star JOHN CALE have been named and shamed on a list of New Yorkers who owe tax dollars to the state.
According to the New York Tax Department, they’re among the 225,000 people who owe money to the state.
Rolling Stone reports Cale owes about $157,000 (£78,500), while Dash owes a whopping $2 million (£1 million).

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Pregnant NICOLE RICHIE is so desperate for her child to follow in the musical footsteps of her father LIONEL RICHIE and her rocker boyfriend JOEL MADDEN, she has been playing music to her bulging belly.
The 26-year-old The Simple Life star and the Good Charlotte frontman have been preparing for the baby’s arrival by regularly playing a variety of albums on their home stereo.
Madden, 28, says, "We play a lot of music around the house. Old stuff, new stuff, classic stuff, movie soundtracks.
"We’re excited, happy and spending a lot of time at home. Just normal, couple-expecting-a-baby stuff." The couple’s first child is due early next year (08).

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Socialite PARIS HILTON is adamant the sex of pal NICOLE RICHIE’s baby is unknown - despite guests buying boy-themed gifts for her baby shower on Sunday (18Nov07).
One guest at the party sparked rumours the star was expecting a boy after she presented the 26-year-old with sneakers and a maternity T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a boy on the front.
But Hilton, who co-hosted the event with friend Masha Gordon, insists first time mother-to-be Richie doesn’t even know the sex of the child, and wants it to be a surprise.
She says, "I (didn’t) know what to get her. Because most of us don’t know yet what she’s having. She doesn’t know if she’s having a boy or a girl. I thought for sure she’d want to know, but she decided to wait." Speaking before the baby shower, Hilton admitted her first time hosting such an event was a daunting prospect: "I honestly don’t know what you play at a shower. Maybe I’ll find a book or something to get some ideas."

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THE WHITE STRIPES rocker JACK WHITE has teamed up with BOB DYLAN to complete a series of "unfinished" HANK WILLIAMS songs.
The Seven Nation Army star is one of a selection of musicians asked by Dylan to work on completing the "lost" songs - some of the final tunes and lyrics written by the late legend.
White recorded the unfinished Williams song You Know That I Know at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with engineer Joe Chiccarelli.
Dominic Suchtya, the bassist who guested on the White tracks, says, "Dylan had contacted him (White) to see if he’d like to finish some of these tunes. No one has heard it as it was a Hank Williams lyric sheet that Jack put to music and edited a bit. Jack was sent most of or all of the unfinished tunes and picked this one to finish.
"We listened to quite a bit of Hank while I was down there and sat around the two of us playing our favourite Hank tunes, but the song was done when I got there. I think Jack just ingested a bunch of Hank Williams and this is what came out of him." Country star Williams died in 1953 from a reported drug overdose. He was 29.

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Scottish rocker ROD STEWART was delighted his beloved country’s soccer team lost a recent game - because he saved $35,000 (£17,500).
The singer promised to pay his seven children $5,000 (£2,500) each if Scotland qualified for 2008’s Europe-wide soccer tournament.
But the team were beaten 1-0 by Italy at the match on Saturday (17Nov07) meaning Stewart was able to hold on to his cash.
Daughter Kimberly says, "My dad said if Scotland won, he’d give us all £2,500. For my dad to say that is a huge thing. He does not put his hand in his pocket that often."

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Video footage featuring PARIS HILTON frolicking naked in a bubble bath while joking about her previous sex tape has emerged.
The leaked tape is believed to have been discovered in a storage vault after the socialite failed to pay rent for the premises.
In the video, Paris is seen swimming around her bath tub, playing with a shower head and talks to the camera about her sex tape, 1 Night In Paris, which was brought to the public’s attention in 2004 by ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon.

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BRITNEY SPEARS has been granted permission to celebrate Thanksgiving with her two sons - albeit a day before the U.S. holiday itself (22Nov07).
The troubled pop star will be allowed to see her young boys Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, on Wednesday (21Nov07), after her lawyer Anne Kiley managed to negotiate the deal with Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan last week (ends16Nov07).
The two legal representatives are also reported to be in the process of working out a deal for the Christmas holidays, according to TMZ.com.
Spears is locked in a custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, after she was stripped of physical custody of the boys last month (Oct07). She is currently entitled to three court-monitored visits per week.

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Reality TV star DAVID GEST will take to the stage in a new musical about his life - alongside GLORIA GAYNOR, PEABO BRYSON, CANDI STATON and DENIECE WILLIAMS.
Music producer Gest, who found fame in the U.K. after appearing in reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, is embarking on a 24-date tour of Britain in the new year (08) with his new musical play, David Gest Is Nuts…
My Life As A Musical.
Liza Minelli’s ex-husband has enlisted the help of his friends to provide the musical input for the show, including K-Ci & JoJo, rapper Coolio and The Weather Girls.
He says, "In my wildest imaginations, I never thought I’d be dancing, singing and performing to over 100,000 people throughout the UK - considering I have no real talent, this is quite a feat!" Gest’s pop superstar pal Michael Jackson adds, "We never thought we would see the day David Gest would sing and dance in public. Now he is working on flips and dances with little people. Considering David can’t sing and can’t dance it will be amazing to see just how nuts he gets on stage!" The tour begins on 20 February (08) at London’s Hammersmith Apollo, with all proceeds from the opening dates donated to Caudwell Children’s charity.

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Dancer-turned-actress MONICA CRUZ has laughed off reports of a rivalry with older sister PENELOPE, insisting the pair are the best of friends.
The 30-year-old recently collaborated with the Volver star, 33, on a fashion line for Spanish fashion chain Mango, and admits the rumours of a feud couldn’t be further from the truth.
She says, "I have been raised to value my family. Penelope and I never fight, we have a really, really good relationship. It makes me angry and sad when people ask if we argue because I can’t imagine a family being any other way."

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ROBERT DeNIRO is threatening an art gallery in Rome, Italy, with "legal action" after it allegedly took a number of the actor’s father’s paintings from a New York arthouse to settle a $5 million (£2.5 million) debt.
Twelve paintings by abstract expressionist Robert DeNiro Sr. were given to the Benucci S.r.l. by Salander-O’Reilly Galleries in New York as part of an agreement to pay off the million-dollar deficit, according to TMZ.com.
But the Meet The Parents star was unaware of the deal and is demanding the return of the masterpieces, because he is the rightful owner.
However, a representative for DeNiro Jr. refused to specify exactly what "legal action" the actor plans to take.

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Shamed boxer MIKE TYSON has been sentenced to 24 hours in jail and three years’ probation after pleading guilty to drug possession and driving under the influence (DUI) in relation to a 2006 arrest.
The 41-year-old former heavyweight champion was arrested last year (06) following a traffic stop outside a Scottsdale, Arizona club.
He entered his plea at a hearing in September (07) after being charged with one felony count of cocaine possession and one misdemeanour count of DUI.
Tyson has since been seeking treatment at an inpatient facility program for "various addictions", as well as attending Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, according to his lawyer David Chesnoff.
Chesnoff also claimed Tyson had taken 29 drug tests since the 2006 incident, with all results coming back negative.
Prosecutor Shane Krausner appealed to Arizona’s Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams on Monday (19Nov07) to sentence Tyson to one year in jail, stating that the former boxer was a multiple offender who had previously been convicted of a violent crime.
But Tyson escaped the maximum sentence of four years and three months behind bars, after Abrams praised the disgraced star for taking action against his drug problems and ruled he must spend just one day in jail.
Prior to delivering the sentence, Abrams told Tyson: "You worked to address your addiction and self-destructive behaviour." Tyson has a previous conviction for rape in Indiana in 1992 and in 1999, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanour assault charges in Maryland. He is also infamous for biting off a chunk of fellow boxer Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight in 1997.

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Heavy metal rockers WARPATH have reformed - nearly two decades after they split.
The Chilean band are heading back into the studio to record new material for a forthcoming album - their first since 1989’s Torture disc, reports Blabbermouth.net.
In a statement, the band says, "Warpath was one the metal icons in the South America scene during the ’80s, and they left a strong legacy that is still alive even after almost 18 years since they split.
"Now Marco Cusato, leader and main songwriter in Warpath… has decided that is time to record new stuff with the band, and to do it the best way possible, he contacted Octavio Arizala (Warpath’s original guitarist)."

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Rapper KEITH MURRAY has no regrets about working in South Africa, despite becoming a victim of an armed robbery while in the country earlier this year (07).
The hip-hop star was left devastated in September (07) after a group of armed locals stormed the Cube Studios in Johannesburg where he was working and stole his laptop - taking more than a decade’s worth of his work in the process.
Three other laptops, mobile phones, cash and some food was also stolen from the studio.
But Murray - who has now returned to his native U.S. - insists there was nothing personal about the attack and has thanked his fans for their kind words following the incident.
He says, "It was a robbery, but not a personal attack; they never pointed a gun at me or spoke to me. It seems they were as nervous as the other people in the room.
"My only fear was the gun going off by mistake and someone getting killed. I would like to say thank you to everybody for their concern and support. I don’t have any bad feelings toward Africa, this could have happened anywhere."

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DONNY OSMOND has apologised to U.S. TV talk show host LARRY KING after criticising him for revealing live on air that his sister MARIE’s son, MICHAEL, was in rehab.
King blurted out the news during an Osmonds special on 14 November (07), leaving Marie struggling to fight back tears as her brother helped comfort her.
Marie told King, "My son was put into a rehab… My son is amazing… He is the most amazing kid." At the time, Donny insisted King’s line of questioning which led to the revelation was unfair - but he has now retracted his comments after learning the story was about to be broken by U.S. tabloids.
He says, "I was very upset about it. I thought it was very unfair for Larry King to throw that question at Marie the way he did.
"(But) I have to back up and apologise publicly to Larry King because I came out and said some things against him. In hindsight, Larry King did Marie a favour. She was able to make a statement about the situation. … And so she’s grateful to Larry." Marie, who has eight children, has not disclosed where 16-year-old Michael is being treated or the nature of his problem.

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