Stone Roses Amsterdam gig ends in confusion - BBC News
Stone Roses fans were left confused after the reformed band failed to play an encore at a gig in Amsterdam on Tuesday, amid reports drummer Reni had left the venue.
Singer Ian Brown appeared on stage alone at the Heineken Music Hall, to tell the crowd the gig was over.
Fans had expected to hear I Am The Resurrection, which the reformed band closed a show with in Spain on Friday.
Brown reportedly said: "I'm not joking, the drummer's gone home."
Many of the fans present then booed the 49-year-old frontman's announcement, according to BBC journalist Peter Shuttleworth, who was at the concert.
"Ian just said something like 'Come on, get all your negative vibes out on me. I can take it'," he said.
However, Shuttleworth claims the jeers were "short-lived" and fans were "more bemused than disappointed".
He added: "People were just looking at each other thinking 'what's going on?'"
He also disputed reports that Reni - real name Alan Wren - had stormed off stage, saying that he and guitarist John Squire had hugged as they left.
The band seemed to have expressed plans to play an encore, telling fans: "If you want us to come back, we're going up four storeys, so you have to cheer loud".
'Not happy'The Stone Roses kicked off their first tour in 16 years in Barcelona last weekend. They have a summer of dates planned, including three homecoming shows in Manchester's Heaton Park at the end of June.
Fans have dismissed speculation that the gig in Holland signals problems for the rest of the tour, calling the show "quality" and the crowd "enthusiastic".
Several reports quote an insider who suggested there had been a problem with the drum kit, but this has not been confirmed.
Paul Roberts was at the gig and emailed BBC 6 Music: "At one point I saw Reni waving his arms wildly at the stage mixer, obviously not happy with something."
Another, Matt Morris, claimed Brown's announcement "was followed by a volley of beer thrown at the stage and booing".
Remaining dates on the Stone Roses tour are expected to go ahead as planned, with the band due on stage in Sweden on Thursday.
Netherlands V Germany : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Preview - Football
Published: 13 Jun 2012 - 14:30:42
Do-or-die Dutch out to down Germany
Holland take on Germany in Wednesday's Group B key clash in Kharkiv knowing another defeat will all but point the World Cup finalists towards an early exit from following their shock loss to Denmark.
In one of the key matches of the group stages, the Dutch have to pick themselves up after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to the Danes as Michael Krohn-Dehli's first-half strike decided the match.
Bert van Marwijk's team now have to beat both Germany at Kharkiv's Metalist Stadium, then Portugal on Sunday to be sure of qualifying from the pool, which has been dubbed 'The Group of Death'.
"We have to win (the remaining two games). We have no other choice," said Dutch captain Mark van Bommel.
After wasting a string of chances against Denmark, the mis-firing Dutch have vowed to put that right in what promises to be a heated contest with daytime temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) forecast in Kharkiv.
"The only positive thing we can take out of the defeat is that we created lots of chances," said midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who has endured an injury ravaged season at Inter Milan.
Both sides are expected to be at full strength, though, whether van Marwijk keeps faith with Robin van Persie up front or gives way to public opinion and starts with Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will be interesting.
While the Dutch will be fighting for survival, Germany arrive in Ukraine knowing another win will put them in the quarter-finals following Saturday's 1-0 victory over Portugal.
"The Netherlands now have their backs to the wall and they have to play to win," said Germany coach Joachim Loew.
"This will make the game a bit more explosive and more difficult for us than we had already expected."
Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels added: "The Dutch are practically obliged to win, they will play at their best and invest everything they have got," said Hummels.
"Anything but a win could mean their tournament exit so it is already their final, way before the actual final.
Germany beat Holland 3-0 in a friendly in Hamburg last November, but Hummels has warned eager fans not to expect the same dominant display against a Dutch side full of class and under pressure.
"In terms of the result, we can't possibly believe we will win as easily as we did. They have tremendous fire-power up front," he said,
"We have to ensure they don't get into a position where they are close to finishing, but world-class players need very few chances to score."
Netherlands V Germany - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Related Netherlands News
Elvis' spirit draws crowds to Graceland 30 years on - CBC
When Graceland opened to the public 30 years ago this month, nobody knew if it would be a success. Nearly 18 million visitors later, the house where Elvis Presley once lived is a money-making business that's helped transform the city of Memphis into a top destination for music lovers.
But Presley's ex-wife says it's the spirit of Elvis, and not just music history, that keeps the crowds coming to Graceland.
"Every time I go in there, I feel like Elvis is going to come down the stairs any minute," said Priscilla Presley in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press about the landmark's anniversary. "I have no doubt that he's there, somewhere, his spirit. I think people feel that."
The King of Rock'n'Roll died on Aug. 16, 1977, and by the early 1980s, Graceland had become a burden on his estate, which faced high estate and inheritance taxes. Accountants and bankers wanted to sell the home, but Priscilla Presley thought that opening the house to tourists could solve the financial problems while keeping Elvis' legacy alive. She secured a $500,000 US investment and visited other tourist attractions — Hearst Castle, Will Rogers' home, even Disney World — for inspiration.
Graceland opened for tours on June 7, 1982.
"We had no idea whether 30 people were coming, or 300, or 3,000 that first day, Fortunately, it was the latter," said Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, who helped Priscilla Presley with her plan.
They sold out all 3,024 tickets on the first day and never looked back. Graceland's success led to a worldwide merchandising and licensing business that keeps Elvis' legend strong while generating $32 million US a year in revenue. And the flow of tourists has remained steady, with an average of 500,000 annual visitors to the mansion and exhibit area across the street, according to Soden.
Visits peak on death anniversary
Visitors come all year, but they peak in August during the annual commemoration of Elvis' death, which includes a candlelight vigil. Graceland expects to welcome its 18 millionth visitor this year.
Graceland's popularity has also helped turn Memphis into a major music destination.
Tourists take in the trophy room at Graceland, Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, in 2010. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press)"When Graceland opened, city leaders saw the impact it brought from visitors from all over the world," said Regena Bearden, vice-president of marketing for the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.
When Presley died, Beale Street in downtown Memphis, which had been known for the blues since the early 1900s, was in disrepair and shunned by visitors, but today it's a bustling attraction featuring blues-themed bars, shops and restaurants. Sun Studios, where music producer Sam Phillips worked with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and others, opened as a tourist attraction in 1985.
The studio for Stax Records, known for Otis Redding and others, has been reborn as a slick multimedia museum of the label's distinctive Memphis soul sound. And "Memphis in May," a monthlong event that includes a music festival and barbecue contest at a park along the Mississippi River, now attracts tens of thousands of people.
Graceland, located about a 20-minute drive from downtown Memphis on a hill in the Whitehaven community, remains focused on Elvis' life and music. Visitors walk through the house in a line, passing through the living room, dining room, kitchen and the famed Jungle Room, where the King held court. Gold records gleam on the wall of a long hallway. His Army uniform and outfits he wore in movies and concerts are displayed in another room.
Outside, tourists — some crying — file past the graves of Elvis, his mother, father and grandmother. The burial site, adorned with flowers, includes a fountain. The 11-acre property is surrounded by stately trees and landscaping that includes colored lights illuminating the mansion at night.
'He had a gift'
Recent visitors included Orlis Dow, 77, who drove with two friends to Memphis in a motor home from Mineral Wells, Texas. Dow says he liked Elvis — he recalls watching the young singer on a small black and white TV — and points out that he was married on Jan. 8, Elvis' birthday.
Dow bought a replica Elvis driver's license and a shot glass to take home with him. He says the permanence of Graceland's popularity is a tribute to the performer's talent and ability to connect with fans.
'It's been incredible to see that the legacy of Elvis is still going strong...Elvis is as popular now as he was then, if not even more'—Priscilla Presley
"It's just a phenomenon," Dow said. "He had a gift, and he used it in the right way."
Graceland's draw has long had a spillover effect on the Memphis economy, with visitors spending money on hotel rooms, dining and other things. In the mid-1980s, travel expenditures in Memphis were estimated at about $1 billion US; in 2011, with many more local attractions for tourists to see, travel expenditures exceeded $3 billion US, according to the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The idea of opening Graceland to the public came to Priscilla Presley after Elvis' father Vernon died in 1979 and she was thrust into the role of managing the estate.
"I realized as it was going on that there really wasn't any money that could support Graceland or any of the people that worked for Elvis that were still there," she said. "I had a decision to make to somehow save Graceland."
The idea of opening Graceland to the public came to Priscilla Presley when she was thrust into the role of managing the estate. The 3,024 tickets available sold out on the first day in 1982 and she's never looked back. (Sonny Hedgecock/The High Point Enterprise/Associated Press)She initially reached out to Morgan Maxfield, a Kansas City-based financier, but after he died in a plane crash, his business partner, Soden, stepped in.
"The one really clear, passionate voice for 'Don't let go of Graceland, don't let go of the artifacts,' was Priscilla," Soden said.
They met, planned and visited other homes-turned-museums, like Thomas Jefferson's house at Monticello and Thomas Edison's home. By 1982, they were ready to open, with Priscilla Presley's idea of keeping everything in the home the same as it was when Elvis was alive still intact.
To augment the $500,000 investment US, they pre-sold tickets, generating enough money to buy uniforms for the tour guides. The first month was such a success that they made back the half-million dollars in about 38 days, Soden said.
The visitors centre was built later with exhibits including his favourite cars and the Lisa Marie, his private plane, plus a café and gift shops selling Elvis memorabilia, from T-shirts to bobble-head dolls. Future plans include $50 million US in improvements to Elvis Presley Boulevard and other infrastructure near Graceland.
"I'm blown away by the mere fact that it's 30 years," Priscilla Presley said.
"It's been incredible to see that the legacy of Elvis is still going strong. We wouldn't have imagined that when it was opened in 1982. Elvis is as popular now as he was then, if not even more."
Weak retail sales point to slower spending - Reuters
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales fell for a second straight month in May and wholesale prices dropped by the most in three years, offering more evidence of a downshift in the economic recovery.
Retail sales slipped 0.2 percent as demand for building materials sagged and declining gasoline prices weighed on receipts at service stations, a Commerce Department report showed on Wednesday. April's sales were revised to show a 0.2 percent drop instead of the previously reported 0.1 percent gain.
Motor vehicle sales rose 0.8 percent, a surprise given that manufacturers reported weak unit sales during the month. Excluding autos, sales fell 0.4 percent, the biggest decline in two years, after dropping 0.3 percent the prior month.
"There is clearly some slowing in the pace of consumer spending broadly suggesting noticeably slower growth in consumption in the second quarter," said Julia Coronado, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas in New York.
Separately, the Labor Department said its producer price index dropped 1.0 percent last month as energy costs slumped 4.3 percent.
U.S. stock index futures extended their earlier losses, while Treasury debt prices pared losses. The dollar erased gains versus the yen and slightly extended losses versus the euro.
While weak receipts at suppliers of building materials and service stations accounted for the bulk of the fall in sales last month, details of the report were mixed and added to signs of cooling demand.
Job growth has slowed in the past three months, with employers adding the fewest jobs in a year in May.
A combination of the worsening debt crisis in Europe and a looming so-called fiscal cliff at home are creating uncertainty that is souring both business and consumer confidence.
Economists have lowered their second-quarter growth estimates to below 2 percent. Gross domestic product forecasts previously ranged between an annual rate of 2 and 2.5 percent.
A Reuters poll published on Wednesday showed economists over the past month had trimmed their expectations for hiring.
Economists now expect the economy to gain only 147,000 jobs a month, on average, between now and October - a pace likely too slow to do much to lower the nation's 8.2 percent unemployment rate ahead of the presidential election.
Retail sales last month were dragged down by a 2.2 percent drop in sales at gasoline stations after a decline of 1.4 percent in April.
Gasoline prices dropped 17 cents last month to $3.79 a gallon. Excluding gasoline, retail sales nudged up 0.1 percent after easing 0.1 percent in April.
But declining gasoline prices offer a silver lining in an otherwise darkening economic outlook. Apart from freeing households' discretionary income, weak gasoline should also help to keep inflation pressures contained and provide the Federal Reserve with some scope to aid the sputtering recovery.
The U.S. central bank meets on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. A Reuters poll of economists last week put just over a 40 percent chance of the Fed extending its "Operation Twist" program aimed at pushing long-term interest rates lower.
"Inevitably, the easing inflation pressures will provide considerable room for monetary accommodation by the Fed, and if this disinflationary trend becomes entrenched, it may actually provide some justification for aggressive monetary policy action," said Millan Mulraine, senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.
Sales at building materials and garden equipment suppliers dropped 1.7 percent. So-called core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline and building materials, ticked up 0.1 percent after a similar gain in April.
Core sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government's GDP report.
Sales at restaurants and bars fell 0.2 percent, while receipts at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores dipped 0.1 percent.
But there were bright spots in the report, with sales of electronics and appliances rising 0.8 percent and clothing store receipts advancing 0.9 percent. Sales at furniture stores rose 0.4 percent.
A third report showed applications for U.S. home mortgages, which includes demand for new loans and refinancings, rose 18 percent in the week ended June 8 to reach the highest level since 2009, the latest sign of a strong spring selling season.
(Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Iraq and Iran cuddle up in OPEC, but for how long? - Reuters UK
VIENNA |
VIENNA (Reuters) - Historic rivals Iraq and Iran are growing closer on OPEC policy, providing a counterweight to the Gulf Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia that have long dominated the cartel.
But cordial relations could grow strained later this year when Iraq vaults past Iran to become OPEC's second biggest producer after Saudi Arabia.
A bold oil expansion programme has already pushed Baghdad to 3 million barrels per day (bpd) - a level last pumped before Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 - and just a touch below Iran, where output has sunk to 20-year lows because of Western sanctions.
Size matters in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, where high production and reserves mean influence. Baghdad and Tehran sparred over OPEC quotas during the 1980s, while they fought each other in an eight-year war.
But relations have warmed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the Shi'ite-ruled neighbours are now firmly aligned as OPEC price hawks in the same camp as Venezuela and Algeria.
That pits them against the Gulf Arab price moderates in OPEC - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
"This is a sign of the times," said Raad Alkadiri of Washington consultancy PFC Energy of Iran and Iraq. "There's been cooperation between them on oil matters for years, although they haven't been lined up together in OPEC,"
A mutual need for oil above $110 a barrel to balance their budgets is expected to prompt Iran and Iraq to call for Saudi Arabia, pumping its highest in decades, to cut back when producers meet in Vienna on Thursday.
Oil has fallen $30 since March to below $100 as oil stocks build and the economy wobbles. That falls short of the $100-$120 range that Iraqi Oil Minister and current OPEC President Abdul Kareem Luaibi says is reasonable.
"In terms of politics, it makes total sense. Everything Iraq does is driven by its internal crisis and it needs Iran's support. If Tehran asks for Baghdad's help, Iraq will deliver," said Alkadiri.
As internal foes test his survival skills, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's OPEC policy instructions to his oil minister are being driven by domestic politics.
And with its ally Syria on the brink of civil war and under Western sanctions for its nuclear programme, Iran wants to avoid instability in Iraq and is using its influence to thwart efforts to unseat Maliki.
So when Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi visited Maliki in Baghdad last week, Maliki ordered the oil ministry to adopt a unified position with Iran on OPEC production levels, say Iraqi oil sources.
That will mean Iraqi support for Iran at OPEC this week in calling for Saudi Arabia to rein in output to support prices.
IRAN, IRAQ WANT SAUDI TO CUT
Its output stymied by Western sanctions, Iran says lofty production from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates has caused prices to fall.
Tehran will be a leading voice among those calling on OPEC to cut supply back to the 30 million barrels per day ceiling agreed in December, well below current output of 31.6 million. Saudi Arabia accounts for 10 million bpd of that.
Iraq agrees that supply is too high. There is scope for the pair to build an alliance to compete with Gulf Arab producers long-accustomed to getting their way in OPEC. Iran and Iraq combined with others in OPEC a year ago when the Gulf Arabs failed to get backing to raise output.
Venezuela and Algeria, also traditional price hawks, will support calls for Saudi to cut back at this week's OPEC meeting.
But cooperation between Iraq and Iran has it limits. Rivalry is already evident in the race for OPEC's secretary-general post, where both - along with Saudi Arabia and Ecuador - are fielding contenders.
More of a threat, though, is Iraq's growing production. In April, Iraq exported more crude than in any month since it invaded Kuwait in 1990 - helping to offset the loss of supply from Iran because of sanctions.
Iraqi oil growth started in earnest in 2010, after Baghdad secured a series of service contracts with companies such as BP, Exxon Mobil, Eni and Royal Dutch Shell.
Since then production, held back by decades of wars and sanctions, has risen 600,000 bpd to 3 million bpd. Exports to world markets are now running at 2.4 to 2.5 million bpd - easily overtaking Iran's sales of around 1.6 million bpd.
By the end of the year, production too should be outpacing Iran's, down this year from 3.5 million to 3.1 million bpd, threatening to erode Tehran's role as an oil power.
"It will be an historic development that will cause friction," said Mehdi Varzi, a former official of the National Iranian Oil Co.
"Volume matters in OPEC and Iran's star will be on the decline unless measures are taken to reverse the decline in Iranian oil production," said Varzi, who now runs an energy consultancy in the UK.
IRAQ 4 MBPD BY 2014?
Iraq's oil expansion, still in its infancy, has elicited varying degrees of scorn and concern from neighbouring OPEC giants.
Western and Iraqi geologists say Iraq has enough oil in the ground to produce to its target of 12 million bpd, but infrastructure bottlenecks, red tape and a lumbering bureaucracy make that impossible by a contractual deadline of 2017.
Production of 6 million bpd - enough to put Iraq a long way ahead of all but Saudi Arabia in OPEC - could be reached by the end of the decade, some say.
"It's one issue that Saudi Arabia and Iran can agree on: Iraq's production should never get too high," says a former Iraqi oil official.
As if to prove that point - following the success of its licensing rounds, Iraq raised its estimated oil reserves to 143.1 billion barrels. A week later, Iran trumped it with a new figure of 150.31 billion barrels.
At some stage, Iraq will need to negotiate a sizable OPEC quota to reflect its potential, although Luaibi said it was not a subject for discussion yet. "Now the parameters have all changed," he said.
The quota debate will draw in Iran, which before the 1990-1991 Gulf War had parity with Iraq. Some OPEC veterans see the issue coming to a head when Iraqi output hits about 4 million bpd, on a par with Iran's theoretical full capacity.
That point could be reached in 2014 if all goes to plan. Iraqi oil officials say exports will gradually rise by up to 200,000 bpd during the second half of this year taking production to 3.2 million bpd.
Iraq's oil minister says shipments next year will rise to 2.9 million bpd - boosting production including oil used domestically to 3.4 million bpd.
Some cast doubt on whether Iraq will be able to sustain the pace given the obstacles ahead.
"Iraq and the international oil companies have done an amazing job, but Baghdad's ingenuity has its limits. It's a mug's game in the short term to bet against rising production, but a sustainable rise will be challenged by events," said Alkadiri.
But those involved in the oilfield mega-projects have faith in the qualified success of Iraq's oil development.
"The Iraqis are masters of squeezing everything out of what they have," said a senior Western oil executive.
(editing by Richard Mably)
0 Responses to "Stone Roses Amsterdam gig ends in confusion - BBC News"
Post a Comment