<P>Controversial Irish singer Sinead O'Connor has announced that she will retire from the music business this summer, marking at least the second time the troubled performer has said she's calling it quits.</P><P>In a message posted on her official Web site, the singer wrote, "As of July 2003 I shall be retiring from the music business [in] order to pursue a different career."</P><P>O'Connor, who has long struggled with her fame, wrote in her note, "I seek no longer to be a 'famous' person, and instead I wish to live a 'normal' life, could people please afford me my privacy. By which I mean I would like not to have exploition [sic] of my self or my name or anyone connected with me by newspapers. I also mean that (with love) I want to be like any other person in the street and not have people say there is Sinead O'Connor. As I am a very shy person, believe it or not."</P><P>A Vanguard Records spokesperson confirmed that the post is from O'Connor, and said that it is not yet clear if her final recording &#8212; a concert and documentary DVD due in July appropriately entitled <I>Goodnight, Thank You. You've Been a Lovely Audience</I> &#8212; will be released on the label. O'Connor wrote that the DVD will feature songs from her entire career, up through her album of traditional Irish songs released last year, <I>Sean-N&#243;s Nua.</I></P><P>O'Connor had been slated to open sporadic dates for Massive Attack in Europe over the next two months, but pulled out last week citing health problems, which she does not address in her farewell note. The Vanguard spokesperson said no additional information was available on O'Connor's illness.</P><P>In addition to the DVD, O'Connor wrote that she will be appearing on an upcoming Dolly Parton tribute album, singing the song "Dagger Through the Heart," as well as on the new album by Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon; both songs are to be recorded next month.</P><P>O'Connor was one of the most controversial and unpredictable pop stars of the late '80s and early '90s, applauded for her strong, feminist message and bearing, but also ridiculed for her brash pronouncements and bizarre career choices. The 36-year-old singer began her career in 1984, recording a song with the Irish band In Tua Nua, soon after joining the group Ton Ton Macoute. She released her solo debut, <I>The Lion and the Cobra,</I> in 1987, which drew notice for O'Connor's strong, resonant voice and impassioned, edgy music, not to mention her striking, chrome-domed look.</P><P>The singer has said that her troubled home life, which included her parents' bitter divorce and allegations that her mother sexually abused her, was the fuel for many of her fiery lyrics and actions. She was outspoken from the start, bucking convention by voicing her support for the Irish Republican Army and slagging the music of her early mentors, U2.</P><P>O'Connor's second album, 1990's multiplatinum <I>I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got,</I> was the best selling of her career and spawned the worldwide hit "Nothing Compares 2 U," which was written by Prince. The video for the song &#8212; a striking close-up of the emotional singer's face, including a scene in which she sheds a single tear &#8212; won three 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Video. Again, the singer courted controversy, refusing to perform in New Jersey if "The Star-Spangled Banner" were played prior to her show, which inspired the late Frank Sinatra to proclaim that he'd like to, "kick her ass."</P><P>Though people were confused by her next effort, 1992's collection of pop standards, <I>Am I Not Your Girl?</I> &#8212; which included a version of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from the musical "Evita" &#8212; the album was nothing compared to the singer's most notorious act.</P><P>During a "Saturday Night Live" performance, O'Connor ended her cover of Bob Marley's "War" by ripping up a picture of the Pope and saying, "Fight the real enemy." The move by the self-avowed Catholic was so controversial that producer Lorne Michaels will not allow it to be shown in reruns. O'Connor was booed off the stage of an all-star Bob Dylan tribute concert two weeks later and her career never again reached the same peaks of popularity. Soon after, it was reported that O'Connor would retire from the music business and reports surfaced of the singer suffering a nervous breakdown and attempting suicide.</P><P>O'Connor returned two years later with the spiritually charged <I>Universal Mother</I> album, announcing that she would no longer do press interviews. A mini-album, <I>Gospel Oak,</I> was released in 1997, followed by a stint on the 1998 Lilith Fair Tour and an appearance in the film "The Butcher Boy" as Mary, mother of Jesus. Again bucking convention, O'Connor was ordained as a female priest for the Latin Tridentine Church, a splinter group of the Roman Catholic Church, in 1999, at which time she apologized for the "SNL" outburst. Soon after coming out as a lesbian, O'Connor married boyfriend Nick Sommlad in a secret 2001 ceremony.</P><P>Her reggae-influenced <I>Faith and Courage</I> album was released in 2000, followed by 2002's <I>Sean-N&#243;s Nua.</I></P><P>"So I ask with love, that I be left in peace and privacy by people who love my records," O'Connor wrote in her farewell note. "My advise [sic] to anyone who ever admires a so-called 'celebrity' if u see them in the street, don't even look at them. If u love them, then the lovingest [sic] thing u can do to show them so is leave them alone and don't stare at them! ... Or make them get their picture taken, or write their names on bits of paper. That's pieces of them. And one day they wake up with nothing left of themselves to give." </p>

• Sinéad O'Connor

<P>Music fans wondering "What's a Wotapalava?" will have to wait until next year to find out. The gay-themed summer touring festival has canceled 18 shows this July and August because organizers were unable to find an appropriate high-profile headliner, according to the tour's publicist.</P><P>Originally, Sin&eacute;ad O'Connor had agreed to take top billing, but on May 30 she dropped off the tour because of "unforeseeable family commitments." After spending a month searching for a replacement, Pet Shop Boys member and Wotapalava founder Neil Tennant postponed the event, which was suffering from poor ticket sales, until next year.</P><P>"We have made this decision with the greatest of reluctance," Tennant said in a statement. "But it seems impossible to proceed without a complete lineup of artists. We look forward to coming to America next year." In addition to O'Connor, the festival was scheduled to feature Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, the Magnetic Fields and Rufus Wainwright on its main stage. A second stage would have included DJs such as Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia.</P><P></p>

• Pet Shop Boys
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Soft Cell
• Magnetic Fields
• Rufus Wainwright

<P>The history of pop music is filled with visionary producers: Phil Spector, Glyn Johns, Phil Ramone, Tony Visconti, Quincy Jones, Babyface, Dr. Dre.</P><P>But if one knob-twiddler set the stage for the way pop music would be created in the future it was Beatles producer George Martin, whose 50-year career is explored on the six-disc, 150-track box set <I>Produced by George Martin,</I> due July 17.</P><P>In the 1950s, Martin produced a variety of skiffle, jazz and comedy acts for EMI's Parlophone division. Then in 1962, he took a chance and signed the Beatles, who had been turned down by practically every other label in England. He helped guide the band from its relatively simplistic pop beginnings through its personal and musically diverse swan song, <I>Abbey Road</I> (1969). And with each sonic turn along the way, he helped set new standards in music technology, arrangement and composition.</P><P>While Martin is best known for producing the Beatles, he has also worked with a wide array of other acts, including Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Jimmy Webb, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson and Celine Dion.</P><P>The first disc of <I>Produced by George Martin</I> features his early work with a range of relative unknowns, including the Viper Skiffle Group, Rolf Harris and Temperance Seven. Disc two comprises many of Martin's comedy recordings with such performers as Milligan, Sellers and Beyond the Fringe.</P><P>Martin's most important projects from the '50s and '60s make up disc three. The Beatles tracks "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Please Please Me" "Yesterday" and "In My Life" are included, as well as songs by Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Dakotas, Billy J. Kramer, the Fourmost, Cilla Black and Alma Cogan.</P><P>Long before discovering the Beatles, Martin was a classical musician. The fourth disc in <I>Produced by George Martin</I> explores his classical work and includes tracks by Ron Goodwin, Jack Parnell and the George Martin Orchestra.</P><P>The final two discs cover Martin's first post-Beatles work, including '70s recordings with Webb, Jeff Beck, Billy Preston and Stan Getz, as well as Martin's work in the '90s with Dion, Sting, Jose Carreras, Gabriel, Jackson and Sin&eacute;ad O'Connor.</P><P></p>

• George Martin
• The Beatles
• Celine Dion
• Sting
• Sinéad O'Connor

<P>A mere week after announcing her participation in this summer's gay-themed touring festival, Wotapalava, Sin&eacute;ad O'Connor has dropped off the bill due to "unforeseeable family commitments." O'Connor, who recently parted ways with Atlantic Records, alerted festival coordinators of her decision via fax Wednesday morning (May 30), five hours before a press conference scheduled to announce the event's official lineup. A Wotapalava spokesperson said tour organizer and Pet Shop Boys member Neil Tennant is still negotiating with O'Connor to have her play select dates. Wotapalava will feature main-stage performances by Pet Shop Boys, Rufus Wainwright, Soft Cell and the Magnetic Fields (see <a href="/news/articles/1444042/pet-shop-boys-plot-festival.jhtml">"Sinead O'Connor, Pet Shop Boys Tour In Wotapalava Festival"</a>). Broadway singers, cabaret performers and DJs will perform on a second stage. Renowned DJ Junior Vasquez will spin at the July 13 tour opener in Miami and July 29 in Chicago. Danny Tenaglia will DJ July 18 in Wantagh, New York, and July 22 in Holmdel, New Jersey. Wotapalava dates, according to the event's publicist: <UL> <LI>7/13 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Amphitheatre <LI>7/15 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre <LI>7/18 - Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheatre <LI>7/20 - Boston, MA @ FleetBoston Pavilion <LI>7/21 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post <LI>7/22 - Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center <LI>7/23 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center <LI>7/25 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion <LI>7/27 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre <LI>7/28 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre <LI>7/29 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center <LI>7/31 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre <LI>8/3 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre <LI>8/4 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre <LI>8/5 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre <LI>8/8 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre <LI>8/10 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre <LI>8/11 - The Woodlands, TX @ C.W. Mitchell Pavilion </UL> </p>

• Sinéad O'Connor

<P>Pet Shop Boys member Neil Tennant has announced the dates for his Wotapalava festival, which will feature his band along with Sinéad O'Connor, Soft Cell, Rufus Wainwright and Magnetic Fields.</P><P>The 17-date amphitheatre tour will begin July 13 in Miami's Bayfront Amphitheatre and zigzag across the country to conclude August 11 at Woodlands Pavilion in Houston.</P><P>The antithesis of Ozzfest, Wotapalava &#151; an English expression meaning "what a fuss about nothing" &#151; is a gay-themed event sponsored by PlanetOut.com and Gay.com. One dollar from each Wotapalava ticket, which range in price from $40 to $70, will benefit a national gay-advocacy group and local charities (to be announced later).</P><P>"Wotapalava will be a celebration of individuality and the freedom to be what you want to be," Tennant said in a statement. "This is not exclusively an issue of sexuality. It's about having the power to live as you want." Beside the main performances, Wotapalava will feature a second stage of lesser-known, yet-to-be-announced acts. Following the headliners' final encores, the event will turn into an after-hours dance party featuring renowned club DJs.</P><P>Busy as they've been organizing Wotapalava, Pet Shop Boys have found time to write the music and lyrics for "Closer to Heaven," a West End musical that opens May 31 at the Arts Theatre in London. Wotapalava dates, according to the event's publicist: <UL><LI>7/13 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Amphitheatre <LI>7/15 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre <LI>7/18 - Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheatre <LI>7/20 - Boston, MA @ FleetBoston Pavilion <LI>7/21 - Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post <LI>7/22 - Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center <LI>7/25 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion <LI>7/27 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre <LI>7/28 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre <LI>7/29 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center <LI>7/31 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre <LI>8/3 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre <LI>8/4 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre <LI>8/5 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre <LI>8/8 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre <LI>8/10 - Schertz, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre <LI>8/11 - Houston, TX @ Woodlands Pavilion </UL></p>

• Pet Shop Boys
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Soft Cell
• Rufus Wainwright
• Magnetic Fields

• Sinéad O'Connor

• Sinéad O'Connor

• Sinéad O'Connor

• Sinéad O'Connor

• Sinéad O'Connor

Don't Give Up

• Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
• Label: Columbia Records
• Director: Peter Israelson
• Album: Looking for a Connection

Nothing Compares 2 U

• Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
• Label: Chrysalis Records/Ensign
• Director:
• Album: The Uncollected Blue Barron & His Orchestra, Vol. 1 (1938-1941)

Hair Aware

• Busta Rhymes
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