Beastie Boys
Photo: Danny Clinch

Logistical issues and scheduling complications have postponed the London debut of the Tibetan Freedom Concert.

Scheduled for September 15 at London's Brockwell Park, the festival was to feature organizers the Beastie Boys, along with Joe Strummer, Pulp, Morcheeba and others (see ).

"We will take this time to continue our political work and to transfer the energy generated in the planning of the London event to an alternative event to be announced at a later date," organizers said in a statement Friday.

This year's Tibetan Freedom Concert would have been the first since several were staged simultaneously around the world in the summer of 1999. The Beastie Boys played in East Troy, Wisconsin, that year, and have not taken a stage together since. They were slated to co-headline the Rhyme and Reason tour with Rage Against the Machine last fall, but it was canceled after Mike D was injured in a bicycling accident (see ).

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch started the Tibetan Freedom Concert series in 1996 with the intention of raising awareness of the situation in Tibet, whose people have struggled since 1959 to regain their freedom from China.

Tibetan Freedom Concert organizers asked fans to continue to support Tibet, despite the postponement.

"To all the fans who waited so eagerly for this opportunity to show their support for the Tibetan cause, we would like to encourage you to stay involved," they said in a statement. "This is a critical time for the people of Tibet; now, more than ever, they need your help. The Milarepa Fund, Free Tibet Campaign, and Students for a Free Tibet offer numerous ways to participate in this worthy cause."

• Beastie Boys
• Joe Strummer
• Pulp
• Morcheeba

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch
Photo: MTV News

The Beastie Boys, former Clash frontman Joe Strummer, Pulp and Morcheeba are among the first round of performers slated to play this year's incarnation of the Tibetan Freedom Concert.

The fifth concert of its kind will be held at Brockwell Park in London on September 15, according to event organizers. Like previous editions, the 2001 Tibetan Freedom Concert will raise money for the Milarepa Fund, an international organization dedicated to supporting the Tibetan people's nonviolent struggle to regain their freedom from China, which has occupied the country since 1959.

The full lineup will be announced soon, and organizers say Robbie Williams is a likely addition.

The Tibetan Freedom Concert series was started in 1996 by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch with the intention of raising awareness of the situation in Tibet. The inaugural TFC took place in San Francisco and featured the Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Beck and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. Shows were subsequently staged in New York (1997) (see "Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Porno For Pyros To Play Tibetan Freedom Fest") and Washington, D.C. (1998) (see "Pearl Jam, Wyclef, Blues Traveler, Kraftwerk Added To Tibet Show Line-Up"). In 1999, the concert made a global impact by simultaneously occurring in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo; and East Troy, Wisconsin, near Chicago. No concert was held last year.

Though the U.S. concerts proved more profitable for the cause — with the Washington show raising $1.2 million, according to the Milarepa Fund — it wasn't just money that factored into the decision to take the show overseas.

"We've done it four times in the U.S., and we just thought it would be good to do it in some other countries to help spark the Tibetan movement a little more in those places," Yauch said Monday.

"With each subsequent Tibetan Freedom Concert ... there's been a wave of people becoming involved and active," bandmate Mike D added. "So I think it's really crucial in terms of having it in London, which can really be a focal point of the whole European continent. The situation with the Chinese occupation in Tibet is clearly going to take a lot more than pressure from the people active in just the United States. It's gonna take a worldwide awareness to effect change."

• Beastie Boys
• Joe Strummer
• Pulp
• Morcheeba

Orbital
Photo: Sire

Concertgoers gearing up for Europe's annual string of outdoor music festivals should expect some hassle getting into the events — if they even happen.

Britain's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease — which has little or no effect on humans but is easily spread on clothing and causes drastic weight loss in cattle, sheep and pigs — has festival organizers planning precautionary measures, because those festivals could give the disease an opportunity to flourish, according to an expert.

"Promoters risk people dragging infection from all over the UK to one spot, thus endangering local farm animals and wildlife," said John Ryan of the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease. "Another risk is the dissemination of the virus from those gatherings back to all parts of the UK and the world." Although many of Europe's top sporting events, such as horse racing's Cheltenham Festival, have been cancelled, concert promoters expect that their festivals will go on.

Ireland's Live Entertainment Industry Association announced last week that all of its concert venues have implemented stringent disinfectant procedures suggested by Ireland's Department of Agriculture to prevent the outbreak from spreading there, including placing disinfectant mats at all venue entry- and exit-points and spraying all cars and buses controlled by the association's venues.

Ryan said there are ways promoters can avoid the spread of foot-and-mouth, besides cleaning footwear and vehicles (especially tires) and spraying them with disinfectant.

"Festivals should allow no one access if they have visited farms or zoos in the previous five days," Ryan said. "And they should keep extremely strict controls on food waste and sewage." So far, no outbreaks have been reported outside of the UK.

Foot-and-mouth has not contaminated the site of Homelands, a club music festival scheduled for May 26 and 27 at Matterley Bowl in Hampshire, England. Promoter Melvin Benn said he is working to keep it that way.

"The event field has not had cattle or animals for over five months," Benn said. "The foot-and-mouth outbreak is not going to change anything." Homelands will feature several dozen acts, including Orbital, Pulp and Paul van Dyk. Mean Fiddler, the company behind the Reading and Leeds Carling festivals, organizes Homelands.

Promoters for T in the Park, who have not announced the dates for their late-summer festival, said in a statement they are monitoring the foot-and-mouth situation and taking advice from those working against the spread of the disease.

"The vast majority of the land where T in the Park takes place is not used for livestock farming, and the main arena is a disused airfield," the promoters' statement said. "However, organizers will be taking all responsible and appropriate steps in the five-month lead-time to this year's event." Foot-and-mouth last hit the UK in 1967 and took more than six months to bring under control. The disease appears to be spreading rapidly this time, as a record 25 cases were reported Sunday, bringing the current total to nearly 170, according to Reuters.

• Orbital
• Pulp
• Paul Van Dyk

As if their videos weren't cinematic enough, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker has signed on to make his directorial debut for "Tube Tales," a film comprised of vignettes based on the true life stories of London's subway riders.

Joining Cocker on the project will be "Trainspotting" and "Velvet Goldmine" actor Ewan McGregor -- who recently completed filming additional scenes and pick-up shots for the new "Star Wars" film at Leavesden Studios in England, in addition to a host of other young British directors, according to the British Press Association.

Pulp is currently on the road in Japan and Australia supporting its most recent album, "This Is Hardcore," although the Sheffield, England, band is scheduled to return to the U.K. for a run of dates from mid-November through early-December.

"Tube Tales" is set to begin shooting on location in London in November, with the program scheduled to air on the U.K.'s Sky Premier channel in Spring 1999.

• Pulp

Pulp fans are getting a chance to win a rather unusual prize -- a 'pulped' version of frontman Jarvis Cocker's 1970s Hillman Imp automobile.

According to the band's fanclub, the singer has had the car crushed into a three-ton metal cube and will be giving it away to whoever submits the best plea for owning it. Cocker himself will be selecting the winner.

Cocker, who actually prefers a bicycle to a motor vehicle in spite of his rock fame, has been driving the rusted out Hillman since paying a little over $300 for it five years back. Apparently Cocker figured that the decrepit car was too much of a death trap to give it away whole.

He can only hope this giveaway generates more interest than his last attempt at making a donation. Cocker recently offered up a platinum album for a raffle to raise money for his old scout troup, but the scouts only managed to sell three tickets.

• Pulp

While the Michael Stipe produced glam rock flick "Velvet Goldmine" won't arrive until this fall, the film company has released the movie's music credits, which include contributions from Shudder To Think, Grant Lee Buffalo, Pulp, Teenage Fanclub, Placebo, and members of Radiohead and Sonic Youth.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood team up with Andy MacKay of Roxy Music and Bernard Butler, Clune, Paul Kimble in a group called The Venus In Furs, while Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley join Mike Watt, Ron Asheton of the Stooges, Mark Arm, Jim Dunbar, and Don Flemming to record under the name The Wylde Rattz.

When "Velvet Goldmine" (starring Ewan MacGregor and Elastica's Donna Matthews) arrives in the Fall, here's what you'll hear in the film:

• The Venus In Furs - "2HB"
• The Wylde Rattz - "T.V. Eye"
• The Venus In Furs - "Sebastian"
• Shudder To Think - "Ballad Of Maxwell Demon"
• Grant Lee Buffalo - "The Whole Shebang"
• The Venus In Furs - "Ladytron"
• Pulp - "We Are The Boys"
• Teenage Fanclub and Donna Matthews - "Personality Crisis"
• The Venus In Furs - "Baby's On Fire"
• The Wylde Rattz - "My Unclean"
• The Venus In Furs - "Bitter-Sweet"
• Placebo - "20th Century Boy"
• Brian Eno - "Dead Friends Don't Talk"
• The Venus In Furs - "Gimme Danger"
• The Venus In Furs - "Tumbling Down"
• Brian Eno - "Needle In The Camel"s Eye"
• Shudder To Think - "Hot One"
• Nathan Larson - "People Rockin' People"
• Andy Pratt - "Avenging Annie"
• Slade - "'Cuz I Love You"
• Brian Eno - "The Fat Lady of Limbourg"
• Lindsay Kemp - "A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good"
• Callum Hamilton - "Tutti Frutti"
• Gary Glitter - "Do You Want To Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)"
• Fredda Payne - "Band Of Gold"
• The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - "Symphonie No. 6 in A Minor"
• The Mighty Hannibal - "Get In The Groove"
• T-Rex - "Cosmic Dancer"
• Roxy Music - "Virginia Plain"
• Lou Reed - "Satellite Of Love"
• T-Rex - "Diamond Meadows"
• Paul Kimble - "Bitter's End"
• Steve Harley - "Make Me Smile"

• Pulp
• R.E.M.
• Radiohead
• Sonic Youth

Tickets for this year's Tibetan Freedom Concert featuring Beck, the Beastie Boys, Blues Traveler, A Tribe Called Quest, Radiohead, the Verve, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and many others will go on sale Saturday, May 2.

Tickets for the two day affair, set for June 13 and 14 at Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium, are priced at $29.50 per day, or $55 for both days. Tickets will be available at the RFK box office, Ticketmaster outlets, or through Charge-By-Phone at 1-800-551- SEAT. There is a four ticket limit per customer.

As we previously reported, the two-day concert will also feature turns by the Dave Matthews Band, Pulp, Sonic Youth, Wyclef Jean, Patti Smith, Sean Lennon, Buffalo Daughter, KRS-One, Tracy Chapman, Live, Luscious Jackson, and others.

• Beck
• Beastie Boys
• Blues Traveler
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Radiohead

British band Pulp, one of the acts recently added to the bill for the Tibetan Freedom Concert, have just released a new album, "This Is Hardcore," the follow-up to 1995's critically acclaimed "Different Class."

The new album is also drawing rave reviews for its musical maturity and the sophisticated way that frontman Jarvis Cocker's lyrics deal with the subject of aging, among other things, something Pulp pointedly explored on the U.K. hit "Help the Aged."

"I'm not saying whether it's a bad or a good thing," Cocker told MTV, "I think it's interesting that people seem to really put off accepting responsibilities and settling down for as long as possible. In a way, it's not so much a fear of getting old, but more like a fear of not being young" [500k QuickTime].

Pulp plans a U.S. tour this summer, and has already booked a June 16 date in New York City. No other dates have been announced, but we'll keep you posted.

• Pulp

The Dave Matthews Band, Pulp, The Verve, Live, Luscious Jackson, and Patti Smith are among the latest batch of artists to join the line-up for this summer's Tibetan Freedom Concert.

Also newly announced for the two-day concert (set for June 13 and 14 at Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium) are Buffalo Daughter, Mutabaruka, and the Headhunters with Herbie Hancock. Those acts will be joining previously announced performers A Tribe Called Quest, the Beastie Boys, Beck, Blues Traveler, Chaksam-Pa, Tracy Chapman, Wyclef Jean, Kraftwerk, KRS-One, Sean Lennon, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and Sonic Youth (see "Pearl Jam, Wyclef, Blues Traveler, Kraftwerk Added To Tibet Show Line-Up"). More acts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

This year, show organizers (lead by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and his friends at the Milarepa Foundation) are taking the annual celebration of music and human rights to the home of U.S. policy making as part of their ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the struggle of Tibet at the hands of the Chinese government. As we previously reported, this year's concert will correspond with a National Day of Action for Tibet (scheduled for June 15) when supporters will rally on the Capitol lawn to draw attention to the Tibetan plight.

• Richard Ashcroft
• Dave Matthews Band
• Dave Matthews
• Live
• Pulp

October 7 [14:00 EDT] -- Brit popsters Pulp are concerned about the elderly, but apparently aging rock veteran Mick Jagger is not.

Pulp will be issuing a new single in England called "Help The Aged" and donating a significant portion of the proceeds to an English charity of the same name. A similar charity recently asked Rolling Stones frontman Jagger to be a spokesperson but apparently to no avail.

"We never did hear back from (Jagger) when we issued the invitation in August," says spokesperson Sandy Huntington of the Age Resource, the "younger arm" of the international Age Concern. "But we've written him again about 10 days ago wishing him luck on their tour and letting him know the invitation is still open and we'd be delighted to have a response."

The Pulp single will be issued by Island November 10. The song was debuted at the giant V96 festivals last summer. The lyrics, in part, read: "Help the aged don't just put them in a home they can't have much fun when they're all on their own."

Meanwhile England's New Musical Express reports that the single release will also be featuring a song originally written for the forthcoming James Bond film, "Tomorrow Never Dies." The film's producers rejected the track in favor of a song by Sheryl Crow but the band opted to retitled the tune 'Tomorrow Never Lies' and issue it on their own.

• Pulp
• The Rolling Stones