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For The Record: Quick News On Ozzy, Slick Rick, Gang Starr, William Shatner And Henry Rollins, Judas Priest & More

Ozzy Osbourne has been taken out of the Wexham Park Hospital intensive-care unit and placed in a private clinic to recuperate from the injuries he sustained in an ATV crash on December 8, according to a statement from the Osbournes. The former wildman of rock fractured his collarbone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck in the accident, which occurred on his Buckinghamshire estate in southern England. Last week, Sharon Osbourne said it would probably take Ozzy six months to fully recover. ...

Hip-hop's greatest storyteller, Slick Rick, will headline his own "Welcome Home" concert in Brooklyn, New York, on January 9. The old-school icon was recently freed from an INS detention center after 17 months while he awaited deportation. Several of Slick Rick's legendary peers are expected to perform at the event but none have yet been confirmed. ... Gang Starr's DJ Premier and Guru are sorting through tracks for a greatest-hits collection due next year. In 1999, the seminal hip-hop duo released the double-disc Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr, but this collection would include newer tracks, B-sides, remixes and at least one new track. ...

Perhaps inspired by all those Priceline.com commercials, in which he sang alongside established rockers, William Shatner is working on a new music album, and he's beaming up some talented artists, including Henry Rollins and Joe Jackson, to help him out. Ben Folds will produce the project, which will likely come out next year. The former Starship Enterprise captain has been in Nashville recording the LP and recently weighed in on the project via his Web site: "I am attempting excellence in music. I feel like I'm almost there, but I'll have to wait for all of you to tell me if I have reached excellence or not." ... Singer/guitarist Justin Hawkinsof British hair metal revivalists the Darkness will address England on MTV Europe on Christmas Day at 3 p.m., the same time the queen of England delivers a speech to her subjects on BBC1. Over the past year, the Darkness have become rock icons across Europe; in North America they remain an acquired taste. ...

On the heels of Rob Halford's return to the band, Judas Priest will release a box set called Metalogy on March 9. The box will feature three or four CDs and may include a live DVD. Judas Priest are working on new material with Halford as well. Tim Owens, who sang on the last two Priest records, is now a member of Iced Earth, whose new album, The Glorious Burden, will be released January 13. ... Murderdolls singer Wednesday 13 will launch a line of merchandise next year that will include shirts, bags, stickers and patches. The product line will feature "The Thirteen Dead Kids" logo, cartoon renderings of 13 dead children drawn in red and black. Wednesday 13 came up with the idea during the downtime that followed this year's tours with Iron Maiden and Stone Sour. ...

The Presidents of the United States of America are re-releasing their self-titled debut album (featuring "Lump" and "Peaches") with five bonus tracks (including a new song called "Some Postman") and a DVD. Titled Extra Super Double Bonus Thrill Pack, the collection is due February 16. ...

12.22.03

Someone alert The Source. Eminem has a secret side of him that many of his fans would be surprised to see: sketch artist. Eminem's uncle, Todd Nelson, is putting up for auction a number of pencil drawings and sketches (and lyrics) the rapper apparently created between the ages of 16 and 19. The items are being sold through a Chicago auction house in the spring. ...

Ruben Studdard has settled his lawsuit against 205 Flava Inc., which he claimed unfairly profited by using his unauthorized image to sell clothing through its Web site. The clothing company, which responded by revealing that it paid the singer to wear 205 jerseys on "American Idol," thus violating rules of the show, has been negotiating with Studdard since November and will now partner with 19 Entertainment, the company behind "American Idol," to license and market its clothes. Neither party would reveal exact details of the settlement. ... DMX is set to produce and star in two new movies, adding to an already impressive résumé that includes roles in "Cradle 2 the Grave" and "Exit Wounds." Hollywood's premiere Ruff Rider will battle a Hong Kong gang leader in "Past Tense" and play an architect in "Winners." ...

A new batch of punks has been added to the lineup of the next Vans Warped Tour, including Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, NOFX, Thursday, Lillix, From Autumn to Ashes, Bad Religion, Story of the Year, Yellowcard and Bouncing Souls. The 10th anniversary of the tour will launch June 24 in Houston. ... AFI are bringing Coheed and Cambria, A Static Lullaby and Thursday around with them for a tour that starts February 18. Coheed and ASL will open through February 24, with Thursday filling in for the latter February 25 through March 9. More dates are expected to be added. ...

In a series of interactive Nokia commercials leading up to the 2004 Sugar Bowl (January 4), Snoop Dogg will try to discover which celebrity guest is trying to steal the championship trophy. Fans who help Snoop uncover the criminal will have the opportunity to win prizes that include Nokia phones, a trip to the 2005 Sugar Bowl, or the grand prize of $100,000. The commercials, which were directed by Guy Ritchie, will start airing Saturday. ... On Friday, Kevin Eckenrod was sentenced to 25 months in prison for impersonating Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti. He was arrested and charged in April for stealing more than $1,000 while kissing a misinformed Creed fan. The 40-year-old swindler has a criminal record of keeping over 30 aliases, and has amassed more than 60 criminal charges in Florida within the last 10 years. ...

Henry Rollins will launch a spoken-word tour called Shock and Awe My Ass on January 13 in Tempe, Arizona. The 32-date trek ends February 29 in Asheville, North Carolina. ... After Powerman 5000's 1999 album, Tonight the Stars Revolt, the band recorded a caustic, explosive metal album called Anyone for Doomsday? but decided not to release it weeks before it was to hit shelves. More than two years later, frontman Spider seems to have had a change of heart, and Powerman are now selling the album on their Web site. In a post, Spider wrote, " 'Bombshell,' the original single from Anyone for Doomsday?, has reared its head in several movie soundtracks and compilations and has even become the theme song for WWE wrestling stars the Dudley Boys. This monster refused to die, and it became clear to me that it is finally time to unleash these tracks for our diehard powerfans." ... The Shins will ring in the new year with 14 U.S. tour dates beginning January 31 in Seattle. The outing, which starts in London on January 20, is bookended by two television appearances ("Late Show With David Letterman," "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"). ...

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