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Former France goalie Bruno Martini passes on
Former France goalkeeper and deputy director of Montpellier’s training centre, Bruno Martini, has died at 58. The Ligue 1 club made this known in a statement on Tuesday, stating that Martini was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the training centre last week. “Today, French football mourns one of the greatest goalkeepers in its history and one of Montpellier’s most loyal servants, on and off the pitch. “He lives the image of a good man, always ready to help, and who never missed the opportunity to distill a kind word to each of his interlocutors,” the statement said. Prior to his death, Martini spent majority of his career at Auxerre and Montpellier and also played 31 times for France. Following a memorable 18-year career, he became a goalkeeping coach with the France squad ...
Lagos curfew: #EndSARS protesters agree to stop road blockage
The leaders of the #EndSARS protesters along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have said they will lift the blockage along the expressway for vehicles to be able to move into Lagos by 2pm (today). This followed the announcement by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to impose a 24-hour curfew on the state effective 4 pm. One of the protesters, who spoke to newsmen said, “We will leave the road by 2 pm so that the vehicles can move because of the curfew that has just been announced by Lagos. “We need to let the vehicles move into Lagos.” Long queues of vehicles that were stuck in the standstill traffic were still seen on the road as they were still unable to move. No vehicle was seen moving into the Expressway way from Lagos, showing that most of the vehicles coming into Ogun State could no...
Miami Club LIV Caught In Power Struggle over COVID-19
The puppeteer behind the parties and arguably the king of South Beach’s nightlife scene, LIV owner David Grutman, stopped by a few months ago to look at new upholstery, but he mostly stays away from the club at the center of his hospitality empire. “I cried real tears,” the 46-year-old Grutman said of his last visit to the shuttered club and nightlife’s seemingly bygone era. “It’s really been my lifeblood.” Technically, LIV and Miami’s other nightclubs could reopen at 50% capacity under an ordered issued Sept. 25 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Miami leaders have imposed a midnight curfew — a real buzzkill for a scene that doesn’t even get started until the a.m. hours — and are restricting loud music so that people don’t have to shout and risk spreading the virus through their spittle. Also, a l...
José Padilla, DJ Who Pioneered the Balearic Sound, Dies at 65
The celebrated Spanish DJ and producer traveled from his hometown Barcelona to Ibiza in 1975, where he would later settle in for his legendary Café Del Mar residency and forge a reputation as the godfather of chill-out music. Padilla’s sunset mixes spawned the popular Café del Mar compilation albums, which have sold more than six million copies around the globe, according to his reps. As a producer, Padilla cut remixes for Norah Jones, Chris Rea and others, he would take his tunes to clubs and parties around the globe, and he counted Madonna among his fans. His first artist album, 1998’s Souvenir, went on to earn a Latin Grammy nomination for best instrumental work. As his health deteriorated in recent months and the pandemic saw his income dry up, Padilla launched a GoFundMe. “My situatio...
Jail break: Lawyer wants Benin prisons closed
With the dust over the jail break at Oko Prison in Benin City on Monday yet to settle down, a Human rights lawyer Jefferson Uwoghiren, has called for the immediate closure of all the prison houses located inside the ancient city of Benin, Edo state capital. Uwoghiren in a statement made available to newsmen Monday said “it is shocking how the prison inmates who escaped from the cells promptly fused and melted like butter with the crowd, into the City into our homes, and into our surrounding bushes since morning”. According to him, “This record breaking jail break is horrendously made worst, by the ominous silence of the Prison authority, Warders, sorry nothing correctional about them. The overwheming incompetence of the Prison Officers is detonatingly enabling by the official silence of al...
Why Ava Max Wants to Write More Empowering Songs Like ‘Kings & Queens’
Below, Ava Max talks about her blockbuster year — and promises Billboard that there’s much more music to come, including a deluxe version of Heaven & Hell. How did “Kings & Queens” come together? It took about a year because we changed the song so many times. I wanted to make it about female empowerment and inequality, so I was taking my time with it. I’m a crazy perfectionist — if I don’t feel it in my bones, I’m not going to release it. I’ve been in five different studios for this song in Germany, [elsewhere in] Europe and Los Angeles. I’m happy I was patient. What about the idea for the music video? I usually write all of my treatments, and I really saw it like that. I saw it as royal, but in a modern, futuristic kind of way. I wanted it to feel simple, b...
In Mexico, the World’s Third-Largest Concert Promoter Prepares For Live Music’s Return
Alejandro Soberón Kuri talks growth, global trends and the company’s near-deal with Live Nation. Alejandro Soberón Kuri founded OCESA in 1990 to establish Mexico as an obligatory tour stop for international artists. He ended up building a global concert powerhouse third only to Live Nation and AEG. “Mexico may not be the third-biggest country in the world, but it has the third-largest live event promoter,” says Soberón Kuri, 60, from his CEO office in Mexico City — though neither he nor his colleagues have been working there during the pandemic, as major venues remain closed across the country. In 2019, OCESA’s holding company, Grupo Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, produced over 3,400 shows from the United States to Colombia and throughout Central America, ...
Headie One and Internet Money Duel for U.K. Singles Chart Crown
Featuring AJ Tracey & Stormzy, “Ain’t It Different” last week improved to a peak of No. 2, and it’s poised to go one better. Nothing is guaranteed. U.S. rap collective Internet Money is close place behind with “Lemonade” featuring Gunna, Don Toliver & Nav. The margin after the weekend’s sales and streaming activity is just 123 combined sales. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky” is set for a new chart peak, rising 6-3 on the chart blast. Further down the list, two songs are targeting some Top 20 action. Sam Smith’s “Diamonds” is up 23-15, and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” improves 22-16. It’s early days, but the highest new entry could come belong to Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco, as their ballad “Lonely” starts at No. 19 on the First Look survey. The Official U.K. Singles Chart...
Bob Biggs, Founder of Slash Records, Dies at 74
Originally distributed by Jem Records until it went bankrupt in 1981, Slash signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. in 1982. The Blasters, Violent Femmes, Los Lobos, Faith No More, L7, The Del Fuegos, and Failure were among bands whose records were distributed by the label. In 1987, Biggs talked to the Los Angeles Times about releasing records that he felt were essential. “I wouldn’t describe myself as a music fan and specific styles of music don’t interest me,” he said. “But I wouldn’t put out a record I didn’t find some merit in. I put out records I think are necessary and the challenge of getting a mass audience to agree they’re necessary is what’s fun for me.” John Doe, singer/songwriter, guitarist, bassist and co-founder of punk rock quartet X, which forme...
24kGoldn’s ‘Mood’ Holds Top Spot on U.K. Chart
Meanwhile, teenage Canadian singer and songwriter Tate McRae bags her first Top 5 single as “You Broke Me First” (Ministry of Sound) improves 7-5, while Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky” (RCA) rises 8-6, a new high. Further down the list, Fleetwood Mac enjoy a dream return to the Top 40 with a 43-year-old song. The Hall of Famers can thank a man with a skateboard and a bottle of cranberry juice, and a long list of TikTok copycat videos as their classic song “Dreams” (Rhino/Warner Bros) lifts 55-37. The track last appeared in the Top 40 in 1977. Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Headie One starts at the summit with his debut album, inspired by and named after his late mom. Another British rap debut album starts at No. 2, D-Block Europe’s The Blue Print (D-Block Europe), while John Lennon’s ...
Linkin Park Top Australia’s Albums Chart With ‘Hybrid Theory’ 20th Anniversary Edition
The nu-metal act has also topped the national survey with Minutes To Midnight (May 2007) and A Thousand Suns (September 2010). Queen + Adam Lambert’s Live Around The World collection dips 1-2, while Sydney rapper Chillinit bags a second career Top 10 with Full Circle, new at No. 3. Completing this week’s Top Five are Keith Urban’s The Speed Of Now Part 1 and Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, respectively. Headie One’s debut album Edna opens at No. 1 in the U.K. this week and it cracks the Top 40 in Australia, where it’s new at No. 22. The unveiling of nominations for this year’s ARIA Awards has fueled chart spikes for several featured acts. Sydney rapper The Kid Laroi bags three ARIA nominations, and his debut mixtape F*ck Love lifts 34-26 on the current frame. Also, Lime C...
How the Pandemic Is Worsening America’s Racial Gaps
There’s been ongoing wrangling between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Republicans over a second round of stimulus payments — which have not materialized. Do you know what effect the first round of stimulus checks had, especially on Black and Latino households? And what has been the impact of there not being a second round of payments? There is evidence to show that the families that received these relief payments, the lower-income families were more likely to spend that money, indicating that they had immediate needs, where higher-income households seemed to be more likely to save the money. Part of that savings is, like, “I don’t know what’s going to happen down a road,” or “All my needs are already met, so I don’t necessarily need to spend this ri...
