Blur to star at concert marking end of London Olympics
LONDON (AP) — Organizers say Britpop icons Blur will headline an outdoor concert to coincide with the end of the 2012 London Olympics.
The Aug. 12 concert in Hyde Park will also feature 1980s stars The Specials and New Order.
Organizers of the BT London Live show say giant screens will broadcast the closing ceremony of the games, which will be held across town at the Olympic Stadium.
Blur had 13 U.K. top 10 hits in the band’s 1990s heyday, including Parklife and Girls & Boys.
The original lineup of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree reunited for a series of concerts in 2009.
The band is due to receive an award for its contribution to British music at Tuesday’s Brit Awards in London.
Actor Stockwell to appear at Wizard World event
TORONTO (CP) — Oscar-nominated actor Dean Stockwell has joined the lineup for this year’s Wizard World Toronto Comic Con.
Organizers say the Battlestar Galactica star and four-time Emmy nominee will meet with fans and sit on a Q&A panel at the event, slated for April 14-15 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Stockwell — who was up for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in 1988’s Married to the Mob — is one of several stars on the roster for the pop-culture convention.
Others include his former co-star from the TV series Quantum Leap, Scott Bakula, as well as Paul Wesley of The Vampire Diaries, and Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan.
Thousands of enthusiasts are expected to attend this year’s Toronto Comic Con, produced by Wizard World.
Magic to launch network aimed at African-Americans
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Earvin (Magic) Johnson is launching a basic cable television network targeting black viewers with positive, uplifting images of African-Americans.
The former Lakers star tells the Los Angeles Times that his 24-hour Aspire channel will also offer opportunities for blacks who have struggled to find work in mainstream Hollywood.
Aspire’s mix will include film, TV, music, comedy, performing arts and shows about faith.
The 52-year-old Johnson, who was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, says he’s wanted a vehicle to showcase positive images of African Americans with stories written, produced and directed by blacks.
Comcast Corp. reached an agreement with the FCC and Department of Justice to diversify.
Johnson’s channel will launch on June 30.
Mona Lisa copy draws a crowd at Prado Museum in Madrid
MADRID, Spain — Crowds are gathering at Madrid’s Prado Museum to view a copy of the Mona Lisa for the first time since a restoration revealed it was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci’s apprentices as he worked on the original.
The painting was put on display at the museum on Tuesday, where it will stay until it moves to Paris’ Louvre museum next month to hang alongside the original as part of an exhibition of da Vinci’s work.
Although the precise author of the copy has not been determined, both the Prado and Louvre believe it is probably the earliest known copy of La Gioconda.
DeLillo short stories reach PEN/Faulkner finals
NEW YORK (AP) — Don DeLillo’s first book of short stories is a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction.
DeLillo, known for such novels as Underworld, was nominated for The Angel Esmeralda.
Other finalists announced Tuesday were Russell Banks for Lost Memory of Skin, Steve Millhauser for We Others, Anita Desai for The Artist of Disappearance and Julie Otsuka for The Buddha in the Attic.
The winner, to be announced March 26, receives $15,000.
Version of Munch classic The Scream to go on auction
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City art auction will feature the Edvard Munch masterpiece The Scream.
Sotheby’s announced Tuesday that the work will lead its Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on May 2.
The work, which dates from 1895, is one of four versions of the composition. The auctioneer says it’s the only version still in private hands.
The head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department in New York, Simon Shaw, says the price could exceed $80 million.
Ex-Idol singer joins Queen for summer concert
LONDON (AP) — Former American Idol singer Adam Lambert is joining landmark rock band Queen for one concert this summer, at Sonisphere 2012.
Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor confirmed Tuesday that the American singer-songwriter will perform vocals for the band’s headline set on the second day of the Sonisphere 2012 rock festival. The concert takes place July 7 at Knebworth Park in Stevenage, north of London.
Lambert, 30, has sung with Queen before. In 2009 he performed We Are the Champions on the U.S. reality show that made his name and then last November he sang an eight-minute set at the MTV Europe Awards to celebrate Queen’s Global Icon Award.
Freddie Mercury’s final concert with Queen also took place at Knebworth, in August 1986.
Festival tickets go back on sale after problems cause delay
NASHVILLE (AP) — Organizers say ticket sales for Bonnaroo’s annual music festival will resume at noon Saturday.
The announcement was made Monday evening on the festival’s website.
High demand and technical problems caused organizers for the 2012 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival to suspend ticket sales on Feb. 18.
The four-day festival will be held June 7-10 in Manchester, about 65 miles southeast of Nashville. This year’s lineup includes the reunited Beach Boys, along with Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish and Bon Iver.
