"Here There and Everywhere" - A Tribute To Linda
Venue: The Royal Albert Hall
Date: Saturday 10th April 1999

Tickets for the above concert will be going on sale tomorrow (Friday 19th March) and are priced at £25 / £30 / £35. They will be available from The Royal Albert Hall Box Office - credit card booking (0)870 444 4000 or (0)171 589 8212. Tickets are also available through usual agents.

Artistes confirmed to appear are: Elvis Costello; Heather Small; Lynden David Hall; Des'ree; Johnny Marr; Tom Jones; Neil Finn; Marianne Faithfull; Sinead O'Connor; Ladysmith Black Mambazo; George Michael and... you guessed it - The Pretenders!

George Michael, Elvis Costello and Tom Jones will lead a star-studded tribute to Linda McCartney at London's Royal Albert Hall next month.

Sinead O'Connor, Des'ree and M People singer Heather Small will also appear - but Sir Paul is not sure if he will be able to play at the show, organised by The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde.

Although he has vowed to continue to campaign for vegetarianism in memory of Linda, he told fans last year: "If I can get it together I will appear, but I am not sure I can do it emotionally, to be honest."

The show, on 10 April, is a few days from the first anniversary of Linda's death at the age of 56 from breast cancer.

Tickets for Here, There and Everywhere - A Concert For Linda go on sale on Friday and proceeds will go to her favourite animal charities.

Hynde said: "This is the show that Linda, myself and our friends talked about often. "It was Carla Lane who suggested we finally do it now,for Linda. We hope this show will reflect something of Linda's personality and her upbeat sense of humour."

Other acts to appear will include soul singer Lynden David Hall, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, Neil Finn, Marianne Faithfull and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Compered by Eddie Izzard, the show will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 17 April and televised the following day on BBC One.

Picked up a copy of Student Direct (a newspaper for Greater Manchester students) at work today and found the following article:

Next Thursday will see a fashion show at Bar Berlin on Canal Street in aid of the Steven [isn't it Stephen?] Lawrence trust.

The Lawrence family will be attending the event, and will see exhibitions from many well known designers such as Red or Dead, Hooch, Arc and Levi's.

In accompaniment to the fashion show, there are to be live performances from bands to be announced on the night, and many high profile names from the Manchester fashion and music industry are lending their support to the event.

Student Direct caught up with Andy Rawke [sic!], formally [sic] of The Smiths, and Aziz Ibrahim, ex-Stone Roses and Ian Brown collaborator to discuss why they are getting involved with the project.

"The Steven Lawrence charity is a really worthy event, and it is too an important cause to pass you by. The whole fashion show is about contribution and awareness, and at the end of the day it's not about the people involved, it's about what you can do to publicise the event.

"There has been a huge injustice done, and the more we can do to promote that the better."

Tickets are available from the Metropolitan and University Student Unions priced 6 pounds/12 pounds on a first come, first served basis.

The Smiths song 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' is being used in this period for a TV ad of the Tuborg Beer on Italian TV.

...I just finished reading an interview Lloyd Cole gave to an Israeli journalist (of Tarbut Ma`ariv) on 19/3/99. Cole had his golden years with the Commotions in the time Moz had them with the Smiths. He's been a solo artist since 1990.

Q: It's impossible to ignore the timing when they compared you to Morrissey. He was God, while you became the one everybody's attacking.
A: Because Morrissey represented everything pop journalists dreamed upon. He was a very non-positive figure, he was angry, he suffered,  he criticized everyone, he was very arrogant - everything you need to make headlines...

and later on:

Q: So for once and for all, was there a prestige competition between the Commotions and the Smiths?
A: people will always say there is none, and there is, always. It's the rule of this profession. We didn't stand a chance concerning the critics, but listeners in those years, when asked, placed the Smiths first and us second, except in 1984, when we were first and they were second.

Tonight (Sunday, March 21st), the Bravo network will have a show on Wilde and his influences today, and the ad contained a small Smiths T.O.T.P. clip as well.