Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe R.E.M.'S PETER BUCK R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe was in a London courtroom Wednesday defending his bandmate Peter Buck against air rage charges. Advertisement BBC Radio reports Stipe testified that Buck was "like a big brother" and said the allegations against him didn't make sense. Buck is accused of being drunk and assaulting the cabin crew on a flight from Seattle to London last April. He denies the charges and has said one of the last things he remembers before waking up in a Heathrow Airport jail cell was taking a sleeping pill with a glass of wine. The trial resumes Thursday. AEROSMITH Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton said Kid Rock, Shakira, Pink, Nelly, Nas, Papa Roach and Sum 41 have all signed on to participate in next month's second annual "mtvICON" tribute to the veteran rock band. RollingStone.com reports Janet Jackson, the recipient of last year's honors, will introduce the band at the April 14 event, which will air April 17 on MTV. Advertisement Hamilton said he still finds Aerosmith's longevity hard to believe. "When MTV started, we were actually broken up. (Guitarists) Joe (Perry) and Brad (Whitford) had left the band," he said. "So I remember watching MTV and thinking it was this great new thing, and that it was too bad we wouldn't be a part of it. But somehow we managed to grab on to the last inches of rope before we fell off the face of the earth and eventually got around to making some videos. We did have a lot of success before MTV. But that only counts for back then. Rock & roll is immediate. It's about what's going on now. And we like to think of ourselves as in the moment." Aerosmith is currently working on a fourth, still-untitled greatest hits set for release in June or July. "We've got our Columbia era, we've got our Geffen era and we've got our neo-Columbia era, and we want to cover all that," said Hamilton. "Really from 'Toys in the Attic' until now." The upcoming compilation will include a couple new tracks -- one of which may or may not be "Bad Enough," a song the band wrote for the upcoming "Spider-Man" movie, scheduled to open in May. Advertisement Hamilton also said the band, which only recently wrapped up a world tour, is planning a North American road trip for August or September. MORE AEROSMITH Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is the most recent celebrity to sign on the "got milk?"/Milk Mustache campaign. The copy in the ads, which debuted recently in People and US Weekly magazines, read: "Make your bones rock hard. They say calcium in lowfat milk helps keep bones growin' and rockin' until you're 35 and strong long after. Ya think soda can do that? Dream on." PEARL JAM Pearl Jam is heading back to the studio in April to finish up work on its next album, according to Allstar News, which quotes the Pearl Jam Rumor Pit Web site. The new CD, which will likely be out in early 2003, is the follow-up to 2000's "Binaural." In addition, Eddie Vedder and company are working on a rarities album that should be finalized in the next month and might be out by the end of this year. BLINK 182'S TOM DELONGE Boxcar Racer -- Blink 182 guitarist Tom DeLonge's side project -- shot the video for its first single last week in Burbank, Calif. Advertisement MTV News reports the song, "I Feel So," is from Boxcar Racer's self-titled debut album, which is due out May 14. The band will promote the album with a few California shows before Blink-182 launch the Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day and Jimmy Eat World on April 17 in Bakersfield, Calif. Tour dates: 4/1 -- San Diego, CA @ Mira Mesa Epicentre 4/2 -- Pomona, CA @ Glass House 4/3 -- West Hollywood, CA @ Whiskey a Go Go 4/11 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club (Vans Warped Tour kickoff party with Good Charlotte and Finch) 'N SYNC'S JOEY FATONE 'N Sync's Joey Fatone makes his directorial debut on the video version of Latin heartthrob Luis Fonsi's English-language debut single, "Secret." The song is from Fonsi's first-ever English language CD, "Fight the Feeling," which is due in stores July 2. Fatone and Fonsi have been friends since high school, and they were members of an a capella pop group called Big Guys. The 'N Syncer joined his buddy on stage last year in San Juan, P.R., for one of Fonsi's two sold out shows at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente. ELVIS COSTELLO Elvis Costello is taking to the road in support of his new album "When I Was Cruel." Billboard.com reports the North American tour kicks off May 18 in Portland, Ore., and runs through June 24 in Atlanta. Advertisement Costello will also be making a number of promotional appearances surrounding the CD's April 15 U.K. and April 23 U.S. release. Prior to an April 16 show in London, he'll sign copies of the album at the Virgin Megastore's Oxford St. location. In the United States, Costello plans to perform and sign autographs at Tower Records locations in Philadelphia on April 19, Chicago April 21, and New York April 23. That same day, he'll appear on CBS's "The Late Show With David Letterman," followed two nights later by a performance on NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly." On April 27, he'll appear on CBS's "Saturday Early Show." Tour dates: April 15: Amsterdam (Paradiso) April 16: London (Astoria) April 18: New York (Bowery Ballroom; private showcase) April 21: Chicago (House of Blues; private showcase) May 18: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theater) May 19: Seattle (Paramount Theatre) May 21: Saratoga, Calif. (Historic Mountain Winery) May 22: Berkeley, Calif. (Berkeley Community Theatre) May 24: Las Vegas (the Joint) May 25: Reno, Nev. (Reno Hilton) June 2: Denver (Fillmore) June 7: Clarkston, Mich. (DTE Energy Music Theatre) June 11: Cleveland (Tower City Amphitheatre) June 15: Wallingford, Conn. (Careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre) Advertisement June 22: Upper Darby, Pa. (Tower Theatre) June 23: Portsmouth, Va. (NTELOS Pavilion @ Harbor Center) June 24: Atlanta (Chastain Park Amphitheatre) KYLIE MINOGUE Ford's new European roadster, the StreetKa, is teaming up with Kylie Minogue. Ford StreetKa is a sponsor of the pop singer's 39-date 2002 European "Fever" Tour, which kicks off April 26. Tour dates: 4/26-29 -- Cardiff Arena, Wales 5/1-4 -- Manchester Arena, England 5/6-9 -- Birmingham NEC, England 5/11-2 -- Manchester Arena, England 5/14-15 -- Sheffield Arena, England 5/17-19 -- Glasgow SECC, Scotland 5/21-22 -- Newcastle Arena, England 5/24-27 -- Wembley Arena, London 5/30 -- Hoven, Stockholm, Sweden 5/31 -- Spectrum, Oslo, Norway 6/1 -- Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark 6/3 -- Munich Olympiahalle, Germany 6/4 -- Bank Austria Hall, Vienna 6/6 -- Zurich Hellenstadion, Switzerland 6/8 -- Berlin Velodrome, Germany 6/9 -- Hamburg Sportshalle, Germany 6/11 -- Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany 6/12 -- Rotterdam Ahoy, Netherlands 6/13 -- Oberhausen Arena, Netherlands 6/15 -- Paris Zenith, France 6/18 -- Milan Fila Forum, Italy 6/20 -- Barcelona Pavello Olympic Badalona, Spain BILLY BOB THORNTON Billy Bob Thornton is gearing up for an eight-city U.S. concert tour, kicking off May 17 in Los Angeles and continuing through May 28 in New York. Plans call for stops in San Francisco, Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, Toronto and Philadelphia. Advertisement In a statement issued Tuesday, the star of "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "Bandits" said he wants his concerts to recreate the feeling he used to get going to concerts "and feeling like you were actually a participant in the show." On his debut album, "Private Radio," Thornton turned his Oscar-winning writing talents ("Sling Blade") to songwriting. "These songs are incredibly personal to me," he said, "and I think the best way to share them with an audience is in an intimate setting where they can really feel the emotion in them." (Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason) ROBERT DE NIRO AND QUEEN Robert De Niro has teamed up with the surviving members of Queen for a rock opera. The actor and Jane Rosenthal, his partner in Tribeca Productions, are bankrolling the London production of "We Will Rock You," a revue-like musical featuring many of the band's greatest hits, E! Online reports. De Niro was in London Tuesday to catch a preview of the stage production, scheduled to open May 14. Playwright Ben Elton, who wrote the musical's book, describes the plot as "The Matrix" meets the King Arthur legend meets "Terminator 2." Advertisement The idea for the show was first bandied about years ago, when De Niro attended the Venice Film Festival and a series of short films on Queen was screened before the actor's "Sleepers." De Niro found himself chatting with Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor afterwards, and they discussed the possibility of developing a musical.
