Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe OR IS IT 'SIR MICHAEL'? He may be the very model of the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" ethos, but that didn't stop Queen Elizabeth II from naming Mick Jagger a knight on her birthday honors list Saturday. Advertisement The 58-year-old rocker told a British TV interview he was "very pleased ... and honored." He also said he didn't see it coming. "I was also surprised," said Jagger, "because I must admit I wasn't expecting to get it." He said the honor "reflects really wonderfully on all the achievements" of The Rolling Stones, the band he co-founded more than 40 years ago. The band has had its critics from the beginning, mainly people who found their music and image too rough for polite society, and there has been criticism of a similar nature ever since word first got out a week ago that the Queen was about to knight Jagger. He said the criticism doesn't bother him. Advertisement "You have to take the rough with the smooth in this country," said Jagger. "I would have been very shocked if it had been any different." U2 TOPS AT MUSIC BOX OFFICE U2 finished on top in Rolling Stone's ranking of top-earning music stars in 2001. Bono and the boys took home $61.9 million from touring, recording and publishing -- leaving Dr. Dre, the Beatles, Dave Matthews Band and Madonna in the dust. The top 50 earners are listed in the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands Friday. The magazine's editors concede the point that their numbers involve a bit of guesswork based on interviews managers, label executives, agents, lawyers, publicists and music industry pros. The bottom line attributed to each act is a net figure, reflecting what's left after expenses, fees and label deductions. Dr. Dre finished second with a net income of $51.9 million, while the Beatles were still raking it in more than 30 years after the breakup, with $47.9 million and a third place finish. DMB was No. 4 with $43.4 million, followed by Madonna at No. 5 with $40.8 million. STILL 'SHOW' TIME "The Eminem Show" sold another 800,000 copies during its second full week in record stores, according to SoundScan data, bringing sales to just over 2.4 million and giving the new Eminem effort the top chart spot for a third straight week. Advertisement "Totally Hits 2002" entered the chart this week at No. 2. The compilation -- featuring hits by Alanis Morrissette, Pink, Tweet and others -- sold 137,000 units its debut week. SIR PAUL AND LADY HEATHER Sir Paul McCartney and his lady-love, Heather Mills, were married Tuesday before a gathering of about 300 friends and family at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, Ireland. The guest list includes Ringo Starr, Sir George Martin, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John and David Gilmour. It's the second marriage for both McCartney and Mills, who met in 1999 at a charity function organized by Mills. The 59-year-old McCartney was married for 29 years to Linda McCartney, who died of cancer in 1998. NEW WALLFLOWERS The Wallflowers have set a Sept. 24 release date for their fourth album "Red Letter Days." Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready handled some of the guitar work on the 12-song set, following the departure of Michael Ward, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Toby Miller -- a founding member who left the band in 1996 and was replaced by Ward -- is back on duty, this time as a producer on the project with Bill Appleberry. Advertisement SANTANA TOUR DATES Santana will launch a 19-date North American tour with a July 31 date in Virginia Beach, Va. and wrapping up on Aug. 25 in St. Paul, Minn. At the same time, the band is still working on its next album, "Shaman," tentatively scheduled to hit stores in September. Before hitting Virginia Beach, the band is scheduled to perform on the 2002 ESPY Awards, honoring the year's top sports performers. The show is scheduled to air live on ESPN on July 10, originating from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. A LITTLE MORE ELVIS As the 25th anniversary of his death approaches, Elvis Presley is expected to return to the charts this summer with the release of a track that hadn't had much of a life until recently -- "A Little Less Conversation." A remix version was released in England Monday, giving Presley a chance to break a tie with the Beatles for most No. 1 singles in the U.K. They each have 17. The Mac Davis-Billy Strange tune first appeared in Elvis' 1968 movie "Live a Little, Love a Little." A previously unreleased version wound up on the soundtrack to Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven" last year, and Nike used the tune in its ad campaign for the World Cup. Advertisement "A Little Less Conversation" is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 25. MEET THE NEW BOSS Rolling Stone has hired FHM editor-in-chief Ed Needham to succeed Robert Love as managing editor. Love was a 20-year veteran of Rolling Stone when editor-in-chief Jann Wenner asked him to resign this spring. Needham, 38, is scheduled to begin the new gig on July 8. REMEMBERING ROBBIN CROSBY Surviving members of Ratt are mourning the death of guitarist Robbin Crosby, who died of AIDS on June 6. He was 42. Crosby had been living with the HIV virus for at least seven years. He announced during an interview last summer that he had AIDS. He said he had contracted the disease through heroin use, and after several hospitalizations. STEWART LEAVES GODSMACK AGAIN Drummer Tommy Stewart has left Godsmack for the second time since he founded the band with singer Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill and guitarist Tony Rambola more than five years ago. Stewart left the group once before, after drumming on the band's independently produced debut album, "All Wound Up," in 1997. He returned for the second album after the band signed with Universal a year later. Advertisement STONES DATES FIRM FOR PRETENDERS, NO DOUBT Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders will open when the Rolling Stones launch their 40th anniversary tour Sept. 3 in Boston, and join Mick and the boys for seven more dates that month. The Stones have also announced that Gwen Stefani and No Doubt will open for three shows in October. As matters stand, in addition to the Sept. 3 show, the Pretenders will open on Sept. 5 in Foxboro; Sept. 10 and 13 in Chicago; Sept. 18 and 20 in Philadelphia; Sept. 26 in New York; and Sept. 28 in E. Rutherford, N.J. No Doubt is scheduled to open for the Stones on Oct. 12 in Detroit; Oct. 18 in Toronto; and Oct. 26 in Atlanta. MORE KORN, PLEASE Korn has added eight gigs to its first North American tour in two years, to support Tuesday's release of "Untouchables." The new dates are set in Green Bay, Wisc.; Greenville, S.C.; Kansas City, Mo.; Minneapolis; Omaha, Neb.; Roanoke, Va. and St. Louis. The band is scheduled to play at a secret location in New York City Monday. The show will be simulcast in 40 movie theaters across the United States. Advertisement
