It's a good day to bury bad news. Yes, Ocean Colour Scene are back.
The Moseley dadrockers wade into the fray with a new album and a UK tour that takes in such legendary rock landmarks as the Cresset Theatre in Peterborough and Hull City Hall.
The Midlands date is at Gloucester's rockingest venue, The Leisure Centre on April 14. You can probably get a ticket that gets you into the gig and a free swim. At #22.50 a pop, I'd expect a year's membership of the health club too, along with the full-time services of a personal trainer called Big Klaus.
The album, On The Leyline, has already been dubbed "On The Breadline" around these parts. It's coming out on their own Moseley Shoals label on April 30 and features a song by Paul Weller.
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Strong evidence that Nelly Furtado is on another planet. The American singer, who once claimed that she's like a bird, was in Birmingham last week to appear on the breakfast show of a fabtastic local radio station.
During the course of the usual promotional chit chat, young Nelly let it slip that she's a big fan of Brum's concrete carbuncle, the Central Library.
This of course puts her on a collision course with heir to the throne, Prince Charles, who has promised to ship the library off to the colonies once his mother dies.
Nelly, who may or may not be suffering from a bout of turkey cough, told the presenters: "Well I have to admit that yesterday I walked around Birmingham Central Library . . . which I have to say is rather good."
Rumours that she is collaborating with Carl Chinn on her new album could not be confirmed.
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Readers who still possess a phonograph may want to look out for a cracking new single by Mike In Mono.
Due soon on Dorridge's home of the hits, Static Caravan, Euro Eccentric is a brilliant old-fashioned electro-pop broadside by the former linchpin of much-missed Plone, cheerleaders of the short-lived weirdbag genre.
Geoff Dolman, the brains behind Static, would have us believe that Mike Johnston, the mono one, is a big cheese in the King's Heath Top Trumps scene and that the single is perfect for a Specsavers ad campaign.
It's better than that, of course, and available from www.staticcaravan.org.
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Out next Monday are a pair of double CDs by enduring rock legends Deep Purple. Recorded in 1993 by the classic Mark II line-up, one of the sets was recorded at the NEC in 1993.
I'm sure many of you were there that night and need this as a belated souvenir.
I was always of the opinion that the Purps (as they may or may not be known) were a rather duff proposition after the 1970s faded, but the CDs tell a different tale. There's so much welly therein you need to nail the furniture down when listening and Ian Gillan's voice is awesome.
Sadly, tensions between Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore were to come to a head before the tour ended leaving a trail of unfulfilled gigs. Maybe it's the mutual loathing that gives these discs the edge. As a document and obituary they're amazing.
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Here's a quick public service announcement to remind you that the deadline for registering at this year's Glastonbury Festival is on Wednesday.
Organisers say that 175,000 people have registered with its tickets website so far, which might sound fine, given that it is hoped the capacity for the event this year will be 177,500. Media and staff take up 35,000 of those places and each registrant may be looking to purchase four tickets, so expect phone/website meltdown when tickets go on sale on April 1.
The registration will allow organisers to tie tickets to photos of the purchasers, hopefully stopping touts from being able to sell on tickets.
If you have your heart set on spending three days boggying about in the mud, head over to www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk pronto and get your name on the list.
