April 1999
Massive Attack are awarded OBEs but are upset when the Queen snubs them, holding out their gongs and snatching them away as soon as they reach out to accept them. “What the fuck have cunts like that got to do with getting awards anyway,” the Queen tells reporters later…
The Beastie Boys phone up Belle And Sebastian‘s Stuart Murdoch on the eve of the scottish beat group’s American tour to demand not only that they don’t play ‘Stars Of Track And Field’ (“It may sound hypocritical but a lot of people get hurt in field sports in old skool trainers”) but that they stop being Scottish (“A lot of harm has been done by Scottish empire”). Stuart Murdoch responds by not saying anything to them. Or to any of the evil music press.
Or to his mum – just to be on the safe side.
Festival fever mounts with over 40 new festivals announced for 1999 and a literal feeding frenzy of promoters trying to get a line-up out of a diminishing number of bands…
Elastica‘s second album, due to be released, is put back because they still haven’t finished after five years. Insiders say that they’re aiming to beat The Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine and Stereo MCs.
Paul Weller plays a charity gig that will definitely be the last of the year. Noel joins him to play two acoustic songs…