Ozzy Osbourne covering John Lennon? Turns out, it's not as odd as it sounds. The former (and possibly future) Black Sabbath vocalist has cut a version of the late ex-Beatle's song How? to help celebrate what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday this Saturday, 9 October.

Osbourne's version of take How? (which originally appeared on Lennon's 1971 Imagine album) is available today on iTunes. All proceeds will go to benefit Amnesty International. A video for the song will debut on AOL's PopEater.com.

While Osborne might seem worlds away from Lennon stylistically, the Prince Of Darkness has frequently cited the former Beatle as one of his biggest influences, calling him a "driving force for humanity."

The thirtieth anniversary of Lennon's murder is this December, and in a recent BBC interview Osbourne said "the world stopped for me" when he heard the news. "I can't even describe how I felt," he said. "If he was a politician, a soldier, anything else, it would be, 'Oh yeah, well, he is in that kind of business.' But the amount of joy and hope that he gave people was just remarkable."

How? isn't the first time Osbourne has covered John Lennon: On his 2005 album, Under Cover, he recorded a version of the 1965 Beatles' classic In My Life. You can check out a live performance of the song (with Slash guesting on guitar) below.

by Joe Bosso

Source music-radar

PRESS RELEASE: Mansons Guitar Shop is proud to announce the legendary bass player John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin/Them Crooked Vultures) will be appearing at this years show taking place Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October.

The 2010 Mansons Guitar Show is set to be both the biggest and best show yet with a record number of exhibitors confirmed including virtually every great guitar company on the planet. Manufacturers will be bringing their best model examples to exhibit at the prestigious weekend with several UK exclusive launches confirmed.

A great mixture of the small independent guitar companies are rubbing shoulders with large corporates, and the presence of guitar legends such as John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin means Manson's Guitar Show is undoubtedly the UK's premier guitar lovers' event. A full list of exhibitors and artists is attached separately.

We are also proud to announce that Mansons Guitar Show is set to be one of the most unique in terms of prize-winning opportunities and has grown even greater this year. For 2010 Ampeg are giving away a bass rig signed by its roster of bass artists that includes members of The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, King's-X, Alice In Chains, The Smashing Pumpkins, and many others.

Marshall will be offering a signed amplifier by one of their legendary artists and Avid Distribution are giving away one of their Eleven Rack systems worth nearly £800. Acoustic players are equally well looked after with Faith and Freshman Guitars offering mouth watering prizes. You can win these prizes through the charity raffle at the show, charity auction or through an exclusive Express And Echo giveaway.

Mansons' clinic, demonstration and performance room will be running flat out throughout the weekend. Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Walter Trout (Blues Legend), Jerry Donahue (The Hellecasters), Jan Akkerman (Focus), Alex Hutchings, Jas Morris (Guitarist Of The Year Winner), Stuart Clayton (Carl Palmer Band), Chris George (Marshall Official Demonstrator), and flying in exclusively for the Manson's Show US bass artist Michael Manring (Zon Guitars) will all be appearing at the show.

More giveaways, prizes and amazing deals means one day simply won't be enough: luckily our weekend special ticket should take care of that problem. Tickets available now in-store or online, with concessions for students and under 16's.

Information taken from official press release, for more visit Mansons.

by MusicRadar Team

Source music-radar

Roger Waters has changed one of the videos he uses during his stage show of 'The Wall', following accusations that it was anti-Semitic.

As previously reported, the Anti-Defamation League claimed the video segment for the song 'Goodbye Blue Sky' used imagery associated with stereotypes about Jews and money.

In particular, the video shows aeroplanes dropping bombs in the shapes of Jewish Stars of David followed by dollar signs, although various other religious and corporate symbols are also depicted.

Now, during the same song at his show at New York's Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (October 6), the video had been changed to show the Mercedes symbol following the Jewish symbols, reports Rolling Stone.

Earlier this week, Waters responded to the anti-Semitism claims, saying that there were "no hidden meanings in the order or juxtaposition of these symbols".

Roger Waters, who is currently on the US leg of his world tour of 'The Wall', will bring the show to the UK and Ireland in May and June 2011.

Source nme