Velvet Revolver are this-close to naming a new lead singer, but bassist Duff McKagan is talking about another band that could be back in action: Guns N' Roses.

As in the original GN'R, not the lineup that Axl Rose is currently not fronting at an arena near you.

McKagan told Rolling Stone magazine that "It could very well happen. It would have to be right and it would have to be righteous for everybody...[I]t would have to be like a kick-ass thing, or it would just kind of be sour, I think."

McKagan hearts Rose

He added: "I love Axl. We've been through a lot of shit together, and nobody can take away from us, no matter what people try to make of a squabble."

McKagan certainly wasn't in a squabbling mood when MusicRadar sat down with him at the recent NAMM Show. Check out the video below in which the bassist heaps massive praise on both Axl and the album Chinese Democracy. (It's at the 7:58 mark, but you'll want to watch the whole thing.)

Axl and Slash...not so fast

But while McKagan harbors no ill will towards Rose, he might have to pull off some Henry Kissinger-style detente to get Axl in the same room with a certain guitarist who wields a Les Paul and wears a top hat.

Recently, Rose wrote on a Guns N' Roses fansite, "In regards to Slash, I read a desperate fan's message about, what if one of us were to die and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now, blah blah blah...Give me a fucking break.

"What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.

Source murisradar

An unlikely 'supergroup' was formed on Wednesday night when Coldplay, Bono, Brandon Flowers and Take That's Gary Barlow took to the stage at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

The gig was a post-Brit Awards event to benefit the War Child charity. During Coldplay's set, Chris Martin said to the crowd: "We've just got back from Japan, lost all the Brits, it's been a shit day frankly, but it's going to get better, please welcome Mr Gary Barlow!"

Coldplay then proceeded to serve as Barlow's backing band as he sang Back For Good.

"We stole this song from Steve Vai"

Just as fans were recovering from that knockout blow, on came Bono and Brandon Flowers to join Coldplay and Barlow for a one-night-only rendition of The Killers' All These Things I've Done.

Before starting the song, Flowers said: "We stole this song from Steve Vai, but don't tell anybody".

Could he have been making a not-so-subtle reference to Coldplay's ongoing dispute with Vai's former teacher Joe Satriani? Almost certainly and, in doing so, he also made it pretty clear which horse he's backing.

Source musicradar

To mark Pet Shop Boys receiving tonight honorary Brit Award for their Outstanding Contribution to Music, their career has been condensed into less than five minutes.

The band's label Parlophone has created a video medley of their quarter century of flamboyant synth-pop hits as the band put the finishing touches to their performance at London’s Earls Court.

The pair - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe - are to release their new album Yes on March 23 with a single Love Etc out a week earlier.

[Watch the video here]

Source qthemusic

How do you know you have a drinking problem? When Keith Richards tells you to cool it with the booze. Just ask Ronnie Wood - the 61-year-old guitarist has reportedly been warned to quit partying ways or risk being axed by The Rolling Stones.

This comes at a time when the veteran band are planning an autumn US tour.

A source told Britain's Daily Express newspaper that "all the band have to have a compulsory pre-tour medical to make sure they can get insurance."

Wood fails his medical

According to the source, "Ronnie failed his medical for the 2002-2003 tour because he was drinking seven times the recommended number of alcohol units a week. He had to spend months drying out at a clinic in Arizona.

"There are worries that could be the case again this time."

Last August, Wood was treated for his alcohol addiction at the Life Works clinic in Surrey, England, following a 10-day drinking binge in Ireland with his 20-year-old Russian girlfriend, Ekaterina Ivanova.

It could be a particularly bitter blow if Wood is banned from The Rolling Stones' upcoming tour, as it has been said that he is the driving force behind getting the band back on the road. Until recently, he had been pushing for a Faces reunion, only to see it fall apart.

Monetarily, Wood could lose out big-time if he gets benched: the Stones' 2005-07 Bigger Bang run generated $558,255,524 (£391 million), an all-time record.

For that kind of money, we'd quit... just about anything!

Source musicradar

The legendary crooner will star in a new British comedy about a trawler crew who smuggle £10 million of drugs in a consignment of cod alongside fellow Welshmen Rhys Ifans and Rob Brydon.

A source involved with the movie - entitled 'The Codfather' - said: "It's great to get Tom on board. Hopefully his appearance in the movie will reel in the audience."

The 68-year-old star previously had a cameo as himself in 1996 sci-fi film 'Mars Attacks!', but this is his first fictional role.

'The Codfather', directed by Xavier Leret, is expected to start shooting later this year and is scheduled for release in 2010.

Meanwhile, the 'It's Not Unusual' singer has spoken about his love of wife Linda, who he began dating age 14, insisting their relationship is as strong as ever.

Tom said: "I'm still in love with Linda today. We've gone through thick and thin. I also remember all those times growing up together which is why we will never split - no matter what has happened or what I've done.

"After the passion in our marriage died down, we became soulmates."

Source muric-news.com

Four years ago, JD Fortune was on top of the world. The former Elvis impersonator was picked by INXS on the TV show Rockstar: INXS to front the band and help restore them to chart glory.

Now he's out of the group - leaving him broke, homeless and living in his car.

The 35-year-old Canadian tells Canada's Entertainment Tonight that the band ditched him at a Hong Kong airport

"They said, 'Thank you very much.' I found myself really alone because I had traveled with these guys for 23 months. I don't know where I am going...from sofa to sofa, from night to night. I am trying to get through my life."

Reversal of Fortune

While Fortune (whose real name is Jason Dean Bennison) says INXS were "cold and clinical" in how they sacked him, he admits that he's probably responsible for his firing. Turns out that while on the road he resumed a heavy cocaine habit, which he claims to have kicked before appearing on the reality TV series.

"It got as bad as it needed to be for me to numb out the fact that I knew this was going to come to a screeching halt," he says.

Band isn't talking

So far, INXS have yet to issue a formal statement regarding Fortune's termination. In fact, the singer is still pictured on the official INXS website as being an active member of the group.

Ironically, Fortune's current situation can be seen as an extreme case of an artist returning to his roots: before he auditioned for Rockstar: INXS, he was living in his car.

Velvet Revolver...is the slot still open?

Source murisradar