Newsbites: Armstrong meltdown was ‘most punk thing he’s ever done’

Not buying it: Matt Sorum

Velvet Revolver and ex-Guns n’Roses drummer Matt Sorum has slated Green Day after frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s subtance-fuelled meltdown at the weekend. Sorumm whose bandmate Duff McKagan will host this year’s Classic Rock Roll of Honour ceremony, tweeted it was “the most punk rock thing he has ever done” and added: “Then he had to go an ruin it by apologising. Corporate rock is alive and well. Never really bought that band anyway.”

Meanwhile, Green Day drummer Tre Cool’s ex-wife says Armstrong was drinking for the first time in a year ahead of the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. She says: “There’s a lot of temptation to drink and it’s tough to be around when you’re fighting against it. It’s a demanding lifestyle. He’s my son’s godfather – it’s very hard for kids to see this happen.”

Planet Rock owner Malcolm Bluemel is looking for someone to buy the UK’s leading all-digital radio station, believed to be losing £300,000 a year despite listener levels of over one million a week. Bluemel, who says he’s put £3m of his own money into the firm, says: “Digital radio has come of age and Planet Rock is at the forefront of that.” Earlier this year he defended himself against angry listeners who objected to his attempts to charge for premium content. Planet Rock launched 13 years ago and none of its contemporaries have survived.

Two UK festivals appear to have succumbed to current commercial challenges. Guilfest organisers have announced the 2012 edition was the last, and the company will fold with a £300,000 loss on its books. Bosses blamed low attendance due to the Olympics, the number of other festivals and bad weather for the collapse. Meanwhile, Music Festivals Group are seeking to go into administration, with no guarantee it will keep operating. The firm is behind the Hop Farm festival and also Spain’s Benicassim. Share sales were suspended with the price at 2.12p, down from 66.5pm when MFG floated in 2011.

Mike Love, who owns the commercial rights to the Beach Boys, has sacked Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks following the end of their successful 50th anniversary tour. He’ll keep touring as the Beach Boys alongside Bruce Johnston. Love says it was always his intention, adding: “You’ve got to be careful not to get over-exposed. There are promoters interested but they’ve said, ‘Give it a rest for a year.’ The Eagles found out the hard way when they went out for a second year and wound up selling tickets for $5.”

FM will release a 9-track EP called Only Foolin’ on November 26. The band will support Thin Lizzy on their UK tour starting on November 29 and have booked their own UK headline dates in March next year.

The Beatles release a 16LP limited-edition box set on November 13. The Stereo Albums includes every official band track on 180g audiophile vinyl including original reproduced artwork and UK track lists plus expanded booklets, rare photos and fold-out packaging, and a DVD containing mini-documentaries.

Micky Moody and Neil Murray have signed their Whitesnake offshoot band Snakecharmer to Frontiers Records. The band will release an album next year, backed with a UK tour.

Meanwhile, Dokken offshoot T&N – formerly Tooth and Nail – starring George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown, will release Slave to the Empire on October 31. Guest singers include Tim Ripper Owens, Doug Pinnick, Sebastian Bach and Robert Mason.

Nikki Sixx says Motley Crue were always at war with former record label Elektra. The bassist explains: “We turned in Shout at the Devil and they rejected the album – they didn’t like it, it didn’t sound like us, we’d changed the logo, we’d changed the look. We said, ‘Fine – we’ll go to another record company.’ So they put it out and it sold four million copies. Then when our next record got turned in with Home Sweet Home on it, they rejected that. So we did the same thing. We funded Home Sweet Home as a single, it went on MTV and the rest is history.”

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star have released lullaby versions of 12 Dream Theater tracks including Wither, Pull Me Under, These Walls, Metropolis Pt 1 and Panic Attack. Listen to samples.