Newsbites: Ziggy ‘K West’ sign is star attraction

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The original K West sign as seen on the cover of David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust album is among items on view at an exhibition of vintage Bowie posters and memorabilia in London. The sign was rescued after being removed by a fan in the early 1980s and has been restored for the exhibition, which also includes difficult-to-find items from 1969 to 1981. Material is also available for purchase. David Bowie: Sound and Vision opens on November 17 and runs until December 1 at the Movie Poster Art Gallery and admission is free. Find out more.

Rob Zombie called off an open-air appearance at Little Rock, Arkansas at the weekend after his crew raised safety concerns over weather conditions. He decided not to proceed after a series of high profile stage collapses in recent years. Zombie says: “It’s a drag. We drove all night to play the show only to find we couldn’t. You just have to go on the recommendations of your crew – they’re trying to rig thousands of pounds of equipment. The wind was blowing and they had to keep stopping, and they came to the conclusion it’s just not safe.  After what happened with Sugarland and Cheap Trick you just can’t take the risk. It’s an inconvenience, but nothing’s more inconvenient than that stuff coming down. Imagine if something happened – no one would have been worried about the concert then.” He’s promised to “figure out something special” for fans when the show is rearranged. [100.3 The Edge]

Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt says the band were faced with a stark choice in confronting Billie Joe Armstrong’s drug issues after his onstage meltdown. “We had to put the life of our friend in front of everything,” Dirnt says. “There were signs of things hitting the fan. We hadn’t slept in for ever. Hindsight is 20/20.” The band have cancelled their appearance at the Voodoo Experience in LA at the end of the month, which was set to be the kicking-off point for their upcoming US tour. [BBC]

Motorhead have launched a range of headphones with the aim of reproducing more authentic rock performances in listeners’ ears. Guitarist Phil Campbell says: “We wanted our music especially, and rock music in general, to sound great. We wanted to hear the mid-range and the guitars and for people to appreciate them. There’s so much drum-and-bass stuff out there and that’s fine, but these are for people who like listening to mid-range stuff.” The Motorheadphones range consists of five products with prices ranging from £40 to £130, and goes on sale next month. [Music Radar]

The Trews have recorded a new EP including collaborations with Rich Robinson and Eddie Harsch of the Black Crowes. The band say the songs “run the gamut from tongue and cheek songs to heart felt country tinged rock.” Thank You and I’m Sorry is due out on November 6, and the band commence a Canadian and Australian tour on October 11.

Hugh Cornwell is now more comfortable with playing Stranglers material as part of his solo live set – so much so that his latest tour includes a full performance of the band’s 1977 album No More Heroes. Cornwell says: “I’d rather play my own stuff, but the Stranglers are part of my life. You can’t deny where you come from; it’s not healthy. I’m willing to play a proportion of old stuff, as long as I’m not expected to play it exactly as it sounded originally.” [Chronicle Live]

Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor believes an important part of growing up involves learning to care about others as much as yourself. He says: “I still like things that I loved doing when I was a kid. I love music, comic books and movies, for instance. However, my approach to life is completely different – when I was young, I was more concerned about making myself happy. But as I grew older, I realised that all I was bringing me was a lot of pain and depression. Then I started to take control of my life by putting a focus on my family and my work. If you do that, you leave yourself room to enjoy yourself and embrace the things that make you happy. My main concern now is being sure that my family is being taken care of.” [Radio Metal]