Van Tango

Kylie Minogue has denied claims she is seeking holistic treatment to help her beat cancer, and reassures fans she is "in good spirits" and "as healthy as can be expected". Many sources claimed Kylie is struggling in her fight with breast cancer, has lost a lot of weight and has consulted a leading expert on alternative medicine in London to help her cope with punishing chemotherapy treatment. But she has released a statement urging fans to ignore stories about her. It reads, "Despite the wealth of rumours to the contrary, Kylie is in good spirits and is as healthy as can be expected whilst undergoing her treatment regime in Paris. She has asked her fans please not to believe stories of dramatic weight loss and desperate searches for alternative therapy."
"Kylie has made it clear to her representatives that she doesn't want fellow sufferers to be misguided by the false stories regarding her condition and her choice of doctors." Phew! A strong red blooded woman that is not on a 'tight rope'. Get well soon.

Bling-Bling Party, anyone? Got it from Suite Chic N.C. and she says only cool people are allowed. Hmm...

Jenny Frost have signed a big book deal to write romantic novels, with the publisher believing the singer has good material to draw from being part of Atomic Kitten. "She told her publisher Faber And Faber, her life is one big Mills And Boon novel," a source said. Cool. Can't wait to get hold of the book/s.

Pierce Brosnan reckons the makers of the 007 films - in which he became one of the best James Bonds - will be sorry they ditched him for a younger star. The dashing Irishman has been replaced by English actor Daniel Craig for the next adventure, Casino Royale, and leaves with the observation that even now the makers are "regretting their decision". First blond bond. I think Daniel looks more like a distinguished villain. He lacks the charisma of Brosnan. He has a lot to prove come November 2006.

Seems like 'Come And Get It' album is not doing too good on the charts. It doesn't matter. This album is top class with electro-pop sounds that impressed moi. When you have So Good, Some Girls, I Said Never Again & Crazy Boys on the same album, one would just have to shake their head in astonishment on the quality Rachel Stevens has in her locker. Pure pop brilliance. [ Nothing Good About This Goodbye # ]

Michael Duberry is judged by Fowler to be the fattest player he played with - during his spell at Leeds. He said: "His problem was he just loved burgers. There was great team spirit at Leeds, but Michael used to get the brunt of all the mickey-taking because he was fat." No wonder he was always 3-10 steps away when chasing the ball with any attackers in a one-on-one situation. He even had the cheek to flirt with the offside trap with that Hen-ry at Highbury a few seasons back, which of course was terribly punished.

Want to become a music news writer for stereoboard?

Franz Ferdinand are fast becoming the band that the world, and David Bowie no less, loves to love. Pop legend Bowie was bowled over with Alex and gang at a gig in New York earlier this week. A source revealed : "David Bowie was watching intently and was overheard saying how impressed he was." As for the rest of the crowd: "They were going mental for them. America can't get enough of Brit talent." This ffffire is out of control...gonna buuurn this 'suffragette' city..

It seems the bullet-sieve 50 Cent is a little bit suspicious about the ladies in his life, and even assumes that he only gets dates because they want a feel of his bulging... wallet. He said : "I got things I'm really good at and things I'm not that good at. I'm really good at writing music and handling my business. But women, I'm not really good at. Like keeping them - I'm no good." And this is where it all got a little bit paranoid. "I think outside of physical attributes, stability is attractive. Women know when they look at me they wouldn't have to worry about finances ever again. So it's not difficult getting them, but it is difficult for me to keep them."
So how? Ditch the 'p.i.m.p' lifestyle, be a normal dude and find a loyal partner for life? You ain't no gangsta that way, homey...

More 50 news.. Apparently he has hit back at Samuel L Jackson's claims he turned down a role in his forthcoming movie, by asserting the Pulp Fiction actor would only have been cast as a "crackhead" anyway. He tells : "I don't even see where Samuel fits into my life story anyway, unless he plays one of the crackheads. He was a crackhead originally, right?"
"So I come from being a rapper, and he comes from being a crackhead." LOL!! At least that sounds alright; rather than being called a "Mace Windu W*nksta".

Starsailor's "On The Outside" album is out now. Seems that they added more "rock" into their tunes in this third installment. Need more listens to get into the 'good souls' groove.
Their first single -- In The Crossfire ||||

KT Tunstall has impressed moi lately. I was actually skeptical of this half-chinese Scottish lady when she mocked Dido's singing ability and refused to listen to her mercury music prize nominee album. Was thinking - "How dare she say such things about Dido!!" But she admitted her mistake and apologized for it. Her songs are totally different in style compared to the 'White Flag' singer. When I play KT's songs and had to reluctantly stop them, it means they've got class. The bridge for 'Suddenly I See' is just superb and fookin melodious; so much so it keeps repeating in me head. And it's only part of the song. Nice video too.

A.I. technology is slowing creeping into the digital world. Anything to repent to G.O.D?

Robbie Williams has said that he is keen to follow in his mum's footsteps by dabbling in the occult, in an attempt to "demystify" his dark side. Robbie, well known for making things up to make himself sound more interesting, has said that his family were obsessed with spooky things during his childhood and that he is convinced he is now a natural at black magic. He said, "My mum and family were into the supernatural, myths and legends - the stuff that makes our journey through life more interesting. Because of that I got very scared as a kid, and being scared of things that go bump in the night stayed with me for a very long time. In my teens and early twenties, I couldn't stay in my bedroom alone because I was scared of what was on the other side of the door - like the kid from The Sixth Sense."
"Because of that I wanted to tackle my deepest fears regarding that stuff. And the way to demystify it for me was to try black magic." *silence* *cricket noises* *scratch head*....

Ronan Keating has been appointed as a goodwill ambassador for a campaign to combat world hunger. The former Boyzone singer is to promote the work of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Minister of State for Agriculture Brendan Smith said it was a great honour for Keating to be the first Irish person in the role, after his appointment at a special ceremony at the FAO's headquarters in Rome. The 23 goodwill abassadors for the FAO, which include American singer Dionne Warwick and Italian soccer player Roberto Baggio, are tasked with attracting public attention to the fact that some 850 million people continue to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition. During a visit to Ghana last year, he was said to be shocked at the sight of poverty and how unfair trade laws were destroying livelihoods, and became a trade justice ambassador for a distinguished charity organisation. Such a good man.

The Incredible Tales series should have one special episode depicting the has-been king of pop-tianak ///. And the PG logo should be on all four corners of the show. Just film him walking around alone at night should be good enough to scare the nation.

Damon Albarn has revealed the first tentative details of the new Blur EP set for release before the end of 2005. Albarn described the new material as "aggressively laid back" and explained that there won't be a lot of coverage around the release. He said : "We've got the songs but we're gonna record them in a few hours and just be very laid back about it. But not musically laid back. It'll be aggressive. Aggressively laid back. It's the total opposite of Gorillaz." Albarn also went on to say that there are no plans to replace Graham Coxon and that Blur may play some live dates soon. Not looking forward to it. No Coxon = No 'universal' quality.

Older women are not the only ones prone to having defective eggs - young women have flaws in about half of theirs too, two separate studies suggest. It had always just been assumed that young women's eggs were in good shape. "We made some assumptions, but we were wrong," says Jeffrey Nelson of the Huntington Reproductive Center in California, who led one study. It is well known that women over the age of 38 are more likely to conceive offspring with chromosomal problems, known as aneuploidies - where too many or too few chromosomes are present.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) - a technique in which a cell from an early-stage embryo is examined for such abnormalities before being used for IVF treatment - has confirmed that older women's eggs are riddled with abnormalities. But until now, no one had systematically studied the eggs of younger women for flaws. Paulette Browne and her colleagues examined 275 embryos created from the donated eggs of women aged between 21 and 31. All the donors were ostensibly healthy. The researchers removed cells three days after conception and examined them for aneuploidies. They found that 137 - half - of the embryos had at least one error.

In a similar study, Nelson and colleagues looked at 289 embryos created using eggs from 22 donors under the age of 30. About 42% had chromosomal problems. Browne suggests that perhaps there is an underlying chromosomal abnormality rate in the eggs of all healthy women. Many healthy women have miscarriages, and most are thought to be the result of chromosomal problems.