Not that we like to gossip, but... Why are so many ageing musos rearing from their graves? Having already sacked Mick Ronson from his live band, Midge Ure has revived Zal Cleminson (Sensational Alex Harvey Band) to spoil his current tour with noisy 'licks'... Nobby Dylan is working with Dave Eurythmical Stewart on two new videos, one of which involves American Rock Star Feargal Sharkey... Dexy's Midnight Runners have given gainful employment to Vincent Crane, once of Atomic Rooster (no, we don't remember them either)...

Why is Roger Taylor absent from Arcadia's press photos? And will he recover in time for Duran Duran's big US date at Anaheim on December 27th?... Digital Technology? Bah! Pt.2, featuring Konk Studios, and a drum sound: seems that Konk's new Mitsubishi 32-track digital tape machine is not giving the drum sound desired, and local operatives have taken to recording on the analogue Studer, then bouncing across to the new toy. We hear Konk are not alone in adopting this procedure... Having told you how much the Thompson Twins budgeted to lose on their tour, Blabber now tells you that Wham! were scheduled to make (including record sales?) £1,000,000 for each gig of their recent US tour. Keyboardist Tommy Eyre (he's so old he played with Joe Cocker) revealed this dubious factette in a chat with an American magazine, along with the news that "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" was recorded in three hours, with just two takes...

How come Spandau Ballet only found out about their compilation LP one week before its release? Is this any reason for Gary Kemp to put an embargo on £250,000 of scheduled TV advertising?... Steve Stevens, guitar designer for Hamer, has a new album recorded with colleague and boss, Billy Idol due out in February... Why has Bono been recording with Keith Richards and Ron Wood — has he gone over The Edge?... Why are UB40 working with Stevie Wonder?... Why does Peter Hook hate New Order's recent "Subculture"? Because of John Robey's NY discomix, perhaps? Will he like the follow-up, "Shame Of The Nation", recorded in Japan, any better?...

Time for a Beefheart Blabber: while recording "Trout Mask Replica" at his rural home, the Captain enlisted the services of a tree surgeon to ensure that the oaks and cedars about his abode did not become frightened by the noise and fall over... Fabulous but ill pianoperson Dr John has recorded a six-tape tutor under the title "New Orleans Piano & The Roots of Rock", why is nobody in the UK distributing it yet?... Did the person who stole my Tipp-X know that the stuff was invented by Mike "Monkees" Nesmith's mother, experimenting at the kitchen stove? She gets royalties on every bottle sold... Theory Of Soloing (Or Life, For That Matter) Pt.41: if you make a mistake, repeat it... Talking of Thompsons, Richard brought bassist Rory McFarland to centre stage in an attempt to liven up a comatose Croydon audience last month for "his impersonation of a Casio rhythm box". And very good it was too: shoosy, silly, soundalike rhythms all done with the bassist's programmable mouth. There's a future for him in the PCM trade. And while Mr T was on the subject of drums, he also helpfully pointed out that his overworked group's drummer, Jerry Conway, can be heard on one of the American "Drum Drops" drum-patterns-for-your-portastudio albums. "So you too can have Jerry play in your front room," suggested the Telecaster-laden Thompson. "In fact, he'll play in your own front room for only marginally more than the price of the album." Not a bad offer...

"I'm working at home developing a new type of video tape facility. It should become an art in itself, and should supply visuals to go with an album's sound."Todd Rundgren, Beat Instrumental December 1975.

Rock History We Were Denied Pt.7: the alternative lyric to "Get Back", by Them Beatles. "Don't dig no Pakistanis takin' all the people's jobs/Wilson said to the immigrants/You'd better get back your Commonwealth homes/Yeh-yeh-yeh you'd better get BACK HOME." C. 1969 Maclen Music... have you heard OTT contributor Adrian Legg on BBC TV recently? Snatches from our man's 'Fretmelt' LP keep running all over Auntie's current Radio Times ads. Celebratory new set of strings, perhaps...