Another taste of Rockipedia

Over on RockRadio.co.uk we do this every day - but since it's Download, and since it's you, have another slice of our global rock news roundup, starring Guns n'Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo and more...

Has Axl Rose finally flipped? That's one of the rumours flying around after reports that he's fired then re-hired manager Irving Azoff three times in the last six weeks, and he's refusing to leave his home. The latest round of mood swings appear to be down to Rose's desire not to promote his recent album Chinese Democracy, which was 14 years in the making. A spokesman for the management company says: "We're in daily contact with Axl and we look forward to continuing to support him."


Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins may have hired a 19-year-old as the band's new drummer. The sole remaining original member invited public applications for the job in March after Jimmy Chamberlin quit the post. Now Mike Byrne may be the new man on the throne - even though he was one year old when the Pumpkins' debut album, Gish, was released. There's been no official statement but Byrne says he's "off for a couple of weeks at pumpkin camp" while Corgan has said he's found his "drummer of the future" - a quote already used in connection with Corgan and Byrne.


And still on young drummers, Brian Molko of Placebo says the band's new lease of life is down to new drummer Steve Forrest, who's new to the big time. Molko says: "All the things I've experienced over the last 15 years, Steve's experiencing for the first time. He's so positive it sometimes drives me crazy. It's like being in a band with your little brother." The band are enjoying positive reviews for new album Battle For The Sun.


The first person to be found guilt of music file-sharing crimes goes back to court tomorrow for a retrial. US record label bosses won a case against 32-year-old Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a mother of four, in 2007, and she was ordered to pay over $200,000 in damages. Since then the RIAA, which represents the industry, has won damages of over $100million against members of the public. Faced with the wrath of giant legal teams, many people settled out of court by paying $3500 to the RIAA, even when they said they were innocent. But bosses changed their tack last year after it became clear the tactic was backfiring against the big-business moguls. Thomas-Rasset has new powerful lawyers who are confident of overturning the original ruling - which could lead to a stack of expensive retrials.

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