Germany Calling - The first European edition of US music festival Lollapalooza is to be held in Berlin next year, organisers have announced. The main event, held in Chicago since 1991, will land in the city's Tempelhof airport site in September 2015. Founder Perry Ferrell, lead singer of Jane's Addiction, said Berlin's "energy and vibrant art and music scenes" made it a perfect fit for Lollapalooza. Other versions of the festival already take place in South America. Next year will see events in Santiago, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, as well as Berlin and Chicago.
Seaside Special - Live variety entertainment is to take centre stage in a £1m plan to revive the fortunes of Blackpool's historic North Pier Theatre. Blackpool-based HRH Entertainments and the pier's owner, Peter Sedgewick, have announced plans to present a 20-week variety season in 2015 with the promise of "massive names" to lure audiences back to the 1,400-seat venue. The announcement follows recent growth in audience figures for ad hoc shows on the 151-year-old pier still recovering from severe damage during last winter's storms. HRH owner Tony Jo told The Stage,"The pier is in a state of extreme disrepair but bit by bit we're putting it back together. We're very positive we can get it back on its feet...I want to put a show on every night and most afternoons if I can, with something for everyone: a variety mix. Blackpool isn't for modern dance, Shakespeare and opera; it's for variety."
Under The Hammer - The final wave of BBC memorabilia from Television Centre has been sold at auction. Studio signs and backdrops were included in the sale, alongside large items such as industrial washing machines and a cherry-picker lorry. Television Centre was built in 1960. The BBC sold it to developers in 2012 and moved operations to other buildings. Items from Studio 8 - which housed classic shows such as Fawlty Towers and Monty Python's Flying Circus - attracted a number of bids, with one clock fetching £780, and the 'Studio 8' sign going for £478. A collection of black-and-white portraits taken by David Bailey of stars including Michael Caine and Mick Jagger ended with bidding reaching £1,264. it is thought that the sales will realise a total of £100,000, which will go back into the BBC coffers.
No Show - The Rolling Stones cancelled their Melbourne concert on Saturday because Mick Jagger developed a throat infection. Jagger is under strict doctor's orders to rest his vocal cords, according to an official statement. The band is due to play in Sydney on 12 November. The Stones' Australian tour was postponed earlier this year after the death in New York of Jagger's girlfriend, L'Wren Scott. Reports suggest The Stones face a battle to win a $12.7m (£7.9m) insurance claim for the concerts they postponed when L'Wren Scott took her own life. The group had taken out a policy to be paid in the event shows were cancelled due to the death of family members or others, including Scott. But underwriters say Scott's death may not be covered by the policy.
Then There Were Three - Take That's Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald will perform 22 concerts across seven arenas next sprong, kicking off at the Hydro in Glasgow on 28 April. The live shows will be four years after t
