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Pick at the pops: 06 August 2007

Our weekly round-up of the weird and wonderful world of pop music...

Youngsters today, eh? They get everywhere. We’re fascinated by youth and anyone over 30 gets put out to pasture. Just look at footballers: multi-millionaires by the time they’re 17, married to mouth-breathing girl-groupers by 19, negotiating the downward spiral to rampant alcoholism and public vilification by 26. And in our own dear pop charts we’ve just let Rihanna, a 19 year old girl, have 10 weeks at the top. Is she really old enough to handle that kind of responsibility? Are these the role models we should be looking to? Thankfully, some old codgers are still doing us proud.

For a start, you may just have heard that 5ft funkmaster Prince last week kicked off his 21-date London gig extravaganza. The purple pixie is a grand old 49, for goodness’ sake. Punters with tickets to the later shows have their fingers crossed that he’ll still have the puff.

Then there’s Brian May, war-torn poodle of Queen fame, who has finally completed his Astronomy PhD after a 26-year gap and is planning on staging a celebratory concert at the observatory on Tenerife where he began and ended his thesis all those years apart (with that pomp rock hiatus shoehorned in). Tenerife, Bri? Have you checked that certificate is kosher?

Equally heartening, if somewhat puzzling, is the news that stalwart British actor Sir Michael Caine – a chipper 74 – is a big fan of ambient music, and is putting out a compilation of his favourite “chill-out”, erm, “vibes” – called, fairly inevitably, Cained. Michael Caine? A new age bleep aficionado? You’re only supposed to blow the bloo… oh, hang on – not a lot of people know that. That’s it.

There’s just time to have a good laugh at urban outlaws Hard-Fi who have taken the radical step of launching their new album with “no artwork”. Despite “major record label objection”, Richard Archer and the boys have decided to “break the rules” and “kill off the record sleeve” by having no cover art on the new release. The result? The words “NO COVER ART” in a beguiling font on a smart yellow background “in lieu” of a sleeve. We’re confused. Isn’t that artwork? But… but that would make it a cheap publicity stunt…

Matthew Horton

Picture: PA Photos

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• 23/07/2007: Pick at the pops mingles with the A-list >>
• 16/07/2007: No smoking, no swearing - this is rock >>
• 09/07/2007: Live Earth seals our fate >>
• 02/07/2007: Pop stars try to remember Diana >>
• 18/06/2007: Ronnie and Keef in boring row >>
• 11/06/2007: George Michael avoids jail >>
• 04/06/2007: Beth Ditto bares all >>
• 29/05/2007: Stevie and Jacko disappoint Macca >>
• 21/05/2007: Lily vs Cheryl in catfight nirvana >>
• 14/05/2007: Eurovision carve-up shame >>
• 08/05/2007: How is Kurt Cobain still writing diaries? >>
• 30/04/2007: Bez and Mani? It's 1990 all over again >>
• 23/04/2007: MC Hammer inspires Arctic Monkeys >>
• 16/04/2007: Your planet is safe in Madonna's hands >>
• 10/04/2007: Kaiser Ricky fights for pop double standards >>
• 02/04/2007: Weller vs Sting in battle of the spittle >>
• 26/03/2007: Jagger and Trousersnake snubbed >>
• 19/03/2007: Ray Quinn and the death of pop >>
• 12/03/2007: The Jackson Five eye some filthy lucre >>
• 05/03/2007: George is on his way to Wembley >>
• 26/02/2007: Mel C holds up Spice reunion >>
• 19/02/2007: Joss Stone's big love >>
• 12/02/2007: Lily conquers America >>
• 05/02/2007: Oasis to meet Ringo at last >>
• 29/01/2007: Amy Winehouse wows the Savoy >>
• 22/01/2007: Chris Martin: the B-Boy >>
• 15/01/2007: Whitney auctions her belongings >>
• 08/01/2007: The Police to reform? >>
• 02/01/2007: James Brown RIP >>
• 2006 archive >>