Winning a Nobel was a disaster

Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has said winning the prestigious award in 2007 had been a "bloody disaster".

The increased media interest in her has meant that writing a full novel was next to impossible, she told Radio 4's Front Row. Lessing, 88, also said she would probably now be giving up writing novels altogether. Her latest book is the partly fictional memoir entitled Alfred and Emily.

Since her Nobel win she has been constantly in demand, she said. "All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed." Speaking about her writing, she said: "It has stopped; I don't have any energy any more.”This is why I keep telling anyone younger than me; don't imagine you'll have it forever.

"Use it while you've got it because it'll go, it's sliding away like water down a plughole." Lessing is the 11th woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature in its 106-year history. Her best known works include The Golden Notebook and The Good Terrorist.

The disaster is that she’s not writing anymore and makes you think the cost of these …ten minutes for the ones who could do without the Hollywood style fame.

Sex and the City

Hundreds of screaming fans have greeted the stars of the Sex and the City movie at its world premiere in London.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all got a noisy reception as they arrived on the red carpet in Leicester Square. "This is a miraculous and simply unforgettable night for all of us," Parker said. Fans have waited four years to see the big screen version of the hugely popular TV series.

Judging from the hat …it is fruitless the whole thing!!!

Dan Dare still inspires

Classic comic hero Dan Dare fired the imagination of young Britons in the 1950s and heralded the birth of hi-tech Britain, an exhibition at the London Science Museum reveals.

A British-built nuclear bomb and a prototype of the BT Tower are on display as part of the show. The museum says the Eagle comic's space hero not only reflected but influenced the UK's wealth of inventions during the 1950s and 60s. Portable televisions and radio alarm clocks are among the collection, capturing the upbeat spirit of Eagle.

I always loved those funny spaceships and I have to admit I always found funny the film they made inspired by Dan Dare sometime in late 80s!

Snipes in jail for three years

Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes has received a three-year prison sentence for tax offenses.

A federal judge handed down the maximum term requested by prosecutors - a year for each of Snipes's convictions of willfully failing to file a tax return. Snipes's lawyers had called for leniency, arguing that the offenses were misdemeanors and that the star was of good character.

But prosecutors said an example should be set because of Snipes's fame. In February, Snipes was found guilty of deliberately failing to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001, but was cleared of more serious fraud and conspiracy charges.

The first vampire in prison!!! Sentenced for drinking tax!!!

Elvis's secret UK visit

Veteran rock star Tommy Steele has admitted he took Elvis Presley on a secret tour of London in 1958.

For more than 50 years, Presley fans have believed the only time he ever set foot in the UK was during a stop-over at Prestwick Airport in March 1960. But theatre producer Bill Kenwright revealed Steele's secret on Radio 2.

In a note passed to the Daily Mail, Steele said he "swore never to divulge publicly" what took place and he "regrets" that news leaked out. The 71-year-old, who is currently appearing in a production of Dr Dolittle in Woking, said: "I can only hope he can forgive me.

"It was an event shared by two young men sharing the same love of their music and the same thrill of achieving something unimaginable." Speaking to Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce, Kenwright revealed Presley struck up a friendship with Steele after ringing him up.

Don’t be surprised now if you hear that somebody saw Elvis the other day walking around Trafalgar square!

Man leaves £180k violin on train

A £10,000 reward is being offered for the return of a valuable 17th Century violin which was left on a train.

Robert Napier, from Wiltshire, had just had the 1698 Venice-made Goffriller valued by a London dealer at £180,000. He got off a Paddington to Taunton train at Bedwyn on 29 January with the family heirloom still on board.

"It was just one of those terrible moments when I realised, as the train was steaming off, that I had left it on the train," he said.

That is going to be an expensive …music trip!

Queen plan stage musical

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed a sequel to the stage musical We Will Rock You will be bought to the stage.

"We are planning the sequel," he said. "It is a real challenge." The 60-year-old said about two million people had seen We Will Rock You, written and directed by Ben Elton, since it opened in London in 2002.

May also say the band were preparing for their autumn tour and new album. "The long arm of Queen has pulled me back in at the moment. It is a beast." He added: "We've pressed the button to go on tour this autumn so already the preparations are very consuming.

"We've chosen our set; we've chosen our environment on tour. It is very exciting, very exciting indeed. Very time consuming but Queen always was consuming." Productions of We Will Rock You, based on the songs of Queen, have since opened in Australia, Spain, Russia, the US, Japan and Germany.

The musician was speaking at a formal ceremony to install him as the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.

Ben Hur dies

Charlton Heston, who won a best actor Oscar for his starring role in the epic Ben Hur has died, a spokesman for the star's family has said.

Heston died on Saturday at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia, whom he married in 1944, at his side. Heston also portrayed Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the 1950s and 1960s.

He stepped down as president of US gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), in 2003, citing ill-health. The previous year, he had revealed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

Heston was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois.

U2 and Live Nation

U2 have signed a 12-year deal with concert promoter Live Nation to handle the band's merchandising, digital and branding rights.

The deal follows the ground-breaking recording and touring contract Madonna signed with the company last year. U2, however, will continue to release records through Universal Music. "We've been dating for over 20 years now," said singer Bono. "It's about time we tied the knot." Live Nation has managed U2's tours since 1980.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. In the end is all about money!

Sorry for Tupac claim

The Los Angeles Times has apologized for claiming rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur.

The apology follows a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used. "The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used," said editor Russ Stanton. Combs has already called the report "completely untrue" and "a lie". Writer Chuck Philips said he "got duped". Two years after the attack in New York, Shakur died in a separate shooting incident in Las Vegas.

The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. Mr. Stanton launched an investigation following claims published earlier this week on The Smoking Gun website.

"We apologies to both our readers and to those referenced in the documents and in the story," he said. The Smoking Gun claimed the documents used were fabricated by a prison inmate with a history of exaggerating his place on the rap music scene.

The newspaper said its story, published on 17 March, was based on FBI records, interviews with people at the scene of the shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. None of the sources were named. Mr. Philips, who wrote the story, said a former FBI agent examined the documents in question on his behalf and said they appeared to be legitimate.

But he said he now wished he had done more to investigate their authenticity. And if he did would he find anybody’s involvement? This is very tricky answer and still leaves suspicions in the air!

Atkinson will be … Fagin

Rowan Atkinson is to star as Fagin in the forthcoming West End stage production of Oliver! The cast will also include the winners of the BBC show I'd Do Anything - one actress will play Nancy and three boys will take turns to play the lead role.

Blackadder star Atkinson, 53, said the role was a long-held ambition. "In the 1980s I enjoyed doing a lot of West End theatre and since then have been distracted very much by Mr Bean and film-making," he said.

"I had been thinking for some time about returning to the stage and the idea of the role of Fagin, which has long intrigued me. "Some time ago I even played the role in a school production so it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss."

The Dark Side of the Moon

One of the best Rock albums in the history of music released on March 24, 1973! Its use of Musique concrète with philosophical lyrics, something that would eventually become a trademark of Pink Floyd's music, is also present.

The album was a huge landmark in rock music, as it featured the use of synthesizers in a way never heard before, exceptional sound quality (even by present day standards), and radio-friendly songs such as "Money", "Time", "Us and Them", and "Brain Damage/Eclipse". Some music critics use the album as a point of reference in determining between "classic" blues-rock and the then-new genre of electronic music. The Dark Side of the Moon is probably Pink Floyd's best work and it is all thanks to Roger Waters.

The Dark Side of the Moon spent 741 consecutive weeks (14 years) on the USA-based Billboard 200 album chart, the longest duration in history. It is also the sixth highest selling album globally of all time, selling more than forty million records.

Apple, let the Beatles …be!

A legal attempt has begun to block the release of early Beatles recordings. Lawyers for the group's surviving members have claimed the eight tracks, apparently played in Hamburg in 1962, were taped without permission.

The songs include Paul McCartney performing Lovesick Blues by Hank Williams, and McCartney and Lennon singing together on Ask Me Why. But the Miami company trying to sell the music, Fuego Entertainment, has insisted the recordings were legal. The firm's president, Hugo Cancio, told the Associated Press he planned to release the songs as an album entitled Jammin' with The Beatles and Friends, Star Club, Hamburg, 1962. "It's unfair to millions of Beatles fans not to allow this recording to be put out. The world deserves to hear these tracks."

Apple, let it be!

Oprah sued over a …seat

A woman has sued the company behind Oprah Winfrey's TV chat show, claiming she was injured when audience members rushed to find seats at a recording. Orit Greenberg has demanded $50,000 (£25,100) in damages after allegedly being pushed down a flight of stairs.

She said this caused her "severe and permanent injuries" and claimed the crowd in the studio was not properly controlled by Harpo Studios staff. The production company declined to comment on her allegations.

Some people definitely do anything they can to get their 10 minutes of fame!!!