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Music

In the news: A new McCartney dilemma

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 29, 2006

A charity backed by Paul McCartney and his estranged wife has canceled a fundraising gala after the former Beatle said he would not attend, British newspapers reported.

The event, Oct. 11 in Los Angeles, was intended to raise money for the Adopt-a-Minefield campaign, the Daily Mirror said. Heather Mills McCartney helped found the charity. Adopt-a-Minefield declined to comment and would not say whether the event had been canceled.

British newspapers reported McCartney was considering making a donation to the organization to compensate it for the cancellation. Stuart Bell, McCartney's spokesman, confirmed McCartney would make a donation, but he would not specify the sum. The former Beatle announced his decision not to attend the gala in July, saying he would not be able to attend "given the current circumstances." He and Mills McCartney are divorcing, and the split has become acrimonious.

Benefit ticket sales slow

Ticket sales have been far from spectacular, but Ivan Neville says performing at the same Hurricane Katrina anniversary concert tonight as Stevie Wonder is going to be incredible no matter how many people are there.

"What an honor," said the New Orleans keyboardist and singer, and son of Neville Brothers singer Aaron Neville.

Besides Ivan Neville and Wonder, the lineup for "New Orleans: Rebuilding the Soul of America . . . One Year Later" includes New Orleans trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, New Orleans bluesman Dr. John and gospel singer Yolanda Adams. Marsalis spearheaded the show to benefit the trust he established after Katrina to rebuild the city's cultural infrastructure. The concert will take place at the New Orleans Arena, near the Superdome.

Short takes

- Keith Richards won't be fined for reportedly lighting up during a Rolling Stones concert in Scotland. The stage at Hampden Park, where the band performed Friday on its "A Bigger Bang" tour, is exempt from a law that bans smoking in enclosed public places, the Glasgow City Council said Monday.

- Matthew Broderick's vacation in Ireland was marred when he broke his collarbone falling off a horse Sunday, his publicist, Simon Halls, said Monday. Broderick, 44, was treated at a hospital and released, Halls said.

- Barbara Bach, a former Bond girl and wife of ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, was hospitalized with a broken leg after being kicked by a horse, a hospital official said Monday. She was admitted Sunday to the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford, 35 miles southwest of London. She had surgery to repair her fractured right femur, the hospital said.

[Last modified August 29, 2006, 05:44:42]