Music News Blog

Pop star Michael Jackson and his former wife Debbie Rowe have reached a settlement in their long-running child custody dispute, her lawyer said on Friday.

Attorney Marta Almli, who represents Rowe, did not disclose the terms of the agreement, which she said must be signed by a judge in the coming weeks. The judge's approval was expected to be a formality.

Almli said the agreement also settles a lawsuit Jackson filed against Rowe in 2004 claiming that she violated a confidentiality agreement.

"There is a settlement of all of the disputes between the parties," Almli said. "It's a done deal."

Jackson's attorney, Michael Abrams, confirmed that the agreement had been reached. He said Jackson was not in Los Angeles but had approved the deal.

"He wasn't in L.A. when we resolved it but that didn't prevent us from talking about it with him and having him sign it," Abrams said.

Jackson and Rowe, who met while she was working for his dermatologist, were married in 1996 and had two children, Michael Jr. and Paris, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has since had another son but has not disclosed the name of the boy's mother.

In 2001, Rowe gave up her parental rights but filed for custody after Jackson's 2003 arrest on child molestation charges, citing in part his association with the Nation of Islam.

Prosecutors called Rowe as a witness in Jackson's trial last year, but she testified about Jackson in glowing terms. Jackson was acquitted of all charges in June of 2005.

Notorious UK guerrilla artist Banksy has sabotaged 500 copies of Paris Hilton’s debut CD.

The graffiti/stencil artist and agitator Banksy has replaced five hundred copies of Paris Hilton’s debut album with a “remixed” version in stores across the UK. The album looks virtually identical but track titles have been replaced with ‘Why am I Famous?’, ‘What Have I Done?’ and ‘What Am I For?’ and inner sleeve art has been doctored. The music was also remixed by “DM”, some suggesting it’s Gnarls Barkley beatmaster Danger Mouse.

The barcode was retained, so the new versions have sold as normal. Many retailers have been hunting for the doctored copies but copies are currently attracted bids up to US$700 on eBay.

Banksy has a long history of stunts, recalling a Situationist ethic of detournement. He surreptitiously included his own artwork on the walls of the Tate Britain gallery, MoMA, the British Museum and more. He’s scrawled slogans inside animal enclosures in two British zoos. He also painted trompe l’oeil style images representing holes and ladders on the Palestinian side of the Israeli West Bank wall.

He has previous musical connections; he painted the cover of Blur’s ‘Thinktank’ album and Green Day’s Tres Cool reportedly has two tattoos of Banksy’s designs.

The identity of the dentist who first introduced THE BEATLES to LSD has finally been revealed in a new book about the band. THE FAB FOUR: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE BEATLES by STEVE TURNER claims the man referred to by the late GEORGE HARRISON as "the wicked dentist", was JOHN RILEY, a distinguished professional with a practice in London's Harley Street. Riley's identity has been shrouded since that fateful occurrence in 1965, but now, 20 years after his death, Turner has decided to life the lid on the sneaky dentist, who spiked the stars' coffees with the drug when they went to dinner with him. JOHN LENNON's first wife CYNTHIA reportedly has still not forgiven him. An insider says, "The book is significant as drugs went on to have a big effect on the band. "When you go for dinner with your dentist, you don't imagine a professional man would do something like that."