I doubt there’s a man, woman, or child not shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Jackson at the tender age of 50. Whether you loved him or hated him, thought he was a freak or just an eccentric, believed all the many stories told about him or not, you cannot argue that he wasn’t a musical genius. He entertained and enlightened many people from all walks of life and it’s a sad loss to the world.

Paul McCartney worked with Michael Jackson on a number of different occasions, including duets Say Say Say (embedded below) and The Man. The pair eventually fell out with each other after Jackson outbid both McCartney and John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono for the publishing rights to The Beatles back catalog. There’s now a rumor that Jackson left these rights to McCartney in his will.

Paul McCartney was clearly as shocked and upset about Michael Jackson’s premature death from cardiac arrest, and posted a heartfelt tribute to the man on his official Web site.

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I’m not a fan of Paul McCartney as he is today: old, past it, purveyor of crap songs. But that doesn’t matter because he’s a Beatle and always will be. Which means he’s a living legend who can pretty much get anything he wants - even one-legged former models.

Surely his time in The Beatles, arguably the best pop group that has ever been, is why he’s still popular. I refuse to believe it’s because everyone loves that God awful Frog Chorus song or the absolute dirge that is Mull Of Kintyre. Instead, we remember McCartney for what he used to be and what he’s done in the past, even though he’s now way past 64.

It’s this remembrance of his past which has surely helped McCartney nab the honor of being the first artist to perform at Citi Field, the new home of The New York Mets baseball team. Who can forget that The Beatles were the first band to play at the Mets’ old home of Shea Stadium. That was in 1965 and constituted the first time a rock concert had ever been held at a sports stadium.

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Anyone who plays video games on a regular basis will be aware of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band phenomenon. Who would have thought that picking up little plastic instruments and pretending you’re a real musician could be so fun? But it is, immensely so, which is why the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises are so huge.

But as cool as Rock Band is, there is a way to make it better - make a special edition featuring The Beatles and only The Beatles. Which is exactly what is happening. The new video game, ingeniously titled The Beatles: Rock Band, features 45 Beatles tracks and is coming out for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii later this year.

Today saw the start of E3 2009, the biggest video games show in the world. The Beatles were the star attraction on day one, with the surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, unveiling the game, showing off an exclusive new demo, and revealing more details as to the track listing for the game.

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In the 18 months or so that I’ve been writing Brit Music Scene, I’ve done nothing but support British bands, with the possible exception of Boyzone and the Spice Girls for obvious reasons. But I cannot bring myself to back U2 in their current state.

I’ve already reviewed their new album, No Line On The Horizon, and it’s safe to say I’m not a fan of it, giving it just three out of 10. And now I’m about to call them out for being publicity-seeking copycats. U2 fans may want to look away now.

U2 staged a surprise gig on the roof of BBC Broadcasting House in London on Friday night. 5,000 fans turned up to watch them perform a medley of tunes after news of the gig was leaked (intentionally) to various message boards on the Web.

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2009 is approaching fast and so it’s time to look back at 2008. Here we’ll see the high and lowlights of the first three months of the year, with a selection of stories we covered between January and March.

January

The month began with Queen being named as the best British band of all time, beating The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Take That, and Oasis. Sad news in the middle of the month when Lily Allen suffered a miscarriage. She later split with boyfriend Ed Simons.

Geri Halliwell claimed that the Spice Girls wouldn’t make a penny from their huge world tour despite it selling out everywhere. She was later proved a liar when it was revealed the girls had made $20 million apiece. Then the once-great girl group canceled the tour and split up again.

The Cribs took Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, on as a fourth member, while Amy Winehouse finally entered rehab.

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British music is probably the second most popular country-specific music in the world, with only those dastardly Americans beating us as usual. But being a mad British music fan who lives in the UK, I sometimes forget that other nations may see things slightly differently.

What I may see as British artists strengths could be seen as weaknesses in other countries. While a regional accent can help a band succeed in the UK, giving them an identity and a presence, it could go against them when they try and take their music abroad.

Is it possible that some bands are just too British to succeed outside of their homeland?

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The new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, is as good as The Beatles classic album, Revolver, often cited as the Fab Four’s best long player.

At least that’s the opinion on Alan McGee, the former boss of Creation records who signed Oasis to his record label after seeing them play live in Glasgow in 1993.

In a Guardian newspaper article titled ‘Why the music world needs Oasis’, McGee recounts meeting the Gallagher brothers last year, a meeting that ended with typical Oasis debauchery.

Then he waxes lyrical about the new album and explains why he thinks it’s as good as What’s The Story (Morning Glory), seen by many as the highlight of the band’s career.

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An interview with The Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney has been discovered and broadcast for the first time since it was recorded in 1964. The interview was on a canister of film found by a film enthusiast in a damp garage in South London.

According to Reuters, film enthusiast Richard Jeffs found the interview amongst a pile of 64 film canisters, one of which contains a clip of Cilla Black. Jeffs hasn’t yet viewed the rest so there could be all sorts of gems from the Brit Music Scene included in there.

The nine and a half minute interview was recorded on April 30, 1964 by Scottish television, and after being broadcast on the day, was thought to have been lost. The interview was today played on BBC Radio 4 in full, and includes John Lennon and Paul McCartney discussing how the band started.

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There are rumours that a long lost song written by John Lennon for The Beatles could now be completed and released as a tribute to Neil Aspinall.

Aspinall was band’s manager, and long-time friend who was regarded as “the fifth Beatle” until his death on March 24th.

The track, titled Now and Then, was discovered along with Free Bird and Real Love, both of which have since been remastered and released. Both became top ten hits proving that there is a still a demand for anything written by Lennon, or associated with The Beatles.

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A lot of musicians rate Led Zeppelin as one of the best bands of all time, and most rock bands would list them as at least part influences on their sound, style, or image. Like The Who, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones before them, they were one of the British invasion who shaped rock music for the future.

So it’s no surprise to find out that one of the current innovators, Dave Grohl, now of Foo Fighters, and formerly of Nirvana, is a big fan of the band, and lists them as heroes.

What is intriguing however is the rumour that Grohl has expressed an interest in particpating in a Led Zeppelin tour should it ever happen.

He was in attendance at the recent London 02 Arena show, when Led Zeppelin reformed supposedly for one night only, and blew everyone away with the fact that 30 years on, they have lost none of their brilliance.

Unfortunately Grohl wasn’t able to see his all time drumming hero John Bonham playing, but had to settle for his son Jason instead.

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