Posts Tagged ‘united-kingdom’

Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Arrested on Multiple Child Sex Offense Charges

Ian Gavan, Getty Images In shocking news out of the United Kingdom,  Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins has been charged with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a female under 13, along with the possession and distribution of “indecent images of children.” This story comes as a major shock to fans of the longtime singer of the Lostprophets, who have sold 3.5 million albums worldwide throughout the band’s 15-year history. The Welsh group had a No. 1 alternative rock hit in the United States with ‘Last Train Home’ in 2004. According to The Guardian and other reputable sources like BBC News, two women, ages 20 and 24, have been charged alongside Watkins with similar offenses. The three are currently being held in police custody, having already appeared before Cardiff Magistrates’ Court today (Dec. 19). Bail applications from all three parties have been denied. Watkins will remain in police custody until his next scheduled court appearance on Dec. 31. A statement from a police spokesperson reads as follows: A Pontypridd man has been charged with sexual offences against children and is due to appear at Cardiff magistrates court today. The 35-year-old has been charged with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a female under 13 and possession/distribution of indecent images of children. In order to assist their investigation, South Wales police has named the man as Ian Watkins, a member of the rock group Lostprophets.” South Wales police are encouraging those who may have information about the charges to come forth. “Specially-trained staff are available to speak to anyone with concerns or information regarding this investigation and a dedicated telephone number has been set up,” says Senior Investigating Officer Peter Doyle. “I want to encourage anyone who has any concerns or information which they think may be relevant to contact us … Safeguarding children involved in such cases is always a high priority and as such measures have already been taken.” Update: The UK newspaper The Independent is reporting that Watkins is being accused of conspiring with one of the arrested women to sexually abuse a 1-year-old girl. In addition, the publication also reports that the singer is accused of two incidents of “sexual touching” involving young children. Moreover, Watkins is alleged to have possessed “extreme” animal pornography. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/shocking-rock-stories-of-2012/” title=”Next: More Shocking Rock Stories of 2012″ align=”center”]

‘Heavy Metal’ Religion Defeats Scientology, Druidism + Satanism in U.K. Census

Ronnie James Dio: Official Facebook A hardy congratulations is in order for the religion of heavy metal … Yes, the religion of heavy metal. In the beautiful United Kingdom, thousands of people claimed “heavy metal” as their religion in a recent census, beating out Druidism, Satanism and Scientology. Bless all you metalheads out there in the U.K., for you’ve chosen to follow the path of Reverend Dickinson, Pastor Halford and Saint Dio, among other blessed musicians within the heavy metal realm. According to The Guardian , 6,242 people answered ‘Heavy Metal’ when asked their religion within the census. Paganism and Wicca ended up with more write-ins than Heavy Metal, but only 4,189 people declared themselves as druids, with even less claiming Scientology as their religion. Additionally, a total of 1,983 chose to label themselves as Satanists and a whopping 176,632 people claim to have mastered “the force” as Jedi Knights. The Heavy Metal outpouring has been spearheaded by Saxon singer Biff Byford, who helped gather the votes of metalheads. “Heavy metal is a tribal music and everyone is a member of the tribe,” Byford told Independent.co.uk in 2010. “The audience is very, very loyal… especially the Germans. It’s not like pop music, where if the next song isn’t good enough then forget about it; with our music, people will allow you to be shit sometimes, and that’s one of the great things.” “The music’s not about love,” Byford adds.” Our songs are more about Richard the Lionheart, steel trains and thunder. But when you do click with a big audience, it can be quite an experience, a massive connection… I suppose you could say it is a religious experience in a way.” Check out Byford’s victory video statement below via Metal Hammer. Saxon’s Biff Byford Celebrates Heavy Metal Religion Victory

The Darkness To Launch ‘Let Them Eat Cakes’ World Tour in January 2013

Wind-Up Records After a bit of an extended break, the  Darkness returned in August with their latest disc ‘Hot Cakes,’ the follow-up to 2005′s ‘One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back.’ Now, as if making up for lost time, the band is plotting to take their tasty musical treats out on the road again for a 2013 headlining run that will span 15 countries. While the band spent several months at the end of this year opening the show for Lady Gaga, it’s time for a return to headlining status. The Brit rockers have announced their own ‘Let Them Eat Cakes’ world tour that will kick off in the States on Jan. 10 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and take them all the way through to mid-April, winding down in New Zealand. The band will spend all of January in the U.S. before seeing Germany, England, Scandinavia, France Switzerland, Italy, and Australia in February and March, saving Australia for April. Check out all of the announced dates below. ‘Let Them Eat Cakes’ World Tour Dates (Part One) January 2013 – North America: 1/10 FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA. Revolution 1/11ORLANDO, FLA. Hard Rock Live 1/12 ATLANTA, GA. Masquerade 1/14 PITTSBURGH, PA. Stage AE 1/15 BALTIMORE, MD. Ram’s Head 1/18 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. House Of Blues 1/19 BOSTON, MASS. Paradise Rock Club 1/21 TORONTO, ONTARIO Phoenix 1/23 COLUMBUS, OHIO Newport Music Hall 1/25 DETROIT, MICH. The Majestic Theatre 1/26 MILWAUKEE, WIS. The Rave 1/27 CHICAGO, ILL. The Riviera Theatre 1/29 MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. First Avenue 1/30 KANSAS CITY, MO. Beaumont Club February 2013 – North America/Mainland Europe 2/1 DENVER, COLO. The Summit Music Hall 2/2 ASPEN, COLO. Belly Up 2/16 COPENHAGEN, Denmark Amager 2/17 STOCKHOLM, Sweden Tyroz 2/19 TAMPERE, Finland Pokkahive 2/20 HELSINKI, Finland Circus 2/22 GOTHENBURG, Sweden Tradgarn 2/23 OSLO, Norway Rockefeller 2/24 KRISTENSAND, Norway Kick Scene 2/26 HAMBURG, Germany Grunenspan 2/27 AMSTERDAM, Holland Paradiso March 2013 – United Kingdom/Mainland Europe: 3/1 SHEFFIELD, UK City Hall 3/2 MANCHESTER, UK Apollo 3/3 GLASGOW, UK Barrowlands 3/5 NEWCASTLE, UK City Hall 3/6 WOLVERHAMPTON, UK Civic 3/7 LONDON, UK Hammersmith Apollo 3/10 ZURICH, Switzerland Volkshaus 3/11 MILAN, Italy Alcatraz 3/13 MUNICH, Germany Backstage Werk 3/14 VIENNA, Austria Arena 3/16 WARSAW, Poland Stodola 3/18 BERLIN, Germany CC Live 3/19 COLOGNE, Germany Kanting 3/20 LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg Den Atilier 3/21 ANTWERP, Belgium Trix April 2013 – Australia / New Zealand: 4/2 ADELAIDE, SA AEC 4/3 BRISBANE, QLD Riverstage 4/5 SYDNEY, NSW Hordem 4/6 MELBOURNE, VIC To Be Confirmed 4/8 AUCKLAND, NZ To Be Confirmed ? [button href=”http://loudwire.com/the-darkness-talk-reunion-upcoming-album-hot-cakes-more/” title=” The Darkness Talk Reunion, ‘Hot Cakes’ + More” align=”center”]