andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Fin Greenall, more famously known as UK singer-songwriter Fink, tours in a bus just like every other mid-level musician out there.

But if it were up to him, his ultimate tour would go a little something like this: roaming through the English countryside or vast stretches of North American highway on a motorbike, with the rest of his band and gear following in a van behind him. Granted he lifted most of the idea from biker-metal band Slayer, Greenall can’t be blamed for inventing a rock star fantasy to give an edge to his gentle acoustic guitar-wielding persona.

He muses for a moment about the very bad-ass nature of such a tour, blithely tallying the unpleasant logistics involved. But Greenall isn’t about to let a stiff behind and a few bugs in his teeth cramp his style.

“The problem with fantasies, the reality is that they’re a bummer,” says Greenall. “Sometimes you gotta go, ‘Well yeah, in Easy Rider those bikes look pretty uncomfortable. But you still look pretty fucking cool when you’re driving down the street.’”

It seems an unlikely way to start an interview with the angel-voiced tenor from Brighton, England. Yet Greenall somehow morphs the motorcycle daydream into an allegory for his music career, and ultimately, his life.

“You have to find the balance between what is doable and ‘Actually, that would suck,’” Greenall tells andPOP. “I wouldn’t be doing music at all. [People said] ‘Dude, you’re not going to be able to do it.’ And I said, ‘Well, fuck it. I’ll do it anyway.’”

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Amy Winehouse is making headlines again, but this time it’s on her own terms and not that of her drug-addled alter ego.

Winehouse was outfitted with a new set of pearly whites this weekend, repairing that sly grin on the cover of Back to Black that deteriorated in the wake of her excessive substance abuse, according ot Perez Hilton.

Perhaps more noteworthy though, though it’s hard to tell when it comes to Winehouse news, is the record label she launch today.

According to NME, Winehouse’s Lioness Records is officially in business. The first release will be from none other than Dionne Bromfield, Winehouse’s 13-year-old goddaughter, called Introducing Dionne Bromfield. Winehouse told NME she named the label after a necklace her grandmother gave her, and the label’s format was inspired by legendary Motown and 2Tone Records.

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Amy Winehouse’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, claims the singer called him and begged he take her back, reports Perez Hilton.

“We’ve been talking for the first time in months,” said Fielder-Civil. “I love her as much as ever. I know she still loves me, even though we’re getting divorced. Maybe this time we can do everything property and not mess it up.”

Fielder-Civil claims he and his estranged wife are both “adults… and clean now,” although he is currently still in rehab.

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After a rocky relationship complete with arrests, accusations of drug abuse and public disputes, singer Amy Winehouse has officially split from Blake Fielder-Civil.

According to The Associated Press, neither Winehouse nor Fielder-Civil were present at the family Court hearing where a judge granted the divorce petition. After six weeks and a day the divorce of Winehouse, 25, and Fielder-Civil, 27, becomes final.

The British couple met at a bar in London, England, back in 2005. They wed at a simple ceremony in Miami in 2007, but spent most of their seemingly-troubled married life apart after Fielder-Civil was arrested on an assault charge that sent him to jail.

The Singer’s father, Mitch Winehouse, has constantly accused Fielder-Civil — a music video production assistant — of introducing his daughter to heavy drugs.

The couple’s troubled relationship spawned numerous tabloid headlines around the world.

Some of the world’s biggest artists have teamed up with Cuban band Rhythms Del Mundo for a benefit album that puts a Latin twist on well-known songs.

The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Fall Out Boy, Jack Johnson, KT Tunstall, Keane, Cat Power, Kaiser Chiefs, OneRepublic and the Rolling Stones are among the acts featured on “Rhythms Del Mundo Classics,” which is set for release July 13.

The album aims to raise awareness and funds for climate crisis projects and natural disaster relief through the U.K.-based charity Artists Project Earth.

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A documentary with the tentative title of “Saving Amy” focusing on singer Amy Winehouse is currently in the works according to MTV News.

Israeli-American interviewer Daphne Barak is profiling Winehouse for the project that will likely be released later this year according to the singer’s MySpace page.

“Amy and her family will be the subject of a new documentary later this year,” reads the MySpace blog. “[Barak's] subjects over the years have included celebrities, royalty, world leaders and international personalities. The journalist spent time with Amy and her family recently on St. Lucia, and in true honest to goodness Amy style, the doc will be a truthful and revealing look at her complicated life.”

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Amy Winehouse was taken to the hospital in St. Lucia, the Caribbean isle she’s been staying at for months, her spokesman revealed on Saturday. According to media queen Perez Hilton, the reason for Wino’s hospitalization is cited as dehydration.  

Says Wino’s publicist: “She fainted at home (in St Lucia) and they took her in for observation, mainly to do with her medication to check everything was OK. They told her that she was dehydrated and needed to drink more water.”

According to the statement, Wino had been running around with a group of children before she passed out. She is expected to perform at a jazz festival in St. Lucia this coming week, if she’s feeling better.

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After legal woes, drug troubles and being bumped from her performance slot at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Winehouse has a plan of action to get her back on track.

According to chartattck.com, Winehouse has reportedly spent 35,000 British pounds on a new beauty regime, 10,000 pounds on new gym equipment, 20,000 on designer clothes and 5,000 on beauty treatments.

It is being reported that Winehouse plans to win back the affections of her former flame, Blake Fielder-Civil, even though he began filing divorce papers against Winehouse in January.

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Pop sensation M.I.A. has been added to the lineup for the upcoming Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, her first confirmed public appearance since the birth of her son last month.

Organizers say the performer, who played the festival in 2005 and again last year, will take the stage on Saturday, April 18.

She joins other late additions to the bill after Amy Winehouse was forced to cancel her appearance. Recently added performers include Devendra Banhart, The Chemical Brothers, The Orb and Etienne de Crecy.

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Amy Winehouse appeared at a London court Tuesday to plead not guilty to assaulting a fan at a party last fall.

The 25-year-old soul singer was accompanied by her dad Mitch as she arrived at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a brief hearing.

She was charged with common assault in early March over allegations she attacked a fan who tried to take her picture at a charity ball in London on Sept. 26.

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