Entertainment News
2007-06-08
B-52s wrapping
all-new album
Fifteen years
after their last album of new material, the B-52's are
wrapping up work on their next one.
The quirky
Fifteen years
after their last album of new material, the B-52's are
wrapping up work on their next one.
The quirky
dance-pop outfit, which burst onto the new-wave scene in
1979 with songs like ''Rock Lobster'' and cracked the
pop charts in the late '80s with the party classics
''Love Shack'' and ''Roam,'' returned to their
hometown of Athens, Ga., to finish recording the as yet
unnamed record.
''We all lived
down there for two months and just got back in the swing
of things,'' singer Fred Schneider said from his home on
Long Island, N.Y.
He said the
group, which has been performing together since 1998 after
taking an extended break, always had intentions of recording
again. But with members living in New York, Georgia,
and Florida, it was tricky to get together and write
new material.
''After the
Cosmic Thing and Good Stuff tours (in 1989 and 1992), we
were a little burned-out,'' Schneider said. ''We just
had our ins and outs and things going on. It took
awhile for things to fall back into place.''
Schneider said
the 11 new tracks will maintain the B-52's danceable party
vibe but will showcase some new directions for a band that,
along with R.E.M., helped put Athens on the map as a
hotbed of alternative music.
''There's more
electronica on it,'' he said. ''It's up-tempo and a bit
sexed-up. It's sexier than ever.''
Schneider said
postproduction work on the album is expected to begin
soon, with plans to release it early next year. The band
owns the master recordings of the album and is now
shopping for a record label to release it, Schneider
said.
Meanwhile, the
group plans a handful of U.S. and European tour dates this
summer, with a full concert schedule planned when the album
is released.
''It's great to
perform when we have new material,'' Schneider said.
''That makes all the difference.'' (AP)
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