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Music News: Motorhead's Fast Eddie Clarke dies at 67

Cover art for Motorhead's 1980 album 'Ace of Spades.'
Cover art for Motorhead's 1980 album 'Ace of Spades.'Mercury

by Jay Gabler

January 11, 2018

Guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke, the last surviving member of Motörhead’s classic lineup, has died suffering pneumonia at age 67. As the New York Times notes, "Clarke occasionally contributed vocals to the group, in addition to his chunky chords and squealing licks and solos."

He was a member of Motörhead from 1976 to 1982, the period during which the band released its best-known music. "The best years of my life were in Motörhead," Clarke said in 2016, "and what we did together I think still stands the test of time."

Clapton reveals tinnitus diagnosis

In a BBC interview that aired on Tuesday, Eric Clapton revealed that he has been diagnosed with tinnitus and is losing his hearing.

"I am still going to work. I'm doing a few gigs," said Clapton in an interview promoting the forthcoming documentary Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars. "I'm concerned with now is being in my 70s and being able to be proficient. I mean, I'm going deaf, I've got tinnitus, my hands just about work. I mean, I am hoping that people will come along and see me for more than that [because] I am a curiosity. I know that is part of it, because it's amazing to myself that I am still here." (Billboard)

Carrie Brownstein to turn book into TV series

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein is adapting her memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl into a pilot for a prospective comedy series on Hulu.

Produced by Annapurna Television, the comedy is loosely inspired by her memoir as well as her experiences as a young musician growing up in the Pacific Northwest during the underground feminist punk-rock movement in the 1990s. The pilot is about a young woman, a band and a community learning how to be unafraid of their own noise.

Next week, Brownstein's IFC series Portlandia launches its final season.

Orbison hologram to tour

Another week, another hologram tour announcement. This time it's Roy Orbison who's hitting the road. His hologram makes its public debut this coming Sunday at a performing arts conference in New York, and a U.K. tour launching in April has already sold 70% of its tickets. Virtual Roy comes to North America this fall. (Billboard)

Flight of the Conchords to return with HBO special

Flight of the Conchords are returning to HBO — but not for a full season, for a one-hour concert special. "The show will feature old favorites as well as new original music," reports Pitchfork, and will be taped during their upcoming U.K. tour.

Speck Mellencamp gets probation

Devoted followers of The Current's Music News will remember that back in July, John Mellencamp’s son Speck was arrested after he and his brother Hud got into a fistfight with passersby outside a Jimmy John's in Bloomington, Indiana.

Speck has now been sentenced to several months of probation and 25 hours of community service after pleading guilty to public intoxication. A charge of resisting law enforcement has been dropped. (Billboard)