 Oasis'
album 'best of all time'
Oasis's album beat the Beatles
into second place.
LONDON-Oasis'
1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe, has been voted the
greatest album of all time in a music poll. The album,
which featured hits Live Forever and Supersonic, beat the
Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band into second
place. Some 40,000 music fans were asked to name their
favourite work in a survey by the book of British Hit
Singles and Albums and NME.com. Fans could make their own
choice, and did not have to select from a list.
The survey marks 50 years of the Official UK
Albums Chart. British Hit Singles and Albums editor David
Roberts said: "Usually these polls are full of records
that people have only just bought because they are
freshest in the mind. "But this poll shows that the truly
great albums always have longevity. "Only two albums in
the Top 20 were released in the last five years, so the
voters have clearly thought long and hard about their
decision." Up the Bracket, the 2002 debut by Pete
Doherty's former band The Libertines, was the newest album
in the top 20 in 15th place. Only two albums by US bands
appeared in the top 20. Nirvana came sixth with Nevermind
and The Strokes were 20th with Is This It. Definitely
Maybe, which cost £85,000 ($158,000) to produce, was
released in August 1994 and topped the British chart a
week later.
Broadway boasts
record new season
Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts
have Broadway appeal.
New York- Broadway has had a
record-breaking year for attendance and box office earnings,
thanks to the success of plays such as Julia Roberts' Three
Days of Rain. Theatregoers on Broadway topped the 12
million mark for the first time, with a strong attendance by
tourists. Ticket sales increased 12 per cent to $861.6m
(£462m) during the 2005-2006 season, according to the League
of American Theatres and Producers. But league president Jed
Bernstein said Broadway remains high-risk.
"Although the strong business results continue
to underline Broadway's revenue stakes in New York,
increasing cost pressures have resulted in no increase in
the number of shows making a profit," said Mr Bernstein.
Lestat, the new musical from Sir Elton John, was among the
year's casualties, closing after just 39 performances. The
£7m show was savaged by critics when it opened at the Palace
Theatre on 25 April after a brief run in San Francisco.
Julia Roberts' play Three Day of Rain was also panned by the
critics, but sold out weeks in advance thanks to the
presence of the Oscar winner in the leading role. Critical
hits included the musical Jersey Boys, the story of singer
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Alan Bennett's The
History Boys, recently nominated for seven Tony awards.
 Cynthia Nixon
criticized a lack of investment in theatre in the US.
A new production of
Sweeney Todd first seen in London won best director of a
musical, for John Doyle. Despite high-profile flops such as
Lestat and the John Lennon musical, Lennon, this has been a
record year for Broadway theatre. The number of theatregoers
topped twelve million for the first time, and ticket sales
earned $861.6m (£462m) during the 2005-6 season. The
ceremony - the 60th in the history of the awards - was held
at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The winners were
chosen by more than 750 theatre professionals including
actors, producers, writers, stagehands and theatre owners.
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GOSSIP
Janet's breast flash fine
upheld
Janet Jackson was exposed during a
routine with Justin Timberlake.
New York-US media regulators have
rejected a second appeal by the CBS TV network to lift a
fine for Janet Jackson's breast exposure during the 2004
Super Bowl. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
fined CBS $550,000 (£307,000) for the infamous "wardrobe
malfunction". The FCC said given the public outcry that
followed, "it was CBS and not the commission that was out of
touch with the standards of the American people". More than
500,000 complaints were received after the broadcast.
CBS apologised after the incident. In its
appeal, it argued that the FCC wrongly applied the decency
standard and the show had not intended to shock. In March,
the FCC rejected the television network's first appeal but
allowed it to ask the regulator to reconsider the ruling.
'Accident': "The commission
affirms its finding that CBS' violation was wilful and
declines to reduce the forfeiture imposed upon CBS," the FCC
said in a statement. "We find that CBS has failed to present
any argument warranting reconsideration of our forfeiture
order." The fine was the largest ever levied against a US
television broadcaster. Jackson exposed her right breast
during a dance routine with Justin Timberlake during the
Super Bowl's halftime show two years ago. He blamed the
exposure on a "wardrobe malfunction", while Jackson said it
had been an accident.
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