Kevin Clooney

Filthy Rik is in the US at the moment and he has been telling me about some stuff he’s been hearing over there.

He reckons Irish rockers U2 will not be using any of the material they recorded with Rick Rubin for their much-awaited new record No Lion On The Horizon, instead opting for the guidance of long-term collaborator and usual producer Brian Eno.

Rik and I have both worked with U2 a few times and neither of us is surprised to hear that they have been messing people about. They’re always doing it, in the studio and especially on the road.

Larry Mullen - the drummer - is the worst. He spends ages soundchecking his kit then keeps complaining that he can’t hear his drums properly in the monitors. I reckon he’s deaf. Most drummers are. And thick.

One of my roadie mates was chatting to Graham Coxon recently and found out that the bespectacled Blur guitarist is to feature on the Pete Doherty solo album that has been in the works for over a year now.

‘I really like his songs,’ Coxon apparently said, ‘but he does smell. In fact, he really stinks.’ Told you!

I like Graham Coxon, he’s quite a good mate. I helped him choose his new glasses in Carnaby Street last year. I’ve worked with Blur a few times and I think they’re okay. That Damon Allbran is a bit stuck up, though.

Coxon’s solo single was crap. Sounded like the Skids to me. The Skids on methadone.

The Skids were amazing, one of my fave all time bands and absolutely top blokes, too. Stuart Adamson RIP. Sadly missed guitar genius.