Exile on Bonus Track Street

Unearthed Stones tracks from the massively muddle-headed "Exile" recording sessions? It says so here. Did Keef nod off and lose them behind the lounge?

So great an idea they should bottle it. Oh, wait...

The idea of cross promoting wines through association with famous bands is a clever one that US company Wines That Rock have launched. No word on whether the beverage inside the bottle matches the bullshit but we can anticipate that with a retail price of about $20 in Aussie money, the stuff would be passable.

Pink Floyd and their mainstream multi-million dollar earner "Dark Side Of The Moon" has been chosen as the first band to be matched with a wine, in this case a 2006 Cab Sav. There are more varietals coming, including Rolling Stones and Woodstock dedications.

There are some endless possibilities here and it shouldn't end with a piss up over a glass or three of Pink Floyd plonk. How about a line of Iggy-branded Passion Pop? Surely Shane MacGowan deserves a range of not-too-delicate-on-the-palate gut rot that you could brush your teeth in? The magnificent Jet could have their own varietal that tastes like cheap versions of everything else, but is ultimately low-alcohol and thoroughly unsatisfying.

Another groupie book

An ex-employee/groupie spills the beans on the Beatles and says they used to take drugs. Wow, there's some news. Does the book come in mono and stereo versions?

Still Hyman plays Hull

Seventy-two-year-old retired Stone Bill Wyman and his all-star band are playing Hull. OK, it's not Wembley Stadium but he's keeping good company and working. Albert Lee and Georgie Fame are on board for a 32-gig tour and old Bill is not ruling out a one-off show with his old band, should they play Glastonbury.

Of course the old pants man is doing much better than Mick Taylor.

I could have my arm twisted, I suppose

Stone broke

Mick Taylor's departure and estrangement from the Stones is a sad story. You can read about it here.

He claims to have been cut off from his royalty stream and denied credit for writing some of the band's material. There's a hint of legal action in the tail of the story but you'd have to question the odds of that succeeding.

Found Dead

Does this solve doubts about the death of Brian Jones or is it (another) Sunday paper beat-up?

Allen Klein dead

The ex-Rolling Stones and Beatles manipulator has shuffled off at age 77. Obits are not expected to be warm and glowing.

Rolling Stooges

No idea where I found this so apologies for not being able to give credit where it's due, but it's too good not to share.

Altamont wasn't the Stones' show

So says their Australia-based ex-road manager Sam Cutler (pictured above with Mick Jagger) in a new book that promises to be a fascinating read.

"There's a lot of rubbish written about the Rolling Stones, especially the thing at Altamont, that we hired the Hells Angels ... and it was the Rolling Stone's free concert which it wasn't," Cutler says.

"It's kind of enter rock and roll mythology that we organised the concert, which we didn't.

"That we were responsible for what went down, which in part we were, but only in part. I wanted to write my version of the truth."

Read some more here.

Stone passed (in)

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood isn't the first person to find the Internet isn't a goldmine for everyone. He recently put this print of himself and ex-Faces bandmate Rod Stewart up on eBay for 1300 pounds. It attracted just five bids this week before being passed in at 500 quid.