Paul McCartney, Nancy Shevell to wed in London (AP)

LONDON – Paul McCartney is set to tie the knot at the venue where he first married more than 40 years ago.

Officials said Friday that the former Beatle and fiancee Nancy Shevell have posted a notice of intention to marry at London's Marylebone Register Office.

Westminster Council said the notice was posted Wednesday, meaning the couple could marry anytime after September 30. They have a year to hold the ceremony.

The document lists the musician under his full name James Paul McCartney and describes him as a "business executive." It gives the couple's address as McCartney's London home.

Alison Cathcart, Westminster City Council's superintendent registrar, said she would be officiating and was "delighted that Paul and Nancy have chosen Marylebone Town Hall for their special day."

"Lots of couples get married here because of the venue's reputation as a rock `n' roll place to tie the knot and this ceremony will certainly continue that legacy," she said.

McCartney married his first wife Linda at the venue in 1969. She died of cancer in 1998, and he later married Heather Mills. They divorced in 2008.

McCartney's spokesman had no immediate comment.

The century-old town hall has seen many celebrity weddings, including those of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Oasis singer Liam Gallagher.

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London Film fest seeks beauty and controversy (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes and David Cronenberg will parade the red carpet of the British Film Institute's (BFI) 55th London Film Festival, which is set to showcase a varied line up of big titles and emerging talent, organizers said Wednesday.

The European premiere "360" directed by Fernando Meirelles with a glittering cast including Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz, will launch the 16-day festival in October, and "The Deep Blue Sea," also starring Weisz and directed by Terence Davies, will round off Britain's largest cinematic celebration.

"London has a strong reputation as a center for creativity and innovation in the film industry and I'm particularly pleased to see that the high profile films selected for the opening and closing nights have been shot in the capital with great British talent," London Mayor Boris Johnson said in a statement.

Following in the wake of Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), London faces stiff competition from these high-profile and higher-ranking magnets for the big studios and A-listers.

Many big titles of the London Festival, such as George Clooney's hotly anticipated work "The Ides of March" have already had a run in Venice, while the opening and closing films in London festival are set to make their world premiere at TIFF.

But organizers stressed the "variety and richness" of the London roster this year, which will showcase 13 world premieres, including "Hut in the Woods" - a new film from Germany's Hans Weingartner, who also directed "The Edukators."

"The festival will present a broad program of the best and most significant films ranging from beautifully crafted narrative to boundary pushing experiments and we hope we've found richness in diversity," festival Artistic Director Sandra Hebron said.

The celebration of film will look at art and cinematic heritage as well as crowd-pleasers. The Archive Gala will offer film lovers a return to cinematic roots with a showcase of restored reels from archives around the world.

The festival is set to give a modern twist to the world premiere of the melodramatic 1928 silent film, "First Born," in which a newly commissioned score will accompany the on-screen exploits of a badly behaved aristocrat.

"The restorations from the film archives reflect the diversity reflected elsewhere in the program. There's something of a historical flavor to our Experimenta programs too," Hebron said.

No single country dominates the lineup, but the Iranian contingent of world cinema featuring new films by Mohammad Rasoulof and Morteza Farshbaf, received particular attention from organizers.

"The London Film Festival brings together films of beauty and controversy, many of which we wouldn't see in the UK otherwise," said Amanda Nevill, BFI Chief Executive.

Special mention was made in particular of Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iranian co-director of "This is not a film," whose passport was confiscated by Iranian authorities en route to Toronto Tuesday, Hebron said.

"This incident shows it is more important than ever for film festivals and the film community to support artists like him," Hebron said.

The 55th London BFI Film Festival will run from Oct 12-27.

(Created by Paul Casciato)

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London actor wins comedy award at Edinburgh fringe (Reuters)

EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Five years of solo comedy performances on the Edinburgh Fringe finally paid off for London-based actor Adam Riches Saturday when he won the festival's top comedy award.

The Foster's Best Comedy Show prize went to the 38-year-old comedian for what the judges described as his "trademark mix of character comedy, anarchic stagecraft and a fearless level of audience engagement" in "Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches."

They said he had created "a cavalcade of barely controlled chaos" in featuring such characters as Ian Dustry the talent manager, Pedro the swingball star, O'Hara the monster hunter, and the wheelchair-bound despot behind the board game Mastermind.

Riches said of his show: "It is very physical character comedy, very fast paced with a lot of audience interaction as well. They're embroiled in the story and events, just sort of lively. That was just what I always wanted to do in Edinburgh.

"I'm conscious of the weather, conscious of people's moods, conscious that they have seen six or seven shows that day, so I wanted to devise something (that) swept them up, shook them up a bit and then booted them back out in to the festival."

Awards producer Nica Burns said 10 judges saw more than 500 different acts at the month-long Fringe to reach "an extremely strong shortlist and a very hard decision."

The best newcomer award went to another Londoner, Humphrey Ker, for his critically-acclaimed sympathetic yet humorous portrayal of his grandfather's part as a Royal Navy intelligence officer in the raid on the Ploesti oil fields immediately after Romania entered World War Two on the German side.

The raiders spotted trouble and escaped a Nazi trap, making an incredible escape by bus through neighboring Bulgaria to Istanbul.

Ker had been lying in bed on Boxing Day wondering what to take to this year's fringe when he came up with the idea.

"It was one of those incredible stories nobody knew about out of so many incredible stories of the war... it's quite loosely based. My version of the story takes extreme liberties, I make him younger, I made him more like me, so in my version I made him somewhat more hapless, a victim of fate, really."

Ker, 28, who at 6 feet 7 1/2 inches towered over his audience, said he had been pleased when older audience members of his grandfather's generation had approved of the show, directed by Philip Breen.

(Reporting by Ian MacKenzie; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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Fernando Meirelles' '360' to open London Film fest (AP)

LONDON – London Film Festival organizers say this year's event will open with the European premiere of Fernando Meirelles' "360," starring Rachel Weisz, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins.

The film is a series of interlinked love stories set in cities including London, Vienna and Denver and inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's play "La Ronde."

Brazilian director Meirelles is best known for "City of God" and "The Constant Gardener," which opened the London festival in 2005.

His latest, written by Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon"), gets its world premiere at September's Toronto film festival.

London festival artistic director Sandra Hebron said Wednesday that "360" had "a modern and moving narrative, helped by strong performances."

The festival runs Oct. 12-27.

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Brad Paisley brings his world tour to London (AP)

LONDON – Brad Paisley is bringing a bit of country to the city — the city of London, that is.

The reigning Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year is playing London's O2 Arena on Wednesday. He'll be expecting a warm welcome after two sold-out concerts in the British capital last year.

Paisley has already taken his "H20 II: Wetter and Wilder World Tour" across the United States. He kicks off his European swing in London, then has three dates in Ireland — Dublin, Castlebar and Killamey — before shows in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. He returns to the U.S. in September.

Paisley's seventh studio album is "This Is Country Music." The country star has also been heard in theaters recently, as he has two songs in Disney's animated film sequel "Cars 2."

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Three teens arrested for Sony warehouse fire in London (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Three teenagers have been arrested for the riotous fire that tore through Sony's Digital Audio Disc Corporation warehouse in north London Monday, destroying more than 1.5 million CDs, BBC reports.

Scotland Yard police told the BBC that two 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old have been charged with violent disorder and arson. Two of the three remain in custody -- one of the 17-year-olds has posted bail.

The center was used as a location for storage of DVDs, Blu-rays, and PlayStation Portable game discs. The Enfield facility also served as the main headquarters for UK music distributor Pias, which handles stock for independent labels such as 4AD, Sub Pop, Domino, Warp and XL.

While larger firms, such as Beggars, have additional CD stock in other locations, smaller labels such as Memphis Industries may be out of luck. Memphis Industries, which handles acts such Tokyo Police Club and The Go! Team -- said in a Tuesday tweet:

"So all the stock we got left is sitting in our office. Devastated is the word," the label said. "Thoughts go out to all other Pias labels too."

With parts of the building still smoldering, many building inhabitants have yet to assess their damage. The BBC reported that it took 40 firefighters to tackle the blaze.

In the wake of the fire, Pias and the Association of Independent Music are teaming up for a fund that will help labels get back on their feet.

"I am very confident that our combined efforts will result in the smallest interruption to our collective business," Pias' Kenny Gates said in a statement.

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Sony CD Warehouse burns down in London riots (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – More than 150 independent record labels were dealt a huge blow on Monday night, when a facility owned by Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation was destroyed in a fire that resulted from the riots that have torn through England in the past three days.

According to the BBC, the facility, in the London borough of Enfield, served as the main headquarters for U.K. music distributor Pias, which handles stock for independent labels such as 4AD, Sub Pop, Domino, Warp and XL.

Pias acknowledged the damage in a statement on its Web site on Tuesday, noting, "Pias is working closely with Sony DADC, who are implementing their emergency plans. Pias's UK offices in London and all other areas of our business are unaffected. More information will be communicated shortly to all our labels and partners."

Meanwhile, the labels whose stock was stored in the facility have been left struggling with the blow. One label, Memphis Industries -- which handles acts such Tokyo Police Club and The Go! Team -- said in a tweet that they've been "devastated" by the blaze.

"So all the stock we got left is sitting in our office. Devastated is the word," the label said. "Thoughts go out to all other Pias labels too."

A Sony spokesperson told TheWrap that the blaze was reported at approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday night. Though the blaze has been brought under control, but because of the smoke levels, no one can enter the facility to fully assess the destruction.

"We are unable to confirm the extent of the damage or the cause until the fire is fully extinguished and a full investigation can be carried out by authorities," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that it will likely be at least until midday Wednesday before anyone can enter the facility to assess the damage.

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An enthusiastic Coldplay performs for London crowd (AP)

LONDON – Red lights beamed and green lasers shot across the room. Pink, purple, green and yellow colors shined in a windmill-like fixture. And huge balloons dropped from the air and multicolored confetti burst from the sides of the stage.

It was psychedelic and colorful — two words that also described Chris Martin's demeanor Friday night.

The Coldplay singer led the English foursome as they played more than a dozen songs at the Roundhouse in London's Camden Town.

An enthusiastic Martin switched from electric to acoustic guitar and then to the piano throughout the night, jumping around the stage in sneakers and rubbing his head after he finished a song.

"I love your makeup," he yelled to one girl after singing "Shiver," one of the band's first songs.

Coldplay — who has released four multiplatinum albums and has a fifth planned for this year — performed for hundreds as part of the iTunes' free music festival.

"For 12 years, we had to give away tickets, and nothing's changed," Martin joked. "We still have to give away things for free."

On the piano, Martin was most focused, towering over it like a mad scientist on tunes like "Politik" and a new song with a piano groove that the band had never played before and "might not play it anywhere else."

He was vocally top-notch on fan favorites like "Yellow" and "Viva la Vida," where the crowd continued to belt its addictive hook of "Ohhh's" until the band returned for an encore. They closed the show with timeless tracks like "Speed of Sound" and "Fix You." Then they performed their latest song, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall."

But it was the sound of "Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh" from "Viva la Vida" that really ended the night as concertgoers continued to sing it as they exited.

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Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

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Wedding dress to draw record crowds to London palace (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Buckingham Palace expects record crowds this summer, when up to 650,000 people are set to file into Queen Elizabeth's London residence and past the dress worn by Kate Middleton at her royal wedding to Prince William.

The ivory and white garment, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, won over the fashion press and public when Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge and a future queen, walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey in April.

In the run-up to the fairytale wedding, details of the outfit were a closely guarded secret, known only to the handful of people who worked on the dress.

Hundreds of millions of viewers admired it on television and the internet, and now hundreds of thousands will see it for themselves, unprotected on a raised oval stage in the ornate palace ballroom where state banquets are held.

Reflecting the surge in interest in the royals after the marriage and the newlyweds' recent trip to North America, advanced ticket sales for the summer tour of Buckingham Palace have hit 126,000, up 107 percent on the same point last year.

In total a record 643,000 people are expected to take the tour, during which visitors can see 19 state rooms, a display of Faberge jewelry -- and the dress, Middleton's wedding shoes, earrings and a silk replica of her bouquet.

Above the dress is the original veil and Cartier "halo" tiara worn by the bride, featuring around 900 diamonds and lent to her for the occasion by the queen.

Caroline de Guitaut, curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection, said the royal couple, whose wedding drew huge crowds to the streets of London, had striven for modesty as well as beauty and grandeur on the big day.

"They wanted the wedding to be modest as far as an occasion of that kind can be modest," De Guitaut told reporters at a press preview of the display.

"There is a sense of modesty in this dress. I think it will stand the test of time, definitely."

QUEEN AND DUCHESS TO VISIT

In a video made after the wedding and for the exhibition, designer Burton talked in detail about the painstaking process of making the dress and its 2.7-meter train.

Middleton was closely involved in the design process as well as in the decision to display the dress in Buckingham Palace. The queen and duchess were due to visit the display on Friday.

"What is so astounding ... is just how much thought and extraordinary work and craftsmanship and skill went into it," said De Guitaut.

Even the wedding cake is on show in a glass cabinet in the state dining room, complete with ornate sugar flowers and a deep cut where the couple plunged in the knife.

The other major attraction for visitors this year is a display of around 100 pieces from the British monarchy's unparalleled collection of works by Russian jeweler Faberge.

The exhibition, which features highlights from a total of 600-700 Faberge creations owned by the royals, ranged from treasures bought by and given to Queen Victoria to a recent bequest to heir to the throne Prince Charles.

"Many of these pieces are still in use," said De Guitaut. "Clocks, for example, are still on desks and (picture) frames are still used in private apartments. It's still a living collection."

The summer opening at Buckingham Palace runs from July 23 to October 3.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Tim Pearce)

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Jay-Z brings 40/40 restaurant franchise to London (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Rapper Jay-Z plans to bring his 40/40 restaurant and bar franchise to London next year in a deal which will team him up with England and Chelsea soccer player Ashley Cole.

The NVA Entertainment Group (NVA), which brokered the multi-million pound (dollar) deal, said that The 40/40 London will be the first project of a partnership between Jay-Z and Cole that will include a number of new ventures.

"London is one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world and the perfect location for our new venue," Jay-Z said in an NVA statement emailed to Reuters.

"I'm excited about working with Ashley and NVA Entertainment Group on a range of new projects and The 40/40 London is going to be the hottest place in town."

The management team will be appointing a top chef to deliver a modern American-themed menu for the restaurant/bar that will feature top DJ's and A-list artists. A shortlist of three potential sites is now under consideration with a final decision on location expected in August, NVA said.

The 40/40 London will give first option on jobs to talented, long-term unemployed young people. Each month a percentage of profits from the project will go to local youth charities for music and sport projects in deprived communities.

"I am delighted to be working with Jay Z I have grown up listening to his music and now to be doing business with him is amazing and the projects we do will be delivering much needed funds back into sport and music on a local community level as well as helping talented young people get back to work," Cole said in the statement.

The grand opening party to be held next year will be similar to the 40/40 openings thrown by Jay-Z in New York, Las Vegas and Atlantic City and will be attended by a host of stars from music, sport and entertainment.

NVA are in talks with UK broadcasters over exclusive TV opportunities.

Alongside his music business Roc Nation and Rocawear clothing range Jay-Z is a sports fan - he attended Wimbledon last week and co-owns NBA basketball team New Jersey Nets. He runs a chain of 40/40 clubs in five U.S. cities.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato)

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London hotel fire 'forces Minnelli, Lennox to flee' (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – A blaze at London's exclusive Park Lane Hilton led to the evacuation of 1,500 people, reportedly including celebrities such as Liza Minnelli and Annie Lennox.

The fire broke out in the early evening, a few hours after the hotel staged the Silver Clef Awards in which Sir Paul McCartney was honoured as the year's best live act.

Sky News said stars who had attended the event, such as Lennox, Minnelli, Status Quo and Tinie Tempah were among the evacuees.

Around 40 firefighters battled for more than four hours to extinguish the blaze at the 28-floor building overlooking Hyde Park.

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman said eight fire engines were used to pump water on the flames and an aerial platform was used as a "cherry picker" to survey the fire.

"Around 1,500 people were evacuated from the hotel and all were accounted for," the LFB said.

"The fire is thought to have started in a kitchen in the basement of the hotel. Ducting between the basement and the fourth floor was damaged," it said in a statement

Television pictures showed roads in the busy area of the city were closed off to traffic.

The Metropolitan Police said nobody was injured in the blaze, which is being probed by fire investigators.

Small groups of guests were allowed back into the hotel at 3am this morning in what the brigade described as a "phased reoccupation".

The Silver Clef awards are a charity event organised annually to support the Nordoff-Robbins music therapy centre.

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Broadway's 'Driving Miss Daisy' to go to London (AP)

NEW YORK – Will James Earl Jones be driving on the other side of the road?

Producers of "Driving Miss Daisy" said Monday that Jones, Vanessa Redgrave and Boyd Gaines will reprise their Broadway roles when the production shifts to London this fall.

The play will begin performances at Wyndham's Theatre from Sept. 26 through Dec. 17, with an opening night scheduled for Oct. 5. David Esbjornson, who directed the Broadway production, will again direct.

The play centers on a Jewish widow and her deepening friendship with her black chauffeur. The Broadway production was a virtual sell-out, was extended and earned back its investment.

Redgrave earned a Tony Award nomination in the role. Jones will play a former U.S. president in a revival of "Gore Vidal's The Best Man" on Broadway next spring.

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iTunes to stream London fest on Apple devices (AP)

NEW YORK – Music fans can watch performances from the iTunes Festival in London without buying a ticket.

Apple announced Tuesday that performances from the festival will be streamed on Apple devices including the iPad.

The festival runs from July 1-31 at the Roundhouse in London, with acts ranging from Coldplay to Linkin Park.

Apple said it will stream performances in high definition on the iPad, the iPhone, the iPod touch and on iTunes via its free app for the festival.

Fans also can purchase live performances from artists on iTunes.

The iTunes festival is now in its fifth year.

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Newly published Beatles photos revealed in London (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Fifty unpublished photos of The Beatles at their first US concert in 1964 went on show in London on Friday ahead of an auction in New York, offering an intimate glimpse of the band just as they hit the big time.

The black and white shots were taken by photographer Mike Mitchell, who was just 18 years old when the Fab Four, themselves little older, came to his home town of Washington, and presented him with the opportunity of a lifetime.

He was granted exceptional access to the gig at the Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964, just two days after the band's US television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by 73 million people.

The photos captured the frenzy and excitement of early Beatlemania, but have been locked away in Mitchell's basement for 46 years.

They are now being displayed at Christie's auction house and at the Hotel Marriot at Grosvenor House in London before being moved to New York for sale at auction on July 20, where they are expected to fetch A?100,000 (113,000 euros/$162,000).

"Only later I realised that this Washington concert was considered so important to the eyes of specialists," Mitchell told AFP.

"It was great, there were all these screaming girls -- they were mostly girls -- and we were all so young.

"I loved the music. I identified with it. The sound was so different and so alive."

Cathy Elkies, director of Iconic Collections at Christie's, said it was increasingly rare to find unpublished pictures of the band, and of such quality.

Whether showing a thoughtful John Lennon holding a cigarette, a fresh-faced Paul McCartney singing right up to the microphone, Ringo Starr's hands or George Harrison's profile, the photos are taken so close up you feel you are there.

"The intimacy of these images is just incredible. And they're so young, these were still the early days," said Elkies.

She added that such pictures "would be impossible today, when there is so much exposure" of bands.

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Indian artist M.F. Husain dies in London (AFP)

MUMBAI (AFP) – India's most famous modern artist M.F. Husain, who left the country in 2006 due to threats from Hindu extremists, died on Thursday in London, media reports said citing family members.

Husain, who was aged 95 and known as the "Picasso of India", died at the Royal Brompton hospital in London, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

Indian television news channels reported he had suffered a heart attack and lung failure.

"India didn't have the privilege of seeing him in his last moments, that is a huge loss for this country," Jitish Kallat, one of India's leading young artists, told NDTV news.

"As an artist several decades younger than him, I feel like a part of the canopy has blown off," he said. "He evolved the public notion of what it meant to be an artist in this country."

Maqbool Fida Husain, a Muslim formerly based in Mumbai, was accused by Hindu hardliners of insulting their faith for portraying goddesses in the nude in some of his paintings -- a depiction that he said symbolised purity.

Following threats by a radical Hindu group that offered a reward of millions of dollars for his death and thousands of legal cases filed against him for offending "Hindu sentiment," he moved to Qatar in 2006 and accepted Qatari citizenship in 2010.

In 2008, Husain's works were attacked by members of the Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu group, at an event in New Delhi -- the same year that one of his paintings, influenced by a Hindu epic, fetched $1.6 million at Christie's South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale.

When he accepted Qatari citizenship last year, Husain said he had chosen to go into exile to be able to paint in peace instead of living in fear over death threats from Hindu fanatics.

"At the age of 40, I would have fought them tooth and nail but I just wanted to concentrate only on my work. I don't want any disturbances," he said in an interview.

He said he was content to be a non-resident Indian and that he had no qualms about losing his nationality, as India does not allow dual citizenship.

"What's citizenship? It's just a piece of paper," he said. "Wherever I find love I will accept it.

"Ninety-nine percent of Indian people loved me and they still love me. I'm an Indian-origin painter. I will remain so to my last breath," he said.

The Indian government had recently tried to draw him back to his native country, with home secretary G.K. Pillai pledging to provide adequate security to protect him.

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London tourist alert: Prince William on horseback (AP)

LONDON – Sharp-eyed tourists outside Buckingham Palace had a rare opportunity Saturday to see Prince William on horseback.

But even those in the vicinity might well have missed him, since his well-known face was obscured by a traditional tall bearskin hat.

The prince was taking part in a rehearsal for next week's "Trooping the Colour," a major event to mark Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday.

The queen turned 85 in April, but the public party for the monarch's birthday is held on a Saturday in June when the weather is better. The custom dates from 1748 and will be June 11 this year.

William, riding a mottled gray horse called Wellesley, was wearing the red Irish Guards tunic with a blue sash that he wore at his April 29 wedding to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

William, 28, was made Colonel of the Irish Guards in February. He is expected to wear the same outfit at the actual "Trooping the Colour" ceremony, which usually draws thousands of well-wishers to the ceremonial heart of London.

The event Saturday, officially known as the Colonel's Review, is the second of two rehearsals for the queen's birthday festivities.

William and his new wife, formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, plan to visit Canada and California in late June and early July.

They will visit several cities in Canada from June 30 to July 8, traveling throughout much of Canada on their first official overseas trip as a married couple.

They also plan a stop in Los Angeles and the surrounding area from July 8-10.

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Playboy club returns to London, some hopping mad (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Hugh Hefner opens a new Playboy club in London's swanky Mayfair district on Saturday after an absence of 30 years, and the imminent return of the "bunny girls" has some feminist groups and commentators hopping mad.

The 85-year-old entrepreneur is in London to launch the new venue, where life membership costs 15,000 pounds ($25,000) and a single "Sazerac" cocktail will set a member back 2,000 pounds.

He expects a mixed welcome at the plush new club at its official launch, with up to 200 feminist protesters promising to make their objections felt under the banner "Eff Off Hefner!."

Inside, young women dressed in the famous Playboy rabbit ears, collars, cuffs and skimpy corsets will offer him and his guests champagne and deal cards at the gambling tables that will be the key economic ingredient to the venture.

For Hefner, flanked by his 25-year-old fiancee Crystal Harris during an interview with Reuters, the opening will be a nostalgic return to the 60s and 70s when the hugely successful London club bankrolled much of his magazine empire.

"The club I think that most of us remember, certainly on an international level, with the greatest fondness, the most iconic of the clubs, was London," he said.

"So with the return of the bunnies, which began five or six years ago in Vegas ... London becomes really key to all that. It represents not only the future, it represents the iconic past."

The famous London Playboy club closed in 1981 after its gaming license was revoked, although by then the A-list glamour had faded and the venues were on the decline around the globe.

After a long hiatus, Hefner re-launched the concept in Las Vegas in 2006, although he said he did not expect to return to the days when Playboy had 30 clubs in the United States alone.

RETRO-CHIC OR RETRO-SLEAZE?

The Playboy brand, however, had made a comeback, he argued.

"There is a great appeal for that retro-chic quality I think," he said. "There's a feeling for a lot of people that it was may be the party they missed, they want to go back there, with the Beatles and the Rat Pack and the bunnies."

For some commentators and activists, the party should remain in the past.

Kat Banyard of UK Feminista, who will be at the Playboy club opening on Saturday evening to demonstrate, said Hefner's porn empire had "laid the groundwork for the sex industry as we know it today ... which relentlessly exploits and degrades women.

"The Playboy Club represents a step back in time to a place where women retreated as sexual objects to serve, titillate and decorate in a world where men are all-powerful."

Commentator Ruth Wishart wrote in the Herald Scotland newspaper: "'A sanctuary for masculinity', gushes an alleged branding guru. Or a warren of retro-sleaze if you're a vaguely sentient citizen of the 21st century."

Hefner, no stranger to objections to his business model, believes the publicity the protests attract has been good for the club, not feminism.

"I think it's a complete misreading of history," he said of the "Eff Off Hefner!" campaign.

"The reality is that Playboy and the Playboy clubs were the beginning of the sexual revolution. When the Playboy clubs first opened the bunny girls were the center of it all and ... were empowered in a way that women had not been before.

"It was the beginning of independence for women and the magazine has represented personal and sexual liberation for both men and women ... Playboy represents personal freedom. That's what feminism ought to represent too."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

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U.S. violinist Bell takes over London ensemble (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – American violin virtuoso Joshua Bell was named music director of the world-renowned Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra on Friday, replacing Sir Neville Marriner, who founded it half a century ago.

"Joshua is very much the orchestra's choice," Marriner, 87, said at a press briefing announcing that Bell, exactly half his age, would take up the post in September as only the second music director since Marriner founded the ensemble in 1958.

"The orchestra has spoken and they want to work with Josh. They had a choice, so they obviously admire him," Marriner said.

His association with the Academy is so strong it inspired a New Yorker magazine cartoon in which a radio announcer mentions the ensemble's name and a parrot squawks: "...conducted by Sir Neville Marriner."

Bell, 43, who has risen to the top ranks of world violinists since making his orchestral debut at the age of 14, said he'd admired and enjoyed working with the ensemble since he made his first recording with it 25 years ago.

For the past seven to eight years he has worked with the group playing violin and conducting from the concertmaster's chair.

"I've just had an amazing time, I've really enjoyed this part of my concert life more than any other part, along with chamber music with a few of my close friends and this is what it feels like -- I think of it as chamber music," he said.

Bell said he may have to curtail some of his appearances performing concertos with major orchestras, but felt it was a good trade-off to work more intimately with the ensemble.

"I've been in a nice, luxurious position this past decade being able to pick and choose how much chamber music and how many concertos and recitals I want to do," Bell said.

"So I can apportion that the way I want at the moment, at least. I have to give up certain things, some of my other concerto work, which is fine with me.

"And, I'm sorry, if I could, I would do every concerto without a conductor," he added, referring to the sometimes fraught relationship between conductor and soloists.

Marriner said he was delighted someone of Bell's stature was becoming music director of the ensemble.

"To get someone like Josh involved is, internationally, a great virtue for the orchestra," he said.

"And I'm very happy to keep trudging around the world, working with other people's orchestras...where they want something of the Academy to brush off.... So I could keep going forever."

Anna Rowe, the orchestra's chief executive, said Bell's appointment was made possible under a three-year sponsorship from the Siemens AG German industrial group.

She said the ensemble, which performs all over the world on its own and with major soloists, has made more than 500 recordings, many of which are being reissued by Decca and EMI.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Lang Lang phenomenon hits London, with 50 pianos (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – A hundred youngsters playing 50 pianos all at once may not sound like everyone's idea of a musical treat, but it's a sellout at London's Royal Festival Hall this coming Sunday.

Call it the "Lang Lang Effect."

The 28-year-old Chinese piano phenomenon, who has brought popstar glamour to the classical concert circuit, landed in Britain this week on what he says is a mission to bring music -- both playing and listening -- to a wider, younger generation.

"Lang Lang Inspires," a six-day series of recitals and public events at the Southbank Center, has also given audiences an opportunity to judge the musical merits of a pianist who has divided critics with his showmanship and prodigious technique.

Hailed by some as among the world's finest, whose success has inspired millions of Chinese youngsters to take up classical piano -- dubbed the "Lang Lang Effect" -- others hear a lack of artistic sensibility beneath the dramatic keyboard skills.

"The new generation's Liberace," sniffed one London critic.

A hard-graft childhood in industrial Shenyang, inspired aged 2 by a piano playing cat in a "Tom & Jerry" cartoon and driven by a fiercely ambitious father, led to international acclaim and work with some of the world's leading orchestras and conductors.

Five minutes of standing ovations and a double encore for a rapturous full house after Tuesday's opening solo recital left little doubt of the adulation the spiky-haired maestro inspires among a fan base that extends far beyond the high-brow crowd.

The clamor for autographs and the flashing of mobile phone cameras, the cries of "Wow!" and "Amazing!, were all in an evening's work for the young man the New York Times called "the hottest artist on the classical music planet" -- and that was before he played the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"CIRCUS TIME"

Some critics were less kind, conceding his dexterity and ability but questioning the artistic interpretation he brought to a program of Bach, Schubert and Chopin.

After the first two pieces, "It was circus time," wrote Michael Church in the Independent. "Of course he played Chopin's Etudes brilliantly -- he's an indisputably brilliant pianist -- but he consistently went for effects at the expense of poetry."

Ismene Brown, writing on the theartsdesk.com, saw a talent for publicity as perhaps the greatest skill of "this showman with his precious, kittenish phrasing and facial expressions" whom she called "the new generation's Liberace."

Yet even Brown also heard a moment of beauty: "Suddenly, in the 12th Etude ... for two minutes I was totally upended.

"Here, suddenly, was a little boy who'd practiced hour upon hour against the metronome, sweeping those huge arpeggios up and down the piano without cease. The furious technical challenge in which he found liberation for his soul pierced my heart.

"Deep, very deep, down inside Lang Lang there could be a sincere and humble musician -- but is it a priority for him, amid all this adulation?"

The pianist himself describes his priority as inspiring a wider audience: "It's an honor to have the ability to inspire kids. At the same time, it's a responsibility," he said in the program notes for the week, which will end with 100 children aged from 5 to 24 joining him on stage at 50 pianos on Sunday.

In that mission of popularizing his music, he seems to be succeeding. One man who heard him for the first time on Tuesday rushed to share his emotions on Lang Lang's Twitter feed:

"My first experience of a classical concert seeing you tonight," Jack Squires wrote. "I feel inspired by your talent."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

(More details of this week's program are at http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/festivals-series/lang-lang-inspires-young-pianists-week?booktickets=1)

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Photo: A Slender Kate Middleton Shops in London

The royal wedding is only days away and this blushing bride looks as calm as can be.

A slender Kate Middleton was spotted on a mini shopping spree on the streets of London today. The lingering paparazzi didn't seem to bother the princess-to-be as she made her way in and out of stores in the Chelsea section of London, including Peter Jones department store on Kings Road.

Middleton stunned in a simple black dress and glowing smile, but we can't help but notice her slimmed-down figure. Maybe this is just the most flattering dress ever made, but it looks like Middleton's already tiny frame is shrinking even more as the wedding day approaches.

Perhaps even a future princess does a little crash dieting before her big day.

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