Misc. items, KT-related from IED0DXM

[IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU]

Regarding my news release in re the
"Comic Relief" performances, my info
is not necessarily reliable, as it
comes from the latest issues (April
26) of Smash Hits (the UK version
of Star Hits) and Record Mirror,
which I presume were simply reporting
the substance of that week's UK
press releases from the record
companies. The credibility of these
bulletins is suspect, at best, but
not primarily due to errors on
the magazines' part, rather to
record companies' own inconsistency.
Here in L.A., I usually get a
glance at No.1, RM, Smash Hits
(this one is only bi-weekly),
NME, MM and Sounds on Fridays,
which is one day before the printed
date of publication -- not, of
course, the actual day the magazines
go on the streets in London, which
in my experience is usually Tuesday,
sometimes Monday. So my knowledge
of KT's press releases is at best four
days out of date.
Finally got a digital transfer made
of new Kate UK TV appearances, the
original PAL copy of which was sent
to me from Paul Thomas, very nice
fan I met in Romford. There were
only two things I didn't already
have in some condition or other,
namely, the Top of the Pops lip-synch
of RUTH, and the Whistle Test
guest shot. The latter is fascinating,
although, of course, very brief. The
jerk who usually hosts that show was
marginally less asinine than usual,
and actually asked reasonable questions,
among them: "What do you think of
Madonna, Kate?" Answer (paraphrase
from memory): "Well, I don't actually
know much about Madonna, but I saw
her on Live Aid, and she was actually
quite good, really..." {Lapse intosilence and
usual polite but enigmatic smile} Question:
"But you do things very differently from
Madonna, don't you; I mean, not selling
a sexy image, and all that...?" Answer:
Silence, polite but not-so-enigmatic smile...
Incidentally, during my final visit to
London in March of this year, Kate
performed a lip-synch of "Hounds of Love"
on TOTP, with the same three drum-kits
and two celli used at the BPI awards,
but without the 31 Steps film-star type
and dressed in a restrained business
pants suit, not noticeably forties-era
in style.Other news: the May 2 issue
of Billboardcame on the stands today,
and Kate's LP was not in the top 200
for the first time since its release;
curiously, it was #200 two weeks ago,
then went back up to #196, I think,
perhaps a faint transfusion of
energy from the "Hounds" single; but
it's seen its last legs on the charts,
I'm afraid. 27 weeks in Billboard.
30 weeks in Cashbox now, and still only
down to #167 there. Who really knows
which is more accurate, anyway? The
one thing I'd really like to know is
what these rankings signify in terms of
sales figures, but no-one ever mentions
the subject in Billboard unless a record
makes gold or platinum. I would have thought
27 weeks in the top 200 in the U.S. would
be more than enough to go gold, but I guess
not. Meanwhile, all the weeks in the UK charts
since November 15 (when the platinum record
was issued) have racked up insufficient sales
to merit a second platinum, despite the amazing
resurgence following the release of the "Hounds"
single (it got up to #4 in some charts).