The American funk legends Kool and The Gang will be flying into Dubai soon for a day-long recording session with a leading Arab singer. Speaking exclusively to The National from Morocco's Mawazine Festival, the bassist Robert Bell confirmed the band will soon be in the UAE to collaborate on a song with "one of your top artists", whose name he could not reveal. He added: "I do know the whole thing is produced by Coca-Cola." A revealing clue: the music television series Coke Studio Middle East, shown on MBC, is produced in Dubai and has artists teaming up to record a new fusion track. The programme's previous season which was broadcast last year, had collaborations between the Egyptian pop star Sherine and the rapper Nelly, while the UAE's Shamma Hamdan sang with the British R&B singer Jay Sean. Regarding a UAE concert, Bell said they are looking to return to Abu Dhabi in 2015.
Jolie: We won’t change our security on red carpet
Angelina Jolie says she and Brad Pitt won't tighten their security policies after he was accosted on the red carpet in Los Angeles on May 28. "People like that are an exception to the rule," she said. "Most fans are just wonderful. We've had a wonderful experience over the years ... and it will not change the way we behave." Jolie was in Shanghai to promote Maleficent, the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with Pitt and three of their six children. – AP
Priyanka Chopra resorts to legal action to stop film
Priyanka Chopra has sent a legal notice to her ex-boyfriend, Aseem Merchant, who is producing a biopic on her former manager, Prakash Jaju, according to The Times of India. Titled 67 Days, the film allegedly focuses on Chopra's relationship with Jaju, who served eight days in prison after they had a fallout. "If she has any objection, then we shall drop the film," Jaju said in a statement. "I don't want to hurt her sentiments. The film is about me, not Priyanka." Merchant said his legal team is "looking into the matter". – The National staff
John Abraham and Shoojit Sircar to make football film
Shoojit Sircar will bring the story of a little-known Indian footballer to the big screen, according to IBN Live. Sibdas Bhaduri, who successfully led a team of barefooted Indians against British footballers in pre-independent India in 1911, is the subject of the filmmaker's latest biopic, which is titled 1911 and stars John Abraham. – The National staff
Jimmy Page remasters Zeppelin catalogue
Jimmy Page has remastered Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue. As a producer on the recordings, Page possessed many studio takes and after heard hundreds of hours of music. Nine freshly mastered studio albums will be released three at a time. The first set arrives next week. Each album has a companion disc, previously unheard, to give fans "an extra perspective". – AP
Angels frontman dies at 67
Doc Neeson, the charismatic singer and songwriter for the Australian rock band The Angels, died from brain cancer on June 4. He was 67. Bernard "Doc" Neeson died in his sleep at his family's Sydney home, his friend and publicist Catherine Swinton said. The Angels were Australia's highest-paid band by the late 1970s and continued with a string of hits into the 1990s. – AP