So...are Madonna and Guy Richie getting a divorce?

'No, they are not', says Guy Richie's mum. In an article in the Telegraph, his mum has said the following:


'Reports of meetings with high-powered divorce lawyers are total fiction'


There’s no conversation about divorce because there is no divorce," Lady Amber Leighton said.
Last week, Madonna, 49, was reported to have met with celebrity divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who most recently represented Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce proceedings against Heather Mills.


Madonna’s spokesman had no comment on the reports at the time.



The Material Girl’s fortune is estimated to be worth £300 million and Madonna is not believed to have signed a pre-nuptial agreement before her wedding to the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director in 2000.


Up for grabs could be homes in London, Los Angeles and New York, which the couple now share with their seven-year-old son, Rocco; David Banda, two, who was adopted from Malawi; and daughter, Lourdes, 11, by Madonna’s former personal trainer Carlos Leon.


Friends have described the couple as leading separate lives, made worse by Mr Ritchie's reported falling out with Kabbalah, a religion of increasing importance to Madonna.
But Lady Leighton said she now felt compelled to speak publicly because a week’s worth of divorce speculation in the press had "pained her".


"They are no different to most other couples and we all know that being together can be hard sometimes and marriages are not always a bed of roses," she told the Mail on Sunday. "I’ll say it one more time, they are not getting divorced; the speculation is TT – that’s total tosh."


Lady Leighton said her son was on his way to meet his wife in New York, where Madonna is on tour to promote her new album, Hard Candy.

Amy Winehouse punches fan

Wel, Amy Winehouse was obviously intoxicated in some form or another again last night at Glastonbury festival. Still, she was there and in true Amy Winehouse form she even took the time to punch a fan in the face. What a trooper. Not a great performance though. I wonder what she would be capable of if she was not continuesly of her head.

The power of dance/Where the hell is Matt? Utube Clip

I love, love, love this following Utube clip....

It reminds me again that deep down we are all one people. We all want the same things in life, we want the best for our children, we want peace, we want to enjoy ourselves and we want to have the freedom to do so.

If only we could put away our prides, stop fighting and start dancing!

This clip reminds me of the peace rallies we attended in Israel and the Middle East & specifically of one night in a restaurant in Beirut where (without planning it) we were with a most diverse group of people: Dutch, English, Germans, Americans, Africans, Jews and Arabs. That night we all taught eachother how we dance. There were Muslims dancing arm in arm with Christians, we were all taught how to belly dance, we were taught African tribal dances, we did silly techno/gabber dances...it was a night none of us will ever forget. We all saw the significance of that evening and it touched us all.

I feel so blessed for having witnessed people dancing and celebrating together all over the world.

And, when I die, I want the following words on my grave:

'You can dance here if you like'

So dance on my dear friends....may peace be with you!

Meditation V @ Halle 101, Speyer (19.10.1996) Pt. 7

Big up to Grooverider! He's such a lovely guy. I can't believe he got sentenced to four years in prison for posession of a small amount of grass at Dubai airport. Unbelievable! Does anyone know how he is doing? My thoughts go out to him...

Meditation V @ Halle 101, Speyer (19.10.1996) Pt. 8

Oh my God, how cool that this is on Utube. This party was so bloody amazing. It was one of the best night I have ever had in my life. Watching DJ Hype tear up the place was legendary. And the crazy laughing-gas balloon stands were something I had never seen before and have never seen anywhere since. Brilliant, brilliant night. Great Partyzone moment...

P. Diddy gives money to Mark Ronson

Super-producer Mark Ronson once got a $100 tip from P. Diddy.

While Mark has made his name recently through his collaborations with some of the UK's hottest singers including Amy Winehouse, he revealed that he lived in New York in the early 90s and worked as a DJ for £25-a-night at various clubs.


It was at one of these hotspots Mark was spotted by Diddy, who liked his music so much he decided to give him his details. Mark said: "The first time I met him he said, 'I like the way you DJ' and gave me a $100 bill with his number on it. Mark admits he was so pleased with the bill that he framed it and put it up on his wall, but he was eventually so desperate for cash he was forced to spend it.

He added: "I saw P.Diddy this year and reminded him of the story - and he gave me another $100 bill!" Mark, by the way, is currently producing the new album of the Kaiser Chiefs.

Now, many, many years ago I had something slighty similar happen to me. Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays and Black Grape) handed me an papertrip with the Black Grape logo on it, whispering: 'If anyone else ever shows up with any of these, tell me. I have the copyright on them'. I thought it was hillarious and folded it into my Black Grape CD sleeve, planning to always keep it. But when I checked the CD sleeve months later the trip was gone (maybe my crazy flatmate swiped it, I don't know)

I know, that's not as cool as being handed a $100 bill with Diddy's personal number on it, but it's my own 'ravers version' of that story. Hihi...

Two more old school MTV pictures....

Here I am hanging out with MTV's most wanted crew (the lovely Ray Cokes, Naughty Nina, etc.) & of course with Lisa I'Anson and Take That's Garry Barlow after one of the MTV Europe Awards.

Interviewing Liam Gallagher at Glastonbury many, many years ago. And yes, he is a dumb as he looks in this picture (I'm sure I wasn't even asking him a hard question ; )

Pharrell pushes fan

At a recent N.E.R.D. gig a fan was pushed off stage by Pharrell Williams. The guy now wants to sue Pharrell for this. What a load of nonsense. Don't crash the stage then mate. If you want to climb on then expect to dive off, be pulled off or get pushed off again. Simple as that. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.




Anyway, this is nothing. Years ago I saw Courtney Love punch a fan in the face at a London gig. She had just done a stage dive and when she got back on stage she thought that her necklace was missing. She then picked someone from the audience who she decided was to blame, threw herself back off the stage again and walloped him one right on the cheek. Very unladylike and therefore very 'Courtney Love'. After security pulled her back on to the stage, she noticed that the necklace had simply slipped under her dress.

She giggled and said: 'Oops! Sorry I punched you in the face. I'm an a...hole!'

And that was that. No lawsuit. No hard feelings. Just two people playing their small part in rock history.

Elton John's mansion as rehab center?

Who need Betty Ford when there is Sr. Elton John's mansion to go to? Elton has often reached out to troubled stars after having battled his own addiction demons in the past. He once tried to rescue Robbie Williams and persuaded him to go into rehab. He also invited Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse to his mansion and, most recently, Lily Allen.

Wild child Lily, with her new pink hairdo, has been flying off the rails a tat lately. The latest proof, of course, the fact that she had to be carried out of the Glamour magazine Women of the year awards earlier this week. She was incredibly drunk & can't remember much of the night, apart from collapsing and being stranded without her bag or house keys.

Now, celebrities reaching out to eachother is nothing new. Britney has been given a helping hand by Mel Gibson and his wife recently (they even went on holiday to Costa Rica together). Amy Winehouse has been hanging out at Brian Adams' Caribbean pad & rock diva Tina Turner also reached out to Amy Winehouse in the wake of her recent troubles.

I myself received lectures in the past by Boy George and Steven Tyler, back in the days when I was a bit of a wild child too, but I obviously never sunk deep enough to be invited for a retreat at a superstar's mansion ; )

So, celebrity boys and girls, if you want to go and chill at one of Sr. Elton John's mansions, make sure you go out and misbehave in public. Get trashed and recoup in style.

Oh, and I read some weird report that Steven Tyler is now in rehab himself to recoup from an operation on his foot or toe or something. He said he wanted to go somewhere where he could rest completely and not be bothered by anyone. Still....rehab for toe problems? That's just plain weird.

Back off to the Cool FM studio

Good morning! I'm just getting ready to go to the Cool FM studio again to record my radio show 'The Weekend Express'. I'll be live on air between 10-12 am Aruban time. Tune in if you want or join the chat here on the blog. I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what you think of the videos I've posted in the last few days, share your thoughts on recent pop news or just say 'Hi'.

Love, Simone

Gnarls Barkley - Going On

Gnarls Barkley have done it again. Another gem of a track and an interesting odball promo shot in Jamaica by Wendy Morgan. I just can't get enough of this song. Genuis!

65daysofstatic - Dance Parties (Distant)

This is everything a good dance track should be for me, it's dark, gritty, sweaty, urban, with a fat wink to the old school. The latest of 65 days of static.

New Coldplay clip....brilliant!

Coldplay have decided to release a second video to their Voilet Hill track. I definatelly prefer this to the original. It's directed by Mat Whitecross & is filled with lots of dancing, prancing politicians & soldiers. Bloody brilliant if you ask me.