After double-digit sales of her debut LP failed to establish her as a pop diva, LaToya Jackson has become a pro at living off the family name-first as a Playboy covergirl and now with her plans for a literary career.
Thanks to a $725,000 advance (plus 10 percent of sales) from Putnam Books, LaToya will aim for the best-seller lists with a tell-all family history due for release early next year-that is, if brother Michael doesn`t find a way to stop publication.
Michael has been a little peeved at the prospect of publicizing the true story behind the Elephant Man, his relationship with his pal chimp and a slew of other family secrets. A Jackson family summit has been scheduled for Friday in New York City, where Michael and his sister will discuss her plans for the book, says her manager, Jack Gordon.
”He`s not happy, I can tell you that much,” Gordon said. ”Other than that, we`re being kind of quiet about the whole thing. We`d rather not get sued.”
Michael, himself an author (”Moonwalk”), has offered LaToya several million dollars to forgo plans for publication. She has declined.
You Can`t Always Get What You Want: Especially if you want tickets to the Rolling Stones Concerts scheduled Sept. 9 and 11 at Alpine Valley. They`re sold out, but that`s the least of the problems that have arisen since the tickets went on sale last month.
About 300 fans, who thought they had reserved seats for the first show by phone through the Alpine Valley box office, were surprised to find the show had been oversold. But surprise quickly turned to anger when they found they would have to take tickets for the Monday show-or go without.
”Some people can`t take the time to get out of work early to go to a Monday show,” said Scott Reinhart, a Chicago lawyer who was one of those left in the lurch. ”Isn`t there something we can do?”
Probably not.
According to Alpine Valley, the immense volume of sales (300 to 400 tickets per minute for the first half hour) meant some ticket orders, especially those phoned directly to the Alpine box office, were processed slowly. In addition, while most concerts see about 10 percent of credit card orders rejected, that number was only about 1 percent for the Rolling Stones concerts.
”It was an unusual circumstance,” said Leslie West, vice president of Joseph Entertainment, managers of Alpine Valley. ”It turns out most of these people had paid their credit card bills, which is unusual. Also, we were selling tickets faster than ever. There were problems, but we can`t overbook the theater. People have to have a place to sit.
”Right now, we`re just trying to be as helpful as we can.”
Compounding the ill feelings was an ad last week in one of the city`s free newspapers advertising a bus trip, complete with pavilion seats, for the Stones show. The cost: $95.
Meanwhile, the folks who sat out in parking lots for hours, waiting for their shot at seats, wanted to know who was holding the pavilion seats while they got only lawn tickets for their all-night efforts.
Good question. A source close to the show`s promoters, CPI of Toronto, gave the following partial breakdown of the 1,940 tickets held back from the public for each of the two shows in the 7,400 seat pavilion at Alpine: 750 for Event Transportation Services (the bus tour people); 500 for CBS records; 100 for the Rolling Stones; and the rest to be distributed among press, vendors, advertisers and big wigs of all shapes and sizes.
No tickets were held for seats in the first 30 rows, per the Rolling Stones` orders.
Upcoming releases: Rykodisc`s two-year CD rerelease program for its newly acquired catalogue of David Bowie albums will begin Sept. 25 with the release of ”Sound + Vision,” a boxed-set retrospective of Bowie`s career. Available on three CDs, cassettes or six LPs, the collection will be accompanied by a 72-page book and a CDV disc containing the 1980 video clip for the song
”Ashes to Ashes” and three previously unreleased audio tracks from the 1972 ”Ziggy Stardust Tour.”
Also coming soon: Clarence Clemons, ”A Night With Mr. C,” Aug. 22; Poco (the original members on their first release since 1982) ”Legacy,” Aug. 29.
Just added: A second Cure show has been added, Sept. 1 at the Rosemont Horizon. Tickets go on sale Saturday.
