Billy Bragg: Labour's neglect of its core support has created ...

Billy Bragg: If anything has fostered the anti-immigrant backlash Hazel Blears warns of, it is Labour's neglect of its core working-class support. [more]

Hannah, Billy Ray And The Underwear Boy: Just Whose Team Does That ...

Yes, I know that those are actually both Billy Ray's hands; isn't where he has placed them interesting? Is it a sign of familiarity, or is he having sex in his mind again? Miley, for her part, can't stop smiling, or is she just baring ... [more]

Billy Burke in “Twilight”

Lorelai makes mention of Alex and dates further past �Swan Song’, but we never see Billy Burke after that and the topic of Alex just kind of fades out of the show. It was an odd loose-end in the scripting of Gilmore Girls. ... [more]

Billy Ray Cyrus Offers Condolences To John Travolta

Billy Ray Cyrus (father of Miley who co-voiced with John Travolta in the animated flick Bolt) was interview by E! about the death of John’s son Jett on New Year’s Day.”Our thoughts and prayers are with John and his family,” he told E! [more]

Billy Ray Cyrus' Support For The Travoltas - Starpulse ...

Country star Billy Ray Cyrus has offered his condolences to John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston following the sudden death of their teenage son. [more]

2009 Album Preview: Billy Talent - III

Thrash Hits - The world's loudest rock music website with music videos, photos, interviews, news and competitions. [more]

Story: One Shot {The Tale Of Aimee and Billy} | Get More Stories ...

BBC News Search: billy (20)

Crystal joins 9/11 memorial fund

Actor Billy Crystal joins the organisation charged with building a memorial to victims of the 11 September attacks.

Close shave as stolen goat found

A distinctive goat has his purple beard shaved off by thieves who took him from a Leicester pub.

Man on guesthouse killing charge

A teenager is due in court on Monday charged with the murder of County Down guesthouse owner Billy Spence.

Murder victim disturbed a prowler

Police believe a 68-year-old guesthose owner murdered in Bangor was attacked after he disturbed a prowler.

Maze policy 'least worst option'

Former security minister Adam Ingram has been giving evidence to the Billy Wright enquiry

Wright inquiry lawyer 'dismissed'

The former senior counsel to the Billy Wright inquiry claims he was dismissed from the inquiry and did not resign.

Tram named after football legend

A tram is named after Wolverhampton Wanderers and England football legend Billy Wright.

Memorial service for Billy Fury

A special service is to be held on the 25th anniversary of the death of Liverpool singer Billy Fury.

Family's tribute to stabbed son

The parents of a 28-year-old man found stabbed to death on the Isle of Man pay tribute their "happy-go-lucky" son.

Crystal lives out baseball dream

Comic actor Billy Crystal achieves a lifelong dream by playing for the New York Yankees baseball team.

Crystal joins baseball's Yankees

Actor and baseball fanatic Billy Crystal is to mark turning 60 by playing for the New York Yankees.

Degree award for Old Firm legends

Two Scottish footballing legends are to receive honorary degrees from the University of Glasgow.

'No recollection' of murder alert

A police officer says he has no recollection of a document saying the INLA intended to kill Billy Wright in the Maze.

Police 'warned' of Wright murder

An MI5 agent handler says he warned police the INLA planned to kill Billy Wright inside the Maze Prison.

Some New York stores prefer euros

Offbeat curio shop Billy's Antiques & Props is one Manhattan shop that has favoured payment in euros.

Appeal year on from teen's death

The family of a murdered teenager appeal to his killer's family a year after his death.

Wright 'told Robinson of fears'

DUP MP Peter Robinson tells the Billy Wright Inquiry that the paramilitary told him he feared he would be killed.

Waiting for news from Munich

Elizabeth Wood looks back on the day she heard her husband Ray, a Busby Babe, was caught up in the Munich air disaster.

The sound of Billy Fury lives on

Famous fans of Billy Fury remember the rock'n'roll star who died 25 years ago.

Witnesses due at Wright inquiry

Witness testimonies at the inquiry into the murder of loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright are due to resume.

Big Willie

Willie Nelson was an unknown songwriter when he pitched "Hello Walls" to Faron Young, one of the hottest singers in country music. Faron recorded the song in 1961, and it stayed at number one on the Billboard country music charts for nine weeks.

Faron later explained in a radio interview that artists get paid sooner than writers do. When he had already received $38,000 for the song, Willie was still broke. Willie asked Faron for a loan, and promised to sell him the song's royalty rights. Faron gave Willie five $100 bills, and "made him swear on a stack of Bibles he wouldn't sell that song."

Willie said in his autobiography, "When I got my first royalty check of $3,000, I ran to Tootsie's and found Faron sitting drinking at a table and kissed him flush on the mouth I was so excited."

Faron had a more colorful description of this incident in a Nashville tavern: "I was down at Tootsies watering trough, having a bottle of grape juice. I felt this hairy arm go around my neck, and Willie pinched my jaw and pulled me back and French kissed me. It was probably one of the best kisses I ever had."

Willie tried to repay the $500 then, but Faron responded, "I don't want your money, son. Wait till you can afford it and then fatten a steer for me or something."

According to Willie, "It took years, but I finally paid Faron back by giving him a prize bull my son Billy bought at a livestock auction for $38,000."

In November 1984, Willie had the bull delivered to Faron's office on Nashville's Music Row. A newspaper quoted Faron as saying, "I could have killed him. I didn't have any place to put a bull like that."

Faron called friend and Grand Ole Opry performer, Jimmy C. Newman, who raised cattle on a farm fifty miles from Nashville. Jimmy C. agreed to take the bull, but he was unprepared for what arrived: "There in the trailer was the biggest bull I'd ever seen in my life. It was three years old, a registered Simmental bull. I said, 'what in the world have I gotten into?' The bull weighed around 3,000 pounds. Willie Nelson gave him to us, so I called him Big Willie."

Faron gave half-ownership to the Newmans and wanted to use the bull for breeding. But that would include showing its registered offspring, and Jimmy C. wasn't equipped for that. He said, "We didn't have registered Simmental cattle. The only cattle I had were crossbred."

Big Willie became an item in Faron's 1986 divorce. A special master inventoried the property of both Faron and Hilda, and included as one of Faron's assets half-interest in a Simmental bull valued at $10,000. Faron's lawyer filed an objection, saying the bull was a gift from a personal friend and not a marital asset. Hilda's lawyer responded with, "This is a marital asset as the defendant had loaned Willie Nelson money years before from marital assets and this animal was in repayment of this debt." The divorce settlement required Faron to pay Hilda $2,500 for her interest in the bull.

Jimmy C. Newman told me in February 2000 that he still had three of Big Willie's offspring. "They're huge. They were some of my best cows. They're getting old." And what became of Big Willie? Jimmy C. says, "Finally we sold him for what we call grade. I forgot what he brought. I would imagine around $1,500. So that was the end of that."

(Reprinted with permission from the blog of author Diane Diekman)

New Orleans Back In Business And Better Than Ever

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans hard and the subsequent flooding caused immense disruption to the city and its people. For a long time visitors were unable to enjoy the architecture, food, music, nightlife, shopping and the distinctive joie de vivre that New Orleans was famous for. But now, just over two years later, the Crescent City is back in the tourism business and better than ever.

With a new motto, "Soul Is Waterproof," high-profile events such as the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras, and the Jazz and Heritage Festival are returning, and the historic heart, including the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, Warehouse and Arts District, the Garden District, Magazine Street, Audubon Park and Zoo, and St. Charles Avenue, are again welcoming visitors. Around 8 million people are expected this year, compared to the 10 million visitors who came in 2004.

A walk along the city streets gives one the feeling that the vibrant urban culture is flourishing anew. Old favorite restaurants, with their celebrity chefs, have been joined by new places opened by bold creative restaurateurs. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe pays homage to the conjunction of great music and food, and the Tire Swing Bar makes a mean cocktail. Ride the streetcars down Canal Street, between attractions, or along the river. The shops and boutiques along Magazine Street are again packed to the hilt with interesting goods. Don’t miss the New Orleans Museum of Art, among the nation’s best, and the premier art museum in the Gulf South region.

The Mardi Gras parades are back in February this year and it’s time to party and catch the color and movement of this vibrant and raunchy annual celebration of city life. The krewes will have even bigger and brighter floats on show. If you have to miss the parades, you can get the feeling of Mardi Gras year-round at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, the world’s largest float designing and building facility, where more than 80 percent of the New Orleans' floats are constructed. New Orleans’ celebrated nightlife, from piano bars and pubs, to music clubs are open to the small hours of the morning, and three casinos are again operating.

Billed as “The World’s Largest Block Party”, from Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13, the annual French Quarter Festival celebrates its 25th year in 2008. This vibrant part of New Orleans becomes a vast outdoor mall offering the best local music, culinary delights and art exhibitions. Be entertained by some of the more than 150 musical performances on 15 stages throughout the French Quarter, and be tempted by the 60 food and beverage stalls featuring authentic local cuisine in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park and elsewhere.

And then there’s the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in May, which features 12 stages of jazz, gospel, cajun, zydeco, blues, African, Latin, R&B, rock, Caribbean, folk, funk and much more. Known as JazzFest, this year features Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, and the Neville Brothers. Obviously, New Orleans is back in the swing.