Since opening on the 1st February 2008, the hotel has become one of the city's top hotels attracting guests from the far corners of the world as well as the locals who are loving the hotel too. :: Offering stylish luxury with a twist, its contemporary design along with the stunning architecture of the original grade II listed building has made this hotel a focal point of the city. :: Those who have been lucky enough to experience a visit to the hotel, take away with them everlasting memories of a hotel that offers the :: highest quality services and facilities, and a design that is completely unique and stylish.

Earlier this year the bosses of the soft drink manufacturer set a challenge to Guns n Roses that said “In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America… will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time anytime! in 2008” and it looks like they’re making good on their promise.

US fans have their opportunity to gain their free can of Dr. Pepper by registering on DrPepper.com on the same day that Chinese Democracy is released, which is currently slated as 25 November. They will then be sent a voucher which gain them a 20 ounce can of the sugary drink.

Meanwhile, if you haven't heard it, the title track from the new album is streaming on Guns n Roses' website click here

The project is due to run for two years and more stars are joining all the time: Russell Brand, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop have already signed up to take part and discussions are currently taking place with world famous musicians.

Taking ‘life and laughter’ as his theme, renowned portrait photographer Rich Hardcastle is creating a series of remarkable black and white photographs that capture, slightly off guard, :the personality and mood of the sitter during a reflective moment. The celebrity then adds his or her personal message - a quote, a witty remark, or philosophical comment - to the original photograph and hand signs each of the 50 large (32 x 32 inches) limited edition prints that are subsequently produced.

The photographs will be on public exhibition, and available for purchase, across London for the remainder of 2008 and during 2009.

Trinity has been caring for patients and their families for over 117 years. Today, the Hospice supports a population of 750,000 in central and south west London, caring for over 400 inpatients. A further 1,800 visits are made by Trinity nurses to patients’ own homes and 350 patients receive additional care from our outpatient services.

Rich Hardcastle commented: "I’m really pleased to be able to contribute towards such a worthwhile cause. Having visited Trinity Hospice I was struck by what a beautiful, positive environment exists there. :This is something truly deserving of support."

For more information on the exhibition, the auction and for general details on the fantastic work that Trinity Hospice do please visit http://www.trinityhospice.org.uk/largerthanlife

If you had any plans to write to the "funny one" from the Beatles, ya know the gruff voiced, ever smiling just happy to be here Ringo Starr well, to quote a famous song title "Honey don't".

He doesn't want to hear from you anymore.

In one of the most bizarre statements ever released on an artists website, Richard Starkey MBE had the following to say via a videoed message.

"This is a serious message to everybody watching my update. Peace and love. Peace and love."

“I want to tell you after the 20th of October please do not send fan mail to any address you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that is the date on the envelope, it’s gonna be tossed

“I’m warning you with peace and love I have too much to do. So no more fan mail. Thank you, thank you. And no objects to be signed. Nothing. “Anyway, peace and love, peace and love.”

Peace and love??? Yeah thanks very bloody much. Too much to do? Really?

Now, let me first of all say I am a massive fan and supporter of all things Beatles and their solo output as my colleagues will attest but this is up there with John sitting in a bag (which incidentally I still don't get).

Come on Rings, your press and promo tours to support any new album is hardly a punishing schedule and
your 'All Starr Band' tours only take you across the States oddly enough never to the UK, so its hardly a mammoth global trek is it.

So what else goes on that means the people that have put you in your Monaco ivory tower don't get the chance to send you letters of goodwill and thanks?

They don't for one second all expect to receive a hand written reply or even an acknowledgement but to simply state "its gonna be tossed" is nothing short rudeness and a reversal of your famous peace sign.

Even when Ringo made his disparaging remarks about his home City on a tv interview earlier this year I
stood up for him but this is a bit too far even for a Beatle freak like me.

I thought Ringo came out of a different generation of celebrity, one who appreciated the value of their fame and popularity and embraced it unlike the current crop of cardigan wearing whiners that pepper the charts and complain about press and fan intrusion and that its all too much effort.

Whether it is years of bitterness and popularity envy that has been bubbling under or just a serious attack of the pre-festive bah-humbugs only Ringo knows.

What do you think about it all? Leave a comment and let me know.

In the meantime you best take full advantage of anything signed by Ringo we have. For example...Ringo Signed book

What? You didn't think you'd get away without me trying to sell you something did you?

Guns n Roses’ 15 years in the making, vastly expensive, repeatedly leaked new album Chinese Democracy is to be released on Sunday 23 November in the US.

MTV and Billboard both report that reliable sources close to the band have confirmed that Chinese Democracy will be released in Best Buy stores across the US on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving (a somewhat appropriate date, we think).

The news comes after it was confirmed that not only will Chinese Democracy album track ‘Shackler’s Revenge’ appear on computer game Rock Band 2, but that another album track ‘If The World’ will appear on the closing credits of new Leonardo Di Caprio film Body Of Lies.

Around 900 employees of retail giant Best Buy were recently treated to a small listening session for the album when they were also told that the album would be released exclusively through their store.

No word on a UK release date as yet, but expect it pretty close to the US release.xpect it pretty close to the US release.

PLANET ROCK WINS BT AWARD:

Unlike other industry awards, this one was voted for by listeners as well as judges, and thanks to a sterling effort from you we managed to fight off competition from BBC 6Music, BBC Asian Network, Gaydar Radio and Passion For The Planet to pick up the trophy.

CLASSIC ROCK MAG LAUNCHES LABEL: Classic Rock Magazine is to launch its own record label called Powerage.

Powerage is a joint venture with leading music distributor and online retailer, Plastic Head Distribution.
Chris Ingham, publisher of Classic Rock, said: “Over the years we’ve discovered an amazing raft of new hard rock talent at Classic Rock.

AC/DC EXTEND US TOUR: ::: AC/DC have extended their sold out US &::: Canadian tour, adding sixteen dates that will see them stay in North America until at least 31 January.

Tickets for the first batch of North American dates pretty much sold-out when they went on sale last week with some venues reporting that they had sold all of their tickets in just a few minutes. European dates are expected to be announced in November/December – so make sure that you stay tuned to Planet Rock.

METALLICA HIT BACK IN SOUND ROW: ::: Lars Ulrich has defended the quality of the sound on the band’s new album, Death Magnetic, saying that "It sounds f***ing smoking."

Speaking to Blender, Lars reacted to criticism of the new record by saying that it sounds fine."There's nothing up with the audio quality," he said. "Rick Rubin's whole thing is to get it to sound lively, jump out the speakers. It sounds f***ing smoking. When we put out Justice, people said 'Where's the bass? Was this made in a garage?' And that supposedly influenced a generation."

Meanwhile, Ian Shepherd who writes on mastering-media.blogspot.com sent us this YouTube clip which highlights the difference between the CD and Guitar Hero versions of the album.

SPRINGSTEEN TO PLAY SUPER BOWL: ::: Bruce Springsteen has been named as the act that will entertain the audience at half-time at this year’s Super Bowl.

The prestigious slot is touted as one of the major music events in the US every year, and the slot is reserved for some pretty big hitters. Billboard reports that last year 148 million people watched Tom Petty entertain the crowd, while the Rolling Stones, US and Paul McCartney have all played in recent years

CLASSIC STONES &::: ZEP PHOTOS ON SHOW: A new exhibition is set to open in London featuring rare, unseen and iconic images of some of rock’s true greats.

The RockArchive Exhibition opens at 65-67 Broadwick Street in Soho on 17 November and it will feature iconic shots of Led Zeppelin, U2, The Clash, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, amongst others. RockArchive.com, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, was founded by celebrated photographer Jill Furmanovsky who has worked with pretty much every rock legend that you can think of. It now plays host to work by more than 50 celebrated rock photographers. Entrance to the exhibition is free, and looks to be well worth a visit.