The London-based international sax star and band leader has announced a busy tour schedule for the start of 2012 including shows in Spain, Italy and Greece - all with economies buffeted by the Eurozone crisis.   He will also play a single date in Moscow.

But despite being in demand across the Channel, Gelato says his band's fortunes at home are mixed...   "The hardest place for us is the UK.   London is all right and the area around it, but to take my band out to theatres, I just can't do it.   There just isn't the money.   They don't advertise.   It's an apathy which gets on my nerves, so I take the band far and wide.   It's the only way I can do it.   I like to do a gig where they tell me what I'm going to get and what the band are going to make."

And he told interviewer Chris Watts: "British audiences are amazing, but we're shortchanged sometimes - not with the big acts, but with the smaller acts and the roots acts like me, it's getting quite hard for everybody."

Underlining Gelato's international appeal, the audience for one of his pre-Christmas sell-out gigs at Ronnie Scott's club in London included veteran US campaigner, Rev Jesse Jackson.

Ray is currently promoting his new single Bar Italia (Where You Wanna Be), a self-penned song dedicated to the legendary Soho cafe.   "I've been using Bar Italia for years," he says.   "It's an iconic part of old London.   It's like having a theatre seat in the middle of town.   You've got this fantastic view of everything that's going on.   It's a bit of hangout for stars.   They asked me to write a song about the place.   I wrote it on the train going home!"

Chris Spedding joins "the mob"

The Mob say they're heavily influenced by two great band leader composers, Duke Ellington and Jimmy Page.   And they say their sound will appeal to lovers of classic rock'n'roll, beat, Americana, rockabilly, blues, psychedelic rock and 60s surf genres.

Their 11-track debut album, Force 9, is released on October 31st on CD and vinyl LP.   Their single Selene Selene is available to download free.

Chris says the new band fitted together perfectly: "It's not a surprise that we're together.   It's not really a new experience.   I've known Steve, Glen, Martin for a long time.   We thought it was going to work.   It seems quite natural."

Derbyshire-born Spedding is one of Britain's most versatile session guitarists.   His long career has seen him work with the likes of Roxy Music, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Katie Melua and even The Wombles.   As a producer he worked on the first Sex Pistols demos.   He has tackled everything from rock to jazz and pop but rock'n'roll remains his first love.

He produced the first two albums by the Canadian rockabilly band, The Razorbacks, entitled Go to Town (1988) and Live A Little (1989).   In the late 1990s he reunited with Robert Gordon and has toured with him on and off since.   They released It's Now Or Never, a collection of Elvis Presley songs recorded with The Jordanaires in 2007 and a live DVD, Rockin' The Paradiso in 2006.

Firebirds team up with doo wop Den

It's the long-awaited follow-up to Volume One, which was released four years ago and became the Bristol band's biggest selling album to date.

The Firebirds' Jim Plummer explained: "It was always the plan to release more doo wop albums.   We started recording Volume Two in 2008, but due to a line-up change we had to start again from scratch.

"Our record publishers in New York suggested we might consider using a baritone vocalist on the new album and, remembering that one of the tracks on Volume One, Bells In My Heart, was written by Den Hegarty, I thought he would be ideal.

"I first met Den at a 70s festival where he was performing with The Darts.   I introduced myself and asked him if he would be interested in recording with us on our volume two album.   He said he would be delighted.

"Den turned up at our studio.   And being the professional he is, recorded his tracks before lunchtime.   The recording of the album was completed at the end of September, and is now in the process of being pressed, together with the artwork, since we broke the news of the release date dozens of orders have been received from across the globe.   Through Planet Jive may I thank everyone for their patience in waiting so long for Doo Wop Volume Two, but I'm confident that fans will consider it well worth waiting for."

And Jim says Den could join the band for a one off doo wop show next year.

Doo Wop Volume Two is available from Rockville Records.

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