Hip-Hop Mogul Diddy in Burger King Ads

LOS ANGELES -- Diddy will soon be adding some sizzle to Burger King's marketing efforts. Hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has agreed to join Burger King Corp.'s promotional efforts as the world's No. 2 hamburger chain reaches out into the entertainment, fashion and music world, the Miami-based company said in a statement Tuesday.

Known in the past as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, the artist known as Diddy is set to appear in an upcoming Burger King advertisement campaign. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a pop culture icon, and we're thrilled to be able to collaborate, using the breadth of his talents as an artist, entrepreneur and change agent to impact and inspire our guests ," said Russ Klein, president of global marketing, strategy and innovation at Burger King.

Burger King, which went public this summer, also is an official sponsor of the rapper-producer's tour.

"I'm having it my way on this album, and it's been a great journey for me, so I'm grateful for partners like Burger King Corporation that are helping me bring a fresh sound to my fans," Diddy said. "They share my passion for being tastemakers and giving the people what they want."

Duff, Boyfriend Seek Restraining Orders

LOS ANGELES -- Singer-actress Hilary Duff and her boyfriend, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden, are seeking restraining orders against two men they claim are stalking them.

Duff, 19, and Madden, 27, filed requests in Superior Court on Thursday for protection from David Joseph Klein, 50, and a man identified by first name as Max, according to court papers.

The documents claim that Max "Doe" is a 19-year-old Russian immigrant who came to Los Angeles for "the sole purpose of meeting and becoming romantically involved" with Duff, a multi-platinum recording artist and former star of TV's "Lizzie McGuire."

"He has admitted to being 'obsessed' with her, has stated his intention of removing his 'enemies' (i .e. those who prevent him from being with her), has stated his intention of purchasing a weapon, and has threatened to kill himself and to engage in dramatic actions to get her attention," the court documents claim.

Klein and Max could not be reached for comment; there was no phone listing for Klein.

According to the papers, Max rooms with Klein, who says he is a celebrity photographer.

"Over the past six weeks, the defendants have engaged in an accelerated effort" to contact Duff, including visits to her neighborhood, her mother's home, Madden's neighborhood, a venue in Hollywood where Madden and Good Charlotte performed , and direct calls to Duff's manger, the documents claim.

Los Angeles police detained Max outside of Good Charlotte's concert after the band's security personnel alerted authorities to the pair's presence, according to the papers.

Duff and Madden are requesting that Max and Klein stay at least 100 yards away from them, Duff's sister Haylie, 21, her mother Susan, 53, and Madden's twin brother Benji.

Duff's publicist Ivy Mullencamp and the couple's attorney Larry Stein declined to comment.

Plans for ABBA Museum in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- An ABBA museum dedicated to the music, clothing and history of the legendary Swedish pop group and its four members will open in Stockholm, organizers said Tuesday.

The interactive museum will feature original outfits and instruments used by the group, handwritten song lyrics, a display of different awards, and "all other things we can think of and find," said Ulf Westman, an event consultant who is spearheading the project with his wife Ewa Wigenheim-Westman.

The museum will also feature a studio where visitors can record their own ABBA songs, and an interactive experience that "will recreate the feeling of being at Wembley stadium and seeing ABBA live with 50,000 others," Westman said.

Organizers are still searching for a suitable location for the museum, but said it will open somewhere in central Stockholm during 2008.

Wigenheim-Westman said the idea was inspired by the Beatles museum in London, but that it took nearly two years to convince the former ABBA members — Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Reuss — that it was a good idea.

"It is nice that someone feels compelled to take on our musical history," the four members said in a joint statement. "We think this will be a fun and swinging museum to visit."

The band members will donate the material for the exhibits, but will otherwise not be involved in the project, which will be funded by company sponsors, Westman said.

Stockholm's mayor Kristina Axen Olin said the museum — which is expected to draw 500,000 visitors a year — will make the Swedish capital a more popular tourist attraction for the millions of ABBA fans around the world.

"As a Stockholmer, this is what you have been missing," Axen Ohlin said at a news conference to unveil the plan. "We are convinced that this is important both for Stockholm citizens and for marketing the city."

ABBA is one of the most successful bands in history, having sold more than 370 million albums.

Beatles Sue to Block 1962 Tapes Release

LONDON -- Lawyers for the Beatles files uit to prevent the distribution of unreleased recordings purportedly made during Ringo Starr's first performance with the group in 1962.

The dispute between Apple Corps Ltd., the London company formed by the Beatles that helps guard their legacy, and Fuego Entertainment Inc. of Miami Lakes stems from recordings the Fab Four apparently made during a performance at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.

Eight unreleased tracks are said to be among the recordings, including Paul McCartney singing Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues" and McCartney and John Lennon singing "Ask Me Why."

Apple Corps claims that the songs were taped without the consent of the band and that Fuego and sister companies Echo -Fuego Music Group LLC and Echo-Vista Inc. have no right to distribute them. "This appears to us to be a garden-variety bootleg recording," said Paul LiCalsi, an attorney for Apple Corps.

But Fuego Entertainment says the recordings were legally made. "Don't claim that these were just bootlegged," said Fuego president Hugo Cancio. "It's not like today, that you just go in with a phone or a blackberry and you record."

The lawsuit contends that the recordings are of poor quality and that circulating them "dilutes and tarnishes the extraordinarily valuable image associated with the Beatles."

Cancio said that he had not been served with a copy of the lawsuit, but that the filing demanding at least $15 million in damages was not expected.

"It's unfair to millions of Beatles fans not to allow this recording to be put out. The world deserves to hear these tracks," he said. "The fact is that we have it; they don't, and that is what's bothering them."

Timerlake Works on Duran Duran Album

NEW YORK -- Justin Timberlake is working on Duran Duran's new album, along with superproducer Timbaland, who created recent smash hits for both Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, the British band said.

"We've got some good stuff happening," said lead singer Simon LeBon. "We've done three tracks with Timbaland; we've collaborated in a writing and production manner on one of those tracks with Justin Timberlake. We've got a lot really hot producers who are hotly interested in working with us at the moment. We are in a very good space."

Duran Duran, who had its biggest hits in the '80s with such songs as "Rio" and "The Reflex," was in New York last Tuesday to perform at Cipriani's at a benefit for the AIDS research organization AmFar . The night also featured an auction, led by Sharon Stone, of luxury items.

The performance was without one of its founding members: Guitarist Andy Taylor left the group late last month.

Bassist Josh Taylor likened the split to a divorce. He said, "There were many strong differences of feeling within the band for some time now."

Boy George’s Ex-Bandmates Slam Singer

Their infectious melodies, flamboyant frontman and multiracial mix made Culture Club a sunny beacon of 1980s pop. Now, though, it's war.

Two of the band's founding members said that they're furious with Boy George, who recently accepted a songwriting award without telling them, labeled their new vocalist "dreadful" and, they claim, made their lives a misery.

"We've never said anything about George, because George has always been George," said Jon Moss, the band's drummer and Boy George's former boyfriend. "But this has gone too far."

Later this year, Moss, bassist Mikey Craig and keyboard player Phil Pickett will be back on the road as Culture Club Reborn. Boy George will not be joining them.

Culture Club topped charts around the world in the 80s with songs like "Karma Chameleon," "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" and "Church of the Poison Mind." The androgynous George, with his broad-brimmed hats, makeup and beribboned hair, became an early MTV star and a global style icon.

By the late 80s, the band split, plagued by flagging sales and Boy George's well-publicized heroin addiction.

While the other members have since combined music careers with reasonably quiet lives, George has stayed in the headlines — most recently during an August stint sweeping streets in New York as punishment for falsely reporting a burglary at his apartment.

Culture Club reunited successfully in 1998, but George — real name George O'Dowd — declined to participate in another tour this year. The band recruited 29-year-old unknown Sam Butcher for a British tour that starts Dec. 7.

Boy George was not impressed, telling an audience at a music awards ceremony that he thought the new singer was "dreadful."