Fame Alkademija

Gazette favourite Alka Vuica will finally be holding her anniversary concert to mark 20 years in the music business as a singer and lyricist - or rather, 21, because the show was originally supposed to be held at the same time as her Cirkus album was released last year.

This version of the concert, now titled Alkademija and scheduled for 18 December in the Tvornica club, Zagreb, will feature unplugged versions of songs from her six albums, and she ought to be joined by Oliver Dragojević, Nina Badrić, Josipa Lisac (for whom Alka wrote the classic Gdje Dunav ljubi nebo), Tony Cetinski, Petar Grašo, and possibly Massimo Savić.

Unfortunately for the multi-talented singer, whose cv also includes several books of poetry and a cookbook, Nova TV has refused to recommission her talk show Jedan na jedan, on which her impressively transnational array of guests have included Goran Bregović and 80s folk-pop icon Lepa Brena. Still, a new set of poems Adamovo rebro is said to be on its way, along with even more of a treat - her biography Profesionalka.

Alka isn't afraid to be outspoken, and on occasion can combine showbusiness he-said-she-said with insightful criticism. Six years ago, when Doris Dragović was hounded by much of the Croatian press for agreeing to play at New Year's Eve in Montenegro, Alka used her column to attack Croatian hypocrisy in stirring up such a fuss over a musician when Croatian-Serbian commercial relations were already being established in every other field. On the other hand, during last year's 100% artificial Seve-vs.-Edo-Maajka scandal, she managed to lay into Edo, Croatian punk band Hladno pivo (music for 'drunk children'), 'urban' music (calling it 'black turbofolk'), not to mention Seve herself, for taking over the 'etno' style she says she was the first to use in Croatian pop.

Such a convoluted headline such as the above is also intended to introduce the already announced comeback of Alex Parks, late of Fame Academy, who rescued a ropey second album with a rather better live performance at the London Scala last night. (Keep the cellist...!)