Singer Chris Brown pleads not guilty in London assault case
Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023.
Brown, 36, pleaded not guilty in Southwark Crown Court to one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
Brown's friend and fellow musician Omololu Akinlolu, 38, who performs under the name 'Hoody Baby,' pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Prosecutors said Brown and Akinlolu assaulted producer Abe Diaw at a bar in the Tape nightclub in the swanky Mayfair neighborhood in February 2023. Brown allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on Diaw and hit him several times with a bottle and then punched and kicked him.
The attack was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people, prosecutors said.
Brown was released last month on 5 million-pound ($6.75 million) bail, which allowed him to start his world tour earlier this month.
Brown, who burst onto the music scene as a teen in 2005, won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for 'F.A.M.E.' and then earned his second in the same category for '11:11 (Deluxe)' earlier this year.
His hits include songs such as 'Run It,' 'Kiss Kiss' and 'Without You.'
His tour is due to kick off June 8 in Amsterdam before starting North America shows in July.
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Birmingham's shrines to Black Sabbath and where to find them
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Trace the musical history From The Crown you can trace the rise of Black Sabbath by walking past other venues they played, including "one of the great buildings of Birmingham", the Town Hall, added Mr Collins. "They'd have played at the Odeon, which is now just a cinema, and ended up at the Town Hall, which is two minutes from The Crown," he explained. "So you can plot their journey from a very, very small, intimate gig with 120 people into a bigger hall of a thousand, into a bigger hall where Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan played." Pilgrimage to the bench Carrying on to Broad Street you'll find another picture opportunity at the Black Sabbath bridge and bench."The really cool thing about the bridge for me is that most of the bands that you love and have played in Birmingham in recent years have made a special pilgrimage to it," said Birmingham journalist and metal fan Kirsty Bosley. 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During a walk around the area fans could also visit the schools band members Ozzy was a pupil Prince Albert Junior School while Geezer went to Holte Grammar, Mr Collins said."And if you want to have a bit to eat you can stop at the Barton Arms which is opposite what was called Newtown Leisure Centre," he added. "That's where they rehearsed the first two albums, Black Sabbath and Paranoid, but they would leave their rehearsals and go into the Barton Arms, and sit and have a pint." See 'amazing little music venues' Ms Bosley urged visitors not to forget "amazing little venues" across the city that have supported the heavy metal scene and will be putting on events. The Flapper on Cambrian Wharf and Scruffy Murphy's on Dale End are among those worth a visit."Spend a bit of time there, spend a bit of money there and get a real feel for the very thing that connects us, which is in this case heavy metal," she added. Sabbath's original manager, Jim Simpson, has also programmed performances dubbed the Visit of Oz across the city in pubs, bars and even a canal boat. "The eyes of the whole world are going to be upon us," added Ms Boswell, "and it's going to be really special".She said the city's heavy metal community normally "operates in dark spaces" but the weekend was an opportunity to "come into the light and be championed". "The vibe is just going to be impeccable, I know it."
BBC News
29 minutes ago
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Telegraph
31 minutes ago
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French police ‘will never stop us', say Channel migrants
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