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More than 300 concerts have taken place around the world to mark John Peel Day in honour of the late radio presenter.

BBC Radio 1 broadcast a six-hour tribute programme on Thursday to mark one year since his final show. Peel died on 25 October last year.

Gigs were held in countries such as the UK, New Zealand, Italy and Canada.

Some of Peel's favourite acts, including New Order, The Fall and Super Furry Animals, played at the first tribute gig in London on Wednesday.

Father of the electric guitar is lauded by legends like Clapton and Page

NEW YORK - Take it from Peter Frampton. Or from Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Townsend or Jimmy Page — they all owe a debt to Les Paul, father of the electric guitar.

“They all mention Les as an inspiration because of [his] early records, which were jaw-dropping when you first heard them as a novice guitarist,” says Frampton, who recalls learning licks off of Paul’s records as a 9-year-old in England. “We revere him, but Les is so genuine and down-to-earth that he’s still one of the lads.”

At age 90, the man who developed the solid-body electric guitar has finally released his first rock album, which is remarkable considering that he is a longtime inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appears with Frampton, Beck, Clapton, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora and other guitar legends on the new CD.

Hundreds of Harry Potter Fanatics Turn Salem, Massachusetts Into a Makeshift College Campus

Hundreds of Harry Potter fanatics have turned this historic seaport, best known for its witches and their trials, into a makeshift college campus fit for a young wizard.

In hotel ballrooms, professors from real-world universities led panel discussions with titles such as "Bucolic Bullionism: Economics in the Wizarding World," "Christianity and Harry Potter" and "Introduction to Spell Writing." While on the city's common, students braved rain showers over the weekend for a muddy game of Quidditch minus the floating broomsticks.

And fans dressed as Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy and, of course, Harry Potter drew stares from tourists as they wandered through the streets of Salem's historic district.

Actress and avid gardener RENE RUSSO is fighting a losing battle with the deer that are ruining her roses because she can't find a way to stop them from eating the buds.

The THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR star is particularly proud of her blooms but as soon as they appear, they're devoured by the deer who live in the woodland behind her California home.

She says, "I don't like them eating some of my stuff. There were times I wanted to have venison for dinner.

"When it takes you two seasons to get something and then you go out there and all the buds are gone, it's really frustrating.

"I've tried cat urine, I put a transistor radio out - because I figured they'd know people were out - and then I got complaints from my neighbours... Now I put up a fence, they just go straight over it."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Rarely has a pop superstar so divided music fans for so long. Neil Diamond is a guilty pleasure to some, no less than a reason to be for others. Then there are those who flat-out despise him. Yet he continues to pack arenas decades after his last hit, based on the memory of past glories onstage and on record.

It's probably best to stick with the legend.

The showman in black -- with sparkly ruby-red sequins on the shoulders, of course -- returned to Los Angeles on Thursday for the first of four straight sold-out dates at the cavernous Staples Center. And while the nostalgia factor was high for songs from his mid-'60s to early-'80s heyday, Diamond has settled in as a simple generation-spanning crooner, his fiery performing days seemingly a memory.

His warm, comfy voice is still entirely distinctive, but it now lacks the power and, yes, the drama that fueled his most enduring songs. And of the tunes that still sound good on the radio, many were drowned by the overlarge backing band, which included three semi-soulful-at-best backing singers, an unremarkable brass section, two full-time keyboard players providing schmaltzy faux strings and such and an otherwise solid percussionist who doubled as cheerleader to ultimately deadening effect.