SUEDE AND THE DIVINE COMEDY TAKE THE COWARD'S WAY!

SUEDE and THE DIVINE COMEDY are to release a joint single next month featuring covers of Noël Coward songs. Suede have covered 'Poor Little Rich Girl' while The Divine Comedy chose 'Marvellous Party'.

The release is part of a project put together by Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and AIDS charity Red Hot.

There will be an album, 'Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs Of Noël Coward', released in April, and a televised concert, which takes place at the Park Lane Ballroom on January 15.

As well as Suede, The Divine Comedy and the Pet Shop Boys, the show will feature Elton John, Shola Ama and Robbie Williams.

The event is to mark the centenary of the birth of Noël Coward and to raise money for AIDS sufferers.

Noël Coward began his career as a child actor, progressing to writing plays and composing while still in his teens. He was noted for his sophisticated comedies, including Blithe Spirit and Private Lives, and a number of his plays were turned into films in the '50s. He spent the '60s hosting a string of live performances in Las Vegas.

Other celebrations this year include an Arena documentary on Coward's life.

Typed in by David