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The Jewish Chronicle

All you need is cash to bring Macca to Israel

August 28, 2008 13:21

By

Lara Lewington

2 min read

For Sir Paul McCartney, the long and winding road has finally led to Israel's door. The former Beatle is to perform in the Holy Land on September 25, 43 years after he was originally due to play there. Fans will be able to see him perform at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv - that's if they can get hold of tickets. Fifty-thousand went on sale this week, but such was the demand that the Leaan ticket-agency website collapsed. In 1965, Israel cancelled a Beatles tour, partly because of fears that the group's hysterical fans would prove too much of a handful for the country's security forces. Earlier this year Israel officially apologised. Sources close to 66-year-old star - whose late first wife, Linda, was Jewish - say he is "desperate" to play the Holy Land. It won't come cheap, though - according to Ha'aretz, promoters are paying almost £5 million to bring Macca to Tel Aviv. Love may be all you need, but a load of cash helps too.

Amy Winehouse may finally be getting the help that she needs - thanks to funky-haired comic Russell Brand. The talented singer, who's been saying "no, no, no" to rehab for too long, is set to undergo a drug-rehabilitation program in a small Suffolk clinic called Focus 12. It's the very place that helped Brand overcome his demons and is near to the prison where Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is serving time for ABH and perverting the course of justice. It was only after Brand had spoken to the centre's chief executive, suggesting Winehouse could get help locally at the same time as being close to her hubby, that they got in touch with the star. According to Amy's dad Mitch: "This is a very good idea. If she can get clean and still see Blake, it can only be good."

Scarlett Johansson's wedding to fellow actor Ryan Reynolds appears to be on hold until after the US presidential election. But why, you might ask? Well, Johansson's twin brother, Hunter, is helping the Democrat hopeful Barack Obama with his campaign and so is pretty tied up until then. An actor pal of the couple told the Daily Express: "He's working all the time, so Scarlett wants to hold off until the election is over." Hopefully Reynolds isn't feeling too edgy about the delay, since it has been "scientifically proven" this week that Johansson is exactly what men find sexually attractive. According to a study by Brunel University, petite girls with long legs and big boobs are what men really want, and Johansson fits the bill nicely.

And talking of the race for the White House (kind of), kabbalah-spouting megastar Madonna has made her own incisive contribution by comparing Republican candidate John McCain to Hitler. An image of McCain appeared alongside photos of the Nazi tyrant and Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe during Madonna's concert in Cardiff at the weekend. Republican campaign officials labelled the comparison "outrageous".