Groups brought bang up to date / part one

Bands updated, kicking and screaming, for our times:

Junior Doctor and The Medics >  Short-lived re-union.  You try being a pop-star after working for 80 hours a week on the wards.  Let's see if you can keep awake at a gig three hundred miles from home after a tough night in the A&E Department following by two hours of ineffective sleep in the back of a Citroen Relay van.  

Microsoft Cell > Soft Cell comeback band which releases material through their own exclusive distribution chain which is tied to the purchase of particular CD-players and hi-fi systems and renders all other music unplayable on those devices.  A long-running regulatory battle ensues, culminating in the band releasing the partial source code of their albums in order to avoid hefty fines from the European Union.

Huey Lewis and the 24 Hour Rolling News > Round-the-clock pop from the ever-young pop funsters, including in-vision updates on their latest musical offerings and the revolutionary "Huey Cam" where, with the pressing of your red button, you can follow all the action from the boisterous frontman's perspective.  Over the course of the day, you will almost certainly think "you have heard this one before" but you keep listening just in case you haven't.  But you were right - on every occasion.  

Takeover That > Following successful recent acquisitions and mergers, the boy band hold a wide portfolio which boasts several other artists as part of the umbrella group and commercial waterfront properties in major cities around the globe.  Currently eyeing up an audacious attempt to buy out Boyzone Holdings Plc, although clearance would be required from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

The Police (Community Support Officers) > The Police return, but what looked good on paper is only marginally successful in reality.  They are allowed to attend gigs, do interviews and make public appearances, but they are prevented from actually playing their instruments or singing, as they have not been granted the necessary powers to do so and have not been trained to the full extent required.

New *Improved* Order > The band that proclaims that they have introduced some new methods and modes into their music ("Now with extra flair") and offer redesigned packaging ("Ezee-Seal CD").  You don't hear any difference from the old stuff and are inclined not to believe that they've done anything at all aside from hire a new marketing team.  AND you can't get the knack of opening and closing that new CD case, either.

More in part two - tomorrow.... or soon.