DOOLEY.

One of the barometers of record company health is the annual competition to host the most memorable Christmas party of the year. And 2000 was no different. While some opted for staff-only affairs, Warner took on the mantle of London Records parties past at the Royal College of Art and Sony took over Leicester Square's Red Cube (see below) for its annual mash-up. Meanwhile, UNIVERSAL-ISLAND pulled out all the stops at Damien Hirst's soon-to-be-closed Pharmacy restaurant for assorted media and staff with a Christmas event which doubled as an introduction to Semisonic's forthcoming album (to be released in the unfestive month of March). Joining in the clinical fun were, left to right, TV promoters SARAH HADDON and SASHA COWLAM, regional radio rep CHARLIE BYRNES and promotions co-ordinator JUSTINE BURTON.

Remember where you heard it: As the Legacy bid for the Dome continues to attract the wrong sort of headlines, look out for at least two megastar UK songwriters and artists to put their PR weight behind the Harvey Goldsmith-backed Music Dome bid ... Prepare to be blinded with science when internet luminaries including Thomas Dolby and EMI's irrepressible Jay Samit take to the stage at MidemNet, the online conference being organised by Midem on January 20, the day before the full show begins ... The Christmas party season is over but Dooley is still tickled by the memory of Laurie Cokell wearing a John Reid T-shirt at London Records' end-of-year bashes. Watch this space for updates ... Thinking of all things London-related, those nice boys from The Partnership would like to point out that they do not have an exclusive plugging arrangement with the label where they are based, instead retaining 100% ownership of their company and still working with other external clients ... Congratulations to Charlie Gillett, who finally gets a nationwide radio show on Radio Two for eight weeks from tomorrow (Wednesday January 3). His Sound Of The City series focuses on musical cities with guest presenters including Taj Mahal (New Orleans and Kingston, Jamaica), Sun's Sam Phillips (Memphis and Bamako, Mali) and Nick Lowe (Atlanta, Muscle Shoals and Dakar, Senegal). Now that's public service broadcasting.

No, this is not photographic evidence that any of our favourite teen pop groups had a particularly rough Christmas and New Year. Rather, this handsome foursome are the latest in a growing line of "virtual" acts -- although, we are assured this lot are the world's first-ever cyberspace virtual dance/groove band. What's more, the 3D computer-animated characters have their own website (BluTribe.com) and comic strip, while they perform on their own TV series called Tribal Logic. But, like all manufactured acts, there's always a team of talent behind the turns which, in this case, ...