Moby Sings Joplin, Radiohead, GNR; Slams Jacko

11/22/2002 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Jerry Armor

(11/22/02, 3 p.m. ET) -- In what is probably one of the smallest gig he's played in a long time, Moby covered songs by Radiohead, Guns N' Roses, and Janis Joplin at a hotel bar last weekend in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The electronic pop pioneer sat at the piano for the impromptu, 25-minute performance at the members-only China club on Saturday (November 16), taking requests from approximately 40 onlookers. He played Radiohead's "Creep," Joplin's "Me And Bobby McGee," and GN'R's "Sweet Child O' Mine." He also sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the hotel guests and attempted several songs by U2, but couldn't quite remember lyrics.

Meanwhile, Moby has also weighed in about Michael Jackson's actions earlier this week when the King Of Pop dangled his infant child over the balcony of a Berlin hotel. "The 20th and 21st centuries have seen a lot of bizarre celebrity meltdowns and a lot of instances where celebrities have behaved boorishly or unethically," he writes on his website (moby.com). "But Michael Jackson dangling a baby off of a fourth-floor balcony really does just about take the cake."

Moby adds: "That photograph is one of the most disturbing things that I've seen in a long while. I don't even think that I can make a lighthearted quip about it. It's just upsetting. Ugh."

-- Darryl Morden, Los Angeles

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to launchnews@yahoo.com.