Billboard Bits: Shedaisy, Marc Almond, Louis Armstrong

Soft Cell's Marc Almond is making more than music. July sees the release of "The End of New York," a small, illustrated book of his own poetry about the Big Apple, accompanied by a spoken-word CD of Almond reading his texts. The limited-edition U.K. printing of 3,000 copies will be published by Ellipsis, which released his larger book of poetry and lyrics, 1999's "Beautiful Twisted Night." The seedy side of New York has long been an inspiration to Almond. "The End of New York" includes two poems that became Soft Cell songs in the '80s, for instance: "Baby Doll," an ode to a stripper, and "L'Esqualita," about a Latino drag bar. But, Almond says, New York's sleaze has been "cleaned up" in recent years, which leaves him feeling a loss. "It's interesting to watch a city like New York, [and observe] how it's changed. The nightlife has changed -- the clubs, the burlesque, the porno places have closed down. I feel sad about it. The New York I love is something of a dangerous place, a little on the edge. Now it's become a little homogenized." Almond's latest album, "Stranger Things," was released June 18 internationally on Blue Star/XIII Bis Records but has no U.S. distributor as yet. Soft Cell is a part of this summer's Wotapalava tour, kicking off July 13 in Miami.

Louis Armstrong duets with 10-year-old New Yorker Nathalie Carril-King (aka Nathalie C.K.) on the legendary singer/musician's classic "What a Wonderful World," a la the same style as the "Unforgettable" 1991 pairing of Natalie Cole and her late father, Nat "King" Cole. The "World" effort is being mounted in conjunction with the American Lung Association of New York for a public service announcement about asthma. The young singer/actress/dancer suffers from the chronic lung disease. Proceeds raised by the single will benefit the association's Open Airways for Schools and other educational programs.