Billboard Bits: John Lennon, Woody Allen, Crystal Method

Yoko Ono visited the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, England, today to attend a ceremony announcing the renaming of the Liverpool Airport as the Liverpool John Lennon Airport in honor of her late husband.

The airport’s new terminal, set to open in spring 2002, will feature a larger-than-life statue of John Lennon commissioned from Liverpool sculptor Tom Murphy. The new logo for the airport features Lennon’s self portrait as well as a line from his 1971 hit “Imagine,” “Above us only sky.”

Ono, who was presented with a miniature version of the Lennon statue at the ceremony, said she was “honored and delighted” with the decision to rename the airport. Liverpool’s will be the first U.K. airport to be named after a person, joining the likes of New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Paris’ Charles De Gaulle.

— Troy Carpenter, N.Y.

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Actor/comedian/filmmaker/musician Woody Allen will embark on his first ever West Coast jazz tour next month in conjunction with screenings of his upcoming DreamWorks film, “The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.” Allen, who on Monday nights plays clarinet with Eddy Davis & his New Orleans Jazz Band at New York’s Carlyle Hotel, will donate the proceeds of each concert to local music organizations.

Allen will introduce “Curse” in Seattle on Aug. 1, then take the stage with Davis and his band the next night at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. Immediately following the Aug. 3 screening in San Francisco, the group will play at Yoshi’s across the bay in Oakland, Calif. The tour will conclude in Los Angeles with a screening Aug. 6, and a gig the following evening at the city’s Jazz Bakery. The events will benefit the Creamfields festival.

The large-scale outing, dubbed the 7-Day Tweekend tour, will support the duo’s second album, “Tweekend,” due July 31 via Outpost. The group’s 1997 debut, “Vegas,” debuted at No. 92 on the Billboard 200.

July 27: Petaluma, Calif. (Phoenix Theater)
July 28: Santa Cruz, Calif. (Palookaville)
July 29: Reno, Nev. (Pioneer Center Exhibit Hall)
July 30: Boise, Idaho (the Big Easy)
Aug. 1: Calgary, Alberta (Metro Nightclub)
Aug. 2: Edmonton, Alberta (the Joint)
Aug. 4: Bremerton, Wash. (Kitsap County Fairground)
Aug. 5: Portland, Ore. (Estacada Timber Bowl)
Aug. 6: Vancouver (TBA)
Aug. 8: Ventura, Calif. (Sun Theater)
Aug. 9: Los Angeles (Mayan Theater)
Aug. 11: San Francisco (Cyber Festival)
Aug. 13: Sacramento, Calif. (the Crest)
Aug. 15: Las Vegas (House of Blues)
Aug. 16: Salt Lake City (Galaxy Plaza)
Aug. 17: Denver (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)
Aug. 19: Minneapolis (Quest)
Aug. 20: Fargo, S.D. (Playmakers Pavilion)
Aug. 22: Cincinnati (Bogarts)
Aug. 24: St. Louis (Mekka – Outdoors at Pops)
Aug. 25: East Troy, Wisc. (Alpine Valley)
Aug. 26: Detroit (State Theater)
Aug. 29: Cleveland (Agora Theater)
Aug. 30: Philadelphia (Electric Factory)
Sept. 1: New York (Creamfields)
Sept. 6: Jacksonville, Fla. (the Edge)
Sept. 7: Orlando, Fla. (House of Blues)
Sept. 8: Boynton Beach, Fla. (Orbit)
Sept. 12: Birmingham, Ala. (Sloss Furnace)
Sept. 14: Atlanta (Dekalb Atlanta Center)
Sept. 15: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 22: Houston (Cyber Festival)

— Troy Carpenter, N.Y.