Huey Lewis has cancelled his Australian tour. The reasons? Scheduling conflicts with the band's plans to record its next album. Imagine the conversation:

Huey, baby, how's it going? You need a new drug? No? Still square but hip? I love you. Listen, ticket sales here have been just sick. We've sold out every venue and it looks like we're going to have to double up on the dates. The money's just great, and the Australians call them dollars, too, so it's all good.

Sorry, we're booked to record an album.

But - but this will make you millions! Put off the record for a month!

Sorry; we've already contracted with the caterers.

That's the power of Huey

Somehow I think it might be poor ticket sales. It has, after all, been a quarter-century since they did the "Back to the Future" hit soundtrack single. I know these groups are reforming and touring all the time; Tears for Fears is probably playing somewhere tonight with the Thompson Twins. But people might well wonder what they're getting for their money. Huey, yes, no doubt. But is that the original News? Because we can tell.