AND NOW HERE’S THE NEWS: With Mick...

AND NOW HERE’S THE NEWS: With Mick Jagger nixing a Rolling Stones tour this summer and spending more of his time on solo projects, it was probably inevitable that Keith Richards would respond in a similar fashion. The heart of the Stones has apparently begun work on a solo record of his own. (One name that’s surfaced as a possible participant is E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, a longtime Richards fan who once wrote a classic paean to Richards called “Keith Don’t Go.”). . . . The Jets (who have that big hit, “Crush on You,”) will do a one-song concert Tuesday night in Houston. But what a tune! The group will sing the National Anthem at baseball’s All-Star game in the Houston Astrodome. . . . The first single, due in mid-September, from the upcoming Paul McCartney album is called “Press.” . . . Chicago is working on a new record with producer David Foster, which is slated to include a remake of the band’s 1970 hit “25 or 6 to 4.” . . . Meanwhile, Cock Robin, who just returned from a big Old World tour (where the band had a pair of Top 10 singles in--count ‘em--six different European countries), are back in the States, preparing to go into the studio with crack producer Don Gehman, who’s worked for years with John Cougar Mellencamp. . . . Paul Young is in Milan, recording a follow-up album to his hit solo record, “The Secret of Association.” . . . And R.E.M. will be out touring behind its new album, “Life’s Rich Pageant.” Watch for the band to play a night (perhaps even two) at the Greek Theatre at the end of September.