IN THE COOLER: Normally, record companies try...

IN THE COOLER: Normally, record companies try to make as much fuss as possible when releasing an album, but Virgin Records has been virtually silent about the debut album of the Young Turks, which was released five months ago. Could it be because three members of the Miami-based hard-rock band are in a Wisconsin jail, serving six-month sentences for a 1990 statutory rape conviction?

“I’ve wanted to state our case from the beginning,” says Rhett O’Neill, the group’s singer. “But our lawyers and (Virgin’s) publicity staff didn’t want me to talk. Major people wanted to wash their hands of us because of this. They almost didn’t release the record.”

Aaron Jacoves, the Virgin executive who signed the band, says Virgin stands behind the band and will launch a promotion campaign for the album, titled “N.E. 2nd Ave.,” when the band members are released from jail next month.