George Michael breaks a three-year interview silence...

George Michael breaks a three-year interview silence to talk to MTV for a special that will air in mid-April. The singer, currently unable to release new recordings of his own songs due to a pending lawsuit against Sony Music, talks extensively about AIDS as an issue. . . .

Prince is still not doing interviews, but he has added performances at record stores to his latest run of profile-raising activities. Last week the formerly reclusive pop star performed three songs at an Atlanta store and signed autographs for an hour. . . .

The latest big act to mount a small-scale tour: INXS. The Australian band will play small clubs and theaters in 10 North American cities starting with San Francisco on May 7 and including a May 8 show in an airplane hangar at Santa Monica Airport. . . .

“Sun City,” the groundbreaking 1985 album put together by Little Steven to fight South African apartheid, is finally being issued on CD. New York-based independent label Razor & Tie will have the album, named by Rolling Stone critics as one of the best of the ‘80s, in stores late this week. Among Artists United Against Apartheid joining Little Steven on the album are Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Keith Richards and Miles Davis. . . .

Beach Boys fans will finally get to hear an official release of material from the legendary lost “Smile” album. About 25 minutes of music from the “Smile” sessions will be included in a boxed retrospective, due June 1. . . .

Lisa Stansfield has put a hold on her recording career to devote herself to acting. She’s currently scouting for roles and has no plans to record anytime soon. . . . Rickie Lee Jones is in the studio working on new, original material for her next album. Her last collection, 1991’s “Pop Pop,” featured pop standards. . . .

Babyface’s busy schedule of producing with partner L.A. Reid has caused a delay in completion of his own solo album, which is being bumped from May to a planned mid-July release. . . . After several postponements, Luther Vandross’ album is now due June 1. . . .

Longtime British alternative band the Fall has a new album, “The Infotainment Scan,” due in May, with a version of Sister Sledge’s “Lost in Music” included. This is the first release by influential New York independent label Matador since it signed a distribution deal with Atlantic. The Fall’s last two albums were not released in the U.S. . . .

Gutterball, a collaboration of Steve Wynn and House of Freaks, is set to start an Eastern U.S. tour opening for the Black Crowes at the end of the month. Crowes singer Chris Robinson, a longtime Wynn fan, invited the group on the tour after meeting Wynn backstage at a Gutterball show in New York recently. Gutterball’s debut album is due in May. . . .

L.A.’s Redd Kross has begun recording its next album for former Stiff Records executive Andrew Lauder’s new This Way Up label. . . . Touted L.A. band Greta is recording its debut album, with Sylvia Massey (who produced Tool) and Dramarama singer John Easedale co-producing. Dramarama’s new album, tentatively titled “Hi-Fi-Sci-Fi,” is due in May. . . .

The Ricky Nelson International Club of Great Britain will host a convention honoring the late singer/TV star at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, April 9-11. . . .

“In the Garden,” Eurythmics’ 1981 debut album, will get its first U.S. release from RCA next week. The company is also issuing Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy” on CD for the first time in the U.S.