Located deep in your abdomen, the pancreas is an organ that contains two types of glands: the exocrine glands (responsible for producing juice that helps you break down food) and endocrine glands (which release hormones that help regulate blood sugar).

In the United States, pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

While early pancreatic cancer often has no symptoms, signs of later-stage pancreatic cancer can include:

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a continual noise or ringing in the ear. In some cases, tinnitus signals an underlying problem, such as an ear injury, loss of hearing, or blood vessel disorder.

Symptoms of Tinnitus

People with tinnitus hear noise (in one or both ears) even when they’re not exposed to an external sound. These noises may include:

• buzzing
• ringing
• clicking
• hissing
• roaring
• whistling

What Causes Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is sometimes caused by exposure to loud noises. It can also occur as a side effect to certain medications (including some antibiotics, cancer drugs, and diuretics) or as the result of earwax blockage. In other cases, tinnitus results from an underlying condition, such as:

• age-related hearing loss
• allergies
• low or high blood pressure
• disorders of the circulatory system
• Meniere’s disease (an inner-ear disorder)
• acoustic neuroma (a noncancerous tumor on the cranial nerve)

Treatment for Tinnitus

Unless your doctor identifies and treats a specific cause of your tinnitus, it may be impossible to eliminate the noise completely. Strategies that may relieve symptoms include:

• use of noise-suppressing devices (such as white noise machines)
• earwax removal
• avoiding irritants (including loud noises and nicotine)

If tinnitus occurs suddenly and/or is accompanied by hearing loss or dizziness, consult your physician as quickly as possible.

Tinnitus Remedies

The use of alternative medicine in treatment of tinnitus has yet to be extensively studied. However, these remedies and alternative therapies may help ease tinnitus symptoms:

1) Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a process that involves learning to consciously control vital functions that are normally unconscious, such as heart rate and breathing. In a 2009 study, researchers found that a combination of biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy could help decrease tinnitus-related distress.

2) Vinpocetine

Derived from vincamine (a substance found in the leaves of the lesser periwinkle plant), vinpocetine is thought to increase circulation. In a 2008 study, a combination of vinpocetine and physiotherapy was found to be effective in treatment of chronic tinnitus.

3) Ginkgo Biloba

Another herb said to stimulate circulation, ginkgo biloba has yielded mixed results in treatment of tinnitus. For instance, a 2005 research review found that – while some small clinical trials have produced positive findings – ginkgo biloba may be of little more use than a placebo when it comes to tinnitus treatment.

_Sources:

_{Hahn A, Radkova L, Achiemere G, Klement V, Alpini D, Strouhal J. “Multimodal therapy for chronic tinnitus.” Int Tinnitus J. 2008;14(1):69-72.}

_{Heinecke K, Weise C, Rief W. “Psychophysiological effects of biofeedback treatment in tinnitus sufferers.” Br J Clin Psychol. 2009 48(Pt 3):223-39.}

_{Smith PF, Zheng Y, Darlington CL. “Ginkgo biloba extracts for tinnitus: More hype than hope?” J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 22;100(1-2):95-9.}

Miranda Lambert Overview

Miranda Lambert is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who first made a name for herself on a nationally televised talent show, which she parlayed into a major recording career. With a delicate yet strong voice, an immense talent for writing honest heartfelt songs, and girl-next-door beauty, Lambert has quickly become one of country music’s most respected young artists.

Origins and Early Musical Drive

Born on November 10, 1983 in Lindale, Texas, a small town 90 miles east of Dallas, Lambert’s musical career began in earnest when she was just five years old, appearing on the Johnny High Country Music Review, the same show that helped launch LeAnn Rimes’ career. Lambert’s father, Rick, was a policeman at the time, as well as a singer-songwriter of country music, and he encouraged his talented young daughter to pursue her passion for music.

When Lambert was ten, she attended a Garth Brooks concert in Dallas, which further fanned the flames of her growing obsession with country music. During that time, her family made annual trips to Nashville to attend Fan Fair (now called the CMA Music Festival), and she became an avid autograph collector. At 14 her father purchased her a guitar, but she showed little interest in learning the instrument, an attitude that would soon change.

Lambert’s First Recording Sessions in Nashville

As a young teen, Lambert attended a music business seminar in Nashville, which resulted in her recording a demo of four pop-country singles. She was not pleased with the songs, which were chosen for her to record by others, and she quickly realized that she needed to learn the guitar so she could write her own material. So she returned to Texas and let her father teach her the instrument.

In addition to her father, Lambert’s musical influences growing up included notable singer-songwriters like Emmylou Harris and Merle Haggard. As her talent grew, so did her early successes. She landed a commercial spot for Ruffles potato chips, a bit part in the comedy film, Slap Her She’s French, and she came in second place out of over 400 hopefuls to portray Tammy Wynette in the musical Stand By Your Man.

Miranda’s High School Days

Longview, Texas is where 17-year old Lambert really honed her musical skills. Her band, Texas Pride, landed a regular gig at the Reo Palm Isle Ballroom, a landmark music venue built in the ‘30s that over the years showcased such superstars as Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, Brooks and Dunn, Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey.

Around this time, Lambert’s family further invested in her career by funding a CD of her music, building a website to promote it, and traveling to various radio stations throughout the Lone Star State to put her music in front of as many people as possible. The family even bought a motor home with a trailer and a complete state-of-the-art sound system to enable her to perform anywhere and everywhere. Shortly after appearing in her high school’s production of Annie Get Your Gun, Lambert left school early to pursue music full-time.

Miranda Dazzles on Nashville Star

Lambert’s first really big break came in January of 2003 when she took first place in the Texas auditions for the nationally televised talent show, Nashville Star. She eventually competed on the show, placing third. This exposure led to her signing her first major recording contract with Epic Records.

In the summer of 2004, Lambert released her debut CD, Kerosene, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart. She wrote or co-wrote eleven of the CD’s twelve songs. Her first single, “Me and Charlie Talking,” was co-written by her father, and it climbed to No. 27 on Billboard’s country chart. Her next three singles were all top 40 country hits, including the album’s title track, “Kerosene,” which hit No. 15 and garnered Lambert three major award nominations, including a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Lambert was also nominated for the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award, which is given to country music’s top newcomer.

Lambert’s Successful Move to Columbia

With the closure of Lambert’s Epic label in Nashville, her contract was transferred to Columbia for her sophomore album, 2007’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She wrote eight of the album’s eleven tracks, including all four of the singles. The first single fizzled on the charts, but the next three, “Famous in a Small Town,” “Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her” all hit the top 20. To promote the album, she toured extensively with Keith Urban, George Strait, Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith.

Lambert released her third CD, Revolution, on September 29, 2009. She wrote all but three songs on the album.

Serotonin syndrome: report of a fatal case and review of the literature ;

We report here the case of a patient with fluoxetine and selegiline induced serotonin syndrome, which presented as encephalopathy, generalized myoclonias, fever, stiffness and sweating, complicated with acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis and disseminated intravascular coagulation findings. The patient died 6 days after admission. This syndrome is discussed, with an analysis of its causes, pathophysiology and therapy. A special emphasis is placed on the clinical issues and differential diagnosis with the malignant neuroleptic syndrome and other clinical entities with which it could be mistaken. General recommendations are provided to avoid this poorly characterized syndrome that, as in our patient, may have a fatal outcome

Bilateral stroke following pituitary apoplexy

Pituitary apoplexy followed by cerebral infarction is rare. We report a 59-year-old male with a known pituitary macroadenoma who was admitted to our emergency department for treatment of an acute myocardial infarction. He underwent coronary angioplasty and was subsequently treated with aspirin, clopidogrel and full-dose enoxaparin. He developed pituitary apoplexy with bilateral compression of both internal carotid arteries, and infarction of both anterior and middle hemispheres; consequently, he died. This patient illustrates the difficulties of administering aggressive anticoagulative and antiplatelet therapy to patients who have a known pituitary adenoma.

Effectiveness of Donepezil in Reducing Clinical Worsening in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease;

Background: Therapeutic endpoints based on reduced clinical worsening represent clinically relevant and realistic goals for patients suffering from progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Data from 906 patients (388 receiving placebo; 518 receiving donepezil) with mild-to-moderate AD [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score 10-27] were pooled from 3 randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled studies. Clinical worsening was defined as decline in (1) cognition (MMSE), (2) cognition and global ratings (Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input/Gottfries-Bråne-Steen scale) or (3) cognition, global ratings and function (various functional measures). Results: At week 24, lower percentages of donepezil-treated patients than placebo patients met the criteria for clinical worsening, regardless of the definition. The odds of declining were significantly reduced for donepezil-treated versus placebo patients (p<0.0001; all definitions). Among patients meeting criteria for clinical worsening, mean declines in MMSE scores were greater for placebo than donepezil-treated patients. Conclusion: In this population, donepezil treatment was associated with reduced odds of clinical worsening of AD symptoms. Moreover, patients worsening on donepezil were likely to experience less cognitive decline than expected if left untreated. This suggests that AD patients showing clinical worsening on donepezil may still derive benefits compared with placebo/untreated patients.

Cerebrolysin: a review of its use in dementia ;

Cerebrolysin is a parenterally administered, porcine brain-derived peptide preparation that has pharmacodynamic properties similar to those of endogenous neurotrophic factors. In several randomized, double-blind trials of up to 28 weeks’ duration in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Cerebrolysin was superior to placebo in improving global outcome measures and cognitive ability. A large, randomized comparison of Cerebrolysin, donepezil or combination therapy showed beneficial effects on global measures and cognition for all three treatment groups compared with baseline. Although not as extensively studied in patients with vascular dementia, Cerebrolysin has also shown beneficial effects on global measures and cognition in this patient population. Cerebrolysin was generally well tolerated in clinical trials, with dizziness (or vertigo) being the most frequently reported adverse event. Although further studies with Cerebrolysin, including longer term trials and further exploration of its use in combination with cholinesterase inhibitors, are needed to more clearly determine its place in the management of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, available data suggest that Cerebrolysin is a useful addition to the treatment options available for dementia.

Increased oral nitric oxide in obstructive sleep apnoea;

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia and snoring-related mechanical trauma contribute to airway inflammation in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Increased exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), an airway inflammation marker, has been reported in OSA patients. We propose the measure of NO in the oral cavity (oNO) as marker of oropharyngeal inflammation in OSA. METHODS: We compared oNO and FENO of 39 OSA patients with those of 26 mild asthmatics (ASTHMA), 15 patients with chronic rhinitis or rhinosinusitis (CRS) and 24 healthy subjects. A special device was used for oNO measurement. Apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index, mean and nadir SaO2 were calculated from the polysomnography. RESULTS: oNO was significantly increased in OSA (104.2 95%CI 80.2-135.5ppb) as compared to ASTHMA (71.9 95%CI 56.3-91.9ppb; p=0.015), CRS (54.4 95%CI 40.2-73.7ppb; p=0.009) and healthy subjects (63.6 95%CI 59-73ppb; p<0.001). oNO was directly related to AHI (r=0.466, p=0.003) and to minutes slept with SaO2<90% (r=0.471, p=0.011) and it was inversely related to nadirSaO2 (r=-0.393, p=0.018). FENO was highest in asthmatics (40.3 95%CI 32.5-50.1ppb) and only slightly elevated in OSA (23.1 95%CI 19,8-28.3ppb) and CRS (22.8 95%CI 16.8-32.5ppb). CONCLUSIONS: The finding that oral NO is increased in OSA and is related to upper airway obstructive episodes and to hypoxemia severity, strengthens the clinical and pathogenic role of oral inflammation in OSA.

Teratogenic effects of antiepileptic medications;

During the last few years epilepsy and pregnancy registries and other large scale observational studies have provided new information on the teratogenic effects of the most frequently used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The prevalence of major congenital malformations associated with exposure to carbamazepine or lamotrigine appears to be only marginally increased from the expected, while malformation rates with valproate have been reported to be 2 to 4 times higher. Recent studies also suggest that compared with carbamazepine, lamotrigine and phenytoin, exposure to valproate in utero may be associated with poorer postnatal cognitive development. However, adverse outcomes with valproate appear to be dose-related, and doses below 800-1,000 mg/day might not be associated with worse outcome than with other AEDs. Information on the teratogenic potential of other newer generation AEDs than lamotrigine is still insufficient.

Anesthesia prevents auditory perceptual learning;

BACKGROUND:: An auditory perceptual learning paradigm was used to investigate whether implicit memories are formed during general anesthesia. METHODS:: Eighty-seven patients who had an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I-III and were scheduled to undergo an elective surgery with general anesthesia were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received auditory stimulation during surgery, whereas the other did not. The auditory stimulation consisted of pure tones presented via headphones. The Bispectral Index level was maintained between 40 and 50 during surgery. To assess learning, patients performed an auditory frequency discrimination task after surgery, and comparisons were made between the groups. General anesthesia was induced with thiopental and maintained with a mixture of fentanyl and sevoflurane. RESULTS:: There was no difference in the amount of learning between the two groups (mean +/- SD improvement: stimulated patients 9.2 +/- 11.3 Hz, controls 9.4 +/- 14.1 Hz). There was also no difference in initial thresholds (mean +/- SD initial thresholds: stimulated patients 31.1 +/- 33.4 Hz, controls 28.4 +/- 34.2 Hz). These results suggest that perceptual learning was not induced during anesthesia. No correlation between the bispectral index and the initial level of performance was found (Pearson r = -0.09, P = 0.59). CONCLUSION:: Perceptual learning was not induced by repetitive auditory stimulation during anesthesia. This result may indicate that perceptual learning requires top-down processing, which is suppressed by the anesthetic.

What is Feverfew?

Also known as “featherfew” and “wild chamomile,” feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a plant belonging to the sunflower family. It has long been used as an herbal remedy in European folk medicine.

Feverfew contains a compound called parthenolide, which may help to ease muscle spasms, reduce inflammation, and prevent the constriction of blood vessels in the brain.

Uses of Feverfew

In herbal medicine, feverfew is typically used to treat the following:

• Migraines

• Arthritis

• Psoriasis

• Menstrual cramps

• Asthma

• Skin conditions

• Stomachaches

Benefits of Feverfew

Although research on feverfew’s health effects is limited, studies have looked at the use of the herb in these conditions:

1) Migraine

In a 2005 study of 170 migraine patients, researchers found that those who took feverfew extract for 16 weeks experienced 1.9 fewer attacks per month than they had before the study started. (Study members who took a placebo for the same amount of time, meanwhile, experienced 1.3 fewer attacks per month.)

In a 2004 review of five clinical trials, however, investigators found insufficient evidence to suggest that feverfew is more effective than placebo in preventing migraine.

2) Rheumatoid Arthritis

Test-tube experiments have demonstrated that feverfew may help fight the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis, although no human studies have proven feverfew to be more useful than placebo in treatment of this disease.

3) Pancreatic Cancer

In a 2005 study, scientists discovered that parthenolide extracted from feverfew inhibited the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in the lab. However, it’s too soon to tell whether feverfew may be useful in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

How to Use Feverfew

Feverfew is available in capsule, tablet, and liquid extract form, and is sold in most health food stores.

Safety Precautions for Feverfew

Although feverfew is generally considered safe, side effects may include minor stomach upset (such as nausea, diarrhea, and flatulence).

Patients who stop long-term use of feverfew may also experience muscle stiffness, moderate pain, and anxiety.

If you’re allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemum, or marigold, you may be sensitive to feverfew.

Anyone taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication should consult their doctor before using feverfew.

Sources:

Diener HC, Pfaffenrath V, Schnitker J, Friede M, Henneicke-von Zepelin HH. “Efficacy and safety of 6.25 mg t.i.d. feverfew CO2-extract (MIG-99) in migraine prevention–a randomized, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled study.” Cephalalgia. 2005 Nov;25(11):1031-41.

Pittler MH, Ernst E. “Feverfew for preventing migraine.” Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(1):CD002286.

Setty AR, Sigal LH. “Herbal medications commonly used in the practice of rheumatology: mechanisms of action, efficacy, and side effects.” Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2005 34(6):773-84.

Yip-Schneider MT, Nakshatri H, Sweeney CJ, Marshall MS, Wiebke EA, Schmidt CM. “Parthenolide and sulindac cooperate to mediate growth suppression and inhibit the nuclear factor-kappa B pathway in pancreatic carcinoma cells.” Mol Cancer Ther. 2005 4(4):587-94.

The most common form of cancer among women in the United States (other than skin cancer), breast cancer typically begins as a malignant tumor in the breast ducts or in the glands responsible for producing milk. In some cases, breast cancer spreads to distant areas of the body.

Breast cancer affects one in eight women during the course of their lives. The disease may also occur in men, but incidences of male breast cancer are fairly rare.

Causes of Breast Cancer

Although no one knows what causes breast cancer, these factors may increase your risk for the disease:

Breast cancer risk increases as you age, and most cases occur in women over 60. The disease is more common among white women than Latina, Asian, or African-American women.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

Performing self-exams of your breasts each month can help you detect any changes that may signal breast cancer. These changes may include:

Nipple discharge may also be a sign of breast cancer.

In addition to performing monthly self-exams, you should visit your doctor regularly for clinical breast exams. Women who are over age 40 (or who have certain risk factors for breast cancer) should also receive mammograms every one or two years.

Learn how to do a breast self-exam.

Breast Cancer Treatment

Treatment options for breast cancer are based on a number of factors, including type of breast cancer, breast cancer stage, the cancer cells’ sensitivity to hormones, and the patient’s overall health. Treatments may include breast cancer surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drugs, or a combination or therapies.

Alternative Medicine for Breast Cancer

A number of natural therapies may help relieve side effects of conventional cancer treatments, ease stress, and enhance quality of life for people coping with breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about using the following:

Breast Cancer Prevention

Although there’s no surefire way to prevent breast cancer, the following may reduce your risk:

Preliminary research suggests that these natural substances may also aid in the prevention of breast cancer:

1) Curcumin

An animal-based study published in 2009 shows that curcumin (a compound found in the curry spice turmeric and available in supplement form) may help reduce breast cancer risk for women undergoing hormone replacement therapy during menopause. The study’s authors suggest that women receiving a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy could potentially take curcumin to protect against the development of progestin-accelerated tumors. However, it’s important to talk to your doctor about using any natural remedies in combination with hormone replacement therapy.

2) Resveratrol

In a test-tube study published in 2008, researchers found that resveratrol (an antioxidant found in the skin of grapes) helped suppress breast-cancer progression in its earliest stages. Available in supplement form, resveratrol appeared to stop estrogen from reacting with DNA molecules and forming compounds that mark the start of cancer cell formation.

3) Green Tea

While clinical trials on green tea’s cancer-fighting effects have yielded mixed results, lab tests suggest that a combination of green tea and ganoderma (a medicinal mushroom, also known as reishi) may help slow the growth of breast cancer cells.

_Sources:

_{Carroll CE, Benakanakere I, Besch-Williford C, Ellersieck MR, Hyder SM. “Curcumin delays development of medroxyprogesterone acetate-accelerated 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary tumors.” Menopause. 2009 Jul 22.}

_{Lu F, Zahid M, Wang C, Saeed M, Cavalieri EL, Rogan EG. “Resveratrol prevents estrogen-DNA adduct formation and neoplastic transformation in MCF-10F cells.” Cancer Prevention Research 2008 1(2):135-45.}

_{Thyagarajan A, Zhu J, Sliva D. “Combined effect of green tea and Ganoderma lucidum on invasive behavior of breast cancer cells.” International Journal of Oncology 2007 30(4):963-9.}

The Division of Drug Information (DDI) is CDER’s focal point for public inquiries. We serve the public by providing information on human drug products and drug product regulation by FDA.

On November 5, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to romidepsin for injection (ISTODAX, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals Inc.) for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have received at least one prior systemic therapy.

The efficacy and safety of romidepsin were evaluated in two single-arm, multicenter, open label trials.  Efficacy was assessed in 167 patients with CTCL treated in the United States, Europe, and Australia.  Study 1 included 96 patients with CTCL who had received at least 1 prior systemic therapy. Study 2 included 71 patients with CTCL who received a median of 2 prior systemic therapies.  In both trials, patients could be treated until disease progression.  Overall response was evaluated according to a composite endpoint that included assessments of skin involvement, lymph node and visceral involvement, and Sézary cells.

The primary efficacy endpoint for both trials was the overall response rate (ORR) based on the investigator assessments, and defined as the proportion of patients with confirmed complete response (CR) or partial response (PR).  The ORRs in these two trials were similar (34 and 35% in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively) and CR rates were the same (6%).  The median response duration was 15 months in Study 1 and 11 months in Study 2. 

Safety data was available and evaluated in 185 patients with CTCL.  The most common adverse reactions in Study 1 were nausea, fatigue, infections, vomiting and anorexia.  The most common adverse reactions in Study 2 were nausea, fatigue, anemia, thrombocytopenia, ECG T-wave changes, neutropenia and lymphopenia.  Serious adverse reactions reported in > 2% of the patients in Study 1 were infection, sepsis, and pyrexia.  Serious adverse reactions reported in > 2% of the patients in Study 2 were infection, supraventricular arrhythmia, neutropenia, fatigue, edema, central line infection, ventricular arrhythmia, nausea, pyrexia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia.

The recommended dose and schedule of romidepsin is 14 mg/m2 intravenously over 4 hours on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. 

Please refer to the full prescribing information at: Istodax

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Gemma Arterton and Nick Frost in ‘Pirate Radio.’

© Focus Features

Nov 2009 – Back in the 1960s, at the height of Beatlemania, rock and roll was all but banned in England. The only way music lovers could get their fix, other than a couple of hours a week on the BBC, was to tune in to pirate radio. Literally housed on a boat at sea, a batch of colorful deejays served up rock and roll music 24 hours a day to listeners who’d otherwise be deprived of the music. And now with Pirate Radio, writer/director Richard Curtis (Love Actually) brings to the big screen the story of how these deejays challenged British law to keep on keeping on.

In Pirate Radio, Nick Frost – best known for his starring roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz – shows audiences that big man can be sexy. Playing a womanizing deejay named Dave, Frost’s not afraid to show off a whole lot of skin. “I think I’m going to be asked to appear on the cover of All American Bear after my performance,” joked Frost about his sexy Pirate Radio scenes. “I enjoyed it. You know, I think it’s pretty brave of Richard to cast a twenty-stone man in the kind of romantic, not lead but, you know, a romantic role. And it was good, it was great to shoot those scenes. It’s not every day you get to do a job where you can just wonder around naked and people don’t give a s**t, you know?”

Being a large man, the tight quarters on the Pirate Radio set were a bit of a squeeze. “They got tighter when I got in them, put it that way. They’re small. The sets were so intricate and perfect,” said Frost.

Even the cabins used as bedrooms were tiny, with little room to maneuver around. “It was tight. They had to do that kind of clever thing that they took pieces out and shot in and through. But the sets were amazing. The only time I got seasick on the whole project was when we were in the studio, because they built a giant set of the ship.”

Frost added, “When I went through that set before we started shooting and I was opening every drawer and cupboard, and every drawer and cupboard was full of period food, of period cups, of everything. And I thought, ‘Why? Why? I mean, you’re never ever going to see in here.’ And then sure enough, when they set the rocker to seven and the thing’s doing this and everything’s coming out the cupboards, you think, ‘Oh right, okay, this is why they built it so precisely.’”

The Music That Defined a Generation

Frost readily admits he’s not a huge fan of music from the 1960s, but he got a crash course in all things rock and roll while making this movie. “I know it a lot better now since doing this. I didn’t listen to any music after ‘69, for the whole period that I was involved, just to make sure that I kind of did know what I was talking about,” revealed Frost. “I’m not going to say I’m not a fan, but I’m a fan of house music essentially and kind of indie, and I was always into the kind of sub-pop Seattle Mudhoney and Pearl Jam kind of sound. But my kind of big love was house music ever since I was 15/16, going to raves when I was 15 or 16 years old and not going to school like a naughty boy. So I mean that was really where I was from musically. So I felt it was kind of important.”

“In the first week of the film I said to Richard, ‘I need to talk to you,’ and so he came over and he said, ‘What’s up?’ I said, ‘I’ve never listened to a Rolling Stones record,’ admitted Frost. “And he said, ‘Oh Bill,’ and they got Bill Nighy over who’s a massive Stones nut, and the two of them just kind of told me off for five minutes.”

Frost also got the chance to talk to real pirate radio DJs to help him get into his character. “They came on to set and they arranged for me to meet Johnny Walker, who was a very famous pirate radio DJ who now works for the BBC – has his own show for years and years. And they arranged for me to go on his show live and to hang out with him and see how he works. And he was great. I mean he invited me in to the studio; he actually wheeled me in in the chair that I was sitting in, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be great.’ And then I was watching him for 10 minutes and then he said, ‘You know what? You’ve got to leave.’ I said, ‘Oh, all right, yes.’ I was meant to be on there for two hours, and I think he just wanted to play music and not have me looking over his shoulder. And I can understand, you know? I didn’t feel put out or miffed by it. It was just he wanted to get on and play music.”

The fact the movie was about ’60s music obviously wasn’t the appeal of the project for Frost. Frost was drawn in because it was written by Richard Curtis. “He’s like the headmaster of British comedy. I think he does something here that no one else really does and he’s kind of like the Woody Allen of British cinema. But if you imagine if Woody was the black, he’d be the white. You know what I mean? And I’ve grown up watching things by Richard Curtis and Blackadder, and so for him to kind of write a role specifically for me was great. I didn’t even realize that he knew I was alive, let alone was a fan and would want me to be in one of his films. So it’s flattering. I wish I could say something horrible about him but I can’t. He is all that, really.”

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Pirate Radio hits theaters on November 13, 2009 and is rated R for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity.