April 1, 1997
Fights broke out across the nation today as fans rushed malls and record stores in search of UIFYA cd single by Richard Marx.
Police with tear gas had to be called in to restore peace. The police fired gas into the stores in an attempt to get the store clerks to bring out more cd's. Managers of the stores were immediately arrested for not anticipating the demand for the cd. Federal charges are expected to be brought up tomorrow on the managers. One clerk who refused to be identified said "We sold our 30 copies within 5 minutes. The crowd just went wild and started destroying the store. There were hundreds of them. The went in the back room and rifled through the boxes. All I could do was run".
One RM fan told CNN "I was at work and I could not concentrate. I left my desk at 11am and immediately went to the store. I was in and out with my 3 copies of the cd before the riots broke out".
There was mass confusion as bodies lay on the floors in the rampage.
Left Bank Management, would only say "This proves it, Richard Marx is King. There is no better artist than him."
Capitol Records had an emergency closed door meeting this afternoon. All CNN could find out was that Capitol will be pressing Richard's Flesh & Bone cd 24 hours a day around the world in anticipation for the release next Tuesday. "We do not want to see the carnage that occurred today".
Warner Brothers and Columbia Records immediately dropped Madonna and Mariah from their labels today in an attempt to get Richard Marx to leave Capitol and come to them.
Richard, now in hiding somewhere in Canada and could not be reached for comment.
Bruce Gaitsch, gutiar player for the band, said "I knew this would happen. The fans love Richard and they want to get him the respect he deserves".
CNN has just found out, that for months a group calling themselves the "Repeat Offenders" have been telling everyone about Richard Marx. The group of approximately 170 members has called, emailed and faxed radio stations in an attempt to get them to play the new single "Until I Find You Again."
The president of VH-1 has been bombarded with requests for the video to this song. "We will be playing the video 24 hours a day for the next month to help restore peace".
Police in Maryland are on look out for a man who was so upset that he didn't get the cd he took the store clerk and hung him by his hamstrings. The police would like to award this fine young gentlemen for his actions.
At this hour riots continue around the globe as fans search for the cd single.
Next Tuesday CNN will have crews around the globe standing by as the full length Flesh & Bone cd is released.
We will keep you updated as further developments occur.
This is Jim Marx reporting for CNN Headline News.
