About 300 people paid their respects at a cemetery in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, where Jones was buried in 1969.

Among them were former Stones drummer Carlo Little, Jones' former girlfriend Pat Andrews and their son Mark, and the band's tour manager Tom Keystone.

David Reynolds, who runs the Brian Jones fan club from his home in Cheltenham, said fans came from as far away as Japan, the United States and Scandinavia.

Jones, 27, was found dead in the swimming pool of his Sussex farmhouse on 3 July 1969.

BBC hits back in gardening row

The BBC has defended its gardening shows after its green-fingered programmes and pundits were attacked by expert Stefan Buczacki.

Writing in the Royal Horticultural Society's journal, The Garden, he said the work of experienced gardening journalists was undermined by those "for whom an ability to use e-mail and glance at a shelf of reference books seems to be all that is needed".

He added: "Yet on gardening pages, in gardening magazines and on television gardening programmes, I am frequently confronted by folk who are full of enthusiasm and good teeth, but remarkably deficient in experience and horticulture."

A spokesman for the BBC, which shows Gardeners' World, Ground Force and Home Front in the Garden, said the corporation caters for armchair enthusiasts, amateur gardeners, professional experts and design-conscious outdoor stylists alike.

Talkies pioneer Sylvia Sidney dies

American actress Sylvia Sidney has died in hospital in New York, aged 88.

In a career which spanned eight decades, she was one of Paramount's first leading ladies of the talkies era.

She rose to fame acting alongside screen idols like Gary Cooper and Spencer Tracy in the 1930s.

After taking a break, she was nominated for an Oscar in her comeback film, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in 1973.

Her most recent acting work was as Clia in the short-lived television series Fantasy Island, opposite Malcolm McDowell.

Zeta Jones beams down on Beachy Head

Entrapment actress Catherine Zeta Jones has become an even bigger star, after her 100ft image was beamed on to the white cliffs at Beachy Head.

The actress was one of four British beauties who were projected on to the landmark near Brighton, Sussex, in a stunt by FHM magazine.

As well as Jones, raunchy pictures of Big Breakfast star Kelly Brook, MTV presenter Cat Deeley and singer Louise Nurding were shone upon the cliff face.

Extra arena dates for pop diva Cher

Pop superstar Cher has added two extra dates to her UK tour later this year.

The singer, whose hit Believe was last year's biggest-selling single, will play her first UK concert dates for eight years in October.

The 53-year-old has added a further night at Birmingham's NEC on 10 October and another at Wembley Arena on 18 October.

The new dates have been added because of the huge demand, say the organisers of the tour which kicks off on 9 October.

New Superman film in the pipeline

A new Superman film may finally be nearing production after spending several years on the drawing board.

Tim Burton, who was originally to have directed the project, is unlikely to be on the team, while Nicolas Cage is reportedly still eager to take the title role of the legendary superhero.

The new adventure will be based on the DC Comics instalment in which the Man of Steel is killed by the evil Brainiac and then comes back to life.

Millennium Blackadder role for Kate

Supermodel Kate Moss is set to make her acting debut playing Maid Marian in a special Blackadder episode due to be shown at the Millennium Dome next year.

She will take on one of several cameos in the half-hour feature. Observers on set at Shepperton Studios have told the Daily Mail that she has a keen sense of comic timing.

The 25-year-old international cover girl, who rates actress Anna Friel as one of her best friends, has long wanted to break into acting.

Jamaican star Dennis Brown dies

Reggae singer Dennis Brown, who took over from Bob Marley as Jamaica's "Crown Prince of Reggae" has died in hospital at the age of 42.

The dreadlocked singer, who was one of the best loved and most influential exponents of the genre, had been unwell for some time.

Born in Kingston in 1957, he was seen as a child prodigy in the 1960s and went on to score many hits including How Could I Leave and Here I Come.

Kidman reveals her own insecurities

Flame-haired actress Nicole Kidman has revealed she is far from secure about her looks, despite having been described as "pure theatrical Viagra".

The 31-year-old, who stripped during The Blue Room on the London stage last year, told She magazine she has a list of features she would prefer to change.

She said: "I wouldn't mind having bigger boobs - but I would never have plastic surgery. I'm too tall and I also wish I were calmer."

Pullman's Western family affair

Actor Bill Pullman has made the remake of The Virginian a family affair by casting his daughter, 11, and two sons, aged nine and six, in the film.

The western, which the Independence Day star will be directing as well as starring in, will mark the acting debut of the children.

"My wife and I have kept the kids away from acting until now," he said. "But they will be protected from the hoopla in this environment."