2003
  January   Brian performs at an Elton John tribute concert in Anaheim, CA on the 17th. The court
  dismisses Alan's latest appeal against not being able to use the 'Beach Boys' name on the
  28th.
  February   Brian contributes backing vocals on Styx's Cyclorama album. An expanded (and more
  accurate) version of the 2002 Japanese compilation, Pet Projects - The Brian Wilson
  Productions is released by Ace in the UK, as is the much-delayed "Live At Knebworth
  1980" DVD.
  March   "Brian Wilson On Tour" DVD is released in the UK.  Good Timin' - Live at Knebworth
  1980 CD is also belatedly released in the US
  April   Alan is once more sued by Brother Records for continuing to use the Beach Boys name
  in his advertising.
  May   At the 48th Ivor Novello Awards in London on May 22nd, Brian is presented with a
  special International Award  to mark his outstanding contribution to popular music. A
  UK tour is announced for February/March 2004 - 'Brian Wilson presents Smile'. While
   in London, he records Eric Clapton's guitar solo at Olympic Studios on a track for his
  upcoming album called "City Blues", originally recorded with brother Dennis in fall
  1982.
  June   Capitol release Sounds Of Summer - The Very Best Of The Beach Boys, containing 30
  US top 40 hits. To the total astonishment of absolutely everyone concerned (including,
  one suspects, Capitol Records), it debuts in the Billboard Top 200 chart at #16, the first
  top 20 BB album in nearly 27 years since 15 Big Ones in July 1976. The Beach Boys
  now have a 41 year plus chart career, spanning from February 1962 to June 2003. Brian
  plays two shows in the north-east on the 14th (Boston) &16th (NYC), but a scheduled
  Canadian show on the 12th is cancelled due to the SARS scare and a (Newark NJ) gig
  on the 18th is also cancelled. On the 14th he is also awarded an honorary doctorate at
  Northeastern University.
  July   The touring Beach Boys visit Europe from the 10th to the 27th, playing Germany,
  Monaco, Switzerland, England and the Irish Republic. A DVD-A of Pet Sounds
  (containing five mixes, bonus tracks and promotional videos) is released.
  September   Leo Evan Knutson, first child of Wendy Wilson and Dan Knutson, and Brian's first
  grandchild, is born on the 14th. On the 20th, the long-running UK fanzine Beach Boys
  Stomp holds its 25th annual convention in London - the guest speaker is  Fred Vail..
  Shawn Marie Wilson, Dennis' fourth wife and alleged illegitimate daughter of Mike,
  dies in Los Angeles of liver cancer on the 22nd. She was 38. Less than three months
  after its release, Sounds Of Summer - The Very Best Of The Beach Boys is
  certified as a gold disc.
October   The touring Beach Boys make a short visit to Australia (4-7). On the 5th, the Supreme
  Court refused to hear Alan's appeal against the earlier ruling preventing him from using
  the phrase "Beach Boys" in his band name. Originally scheduled for September 21st,
  the 6th annual Carl Wilson Foundation event, reduced to a benefit concert and gala
  reception (much to the disgust of many long-term supporters), is held on the 16th at
  UCLA's Royce Hall. Brian headlines, the other performers being Heart, Sugar Ray and
  In Bloom (Sir Elton John withdraws at the last moment). The Pet Sounds Live In
  London DVD is released (without a booklet, with the wrong cover photo), but is soon
  withdrawn due to 'legal reasons'. A January/February re-release is scheduled. Paul
  McCartney plays bass on a new Brian composition, "A Friend Of Mine". On the 29th,
  the California Court of Appeal rules that Mike Love acted wrongfully in freezing Alan
  Jardine out of touring under the Beach Boys name, and that Alan can now use the
  name when touring. This clears the way for Alan to resume his action to regain the
  money lost due to not being to use the franchise name. The case will come to court
  mid-2004.
November   The touring Beach Boys play a handful of shows in Italy and Switzerland (7-9).
December   To mark the 20th anniversary of his passing, a Dennis Wilson Bash is held in Chez Jay's
  in Santa Monica on the 6th. On the 13th the touring Beach Boys perform at the First
  Flight Centennial Celebrations at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil
  Hill, NC.