FIRST OFF . . .

Soul man James Brown pleaded not guilty in an Aiken, S.C., Carolina court Tuesday to charges that he beat his wife, Adrienne, with an iron pipe and fired a gun into a car she was in. Brown was charged with assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery, then released on a $15,000 bond. Brown’s attorney told the Atlanta Constitution that the couple has had “ongoing” domestic problems for three years. The latest incident arose, the attorney said, when Brown’s wife became upset because she could not accompany him on a South American concert tour scheduled to begin Thursday. Brown told the newspaper, “I never laid a hand on her.” Adrienne Brown, 38, told police Sunday that Brown fired four shots into the family car, where she was sleeping after the argument. She said she was beaten when she sneaked back into the house early Monday.