Classic Rock 93.9

Lots of folks were happy to see The Rolling Stones return this year with their new album, Hackney Diamonds, but Blur’s Damon Albarn was not one of them.

Speaking to France’s Les Inrockuptibles magazine, Albarn seemed particularly upset about the band’s use of London’s Hackney district in promoting the project. 

“That really irritated me. Because my family lives in Hackney and the way they showed up in the Hackney Empire theater freaked me out,” he says. “They never did anything at Hackney, they didn’t play there, they didn’t contribute anything. They just showed up.”

He also took issue with the album’s first single, “Angry,” because the video “objectified” actress Sydney Sweeney. He then noted her clips, combined with footage of The Stones throughout their career, felt “totally disconnected.”

“I love the idea of ​​dedicating your life to one thing, in search of the sublime. But the truth is that they have become worse. Worse to persist in remaining themselves,” he says. “This is something I don’t understand. Making the exact same music, just not as good. There must be no joy in doing such a thing.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Judas Priest has unveiled the full track list for their upcoming album, Invincible Shield.

Along with the previously released singles “Panic Attack” and “Trial By Fire,” the set boasts tunes with appropriately metal names, like “The Serpent and the King,” “Devil in Disguise” and “Sons of Thunder.”

Invincible Shield, the first Judas Priest album since 2018’s Firepower, arrives March 8. Priest will launch a U.S. tour in support of the record in April.

Here’s the Invincible Shield track list:

“Panic Attack”
“The Serpent and the King”
“Invincible Shield”
“Devil in Disguise”
“Gates of Hell”
“Crown of Horns”
“As God Is My Witness”
“Trial By Fire”
“Escape from Reality”
“Sons of Thunder”
“Giants in the Sky”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

AC/DC fans are no longer trying to get their 1990 track “Thunderstruck” to #1 for Christmas.

In November, in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary, the Facebook fan group AC/DC We Salute You launched a campaign to get “Thunderstruck” to top of the U.K. charts for the holidays. The group attempted a similar campaign in 2013, in honor of the band’s 40th anniversary, and got “Highway To Hell” to #4.

Now, the U.K. Official Charts report fans have decided to postpone the campaign to the week of January 4 so it won’t compete with Christmas tunes and has a better shot at the top spot. Organizers say they polled three different fan groups, and 83% agreed to the postponement.

“By choosing to delay by two weeks, we’ll also avoid being caught up in the Christmas songs that will no doubt be prominent the week after Christmas as well,” the page’s administrators told the Official Charts. 

They explain that the #1 is more about celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary than AC/DC actually earning the #1 at Christmas. Plus, they say they’d like to see the Pogues classic “Fairytale in New York” get the #1 spot, in honor of the recent passing of the band’s frontman, Shane MacGowan.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We now have photographic proof of Frances Bean Cobain‘s marriage to Riley Hawk.

Riley’s father, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, shared a picture from the ceremony in an Instagram post on Wednesday, December 6, wishing his son a happy birthday.

“Happy 31st to this wonderful, talented young man,” the proud dad writes in the caption. “I am thankful he found the love of his life and a healthy, disciplined approach to adulthood. And that he is inspiring his younger siblings by example.”

Tony adds, “We had a blast at the wedding and we love you Riley! (Frances please show this to him since he’s no longer in the Insta bubble).”

Cobain, the daughter of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, first shared that she was in a relationship with Riley in New Year’s Day 2022 Instagram post. Reports of their marriage first surfaced in October.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for a huge co-headlining tour next summer.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bands, who previously toured together in 2018, will be playing stadiums across the country alongside fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Steve Miller Band, Heart and Cheap Trick on select dates. 

“We are thrilled to be back on the road in 2024 with so many good friends as part of this tour,” Journey shares. “No matter which city you come to this will be an amazing night of music!”

Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott notes the combination of these bands “makes for an amazing night of music.” 

“We shall hit the boards running with a brand-new stage show and set of songs that will celebrate specific parts of our history. We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves,” he shares.

The tour is set to kick off July 6 in St. Louis. It will feature stops at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, New York’s Citifield, Boston’s Fenway Park, San Francisco’s Oracle Park and more, before wrapping September 8 in Denver, Colorado.

A Citi presale for tickets kicks off Wednesday, December 13, at 10 a.m. ET, with the general onsale happening Friday, December 15, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at journeymusic.com and defleppard.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Green Day has shared a new song called “Dilemma, a track off the band’s upcoming album, Saviors.

“‘Dilemma’ was one of those songs that was kind of easy to write because it was so personal to me,” says frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. “We’ve seen so many of our peers struggle with addiction and mental illness. This song is all about the pain that comes from those experiences.”

On the song’s chorus, Armstrong sings, “I was sober now I’m drunk again/I’m in trouble and in love again/I don’t want to be a dead man walking.”

You can listen to “Dilemma” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Saviors, the follow-up to 2020’s Father of All…, drops January 19. It includes the previously released songs “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “Look Ma, No Brains!”

Green Day will launch a world tour in support of Saviors in 2024. The U.S. leg launches in July and will feature The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas on the bill.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Original Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach got his reality TV boot on Wednesday, December 6. The rocker was voted off the Fox hit show The Masked Singer and was revealed to be the celebrity inside the Tiki costume. 

“Your show has been on 10 seasons, which is a long time. And this show is about singing, which I love,” he replied, when asked why he decided to do the program. 

He later mentioned that he had previously met judges Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger. Though he’d never met Robin Thicke, he told the singer, “I partied with your dad,” referring to actor Alan Thicke. He said he partied with Alan and John Stamos at a Beach Boys concert.

“Your dad was hilarious, he was so funny and cool,” Sebastian said, “and I’m Canadian too so we’re all a little bit crazy.”

“When I first agreed to be on the show, I thought it was mostly about comedy and costumes, which it definitely is!” Sebastian later shared in a statement. “But when I actually did the show, I realized that ‘The Masked Singer’ is about SINGING! Which I love to do! I had an incredible time doing the show.”

Bach’s unmasking coincides with the release of his brand new single, “What Do I Got To Lose?,” which was co-written by Myles Kennedy.

“To me, ‘What Do I Got To Lose?’ is the perfect sentiment for me right now,” he says. “It’s an anthem for coming back and crushing it. It’s time to lay down the law and put the hammer down old school-style.”

“What Do I Got To Lose?” is available now via streaming services, and you can watch the video on YouTube.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, December 7, 1991…

U2 hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with their seventh studio album, Achtung Baby, produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Unlike their previous records, the band incorporated new sounds into the project, including alternative rock, industrial music and electronic dance music.

U2 released five singles from the record, including “One” and “Mysterious Ways,” which both hit the top 10, as well as “The Fly,” “Even Better Than the Real Thing” and “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.”

The band promoted the album with the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour, and is currently celebrating the record with their critically acclaimed Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Aerosmith’s “Dream On” may have been released 50 years ago, but fans still love listening to it. 

The classic tune just reached over one billion streams on Spotify, so the band took to social media to thank their fans, the Blue Army, for the milestone.

Released in June 1973, “Dream On” was featured on Aerosmith’s self-titled debut album and became the band’s first big hit. When it was initially released, it peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100, but a 1975 reissue of the longer album version wound up peaking at #6. 

The track has gone on to be one of the band’s signature tunes; it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.

Meanwhile, fans are anxiously awaiting dates for Aerosmith’s rescheduled Peace Out tour. It was postponed back in September after frontman Steven Tyler fractured his larynx.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is once again helping other musicians to sound their best.

The rocker just launched his first signature pedal, the Lerxst By-Tor pedal, through Mojotone, which is being sold exclusively on Reverb. The pedal is described as being “capable of going from light crunchy drive sounds to full out roar with sustaining lead tones.” 

This isn’t the first time Lifeson has worked with Mojotone. In 2012, they teamed up on a custom-built tube amp. And just last month, Lifeson and Mojotone launched a new Lerxst Omega line of hand-built guitar amps and cabinets inspired by Lifeson’s five-decade career. 

The Lerxst By-Tor pedal, which features the image of a wolf’s face on the front, is available to order now.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.