Ringo Starr took part in a Zoom press event this week to promote his forthcoming EP, Change the World. During the virtual Q&A, the former Beatles drummer shared a humorous memory involving The Rolling Stones‘ Charlie Watts and another famous late drummer, Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham.
Ringo said he’d hang out with Watts from time to time, particularly when they used to live near each other in London, and he recalled an incident at a party he threw at his place during the 1970s that Charlie and Bonzo attended.
“I had a drum kit up in the attic…And Charlie came and so did John Bonham. And so, we’ve got three drummers just hanging out,” Starr remembered. “And Bonham got on the kit, but because it [wasn’t nailed down],…as he was playing and the bass drum was hopping away from him, you had Charlie Watts and Ringo holding the bass drum for him as he played.”
Reflecting on the comical scene, Ringo added, “[T]hat would have been a great little video or TikTok, or a photo would’ve gone worldwide, you know what I mean? But in the ’70s, I had parties and you’ll never find any photos, because I wouldn’t let you take photos…you know, in my house.”
Starr said of Watts, who died last month at age 80, “Charlie was a great guy. He was a lot of fun, and he had a harder band than I did to keep together…[W]e will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being.”
Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
In July, the popular Bruce Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com reported that an archival film focusing on the performances that The Boss and his E Street Band gave at the historic 1979 “No Nukes” concerts would be coming out later this year. Now official details about the release have been announced.
The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts will be released digitally on November 16 and on DVD, Blu-ray and audio formats on November 19.
The film and companion audio feature Springsteen and the E Street Band playing 13 songs at two of the MUSE benefit concerts, aka the “No Nukes” concerts, a star-studded series of shows that took place in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ten of the performances are previously unreleased.
The movie was edited by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny using the original 16-millimeter film, and the audio was remixed by lauded engineer Bob Clearmountain.
Springsteen’s set list included renditions of two songs from his then-upcoming album The River — the title track and “Sherry Darling” — as well as covers of Buddy Holly‘s “Rave On” and Maurice Williams‘ “Stay,” the latter of which featured guest appearances from Jackson Browne and Tom Petty.
“A few years ago, I started re-examining the filmed archives for Bruce and the Band’s appearances at the No Nukes concerts of 1979,” says Zimny in a statement. “I quickly realized that these were the best performances and best filming from the Band’s legendary Seventies, and dedicated myself to bringing out the full potential of the footage.”
The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, which you can pre-order now, is available as a two-CD/DVD or two-CD/Blu-Ray set, a two-LP vinyl package, and on digital audio and video formats.
Here’s the full track list:
“Prove It All Night”
“Badlands”
“The Promised Land”
“The River”
“Sherry Darling”
“Thunder Road”
“Jungleland”
“Rosalita Come Out Tonight”
“Born to Run”
“Stay”
“Detroit Medley”
“Quarter to Three”
“Rave On”
As The Rolling Stones prepare to launch the 2021 leg of their No Filter Tour this Sunday in St. Louis, the band’s main members have shared a new official interview in which they chat about plan for the trek — their first without longtime drummer Charlie Watts, who died on August 24 at age 80.
In the conversation, which was conducted by acclaimed rock journalist David Fricke, frontman Mick Jagger talks about how rehearsals have been going with Watts’ handpicked replacement, Steve Jordan.
“It’s gone well. We all knew [Steve], and I’d played with him before. He’s very respectful of Charlie,” Jagger says. “He played with Keith [Richards] before we started the rehearsals, and then he did homework, listening to the tunes. When we talk about what Charlie did on this one, we listen to the original record, and then we listen to the live versions. There’s certain licks that we want to do, that Charlie did.”
Jagger reveals that The Stones have rehearsed “80 to 90 songs” for the trek, adding, “We’ve got tons of numbers from most eras. So we have a big set list. We can certainly change up the set list.”
Richards reveals that among the songs the band will be playing are two of the bonus tracks from the group’s upcoming Tattoo You reissue — “Living in the Heart of Love” and a cover of The Chi-Lites‘ “Troubles A’ Comin'” — as well as the 2020 Stones single “Living in a Ghost Town” and the 1976 gem “Hand of Fate.”
Regarding how Jordan has been fitting in with the band, Keith notes, “Steve brings with him a lot of knowledge about the Stones. He’ll say, ‘No, Charlie plays like this.’ Steve is so meticulous, so aware of the seat he’s sitting in.”
Notify your mama, papa and daughter: Blood Sugar Sex Magik is turning 30 years old.
Red Hot Chili Peppers released their breakout album on September 24, 1991. Spawning the hit singles in “Under the Bridge,” “Give It Away” and “Suck My Kiss,” Blood Sugar became one of the definitive albums of the ’90s alternative rock scene on its way to being certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Notably, Blood Sugar marked the second Chili Peppers album to feature guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith, who’d made their debut on 1989’s Mother’s Milk. Along with frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea, they made up the band’s “classic” lineup.
“It changed a lot for [us],” Smith tells ABC Audio of Blood Sugar. “John and I had been in the band and we’d toured a bunch on Mother’s Milk and we had been in the group for awhile. We wrote all those songs, Anthony started to sing more, John was more involved in the songwriting.”
“To me, it was the first time the band actually sounded like what I thought we sounded like,” he adds.
Smith recalls feeling more focused during the Blood Sugar sessions, since the Peps recorded it themselves in a house, as opposed to a traditional recording studio.
“There were no other distractions,” he explains. “There were no other people walking around, studio secretaries or whatever. It was very insular, and we just dug right in and took advantage of that.”
Blood Sugar Sex Magik also marked RHCP’s first album with Rick Rubin in place of Mother’s Milk producer Michael Beinhorn, who often clashed with the band. Rubin then produced every Peppers album up until their most recent effort, 2016’s The Getaway.
“That was the beginning, obviously, of a long relationship with [Rubin],” Smith says.
Nirvana has announced a reissue of Nevermind in celebration of the iconic album’s 30th anniversary.
The package will be available in a variety of formats, including as eight-LP and five-CD super deluxe box sets, starting November 12.
All versions of the reissue will feature newly remastered audio of the original Nevermind. Additionally, the super deluxe collections include four previously unreleased full live concert recordings: Amsterdam in November 1991; Del Mar, California, in December 1991; Melbourne, Australia, in February 1992; and Tokyo also in February 1992.
For the full track lists and pre-orders, visit Shop.Nirvana.com.
Released September 24, 1991, Nevermind and its lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” are credited for launching the ’90s grunge and alternative rock scene. The album has been certified Diamond by the RIAA for over 10 million sales.
The Pretenders‘ classic 1979 self-titled debut album and its 1981 follow-up, Pretenders II, will both be reissued on November 5 as deluxe three-CD sets.
Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde curated both releases, which will feature remastered versions of the original albums by producer Chris Thomas, demos, rarities, live performances and more.
The deluxe edition of the Pretenders reissue features B-sides, demos, two BBC sessions from 1979, and songs recorded at concerts in London in January 1979 and Boston in March 1980.
The Pretenders II deluxe reissue will feature demos, single edits, alternate versions and outtakes, and live tunes recorded at shows in New York’s Central Park in August 1980 and in Santa Monica, California, in September 1981.
Both deluxe reissues will come packaged with a high-quality book featuring new liner notes and a variety of rare and unseen photos.
Limited-edition colored vinyl LPs of Pretenders and Pretenders II, pressed on red and white vinyl, respectively, also will be released. Visit Rhino.com for pre-order details.
The Pretenders’ self-titled debut, which was released in December 1979, reached #9 on the Billboard 200. It featured the band’s first stateside hit, “Brass in Pocket,” as well as several other enduring songs, including “Precious,” “Kid” and “Mystery Achievement” and the group’s memorable cover of The Kinks‘ “Stop Your Sobbing.”
Pretenders II, which arrived in August of ’81, reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and included the popular tunes “Talk of the Town” and “Message of Love.”
The albums were the only two full-length records by the band to feature the original lineup of Hynde, drummer Martin Chambers, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon. Sadly, Honeyman-Scott and Farndon died of drug-related causes in June 1982 and April 1983, respectively.
Here’s the track list of Pretenders — Deluxe Edition:
CD 1: Original Album & B-Sides
Original Album
“Precious”
“The Phone Call”
“Up the Neck”
“Tattooed Love Boys”
“Space Invader”
“The Wait”
“Stop Your Sobbing”
“Kid”
“Private Life”
“Brass in Pocket”
“Lovers of Today”
“Mystery Achievement”
B-Sides
“Cuban Slide”
“Porcelain”
“The Wait” (Nick Lowe Version)
“Nervous but Shy”
“Swinging London”
CD 2: Demos & BBC In Studio
Demos
“The Phone Call”
“Suicide”*
“Brass in Pocket”
“Precious”
“The Wait”
“I Can’t Control Myself”
“Stop Your Sobbing”
“Tequila”
“Kid”
“I Go to Sleep”*
“Do I Love You”*
BBC In Session: The Kid Jensen Show, February 5, 1979
“The Wait”*
“Up the Neck”*
“Stop Your Sobbing”*
“Private Life”*
“Cuban Slide”*
BBC In Session: The Kid Jensen Show, July 2, 1979
“Mystery Achievement”
“I Need Somebody”
“Tattooed Love Boys”*
CD3: Live
BBC In Session: Live at The Paris Theatre, London, January 2, 1979
“The Wait”*
“Stop Your Sobbing”*
“Kid”*
“Cuban Slide”*
“Brass in Pocket*
“Tattooed Love Boys*
“Mystery Achievement*
Warner Bros. Music Show: Live at the Paradise Theater, Boston, March 23, 1980
“Space Invader”**
“The Wait”**
“Precious”
“Kid”**
“Private Life”**
“Cuban Slide”**
“The Phone Call”*
“Talk of the Town”**
“Tattooed Love Boys”
“Up the Neck”**
“Mystery Achievement”**
“Stop Your Sobbing”**
And here’s the track list of Pretenders II — Deluxe Edition:
CD 1: Original Album
“The Adultress”
“Bad Boys Get Spanked”
“Message of Love”
“I Go to Sleep”
“Birds of Paradise”
“Talk of the Town”
“Pack It Up”
“Waste Not Want Not”
“Day After Day”
“Jealous Dogs”
“The English Roses”
“Louie Louie”
CD2: Studio Demos, Singles & Alternates
“Talk of the Town” (Demo)
“What You Gonna Do About It”
“I Go to Sleep” (Guitar Version — Outtake)
“Pack It Up” (Radio Mix — Outtake)
“Day After Day” (Single Mix)
“In the Sticks”
“Louie Louie” (Monitor Mix)*
Live in Central Park, New York City, August 30, 1980
“Precious”
“Space Invader”*
“Cuban Slide”*
“Porcelain”*
“Tattooed Love Boys”*
“Up the Neck”*
CD 3: Live at the Santa Monica Civic, September 4, 1981
“The Wait”
“The Adultress”
“Message of Love”
“Louie Louie”
“Talk of the Town”
“Birds of Paradise”
“The English Roses”
“Stop Your Sobbing”
“Private Life”
“Kid”
“Day After Day”
“Up the Neck”
“Bad Boys Get Spanked”
“Tattooed Love Boys”*
“Precious”*
“Brass in Pocket”
“Mystery Achievement”*
“Higher and Higher”
Founding Romantics guitarist Mike Skill has announced updated plans for his debut solo album, Skill…Mike Skill, which now will be released on October 8 after it initially was slated to arrive on September 10.
The record features 12 tracks, including Mike’s recently released new version of The Romantics’ 1980 power-pop classic “What I Like About You.”
Skill, who co-wrote “What I Like About You” with original Romantics drummer Jimmy Marinos, teamed up with his band’s current beat keeper, Brad Elvis, and current Flock of Seagulls drummer Kevin Rankin, for the updated rendition of the tune.
Mike recorded much of Skill…Mike Skill while The Romantics were unable to tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of the tracks were inspired by the raw rock he grew up with from his hometown of Detroit.
“[I] was bursting at the seams with that Detroit energy,” Skill explains, adding, “As I was writing, I couldn’t help reflecting on the Music that came before me.”
Skill…Mike Skill also features several songs that Skill released individually as digital singles over the last few years, including “’67 Riot,” which features a guest appearance by one of his guitar idols, Wayne Kramer of The MC5.
Skill…Mike Skill was produced by Chuck Alkazian, who also has worked with Eminem and late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. You’ll be able to pre-order the album starting this Sunday, September 26.
Here’s the full track list of Skill…Mike Skill:
“Not My Business”
“Dark Side of Your Love”
“My Bad Pretty”
“Carrie Got Married”
“’67 Riot” — featuring Wayne Kramer
“We Got Your Rock’n Roll”
“Sinners Song”
“So Soul Alone”
“I Want What You Got”
“Calling”
“What I Like About You”
“One More Time”
Plenty of bands have been turned into Funko Pop! figures, but Iron Maiden is the first to release one as an NFT.
The legendary metal group’s iconic mascot, Eddie, will be Funko’s first-ever music-themed Digital Pop! NFT. Instead of getting your hands on an adorable, big-headed vinyl figure, you’ll have a unique, digital version of an adorable, big-headed vinyl figure on the WAX blockchain.
“We are huge Iron Maiden fans here at Funko and couldn’t be more excited to have our inaugural music Digital Pop! NFT be the music icon, Eddie,” says Funko CEO Brian Mariotti. “With the popularity of Senjutsu and a rabid fan base, Iron Maiden and Funko fans alike appreciate creative genius in music and pop culture. Now, they can celebrate both in digital form.”
Senjutsu, of course, is Iron Maiden’s new album, which gave them their highest-charting record on the Billboard 200.
The Iron Maiden Funko Digital Pop! NFT goes on sale Thursday, September 30 via WAX.io.
Elton John has unveiled his new duet with pop singer/songwriter Charlie Puth, “After All,” which will appear on Elton’s upcoming all-star album of collaborations, The Lockdown Sessions.
The two musicians met in March of 2020 at an L.A. restaurant and since Elton was already a fan of Charlie’s, they started chatting and discovered that they were neighbors. So Charlie invited Elton over and they wrote and recorded “After All,” which was the first track either of them completed during lockdown.
“Charlie is an amazing musician; we just hit it off. He’s become a friend and a friend of the family,” says Elton. “Our children love him and he loves them. Everyone we’ve worked with on The Lockdown Sessions I’ve really gotten closer to them, it’s quite amazing.”
He adds, “I played electric piano and actually wrote the song all the way through and then Charlie wrote the lyrics pretty quickly. He’s incredibly quick, Charlie. We just had an amazing chemistry in the studio.”
Puth, who says he’s been a fan of Elton his “entire life,” adds, “It is truly incredible how the melodies and chords seem to come to him instantly whenever he sits down at the piano…He is world class and the true definition of a musical genius. Being a part of his musical journey is a dream come true.”
This weekend, Elton and Charlie will both be performing in Paris during the Global Citizen Live event, which will span seven continents and feature more than 50 artists over 24 hours. You can watch it on ABC TV and ABC News Live.
On Sunday, John and Puth will go live on their TikTok pages to chat about the collaboration.
Last month, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts returned to the road for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band has now decided to postpone most of the remainder of its 2021 shows because of the ongoing health crisis.
In a joint statement on their official Facebook page, Jett and her group say, “It’s been a thrill to be back on tour recently. We all missed being on the road, playing for the fans and playing together again.”
Having said that, the band notes, “The continuing surge of COVID cases due to the Delta variant should be of concern to all of us. While we are fully vaccinated, we are still being extremely cautious to protect our fans, our crew and everyone else that work so hard to put on our shows. For that reason, we have decided to postpone the remaining performances that were planned for 2021.”
Jett and the Blackhearts report that they will play one more concert on their 2021 schedule, a September 28 gig at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York.
The band ends the message by saying, “We’re disappointed to have to take this step but we feel it is necessary to protect the health of everyone. Stay safe and we’ll see you in 2022!”
According to JoanJett.com, the band had seven other shows on its 2021 itinerary, spanning from an October 2 concert in Laughlin, Nevada, through a November 21 performance in Reading, Pennsylvania. No word yet if or when those dates will be rescheduled.
Jett and the Blackhearts’ 2022 schedule is slated to begin on June 16 in Atlanta, when the long-delayed Stadium Tour, which also features Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Poison, is set to kick off.
