Classic Rock 93.9

Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider is setting the record straight about his health and how he feels about former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach taking over lead singer duties on select Twisted Sister shows this year.

In early February Snider pulled out of the band’s planned reunion tour due to health issues. But in new posts on X he reassured fans that he’s doing OK.

“Been waiting for the dust to settle…but it hasn’t,” he started off his string of posts.

“For a retired 71 yr old I’m great. But I’ve only got so much tread left on these tires,” he wrote. “I decided to use it for the rest of my journey…and not burn them up on stage trying to prove I’m as good as I ever was. I can live with that choice. I would’ve been a shadow of my former self out there anyway.” 

In another post, he continued, “The story of my retirement for health reasons ran wild! I’m not dying. (No, not never!) Just can’t do the things I used to do. I’m cool with it. I have a great life!”

He then shared his thoughts on Bach joining Twisted Sister, writing, “And I totally approve of @sebastianbach stepping in for me. He’s a true fan & will honor what I did with every show!”

On Tuesday, Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda announced that Bach would be fronting the band on select dates this fall. So far they haven’t announced when those shows will take place.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Queen guitarist Brian May is set to headline a special event in connection with the upcoming reissue of the band’s sophomore album, Queen II.

Queen II – Queen’s Masterstroke – More than Remastered! is taking place March 26 in London, although an exact location wasn’t revealed. Fans who preorder the album will be in the running to win a chance to attend, and the event will stream live on May’s Instagram account.

“I wish it were big place so we could invite you all … but this is very intimate,” May writes on Instagram, “except it will hopefully connect all around the world through my live and lovely Instagram channel.”

Queen II Collector’s Edition, dropping March 27, is a five-CD and two-LP box set, featuring the 2026 mix of the album, along with a whole host of bonus material.

Extras include previously unheard outtakes and demos, live tracks, radio sessions and what’s described as “intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the recording studio.” The set also features a 112-page book with previously unseen photos, handwritten lyrics and more.

In addition to Queen II Collector’s Edition, the reissue will be released as a two-CD deluxe edition and on one-LP vinyl. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Courtney Love has clarified that Hole is not reuniting after teasing an upcoming tour with former bandmate Melissa Auf der Maur.

As previously reported, Love posted a video of Auf der Maur on Instagram captioned, “So do we tell the kids about the tour … ?” The post is also soundtracked by the Hole song “Malibu.”

Naturally, the post led to speculation that Hole was getting back together, which Love has now refuted.

“Not a reunion baby,” Love writes in the comments of her original post. “Me and [Auf der Maur] touring new songs.”

Love also replied to a post by Spin magazine reporting on her original comments, adding, “No hole reunion, [Auf der Maur] playing shows, new songs.”

Hole last played live together in 2012. In 2019, Love posted and then deleted a photo of Hole rehearsing together. But in 2021, she told Vogue there would “absolutely not” be a Hole reunion, adding, “You guys have gotta get over it.” 

Meanwhile, Auf der Maur is going on a book tour in support of her upcoming memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, due out March 17, while Love is the subject of a new documentary called Antiheroine, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sting is set to release a new live album, which was recorded at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum as part of the ARTE Sounds Like Art initiative.

Sting – The Night Watch: Live at the Rijksmuseum captures the January Sting concert at the museum’s Gallery of Honour, which took place in front of Rembrandt’s painting The Night Watch.

There, Sting played a 17th century guitar crafted for Louis XIV’s court. His set included songs from his musical The Last Ship, solo tracks like “Fragile,” “Fields of Gold” and “Shape of My Heart,” and Police tunes including “Message in a Bottle,” “Roxanne,” “Every Breath You Take” and more.

Sting – The Night Watch: Live at the Rijksmuseum will be released June 26 on CD and vinyl, and is available for preorder now.

The concert, which was also filmed, will premiere Thursday on Arte’s YouTube channel and Arte.tv.

Sting is currently in the middle of an eight-show residency in Paris, with his next show taking place Thursday. He’ll launch the North American spring leg of his Sting 3.0 tour on May 6 in Hollywood, Florida.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Warren Zevon’s final live performance is getting a special vinyl release.

Epilogue: Live at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival will be released on two-LP opaque metallic silver vinyl on April 17.

The album captures Zevon’s August 2002 performance at Canada’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival, which turned out to be his final live performance ever. The reissue includes an etched fourth side, along with liner notes from bandmate Matt Cartsonis, who played with Zevon during the show.

Originally released in November 2025 on black vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday, Epilogue features performances of such Zevon classics as “Werewolves of London,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and “Lawyers, Guns And Money,” as well as the track “Dirty Life and Times,” which has only been played live twice.

Not long after playing the Edmonton Folk Festival, Zevon was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He passed away Sept. 7, 2003, at the age of 56. In November, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the musical influence category.

Epilogue: Live at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival on silver vinyl is available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sharon Osbourne has shared more details about the return of Ozzfest.

During the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, Sharon says the plan is for the festival to return in 2027 in the Aston area of the late Ozzy Osbourne’s hometown of Birmingham, England, before coming over to the U.S.

“We want to do two days in Aston Villa and then come to America,” Sharon says. “We want to hear from everyone where we should go in America.”

Sharon adds that she hopes Ozzfest will return to a full touring festival by 2028.

Sharon founded Ozzfest, which, of course, is named after Ozzy, in the ’90s. It became a staple of the late ’90s and early 2000s hard rock and metal scene, helping propel the careers of bands including Linkin Park, Slipknot and Deftones.

The last Ozzfest was held on New Year’s Eve 2018 in Los Angeles. It marked Ozzy’s final full-length live performance before the 2025 Back to the Beginning concert, during which he played a solo set with the reunited Black Sabbath. Ozzy died just over two weeks later on July 22.

In related news, Sharon teased during a panel at the 2026 MIDEM conference in France that a statue of Ozzy will debut on the grounds of the French festival Hellfest. 

Hellfest previously unveiled a statue of Ozzy’s longtime friend and collaborator, late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston is leaving the band.

The 83-year-old Johnston joined the group in 1965 as a fill-in for Brian Wilson during live performances. In a statement to Rolling Stone he says he’s leaving the group in order to spend more time in the studio.

“It’s time for Part Three of my lengthy musical career!” he tells the mag. “I can write songs forever and wait until you hear what’s coming!!! As my major talent beyond singing is songwriting, now is the time to get serious again.”

He adds that he’ll be embarking on a speaking engagement career, along with personal appearances and events. He also plans to join The Beach Boys for special performances, including their July 3 and 4 shows at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you soon,” he adds. “I am forever grateful to be a part of the Beach Boys musical legacy.”

Mike Love, who’s the only original Beach Boys member still in the band, tells the mag in a statement that Johnston “is one of the greatest songwriters, vocalist[s], and keyboardist[s] of our time.”

“We’ve had the honor of his performance and participation for many many years with The Beach Boys,” he adds. “Change is always promised in life, today we find ourselves in a chapter of change, but not an end.”

“I am very supportive of Bruce and I have every confidence that he will produce great music,” he notes. 

After joining The Beach Boys on tour in 1965, Johnston appeared on many of their albums, starting with 1965’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). He also wrote several Beach Boys songs. He left the group in 1972, but returned in 1978 and has been touring with them ever since.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol is subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, and during a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, he detailed a drug-filled night when he almost wound up that way.

He said it occurred when he returned to England after the success of 1983’s Rebel Yell and met up with some friends who had “a bunch of heroin on them.”

“So, of course, somehow everybody else in the room passed out, except for me and the other guy, you know, who was chopping the lines out,” he said, noting he was the last person to pass out.

“When people, other people in the room came to, I was going blue,” he said. “If you’re dying, you’re going to start turning blue.” The friends were able to revive him by putting him in a bath, with Idol simply stating, “I survived.”

Idol did eventually get off heroin, but not before dabbling with another drug first.

“Once you’re trying to get off heroin, what do you go to? You go to something else. I started smoking crack to get off heroin,” he said, adding with a laugh, “It worked. It worked.”

Billy Idol Should Be Dead is in theaters now.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Iron Maiden’s scheduled concert at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles has been pushed back one day due to a scheduling conflict with a college football game.

The show, originally set for Sept. 26, was set to take place on the same day that the USC Trojans take on the Oregon Ducks at nearby Memorial Coliseum stadium. It’s now been moved to Sept. 27.

“We were completely shocked when we were told about this unique situation affecting our sold out LA show on the Saturday night,” says Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. “We have worked with the team at Live Nation and rather than cancelling this second show we were thankfully able to move the show to the following night.”

Smallwood adds, “We are naturally mortified at the issues and inconvenience raised for our fans who hold tickets but there is sadly nothing we can do other than move the show a day later.”

Iron Maiden is also set to play BMO Stadium on Sept. 25; that date remains unaffected.

The LA shows are part of Iron Maiden’s Run for Your Lives tour, which celebrates the band’s 50th anniversary and focuses on their first nine albums.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mick Jagger is giving fans a little look at his latest Egyptian vacation.

The Rolling Stones frontman posted a carousel of vacation photos on Instagram, captioning the shots, “Wandering through Egypt.”

Photos include Jagger posing in the dessert; several of him in front of the pyramids and other archaeological sites; and one of him on a boat with an image of Bob Marley in the background.

This isn’t the first time Jagger has posted photos from his travels on Instagram. In November he posted photographs from “Somewhere on the Med,” and in August he shared photos from his “summer break in Portugal.”

In other Rolling Stones news … guitarist Keith Richards is going to be a great-grandfather. The rocker’s granddaughter Ella Richards, daughter of Marlon Richards, Keith’s son with Anita Pallenberg, announced on Instagram that she’s expecting. She posted a black-and-white photo showing off her baby bump, tagging the baby’s father, photographer Sascha von Bismarck, who, according to People, is her boyfriend.

Keith commented on the post, “Sending love and looking forward to welcoming my first great grandchild!”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.