Back in 2012, Rod Stewart published Rod: The Autobiography, in which he detailed his life in the fast late as a global rock star. Fans will soon be able to get a slightly different take on the last 25 years of his life — from his wife.
Penny Lancaster is Rod’s third wife, the mother of his two youngest children and a celebrity in her own right in the U.K. She’ll publish her autobiography,Someone Like Me, on Sept. 25.
Announcing the book on Instagram, she writes, “At times I’ve felt alone and overwhelmed by some of the most difficult experiences I’ve had, but I’ve found that delving deeper and sharing these moments has not only helped me, it’s also had a positive impact on others.”
According to the publisher, Penny’s memoir details her struggles, including being bullied at school due to undiagnosed dyslexia, being the victim of a sexual assault as a young girl, undergoing IVF treatment, supporting loved ones — including Rod — through cancer diagnoses, and dealing with depression and menopause.
The book also covers her family life with Rod, and her efforts to promote women’s health and safety, including her work as a special constable for the City of London Police.
Rod was previously married to Alanna Stewart and Rachel Hunter; in addition to his children with them, he has kids from two other relationships. All together, he’s the father of eight kids and often credits Penny for working to bring the family together for celebrations and holidays.
The new Billy Idol documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead debuted at the Tribeca Festival Tuesday, and in it the rocker reveals how he discovered he had a long-lost son he never knew about.
Idol was already a father to son Willem Broad with ex Perri Lister and daughter Bonnie Blue Broad with Linda Mathis. But after Bonnie took a DNA test, she discovered there was another member of the family.
“My husband just surprised me with a 23andMe, with a DNA test as a Christmas present,” Bonnie says in the doc, according to People. “And then a few weeks later, I get the results back on the app and open it and I’m like, who is this? This Brant. And it says his info’s like, New York, 1985, looking for my bio dad. I was like, ‘What?'”
BrantBroad says he thought someone else was his father, but a DNA test proved otherwise. When he asked his mother about it, she revealed that when she and the guy Brant thought was his dad broke up she spent a weekend with Idol.
The rocker has since welcomed Brant into the family; Brant even attended Idol’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.
“Once I saw Brant with Bonnie and Willem, they’ve all got the same quirky sense of humor,” Idol says. “And once I saw that, I could see he’s my son, really.”
Brant adds, “He’s definitely showed me a lot of love, so I’m blessed.”
The Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson has died at age 82. The Beach Boys are known for their hit singles, but also for one particular album – 1966’s Pet Sounds – which changed music forever. Composed almost single-handedly by Wilson, it marked the first time a pop-rock group had expanded its sound beyond the standard guitar/drums/bass configuration into something so complex that it was impossible to reproduce live.
Giles Martin, who remixed Pet Sounds in Dolby Atmos in 2023, told ABC Audio, it “used a combination of instruments that had never been heard before. Anywhere! And anywhere since, as well, by the way.”
The Beatles certainly took notice: After hearing Pet Sounds, they went on to make Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As Martin explained, “I think what happened … is that they were like, ‘Oh, if The Beach Boys can do that, we’re the Beatles, we can certainly do that.’”
Here are 10 more great Beach Boys musical moments from the mind of Brian Wilson and a variety of co-writers, including Mike Love, Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks:
“Good Vibrations” (Wilson/Love, 1966): One of the most important popular songs in music history and, at the time, the most expensive single ever recorded. A pioneering example of what would eventually be known as “psychedelic” rock or pop, it was the band’s third #1 single.
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (Wilson/Love/Asher, 1966) and “God Only Knows” (Wilson/Asher, 1966): Two Pet Sounds highlights, with the former featuring envelope-pushing instrumentation and production, and the latter, a deceptively complex harmonic structure, as well as lyrics that were, at that point, taboo for a pop song. “God Only Knows” was chosen by Paul McCartney as his favorite song of all time.
“California Girls” (Wilson/Love, 1965): Partly inspired by the Beach Boys’ world travels and Brian Wilson’s first acid trip, it peaked at #3 and went on to inspire other songs, including The Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.”
“Fun, Fun, Fun” (Wilson/Love, 1964): Possibly inspired by the Beach Boys overhearing the daughter of a Salt Lake City radio station owner complaining that she’d gotten her driving privileges revoked after lying about where she was taking her father’s car, it peaked at #5.
“I Get Around” (Wilson/Love, 1964): The Beach Boys’ first U.S. #1 hit, Mike Love said it was inspired in part by the group’s newfound fame and their yearning for something more.
“Don’t Worry Baby” (Wilson/Roger Christian, 1964): The B-side of “I Get Around,” it was inspired by TheRonettes’ “Be My Baby” and originally offered to that group, only to be rejected by producer Phil Spector. It features what’s considered one of Brian Wilson’s best vocal performances.
“Help Me, Rhonda” (Wilson/Love, 1965): Featuring a rare-for-the-time Al Jardine lead vocal, it was The Beach Boys’ second U.S. #1 hit and knocked The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” out of the top spot.
“Surfin’ U.S.A.” (Wilson/Chuck Berry, 1963): A rewrite of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen,” it reached #2, cemented the so-called “California sound” and helped define what’s been called the “California myth.”
“Sail On Sailor” (Wilson/Tandyn Almer/Parks/Ray Kennedy/Jack Rieley, 1973): Brian Wilson stated that he “never liked” the song, a track from the band’s album Holland with vocals by Blondie Chaplin. But despite only reaching #79, it was one of the only Beach Boys songs to get airplay on FM rock radio.
The iconic ’90s clip, which was first uploaded to YouTube in 2009, is Nirvana’s first to cross the 2 billion views threshold. It previously hit 1 billion views in 2019.
In the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl are seen rocking out in a grimy gymnasium alongside anarchist cheerleaders and moshing teens. The song, which was released as the lead single off Nirvana’s 1991 album, Nevermind, and its video came to represent the angst felt by the generation’s youth.
In February, Grohl and Novoselic reunited for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert and performed “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” with Post Malone taking on the role of the late Cobain.
Founding Beach Boys singer, songwriter and creative mastermind Brian Wilson has died. He was 82.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,” read a post on Wilson’s Facebook page. “Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world,” with the post signed, “Love & Mercy.”
One of the most significant figures in pop music’s acceptance as an art form, Wilson wrote the music to nearly all of his famous band’s best-known songs, from their early surf-rock classics to their more complex recordings of the mid-1960s and beyond. Wilson’s catalog includes the timeless hits “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Surfer Girl,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda” and “California Girls.”
With his gift for vocal harmonies and musical arrangements, Wilson helped craft one of the most celebrated albums of all time, The Beach Boys’ 1966 release Pet Sounds, as well as its follow-up single, “Good Vibrations.” Paul McCartney has said that Pet Sounds was a huge influence on The Beatles‘ 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
But Wilson’s work with the Beach Boys was severely impacted by the mental health issues he’d experienced since his 20s. In 1975, those issues, combined with over-indulgence in food, alcohol and drugs, led him to come under the care of controversial psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy, who ultimately became Wilson’s therapist, business manager, executive producer and even co-songwriter.
Wilson’s family, concerned about Landy’s undue influence on the musician, the fees he charged and the amount of medication he’d prescribed, moved to sever Landy’s relationship with Wilson. In 1989, Landy’s license was revoked due to alleged ethical violations, but he worked with Wilson until 1992, when he was legally barred from contacting him again. Their relationship was documented in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy.
Wilson’s relationship with his bandmates was difficult for decades. His last album with The Beach Boys, That’s Why God Made the Radio, was released in 2012, coinciding with the band’s 50th anniversary. In recent years, Wilson focused on his solo career; his last studio album, At My Piano, was released in November 2021 and featured solo piano versions of many classic Beach Boys songs. Starting in 1999, he also toured on and off as a solo artist.
In early 2024, Wilson was placed under a conservatorship after the death of his wife, Melinda Wilson, who he married in 1995 and with whom he had adopted five children. “This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home,” his manager said in a statement. Melinda was credited with helping separate Wilson from Landy.
Wilson was the subject of three authorized documentaries: 2021’s Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, 2004’s Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of ‘Smile’ and 1995’s Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times. In 2024 he participated, along with his former bandmates, in the Disney+ documentary The Beach Boys.
His many career achievements included induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Beach Boys in 1988, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000 and being recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007.
Wilson’s daughters Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson are also chart-topping musicians, having made up two-thirds of the bestselling ’90s pop group Wilson Phillips.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival
Eric Clapton is shooting down rumors about his health.
A story on Radar claims that the three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has been using a wheelchair due to a nerve disease, but the report is now being shot down.
“There is no validity to the false information circulating online claiming Eric is reliant on a handicap-equipped van and wheelchair to attend his shows,” reads the post on Clapton’s Facebook page. “Eric has just finished a residency at The Budokan in Tokyo, and a highly successful tour in England, Italy, and France and is in excellent physical condition, singing and playing better than ever.”
The post even adds a photo of Clapton performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall in May as proof he’s doing OK.
Clapton is scheduled to play several shows in the U.S. this fall. His tour kicks off Sept. 8 in Nashville, with shows in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston and New York before wrapping Sept. 20 in Uncasville, Connecticut. A complete schedule can be found at EricClapton.com.
The Atlantic City Police Department announced on Facebook that they have recovered the rocker’s custom purple sparkle baritone Telecaster, which had been stolen from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City following Heart’s performance there May 31.
Garfield Bennett was arrested for the theft on June 5. The statement from the ACPD says officers had tracked his movements using surveillance cameras, which showed that he gave the guitar to a woman. They then ran the woman’s license plate and were able to locate the guitar, which was voluntary surrendered. The woman said she had purchased the guitar from Bennett.
“The guitar has been turned over to representatives of the Hard Rock Atlantic City who will be turning the instrument over to the Heart band members,” the statement says.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Atlantic City Police Department for recovering my guitar—it means so much to have it back in my hands,” Wilson says in a statement obtained by ABC Audio. “Their dedication and quick action are deeply appreciated.”
The investigation into the other missing instrument, a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin belonging to band member Paul Moak, continues.
Wilson notes that they are still “hoping for the safe return” of Moak’s instrument, sharing, “This instrument holds tremendous sentimental and musical value. A reward is still being offered—no questions asked—for its return. We just want to see it come home where it belongs.”
Bennett has been charged with burglary and theft in connection with the case.
Beatles legend Paul McCartney married his second wife, Heather Mills, a former model and activist, whose leg was amputated in 1993 after she was run over by a police motorcycle in London.
The couple wed at Castle Leslie in the village of Glaslough in County Monaghan, Ireland, with the celebration attended by several celebrities, including McCartney’s Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.
The wedding took place four years after the death of McCartney’s first wife, Linda McCartney, from cancer.
McCartney and Mills welcomed their first and only child together, daughter Beatrice, in 2003, and three years later announced they had separated, with their acrimonious divorce finalized in 2008.
McCartney went on to marry a third time, to New Yorker Nancy Shevell, in 2011. They are still married to this day.
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe is one of the many artists contributing to a new double vinyl compilation called Democracy Forward, dropping July 4.
The double album is being released by the legal organization Democracy Forward and The Bitter Southerner, with Stipe’s contribution listed as “Invocation.”
Other artists on the album include Wilco, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jim James, John Prine and Tyler Childers.
Proceeds from the album benefit Democracy Forward, which is dedicated to defending democracy, the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
“Democracy Forward is committed to using every legal tool available to protect our nation’s values, its people and the rule of law. We are also determined to help people build community, find courage and fight for their rights,” Skye L. Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, shares on the album’s sleeve. “We are grateful to the incredible artists who are supporting these goals with their music and voices. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice can make a difference.”
Back in March KISS announced the KISS Army Storms Vegas fan event, which will feature an unmasked electric performance by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but now Stanley says plans for the event may be changing.
In a new appearance on the Broken Record Podcast, Stanley says they will still perform, but the plan is to make some changes so it more closely represents a KISS Kruise.
“It started off as something, honestly, that Gene and I kind of took a back seat in, and, honestly, we reached a point not too far in the past where we both said, ‘You know what? This isn’t the way we want it,'” Stanley says of the Vegas event. “And it’s going to go through some major changes to be what we think it should be,” noting, “we needed to put our big hands into this and we needed to steer the ship.”
KISS Army Storms Vegas will take place Nov. 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. In addition to Stanley and Simmons, it will feature KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer, along with former KISS member Bruce Kulick, SkidRow’s Sebastian Bach and others. Stanley says they also plan to add more bands to the bill.
“It doesn’t need a ship. It will have all the familiar touchstones that people love about a KISS Kruise,” he says. “To do it in Vegas at the Virgin hotel, it’s gonna be everything that people want and have been hoping for.”
Tickets for KISS Army Storms Vegas are on sale now.
