Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard returned to the stage Saturday, but they were without one of their key band members.

Guitarist Vivian Campbell did not perform at the band’s show at Feria Estatal De León in León, Mexico, and instead Phil Collen‘s guitar tech John Zocco filled in.

Fan-shot video posted to YouTube shows Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott telling the crowd that Campbell had to miss the concert because “he’s just recovering from some treatment for his cancer.”

Campbell revealed in June 2013 that he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had stem-cell therapy in June 2014. He later added that he was undergoing immunotherapy. He announced in 2023 that chemotherapy had been added to his treatments.

Def Leppard has several dates on the books for 2025. Their next show is May 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Bruce Springsteen hit the stage for the first time in 2025 Saturday night, making a surprise appearance at the 25th anniversary Light of Day concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, the Asbury Park Press reports.

Springsteen made his first appearance of the night joining New York City punk fixture Jesse Malin onstage, performing Malin’s tracks “Broken Radio” and “Glitter in the Gutter.”

Malin, who had a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him paralyzed from the waist down, later shared photos from the evening on Instagram, noting the concert was “one for the books.”

Springsteen returned to the stage to join Willie Nile for a performance of “One Guitar” and then came back again for longtime friend Joe Grushecky’s set, with Grushecky introducing The Boss as “the real governor of New Jersey.”

During that set, Bruce performed “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The Promised Land,” as well as “Pink Cadillac” and “Savin’ Up,” a Springsteen-penned song originally recorded by the late E Street Band member Clarence Clemons, adding a joke about the “fake news” reported by Forbes that he is now a billionaire.

The Boss closed the show with an acoustic rendition of “Thunder Road.”

Springsteen has now performed at 12 Light of Day concerts, which raise money for Parkinson’s disease research. The last time he turned up at the annual benefit show was at the 20th anniversary show in 2020.

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An early draft of Bob Dylan’s lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man” sold for $508,000 at the Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive, T Bone Burnett & More auction conducted by Julien’s Auctions over the weekend.

The typewritten lyrics came from the archive of the late music journalist Al Aronowitz and were expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.

The auction included 60 Dylan items from the Aronowitz collection and brought in nearly $1.5 million.

Other items that sold during the auction include a signed original 1968 oil canvas painting done by Dylan, which went for $260,000, a Dylan owned and played 1983 Fender Telecaster, which sold for $222,250, and signed handwritten lyrics to “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which sold for $44,450.

“My family and I are thrilled with the auction,” Al’s son Myles Aronowitz shared. “These items were evidence of the unique and intimate place my father had in musical and cultural history with his good friend Bob Dylan, and all the other iconic artists of his day.”

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On This Day, Jan 20, 1988…

The Beatles and Bob Dylan were among the artists inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in a ceremony held in New York.

The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger inducted the band into the Rock Hall. George Harrison and Ringo Starr were on hand to accept the honor, along with Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon and Sean Lennon, accepting on behalf of John Lennon.

Paul McCartney did not attend, citing “still-existing business differences among The Beatles.”

Dylan’s induction was handled by Bruce Springsteen, and the night’s other inductees included
The Beach Boys, The Drifters, The Supremes and Ben E. King.

The night ended with an all-star jam that featured such songs as “I Saw Her Standing There,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Twist and Shout,” “Stand By Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Barbara Ann,” “Blue Bayou,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and more.

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More artists have joined the lineup of the FireAid benefit show, taking place Jan. 30 at two venues in Inglewood, California, the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum.

The Black Crowes and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers John Fogerty and Graham Nash are now set to perform at the event. Nash’s addition sets up the possibility of a reunion with his Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate Stephen Stills, who was already confirmed to perform at the show.

Other new additions include Stevie Wonder, Olivia Rodrigo, Alanis Morissette, and Silk Sonic’s Anderson .Paak, plus Gwen Stefani’s already announced participation has now turned into a performance with her band No Doubt. The last time No Doubt performed together was at Coachella last year, but that was their first show together since 2015.

As previously reported, the bill will also include Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Earth, Wind & Fire, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Pink, Katy Perry, John Mayer and Dave Matthews, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll, Gracie Abrams and Tate McRae.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 22, at noon PT via Ticketmaster. The show will be streamed via multiple platforms, including Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video and Apple Music, and will also be shown in select AMC Theatres in 70 U.S markets. 

FireAid will raise money for those affected by the California wildfires and to support efforts to keep such disasters from happening again.

Visit FireAidLA.org for more information, or to donate.

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There’s a ton of talk about Bob Dylan these days thanks to the biopic A Complete Unknown, but there’s another reason people should be celebrating the legendary performer.

Monday, Jan. 20, marks the 50th anniversary of Dylan’s 15th studio album, Blood on the Tracks, which is often revered by critics as one of Dylan’s best albums.

Dylan began working on the record as he was experiencing turmoil in his marriage to wife Sara. And while he’s denied in interviews that the songs on the album were inspired by his personal relationship, his son with Sara, musician Jakob Dylan, has been quoted as saying, “When I’m listening to Blood On The Tracks, that’s about my parents.”

Dylan initially recorded songs for the album in New York City in September 1974, but before the release he decided to rerecord many of the tunes in Minneapolis. The final product wound up featuring five tracks from each session.

Upon its release, Blood on The Tracks became a huge commercial success for Dylan, peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200 and at #4 in the U.K. It’s known for such classic Dylan tracks as “Tangled Up in Blue,” which was a top-40 hit, “Shelter From The Storm” and “Simple Twist of Fate.”

To this day Blood on the Tracks is one of Dylan’s bestselling records and has been certified double Platinum for selling over 2 million copies.

Although initial reviews were mixed, Blood on the Tracks is often included on critics’ lists of the best albums, including Rolling Stones’ 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, where it ranked #9 in 2020. It was also included in the book 101 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2015, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

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The new film Midas Man, about The Beatles manager Brian Epstein, finally has a U.S. release date. The film will premiere Jan. 22 via Olyn, a direct-to-consumer distribution platform that allows fans to recommend and share the movie with others.

And now those who want to see the film have a chance to win a trip to the U.K. Anyone who preorders the film by Jan. 21 will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a Beatles-themed trip, which includes travel to London and Liverpool, hotel accommodations in both cities and visits to Beatles-related sites. And fans can earn more entries by referring the movie to others.

Midas Man stars The Queen’s Gambit’s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein, who became The Beatles’ manager in 1962 after discovering them in their hometown of Liverpool. He continued to work with the Fab Four until his death in 1967 and is often referred to as the “fifth Beatle.”

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Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton’s new band, Close Enemies, has some new music to share.

The group, which also consists of Chasen Hampton on vocals, Peter Stroud and Trace Foster on guitar, and Tony Brock on drums, just released their debut single, “Sound of a Train,” which is now available on digital outlets.

Close Enemies played their first show in Nashville in October and recently launched their first tour. They are due to play Daryl’s House in Pawling, New York, on Jan. 23.

Hamilton was free to join Close Enemies after Aerosmith canceled their Peace Out tour and retired from the road in early August, citing Steven Tyler’s continuing vocal problems. He fractured his larynx when the tour first launched in 2023.

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The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has sparked renewed interest in the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s music.

According to Billboard, Luminate data shows that since the movie’s Dec. 25 release there’s been a huge jump in streams of Dylan’s catalog. In the days following the release, there were 11.6 million on-demand streams of Dylan’s songs, an increase from 8.1 million in the month prior. And in the first full week following the movie’s release, that number increased to 20.2 million streams.

And the interest doesn’t seem to be slowing down that much, with the catalog earning another 18.8 million streams the week of Jan. 3-9.

Among the songs receiving the most interest are “Like A Rolling Stone,” which saw a 232% increase in streaming in the week ending Jan. 2, followed by “Blowin’ in the Wind” with a 215% increase and “The Times They Are A Changin’” with a 174% increase.

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Scorpions have announced they’re postponing their Las Vegas residency, which was due to kick off in February.

According to a post on social media, the band has pushed the shows in order to give their drummer, Mikkey Dee, more time to recover after his recent hospitalization due to sepsis.

“We regret to inform you that due to Mikkey Dee’s ongoing recovery from his recent hospitalization, we have made the decision to postpone our Coming Home to Las Vegas Residency to August 2025,” the band shares. “The health and well-being of our brother is of the utmost importance. We wish Mikkey a full and speedy recovery and look forward to rocking with you all again soon!”

Scorpions – Coming Home to Las Vegas 60th Years of Scorpions at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino was supposed to kick off on Feb. 27, with five shows running until March 11. The shows will now run Aug.14-23. Tickets for original dates will be honored and refunds will be available to those who can’t make it.

Dee, who previously played drums in Motörhead, announced in January that he had been hospitalized for three weeks over the holidays due to sepsis. He said he had a lot of rehab and recovery ahead of him but had hoped to be ready for the Vegas residency.

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