The Royal Mail is helping AC/DC celebrate their 50th anniversary with a new set of commemorative stamps.
The set of eight stamps features various photos of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers performing live, with the stamp sheet also featuring labels that track the evolution of their iconic logo.
There are also various stamp packages available for purchase, including a Presentation Pack that features four additional stamps highlighting AC/DC album covers for High Voltage, Highway to Hell, Back in Black and AC/DC.
There’s also a limited-edition Prestige Stamp Book, which includes a 24-page book written by music journalist Jason Draper, with rare photos, 12 stamps and more, all housed in a sleek black case.
The Who’s Pete Townshend’s solo career is being celebrated with a new box set.
Pete Townshend The Studio Albums, dropping March 28, will consist of eight CDs, featuring newly remastered versions of seven Townshend albums — 1972’s Who Came First, 1977’s Rough Mix (with Ronnie Lane), 1980’s Empty Glass, 1982’s All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, 1985’s White City (A Novel), 1989’s The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend and 1993’s Psychoderelict. It will also feature the music-only version of Psychoderelict.
The set also comes with a new foreword by Townshend, new artwork, sleeve notes by band archivist Matt Kent, and a 28-page book filled with rare photos and memorabilia.
“I have always written first for myself. Not as an artist but for play, for fun, for joy, for self-expression. For therapy? In a way, of course,” Pete shares of his solo work. “These solo songs are therefore not Who exclusions or out-takes, they are part of a story that may well have been very different had I not made some poor decisions in the early ’80s.”
He adds, “I have stories to tell about every song, and one day I may write a book that tells of that journey, but I’m probably happier spending my time today writing new music rather than explaining how the old stuff came about.”
Talking Heads performed their last-ever concert at the Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The 12-song set featured such classic songs as “Psycho Killer,” “Making Flippy Floppy,” “Swamp,” “Burning Down the House” and more.
The show didn’t go off without a hitch, though: Drummer Chris Frantz revealed that frontman David Byrne walked off the stage midset and had to be dragged back.
Although Talking Heads never toured again, they did go on to record three more albums. And while this was their final concert ever, they briefly reunited to perform for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, delivering “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime,” Burning Down the House” and an all-star jam of “Take Me to the River.”
While they haven’t performed together since then, all members of Talking Heads got together for several joint interviews in 2023 and 2024 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their iconic concert film, Stop Making Sense.
The music of the Allman Brothers Band will once again be celebrated in New York.
The Brothers, a group made up of ABB former members, is set to headline Madison Square Garden on April 15 and 16, five years after they first staged a similar concert.
The Brothers will feature ABB founding member Jaimoe, along with band members Warren Haynes,Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, Marc Quiñones and Chuck Leavell, who is billed as a “special guest.” Joining them will be Joe Russo on drums, Reese Wynans on keyboards and Isaac Eady on drums.
“The chance to play at The Garden with my friends again – FAR OUT man!” shares Jaimoe. “I’ll see you in April!!”
Fans can register in advance for a ticket presale that kicks off Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. ET.
The Brothers’ first show took place March 10, 2020, at Madison Square Garden, and lasted over four hours. The show was one of the last concerts at MSG before the concert industry was temporarily shut down due to the COVID outbreak.
Howie Mandel has offered an apology after surprising comedian Bill Burr with an appearance by Billy Corgan after the Smashing Pumpkins frontman suggested that the two could be related.
Corgan first brought up the possibility during a November episode of Mandel’s podcast, sharing that his stepmother told him she thought Burr might be one of his father’s illegitimate children. In addition to looking alike, Corgan said that his father did once tell him he had a brother also named Bill that was born around the same time he was.
Then, in January, when Burr was a guest on the podcast, Mandel brought Corgan out without telling Burr ahead of time. Things then turned awkward as Burr expressed how uncomfortable the situation made him, while Corgan reiterated that Mandel told him ahead of time that Burr was excited to meet him.
Burr later appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and said he “did not appreciate what Howie did.”
In his latest podcast episode, Mandel maintains he “legitimately thought I was doing something nice” in setting up the Corgan/Burr meeting, adding that Burr hasn’t responded to his texts since the episode.
“I want to apologize, I feel horrible,” Mandel says. “I’m sorry Bill, I’m sorry Billy. I only tried to do something good.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers seem to be teasing fans with the possibility, sharing photos on Instagram of guitarist Phil Collen singing into a mic with the caption, “Something’s brewing…,” leading to speculation that they’re recording new tunes.
“New album!? YES PLEASE!” one fan commented on the post, while another added, “Can’t wait to hear what you are working on.”
The tease comes just days after Def Leppard released a cover of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me” to benefit FireAid.
If the post is indeed hinting at a new album, it will be Def Leppard’s first album of original material since 2022’s Diamond Star Halos. In 2023 they released Drastic Symphonies, which featured some of their classic tunes reimagined with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Def Leppard has several shows booked for 2025, with their next concert happening May 15 in Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.
Styx is heading to the beach this fall and bringing their rock star friends with them.
The band is set to headline Rockin’ in Paradise with Styx + Friends in Miramar Beach, Florida, Oct. 9-11.
Those “Friends” on the bill include Cheap Trick, Loverboy, 38 Special, Collective Soul, John Waite and Edwin MCain.
“We are so excited to bring you Rockin’ in Paradise in Miramar Beach. One of my favorite places to visit,” Styx frontman Tommy Shaw shares. “Our Friends can’t wait to join us to bring you this one-of-a-kind experience. Let’s Rock this October!”
The vacation weekend will have the Styx headlining two special performances, including their last 2025 performance of their 1977 album Grand Illusion in its entirety, along with other hits. They will also sit down for a Q&A with fans.
A presale for tickets is currently underway, with tickets going on sale to the general public Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
While Black Sabbath previously held a farewell show in 2017, Sharon Osbourne wants everyone to know the band’s just-announced reunion show in Birmingham, England, will indeed be the last show of Ozzy Osbourne‘s career.
Ozzy has dealt with a variety of health issues over the past few years, but Sharon tells the BBC, “He’s doing really great.” She adds, “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
Back to the Beginning: The Final Show, taking place July 5 at Villa Park,will have Ozzy performing with his Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time in 20 years. It’ll be the send-off Ozzy has been wanting for years.
“Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s been … no full stop,” Sharon says. “This is his full stop.”
The concert will also feature an all-star lineup of artists, including Metallica, Slayer and Alice in Chains, along with a supergroup that includes Rage Againstthe Machine’s Tom Morello, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan.
“It’s an endless amount of people,” Sharon said. “They’re going to be doing some Sabbath songs, some Ozzy songs, and they’ll all mix together. … Different little groups will be coming on, but they’re all icons.”
Meanwhile, Iommi has shared his thoughts on their final show.
“It’s been an incredible journey, but it’s only fitting that it ends here, where it all began in Aston,” he wrote on Instagram. “None of this would’ve been possible without Ozzy, Geezer, and Bill. What we created together was bigger than any one of us, and I’ll always be grateful.”
Frontman Chris Robinson announced the return of the Crowe-Mafia on social media, with the post describing it as a “community to connect with us and each other.”
Chris also shared a video in which he detailed all the bonus material fans will get by signing up.
In addition to early presale ticket access and early access to venues, members will get to hear exclusive audio content from the band’s archives. Among the first of these never-before-heard recordings is “Wiser Time” with Jimmy Page, taken from an upcoming box set for their 2000 album, Live at The Greek, as well as a video of “No Speak No Slave” with Page.
“For years since we’ve put the band back together, I have been extensively going through the vaults of all sorts of material while we were working on the box sets,” Chris shared in the video. “We keep finding loads and loads of honey holes of stuff that only you are going to appreciate.”
He added they plan to upload live shows from the vaults every month, including “stuff that you guys have deemed important later this year.”
Chris also teased other box sets they’ve been working on, including one for their third studio album, Amorica, promising “a bunch of other rarities and things that you’ve never heard before, which is also very exciting.”
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench will release his second solo album, The Melancholy Season, on March 7 and has shared the first preview of the record with the release of the title track.
In a post on his website, Tench reveals that the song was inspired by a poem he wrote while looking at the constellation Orion.
“At the house where I lived for many years, in the hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley, Orion was only visible in the fall and winter,” Tench writes. “I associated the constellation with that time: ‘Oh, there’s my friend.’ But that season, when it starts getting cold in California, has always been a bit melancholy to me.”
He adds that the tune is “about a guy looking across the backyard at his wife by the pool. She’s about to kick off her shoes. It’s cold, the pool is heated and the steam is rising off the water. The idea was the alienation between these two people.”
This is Tench’s first solo release since his debut solo album, You Should Be So Lucky, came out in 2014.
Tench is set to kick off a five-show residency at New York’s Café Carlyle Feb. 18 and will then hit the road for a short tour that starts March 12 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at benmonttench.com.
