Van Morrison and former Northern Ireland Minister of Health Robin Swann settle dueling slander suits

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Van Morrison and former Northern Ireland Minister of Health Robin Swann have come to a settlement in the dueling lawsuits they had against each other, according to the BBC.

Both suits stemmed from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Swann sued Morrison for slander after comments the musician made at a June 2021 show in Belfast, where he called Swann “very dangerous.” The comments were in response to show cancellations due to pandemic lockdowns.

Morrison filed his own suit against Swan and the Department of Health over a September 2020 op-ed in Rolling Stone magazine that called out Morrison’s anti-lockdown songs, arguing their messages could be “actually dangerous.”

The High Court in Belfast announced Friday that both lawsuits had been settled, although terms of the settlement were not released. Both cases were due to go to trial at the end of September.

While neither Morrison nor Swann attended the hearing, a statement was read on behalf of both parties. Morrison acknowledged that although he didn’t agree with Swann, he “acted at all times honestly and in good faith and on the advice of responsible officials.”

Swann, who also didn’t agree with Morrison’s views, acknowledged the singer’s views “were sincere and expressed in the context of Sir Van being prevented by government regulations from performing in a role for which he is justly famous.”

The Department of Health also acknowledged that a U.S. music magazine was not necessarily the most appropriate place to express their views about Morrison’s song lyrics.

The Smashing Pumpkins book ’Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ performance

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Smashing Pumpkins are preparing to rock late night TV.

The “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” outfit will be performing on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, airing Sept. 17 at 11:35 p.m. ET.

The appearance will fall in between dates on the Pumpkins’ ongoing tour supporting Green Day, which concludes Sept. 28 in San Diego.

The Pumpkins also released a new album, Aghori Mhori Mei, in August.

Ringo Starr shares behind-the-scenes look at his tour rehearsals

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ringo Starr is getting ready to kick off another tour with his All Starr Band, and he just gave fans a peek behind the scenes at rehearsals for the trek.

In a new video, Ringo shared clips of him and his band at work rehearsing the song “Matchbox.” He also revealed that there’s something very special about the drum kit he’ll be playing on the tour, noting it’s the same model he played when The Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show.

“I had the small kit because I wanted to be seen,” he explained. “But then I had the great idea and said why don’t you give me a rostrum, and they built the rostrum and I’m up there having a great time.”

For this leg of the All Starr Band tour, Ringo will be joined by Toto’s Steve Lukather, Men At Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette and Buck Johnson.

The tour kicks off Saturday in San Diego and wraps Sept. 25 in New York City. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

Bob Dylan shares live “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” from upcoming box set, ‘The 1974 Live Recordings’

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bob Dylan is sharing another live track set to appear on his upcoming box set, The 1974 Live Recordings, which is made up of live recordings Dylan made with The Band.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released a performance of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” a previously unheard live performance recorded Jan. 30, 1974, at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It follows the previously released recording of “Forever Young,” from a Seattle show on Feb. 9, 1974.

Both performances are part of the 431 live tracks featured on the box set, which is made up of 27 CDs. Among those live recordings are 417 that have never been released before. The set also includes 133 newly mixed recordings, plus all the surviving soundboard recordings.

The 1974 Live Recordings, dropping Sept. 20, celebrates the 50th anniversary of Dylan’s historic tour with The Band, which was Dylan’s return to touring after an eight-year break. The tour, which kicked off Jan. 4, 1974, in Chicago, saw the two acts playing arenas for the first time.

It is available for preorder now.

Joni Mitchell releases “Traveling (Hejira)” demo from upcoming archives box set

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Joni Mitchell is giving fans another preview of her upcoming box set, Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), due out Oct. 4.

The legendary singer just released a demo of “Traveling (Hejira),” which was recorded in March 1976 at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California.

Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) features early recordings and alternate takes from Joni’s albums Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus, plus the 1980 live album Shadows and Light. It also includes live recordings from Mitchell’s time on Bob Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder Revue, which ran from 1975 to 1976 and also included Joan Baez and Roger McGuinn, among others.

It will be released digitally and as a six-CD set, plus there’s a four-LP set, Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4 Highlights: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), featuring Joni’s personal favorites from the CD set. All options come with a book with never-before-seen photos and liner notes that include a discussion between Mitchell and filmmaker Cameron Crowe about this five-year period of her career.

All formats are available for preorder now.

Green Day shares three bonus tracks from ‘American Idiot’ reissue

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Green Day has shared three of the bonus tracks included on the band’s upcoming 20th anniversary American Idiot reissue.

The recordings include a demo of “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” a VH1 Storytellers performance of “St. Jimmy” and the B-side “Governator,” which is a throwback to when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California.

You can listen to them all now via digital outlets.

The American Idiot reissue is due out Oct. 25. The album’s anniversary is Sept. 21.

Green Day is currently on tour playing American Idiot in full in honor of its 20th anniversary. They’re also playing Dookie in full to celebrate its 30th anniversary and supporting their new album, Saviors.

(“St. Jimmy” video contains uncensored profanity.)

Elton John shares photos from his upcoming documentary, ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John is giving fans a sneak peek at his upcoming documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, which will look back on the legendary performer’s 50-year career as he prepares for his final North American show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has shared some exclusive photos from the doc with People, including shots of him and his band after the Dodger Stadium show in November 2022, and one of him FaceTiming with his 13-year-old son Zachary.

There’s also a photo of him onstage with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden in 1974, and another of them backstage together. Lennon was a surprise guest at that concert, and it wound up being his last live concert performance ever.

Other photos include one of Elton lying on a couch backstage at MSG in 1974; a performance shot from the ’70s, where he’s banging on the piano with his boot; a shot of him in the studio while recording “Hold Me Closer,” his 2022 collab with Britney Spears; and one of him on his private plane, The Starship, during his 1974 tour.

Elton John: Never Too Late is set to premiere Friday at the Toronto Film Festival. It will stream on Disney+ starting Dec. 13.

On This Day, Sept. 6, 1968: George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, Sept. 6, 1968 …

George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute a guitar solo to his new Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Clapton initially declined Harrison’s request, saying “nobody ever plays on Beatles records,” but Harrison eventually convinced him to participate, and Clapton recorded the solo that night.

The song appeared on the band’s album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, which was released in November 1968. The track was one of Harrison’s songs on the album. It went on to be an iconic track for him and has often made it on lists of the greatest guitar songs of all time.

Harrison eventually paid Clapton back for his contribution by cowriting and playing guitar on Cream’s “Badge.”

Harrison and Clapton performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” live together several times. In November 2002 Clapton performed the tune at the Concert for George at London’s Royal Albert Hall backed by a band that included Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The concert took place on the one-year anniversary of Harrison’s death.

Bonnie Raitt featured on ‘Better Than Jail’, a covers album benefiting criminal justice reform

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bonnie Raitt is one of the many artists contributing songs to the upcoming benefit album Better Than Jail, aimed at raising awareness and support for improving our criminal justice system.

The album, due out Oct. 4, features covers of iconic prison songs. Other artists contributing to the project include Steve Earle, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Taj Mahal and The War and Treaty.

The first single released from the record is Earle’s cover of The Crickets’ classic “I Fought the Law,” which is available now via digital outlets.

“I didn’t get an electric guitar until I was 26,” Earle shares. “This was the first song I wanted to play. Covering it now for a cause so close to my heart is a gift.”

Proceeds from the album will benefit two organizations, Equal Justice USA and Free Hearts.

“Musicians have been singing about the failures of our justice system long before the US exploded into the most incarcerated country in the world,” Brian Hunt, Better Than Jail producer and president of Believe Entertainment Group, shares. “These iconic artists breathe new life into storied songs, empowering the organizations who address this issue head on. We must do more to improve our criminal justice system, and this album harnesses the transformative power of music to rally the call.”

Better Than Jail is available for preorder now.

Slash releases ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ vinyl exclusively at Universal Studios Hollywood

September 6, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Slash has released a new vinyl record collecting the music he wrote for the Halloween Horror Nights Universal Monsters haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood.

The limited-edition LP will be available exclusively on-site at Universal Studios Hollywood through Nov. 3. A limited number of copies are autographed by the Guns N’ Roses shredder.

“As a longtime fan of horror movies and of ‘Halloween Horror Nights,’ I jumped at the chance to once again collaborate with Universal Studios Hollywood to produce a soundtrack for the Universal Monsters haunted house,” Slash says. “Similar to the way music affects a film, I composed this score for the legions of infamous characters in these haunted houses to elicit a sense of emotional terror.”

Slash has been composing music for the Halloween Horror Nights Universal Monsters haunted house for the past six years. His latest score will be heard at the Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines attraction.

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