Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard is paying tribute to their late guitarist Steve Clark on what would have been the rocker’s 64th birthday. 

The band shared on Instagram a montage of pictures and videos of Clark performing, captioning the post, “Remembering Steve Clark today. Happy birthday, you are missed dearly.” 

Clark, born April 23, 1960, joined Def Leppard in 1978 and appeared on their 1980 debut album, On Through The Night. His last album with the band was 1987’s Hysteria, which went to #1 and featured the #1 hit “Love Bites,” along with classic tunes “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Animal,” “Armageddon It” and more.

Clark died January 8, 1991. At the time of his death he was on a leave from the band due to his alcohol issues. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard in 2019.

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Michael Anthony was back playing Van Halen music over the weekend, but with a totally different band.

The rocker was the surprise guest at the Saturday, April 20, club show put on by The Coverups, the covers side project of Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt.

Fan-shot footage from the concert at Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California, shows Anthony joining the group for the Van Halen classic “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” as well as a cover of KISS’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which also featured Green Day drummer Tre Cool. According to setlist.fm, Anthony also joined them for Van Halen’s “Dance the Night Away.” 

Other covers performed that night include Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City,” and Cheap Trick’s “Surrender.”

Anthony will be back playing Van Halen classics this summer when he hits the road with Sammy Hagar on The Best of All Worlds tour. It kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Jon Bon Jovi is set to sit down with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan for an in depth interview, and we are getting our first preview.

A new trailer has just been released for Michael Strahan & Jon Bon Jovi: Halfway There, set to premiere Sunday, April 28, at 10 p.m. on ABC.

“I feel a bunch of emotions,” Jon is heard saying in the opening of clip. “The road is not always rainbows and unicorns. I think it goes back to truth — that’s the only way to tell this story, is to tell the honest to goodness truth.”

The clip also sees him talking about the problems with his vocal cords, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s departure and more. 

The interview coincides with the release of the band’s Hulu docuseries, Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which premieres Friday, April 26. The band is also set to release the new album, Forever, on June 7.

In other Bon Jovi news…Classic Rock magazine asked Jon what tune he’d pick if he had to choose one final song to perform in front of an audience, and the answer may surprise you. He didn’t pick classics like “Livin’ On A Prayer” or “You Give Love A Bad Name” but instead went with a tune from the ‘90s.

“The first one that came to mind would be ‘These Days,’ which I guess nobody would ever think,” he says, referring to the title track from their 1995 album. He then quotes the lyrics, noting, “I think that sort of encapsulates where I am at this moment in time.”

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Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana Festival has announced its 2024 lineup.

Pearl Jam will headline the opening and closing night, September 27 and September 29, and Neil Young & Crazy Horse will lead the middle date, September 28.

The bill also features Garbage, Alanis Morissette, The Breeders, Crowded House, Kim Gordon, Dogstar and Black Pumas, among others.

Tickets are available now to members of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club. A general presale begins Thursday, April 25, at 10 a.m. PT. Any remaining tickets will then go on sale to the general public.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit OhanaFest.com.

Vedder founded Ohana in 2016. It takes place in Dana Point, California.

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Asia is ready to hit the road again. The band, led by keyboardist and original member Geoff Downes, just announced dates for The Heat of the Moment tour. 

Downes says the idea for the tour came after performing at August’s tribute concert to Asia’s late lead singer John Wetton, who passed away in 2017. There, Downes performed Asia hits with John Mitchell, who previously performed with the John Wetton Band, Icon and newcomer Harry Whitley. 

“And so it was that the John Wetton tribute last August really reminded me how much Asia’s music belongs on the stage,” he says. “The response to it all was literally…spine-tingling.” 

Mitchell and Whitley will join Downes for the new tour, along with Virgil Donati on drums. The 21-city trek, with special guests Focus, Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash and Curved Air, kicks off July 3 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and wraps July 31 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I am convinced that John (Wetton’s) spirit is with us as we set out on this new adventure,” Downes shares. “After all, it is the Year of the Dragon – just as it was in 1982, when we released our first Asia album. It’s as though it was meant to be. Looking forward to seeing you there, my friends – bring it on!”

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An often-bootlegged live album from Paul McCartney & Wings is finally getting an official release 50 years after it was recorded. 

One Hand Clapping was recorded at Abbey Road studios in August 1974 as a video documentary and possible live album, although it never officially came out. Parts of it have come out on bootlegs, but on June 14, it will finally get its first official release, featuring the original artwork designed for the project and several additional songs that were recorded off-camera.

The album includes live recordings of such Wings hits as “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “My Love,” as well as Paul’s solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed” and reworked versions of Beatles songs like “Let It Be,” “Lady Madonna” and “The Long and Winding Road.” 

One Hand Clapping will be released digitally and as a two-LP and two-CD set. There will also be an online exclusive two-LP + 7-inch package that comes with a vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios. Those tracks include recordings of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” Wings’ “Country Dreamer” and covers of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too.”

All formats are available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for One Hand Clapping:

“One Hand Clapping”
“Jet”
“Soily”
“C Moon/Little Woman Love”
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
“My Love”
“Bluebird”
“Let’s Love”
“All of You”
“I’ll Give You a Ring”
“Band on the Run”
“Live and Let Die”
“Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five”
“Baby Face”
“Let Me Roll It”
“Blue Moon of Kentucky”
“Power Cut”
“Love My Baby”
“Let It Be”
“The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna”
“Junior’s Farm”
“Sally G”
“Tomorrow”
“Go Now”
“Wild Life”
“Hi, Hi, Hi”

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The public now has a chance to get their hands on an iconic piece of Beatles memorabilia.

Julien’s Auctions just announced that John Lennon’s long-lost Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar will be part of their two-day Music Icons auction taking place Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, live at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe and online. 

The guitar is the same one Lennon used during the recording of the Help! album and film. It is being billed as “the most important Beatles guitar ever to come to market,” with an estimated sale price of between $600,000 – $800,000, although it’s expected to go for more and set a world record for the highest price for a Beatles guitar. 

“The discovery of John Lennon’s Help! guitar that was believed to be lost is considered the greatest find of a Beatles guitar since Paul McCartney’s lost 1961 Höfner bass guitar,” said Darren Julien, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions. “Finding this remarkable instrument is like finding a lost Rembrandt or Picasso, and it still looks and plays like a dream after having been preserved in an attic for more than 50 years.” 

He adds, “To awaken this sleeping beauty is a sacred honor and is a great moment for Music, Julien’s, Beatles and Auction history.” 

In addition to the Lennon guitar, the upcoming Music Icons auction will include a guitar from U2’s Adam Clayton, which he played during their recent Las Vegas Sphere residency, and a Kurt Cobain handwritten setlist, along with items from Mötley Crüe‘s Mick Mars, Tina Turner and Joan Jett.

More info on the auction can be found at juliensauctions.com.

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Mötley Crüe is debuting new music.

The “Kickstart My Heart” rockers will be dropping a song called “Dogs of War” on Friday, April 26. In a Facebook post, Mötley calls the track the “start of a brand new chapter.”

Mötley teased “Dogs of War” way back in June ahead of playing a surprise London club show under that name.

“Dogs of War” will mark the first new Mötley music in five years; they previously recorded four fresh tracks for the soundtrack to their 2019 biopic, The Dirt, including the Machine Gun Kelly collaboration, “The Dirt (Est. 1981).” It also marks the first release since guitarist John 5 joined the band following the retirement of Mick Mars.

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On This Day, April 23, 1976….

New York punk pioneers the Ramones released their self-titled debut on Sire Records. The iconic cover featured the four members of the band leaning against a brick wall in New York City. 

The album, which was recorded in one week, opened with what would become a Ramones classic: “Blitzkrieg Bop.” That song was the first single released from the record, with the second being “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.”

While Ramones wasn’t a commercial success, only making it to #111 on the Billboard charts, it was a hit with critics and went on to be considered one of the most influential punk records in the U.S. It has also landed on several best-of lists, including Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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An upcoming auction is set to revive the old rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. 

Nate A. Sanders Auctions is auctioning off an instrument from each band, both of which were important in crafting each band’s sound.

The Stones’ instrument is one of Keith Richards’ custom-made guitars. It was used during the Some Girls recording sessions, tour and music video. The guitar is signed by Richards and has a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, Schecter bridge and original equipment tuners. It comes with a letter of authenticity written by music historian Andy Babiuk.

The Beatles’ instrument is George Harrison’s first sitar, which he used during the recording sessions for “Norwegian Wood” and would lead to his further involvement in Indian music, culture and the Hindu religion. During Harrison’s January 1966 honeymoon with Pattie Boyd, he gifted the sitar to his friend George Drummond. The sitar is accompanied by two letters of authenticity, one from Boyd and one from Drummond. 

“These instruments are not just rare collectibles; they’re symbols of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones’ rivalry and mutual respect,” Auction owner Nate Sanders shares. “Each band pushed the other to greatness, and these pieces are a testament to their shared history and the music that still resonates with fans today.”

The auction opens at 5 p.m. PT on Thursday, April 25. The Richards guitar is listed with a minimum bid of $400,000, and the sitar has a minimum bid of $25,000. More info can be found at natesanders.com.

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