Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Who and The Kinks’ Ray Davies were among the artists who performed at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, held at Olympic Stadium.
Queen’s May and Taylor were joined by Jessie J to perform “We Will Rock You” and Davies performed “Waterloo Sunset.” The Who closed the evening with a medley of three hits: “Baba O’Riley,” “See Me, Feel Me” and “My Generation.”
Dubbed A Symphony of British Music, the evening also featured Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and Genesis’ Mike Rutherford, who performed Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” with Ed Sheeran. There were also performances by Madness, One Direction, Spice Girls, George Michael, Pet Shop Boys, Annie Lennox and Muse.
Pearl Jam has premiered a new live video for “Wreckage,” a track off the band’s new album, Dark Matter.
The clip was filmed during one of Eddie Vedder and company’s concerts in Las Vegas in May during the first leg of their 2024 U.S. tour. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
“Wreckage” is the current Dark Matter single and hit #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Dark Matter, the 12th Pearl Jam album, dropped in April. The band will resume their tour in support of it Aug. 22 in Missoula, Montana.
Roger Waters and David Gilmour in 2010; Dave M. Benett/CI Getty Images Entertainment
Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour and Roger Waters have been in a feud for a while now, which has resulted in public name-calling and legal threats. It’s hard to believe that the two ever got along, but according to Alan Parsons, the famed producer, engineer and musician who was behind the desk for The Dark Side of the Moon, it used be a “joy” to work with them.
In a new interview, Parsons was asked by YouTuber Rick Beato whether Gilmour and Waters used to feud back in the day. On the contrary, Parsons said, “They all got on really well. I mean, making Dark Side was a joy. I mean, everybody was into what they were doing. Everybody was friendly.”
“It’s terribly sad that the rift exists between them now,” he added.
But while the band members were friendly, you’d never catch them actually saying nice things about each other, Parsons recalled.
“They were all critical of each other’s performances and not afraid to say,” he laughed. “If David Gilmour had produced an incredible guitar solo on something, Roger [Waters] might say, ‘I think that might be all right, David. Thank you.’ Pretty sort of low-key congratulations.”
When Gilmour heads out on tour later this year in support of his new solo album, Luck and Strange, he reportedly plans to avoid Pink Floyd songs from the band’s ’70s era, which includes much of the material he made with Waters, in favor of songs from the ’60s, ’80s and ’90s.
Keyboardist Nick Masonrecently suggested, “It would be fascinating to see what AI could do with new music … the thing to do would be to have an AI situation where David and Roger become friends again.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Phoenix took part in Sunday’s 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony.
RCHP and Eilish performed in Los Angeles as part of the “handing over” of the Olympics from Paris to the City of Angels, which is hosting the 2028 Games. The Peppers’ “By the Way” soundtracked a video in which actor Tom Cruise delivered the Olympic flag from Paris to LA, and the group also performed “Can’t Stop” on a beach.
The camera then cut to Eilish on another pier, playing her song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.” Snoop Dogg performed as well.
Back in Paris, Phoenix performed songs including “1901” and “Lisztomania,” as well as “Tonight” with Vampire Weekend‘s Ezra Koenig. The French outfit was also joined by artists including Angèle, Kaminsky, Air and VannDa.
After canceling his big 200th residency performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Aug. 7 due to strep throat, Rod Stewart has now canceled two additional shows due to another illness.
A message on Rod’s Instagram on Aug. 9 said that the “Maggie May” rocker’s show in Stateline, Nevada was postponed, as is his Aug. 10 show in Lincoln, California, while he “recovers from a summer strain of Covid-19.”
The Lincoln show will now take place on August 18 and the Stateline show has been moved to August 20. All tickets will be honored for the new shows. Rod’s next scheduled show is Aug. 13 in Saratoga, California.
As previously reported, Rod, 79, announced Aug. 7 that he’d be returning to Caesars Palace in 2025 with a new residency called The Encore Shows.
The fact that many top artists — like Coldplay‘s Chris Martin and Beyonce — are available to hire for weddings and birthday parties if the price is right is one of the worst-kept secrets in the music industry. But some artists just flat-out refuse to do them, even if the money is insane. Case in point: U2.
Jay Siegan, whose company specializes in organizing private gigs by big stars, tells The Times of London, “We recently made an offer to U2 of $10 million to perform on an island in the Caribbean for a private client. They quickly declined.” Other acts who “never” do private shows include Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Taylor Swift, The Cure and Depeche Mode.
Of course, those acts don’t exactly need the money. Just think of how much U2 must have raked in during their recent residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which grossed some $256 million.
In other U2 news, the group has just released the 10th edition of its ongoing digital playlist series, To Love and Only Love — Deep Dives and B-Sides. The remastered collection is comprised of songs that until now were only available on vinyl, CD or cassette.
The latest playlist is centered around “Elevation,” from their 2000 album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind. The 10 tracks include six different mixes of “Elevation,” including the “Tomb Raider Mix” from the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. There are also live versions of “New York,” “I Will Follow” and the Ramones cover “I Remember You,” plus a remake of Johnny Cash‘s “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” which was the original B-side of “Elevation.”
Lenny Kravitz‘s 1998 Grammy-winning hit “Fly Away” has been reimagined by Lenny, producer Andrew Watt and rapper Quavo, best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos.
The new version, “Fly,” has its origins at a Grammy event earlier this year called the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Honors. An all-star band made up of Quavo, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, P-Funk‘s George Clinton and super-producer Andrew Watt performed “Fly Away” as a tribute to Kravitz.
The song went over so well that Watt and Quavo decided to record an updated version with rapped verses by Quavo and a newly recorded vocal from Lenny. The song’s frenetic black-and-white video shows Lenny playing guitar and trading verses with Quavo, whose dreadlocks are nearly as impressive as Lenny’s.
“Put some feathers on my drip ’cause I’m fly,” they sing. “Diamonds twinkle every time I’m outside/ They almost brighter than the stars and the ice.”
The single is just the latest project for Watt, who most recently produced The Rolling Stones‘ Hackney Diamonds and Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter.
Steven Van Zandt with new street sign; John Lamparski/Getty Images
When the “Crosstown Traffic” gets too heavy in New York City, drivers can now turn onto Jimi Hendrix Way.
A block in Greenwich Village that includes 52 West 8th St. — the address of Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios — was temporarily renamed after the iconic guitarist on Aug. 8. Attendees at the unveiling ceremony included E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt; Hendrix’s sister Janie; and Hendrix’s recording engineer Eddie Kramer, who helped conceptualize the studio and who worked with everyone from The Beatles to the Stones to Bowie to Zeppelin.
The renaming was done in conjunction with the new documentaryElectric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision, which tells the story of the legendary studio — the first recording studio ever owned by an artist. The film officially opens Aug. 9 in New York and will then hit theaters worldwide.
As previously reported, the doc includes previously unseen footage and photos, and includes interviews from recording engineer Eddie Kramer, Experience bassist Billy Cox, original Electric Lady staff members and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood, who took part in Hendrix’s first session at the studio.
The countdown is now on to see if someone steals the sign before it’s officially removed.
Following virtual fundraisers with names like Comics for Kamala and White Dudes for Harris, another one is scheduled featuring yet another specific group: Dead Heads.
Dead Heads for Kamala: Get on the Bus with Us! will take place Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. You can register at events.democrats.org. According to a press release, the event will “encourage all attendees to embrace unity under the guiding question, ‘Are you kind?’”
“Are you kind?” is, of course, a lyric from the Grateful Dead‘s “Uncle John’s Band.”
According to organizers, there will be performances by “notable bands and artists” — none of whom have been revealed yet — in between “notable Grateful Dead enthusiasts” talking about the political issues at stake in the election. According to organizers, those enthusiasts include “musicians, entertainers, educators, politicians and athletes.”
It’s not clear if the members of the Grateful Dead or Dead & Company have any connection to this event; they are not among the organizers.
A Gregg Allman live album recorded in 1983 is the first release from the late rocker’s personal archives. Gregg Allman Band — Uncle Sam’sis due out Sept. 20.
Recorded at a small club called Uncle Sam’s in Hull, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1983, the album features Allman and his band performing Allman’s solo songs, as well as Allman Brothers Band classics like “Midnight Rider,” “Dreams” and “Melissa,” and renditions of favorites like “Trouble No More” and “Statesboro Blues.”
Here’s the album track list: “Midnight Rider” “Dreams” “Sweet Feelin’” “Hot ’Lanta” “Queen Of Hearts” “Trouble No More” “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” “Melissa” “Statesboro Blues”
In related news, Allman’s son Devon has just released a new song called “You,” from his upcoming album, Miami Moon, due out Aug. 16.
