David Gilmour releases new ‘Luck and Strange’ single, “Dark and Velvet Nights”

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

David Gilmour has released another track from his upcoming album, Luck and Strange, due out Sept. 6.

The song, “Dark and Velvet Nights,” was co-written by Gilmour and his wife, Polly Samson. He says in a statement, “The music sprang out one day. It was so exciting to have come across this groove. Polly had given me a beautiful poem for our wedding anniversary, which was sitting on the desk right next to me, so I picked it up and sang it on the track, to hear what it would sound like with words.”

“Dark and Velvet Nights” is the third song that Gilmour has shared from the album, following “The Piper’s Call” and “Between Two Points,” the latter of which features Gilmour’s daughter on vocals and harp. The title track, recorded in 2007, features late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, who died in 2008.

As previously reported, Gilmour has scheduled a series of live dates for this fall in Rome, London, LA and New York. Visit davidgilmour.com for a full list of tour dates.

On This Day, Aug. 9, 1986: Queen plays what would be their final show with frontman Freddie Mercury

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, Aug. 9, 1986 …

Queen headlined the final show of their Magic tour in Knebworth Park, England, which would turn out to be their last live show ever with frontman Freddie Mercury.

The concert had been added to the schedule after Queen sold out two nights at Wembley Stadium in London the previous month. Added demand warranted a third show but they were unable to book the same venue. The Knebworth concert wound up selling out, with 120,000 fans coming to see the show.

Following the tour, Mercury went on to work on solo projects, and the band came back together to release 1989’s Miracle, but did not tour in support of it.

After the Magic tour, rumors about Mercury’s health began to circulate in the tabloids. He had been diagnosed HIV positive in 1987, although he did not reveal his diagnosis until 1991.

He died Nov. 24, 1991, one day after publicly announcing his condition. He was 45.

George Harrison’s ‘The Concert for Bangladesh’ finally arrives on streaming services

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

More than 50 years after it was first released, George Harrison‘s all-star charity live album The Concert for Bangladesh has just arrived on streaming services.

The album documents the first major charity rock concerts in history: two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden in August 1971. They were organized by Harrison in the wake of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Bangladesh Liberation War in what was then East Pakistan. The shows raised money for UNICEF in aid of the 10 million refugees who’d fled to India during the war.

In addition to George — who performed solo songs like “My Sweet Lord,” and The Beatles tracks “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” — the concert featured Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston and Ravi Shankar. Notably, it marked the first time George and Ringo had played together in concert since 1966 and Dylan’s first major U.S. concert appearances in five years.

Released as a triple live album credited to George Harrison & Friends, The Concert for Bangladesh hit #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The new streaming version is based on the track list of the 2005 reissue of the album and also includes a bonus track, the original studio version of George’s song “Bangla Desh.”

Looking back on the event, Harrison, who died in 2001, once said, “The musicians were great. I mean, they completely put down their own egos to play together and to do something because the whole vibe of that concert was that it was something bigger than the lot of us.”

All net proceeds from the album will be donated to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, which helps children in need worldwide.

Listen to Eddie Vedder’s cover of Tom Petty’s “Room at the Top”

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Eddie Vedder has released his previously teased cover of the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers‘ song “Room at the Top.”

The Pearl Jam frontman recorded the 1999 song for the soundtrack to the upcoming Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey. He previously performed “Room at the Top” during the in memoriam segment of the 2018 Oscars and has played it live during his solo concerts.

You can listen to Vedder’s cover now via digital outlets. The Bad Monkey soundtrack, which consists mostly of Petty covers, is due out Oct. 4 and also includes contributions from Weezer, Nathaniel Rateliff and Fitz and the Tantrums.

Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn, premieres Aug. 14. It’ll mark the second show of 2024 to spawn a Vedder cover — he previously put his spin on The English Beat‘s “Save It for Later” for the third season of The Bear.

Report: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish performing at Olympics closing ceremony

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Red Hot Chili Peppers will reportedly help Paris “Give It Away” to Los Angeles. And by it, we mean the Olympics.

According to Variety, the “Californication” outfit will play the 2024 Games’ closing ceremony, as will Billie Eilish. Rapper Snoop Dogg, who served as a torchbearer during the opening ceremony and has made headlines for his Olympic coverage, is also reportedly set to perform.

Variety says that the three will be part of pre-taped and live segments from Los Angeles as part of the ceremony’s “handing over” of the Olympics from its 2024 host to LA, which will hold the Games in 2028.

The 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony gets underway at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. You can watch on NBC and Peacock.

French bands Phoenix and Air were previously confirmed to perform.

Green Day details ’American Idiot’ 20th anniversary reissue

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

As previously teased, Green Day has announced a giant reissue of their 2004 opus American Idiot in honor of its 20th anniversary.

The expanded set is due out Oct. 25, and will be available in eight-LP and four-CD collections. Both configurations also come with two Blu-ray discs.

Inside each package you’ll find the original album, various B-sides, demos and a full live recording from a September 2024 album release show at New York City’s Irving Plaza club. The Blu-rays include the Heart Like a Hand Grenade concert film, which was shot during the American Idiot tour, various live BBC recordings and a new documentary titled 20 Years of American Idiot.

You can listen to three of the bonus tracks, a “Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams” demo, the B-side “Favorite Son” and the Irving Plaza recording of the song “Minority,” now via digital outlets.

American Idiot will officially turn 20 on Sept. 21. Arriving during a relative decline in their popularity, American Idiot reinvigorated Green Day’s career, earning six-time Platinum certification from the RIAA and spawning hits in the title track, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Holiday” and “Wake Me up When September Ends.”

A punk rock opera, American Idiot also inspired a Tony-winning Broadway musical.

Green Day is currently on tour playing American Idiot in full to celebrate the upcoming milestone. They’re also performing 1994’s Dookie in its entirety in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

Peter Frampton is Positively Thankful as he gets ready for new tour

August 9, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Peter Frampton will launch his Positively Thankful tour in September, and he tells ABC Audio the inspiration for the tour’s name came from all the love he received after he was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.

“After seeing the outpouring of support from the fans … I was just totally honored and thrilled that so many people voted and kept voting,” he shares. “We were talking and I said, ‘Well, it needs to be something positive and thankful.’” His manager suggested naming the tour just that.

But a little over four years ago it didn’t look like we’d ever be seeing Frampton onstage again. In 2019 he announced his farewell tour after being diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, which made it difficult for him to play guitar.

He says he decided to stop touring because he “didn’t feel that I was going to be at the top of my game much longer, and I didn’t want to go out there and not feel I’m doing well.”

But lucky for fans, he changed his mind.

“Yes, my hands are slightly affected, but I’m adapting and I’m enjoying playing still,” he says. “So there might be a few less notes, but there’s a hell of a lot of meaning behind each note now.”

Frampton’s Positively Thankful tour kicks off Sept. 8 in North Charleston, South Carolina. A complete list of dates can be found at frampton.com.

And all that fan support paid off, as Frampton will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

Studio where Elton John recorded ‘Caribou,’ house where Billy Joel wrote ‘Turnstiles’ for sale

August 8, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Two real estate properties that served as the site of a number of legendary musical moments over the years are on the market.

First up is Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. It was purchased and turned into a high-end residential recording studio in 1972 by producer James Guerico. It’s most associated with Elton John‘s 1974 album, Caribou — named after it — but his albums Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies were also recorded there.

Other artists whose albums were recorded at Caribou Ranch include Steely Dan, Chicago, Frank Zappa, The Beach Boys, Rick Derringer, Joe Walsh, Jeff Beck, Stephen Stills, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart and Billy Joel. The studio burned down in 1985, but the ranch and outbuildings where artists stayed still exist.

The 1,700-acre property is currently for sale for the low, low price of $48,500,000. Visit HallHall.com for the full details.

Billy Joel recorded 1976’s Turnstiles album at Caribou. And the house where Billy lived when he wrote the songs for the record — including “New York State of Mind” and “Summer, Highland Falls” — is also up for sale.

Billy rented the historic home in Highland Falls, New York, in the winter of 1976, after he returned to his home state after three years in LA. He has said that he got the idea for “New York State of Mind” while “taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line” to the house.

According to the New York Post, when Billy moved in he had his piano hoisted up through a window into a bedroom on the second floor. The current owners, who turned the home into a bed & breakfast, have dubbed it “the Billy Joel Room.” It can be yours for just $1.995 million.

Blondie’s Debbie Harry launches new six-piece capsule clothing collection

August 8, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Debbie Harry: Singer, songwriter, actress and now fashion designer.

The iconic frontwoman of Blondie has teamed with the clothing brand Wildfang to launch a six-piece capsule collection. The pieces were inspired by some of Debbie’s own looks and are described as “a true representation of her personal style.” That comes through in the extensive use of metal hardware and holes in the sweatshirt cuffs that you can put your thumbs through. One of the items is a graphic tee with a vintage photo of the singer, which she personally chose.

The collection also includes a cropped button-up with grommets on the collar, a long-sleeved button-up with a removable silver chain and grommets on the collar, a slim cropped pant with grommets on the waistband, and a double-breasted blazer with a removable chain that attaches at the collar and the pocket.

Speaking to Paper magazine, Harry says, “I love metal. I guess it comes from starting out with safety pins. Safety pins really worked some magic for us back in the day. In fact, I feel naked if I’m not wearing a safety pin. I have to have one for good measure. It’s just sort of the rock and roll thing … the grommets and leather and chains and that kind of jewelry.”

She adds, “I am not a designer. What am I? I am good at combining unlikely elements, and it’s always been fun.”

AC/DC concludes 50th anniversary gold vinyl series with final set of releases

August 8, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

AC/DC has announced the third and final installment of their gold vinyl release series celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary.

The upcoming set is expected to ship Sept. 25. It includes 1983’s Flip of the Switch, 1985’s Fly on the Wall, 1988’s Blow Up Your Video, 2008’s Black Ice, 2012’s Live at River Plate and AC/DC’s latest album, 2020’s Power Up.

Each piece, available for preorder now, will come with a 12-by-12 album-specific print and AC/DC 50 artwork.

The gold vinyl series first launched in March, and the second collection dropped in June.

AC/DC has been spending the summer touring Europe, marking their first extended live run since 2016.

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