Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John headlined England’s Glastonbury Festival in 2023, and he just revealed the surprising gift he received from Paul McCartney following the performance.

At one point during the Glastonbury set Elton was heard complaining about his pants falling down, which apparently prompted the gift from McCartney. 

During a Glastonbury-focused online Q&A, Elton was asked why his pants were dropping during the show and he replied, “Because they were too big!”

He then revealed that McCartney, who was on hand to witness the set, later sent him gold suspenders “to keep my trousers up the next week,” noting the gift “made me laugh so much!”

Elton’s Glastonbury set was his first time playing the iconic festival. It was also his final U.K. performance. He retired from the road in July 2023 after a show in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Sammy Hagar is getting ready to kick off his The Best of All World tour, and he’s giving fans a sneak peek at what to expect.

The rocker has been sharing clips of rehearsals on Instagram, including one with him and the band – Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham – performing the Van Halen track “Poundcake” from the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. And for those who don’t think Satriani can fill the late Eddie Van Halen‘s shoes, the clip ends with a taste of an epic Satriani guitar solo.

In another clip, Sammy gives fans a look at Bonham’s drum kit, which the drummer says features “a surprise,” to which Sammy exclaims, “I love surprises.”

Sammy then added a clip of the band performing the OU812 track “When It’s Love,” sharing, “Last night’s ending of rehearsal felt like the beginning of something great,” adding a variety of hashtags, including #10days, #enjoyingrehearsals and #Cantwaitforthistour.

Hagar’s The Best of All World tour, which will have him performing Van Halen classics along with solo tunes and tracks from his other bands, The Circle and Chickenfoot, kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Metallica has shared official video capturing their live collaboration with Brian Tatler of the English metal band Diamond Head.

Tatler joined the “Enter Sandman” outfit during a June show in Oslo, Norway, for a performance of the Diamond Head song “Am I Evil?” At the end of the nine-minute shred fest, frontman James Hetfield thanked Tatler for creating “one of the heaviest riffs ever written.”

You can watch the performance streaming now on YouTube.

The Metallica members have long spoken about being influenced by Diamond Head and often cover “Am I Evil?” live. They also recorded “Am I Evil?” for the B-side of their 1984 “Creeping Death” single.

Metallica played Oslo as part of the 2024 European leg of their M72 world tour. They’ll launch a U.S. leg in August.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Green Day is adding another award to their trophy case.

The Grammy-winning “American Idiot” trio is the latest band to earn the BRIT Billion Award, which honors artists who’ve racked up 1 billion streams in the U.K.

“Thank you to the BRIT Awards for our BRIT Billion award + all of you for listening!!!” Green Day says. “Here’s to the next billion.”

Other BRIT Billion recipients include The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Queen.

Green Day wrapped a European tour on June 29 at London’s Wembley Stadium. They’ll launch a U.S. stadium run July 29 in Washington, D.C.

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Pink Floyd fans who are holding out hope for a reunion are bound to be disappointed.

In a new interview with Reuters, Roger Waters was asked if there was any chance of him performing with his former Pink Floyd bandmates Nick Mason and David Gilmour again. He replied, “No, whatever for?” He added that “it’s not in me.”

Waters says he doesn’t “regret” their last reunion in 2005 at Live 8 in London, particularly because keyboardist Rick Wright was still alive at the time.

“We played reasonably well and the people liked it,” he said. “And so I’m really, really glad. Do I want to do anything like (it)? No, I don’t, particularly as there’s only three of us left alive.”

Waters insists his feelings about a reunion have “nothing to do with any rancor or anything.” Referring to his public spats with Gilmour, he notes, “David and I are very, very different people and that’s okay.”

Besides, Roger says he’s “busy doing other things,” including working on a new album, The Bar, and a memoir. He adds, “I’m a busy chap.”

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Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain have been publicly at odds in recent years, with both sides filing lawsuits against each other and being very vocal about their differing political beliefs.

But the pair are heading back out on the road in July for the Summer Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, and in an interview with journalist Lyndsey Parker, Schon reveals they’ve put their differences aside for the music. 

“We just decided that the music is the music,” he says. “We worked really hard and diligently on keeping this thing alive all these years and just not let the other stuff get in the way and kind of keep it separate,” he shares. “It’s all right for us to have separate beliefs on everything.”

He adds, “Anytime you [get political] and you segregate, you’re going to lose fans. And why would you want to do that? Just keep it open for everyone to be able to enjoy your music as music.”

When it comes to politics, Schon says he’s “not a fan” of Journey songs being used by candidates, noting he doesn’t think music and politics “go hand-in-hand.”

“I think we should remain neutral and let everybody enjoy what they want to enjoy, and I think it’s nobody’s business,” he says. “I think that music is the greatest communicator of the world and that it shouldn’t have a label on it to be one way or another.”

Journey’s Summer Stadium Tour with Def Leppard kicks off July 6 in St. Louis. A complete list of dates can be found at journeymusic.com.

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Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx has marked 23 years of sobriety on social media.

On Tuesday, the rocker shared a post that read, “You’ve been sober for: 23 years, 276.00 months, 8,042 days, 201,623 hours.”

Then in a follow-up post he opened up about what his sobriety has meant to him.

“23 years sober today. Had a few runs at it before but I wasn’t ready to surrender completely to my addiction. Today I am the happiest I’ve been in my whole life,” he wrote. “Thank you to those that shared their experience to help me understand the simple process of letting go.”

He adds, “Nothing makes me happier than to see people who have lost hope to find themselves and change not only their life but their family’s too,” adding #SobrietyRocks.

Mötley Crüe are back out on the road starting July 11 with a show in Calgary, Canada. They return to the U.S. with a show July 19 in Minot, North Dakota. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

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Deep Purple has shared another new single from their upcoming album, =1.

The latest is the track “Lazy Sod,” the third song they’ve released from the album, following “Pictures of You” and “Portable Door.” 

You can listen to “Lazy Sod” now via digital outlets.

=1, Deep Purple’s first album of new material since 2020’s Whoosh!, will be released July 19. According to the press release, the title “symbolizes the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one.”  

It is available for preorder now. 

Deep Purple, currently made up of frontman Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride, will kick off their North American =1 More Time tour on Aug. 14 in Hollywood, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at deeppurple.com.

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On This Day, July 3, 1971 …

The Doors frontman Jim Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in his apartment in Paris, France. He was discovered by his girlfriend, Pam Courson.

Morrison was 27 at the time of his death, with the official cause of death listed as heart failure, although there have been conspiracy theories surrounding his death for years.

He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where both Oscar Wilde and Édith Piaf are buried. The location has since become a tourist attraction. 

Morrison co-founded The Doors with Ray Manzarek in July 1965. Drummer John Densmore joined in August of that year, followed by guitarist Robby Krieger.

The band released their self-titled debut in January 1967, containing future classics “Light My Fire” and “Break On Through (To The Other Side).” “Light My Fire” has since been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, with the album chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2015. 

The Doors went on to sell over 34 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is taking things back to Spice World with a throwback photo from his daughter’s 10th birthday during the ’90s.

The picture, posted to Instagram, features Flea, frontman Anthony Kiedis and guitarist John Frusciante dressed up as the Spice Girls members Baby, Posh and Sporty Spice, respectively. 

“The great Chris Warren [RHCP drum tech and touring member] was Scary Spice but sadly he is cropped out of this photo, trust me he looked beautiful,” Flea writes in the caption.

The bassist adds, “We practiced our moves seriously and gave the kids our best performance!”

Maybe RHCP will pull their Spice Girls costumes back out during their ongoing U.S. tour, which supports their two 2022 albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.

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