David Gilmour releasees new ‘Luck and Strange’ single, “Between Two Points”

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

David Gilmour is giving fans another taste of his upcoming solo album, Luck and Strange.

The Pink Floyd rocker has released the new song “Between Two Points,” featuring vocals and harp from his daughter Romany Gilmour.

He’s also released a video for the track, directed by Gavin Elder, which was shot in London and Manchester.

“Romany performs this song with an extraordinary level of fragility, vulnerability and understated control,” Elder shares. “There’s a subtle, yet deep emotional rapport between David and Romany, captured with hand held cameras, enhancing the tension within the video.”

Gilmour is set to release Luck and Strange on Sept. 6. The album consists of eight new songs and one cover, with the title track featuring a contribution from late Pink Floyd keyboard Richard Wright, taken from a jam session at Gilmour’s barn back in 2007.

Gilmour is set to play select tour dates in support of the album in Rome, London, New York and Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at davidgilmour.com.

Bon Jovi has a top-five hit with ‘FOREVER’

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bon Jovi is on the charts once again.

The band’s latest album, FOREVER, debuts at #5 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, making it the band’s 14th top-10 hit.

The New Jersey rockers moved 52,000 equivalent album units to land in the top five. Thanks to 50,000 of that being complete album sales, FOREVER also debuts at #1 on the Top Album Sales chart.

FOREVER is now Bon Jovi’s 22nd album to chart on the Billboard 200. Their first was 1986’s Slippery When Wet, which was also their first #1 album.

Bon Jovi also landed #1 albums in the ’90s, 2000s and 2010s, so with FOREVER, they join AC/DC, Def Leppard, Metallica and U2 as the only bands to have a top-10 album in each of the last five decades.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., after a close battle for the top spot, FOREVER wound up debuting at #3 on the Official Charts, behind Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department at #1 and Charli XCX’s BRAT at #2.

Paul McCartney announces European Got Back tour dates

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney has added more dates to his Got Back tour.

The latest leg will have the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer headed to Europe, with shows in Spain, France and the U.K.

The European tour will kick off with two nights in Paris, Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, followed by two nights in Madrid, Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, and two nights in Manchester, Dec. 14 and Dec. 15, before wrapping with two nights in London, Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

The shows will be McCartney’s first in the U.K. since he headlined the Glastonbury Festival in 2022. It will also be his first time playing Paris in six years, and the first time in Spain in eight.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. local time. More information on presales can be found at PaulMcCartney.com.

The European tour dates come just one week after McCartney announced a tour of South America, which kicks off Oct. 1 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Stevie Nicks on the possibility of another Fleetwood Mac tour: “Without Christine, no can do”

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Stevie Nicks has shot down any hope Fleetwood Mac fans have that the band will one day tour again. Nicks tells MOJO that a tour isn’t possible following the 2022 death of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie.

“Without Christine, no can do,” she says. “There is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together in any way. Without her, it just couldn’t work.”

Fleetwood Mac previously toured without McVie between 1998 and 2014, but they still had Lindsey Buckingham in the band at that time. Buckingham split from the group in 2022, and Stevie doesn’t see him coming back.

“Even if I thought I could work with Lindsey again, he’s had some health problems,” she says, a reference to Buckingham’s 2019 heart surgery. “It’s not for me to say, but I’m not sure if Lindsey could do the kind of touring that Fleetwood Mac does, where you go out for a year and half. It’s so demanding.”

Regarding Christine’s death, Stevie shared, “It was all stunningly strange, because there wasn’t any lead up to it.”

“We got a call, and I was going to rent a plane and go see her, but her family said, ‘Don’t come, because she may not be here tomorrow.’ And the next day, she passed away,” she says.

Stevie adds that she wanted a chance to sing to Christine, joking, “which definitely would have made her pass away faster.”

“But I needed to be with her. And I didn’t get to do that. So that was very hard for me. I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Meanwhile, Nicks postponed her June 15 concert in Hershey, Pennsylvania, just hours before she was supposed to take the stage “due to an illness in the band.” So far a new date for the show hasn’t been announced.

D’oh! ‘Simpsons’ writer says Duff McKagan “had zero to do” with Duff Beer

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Simpsons is often lauded for its uncanny ability to predict the future, but could it have predicted Duff McKagan claiming credit for being the inspiration behind Duff Beer?

In a recent interview with Stereogum, the Guns N’ Roses bassist says that the band’s management contacted him in the late ’80s saying “some arthouse-like cartoon wants to use your name as the beer, like a college arthouse cartoon.”

“I didn’t know about branding or anything like that, but that show took off,” McKagan continued. “And then they started selling merch and stuff. I never went after him, but I’m like, ‘Hey, motherf******,’ you know?”

McKagan added that his nickname around that time was “Duff, the King of Beers.”

However, early Simpsons writer Jay Kogen has a different version of events. Kogen tells TMZ, “We named it Duff because it’s a synonym for butt, tushy, booty, and so on,” adding, “Duff is a beer for people who sat on their fat a** all day.”

“It’s very weird this Duff McKagan guy wants to claim credit for Duff Beer,” Kogen says. “He had zero to do with it.”

Kogen even says that the only GN’R member the Simpsons writing staff knew of at the time was Axl Rose, though we’d venture to guess they could probably also name the top hat-wearing guitar player.

On This Day, June 17, 1972: The Rolling Stones hit #1 with ‘Exile on Main St.’

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, June 17, 1972 …

The Rolling Stones hit #1 with their double album Exile on Main St., which went on to spend four weeks on top of the chart.

Recorded mostly in a villa in the South of France, where the band had moved to escape paying U.K. taxes, the album featured such classics as “Happy” featuring Keith Richards on vocals, “Tumbling Dice,” “Rocks Off,” “Rip This Joint” and “All Down the Line.”

The album was one of nine #1 albums The Stones have had over the course of their career. Others include 1965’s Out of Our Heads, 1971’s Sticky Fingers, 1973’s Goats Head Soup, 1974’s It’s Only Rock and Roll, 1976’s Black and Blue, 1978’s Some Girls, 1980’s Emotional Rescue and 1981’s Tattoo You.

In October, The Stones released Hackney Diamonds, their first album of new material in 18 years. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 Album chart.

The Smashing Pumpkins poke fun at “classic songs” quote with hit-filled set list

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Smashing Pumpkins are poking fun at frontman Billy Corgan‘s recent comments about including “classic” songs in the band’s live show.

In an Instagram post, the Pumpkins have shared a photo of the set list from a recent concert in Scotland, filled with hits including “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” “Cherub Rock,” “Zero,” “Today,” “1979” and “Tonight, Tonight.”

“I want to address the elephant (rhinoceros) in the room – about SP not playing the hits or fan favorites,” Corgan writes in the caption. “Just going to leave this here – here is SP not playing the hits in Glasgow.”

In an interview with Kerrang!, Corgan shared, “I don’t play any songs I don’t want to play. I don’t care if they’re a classic or not. If I don’t want to play it, I just don’t play it.”

“I don’t put that on the audience like, ‘Well, I’ve got to play this one for you,'” he added. “I think that’s kind of cheese.”

The Pumpkins are currently on tour in Europe. They’ll be touring the U.S. with Green Day starting in July.

Pete Townshend performs with the cast of ‘The Who’s Tommy’ at the Tonys

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

As rumored, Pete Townshend joined the cast of The Who’s Tommy for a performance on Sunday’s 77th annual Tony Awards

Dressed in a suit and red hat, Townshend took the stage to introduce a performance from the show, which began with a snippet of “See Me, Feel Me.” Then Townshend really kicked things off with the opening chords of “Pinball Wizard” before the full cast joined in for the song.

The Who’s Tommy was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at this year’s Tonys, but lost out to Merrily We Roll Along. The 1993 original run of the show won five Tony Awards, including Best Original Score for Townshend.

The Who’s Tommy is currently running at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre.

The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward on his Blue World tour: “It’s about the music”

June 17, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Longtime Moody Blues singer/guitarist Justin Hayward is ready to launch the latest leg of his Blue World tour, which is a unique concert experience.

In addition to performing, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer shares some stories about his songs, but he tells ABC Audio the tales don’t distract from what’s really important to him.

“Really, it’s about the music,” he says. “And then, I often feel that it needs an introduction, sometimes a bit of explanation and context of what was happening. I kind of get sidetracked into talking about things because I’m encouraged to.”

Hayward plans to play new songs, fan favorites and even some deep album cuts during his shows, and he says it’s always a bit of a challenge to come up with the right set list that will please fans.

“You know, I’m sorry to say this because it sounds like showing off, but it’s never what I play, it’s what I leave out,” he says. “But that’s what keeps it all fresh and keeps it going.”

Justin loves that he can connect with fans through music, sharing that when he was growing up he and his brother would “live our lives” through music and their records, which is something fans can relate to.

“You know, I can feel it when you can see people going, ‘Oh, there’s the guy who sang it, that’s him and he’s doing it right now’ kind of thing,” Justin says. “It creates a wonderful kind of magic in a room. It’s brilliant.”

Justin Hayward’s Blue World tour kicks off June 18 in Sacramento, California. A complete list of dates can be found at justinhayward.com.

Report: Pete Townshend to perform at the Tony Awards

June 14, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The 77th annual Tony Awards are happening Sunday in New York, with The Who‘s Pete Townshend previously confirmed as a presenter. Well, he may be doing more than that.

Deadline is now reporting that Townshend is actually going to perform on the show, joining the cast of The Who’s Tommy for “Pinball Wizard.”

The Who’s Tommy is nominated this year for Best Revival of a Musical, where it’s up against Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Gutenberg! The Musical! and Merrily We Roll Along.

Townshend previously won the Tony for Best Original Score for Tommy’s original run in 1993. The show won a total of five Tonys that year.

The 77th annual Tony Awards air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET live on CBS from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater.

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