Classic Rock 93.9

On June 4, 1984, Bruce Springsteen released what would become one of his most successful albums, Born in the U.S.A.

The album, recorded with The E Street Band, spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and produced seven top-10 singles: the title track, “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me,” “Glory Days,” “I’m On Fire,” “I’m Goin’ Down” and “My Hometown.”

Because it dropped during the era of MTV, Springsteen released his first music videos to promote the album, kicking things off with “Dancing in the Dark,” directed by Brian De Palma and featuring a then-unknown Courteney Cox, well before her Friends fame. 

Craig Marks, co-author of I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Revolution, tells ABC Audio Bruce wasn’t exactly comfortable with idea of the music video at first, but eventually allowed De Palma to film performances of the song in concert, planting Cox in the audience for Springsteen to pull onstage for a dance. 

The now-iconic video was a huge hit and introduced Springsteen to a whole new audience, with Marks noting the dance became “the signature music video moment” for The Boss.

“What it really did for Bruce Springsteen was took him from a singer/songwriter whose fan base was mainly men at that point and introduced him to a whole new audience through MTV. Not just men, but of teens and of women,” Marks shares.  

With Born in the U.S.A. Bruce became a global superstar, selling over 30 million copies of the album worldwide. The album was certified 17-times Platinum by the RIAA and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.

Springsteen is celebrating the milestone anniversary with a special vinyl release of the album, dropping June 17. 

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In May, Van Halen co-founder and drummer Alex Van Halen announced he was auctioning off his personal collection of instruments and memorabilia, and the news was a surprise to his former bandmate Michael Anthony.

In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, Anthony says he hasn’t talked to Alex in a while, although he tried to reach out via text on Alex’s birthday in May, but didn’t get a response.

As for the auction, he shared, “Somebody had sent me the link to it, and it appears like he’s selling everything right down to his last drumstick.” 

Anthony believes Alex’s grief over the October 2020 passing of his brother and bandmate Eddie Van Halen could be the reason behind the sale.  

“I never really knew Alex to be a person to go out and jam with other people or other bands. Unless Eddie was a part of it,” Anthony says. “Maybe he feels that … Since his brother’s gone, he doesn’t feel the desire to go out and play anymore. But I can only speculate.”

Anthony describes the auction as “pretty sad,” because he believes it rules out any chance of a future Van Halen tribute.

Alex is also set to release a new memoir, titled Brothers, and Anthony says he is interested in reading it.

“And knowing Alex, he’ll probably speak about the band and everything,” Anthony says. “But I think that he might be focusing more on just his and Eddie’s relationship growing up and moving here with their family to the States. And just the relationship that he had with his brother.”

Bidding on The Alex Van Halen Collection at Backstage Auctions runs through June 9. More info can be found at backstageauctions.com. Brothers is due out Oct. 22.

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The Police’s Andy Summers is getting ready to release a new EP of music inspired by his photographs. 

Vertiginous Canyons, dropping June 21, is a musical companion piece to his 2023 photography book A Series of Glances, with each track described as an “audiovisual snapshot” of a photo from the collection.

“This recording, Vertiginous Canyons, came about in a way somewhat different from my normal process,” says Summers, noting that after the publisher of the book requested he create music to accompany the photos, he thought, “Interesting – never have done that before!”

“I thought it should be something free-flowing, improvised much in the spirit of the photography itself,” he explains. “Therefore, I projected photographs from the book onto a screen and played through various devices and sounds for two or three hours and found my way into the tracks here. This approach seemed to be a truthful way to marry the camera and the guitar – photography and music.”

The first preview of the EP, “Into the Blue,” is available now via digital outlets.

And Summers fans can catch him incorporating his music and photography live on the latest leg of his The Cracked Lens + A Missing String Tour, which hits Rockport, Massachusetts, on June 4. A complete list of dates can be found at andysummers.com.

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Kate Hudson is the daughter of musician Bill Hudson, has been married or engaged to three different musicians and recently released Glorious, her first-ever album as a musician. It’s no wonder that she’d love to play a couple of famous female artists on screen one day.

Asked by Rolling Stone if there is a dream musical biopic she’d like to star in, Hudson says, “I’ve got a couple. To me it’s also about the interesting life, and being able to tell that story correctly. I think Dusty Springfield is a really interesting story.”

U.K. pop icon Dusty Springfield was revered for her soulful voice, and hits like “Son of a Preacher Man” and “I Only Want to Be With You.” She lived with bipolar disorder, had substance abuse issues and was romantically involved with women throughout her life.

“She’s one of my favorites and she was very shy,” Hudson says. “She had a lot of stage fright. Really fascinating woman. I think she struggled with being open about her sexuality. That could be a very powerful movie.”  

But the “ultimate,” Hudson says, would be to play Stevie Nicks. However, she jokes, “My family might, like, disown me if I ever got a chance to play Stevie [because] … I would probably go way too far into that character.”

“I think for all girls who love rock, Stevie’s just our number one,” Hudson adds. “Her whole life experience and the music. Fleetwood Mac, that whole journey from before Stevie to after Stevie? And her relationship with Lindsey? It’s like a trilogy. There’s so much there. To me, that’s like the ultimate rock & roll story.”

Your move, Stevie.

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have rescheduled two of the three shows in Europe they were recently forced to postpone.

The Boss postponed shows in Marseille, Prague and Milan due to “vocal issues and under doctor’s direction” — and unfortunately fans in at least Marseille and Prague are going to have to wait until next year to see him.

The Marseille show is now scheduled to happen on May 31, 2025, while the Prague show has been rescheduled for June 15, 2025. Details on the rescheduled Milan show have not yet been released.

Original tickets for the postponed shows will be valid for the new dates. Refunds will be available for those who can’t make the new shows, although there are cutoff dates to request a refund.

Springsteen & The E Street Band are set to resume their European tour on June 12 in Madrid. The tour returns to North America on Aug. 15 in Pittsburgh. A complete list of dates can be found at brucepsringsteen.net.  

This is the second time Bruce has announced a major postponement of the tour. He previously postponed concerts in 2023 in order to recover from peptic ulcer disease, which he said made him unable to sing for two to three months.

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When Taylor Swift released her “anthology” version of The Tortured Poets Department, some fans complained that 31 tracks was just too long for an album. But one rock star who’s famous for his own extremely long albums is coming to Taylor’s defense.

In an interview with The Irish Times, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins — a band whose 2023 album, Atum, ran 138 minutes and whose bestselling album Mellon Colie and The Infinite Sadness was two hours in length — says he doesn’t understand why this is a problem.

Corgan used the late Sinéad O’Connor, who he knew and talked about earlier in the interview, as an example. “Now that Sinéad’s gone, would it be a bad thing if somebody turned up tomorrow and said, ‘Hey, I just found this tape, and there’s enough for 20 Sinéad songs,’” he asks. “Would that be a bad thing?”

“Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time,” he continues. “How is it a bad thing that she’s releasing more music? I can’t follow that … You can go on Spotify and just skip it.”

Corgan notes, “People complained about the length of my last album, Atum. I thought, Well, just go make your own playlist. Just listen to the record one time … and make your own record. Why is this such a strange concept?”

“Have some sense of proportionality. This hyperbolic thing … – ‘They ruined Star Wars. My God, this is all too much for me to process’ – it’s all a bit childish.”

Corgan is one of several iconic ’90s rock stars who have praised Taylor: the list also includes Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder and Liam Gallagher of Oasis. On the anti-Taylor side are Liam’s brother and former bandmate Noel Gallagher and, of course, Blur‘s Damon Albarn.

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Rod Stewart was the proud pop when his son Liam married fiancée Nicole Artukovich.

“I’m immensely proud to have witness the beautiful wedding ceremony of my son Liam to his bride Nicole,” Rod wrote on Instagram, alongside a family photo from the wedding. “What a wonderful union of The Stewart’s and The Artukovich’s. May they continue to find joy, love and laughter for as long as they may live and produce many more baby’s to join their little 1 year old boy, Louie.”

And it certainly looks like the wedding included quite a bash, with Liam sharing video on his Insta Story of the guests partying it up, with many of the men celebrating shirtless.

According to People, the wedding took place Friday, May 31, at the St. Ignatius Church in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The whole Stewart clan attended the celebration, including all seven of Liam’s siblings. Rod and wife Penny Lancaster wore lavender to the affair, while Liam’s mother, model Rachel Hunter, wore a blue dress.

Liam and Nicole got engaged in July 2023. They welcomed their first child, Louis, that May.

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Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band recently played several dates in Las Vegas, and while in Sin City the rocker and his band paid a visit to the Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles LOVE.

Video posted to Ringo’s Instagram shows him and his bandmates posing for photos with the performers, as they all hold up peace signs.

“Wow, what a great night Ringo and the all starrs at the love show in Vegas,” read the post, noting they “all had a good time.” It also reminded fans that LOVE is set to close on July 6, adding, “Get your tickets now peace and love.”

The Beatles LOVE is closing after an 18-year run at The Mirage, ahead of the hotel’s transformation into the new Hard Rock Las Vegas. The show opened in 2006, featuring a soundtrack produced and mixed by The Beatles’ original producer, George Martin, and his son Giles Martin.

More than 11.5 million people have taken in the show, which combined the band’s music with aerial artistry, colorful visuals and high-energy choreography. More info about tickets can be found at cirquedusoleil.com/beatles-love.

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Steve Miller is giving props to Eminem after the rapper interpolated the Steve Miller Band classic “Abracadabra” in his new single, “Houdini.”

“There is a long chain of stories, poetry, lyrics, and musical roots that have crossed cultures and generations inspiring the whole world for hundreds of years and in all those lines of thought, music, and rhythm there are special artists who take it all in and create new original ideas from their own feelings and experiences,” Miller shared in a note on Instagram addressed “Hey EM.” “You are one of those timeless originators building something new on a long musical legacy of original artists.”

Miller then mentioned the artists who inspired him, including Les Paul, The Beatles and Chuck Berry, noting, “I have always tried to credit, honor, and respect the major influencers in my life and to always credit, honor royalties and share knowledge of their work through my own work,” adding that he felt he “had to respect the art that came before me and fight for it too among all the crooks, thieves, and imposters.”

“There aren’t many artists who take the time or make the effort to stand up for themselves and credit and respect their influencers at the same time. Marshall Mathers you are an exception and on my short list of people who respect the art,” Miller concludes. “To be included in your process feels good while I’m still singing and playing the music I love. I’m Honored.”

Released in May 1982, “Abracadabra” was a #1 hit for Steve Miller Band. It was their third, and last, chart-topper.

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Never mind the bollocks, here’s 75 percent of the Sex Pistols.

Three of the legendary punk band’s members — guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock — are reuniting for a pair of benefit concerts taking place Aug. 13-14 at the London venue Bush Hall. English punk musician Frank Carter will provide lead vocals in place of John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, who is not taking part in the reunion.

For each show, which will raise money for Bush Hall, the foursome will play the Sex Pistols’ one-and-only album, 1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, in full.

“Will be an honor to smash our way through one of the most influential records of all time together,” Carter says.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 5, at 9 a.m. local time. For all ticket info, visit BushHallMusic.co.uk.

Sex Pistols last played together live in 2008.

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