Classic Rock 93.9

Iron Maiden celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2025, and founding bassist/songwriter Steve Harris reflects on the milestone in a statement to Kerrang!

“It’s pretty incredible when you think about it, but we don’t think about it too much,” Harris says. “The band don’t really say, ‘Wow, this is 50 years!’ It’s brought to us by other people like management or whoever is making a bigger fuss about it. We just do what we do.”

“But it is a long, long time,” Harris continues. “It’s an achievement. We won’t harp on about it ourselves, but we’re aware of that. And long may it continue.”

Maiden has certainly accomplished a lot in the last half-century, though there are still one or two things they’d like to check off their bucket list.

“There are a couple of countries here and there we’d still like to get to,” Harris says. “Like, we were once supposed to play Bangkok, but three weeks before there was a military coup and we had to cancel. Maybe one day we’ll drag the Iron Maiden plane out again to go and do them, because that makes those shows a lot easier!”

As for how many years past 50 Maiden will continue, Harris says, “I’m not thinking about retirement, but we all know that it’s coming at some point when you’ll be forced into it by one thing or another.” 

“I still stay fit, playing football and tennis and things, but you never know what’s coming round the corner,” Harris says. “That’s why you’ve got to make the most of this while you can, going out enjoy every gig for the sake of it. I’ve been saying that for the last 10 years, but it’s truer now than ever.”

Maiden will launch a North American tour in August.

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Billy Joel’s 2025 didn’t start out so hot. In January, the Piano Man postponed a show in order to have a medical procedure. He did perform two shows in February and continued to announce more concerts for 2025, including co-headlining dates with Sting, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks. But issues with his health halted his touring plans.

-Joel announced in March he was postponing shows for four months to allow himself time to recover from recent surgery and to undergo physical therapy under the supervision of his doctors.

-Then in May, Joel canceled all scheduled concert dates after revealing he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a disorder in which fluid builds up in the brain. According to a statement, Joel’s brain condition, “exacerbated by recent concert performances,” led to issues with his hearing, vision and balance.

-In an interview on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast in July, Joel gave fans a health update, saying his condition was “not fixed” and “still being worked on,” but assured fans, “I feel fine.”

-And it wasn’t all bad news for Billy in 2025. In May, a new two-part documentary on the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, debuted at the Tribeca Festival.

-The documentary, directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, debuted on HBO Max in July to critical acclaim and earned a nomination for best music documentary at the 10th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

-Joel released a digital 100-track album, also called Billy Joel: And So It Goes, describing it as a “companion” piece to the documentary. It included eight never-before-heard songs. He also launched a yearlong YouTube series, dropping archival performances on the video-sharing platform.

In other Billy Joel news …

-Joel’s signature tune, “Piano Man,” hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. It was his second song to reach such a milestone, following “Uptown Girl.”

-20th Century Cycles, the motorcycle shop Joel opened in 2010 that housed his collection of more than 75 vintage motorcycles, closed. Joel auctioned off the bike collection.

-Joel was announced as the subject of New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf’s annual Music Of charity concert series, with the tribute set for March 12, 2026, at Carnegie Hall.

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Flea is here to help jazz up your holiday season.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has shared a trumpet performance of what sounds like the song “Christmas Time Is Here” from the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas special.

“‘Twas the night before…,” the video caption reads. You can watch Flea’s performance now via RHCP’s Facebook.

You’ll be hearing even more of Flea on trumpet on his upcoming solo album, due out in 2026. The first single, “A Plea,” is out now.

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The Pearl Jam camp is celebrating their own fuzzy Christmas miracle.

The three kittens that the grunge rockers have been fostering at their Seattle headquarters have now been officially adopted.

As previously reported, the cats were found in the PJHQ parking lot over the summer and dubbed the Purrl Jam Kittens. With help from a local organization called the Alley Cat Project, the kittens were safely rescued and remained at PJHQ until their adoption, which has now happened just in time for the holidays.

“Thanks to Alley Cat Project, these rockstar-personality kittens have found their forever homes for the holidays!” Pearl Jam shares in a Facebook post. “Bugs and Dark Matter, the undeniable duo of the litter, were adopted together. Gremmie, the true embodiment of the song he was named after, found a home with a PJ HQ staff member and is settling in beautifully with the help of his new big sister, Winnie.”

Bugs and Dark Matter are named after the 1994 Vitalogy cut and the title track off Pearl Jam’s 2024 album, respectively. Gremmie is named after the song “Gremmie Out of Control,” which is included on the 2003 Lost Dogs compilation.

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Late Motörhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister would’ve turned 80 on Wednesday, and the band is celebrating the occasion with a throwback to another milestone birthday.

The Motörhead YouTube channel has uploaded the band’s full 1995 performance at the famed Whisky A Go Go club in Los Angeles, which celebrated Lemmy’s 50th birthday.

The set included renditions of classics including “Ace of Spades,” “Bomber,” “Iron Fist,” “Stay Clean,” “Metropolis” and “Killed By Death.” Before Motörhead took the stage, Metallica played a surprise opening set billed as The Lemmys.

The Whisky concert is also available as a live album as part of Motörhead’s The Löst Tapes series. 

Lemmy died on Dec. 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday. The 10th anniversary of his death is Sunday.

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Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is paying tribute to the band’s original guitarist Mick Abrahams, who passed away Dec. 19 at the age of 82.

In a post on the band’s website, Anderson wrote that it was “with great sadness” that he learned of Abraham’s’ passing, noting Abrahams had “endured worsening ill health for the last 15 years leaving him finally unable to perform or interact socially to any degree.”

“Mick was vitally important to the early Tull formation” Anderson wrote, calling Abrahams “a strong vocalist and experienced, powerful and lyrical guitarist.”

Abrahams was a member of Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968. Regarding their relationship, Anderson wrote that he and Abrahams “had 11 months of mutual benefit and learning experiences before the eventual falling-out – caused primarily by our different preferences as to future musical direction.”

He concluded the message offering condolences to Abrahams’ family and friends, who he noted should “feel justifiably proud of his achievements and musical legacy.”

Abrahams left Jethro Tull after the release of their debut album, This Was. He then formed the band the Blodwyn Pig, which went on to release four albums.

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2025 began with the surprise news that the original Black Sabbath lineup — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — would be reuniting for one final show. It was also announced that the concert would mark Ozzy’s final live performance, a promise that he sadly fulfilled upon his death just over two weeks after the show.

The concert, dubbed Back to the Beginning, was set for July 5 at Villa Park, a stadium in Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England. Along with sets by Sabbath and Ozzy, the lineup promised nearly every big-name metal and hard rock band you could think of: Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Gojira, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon.

Additionally, music director Tom Morello put together all-star jams featuring artists including Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Yungblud, Disturbed‘s David Draiman, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler, Adam Jones and Danny Carey of Tool, blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Ghost‘s Tobias Forge and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Those who wouldn’t be able to attend the massive show in person would be able to watch it streaming online.

As ambitious as all that seemed, the main concern going into Back to the Beginning was Ozzy’s health, which had kept him from performing a full live set for over six years. Ozzy cautioned that he and Sabbath would “only be playing a couple songs each,” telling The Guardian, “I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.”

When the big day finally came, Ozzy did indeed take the stage following hours of performances and tributes courtesy of the aforementioned stacked lineup. While seated, Ozzy was first joined by his solo band for a five-song set featuring classics including “Crazy Train,” “Mr. Crowley” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” He then returned while flanked by his Sabbath bandmates to rock out four more songs: “War Pigs,” “Iron Man,” “N.I.B.” and “Paranoid.”

Following the concert, the participating artists flocked to social media to reflect on the special experience. A new Ozzy memoir called Last Rites was announced days later, suggesting that while Ozzy may have played his final concert, he was still planning to be busy.

However, the celebrations soon turned to grief when, on July 22, it was announced that Ozzy had died at age 76.

Tributes poured in from every corner of the music universe and beyond, which remembered him not only for his artistic achievements but also his massive impact on culture in general. A funeral procession was held in Birmingham on July 30.

On Sept. 7, the MTV Video Music Awards staged a tribute to Ozzy featuring a performance by Yungblud alongside Tyler and his Aerosmith bandmate Joe Perry. 

Members of the Osbourne family eventually issued their own statements, culminating with a return of The Osbournes Podcast featuring widow Sharon Osbourne, daughter Kelly Osbourne and son Jack Osbourne.

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The Zombies have announced the dates for their third annual Begin Here festival. The 2026 event, which takes place in their hometown of St. Albans, U.K., will run from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.

The Begin Here festival, which launched in November 2023, usually features a whole host of Zombies-related events. In the past, that has included record signings, special screenings of their documentary Hung Up On A Dream, a Zombies tour of St. Albans, Q&As and performances.

In the meantime, frontman Colin Blunstone‘s next performance is happening on the high seas. He’s booked to perform on the Flower Power Cruise happening March 28 to April 4. The cruise starts in Ft. Lauderdale and hits St. Thomas, St. Kitts and Nevis, with The Beach Boys, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, Max Weinberg’s Jukebox and Blood, Sweat & Tears among the other acts on the lineup.

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It was another big year for Bruce Springsteen, which culminated in the New Jersey rocker’s life being depicted on the big screen.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere premiered at the New York Film Festival in September and opened in theaters in October. The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White starred as The Boss, and did his own singing, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong playing the rocker’s manager, Jon Landau. The film followed Springsteen’s efforts in making his 1982 solo album, Nebraska. White earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the New Jersey rocker. 

Springsteen also celebrated a big anniversary in August 2025: the 50th anniversary of his iconic third studio album, Born to Run. To mark the occasion he released “Lonely Night in the Park” for the first time, a track that was recorded during the Born to Run sessions and was considered for the album, but was ultimately left off.

He also made a surprise appearance at the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music’s Born to Run 50th anniversary celebration in New Jersey, performing two songs from the album — the title track and “Thunder Road” — joined by current and former members of the E Street Band.

But those were only some of the many Springsteen-related highlights this year. Among the others:

– Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a Patti Smith tribute concert, People Have the Power – A Celebration of Patti Smith, at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He performed “Because the Night,” the song he wrote that became a hit for Patti.

– In May, Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off a European tour, and he stirred up controversy by criticizing President Donald Trump. He said America was “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.” That prompted a response from Trump, who called Springsteen “highly overrated.”

– The tour also featured a surprise appearance by Paul McCartney at The Boss’ show in Liverpool. They teamed up for two songs: The Beatles‘ classic “Can’t Buy Me Love” and a cover of the Leiber & Stoller tune “Kansas City,” which The Beatles recorded in 1964.

– Springsteen’s tour, which launched in 2023 and wrapped in 2025, became the highest-grossing tour of his career, bringing in $729.7 million to surpass his previous highest-grossing tour, the 2012-13 Wrecking Ball World Tour, which brought in $347 million. It also sold 4.9 million tickets, more tickets than any previous Springsteen tour.

– Springsteen released the long-awaited follow-up to 1998’s box set Tracks. Tracks II: The Lost Albums featured seven previously unheard Springsteen records.

– The Boss was honored by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with the inaugural Legacy Award, which “honors an artist whose body of work has inspired generations of storytellers and deeply influenced our culture.”

– To coincide with the release of Deliver Me From Nowhere, Bruce released Nebraska: Expanded Edition, a box set featuring previously unreleased material. It included the long-rumored Electric Nebraska, a present-day recording of Springsteen performing Nebraska in its entirety at New Jersey’s Count Basie Theatre.

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Elton John is feeling grateful at the continued success of his holiday track “Step Into Christmas.”

It was recently announced that the song, originally released way back in 1973, had been certified platinum in the U.S. and four-times platinum in the U.K. and now Elton has shared his thoughts on the feat in a new post on Instagram.

Posing next to a picture of his platinum plaques, Elton wrote, “A special Christmas present to me! Step Into Christmas has gone platinum in the US and 4× platinum in the UK.”

“To think a song released over 50 years ago is still part of so many people’s festivities (and even sat in the UK Top 10 again this year!) is very special,” he added. “Thank you to everyone who keeps stepping into Christmas, year after year!”

“Step Into Christmas” has re-entered Billboard‘s Holiday Airplay chart every year over the past decade and has returned to the U.K. singles chart every year since 2011. Last year, a new video was created for the song, starring Cara Delevingne as Elton.

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