Classic Rock 93.9

Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica are among the nominees for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

All three will compete in the Best Rock category: Foos for “The Teacher,” RHCP for “Tippa My Tongue” and Metallica for “Lux Æterna.” Other nominees in the category include Linkin Park’s “Lost,” Måneskin‘s “The Loneliest” and Muse‘s “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween.”

In addition to multiple past VMA wins, Foo Fighters was honored with the Global Icon Award in 2021, while RHCP has also earned multiple VMA honors, including the Global Icon Award in 2022 and the Video Vanguard Award in 2000. Metallica has won two previous VMAs.

The 2023 MTV VMAs take place September 12 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. For the full list of nominees and to vote for your favorites, visit Vote.MTV.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, August 8, 1987…

U2 found themselves atop the Billboard Hot 100 for the second time with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the second single off their first #1 album, The Joshua Tree. The track spent two weeks in the #1 position.

The Irish rockers had previously topped the chart with the album’s first single, “With Or Without You,” which spent three weeks at #1.

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” went on to become one of the band’s most iconic tracks, and was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1988: Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It has also landed on several best-of lists, including Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

In other U2 facts…August 8 also happens to be U2 guitarist The Edge’s birthday. He turns 62 this year.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sinéad O’Connor was laid to rest in Ireland Tuesday, August 8, in a private ceremony attended by fellow musicians like Bob Geldof and U2’s Bono and The Edge, as well as Irish president Michael D. Higgins, The Independent reports.

Fans lined the streets of Bray, County Wicklow, to pay their respects to the singer outside her former home, Montebello, which she lived in for 15 years. Fans also left notes, flowers and candles outside the home in tribute to the singer.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic scholar and chief imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, led the private ceremony, calling the singer “a voice that moved a generation of young people” and adding she “could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.”

Following the service, the hearse with O’Connor’s flower-covered casket drove through the streets as fans threw more flowers and applauded as it passed. It was led by a Volkswagen van, covered in both a pride and Rastafarian flag, that played Sinead’s music.

“The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinéad O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people,” Higgins said of the singer. “The unique contribution of Sinead involved the experience of a great vulnerability combined with a superb, exceptional level of creativity that she chose to deliver through her voice, her music and her songs.”

O’Connor passed away in July at the age of 56. So far, no cause of death has been revealed.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The official Beatles fan magazine, The Beatles Book Monthly, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its debut by making a selection of prints from the magazine’s vast library available for purchase for the first time.

The Beatles Book Monthly was launched in August 1963 by publisher Sean O’Mahony and gave fans the latest news on the band. The first edition featured bios on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, along with manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin. Subsequent issues chronicled the band’s rise to superstardom and gave fans the inside scoop on their favorite group.

In total there were 77 issues of the mag, which sold about 330,000 copies each month. The final edition was published December 1, 1969, although that magazine was later revived in May 1976 and again in October 1982. Thanks to photographer Leslie Bryce getting unprecedented access to the band, the mag featured loads of photos; over 6,000 of them went on to become part of The Beatles Book Photo Library.

Fans can now get their hands on prints of some of those photos from the library, including a “Hard Day’s Night” photo of Lennon, a shot of McCartney onstage during the band’s last British tour, a smiling shot of Ringo and a shot of Harrison during the Rubber Soul recording sessions.

The prints are available for purchase at bbplstore.com and range in price from $78 to $143, depending on the size.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Van Halen’s post David Lee Roth years could have looked a lot different, according to Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes. In an interview with The Classic Rock Podcast, Hughes revealed that Eddie Van Halen told him he had considered asking him to join the band to replace the departing Roth.

“Well, you know, Eddie was newly sober at that time,” he told the podcast regarding the discussion. “This would have been … I don’t know, 22 years ago.”

He continued, “We spoke about it. … Would it have worked? I’m not sure. Unless I was completely sober, and I’ve been sober now for almost 24 years. Yeah, it would have been interesting, wouldn’t it? You never know.”

Instead, Van Halen replaced Roth with Sammy Hagar and went on to release four albums that went to number one in the U.S.: 1986’s 5150, 1988’s OU812, 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and 1995’s Balance.

As for Hughes, he’s due to kick off a new tour with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s classic 1974 album, Burn. It kicks off August 17 in Falls Church, Virginia. A complete list of dates can be found at glennhughes.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Album covers are often just as memorable as the music featured in the release, and there’s no doubt some covers are truly iconic. Billboard is chiming in with their thoughts on the subject, releasing their picks for the 100 greatest album covers of all time.

Topping the list is The Velvet Underground and Nico’s 1967 release, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The original version of the record featured Andy Warhol’s banana print with instructions to “peel slowly and see,” referring to a peel-off sticker that revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. Later versions did not include the sticker, making the originals collector’s items.

Coming in at two is The Beatles’ 1969 classic, Abbey Road, featuring the Fab Four walking across the iconic cross walk; Patti Smith’s Horses, featuring photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s infamous photo of the singer, is number three. 

Other albums making list include Led Zeppelin’s 1969 self-titled release at five; Pink Floyd’s 1973 classic, The Dark Side of the Moon, at six; Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 debut, She’s So Unusual, at seven; Elvis Presley’s 1956 self-titled release at nine; and The Beatles’ 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, at 11.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde is still rocking out at age 71, and while some artists may dread getting older, she seems to be embracing it.

“I don’t mind getting older. I do mind getting uglier,” she shares in a new feature in The Guardian. “Come on, there’s only one thing we know of that is definitely going to happen to us. That’s all the information we have in this life.”

She adds, “You know, a lot of my friends didn’t get old,” referring to people like her late Pretenders bandmate James Honeyman-Scott, who died in 1982 at 25 years old.

Hynde believes “there are so many great things about getting older,” noting, “For example, I don’t think there’s very many things that I know now that I didn’t know when I was 16 – but there’s a big difference between knowing something and realizing it. Realizing something takes 50 years.”

Hynde, who turns 72 on September 7, says, “I’m more relaxed now, if you can believe it,” sharing, “This is the real mellow version of me. Ageing is like being a pothead again. Though that’s not to say there are not things that wind me up daily.”

And age isn’t slowing Chrissie down. Pretenders are set to release the new album, Relentless, on September 15. They are slated to open for Guns N’ Roses on their North American tour, which kicks off August 11, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and they’ll be headlining a short club tour, which starts August 16, at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. A complete list of all Pretenders dates can be found at thepretenders.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paul Stanley is a Swiftie. The KISS rocker took to social media to praise Taylor Swift after taking his wife and daughters to see her Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 

“Took Erin, Sarah and Emily to see @taylorswift Last Night!” he writes next to a picture of him in an Eras Tour T-shirt. “6 shows at SoFi Stadium for a total of A HALF MILLION PEOPLE and I know why… PHENOMENAL SHOW BY A PHENOMENAL ARTIST.”

He added, “Thanks to her staff for rolling out the red carpet for us.”

Swift wraps her SoFi Stadium stand on Wednesday, August 9. Meanwhile, KISS is currently on a break from their End of the Road tour. Their next show is happening September 1 in Crandon, Wisconsin, with their final shows taking place December 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paul McCartney is heading to Brazil. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just announced dates for a Brazilian leg of his Got Back tour, his first return to the country since 2019. 

The trek kicks off November 30 in Brasília then hits Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Curitiba, before wrapping December 16 in Rio De Janeiro. 

“We have such great memories from all our visits. I love coming to Brazil because you guys like to rock, sing and party all at once,” McCartney says. “We’re really excited. Let’s have fun. Let’s rock. Let’s roll. Let’s stomp. Let’s stroll. And Brazil, let’s have a great time.”

A ticket presale kicks off Tuesday, August 8, at 10 a.m. local time, with a general onsale set for Thursday, August 10, at 12 p.m. local time. 

And that’s not all. McCartney has added a new date to the Australian leg of his Got Back tour, which kicks off October 18 in Adelaide. He’s added a second date in Sydney and will now play Allianz Stadium October 27 and October 28. A ticket presale is happening Wednesday, August 9, followed by a general onsale on Thursday, August 10.

A complete list of Paul McCartney’s Got Back dates can be found at paulmccartney.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Stewart Copeland is giving fans yet another way to enjoy The Police’s music.

Earlier this year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer released Police Deranged, featuring orchestral versions of the band’s classic tunes. Now, he’s announced the upcoming release of Police Beyond Borders, an album of the band’s greatest hits interpreted by musicians from around the world. He teamed with Ricky Kej for the project, a collaborator on the Grammy-winning album Devine Tides.  

“The flavors of all these amazing languages on Police Beyond Borders light up these tunes that are so familiar,” Copeland shares. “The Police were always a global band, and Sting wrote songs about the bigger picture of humanity.” He adds, “Music brings us together, and my humble hope is that this record can contribute to that special human bonding experience that we need now more than ever.”

Police Beyond Borders will be released digitally August 18.

Here is the track list for Police Beyond Borders:

“King of Pain” (feat. Berklee Indian Ensemble)
“Roxanne” (feat. Mzansi Youth Choir)
“Message in a Bottle” (feat. Salim-Sulaiman, Masa Takumi)
“Tea in the Sahara” (Cui Jian)
“Don’t Stand So Close To Me” (Soweto Gospel Choir, Ron Korb)
“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” (feat. Berklee Indian Ensemble)
“Can’t Stand Losing You” (Mzansi Youth Choir, Max ZT)
“Murder By Numbers” (Alison Balsom, Shankar Mahadevan, Max ZT)
“Demolition Man” (featuring Serj Tankian)
“Every Breath You Take” (Soweto Gospel Choir)

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.