Classic Rock 93.9

U2‘s Bono and The Edge are out and proud fans of ABBA — but they once viewed their music as “the National Anthem for young mothers.”

Speaking to BBC’s The Radio 2 Piano Room, the rockers chatted about their love of the band and explained why they tried to hide it when they were younger.

Bono recalled feeling a certain pressure to appear macho, and to do that, it meant consuming punk music over pop songs.

Edge explained that, although they didn’t “want to own up to ABBA,” his perspective on their music has now shifted. “I’ll tell you what, they’re just better songs. You can’t be empirical about everything in art,” the guitarist said.

Bono added, “I didn’t have the courage to own up to this next band when I was 16 in the middle of punk rock.” He also recalled being confused about why ABBA was such a phenomenon when he was younger, saying, “At closing time at our local pub, often young women would sing ‘Thank You for the Music’, and I would sing it — and I was very thankful for the music.” 

They now understand why ABBA was and continues to be a phenomenon. “We’re big fans of this Scandinavian band, appreciators of their work in a way that grew over years,” said Edge.

He continued, “We’re fans of lots of great songwriters who aren’t necessarily seen as very hip, and I guess we’re just appreciators of their work.”

Bono also reflected on the time U2 “murdered ‘Dancing Queen'” at a concert in 1992 alongside ABBA singers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.

The two then dove into a Johnny Cash-twist on the classic ABBA song “S.O.S.”

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The New York Dolls’ David Johansen is the subject of a new documentary set to premiere next month on Showtime. Personality Crisis: One Night Only, directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, will debut April 14 at 8 p.m., and a new trailer for the film has just been released.

The doc, which had its world premiere at the 2022 New York Film Festival, tells Johansen’s story alongside footage of a January 2020 performance of his cabaret show at the Café Carlyle in New York. 

“I’ve known David Johansen for decades, and his music has been a touchstone ever since I listened to the Dolls when I was making Mean Streets,” Scorsese shares. “Then and now, David’s music captures the energy and excitement of New York City.”

He adds, “I often see him perform, and over the years I’ve gotten to know the depth of his musical inspirations. After seeing his show at the Café Carlyle, I knew I had to film it because it was so extraordinary to see the evolution of his life and his musical talent in such an intimate setting.”

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While U2 certainly has a lot of fans, there are also plenty of people who think they take themselves a bit too seriously, and now Bono is apologizing for that … sort of. In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the rocker reads off a so-called apology, before pretty much taking it all back.

“I apologize for having the unreasonableness of youth as I enter my 60s,” he shares.  “I apologize for being a singer who will get in your face whatever direction you’re looking. I apologize for not being shy or retiring and for loudly giving thanks for where I go to work. I apologize for stretching our band to its elastic limit.” 

He also apologizes for his desire to make “an unreasonable guitar record that rattles my cage and others,” and for “repeating over and over that rock ‘n’ roll is not dead, it’s just older and grumpier, and occasionally makes fireworks out of its mood changes.”

But in the end, he’s not really apologizing for anything: “But most of all, I apologize for apologizing.”

The interview comes as U2 is set to drop their new album, Songs of Surrender, on Friday. Their Disney+ special, Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, also premieres Friday.

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Paul McCartney was celebrated at a tribute concert in New York City Wednesday night, with an all-star lineup performing some of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s classic tunes. 

The Music of Paul McCartney, a benefit show put on by New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf, featured performances by Graham Nash, Nancy Wilson, Wings guitarist Denny Laine, Bruce Hornsby, Natalie Merchant and more, with a special surprise appearance by Patti Smith.

Showbiz 411 reports that Smith treated the crowd to a performance of The Beatles track “She’s Leaving Home,” while the concert also featured performances of “Band on the Run” by Wilson and Laine, “For No One” by Nash,  “Yesterday” by Lyle Lovett, “Maybe I’m Amazed”  by Betty LaVette and “Let It Be” by New York’s Resistance Revival Chorus. 

The night ended with a finale that featured all the performers singing “Hey Jude.”

Dorf has been organizing these tribute shows since 2004, with previous concerts paying tribute to such artists as The Who, Van Morrison, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones. The concerts raise money for organizations that provide music education programs and opportunities for underserved youth.

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Grand Funk Railroad is hitting the road this year in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their Platinum single “We’re An American Band.”

The American Band Tour kicks off March 18 with an appearance at the Clewiston Sugar Festival in Clewiston, Florida, followed by an April 1 headlining date in Akron, Ohio. The tour concludes with Grand Funk Railroad’s appearance as a “special guest” at Kid Rock’s July 14 and 15 hometown shows in Detroit, Michigan.

A complete list of tour dates and ticket information can be found at grandfunkrailroad.com.

Released July 2, 1973, “We’re An American Band,” written by founding member Don Brewer, was the title track of the band’s seventh studio album and became the band’s first number one single.

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Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks continue to add dates to their co-headlining tour. The latest addition is a December 8 concert at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Tickets for the new date go on sale Friday, March 24, at 10 a.m. local time. 

As previously reported, the Billy/Stevie tour kicked off last Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers teaming up for a pair of duets: “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” Nicks’ duet with the late Tom Petty, and Joel’s “And So It Goes,” from his 1989 album, Storm Front. 

The pair’s next date together is April 8 in Arlington, Texas. A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com and stevienicksofficial.com.

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James Hetfield has apparently apologized to Kip Winger over Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters” video, but Lars Ulrich has not.

As for why either would need to apologize to Winger, you may recall that in the “Nothing Else Matters” video, there’s a shot of Ulrich standing next to a photo of the “Seventeen” singer with darts sticking out of it.

Speaking with the Appetite for Distortion podcast, Winger shares, “[Lars has] never apologized, but James Hetfield called me about a year and a half ago and apologized for the incident.”

“James is a kind of guy I could totally be friends with,” Winger continues. “He was very sincere, it wasn’t like he just called to apologize and then blow me off. He’s actually texted me a few times, we text every now and then. I don’t think Lars would ever call me to apologize.”

As for what inspired the diss in the first place, Winger muses, “I think everybody was just young kids, and they were thinking it was funny.”

“To me, it’s not funny to slag off a fellow musician,” he says. “But, who knows? I mean, they were just doing what they were doing.”

The “Nothing Else Matters” video hit 1 billion views on YouTube in 2021. The moment with the Winger poster happens around the 2:55 mark.

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Motörhead‘s Snaggletooth mascot is now a character in Iron Maiden‘s Legacy of the Beast mobile game.

As it’s done with bands including Avenged Sevenfold, Ghost, Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed, Legacy of the Beast has added a Motörhead-themed level, in which you can play as Snaggletooth.

The level, dubbed Born to Raise Hell, is modeled after the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, and includes references to Motörhead lyrics and albums.

You can play Born to Raise Hell in Legacy of the Beast now through March 22.

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was the victim of an attack outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend.

TMZ obtained the police report from the incident, which reveals Allen was the victim of a sneak attack by 19-year-old Max Hartley, who was hiding behind a pole and rushed Allen as he was smoking a cigarette outside the hotel. A women tried to help the drummer, but was also attacked. Hartley knocked her to the ground, and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her as she tried to run back to the hotel to get help.

Hartley was eventually arrested after cops caught him breaking car windows at a nearby parking garage. He was charged with elder abuse, battery and criminal mischief. He was eventually released on bail.  

So far there’s no word on Allen’s condition. He and the band were in Florida for a stop on their tour with Mötley Crüe. The Stadium Tour’s next show is happening May 22 in Sheffield, England.

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Talking Heads‘ iconic concert film Stop Making Sense is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and that milestone will be marked by a new theatrical release, plus a deluxe edition of the movie’s soundtrack.

A24, the studio behind this year’s Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once, will release a newly restored 4K version of the concert film to theaters later this year, sharing a trailer that features frontman David Byrne getting back into his iconic oversized suit.

On top of that, on August 18 a deluxe edition of the soundtrack will be released, containing for the first time ever the complete Stop Making Sense concert, including previously unreleased songs “Cities” and “Big Business/I Zimbra.”

Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition) will be released as a limited edition two-LP set and digitally, along with a Dolby Atmos mix. The vinyl version will include a 28-page booklet with previously unreleased photos and new liner notes from all the band members. 

“We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience,” Byrne recalls in the liner notes. “As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was recorded over three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983. In 2021 it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 

Here’s the track list for Stop Making Sense:

“Psycho Killer”
“Heaven”
“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel”
“Found A Job”
“Slippery People”
“Cities” 
“Burning Down The House”
”Life During Wartime”
“Making Flippy Floppy”
“Swamp”
“What a Day That Was”
“This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”
“Once In A Lifetime”
“Big Business / I Zimbra”
“Genius Of Love”
“Girlfriend Is Better”
“Take Me To The River”
“Crosseyed And Painless”

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