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If all your life you’ve been searching for a Foo Fighters pinball machine, then do we have good news for you.
The company Stern Pinball is teasing a new cabinet inspired by the music of Dave Grohl and company. You can check out a promo video now via the Stern Twitter account.
Stern has previously created pinball machines themed around bands including Led Zeppelin, Rush, Metallica and AC/DC. To find a Stern pinball game in your area, visit SternPinball.com.
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters are getting read to return to the road as part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March. Their first scheduled show back is at the Boston Calling festival in May.
Van Morrison has shared yet another track from his upcoming album, Moving On Skiffle. The latest is “This Loving Light of Mine,” his take on the traditional gospel song “This Little Light of Mine.”
Moving On Skiffle is set to drop March 10 and will be available as a two-CD set, as a two-LP vinyl package, on cassette and via digital formats. It is available for preorder now, and Morrison is offering some fans an incentive to do so.
Fans 18 and older in the United Kingdom and Ireland who preorder the record, or who have already done so, will be entered into an exclusive drawing to win tickets to an upcoming Van Morrison show. Two runners-up will win signed goodies from Morrison. The grand prize winner will get to pick from Morrison’s Milton Keynes, England, concerts March 13 through March 15 or his shows in Belfast, Ireland, taking place April 5 through April 7. Hotels are not included in the prize.
A demo tape said to have launched Rod Stewart‘s career has sold for triple its initial estimate at auction.
BBC reports Stewart recorded the demo on June 18, 1964, in a basement studio in London owned by engineer Pepe Rush.
The 15ips reel-to-reel tape included the tracks “Ain’t That Loving You Baby,” “Bright Lights Big City,” “Worksong” and “Don’t Tell Nobody.”
Stewart used that demo as his audition tape and was later signed by Decca Records. His manager at the time, Jonathan Rowlands, held onto the tape.
Rowlands, now 83, sold the nearly 60-year-old demo at Cheffin’s in Cambridge for 3,400 pounds — or roughly $4,000. The auctioneer says the selling price is three times the initial estimate.
Also included with the demo was Rowlands’ appointment book from 1964, which included dates and details of his meetings with the hitmaker.
“We knew Rod was something special from the word go,” Rowlands said. “He had that absolute star quality which he shares with the likes of Tom Jones and Elton John, which has allowed them to stay relevant in the music industry even after all of these years.”
He also spoke of how Stewart managed to find a recording studio to make the demo: “We had got lucky finding out about Pepe Rush’s studio that was hidden in the basement of a shop in Berwick Street, Soho.”
“With my then partner, Geoff Wright, we then sent the tape to Decca Records as an audition recording in June 1964 and the result was we obtained Rod’s first recording contract,” he added.
Rowlands also revealed he had to get Stewart’s parents to sign the contract because artists couldn’t sign if they were under 21; Rod was 19.
Gene Simmons is offering KISS fans a truly unique experience. The rocker is giving fans the chance to record a song with him at Abbey Road Studios, but it doesn’t come cheap.
For a little under $6,000, a KISS fan and a guest will get to spend July 10 with the bassist at the legendary London studio where the Beatles recorded their albums. There, they’ll record a KISS song with Simmons and his band.
In addition, Simmons will share his favorite KISS stories, and the lucky purchaser will be able to take home some items from Simmons’ personal KISS collection. Simmons will also take a photo with them and sign two of their personal items.
If you’re hesitant to shell out the money because of your lack of musical experience, Simmons assures fans none is necessary. The package description notes, “The day is about having fun with Gene Simmons and going home having a copy of you and Gene Simmons on a recorded KISS song!!”
Sting released his fourth solo album, Ten Summoner’s Tales, 30 years ago, and to celebrate the milestone he’s just released a new digital-only expanded edition of the album.
The new release features 27 tracks, including the original 12 from the album, along with 15 bonus tracks made up of B-sides, remixes, alternative versions and live performances, 11 of which have never been released digitally before. The expanded version is also available in Dolby Atmos.
Released on March 1, 1993, Ten Summoner’s Tales has been certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA. It features the hit single “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” which peaked at 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Sting three Grammy nominations, along with a win for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Another single from the record, “Fields of Gold,” went to number two on the Adult Contemporary chart and earned a BMI Pop Song Award in 1994.
Elton John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where he’s mistakenly announced as “Sir John Elton” as he approached Her Majesty. He was honored for his for services to music and his charitable services.
After his investiture, Elton revealed his conversation with the Queen: “She said I must be terribly busy…but there was no way I would miss this.”
Elton was honored by the Royal Family once again in 2020, appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by then Prince Charles (now King Charles II).
While Val Kilmer seemed like perfect casting to play The Doors frontman Jim Morrison in OliverStone’s 1991 film The Doors, he was far from the first choice for the role. In a new interview, recording artist and writer Bebe Buell, mother of actress Liv Tyler, reveals John Travolta was once in the running and had a really good shot at getting it.
During an appearance on the Totally 80s podcast, Buell says her former manager, the late Danny Sugerman, who also managed The Doors and co-wrote the Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, really wanted Travolta in the role.
“He was really, really, really gung ho on getting that Doors movie made,” Buell says. “But believe it or not, his first choice for Jim was not Val Kilmer. It was John Travolta.”
In fact, Buell says about 10 years before the film was actually made she witnessed Travolta’s unofficial audition for the role, and she was impressed.
“I actually saw him come over to Danny’s house, kind of Jim Morrison-y, and he stood up on Danny’s table. And when he sang, it was mind-blowing,” she says. “He channeled him. I guess that’s what a great actor can do. He channeled him like nothing I’d ever seen. It wasn’t as wacky as it sounds.”
In a follow-up email, Buell told Yahoo Entertainment that Travolta “nailed it,” adding, “Danny was raving to me later that night. JT blew his mind!”
Queen is back with another peek behind the scenes with the latest episode of their weekly YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live. After last week’s episode focused on picking the right opening number, this week they look at one of their go-to openers, the song “Now I’m Here.”
The episode features four live performances of the 1974 track, from the Sheer Heart Attack album, which has appeared on more Queen set lists than any other song.
Two of the live performances feature Freddie Mercury performing the song, one at the London Rainbow in 1974 and another at the London Hammersmith in 1975. The other two feature Adam Lambert and were shot at Summer Sonic, Tokyo, in 2014 and at the band’s Rhapsody Over London show in 2022.
The band’s GRRR Live! debuts at number seven on the Billboard Total Album Sales chart, which since May of 1991 has tallied album releases based on traditional album sales, as opposed to the Billboard 200, which ranks them based on sales, streaming and more.
This is the fifth straight year the band has landed in the Top 10 on this chart.
GRRR Live! was recorded at the band’s December 15, 2012, concert at Newark’s Prudential Center, which was part of their 50 & Counting tour, celebrating their 50th anniversary. It features guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, John Mayer,Gary Clark Jr., Mick Taylor and The Black Keys.
The artwork of two Black Sabbath albums will be turned into collectible statues.
The music merchandising company KnuckleBonz is releasing officially licensed figures inspired by the witch on the cover of Sabbath’s 1970 self-titled debut and the pilot that graced the front of 1978’s Never Say Die!
In keeping with their respective albums’ release dates, KnuckleBonz is making only 1,970 witch statues and 1,978 pilot figures.
You can pre-order your own — separately or as a two-piece set — now via KnuckleBonz.com.
KnuckleBonz has previously worked with artists including Metallica, AC/DC and Ghost.
