Classic Rock 93.9

Sting is not on the Barbie soundtrack, but he did — albeit inadvertently — inspire Christopher Nolan to make the movie Oppenheimer. Now, he’s reaping the benefits of “Barbenheimer” mania.

As previously reported, Nolan has said in several press interviews that he first became interested in J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb and the subject of Oppenheimer, while growing up in the ’80s. Amid mounting fears of a nuclear war, Nolan said, he heard Sting’s 1986 hit “Russians,” which contains the lyric, “How can I save my little boy/ from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?”

Now Billboard reports that streams of “Russians,” which appears on Sting’s debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, are trending up. For the week ending July 27, the song posted a 48% gain, according to Luminate, the company that tracks streaming and sales numbers for Billboard.

This is the second time in recent years that “Russians” seems to reflect the zeitgeist. In March 2022, Sting released a new charity version of the song in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Proceeds go to HelpUkraine.center, a volunteer storage center set up by Ukrainian business owners to receive humanitarian and medical aid from all over the world.

“I’ve only rarely sung this song in the many years since it was written, because I never thought it would be relevant again,” Sting said in a statement at the time. “But, in the light of one man’s bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbor, the song is, once again, a plea for our common humanity.”

In the song’s chorus, Sting sings, “What might save us me and you/ is if the Russians love their children too.”

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In March, Kip Winger revealed on the Appetite for Distortion podcast that Metallica‘s James Hetfield apologized to him for that scene in their “Nothing Else Matters” video where Lars Ulrich throws a dart at his photo. Now, Winger’s come to an understanding with the creator of the Winger-bashing content on Beavis & Butt-Head.

During the original MTV run of Beavis & Butthead, the boys’ nemesis Stewart Stevenson always wore a “Winger” T-shirt, which Winger says was harder to laugh off than the Metallica thing. “Apparently they tried a few different names on the Stewart T-shirt, and mine was the one that stuck,” Winger tells Yahoo!. He adds that he became “the guy that was singled out from the whole industry, really, because my name was on Beavis & Butt-Head.”

When MTV revived Beavis & Butt-Head in 2011, Winger says, “They wanted permission [to use the Winger name/logo on Stewart’s shirt] this time, which was very ironic, because they didn’t ask my permission the first time — which was somewhat of an admission of guilt, really!”

Winger says he’s not a “vindictive person,” but he private-messaged Judge on Facebook and asked him to chat. 

“He was nice enough to email me and we just discussed it,” Winger tells Yahoo!. “It wasn’t anything other than me trying to take the high ground, like, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna hate on you for life for this.’ And I did give them permission — and they paid me! I thought, ‘Well, f*** it. It would be weird not to be on there now, after all this time.’”

While Winger, 62, still plays with his band, he’s now a Grammy-nominated classical composer as well.

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Pop superstar Pink recently played two shows at Boston’s Fenway Park, breaking the venue’s attendance record on both nights. Opening those two record-breaking shows? Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, who are on the bill for the remainder of Pink’s shows in August and her October date at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

How did the unexpected pairing come about? It all started at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in LA in November of 2022, Benatar and Giraldo tell the Boston Herald. When the two took the stage to perform their hits after Sheryl Crow inducted them, they noticed Pink — who was there to induct Dolly Parton — rocking out in the front row.

“I just remember looking down and she was giddy,” Benatar tells the Herald. “I didn’t know her, we’d never met, so it was just so fun to look down and see her having such a great time.”

“She was in the front row and dancing,” Giraldo adds. “Then when we were leaving she came up and said, ‘I want you two on the road with me. I want you to play dates with me this summer.’”

While the couple doesn’t know if they’ll release a new album, they’ve got more than enough to do these days, even without the Pink concerts. 

“I’m 70, [Neil] is going to be 68, and we look at each other every day and go, ‘What the hell?’” Benatar laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever been busier. It’s crazy … But we’re grateful for that. We love to work. I wish I had a little more time to see my grandchildren but I see them enough.”

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The Barbie soundtrack song “I’m Just Ken,” which features guitar by Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, is now charting on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Ryan Gosling-sung track enters the all-genre chart at #87.

Slash, of course, has shredded on a number of Hot 100 hits with Guns N’ Roses, such as the chart-topping “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

The Barbie soundtrack, which also features contributions from alternative artists including Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, HAIM and GAYLE, is out now, as is the movie. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band will kick off a second North American leg of their tour next week in Chicago, and right now, they have dates scheduled through a December 12 show in San Francisco. It appears, however, that the tour may continue, in some way, shape or form, into 2024.

The Irish Independent reports that Bruce’s management team is negotiating for several shows in Ireland next May, specifically in Cork and Kilkenny. In fact, soccer matches are now being rescheduled in anticipation of the dates.

If true, Springsteen and the band are likely going to return to Europe in 2024 following a successful stadium run earlier this summer, which saw them sell more than 1.6 million tickets. The Independent says these Irish concerts will be announced “within the next few weeks.”

Does this mean more concerts in North America as well? Stay tuned.

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Happy Year of the Devil. Mötley Crüe has announced a collection of reissues celebrating the 40th anniversary of their multi-Platinum 1983 album, Shout at the Devil.

The main attraction is a Limited Edition Super Deluxe box set, which includes the remastered album on LP, CD and cassette, reproductions of the original 7-inch singles of “Looks That Kill” and “Too Young to Fall In Love,” plus a whole bunch of other goodies, like a séance board, lithographs, tarot cards, a devil candle holder and more.

Seven rare demo tracks are also included with the Year of the Devil box set, which is due October 27. If you preorder, you can listen to one of them — “Black Widow (Demo)” — instantly.

In addition, the remastered album and demos will be available digitally, in various vinyl colors and on CD.

Shout at the Devil, the Crüe’s follow-up to their debut, Too Fast For Love, has been RIAA-certified for sales of four million copies. In addition to “Looks That Kill” and “Too Young to Fall In Love,” the album also includes the title track and a cover of The Beatles‘ “Helter Skelter.”

Here are the track lists for Shout at the Devil and the demo collection:

Album track list:

“In The Beginning”
“Shout At The Devil”
“Looks That Kill”
“Bastard”
“God Bless The Children Of The Beast”
“Helter Skelter”
“Red Hot”
“Too Young To Fall In Love”
“Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid”
“Ten Seconds To Love”
“Danger”

Shout At The Demos & Rarities track list:

“Shout At The Devil” (Demo)
“Looks That Kill” (Demo)
“Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid” (Demo)
“Too Young To Fall In Love” (Demo)
“Hotter Than Hell” (Demo for “Louder Than Hell”)
“I Will Survive” (Demo)
“Black Widow” (Demo)

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On This Day, August 3, 1987…

Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, Hysteria, which became their first #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The record, the follow-up to 1983’s Pyromania, went on to sell over 20 million copies and is the band’s best selling album to date.

Produced by Mutt Lange, Hysteria took over three years for Def Leppard to complete. During production, their drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident. It was also the band’s last record with guitarist Steve Clark, who passed away in 1991. 

Hysteria featured some of Def Leppard’s most well-known hits, including the title track, their signature tune “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Armageddon It,” “Animal” and “Love Bites,” which was the band’s only #1 single.

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Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain has revealed that he’s been trying to come back from a scary health issue.

In a message on social media, Nicko writes that he had a minor stroke in January that left him paralyzed on his right side from his shoulder down. “Of course I was very worried that my career was over,” McBrain writes, but thanks to the support of his doctors, family and the Maiden camp, he’s been able to “bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered.”

The drummer also posted a short video showing him looking happy and healthy while acknowledging that he hasn’t been able to give fans “100% of my performance” on the band’s Future Past Tour, which started in May.

“I feel it’s important to let you know about this now instead of earlier, as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100% fitness,” Nicko explains in his statement. “I’m not there yet but by the grace of God I’m getting better and stronger as the weeks go by.”

In a separate statement, Nicko’s manager, Rod Smallwood, says the Maiden camp is “very proud” of “what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke.”

“We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May,” Smallwood notes. “And there was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!” “

Regarding the band’s upcoming shows in Canada and their appearance at the Power Trip festival aka Metalchella in October, Smallwood writes, “We can’t wait! This tour is that good!”

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Foreigner is currently on their Farewell tour, which gives frontman Kelly Hansen lots of opportunity to sing the band’s range of big hits. And with so many great songs to choose from, it’s no surprise he has a hard time picking a favorite.

“I’ve never looked at things as a best or better than, I appreciate these songs for what they are,” Hansen tells ABC Audio, noting that which song he prefers could change based on his mood, the venue, etc.

“And when we play those songs onstage, even though we might do a similar set of songs every night, all the variables will change how that song is going to feel, which will also color how you perform that song,” he says.

“I like to say that I’m lucky enough to have this beautiful cornucopia of ripe songs to pick from every night,” he adds. “It’s like every song is a song that everybody knows.”

And Hansen certainly knows how fortunate he is to get to perform these tunes each night. He shares, “As a singer, you couldn’t possibly buy that opportunity. To be able to have a whole set of songs that everybody knows, what a gift for me that is.” 

Next up, Foreigner’s Farewell tour hits Gilford, New Hampshire, on August 4, with dates confirmed through November 18 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

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In 1972, The Rolling Stones were the biggest band in the world; their U.S. tour that year became the stuff of legend. Now, it’s become the stuff of a podcast.

The podcast, Stones Touring Party, is based on the book S.T.P.: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones by Rolling Stone magazine’s Robert Greenfield, who did more than 60 hours of interviews with the band on that tour. He and another entourage member, Gary Stromberg, are sharing those tapes on the podcast.

Stones Touring Party is described as “an all-access pass to the sights, sounds, riots, bombings, drug busts, death threats and other assorted mayhem” of the 1972 tour. But the first episode details what happened before that tour: the Stones’ ill-fated 1969 Altamont concert, during which 18-year-old fan Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by members of Hell’s Angels, who had been hired as “security.”

“I think it affected all of us very profoundly. The only thing we were very upset about was being accused and held responsible for what happened,” then-Stones guitarist Mick Taylor says on the tapes. “And you can’t really blame anybody in that kind of mass hysteria.”

The episode sets the stage for the Stones’ return to America in 1972 and their concern that every time they stepped onstage, they might be a target for more violence.

“Either I stopped touring or I didn’t. It was as simple as that. A few people said don’t go — friends of mine … I said, ‘Well, it’s more or less what I do, so I gotta do it,’” Mick Jagger says on the tapes. “There was a few places that it did get scary and there was a lot of guns confiscated and stuff like that … I was scared s***less.”

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