Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard has had a lot of highlights over the course of their career, but for frontman Joe Elliott one stands out above the rest.

In a video post on Instagram, Elliott reflects on some of his most memorable moments with the band, including concerts in 1993 and 2023 in their hometown of Sheffield, England. 

But Elliott says the overall best moment for him was the band’s 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, noting, “Only because even to this day I’m still shocked that we’re actually in it.”

“I’d been talking to Jon Bon Jovi, I said, ‘Ah, I don’t care if we’re in there.’ He goes, ‘Nah, dude, you’re gonna love it, you’re gonna love it,’ and he was absolutely right,” he says. Elliott notes that having Sir Brian May from Queen induct them was “pretty special.”

Elliott called the induction a “brilliant night,” adding that it was particularly great that they got to perform with Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter, with The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone, and Rod Argent and E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt on backing vocals for the all-star finale of “All The Young Dudes.”

Elliott, a well-known Mott the Hoople fan, says getting to play with Hunter “really did bring it full circle. It was pretty cool.”

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Actor Ansel Elgort is set to make his professional dancing debut in New York in November.

The West Side Story actor is set to play The Godfather in Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia, A Rock Ballet, inspired by The Who’s 1973 rock opera, which will run at New York City Center from Nov. 14-16.

“Rock n’ Roll is not dead. I think it’s having a rebirth right now, downtown NYC you can hear electric guitars squealing through bar doors as people are hungry for live music. Even better, a rock ballet!,” Elgort says in a statement. “My roots are in ballet and theatre and to be able to return to the stage in The Who’s Quadrophenia rock ballet feels like a gift from the rock gods. Well, one of them himself, Pete Townshend already wrote me a note welcoming me on board, and I’m framing it.”

Townshend adds, “I’m thrilled to welcome Ansel to Quadrophenia. The spirit of Rock n’ Roll was not just my generation. It’s every generation.”

Directed by Rob Ashford, Quadrophenia, A Rock Ballet debuted in the U.K. in May. It features an orchestral version of the album by Townshend’s wife, Rachel Fuller, recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The ballet is choreographed by Paul Roberts, with rising star Paris Fitzpatrick playing the central character, Jimmy.

The story, set in Brighton, England, in 1965, follows a young working-class mod named Jimmy on a journey of self-discovery. The album’s title was inspired by Jimmy’s four-way “split personality,” with each member of the band representing a different facet of that personality.

Tickets for Quadrophenia, A Rock Ballet are on sale now. More info can be found at nycitycenter.org.

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The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is movin’ out its Billy Joel exhibit, which has been drawing crowds to the museum in Stony Brook, New York, for the past two years. But unlike most museum exhibits, fans will be able to take home some of the more than 100 items of memorabilia.

The exhibit is closing Oct. 25, and on that day, the museum will host The Billy Joel Collectors Presentation, featuring Paul Fierro and Eric Fellen, two local collectors who loaned many of their own Billy Joel items to the exhibit. They’ll talk about how they obtained the memorabilia, as well as “the art of collecting all things Billy.”

But most exciting for fans is that some of Fierro and Fellen’s collection from the exhibit will be up for grabs in a silent auction designed to raise money for the museum. They include promo items from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s; backstage passes; an original pressing of The Hour of the Wolf, the second album Billy recorded with his old band The Hassles; a poster from Billy’s 100th show at Madison Square Garden; a Billy Joel New York Yankees bobblehead; and many other items.

And if you don’t want to pony up cash for the auction, there will also be door prizes, including promotional items from 1987, 1990 and 2006, giveaways from Billy’s 70th concert at the Garden and more. Admission to the event is free. 

Many of the items will, of course, be returned to Billy himself, and others who loaned them. 

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Grateful Dead has announced details of the next release in their Dave’s Picks bootleg series.

Dave’s Picks Vol. 56, the fourth and final Dave’s Pick of 2025, will feature two nearly complete shows recorded March 20, 1981, and March, 21, 1981, at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The shows were the opening two nights of a four-night stand at the venue.

The concerts, which were the first time The Dead returned to Europe in seven years, feature performances of such Dead classics as “Friend of the Devil,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Althea,” “Truckin’” and “Alabama Getaway.”

“These London shows are right up there with the best,” Dead archivist David Lemieux says in a video shot in front of Big Ben. “Some really, really wonderful, wonderful music to end the year.”

Only 25,000 numbered copies of Dave’s Picks Vol. 56 will be available and are available for preorder now.

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Documentaries about Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel and U2 frontman Bono are among the films recognized with nominations for the 10th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

The theatrical release Becoming Led Zeppelin, HBO’s Billy Joel: And So It Goes and Apple TV’s Bono: Stories of Surrender all received nods in the best music documentary category. The Jeff Buckley doc It’s Never Over Jeff Buckley and two films directed by Questlove, Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music and Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), about the late Sly Stone, were also nominated.

A documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono was also recognized with a nomination. The film, One to One: John & Yoko, is nominated in the best archival documentary category.

Winners of the 10th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards will be revealed on Nov. 9 at a gala in New York City.

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British actor James Norton has reportedly landed a role in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles films.

Deadline reports that Norton, who currently appears in the new Netflix series House of Guinness, will play Beatles manager Brian Epstein in The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, which is scheduled to hit theaters in April 2028.

Epstein, known as The Fifth Beatle, managed the band from 1962 to his death. He met them in December 1961 when they performed at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. He died in 1967 at the age of 32.

In addition to House of Guinness, Norton appeared in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaption of Little Women, and played Island Records founder Chris Blackwell in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love. He also has a role in the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.

Mendes’ four Beatles films will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Each film will be told from the point of view of each band member.

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Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has released another track from his upcoming live album and concert film, Lighthouse: Live From London.

The latest is actually a medley of two songs, his track “Holy Water” with The Stooges’ classic “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” The release is available now via digital outlets. A performance video is also on YouTube.

Lighthouse: Live From London captures McKagan’s Oct. 25, 2024, concert at London’s Islington Assembly Hall. The tour was in support of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s third solo album, 2023’s Lighthouse.

The album and film feature 19 tracks, with a guest appearance by Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones on covers of David Bowie’s “Heroes” and Johnny Thunder’s “Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.”

Lighthouse: Live From London will be released Oct. 31 digitally, on CD and as a CD + Blu-ray set that includes the complete Live From London concert film. It will also be released as a two-LP black vinyl set that comes with a replica concert ticket signed by McKagan.

Lighthouse: Live From London is available for preorder now.

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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Billy Joel will be celebrated with an upcoming tribute concert in New York City.

The Piano Man is the latest focus of New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf’s annual “Music Of” concert series, with the Joel tribute set for March 21 at Carnegie Hall.

The Music of Billy Joel will feature 20 artists performing songs from Joel’s legendary catalog, with 100% of the net proceeds going to music education for underserved youth programs.

The Joel concert will be the 21st “Music Of” tribute put on by Dorf. Since the series launched in 2004, the concerts have raised over $2 million for charity.

Last year’s honoree was Patti Smith, with previous concerts celebrating the music of Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, R.E.M., Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.

A lineup for the concert has yet to be announced. VIP tickets are on sale at musicof.org.

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A classic live album from The Doors is getting a new vinyl reissue.

Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The First Performance is being released on Nov. 21 as a 180-gram three-LP vinyl set, which includes the 2016 mix of the album by Doors engineer Bruce Botnick, taken from the original eight-track analog masters, resulting in a new high-fidelity experience.

The album, originally released in 2006, captures the band’s July 21, 1969, concert at the intimate Aquarius Theatre on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. It features performances of such Doors classics as “Break on Through,” “Light My Fire” and more.

In addition to the album, the set includes sound check recordings, liner notes and more.

“The new mix is a revelation,” Botnick says. “The resulting clarity gives this concert new life – and as a bonus, side six features material from the soundcheck that preceded the show.”

Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The First Performance is limited to 2,000 numbered copies and is available for preorder now.

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Iron Maiden has announced a 40th anniversary vinyl reissue of their 1985 live album, Live After Death.

The two-LP set will be released on Dec. 12. It features the 2015 remaster of the original album, which was recorded during Maiden’s World Slavery Tour in support of their 1984 album, Powerslave.

“We were touring our a**** off,” says bassist Steve Harris. “It was literally just, ‘record, tour, record, tour’ – we didn’t stop. [Manager] Rod [Smallwood] was cracking the old whip, and that was the right thing to do.”

“I mean, we were totally up for it, it’s not like we were doing stuff that we didn’t want to do,” Harris continues. “You think you’re invincible – ‘Yeah, we’ll take that on, no problem.’ That’s the way to crack it. It’s the only way for a band like us because we had no radio play whatsoever back then.”

The reissue also includes a replica 24-page tour program and tour pass, as well as an accompanying essay featuring interviews with Harris, Smallwood and drummer Nicko McBrain.

In other Maiden-related news, frontman Bruce Dickinson has shared a video of him performing the U.S. national anthem during a hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche.

Dickinson previously sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at an NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers.

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