Classic Rock 93.9

A new book about Asia co-founder, singer and bassist John Wetton is in the works. John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life is being put together by his family and management, with input from over 70 people who were close to or worked with him.

The book will follow Wetton, who died in 2017, from the early days of his life through his work with bands like Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep and Asia. It will feature contributions from Wetton’s fellow musicians, like Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Robert Fripp and Carl Palmer, with his Asia bandmate Geoff Downes writing the book’s preface. 

Downes shares, “[Wetton] had a love for fast cars, fine food, coffee, the Rams (that’s Derby County for non-football followers), films, books, crosswords, current affairs, sport, languages, classical music – anything that would stimulate his mind that he could use to great effect in his music and lyrics.”

In addition to stories about Wetton’s friendships, problems and triumphs, the book will be filled with personal photos of him at home and at work.

So far John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life does not have a release date, but the book is now available for preorder at Johnwettonbook.com.

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Guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham, a founding member of The Yardbirds, passed away Monday after a battle with dementia. He was 75.

Topham, who adopted the name Sanderson Rasjid after joining the Subud spiritual movement, was the first guitarist for The Yardbirds, which he formed with his childhood friend Chris Dreja, singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and drummer Jim McCarty.

“Sanderson Rasjid, born Anthony ‘Top’ Topham, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 23 surrounded by his family,” read a statement from his rep, according to The Sun. “Born in London on July 3 1947, he was 75 years old and had been fighting dementia in his final years.” 

Topham left the group before they hit it big and was replaced by Eric Clapton. When Clapton left he was replaced by Jimmy Page, who was later replaced by Jeff Beck. Topham’s death comes just two weeks after Beck’s passing at age 78.

After leaving The Yardbirds, Topham went on to form bands with his friend Duster Bennett and worked as a session musician for such artists as Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, the band’s founder Peter Green and others.

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Billy F. Gibbons is hitting the road on his own this year. The ZZ Top guitarist just announced the Billy F Gibbons: The Big One – Part 1 – ’23 tour with his solo band, which features former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Austin Hanks.

So far Gibbons has only announced tour dates in England and Europe. The 12-country tour kicks off June 10 in Sölvesborg, Sweden, hitting Copenhagen, Denmark, Frankfurt, Germany, Vienna, Austria, London and more before wrapping July 11 in Bournemouth, England.

Tickets go on sale Friday. A complete list of tour dates and ticket information can be found at BillyGibbons.com.

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If you ever wanted to play harmonica like Mick Jagger, now’s your chance. The Rolling Stones frontman has teamed up with harmonica company Lee Oskar for a new line of harmonicas that will be available in 10 major diatonic keys.

“Always loved Lee Oskar harmonicas,” Jagger, who’s played harmonica on Stones songs like “Midnight Rambler” and “Gimme Shelter,” shares, “and now I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with them on a harmonica of my own.”

The harmonicas all feature Jagger and Oskar’s names on them and come in a Jagger-branded custom case to keep them safe. They sell for a little over $60 and are now available for preorder, with shipments going out starting February 8.

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As previously reported, a new exhibit opening in June at London’s National Portrait Gallery will feature never-before-seen photos taken by Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania. Well, if you can’t get to London to see them, you’re in luck, because they’ve been compiled into a new book. 

McCartney’s 1964: Eyes of the Storm will be released June 13, featuring 275 photos taken in late 1963/early 1964 just as The Beatles were exploding across the world. These photos were all taken on a 35 mm camera and were rediscovered by McCartney in 2020.

The book includes a forward by McCartney, and focuses on photos of him and his bandmates, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, in six cities — Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami — with McCartney providing an introduction for each city. 

“Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time,” Sir Paul shares. “This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back.”

He adds, “Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America.”

The book sells for $75 and is available for preorder now.

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Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett and Gary Clark Jr. will be appearing in an upcoming Super Bowl commercial.

The three rockers will appear in an ad for the company Workday, which provides enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources.

Ahead of the game, Workday has shared clips from the commercial featuring Osbourne and Clark. In the Ozzy clip, the Prince of Darkness sports a shirt and a tie as he interacts with his confused co-workers, while Clark accepts a “rock star” compliment that his colleague thinks is for him.

According to a press release, the full ad will also feature “a few more well-known rockers.”

“Workday knows that it takes a ‘rock star’ to drive transformation, keep employees engaged, and run businesses efficiently,” says Pete Schlampp, Workday’s chief marketing and strategy officer. “If you high-five your co-workers as a rock star after seeing our ad in the Big Game, that’s a win in our book.”

Super Bowl LVII takes place February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

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Uriah Heep is giving fans another taste of their upcoming album. The band just dropped the new single “Hurricane” from their 25th studio album, Chaos & Colour, which comes out Friday. 

“Simon (Pinto) and I wrote the song about how our ancestors looked at storms and how these can be interpreted as being messages from the Gods,” drummer Russell Gilbrook, who co-wrote the tune, shares. “Their power is awesome and a great inspiration for a rocking track!” 

“Hurricane” is the second track Uriah Heep has released from Chaos & Colour, following “Save Me Tonight.” The album is available for preorder now.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fans are getting a new look at the band’s famed 20-show residency at San Francisco’s iconic Fillmore back in 1997. The band just released a 12-minute video, The Fillmore House Band – 1997 (Short Film 2), which features footage from the shows, along with commentary from the band members.

“You feel the history; you feel the ghosts,” guitarist Mike Campbell shares about the venue. “And you feel the magic that’s happened – it’s sort of dripping on the walls.” 

“The Fillmore to me is an event, it’s a place in time,” keyboardist Benmont Tench adds. “Being that close to the fans was better … When you’re in a smaller space that’s enclosed like that, then the concentration of the energy, the concentration of the band, the focus, is different.” He noted, “That’s got a really serious kind of magic … It’s incredible.”

The video follows the November release of the Live at the Fillmore (1997) box set, which featured performances recorded during the final six shows of the residency, and included guest appearances by The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and blues legend John Lee Hooker.

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Foo Fighters will headline Germany’s 2023 Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, taking place June 2-4.

Dave Grohl and company take the place of the reformed Pantera, which was dropped from the lineup earlier this week.

Statements posted to both festivals‘ Facebook pages read, “In the last few weeks, we have had many intensive conversations with artists, our partners and you, the festival fans, we have continued to deal with the criticism together and decided to remove the band from the program.”

According to German news site DW.com, said criticism stems from when Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo yelled “white power” while giving the Nazi salute during a performance at the 2016 Dimebash concert, held in honor of late guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.

Other artists on the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park lineups include Machine Gun Kelly, Rise Against, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence and Bring Me the Horizon. For more info, visit Rock-am-Ring.com and Rock-im-Park.com.

For Foo Fighters, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are part of the band’s live comeback this year following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. The group is also set to headline this year’s Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Sonic Temple festivals.

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Metallica’s new album, 72 Seasons, is dropping April 14, but fans will now have a chance to hear the whole thing one day early, thanks to a just-announced global listening party. 

The one-night-only 72 Seasons global premiere, presented by Metallica and Trafalgar Releasing, is coming to movie theaters worldwide on April 13 and will feature the album played in full in surround sound, accompanied by a new music video for each track. The band will also talk fans through each track with exclusive commentary. The band promises “a few surprises” for attendees. 

“This is a monumental opportunity for Metallica fans to be the first to hear the new album,” Kymberli Frueh, of Trafalgar Releasing, shares. “We are thrilled to be a part of this historical global moment—connecting Metallica with their fans once again.”

Tickets for the listening party go on sale March 2 at metallica.film.

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