Classic Rock 93.9

Queen is out with the latest installment of their yearlong YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live. This week’s episode focuses on rehearsals for 1986’s The Magic Tour.

The 26-date Magic Tour, which hit stadiums in the United Kingdom and Europe, wound up being frontman Freddie Mercury’s final shows and had the band playing a set list that featured almost 30 songs. The episode gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals for the songs “Tear It Up,” “I Want To Break Free” and “Now I’m Here.”

According to the band’s multimedia collaborator Simon Lupton, it’s apparent the video featured in the episode wasn’t official and the band probably didn’t know it was being recorded. He notes, “Although it would have been very much frowned upon at the time, it now gives us a rare and fascinating insight into the rehearsal process,” calling the video footage a “rare gem.”

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Monday, February 6, would have been Bob Marley’s 78th birthday, and to celebrate the milestone the Marley Family is giving fans a present – new vinyl. 

The Marley Family, along with Tuff Gong and UME, will release 12 limited-edition Bob Marley vinyl LPs on March 24. Each release will be numbered and pressed at Tuff Gong International headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.

The releases will include nine original studio albums, including Uprising, Burnin’ and Natty Dread, along with two live albums and the reggae compilation Legend. The album Catch A Fire is being released in its original Jamaica-recorded version, without the overdubs and mix added by Island founder Chris Blackwell. The vinyl will have two extra tracks from the Jamaica sessions.

All albums are available for preorder now.

But that’s not all. The latest edition of the web series Fashion Icon focuses on Marley’s influence on the fashion world and the evolution of his style throughout his career. The episode, which is out now, is narrated by Cedella Marley and talks with members of the Marley family, including Ky-Mani Marley, Rohan Marley and Skip Marley, as well as Chuck D and others.

Finally, the Bob Marley birthday celebration will be held at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica, Monday and will be streamed live on the Tuff Gong TV YouTube channel. It’s set to feature several Jamaican entertainers, along with tributes from Tyrone Downie and Jo Mersa Marley of The Wailers.

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Former British rock star Gary Glitter is a free man. The BBC reports that Glitter, best known for his hit “Rock & Roll (Part 2),” was released from prison on Friday. He’d been serving a 16-year sentence for various sexual offenses against minors.

Glitter was released after serving only half of his sentence at a prison on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. His fixed-term sentence meant he’d automatically be freed halfway through.

Glitter, born Paul Gadd, was sentenced back in 2015 on charges involving three young girls between the ages of 10 and 13. Those charges included attempted rape, unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and four counts of indecent assault.

But while Glitter’s out of jail, he isn’t completely free. He will be monitored by probation officers, with a Ministry of Justice spokesperson noting he’ll “face some of the strictest license conditions.” He will also have to wear a GPS tracker.

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The iconic 1973 Iggy & the Stooges album Raw Power has been reissued in honor of its upcoming 50th anniversary.

The digital-only package includes newly remastered editions of the album’s original mix, done by the late David Bowie, as well as Iggy Pop‘s updated 1997 mix. You’ll also find the Georgia Peaches live album, recorded during a 1973 show in Atlanta, as well as the digital premiere of the Rare Power collection of outtakes, alternate mixes and rehearsal audio.

Additionally, the reissue will be accompanied by a Dolby Atmos mix of “Search and Destroy,” which Iggy declares, “Sounds like you’re standing on stage with the Stooges, being a part of things.”

Originally released on February 7, 1973, the highly influential Raw Power is a seminal album of proto-punk and helped pioneer the burgeoning punk scene.

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On This Day February 3, 2008…

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlined the halftime show at Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix, Arizona, which saw the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots. 

In just over three minutes, the band rocked crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium with a set that included such classics as “American Girl,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin’,” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” The show was a warmup to the band’s world tour, which kicked off later that year.

The Giants won the game 17 to 14.

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Foo Fighters have added another festival set to their 2023 schedule.

Dave Grohl and company will headline Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival, taking place July 28-30. The bill also includes The Strokes, Weezer, Alanis Morissette and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit FujiRockFestival.com.

Foo Fighters are headlining a number of festivals this year, including Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Sonic Temple, as part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March. There’s no word yet on who will play drums with the Foos for the shows.

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Bonnie Raitt is no stranger to Grammy Awards. Not only has she won 10, she’s been nominated 30 times, including four nominations this year. But surprisingly, this year she’s received her first nomination as a songwriter, with her tune “Just Like That” up for Song of the Year.

“I was never expecting this song of the year nomination. But I was very proud of the song, especially since it was so inspired by John Prine, and we lost him,” she tells the New York Times. “I put my heart and soul into every record, and I never know which ones are going to resonate. But I can tell people are really moved, looking out there in the audience.” 

Raitt will be in attendance at this Sunday’s Grammys, where she’ll perform in the tribute to Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie, and it sounds like for many artists Grammy night is about way more than trophies.

“I think all of us are like a kid in a candy store backstage,” she shares. “My favorite story about the Grammys was going through the metal detector at the Staples Center, at the afternoon ceremony. I was in the line between two guys in Slipknot, and the guy behind me is like in a Hannibal Lecter kind of a mask, and he goes, ‘I really dig your music!’”

She says, “I wouldn’t have expected Slipknot guys to know me. You know, maybe a ‘My mom loves you’ kind of thing, but he was clearly a fan. And I just never expected the number of people that come up and tell each other that. I got to tell Dave Grohl what a fan I am of the Foo Fighters, and he was so surprised on the red carpet.”

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Chris Cornell‘s widow, Vicky Cornell, has shared a statement regarding Soundgarden‘s nomination to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

In an Instagram post, Vicky writes, “Thank you Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for nominating Soundgarden for induction in 2023!”

“I know that Chris would be so proud and his fans will be so happy to see his band recognized and honored,” she continues. “On Chris’s behalf, I want to thank every one of you in advance for your love and support for his music and legacy.”

Soundgarden is on the ballot for the second time, following their first nod in 2020. Both nominations have come after Chris’ death in 2017.

Guitarist Kim Thayil previously told Billboard that the latest nomination is a “pleasant surprise.”

The 2023 Rock Hall inductees will be announced in May.

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Brian May says he feels violated after hackers got into several of his accounts. The Queen guitarist took to Instagram to reveal that not only have his TikTok and Twitter accounts been hacked, his email account has been, as well.

“Basically, I wasted the whole day today trying to reclaim my stuff, without much success to be honest,” he shares in a video to his followers. “I spend my life trying to earn an honest living I suppose and trying to do some good in the world and bring some joy to people. But this guy just wants to spend his days making my life a misery. So I don’t really get it; I think it is kind of sad.”

May says he does have someone working on fixing the matter, but notes, “It has done a lot of damage to me, it also makes me feel really, I guess, violated. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling.”

And what’s worse, Brian says in the caption of the video the hacker has been “scamming kids with fraudulent offers of cheap laptops, pretending to be me.” He warns folks to be careful. 

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The Stranger Things scene that made a resurgent hit out of Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets” is getting turned into a Funko Pop! figure.

The upcoming set features tiny, vinyl recreations of Joseph Quinn‘s Eddie Munson and the guitar he used to shred the 1986 thrash classic, and of Gaten Matarazzo‘s Dustin Henderson and the evil demobats.

Stay tuned to Funko.com for preorder info.

Following its placement in the season 4 finale of Stranger Things last year, “Master of Puppets” charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the very first time, eventually peaking at #35 on the all-genre chart.

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