Classic Rock 93.9

Last year, Elton John scored a global hit with Dua Lipa with “Cold Heart” — a mashup of four of his old songs. Now, he’s poised to have another one with “Hold Me Closer,” a mashup of three of his old songs featuring Britney Spears. And Elton promises that the hits will keep on coming.

“I want to do one every year for a fun, happy summer record,” Elton tells The Guardian newspaper. He certainly has enough old songs to do it, and there are enough young artists who’d probably jump at the chance.

“I’m Uncle Elton,” says the Rocket Man, who loves to advise young musicians who may be struggling with the pressures of fame. In Britney’s case, Elton says of her journey to escape her 13-year conservatorship, “You forget she was the biggest star in the whole world at that time. And to see what happened to her makes me so angry. What happened to her shouldn’t have happened to anybody.”

Now that the song is on its way to being a hit, Elton says, “I’m just crossing my fingers that this will restore her confidence in herself to get back into the studio, make more records, and realize that she is bloody good.”

According to the song’s producer, Andrew Watt, Britney was plenty confident when she came to his L.A. studio to record her vocals. “She was so prepared…she’s so good at knowing when she got the right take. She took complete control,” he raves, noting, “She’s an expert in music to make you dance…she’s so pro.”

Britney’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, who extracted her from her conservatorship, tells ABC News in a statement, “No one should be surprised that her first [post-conservatorship] foray is a smash success…Britney is a brilliant artist and iconic woman.”

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Ex-Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was a surprise guest at modern rockers The Killers‘ concert on Saturday at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

Buckingham joined The Killers for the show’s finale and played three songs with the band — renditions of their 2020 tune “Caution,” Lindsey’s classic 1976 Fleetwood Mac hit “Go Your Own Way” and The Killers’ 2003 smash “Mr. Brightside.”

Fan-shot video of the “Mr. Brightside” performance was posted to YouTube by user James Crutchfield.

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who has been serving as The Killers’ opening act on their current tour, also took part in the “Mr. Brightside” performance. In addition, Marr has been joining The Killers at every show on the trek to play a Smiths tune; during Saturday’s gig they performed “This Charming Man.”

Buckingham posted a couple of photos of him playing with The Killers on his Facebook page, along with a note that reads, “Thank you for having me out there.”

Incidentally, Buckingham was featured on the studio version of “Caution,” which appeared on The Killers’ 2020 album, Imploding Mirage.

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The Tommy Lee Instagram photo saga took a punny turn during Mötley Crüe‘s concert in Los Angeles over the weekend.

A couple weeks back, the drummer posted a full frontal nude photo of himself that left nothing at all to the imagination on his Instagram. The photo was eventually removed from the social media platform for violating its content guidelines.

At the LA show Saturday, Lee told the audience that he’d gotten “drunk as f***” before posting the photos. He then asked the crowd, “They took them down from Instagram, do you want to see my wiener?”

Cut to Lee rustling around in his pants to pull out what appeared to be a real, live dachshund aka a “wiener dog.”

Lee posted a video of his “wiener” reveal on his Instagram, which, unlike his other posts, is still up.

Mötley Crüe is currently on tour with Def Leppard, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Poison. The outing continues Wednesday in Seattle.

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In June, Yes launched its “Album Series Tour 2022” with a run of concerts in the U.K. and Ireland, and now, the legendary prog-rock band has announced plans to bring the trek to the U.S. this fall.

The tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of Yes’ classic 1972 studio effort, Close to the Edge, and will feature a full performance of the album, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.

The 28-date trek, which marks Yes first stateside outing since 2019, kicks off with an October 7-8 stand in Glenside, Pennsylvania and runs through a November 19 show in Westbury, New York. Tickets for the concerts will go on sale to the general public starting this Friday, September 2; check local listings and YesWorld.com for information.

The Close to the Edge shows will feature a full production with a high-def video wall that will offer a presentation including art created by longtime Yes cover artist Roger Dean.

Like the tour of the U.K. and Ireland, the U.S. trek is dedicated to longtime Yes drummer Alan White, who passed away in May. White joined Yes in June 1972, just a few days before the band launched its original tour in support of Close to the Edge, and remained with the group for the rest of his life.

Stepping in for Alan will be his good friend Jay Schellen, who has served as Yes’ second touring drummer for many years.

As previously reported, a special tribute concert for White has been scheduled for October 2 at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. The show will feature members of Yes and Alan’s solo group White, as well as special guests. Tickets for the show are on sale now at STGPresents.org.

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Ozzy Osbourne has opened up on his and his wife Sharon‘s decision to move back to their native U.K. after having long lived in Los Angeles.

“Everything’s f***ing ridiculous there,” Ozzy tells The Observer of the U.S. “I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings.”

“There was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert,” he continues, presumably referring to the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest country festival. “It’s f***ing crazy.”

The metal legend, 73, adds that he doesn’t “want to die in America” or be buried in LA’s Forest Lawn cemetery.

“I’m English. I want to be back,” Ozzy says. “But saying that, if my wife said we’ve got to go and live in Timbuktu, I’ll go…But, no, it’s just time for me to come home.”

In addition to planning his move back to the U.K., Ozzy is gearing up to release a new album, Patient Number 9, on September 9.

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The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards took place Sunday night. Here are the rock artists who took home a Moon Person:

As was previously announced before the show, Red Hot Chili Peppers were recognized with the Global Icon Award. After an introduction from comedy duo Cheech & Chong, the band launched into renditions “Black Summer,” off their new album Unlimited Love, and the By the Way classic “Can’t Stop.”

The Peppers then gave a speech accepting the Global Icon Award, with drummer Chad Smith dedicating the honor to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Smith’s drum kit also paid tribute to Hawkins with a drawing of a hawk outlining the name Taylor.

Additionally, frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea gave brief speeches, thanking their fans, bandmates, family and, in the case of Flea, “cockroaches” and “deer antlers.”

Meanwhile, RHCP’s “Black Summer” won the Best Rock prize.C

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Def Leppard currently is rocking the U.S. on The Stadium Tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, but after that trek wraps up on September 9, guitarist Vivian Campbell will hit the road with his side group Last in Line for another stateside outing.

Last in Line’s tour kicks off September 23 in Laconia, New Hampshire, and currently is mapped out through a November 23 show in Huntington, New York. So far, 18 dates have been confirmed, but more are expected to be added.

The trek will support Last in Line’s A Day in the Life EP, which is due out on November 11 and will feature the band’s recently released cover of the famous Beatles song of the same name.

Last in Line was formed in 2012 as a tribute to the band Dio after frontman Ronnie James Dio‘s death from cancer in 2010. The group features two Dio alums — Campbell and ex-Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice — as well as singer Andrew Freedman and one-time Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan.

Prior to joining Def Leppard in 1992, Campbell played with Dio from 1982 to 1986, while Appice was a member of Dio from ’82 until 1998.

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A performance stage at a new park in Pasadena, California, the city where Alex Van Halen and the late Eddie Van Halen grew up, will be named after the brothers’ famous band at a dedication ceremony Saturday, September 10.

According to Pasadena Now, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Playhouse Village Park and Van Halen Stage will be held at 9 a.m. PT, followed by a two-hour community celebration.

The Pasadena City Council voted to name the stage after Van Halen following a citywide survey in 2021.

The Van Halen family moved to Pasadena from the Netherlands in 1962, and the siblings formed their famous namesake band in the city in 1972. Eddie died in October 2020 from complications of cancer. He was 65.

Eddie Van Halen Park was the most popular name considered for the park, but the City Council eventually decided that Playhouse District Village Park would be more appropriate. The performance stage was then set to be named Eddie Van Halen Stage, but the Van Halen family requested that the area be named for the whole band rather than just for the late guitarist. The plans then were amended to honor the family’s wishes.

The park, which sits on 1.04 acres of land, also features a children’s play area and a dog run. 

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The fourth and final episode of the new Rolling Stones docuseries My Life as a Rolling Stone premieres on EPIX this Sunday, August 28.

The new installment focuses specifically on Charlie Watts, and features archival interviews with the late Stones drummer — who died last year at age 80 — as well as new commentary from his Stones bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.

The episode looks at how Watts’ low-key and humble persona helped counterbalance some of the group’s more volatile personalities, while his swinging backbeat helped keep the band grooving for six decades.

A preview clip from the episode features audio of Watts sharing how he felt about audiences’ over-the-top reaction to The Stones when they first achieved fame.

“I loved it. As far as the excitement and the crowd, it was fantastic,” Charlie said. “And, you know, when you see a balcony in one of these beautiful old theaters in the north of England bouncing up and down, it’s incredible.”

Watts also noted that during the mania that followed their initial success, the band never got to play more than a few songs before a show would be halted.

“[T]he curtains would open, the whole place would go mad, and within about three songs, they’d break the whole thing up and you’d have to get off,” he recalled. “Apart from going in studios, we didn’t play a great deal, ’cause we actually never got through a set.”

Charlie added that he could’ve done without the post-show attention he got from fans.

“[W]hen the music stopped, I wished I could have turned it off,” he admitted. “I hated it. I hated being chased by girls and all that.”

My Life as a Rolling Stone: Charlie Watts airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars has lent his talents to a new song by rap rocker Hyro the Hero called “Who’s That Playing on the Radio?” that got its premiere today.

The track, which also features singer Danny Worsnop of the British heavy metal band Asking Alexandria, was recorded for the soundtrack to the upcoming thriller film The Retaliators.

In a statement, Hyro calls “Who’s That Playing on the Radio?” a “perfect example of when worlds collide.”

“Not only do you hear the epic vocals of Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria, but you also get the legendary guitar skills of Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe,” he says. “It’s the perfect mix to bring about my description of two opposing sides ready to go to war and creating noise among the masses.”

You can listen to “Who’s That Playing on the Radio?” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

The Retaliators will hit theaters on September 14. The film’s soundtrack drops on September 16. The album includes the Retaliators theme “21 Bullets” featuring Mötley Crüe, Asking Alexandria, Ice Nine Kills and From Ashes to New, as well as contributions from Crüe members Vince Neil and Tommy Lee, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch and The Hu.

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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