Classic Rock News

Queen fans can now own a piece of Roger Taylor’s drum kit and wear it around their necks.

The band has just unveiled a set of Taylored Spinner Pendants, a piece of jewelry made out of one of Roger’s Zildjian cymbals, offering up the tagline, “You heard it….now wear it!”

The spinners are individually handmade, and numbered with a silver and a bronze cut. There are three different designs offered: one with a car on it, another with a drum kit and a third, Radio Gaga, with a radio and the words “Ga Ga” engraved on it. 

Each pendant comes with a 24-inch sterling silver chain with a Jolly Roger logo and a certificate of authenticity signed by Taylor, which includes a photo of the rocker taken by his daughter.

They are available at queenonlinestore.com.

This isn’t the first time Taylor’s cymbals have been turned into jewelry. Last May fans had a chance to purchase Taylored Spinner Cymbal Rings.

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Looks like Mick Jagger is doing a little sightseeing ahead of The Rolling Stones‘ Hackney Diamonds tour kickoff in Houston. 

The rocker just shared photos on Instagram from his visit to the Houston Space Center, where he apparently got to test out some of the equipment and meet some astronauts. They even welcomed him with a message on one of the big screens, reading “Welcome to Mission Control Mick Jagger” with his face in the middle. 

He captioned the post, “Thanks @nasa for being so welcoming to us and great to be shown around by astronauts Josh Cassada, Bob Hines and Jessica Meir.” 

The Stones will launch their tour on Sunday, April 28, at NRG Stadium in Houston. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Ringo Starr’s new EP, Crooked Boy, has just been released to digital services. To mark the occasion he’s shared a video for one of the tracks, “Gonna Need Someone.”

The video features Ringo and guitarist Nick Valensi, who plays on the song, and includes new footage, as well as footage from Ringo’s personal archives.

The EP features four songs written and produced by Linda Perry; this song is one Ringo specifically requested from her.

“I love what Linda did and I think all the songs are all great but one thing I did ask her was to write me a rocker,” he says. “And that’s ‘Gonna Need Someone’ and I love it!”

Crooked Boy was first released on limited-edition marble vinyl for Record Store Day. Black vinyl and CD versions are set to drop May 31.

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The Eagles are back on the Billboard charts.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ recently released best-of compilation, To the Limit: The Essential Collection, has landed in the top 10 on several charts.  

The band moved 7,000 copies of the album and 6,500 in physical sales to land at #9 on the Top Album Sales chart. It also lands at #6 on the Top Rock Albums chart and at #8 on both the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart and Top Current Album Sales chart.

On the overall Billboard 200 Album chart, To The Limit: The Essential Collection debuted at #30, which makes it the group’s 12th top 40 album.

Of those 12 albums, six went to #1; 1975’s One Of These Nights, 1976’s Hotel California and Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, 1979’s The Long Run, 1994’s Hell Freezes Over, 2007’s Long Road Out Of Eden.

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Another track from the upcoming Tom Petty tribute album, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, has just been released.

The latest is Chris Stapleton’s take on “I Should Have Known It,” a song from Petty’s 2010 album Mojo. This is the third track from Petty Country that’s been released, following Dierks Bentley’s take on “American Girl” and Dolly Parton’s cover of “Southern Accents.” 

You can listen to “I Should Have Known It” now via digital outlets.

Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty will be released June 21, featuring 20 Petty covers. Other artists on the album include Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, Willie Nelson, Lady A and Thomas Rhett.

The album also features guest appearances by Petty’s Heartbreakers bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. Campbell appears on “Ways to Be Wicked,” sung by Margo Price, while Tench appears on “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” covered by Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble. 

Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty is available for preorder now.

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Journey’s classic track “Anyway You Want It” plays a central role in a new promo clip for the upcoming Ryan Gosling/Emily Blunt film The Fall Guy.

In a new video, titled Marketing The Fall Guy: Carpool, Gosling is instructed by his director to pick up some stunt guys “for a like Carpool karaoke” thing, but he is not at all happy when he finds out they aren’t singing in it.

“No singing? Not even like Journey?” asks Ryan, who doesn’t actually listen and cranks up “Anyway You Want It.”

While picking up three stunt guys — Logan Holladay, Ben Jenkin and Troy Brown — they have some fun singing to the tune. They also show off their impressive stuntman skills.

The clip ends with the director telling them they have to do it again because they don’t have the rights to the song, but it sounds like Journey isn’t at all upset about it. They reshared the video on social media, writing, “Too Cool ! Anyway you want It.”

Meanwhile, another classic rock tune will be featured on the soundtrack to The Fall Guy — but with an update. KISS’ “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” has been covered by Yungblud for the film.

The Fall Guy hits theaters May 3, with the soundtrack being released the same day. So far, there’s no word on what other songs will be featured on the album.

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The late Jimmy Buffett’s life and legacy is being celebrated with a new Margaritaville Bobblehead, officially licensed by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. 

The bobblehead features the iconic Margaritaville Parrot playing guitar, dressed in a Hawaiian T-shirt and wearing a backward baseball. 

The limited edition bobblehead is available for preorder now through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame store. Money raised from the sale will go to Buffett’s Singing For Change Foundation, which “seeks to honor Jimmy’s spirit of giving, helping others, and having fun along the way.” 

“We’re excited to create this Margaritaville Bobblehead as a tribute to Jimmy Buffett’s hit song with a portion of proceeds supporting the incredible Singing for Change organization,” said Phil Sklar, co-Founder & CEO of National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.

Buffett passed away September 1 at the age of 76 after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer.

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Billy Idol will continue the 40th anniversary celebration of his sophomore album, Rebel Yell, with a performance at one of New York’s most iconic landmarks.

Idol and his longtime guitarist and collaborator Steve Stevens will be on hand as New York’s Empire State Building helps celebrate the anniversary with a special lighting ceremony on Tuesday, April 30. The pair is also going to perform a live acoustic set for a select group of fans. 

The Rebel Yell 40th anniversary deluxe edition is out now, featuring an album of previously unreleased songs and demos. One of those previously unreleased songs, “Best Way Out of Here,” from the album’s original recording sessions, is now available on digital outlets.

Released November 1983, Rebel Yell went to #6 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, thanks to hit songs “Eyes Without A Face,” which peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 chart, the title track and “Flesh For Fantasy.” Videos for all three tracks got regular play on MTV.

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Music fans are getting their first taste of the upcoming Paul McCartney & Wings release, One Hand Clapping, with the just-released performance of the 1974 single “Junior’s Farm.”

You can listen to “Junior’s Farm” now via digital outlets.

One Hand Clapping was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1974 as a video documentary and possible live album, but it never officially came out. Over the years, parts of it have come out on bootlegs, while some of the material has turned up on official McCartney releases.

Now, One Hand Clapping is getting its first official release on June 14, featuring additional songs that were recorded off-camera.

The album includes live in-studio recordings of such Wings hits as “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “My Love,” as well as Paul’s solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed” and reworked versions of Beatles classics like “Let It Be,” “Lady Madonna” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

One Hand Clapping will be released digitally and as a two-LP and two-CD set. There will also be an online exclusive two-LP + 7-inch package that comes with a vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios.

All formats are available for preorder now.

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Mötley Crüe has unleashed the “Dogs of War” with their first new song in five years.

The track, which is available now via digital outlets, also marks the “Kickstart My Heart” outfit’s first release since new guitarist John 5 joined the band following the retirement of Mick Mars.

“It’s always great getting back in the studio with the guys in the band,” bassist Nikki Sixx says. “We know you’re gonna like this one.”

You can watch the accompanying “Dogs of War” video, which features animated, anthropomorphic doberman dogs and pigs in suits, streaming now on YouTube.

The last time Mötley Crüe put out new music was for the soundtrack to their 2019 biopic, The Dirt, which included the Machine Gun Kelly collaboration, “The Dirt (Est. 1981).”

Mars, meanwhile, announced his retirement from touring in 2022, which led to an ongoing legal action regarding his financial stake in Mötley Crüe. He put out his debut solo album, The Other Side of Mars, in February.

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