Classic Rock News

In the last couple of years, biopics of Elton John and Queen‘s Freddie Mercury — Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody, respectively — were hugely successful at the box office, and Rod Stewart isn’t about to let a similar opportunity pass him by: He claims that he’s actively working on a movie of his life.

During an interview with the music newsletter The New Cue, Stewart is asked if a biopic is happening, to which he replies. “Yeah, yeah! I want that to happen!!” When asked for details, Rod says, “We’re working on it, that’s all I can tell you.”

So who would play Stewart in this alleged film? He tells The New Cue, “Oh God, I’ve haven’t thought of that. I know my 18-year-old son wants to play me at 18. Maybe I could get my other son playing me when I was 10.”

In addition to planning a biopic, Rod is also promoting his new album The Tears of Hercules, which is his fourth album of original songs in eight years.  Sir Rod says this late-career creative roll he’s been on is a result of a few different things.

“I didn’t enjoy writing songs back in the day because it was taking up such a huge part of my life, with all the drinking and a-drugging and a-shagging and a-drinking,” he explains. “But now that’s all gone out the window, I’m concentrated on writing songs and enjoying it a great deal.”

“Also, I’ve realized the capability for writing personal songs and telling the truth,” he adds, pointing out that he’s got plenty of material. As the father of eight puts it, “I’ve lived a life. Over and over and over again.”

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Graham Nash‘s new book, A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash, gets its official release today.

The 79-year-old folk-rock legend helped curate the book, which celebrates his lifelong passion for photography and offers a collection of captivating images that he shot spanning from his childhood to the present.

A Life in Focus includes candid photos of family members, friends and musical associates, self-portraits and artistically shot images captured in various natural settings. Nash also wrote commentary to accompany the pics.

Explaining his approach to photography, Graham tells ABC Audio, “I never want to take pictures of, you know, kittens with balls of wool. I don’t want to take images that match my couch…I want to capture something that will disappear in the blink of an eye unless you have the courage to press that trigger.”

Among the photos of Nash’s famous collaborators and musical contemporaries appearing in the book are images of his ex-girlfriend Joni Mitchell; his former band mates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young; and other legends like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, George Harrison and Cass Elliot.

Graham says some of his favorite pics in the book feature Mitchell, including “one of Joan looking through [a] magnifying glass…[and another taken] through [a] chair hole…when [she was] listening to music.”

Other standout photos for Graham include one of Crosby shot in Sag Harbor, New York, while Crosby, Stills & Nash were rehearsing for their debut album, and several of Young, among them “one of [Neil] driving away from us…in his car.”

Reflecting on the new book, Nash says, “I want it to be a fun read…I want people to go, ‘Wow, all right!’ I want people to smile. I want to bring some joy into life.”

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In addition to being a musician, Bryan Adams is also a noted photographer. On Monday, he unveiled his latest work: the 2022 edition of the legendary Pirelli calendar, which in the past has been shot by such legendary photographers as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Annie Liebovitz.  Unfortunately, Bryan had to participate in the event in Milan, Italy virtually, because he’s battling COVID for the second time in a month.

On Instagram, Adams revealed that he’d been hospitalized when he arrived in Italy, and wrote, “I was symptomatic even though I had been vaccinated but I’m on the mend now.”

During the calendar launch event, Bryan said he was “O.K.,” but still had “some of the residual COVID bug.” He added, “I should be O.K. in a couple of days, I hope.”

As for the calendar, it’s titled On the Road, and it was photographed in L.A., Capri and Canada last summer.  Among the artists who Bryan shot for the calendar: Cher, Jennifer Hudson, St. Vincent, Iggy Pop, Grimes, rapper Saweetie, pop stars Normani and Rita Ora, and Latin star Kali Uchis.

Bryan previously tested positive for COVID at the end of October, which required him to drop out of a planned tribute to Tina Turner at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

 

 

 

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Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin‘s Hanukkah Sessions series continues on night two of the Jewish holiday with a cover of the Ramones classic “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

In contrast with their night one black metal rendition of Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You),” the Foo Fighters frontman and the producer stay pretty much note-for-note true to the original punk staple, though they do change the iconic “Hey ho/Let’s go!” chant to a more holiday-appropriate “Hey oy/Let’s goy!”

“Once upon a time, two nice Jewish boys from Queens named Jeffery Hyman and Thomas Erdelyi changed the world forever with their music…as Joey and Tommy Ramone!” Grohl says.

You can watch the “Blitzkrieg Bop” cover streaming now on YouTube.

Grohl and Kurstin first launched Hanukkah Sessions in 2020, and covered songs by eight different Jewish artists to celebrate each night of the holiday: Beastie Boys, Drake, Mountain, Peaches, Bob Dylan, Elastica, The Knack and The Velvet Underground.

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On December 3, 1979, 11 young people lost their lives in a stampede as fans rushed the doors of a Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This weekend, a 1973 Who concert will be streamed online to raise funds in memory of three of those 11 victims.

The 12th annual P.E.M. Memorial event — named after victims Stephan Preston, Jackie Eckerle and Karen Morrison — will help to fund three annual scholarships for graduating seniors from the victims’ alma mater, Finneytown High School.  The scholarships will go to students who plan to major or minor in music or the arts.

The livestream event starts December 4 at 6:15pm ET, and includes the Who’s March 1973 show at Voorburg, Netherlands, which has never been seen before.  It’ll be followed by a concert by the high school’s Alumni Band.

Visit PemMemorial.org to access the livestream.  You can also donate at that link, or visit The Who’s official website for more information on how to donate.

The tragedy at the recent Astroworld festival in Houston — which left 10 people dead —  has been compared by many to the Who concert tragedy. After those 1979 deaths, festival-style seating was banned at concerts, but has since returned at many venues, and at music festivals like Astroworld.

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Toto is already scheduled to join Journey for a tour in April of 2022, but the band has just announced a series of headlining appearances before that.

The Dogz of Oz World Tour kicks off in Las Vegas on February 25; tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, December 3 at 10 a.m.  After the band wraps up its stint with Journey, it’ll head to Europe in July and August for a series of festival dates, as well as regular concerts.

The tour features the newest Toto lineup: Founding member Steve Lukather and longtime member Joseph Williams, plus new members John Pierce, Robert “Sput” Searight and Steve Maggiora, who are joining existing members Xavier Taplin and Warren Ham.

In a statement, guitarist Steve Lukather says of the tour, “We’ll be selecting a broader mix from the Toto catalog that includes deep cuts, the hits, and tunes from Joe’s and my recently released solo albums. Both of ushttps://totoofficial.com/ could not be more thrilled with the global response to these records.”

Lukather notes that currently, he and Williams are the “only long-tenured members of the band that want to be on the road continuing to bring music to our multi-generational fan base,” adding that it’s “something I’ll never stop doing.”

Williams adds of Lukather, “I can’t think of anyone else on Earth I’d rather launch the next chapter with than with this lifelong, loyal and gifted friend and band mate. We’re the last men standing…The Dogz of Oz.”

Visit TotoOfficial.com for a full list of tour dates.

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Legendary Australian rockers Midnight Oil have announced that while they’ll continue as a band, they’ll be calling it quits on touring.

On social media, James Moginie, a founding member of the “Beds Are Burning” band, writes that the group has rethought performing live since their longtime bass player Bones Hillman died in November of 2020 and that next year’s tour will be their last.

“We’ve played intensely physical gigs since our humble beginnings back in 1977 and we never want to take even the slightest risk of compromising that,” writes Moginie, adding, “With the passing of Bones much has been lost, so it now feels like we’re at the end of a cycle.”

“These will be sad and beautiful gigs but luckily we’re still capable of blowing the roof off any stage and that’s what we intend to do,” he continues. “You could call this a farewell tour, but Midnight Oil will still continue in some form or other as we’re brothers, family.”

Frontman Peter Garrett added, “Having always tackled every tour like it’s the last – this time it actually will be.”

Meanwhile, the band is releasing a new album next year called Resist, and its 12 songs represent the last recordings they made with Hillman.  As for future recordings, they explain, “Each of the members will continue their own projects over the years ahead. They remain very open to recording new music together in future and supporting causes in which they believe.”

In the U.S., Midnight Oil broke through with their 1987 album Diesel and Dust, featuring “Beds Are Burning” and “The Dead Heart.”  Their 1990 release Blue Sky Mining featured the hits “Blue Sky Mine,” “Forgotten Years” and “King of the Mountain.” Their last major U.S. success came with 1993’s Earth, Sun and Moon.

 

 

 

 

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The climax of Peter Jackson‘s new Disney+ documentary Get Back is the Beatles‘ legendary concert on the rooftop of Apple Records, which turned out to be the final time they ever played together.  Now, the policeman who was sent to shut down the concert that January day in 1969 is looking back.

25-year-old constable Ray Shayler was working in London’s West End Central police station, about 150 yards away from the Beatles’ building on Savile Row, when the call came in about a disturbance. An inexperienced colleague was told to go find out what was going on, so Shayler offered to come along and help, as he tells the Daily Mail.

When they arrived, Shayler says, it was “an interesting moment” discovering that it was The Beatles making that racket. “I wouldn’t say I was a fan…but…I liked their music,” Shayler remembers. “But when I got on the roof, I had a job to do and I thought, ‘Well, we’ve got to try and stop this.’”

“I asked how long it was going on for. He said, ‘One more record,'” Shayler recalls of his conversation with Beatles road manager Mal Evans.

“So I said…’Get on with that one and then it stops,’” he adds. “It was a discussion; it never got heated.” 

The concert ended, and Shayler recalls that Paul McCartney was “apologetic,” while Ringo Starr joked, ‘Don’t put the handcuffs on me!’”

“I didn’t even put pen to paper to record it,” Shayler says of the incident.

“Someone asked me how I felt being the man who stopped The Beatles’ concert,” he says. “But I wouldn’t say that was true. I didn’t stop The Beatles – I merely suggested it would be a good idea if they didn’t carry on.”

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Judas Priest has announced rescheduled dates for the band’s U.S. tour.

The outing had been postponed in September after guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered an aortic aneurysm onstage during Priest’s set at the Louder than Life festival, which required over 10 hours of open heart surgery. Now, with Faulkner on the mend, the “Breaking the Law” legends have announced they’ll resume touring in March 2022.

Queensryche will provide support for the tour. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit JudasPriest.com.

Earlier this month, Faulkner shared an update on his recovery, writing that he was “feeling very strong and positive” and is back to playing his guitar every day.

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Whitesnake has seen many musicians come and go during its 40-year history, but the band has never featured a female member…until now!

This past week, after frontman David Coverdale and company announced that bassist Michael Devin had parted ways with the group, Whitesnake revealed that Devin’s replacement is Tanya O’Callaghan.

“[W]e are very proud to announce & to introduce you all to our newest Snake…or should I say…SNAKETTE!!!” a message on the band’s official website reads. “Please give A LOUD WHITESNAKE CHOIR welcome to THE IRISH TORNADO!!!…A whirling dervish of a performer whom we feel will bring a fresh, new, exciting musicality & welcome energy to the band, both in the studio & onstage…here she is…Irish born & bred…the one & only…Tanya O’Callaghan!!!”

Adds Coverdale, “For whatever reason Whitesnake has never featured a female musician in the band before…Bad Boys!!!…But, when we saw TANYA performing with our friend Stephen Adler‘s Band at the M3 festival in 2019 & we were all blown away.”

According to O’Callaghan’s official website, besides playing with ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Adler’s solo band, Tanya has “toured, recorded, written and worked with” Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, Orianthi, 10cc‘s Kevin Godley, The Corrs‘ Sharon Corr and others.

Meanwhile, O’Callaghan has shared a message about how she feels about joining Whitesnake on her Facebook page.

“What an absolute honor to be joining Whitesnake/David Coverdale for their worldwide farewell tour 2022/23,” she writes. “[T]o step into the snake shoes of my bass brothers Rudy Sarzo, Tony Franklin, Neil Murray and Michael Devin…are you kidding me…what a f#*king honor beyond belief!!! My heart is exploding.”

Whitesnake launches its 2022 tour on May 10 in the capital of O’Callaghan’s homeland, Dublin.

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