Classic Rock News

U2’s Las Vegas residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, has been a huge success for the band and that’s pretty evident from the early box office numbers.

Billboard reports that the first set of 17 residency shows, which wrapped November 4, brought in $109.8 million from 281,000 tickets, or about $16.5 million per show. Those numbers make it the fastest grossing residency in the history of the Billboard Boxscore. 

Of course those numbers are high because the U2 tickets aren’t cheap, averaging $390.97 per show, which is way above the going rate for tickets to other Vegas residencies. For example, tickets to Lady Gaga’s residency average about $290.15 and Bruno Mars tickets are about $285.30.

And U2 stand to earn a whole lot more, with eight more residency shows in December, along with 11 recently announced dates scheduled for January and February. If the numbers keep up, the residency could bring in close to $330 million in total.

Those numbers are quite impressive when you consider Elton John’s Vegas residency, The Million Dollar Piano, brought in $131.2 million from 189 shows, while the highest-grossing residency, Celine Dion’s A New Day…, brought in $385.1 from 714 shows.

The next U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency at The Venetian Resort is happening Friday, December 1. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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While most people are dying to get their hands on tickets to The Rolling Stones’ upcoming Hackney Diamonds tour, future King of England Prince William needs a bit of an incentive. 

The British magazine Hello! reports that at the Tusk Conservation Awards in London on November 27, William got to chatting with Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. The rocker subsequently told the mag, “We were talking about the tour and I said ‘Come on, you’ve got to come out on tour!’ And we were talking about the new album and everything.” 

But Ronnie said the prince had a condition before he’d agree to attend, noting, “William said [he would] if we could get Taylor Swift there.”

Wood said that when he informed William that Taylor had previously duetted with Stones frontman Mick Jagger — she joined the Stones onstage in 2013 and he joined her onstage in 2015 — William replied, “I’m there, then.”

The Stones Tour ’24 Hackney Diamonds, sponsored by AARP, kicks off Sunday, April 28, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, and wraps Wednesday, July 17, at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. A presale for AARP members runs from Wednesday, November 29, to Thursday, November 30, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday, December 1, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at therollingstones.com.

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Some of David Bowie’s handwritten lyrics have sold for big bucks at auction.

The BBC reports that a lyric sheet featuring the work-in-progress writings for the classic tracks “Rock n Roll Suicide” and “Suffragette City,” both from 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, sold at Omega Auctions for almost $113,000. 

The sheet came with a note explaining that the original owner received the pages from Bowie at Trident Studio. It had previously been on display at London’s Victoria & Albert museum.

This isn’t the first time Bowie’s handwritten lyrics have been auctioned off for a hefty sum. Omega previously sold the handwritten lyric sheet to the 1972 classic “Starman,” which went for almost $258,000.

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Artists including Pearl Jam, Metallica and KISS are taking part in donation platform Fandiem’s Giving SZN 2023 raffle. 

Among the items and experiences you can enter to win include a poster signed by Eddie Vedder and company, roundtrip travel and tickets to see Metallica in Madrid and a signed set list from KISS’ final Hollywood Bowl show.

Others participating include Grateful Dead, Tame Impala, Billie Eilish, Fall Out Boy, The National and Jelly Roll. Proceeds will benefit a number of charity organizations chosen by the artists.

“There’s real power in the artist and fan connection,” says Fandiem’s co-founder Jared Heiman. “It’s a vital network of good energy and connection that can be harnessed for positive impact in the world. With Fandiem we are all part of something bigger together. This is our rallying cry as we join together this holiday season.”

For more info, visit Fandiem.com.

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Derek Smalls, former vocalist and bass player of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, has reissued his 2018 solo debut, Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing), with even more music for fans to enjoy. 

“As a rock’ n’ roller, I really never expected to make it past 27,” Smalls, better known as actor Harry Shearer, shares. “Here I am with all 10 fingers and all five strings, still ready to rock. Maybe my colleagues are getting older too. So, I’d say, it’s time to rock some more.”

Released in 2018, Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing) featured guest appearances by such A-list rockers as Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Yes’ Rick Wakeman, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, the late Taylor Hawkins and more. 

The new deluxe edition features two previously unreleased live tracks: “She Puts the B**** in Obituary” featuring actress Jane Lynch and “Hell Toupee,” both of which were recorded at Los Angeles’ Palace Theatre in February 2019. Smalls has also released a new video for the track “MRI,” featuring a guest appearance by guitarist Dweezil Zappa. 

Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing) is available to stream and purchase now.

Released in 1984, This is Spinal Tap was a mockumentary about the fictional rock group Spinal Tap, made up of Shearer as Smalls, Christopher Guest as guitarist Nigel Tufnel and Michael McKean as guitarist David St. Hubbins. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film poked fun at the ridiculous behavior of pretentious rock stars.

Earlier this week, Reiner announced they will begin shooting a sequel to the film in February, featuring guest appearances by Paul McCartney, Elton John and more.

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Paul McCartney brings his Got Back stadium tour to Brazil this week, and to celebrate, he’s treating locals to smaller, more intimate shows.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer announced he’ll be performing a club show at Clube do Choro in Brasília on Tuesday, November 28, for which tickets are quickly selling out.

The Brazilian leg of McCartney’s Got Back tour officially kicks off Thursday, November 30, at Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasília. It will be followed by shows in Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Curitiba, before wrapping December 16 in Rio De Janeiro, McCartney’s final show of 2023.

The dates are McCartney’s first time back in Brazil since 2019.

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Ace Frehley is back with new music. The former KISS guitarist just dropped the new single “10,000 Volts,” the title track to his upcoming solo album, due out February 23.

The album, produced by Frehley and Trixter’s Steve Brown, features 11 tracks of what’s described as “electrifying, hard-hitting, riff-heavy rock’n’ roll.”

You can listen to “10,000 Volts” now via streaming services and watch the video on YouTube. 

The album is Frehley’s first solo release since 2020’s Origins Vol. 2. Frehley previously talked about 10,000 Volts in an interview with Nuvo, calling it “probably the best record I’ve ever done.” 

Here is the track list for 10,000 Volts. The album is available for preorder now.

“10,000 Volts”
“Walkin’ on the Moon”
“Cosmic Heart”
“Cherry Medicine”
“Back Into My Arms Again”
“Fightin’ for Life”
“Blinded”
“Constantly Cute”
“Life of a Stranger”
“Up in the Sky”
“Stratosphere”

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Zakk Sabbath, Zakk Wylde‘s Black Sabbath cover band, has announced a new album.

Doomed Forever Forever Doomed, due out March 1, is a double album that includes Wylde and company’s recreations of Sabbath’s 1970 sophomore effort Paranoid and their 1971 record, Master of Reality.

Zakk Sabbath also includes bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson, who, like Wylde, plays in Ozzy Osbourne‘s solo band, and ex-Queens of the Stone Age drummer Joey Castillo.

You can catch Zakk Sabbath on tour beginning December 5 in Sacramento, California.

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Apple TV+ has released the first trailer for their upcoming three-part documentary John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial, which will debut December 6.

The series, narrated by 24 star Kiefer Sutherland, aims to shed new light on the murder of The Beatles legend, using exclusive eyewitness interviews and previously unseen crime scene photos.

Among those interviewed in the series are Richard Peterson, a taxi driver who witnessed Lennon being shot, Jay Hastings, who was a doorman at Lennon’s apartment, The Dakota, Chapman’s defense lawyer David Suggs and more.

Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman outside The Dakota on December 8, 1980. Chapman pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life in prison. He became eligible for parole in 2000 but still remains in jail.

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On This Day, November 28, 2020… 

AC/DC hit #1 with Power Up, their 17th studio album and their first since 2014’s Rock or Bust. It was the rock group’s third #1, following 2008’s Black Ice and 1981’s For Those About To Rock (We Salute You).

The album was AC/DC’s first since the 2017 death of co-founder Malcolm Young. It also featured the return of vocalist Brian Johnson, who temporarily left the band in 2016 due to hearing problems, drummer Phil Rudd, who had been replaced in 2015 due to legal problems, and bassist Cliff Williams, who had announced his retirement in 2016. 

Power Up hit #1 in 21 countries, including their native Australia and the U.K., and wound up selling 1.4 million copies worldwide.

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