Classic Rock News

In 2024 it was announced that a musical biopic about the German rock band Scorpions was in the works. Now we know who’ll be starring in the film, titled Wind of Change, after the band’s 1991 top-five hit.

The Last Kingdom’s Alexander Dreymon has been cast to play guitarist and founder Rudolf Schenker; Generation War’s Ludwig Trepte as frontman Klaus Meine; You’s Ed Speleers as lead guitarist Matthias Jab; and Interview with the Vampire’s Luke Brandon Field as drummer Herman Rarebell.

Also cast in the film is The Crown’s Dominic West, who’ll play the band’s manager, Doc McGhee, and The Reader’s David Kross, who’ll play Andrej, a friend of the band who’s imprisoned on the other side of the Berlin wall.

According to the description, the film, directed by Alex Ranarivelo, “tells the story of a band united by their passion for music, who sought to inspire change in the world through their powerful sound and meaningful lyrics. At the heart of the film is their iconic anthem ‘Wind of Change,’ which became the soundtrack to the end of the Cold War, symbolizing hope, peace and unity.”

Wind of Change is currently filming in London and is expected to hit theaters in 2025.

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Talking Heads have shared another track from the upcoming super-deluxe edition of their sophomore album, More Songs About Buildings and Food.

The latest is a live recording of their cover of Al Green‘s “Take Me to the River,” from the band’s Aug. 10, 1978, concert at Entermedia Theatre in New York, part of the bonus live album featured in the set. The song is now available via digital outlets.

Dropping July 25, More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition) is being released as part of the band’s continued celebration of their 50th anniversary. The three-CD/Blu-ray set will include the remastered album, as well as 11 rarities, four of which are previously unreleased versions of album tracks, and the Entermedia Theatre concert.

The Blu-ray includes Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound mixes of the album, and footage from the Entermedia concert and a concert recorded at Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley.

The set will also be released as a four-LP vinyl edition, featuring the original album, rarities and the live New York concert. There will also be a second version, available on the band’s website, featuring the bonus reissues of four international 7-inch singles, as well as a two-LP black vinyl version and a red vinyl pressing.

More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition) is available for preorder now.

Released in July 1978, More Songs About Buildings and Food was a top-40 hit for Talking Heads, peaking at #29 in the U.S. Their cover of “Take Me to the River” was the band’s first big hit, also peaking at #29 on the singles chart.

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Eric Clapton, Sting and Graham Nash are among the artists set to appear on the upcoming album from singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop.

Bishop, best known for such songs as “On and On” and “It Might Be You,” just announced he’ll release his 20th and final album, THIMK, on Aug. 15. Other guests on the release include Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Art Garfunkel, Christopher Cross, and America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.

“After five decades of recording music and performing, I figured it was time to close this chapter of my music career,” Bishop shares. “THIMK — my 20th and final album — is a celebration of friendship, legacy, and all the people who’ve been part of this long, wonderful ride.”

He adds, “I’ve developed a bit of arthritis in my hands over the past few years, so I wanted to give this last album everything I had while I still could. I’m proud of it — and grateful for the chance to spend my life doing what I love.”

Sting and Clapton are featured on the just-released track “Now That I’ve Hit the Big Time,” a tribute to Bishop’s mother. Sting contributes vocals to the tune, while Clapton adds guitar. It is available now via digital outlets.

THIMK will be released digitally, and on CD and custom colored vinyl. Physical copies will come with two bonus songs not available on streaming platforms. The album is available for preorder now.

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Roger Waters is sharing another tease of the upcoming theatrical release of his concert film, This Is Not a Drill – Live from Prague the Movie.

The rocker has released a performance clip of “Is This the Life We Really Want?,” the title track of his 2017 solo album.

The concert was recorded during the Pink Floyd rocker’s May 25, 2023, show at O2 Arena in the Czech Republic. The show was part of Waters’ “first ever Farewell Tour” and featured performances of songs like Pink Floyd’s “Us & Them,” “Comfortably Numb” and “Wish You Were Here,” as well as Waters’ solo material.

This Is Not a Drill – Live from Prague the Movie is coming to theaters on July 23 and July 27, with tickets on sale now at RogerWaters.film.

Music from the film will be released on Aug. 1 in a variety of formats: four-LP, two-CD, DVD, Blu-Ray and digital audio. It is available for preorder now.

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Iron Maiden celebrates their 50th anniversary in 2025, and in that half-century, the metal icons have never played Glastonbury. If that never changes, that’s fine by frontman Bruce Dickinson.

“I always said I’d turn Glastonbury down if we were ever invited,” Dickinson tells the U.K.’s The i Paper.

He adds, “I don’t want to go play in front of Gwyneth Paltrow and a perfume-infested yurt.”

While we can’t speak to the Iron Man star’s current festival-going plans, she has attended Glastonbury in the past to watch her ex-husband, Chris Martin, perform with Coldplay.

As for the alleged perfume infestation, we imagine that’s not the worst thing you could smell at a festival that’s notorious for its mud.

Nevertheless, it seems Maiden is happy to keep on trucking and playing for their dedicated fanbase — and for what they hope is a reasonable price — as they continue their current Run for Your Lives world tour.

“It’s not just about making money,” Dickinson says. “We want s***loads of people to come and see us. I’m amazed at the prices that some people are prepared to pay to see some legacy acts.”

Meanwhile, Glastonbury 2025 is currently underway. It features headliners The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo.

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John Fogerty has shared another taste of his upcoming album, Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years, dropping Aug. 22.

The album features newly recorded versions of classic CCR tunes. The latest releases are his new takes on “Born on the Bayou” and “Lodi,” which are both available via digital outlets.

“When it came time to sing ‘Lodi,’ I noticed that my voice seemed to have a little extra character in it from the guy who sang this same song 50+ years ago,” Fogerty shares. “I realized that I had to do my darndest to get my mind into the same place that it was when I did the original vocal.”

The song has Fogerty singing about a musician yearning to break free from his small town.

He adds, “I had to reflect and think about the words of the song, think about the times, make myself go back into that spiritual plane of existence and face that.”

The album, produced by Fogerty and his son Shane Fogerty, comes two years after Fogerty fully regained the rights to his CCR catalog. The rocker is backed on the album by both of his sons, Shane and Tyler Fogerty.

Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, June 27, 2002 …

One day before the start of The Who’s U.S. tour, bassist John “The Ox” Entwistle died of a cocaine-induced heart attack. He was found dead in his room at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas by the stripper he had spent the night with.

He was 57.

“The Ox has left the building—we’ve lost another great friend,” The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend said in a tribute after Entwistle’s death. “Thanks for your support and love. Pete and Roger.”

The Who decided to go on with their tour and resumed their shows on July 1 with bassist Pino Palladino taking Entwistle’s place.

In addition to his time with The Who, Entwistle released several solo albums, which were the subject of The Ox Box Set, released in 2024. A compilation of rarities, Rarities Oxhumed – Volume Two, was also released that year.

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The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a reissue of their 2000 album, Machina/The Machines of God, in honor of its 25th anniversary.

A deluxe vinyl box set, which also includes the companion record Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music and 32 bonus tracks, will be available on Aug. 22 exclusively through Billy Corgan‘s Madame Zuzu’s tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois.

“It’s taken some 25 years to finally release Machina as we in the band had hoped it would be, and with MadameZuzus.com as the only place one can get this expansive, 80-song collection, I personally could not be more proud,” says Corgan. “Machina was meant as our swan song, and it was truly a labor of love to bring it to fruition, however broken we were back then.”

The original Machina albums marked the final Smashing Pumpkins releases to feature the band’s classic lineup of Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky before they broke up in 2000. Corgan then reformed the band in 2006 with just Chamberlin, who left in 2009 before rejoining in 2015. Iha then came back in 2018.

“This set stands as a celebration and testament of will, for the songs alone have helped James, Jimmy, and I keep the faith,” Corgan says.

A standalone reissue of just Machina/The Machines of God will also be released on vinyl, CD and digital on Aug. 22.

Corgan has been playing songs off Machina on his Machines of God solo tour, which concludes Sunday in Minneapolis. The Pumpkins will launch an international tour in July.

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The music of the Ramones has gotten a sound upgrade.

Rhino just dropped a new box set, 1!2!3!4! The Ramones Atmos Collection. It features the band’s first four albums — Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin — in Dolby Atmos on Blu-ray audio, along with each album’s original stereo mixes in high-resolution.

The Atmos mixes of Leave Home, Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin were handled by Ed Stasium, who originally engineered those three albums. Craig Leon, producer of the band’s 1976 self-titled debut, handled its remix.

“These Atmos mixes present the Ramones’ recordings with the clarity and power with which I always imagined hearing them,” Stasium says. “It might sound a bit cliché, but I find listening to them to be like seeing the sequence from The Wizard of Oz where the film morphs from black & white to color. These Dolby Atmos mixes are transforming the original mixes from 16mm black & white into vivid IMAX!”

The set, 1!2!3!4! The Ramones Atmos Collection, will be limited to 2,000 copies and is available now at Rhino.com.

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