Classic Rock News

An animated film based on Paul McCartney’s children’s book High in the Clouds is in the works, and while we knew McCartney was going to voice a character in it, exactly which character has now been revealed.

According to Screen Daily, in a video message shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, McCartney revealed he’ll be voicing a character that shouldn’t be too big of a stretch for him. He’ll play a walrus named Paul McKenzie, who’s a left-handed bassist in a band called The Sweets.

McCartney shared that the character was based on his Beatles bandmate John Lennon, noting, “If you asked him something, he could always have a quick, snappy answer.”

One of the film’s other characters, Sugartail, is inspired by another important person in McCartney’s life, his late wife Linda.

“I first thought of the idea after my kids’ mum Linda died, and I knew everyone was missing her so much that I thought if we could bring her back in the film, it would be very nice for them,” he said. “Sugartail is like Linda – she’s strong and resourceful.”

High in the Clouds, which McCartney wrote with Philip Ardagh in 2005, follows a teenage squirrel named Wirral in his quest to overthrow an owl named Gretsch who banned music in their city of Gretschville in an attempt to be the town’s only singer.

Yesterday’s Hamish Patel will voice Wirral, while Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham will voice Gretch. McCartney’s fellow Beatle Ringo Starr is also voicing a character similar to himself, The Sweets’ drummer, an ostrich.

Other members of the voice cast include Celine Dion, Idris Elba, Lionel Richie and Jimmy Fallon.

High in the Clouds, which will feature original tunes written by McCartney, is expected out in 2027.

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This year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival — the world’s largest performing arts festival — will feature a play inspired by an unusual subject: a legal battle between Elton John and a British tabloid that printed a scandalous fake story about him.

The play by Henry Naylor is called Monstering the Rocketman and tells the story of how Elton won Britain’s biggest-ever libel settlement. In 1987, The Sun Editor Kevin MacKenzie had the paper run a story about Elton having a sexual relationship with a male prostitute. The story wasn’t true, and Elton had proof of the lie.

However, MacKenzie refused to back down and began what Naylor calls a “massive campaign of media harassment” against Elton with multiple false stories, including one that accused the singer of mistreating his dogs.

The play’s description says that in the process of Elton filing libel suits against the paper, he “faces punch-ups, gangsters, bugged phone calls, a 10-million pound divorce suit and a pair of Devil Dogs. Will he remain still standing? Or will The Sun go down on him?”

Elton eventually won 1 million pounds in an out-of-court settlement — the equivalent of 3.4 million pounds in today’s money — as well as a front-page apology from The Sun. In an article for Must-See Theatre, Naylor writes, “I believe the battle was a defining moment in British history, for not only did it result in the country’s largest libel settlement but it also changed the British press forever.”

Monstering the Rocketman runs from July 30 to Aug. 24.

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Ringo Starr made his Grand Ole Opry debut back in February, and now folks at home are finally going to get to see his performance.

Ringo’s set at the Nashville institution will air Saturday at 8 p.m. CT on Opry Live, as well as the Opry Facebook and YouTube channels, and on Circle Country.

Ringo performed three songs at the Opry: “Time on My Hands,” from his 2025 country album, Look Up, and “Act Naturally,” both with Molly Tuttle. He also performed his iconic Beatles hit “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

The news comes as Ringo just launched another tour with his All-Star Band, made up of Toto’s Steve Lukather, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette and Buck Johnson. The tour hits New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at RingoStarr.com.

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Roger Waters has released the official trailer for the upcoming theatrical release of his concert film, This Is Not A Drill – Live from Prague The Movie.

The clip previews performances of Pink Floyd songs like “Comfortably Numb” and “Another Brick in The Wall, Part 2,” as well as the Waters solo track “Is This the Life We Really Want?”

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.

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.”

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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The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night at a gala in New York, where they treated the audience to several of their hits.

The trio performed Doobie Brothers classics “Black Water,” “Taking’ It to the Streets” and “Listen to the Music.” They were also feted by surprise guest Garth Brooks, who performed two songs: “Long Train Runnin'” and “China Grove.”

“Songwriting to me is a way to express what’s going on inside you and tell other people about it, but at the same time, if people like what you write, which is f-ing amazing, than you can bring ‘em up,” Johnston said in his speech. “Basically we all feel, I guess, a responsibility of lifting people up. I think that’s really important, especially right now.”

On the red carpet, Johnston told ABC Audio they weren’t expecting such an honor, noting, “It just showed up.”

“We’re really excited because we’ve been writing songs for a really long time,” he added. “A lot of these people that are being inducted tonight, as well as the people that came before them, and us, we listened to. We were influenced by coming up.”

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On This Day, June 13, 1969 …

During a press conference in London, The Rolling Stones introduced guitarist Mick Taylor as Brian Jones‘ replacement.

Taylor’s live debut with the band took place in July at a free concert at London’s Hyde Park in front of 250,000 fans. The concert was held just two days after Jones’ death.

Taylor left The Rolling Stones in 1974 and was replaced by Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood, who has remained with the band to this day.

Despite his departure, Taylor was still inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Stones in 1989.

Wood recently celebrated his 50 years with The Stones at the band’s official store on London’s Carnaby Street, where he debuted new artwork, titled 50 – The Portraits, featuring drawings of himself and his bandmates, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the late Charlie Watts.

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The new documentary Matter of Time, featuring Eddie Vedder, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival Thursday, which included a special performance by the Pearl Jam frontman.

Although the film features portions of a 2023 Seattle solo concert by Vedder, its main focus is to highlight the organization EB Research Partnership, started by Eddie and wife Jill Vedder to find a cure for the rare skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. It also introduces audiences to the scientists working to find a cure, and the patients and families whose lives are impacted by the disease.

Following a Q&A that included the film’s director Matt Finlin, young Rowan Holler, one of the first EB patients to receive the first FDA approved EB treatment, and others, Eddie came out to perform an acoustic set, kicking things off with a cover of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart,” which he sang while photos of EB patients who’ve lost their lives were shown above him.

He followed that with Tom Waits’ “Picture in a Frame,” dedicated to Deanna, an EB patient featured in the film, who was an artist. She passed two weeks after the 2023 concert.

The set continued with a cover of Glen Hansard’s “Song of Good Hope,” in keeping with the themes of the film, followed by Pearl Jam’s “Porch” and “Last Kiss,” which he said was a favorite of Dr. Jean Tang, one of the researchers working to find a cure for EB. The set concluded with Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” with Eddie getting everyone up on their feet and singing along with him.

Asked on the red carpet what he hopes fans will take away from the film, Vedder told ABC Audio, “I think just the power of community, the power of sharing, the power of reaching out to those who may need your support and really understanding that when you give, you get so much in return.”

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Billy Idol is subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Tuesday.

The film doesn’t hold anything back as it explores the rock star’s career and personal life, covering his struggles with addiction, including almost dying from a heroin overdose; his 1990 motorcycle accident, in which he almost lost his leg; and discovering he had a long-lost son.

Asked whether he has any regrets about being so open in the film, Idol told ABC Audio on the red carpet that sharing everything was something he felt he had to do.

“I mean, that’s a big part of making the documentary. It’s a big part of being alive, really, at this age. I’m 69,” he said. “You really do have to have to own it. Also I’ve written songs about my life, as well. I’ve sort of always faced up to it in lots of ways. So it wasn’t so difficult.”

While Idol said discussing with his relationship with his father in the film “wasn’t so easy,” he wasn’t about to leave it out.

“I think it was important it’s all in there. … It’s Billy Idol, warts and all,” he added.

And while many of the revelations could be considered shocking, he’s not embarrassed by anything in the film and said he’d be OK with his grandchildren watching it one day.

He shared, “I think they’ll be able to watch it and they’ll see what Granddad put himself through.” 

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The Kinks have shared another preview from their upcoming compilation The Journey – Part 3, which focuses on the band’s career with RCA/Arista from 1977 to 1984, a breakthrough for The Kinks in America.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have shared two tracks, including a live performance of “Sunny Afternoon” that was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1993.

“As far as performances go, it was a high point achievement of The Kinks,” Dave Davies said of the show.

The other is a remastered version of “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” which Dave called “a personal favorite.” He noted it was his brother Ray Davies‘ “sensitive portrait of a super fan based on his impressions of different people.”

The Journey – Part 3, dropping July 11, is a two-disc compilation featuring songs handpicked by Ray and Dave. It includes a disc of 11 remastered tracks and a disc featuring a never-before-released live concert from the band’s archives, a recording of their July 1993 show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. It will be released as a two-CD or two-LP set, and both are available for preorder now.

The compilation is a continuation of the band’s 60th anniversary celebration. They previously released The Journey – Part 1 and The Journey – Part 2 in 2023.

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If you have a group chat where you and your friends send each other memes, then you and Lars Ulrich have something in common.

The Metallica drummer tells Variety that he, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo message each other in a band-only thread, which consists of them texting around ‘Tallica-themed memes that they come across.

“There was this Star Wars one going around a week or two ago which was really funny,” Ulrich says. “There are some conversations between Darth Vader and a whole thing that builds up, and then they’re talking about the dark side. Then all of a sudden it goes into ‘Darkness imprisoning me!’ — that whole thing from ‘One.'”

“It’s a lot to keep track of because this happens hundreds, if not thousands, of times a day,” he continues. “But there are some fun ones that get into our band-only text thread for the four of us to enjoy and appreciate.”

In between sharing memes, Metallica is currently on a U.S. tour, which continues Saturday in Houston. They also just premiered a new documentary dedicated to their fans, Metallica Saved My Life, at New York City’s Tribeca Festival.

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