Classic Rock News

In 1982, Peter Gabriel launched the WOMAD Festival, which stood for World of Music, Arts and Dance, and now he’s revisiting one of his performances for a new digital album.

The very first WOMAD Festival took place in Somerset, England, and featured 60 bands from over 20 countries. The new album, Live at WOMAD 1982, features a recording of Gabriel’s Friday night set. It included seven songs from his album 4, which was released two months after the event.

“I remember this gig well,” says Gabriel. “We played a mix of old and brand-new material. I would normally be very nervous about playing some of this stuff for the first time, however my mind was very preoccupied with the running of our very first WOMAD festival and the potential financial disaster that it was heading towards.”

It turned out the initial WOMAD Festival wasn’t a financial success and in October of that year Gabriel reunited with Genesis for a concert at Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England — the money from that gig bailed him out financially. The WOMAD Festival was then able to continue, and since its inception, there have been more than 160 editions of the WOMAD Festival in 27 countries.

Live at WOMAD 1982 will be released to digital services on Friday. The first single, “The Rhythm of the Heat,” is now available.

Here is the track list for the album:
“San Jacinto”
“The Family and the Fishing Net”
“I Have the Touch”
“Lay Your Hands on Me”
“Shock the Monkey”
“I Go Swimming”
“The Rhythm of the Heat”
“Kiss of Life”
“Biko”

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The Beach Boys‘ Brian Wilson, who passed away in June at the age of 82, has been laid to rest, according to an Instagram post by one of his daughters, Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson. 

“Today we laid my Daddy to rest,” she shared on Wednesday. “It was incredibly difficult to see that happen, but at the same time it gave more closure and more of a feeling of restful peace.”

“The last eight weeks have been extremely challenging and like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I love and miss him so much and I wish he could come back,” she added.

Carnie went on to say her dad keeps sending her signs “and I know he’s around,” adding, “I’m so grateful for this.”

“Today we had a couple of monarch butterflies that just would not leave the site. It was comforting and beautiful,” she shared. “I’m trying to deal with my emotions -they’re so up and down. I know that he would want everybody to feel happy and not sad. He didn’t like it when I cried.”

Carnie said she was reminded by her friend Gunner Nelson, son of the late Ricky Nelson, that her dad will be remembered every day through his music.

“This is a really special and a real heavy duty thought. It’s much bigger than I can wrap my head around,” she wrote. “For this I am grateful for though because I know it’s the truth.”

“So I just wanna say thank you… thank you Daddy for your beautiful contribution to so much happiness and real raw emotions that you have brought to people,” she concluded the post. “Thank you to all the beautiful loving and supportive fans out there for honoring him. We share this together. God knows what we’d be without him.”

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On This Day, Aug. 7, 1987 …

Lindsey Buckingham quit Fleetwood Mac, one day after a contentious group meeting at Christine McVie’s house led to a physical altercation between him and Stevie Nicks.

With a tour starting in a month, the band replaced Lindsey with Billy Burnette and Rick Vito and hit the road for the Shake the Cage Tour.

Buckingham would eventually return to Fleetwood Mac when they reunited in 1993 to perform “Don’t Stop” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. They then reunited in 1997 for a live concert, which was recorded for the live album The Dance and followed by an arena tour.

Buckingham remained with Fleetwood Mac until 2018, when he was fired over a disagreement about touring. He was again replaced by two guitarists, Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell.

The current future of Fleetwood Mac is uncertain, but Buckingham and Nicks recently announced the reissue of Buckingham Nicks, their only studio album as a duo. The album will be reissued on Sept. 19.

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Back in 2022, the BBC announced a new reality series called Home to Roost, which was set to follow Ozzy Osbourne‘s move back to the U.K. Now, following the metal icon’s death on July 22, the project has been reworked into a a standalone documentary film, Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home.

A press release describes Coming Home as a “moving and inspirational account of the last chapter of Ozzy’s life, told through unique and intimate access to the whole Osbourne family,” including Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, and their kids Jack Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne.

“Filmed over three years, it captures the extraordinary roller-coaster of their lives as Sharon and Ozzy attempt to complete their long-held dream of moving back to the U.K., Ozzy heroically battles to get fit enough to perform, and the family deal with the dramatic consequences of his ill-health,” the release reads.

Ozzy performed for the final time alongside his original Black Sabbath bandmates during July 5’s Back to the Beginning concert, held in his hometown of Birmingham, England.

Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home will premiere Aug. 18 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

In related news, the city of Birmingham has announced a plan to preserve all the flowers and tributes left for Ozzy on the streets following the public funeral procession held on July 30, and send them to the Osbourne family.

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The Alan Parsons Project is set to reissue their sophomore album I, Robot, which was inspired by Isaac Asimov‘s science fiction stories exploring themes of artificial intelligence.

The album will be reissued in a variety of formats on Oct. 17, including a super deluxe box set with four CDs, a remastered version of the album done at Abbey Road Studios and 70 bonus tracks, 47 of which have never been released before. It also features a two-LP vinyl edition of the album, a Blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes, a hardcover book and more.

The first 500 copies of the super deluxe edition will include a print signed by Parsons.

The album will also be released on black and clear vinyl, and as an expanded CD that includes four bonus tracks.

Originally released in 1977, I, Robot landed in the top 10 on the Billboard Albums chart  and featured the top-40 single “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You.” According to the description that appeared on the original album, it tells “the story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man,” and serves as a “warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to create robot in his own image.”

All formats of I, Robot are available for preorder now.

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Mickey Hart has shared his thoughts about Dead & Company’s recent three-night stand at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, writing on Instagram that it felt like “3 days of coming home.”

The three shows took place Aug. 1, 2 and 3 and celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead.

“In those final moments of the weekend, it was truly profound. I saw 60,000 people sparking light, in love, entrained big time and coming our way,” Hart writes. “Different than applause after a song, it sounded more like an ahhhhhh. All the peace and love in proximity generated a collective energy that was shared by all. Very rare stuff indeed.”

Mentioning the band’s late members Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Ron “Pig Pen” McKernan, Hart writes that during the shows he saw them “hovering over the crowd smiling like Cheshire Cats.”

“In the final moments of the weekend standing right next to Bob [Weir] and feeling the raw emotion coming our way from our fans, I felt Bob’s heartbeat, along with mine, and the deep connection we have with all of you,” he shared, concluding the post with, “All the years combine. They melt into a dream.”

Grateful Dead was founded in the City By the Bay in 1965 by Garcia, Weir, Lesh, McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann, with Hart and lyricist Robert Hunter joining the group in 1967.

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This year marked the 40th anniversary of Dire Straits‘ blockbuster album Brothers in Arms, and frontman Mark Knopfler is reflecting on the album’s success in a new interview with Guitar World.

“Well, it’s tempting just to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing’ and downplay it, but thinking about Brothers in Arms now, it seems like that record meant so much to so many people,” he tells the magazine, adding that the album’s success was “a combination of luck and events crashing into each other.”

Knopfler suggests timing had a lot to do with the album’s success, noting it helped that when it was released, they’d already had some hits in America. Plus, it was released just as the CD had been invented and got played in stores that sold audio systems to show off the equipment.

“That’s where a lot of people first heard it,” he says. “Then the singles made it in different countries and it became a worldwide thing. Next thing you know, you’re in the eye of the storm.”

Released May 17, 1985, Brothers in Arms was Dire Straits’ most successful album; it has been certified nine-times Platinum in the U.S. It was also the first album in history to sell over 1 million CDs.

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 Def Leppard is set to appear on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.

The “Pour Some Sugar on Me” rockers shared the news on Instagram, writing, “Excited to announce that Def Leppard will be performing on AGT Wednesday, August 20th! Save the date and watch on @nbc.”

Def Leppard is currently on the road and is set to play Placer County, California, on Saturday, with dates confirmed through October. They also recently announced a new 12-show Las Vegas residency, Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency, set to kick off Feb. 3. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

In addition to the live shows, Def Leppard recently revealed they are working on a new album. In an interview with USA Today, the band said the follow-up to 2022’s Diamond Star Halos is expected out next year.

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Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds is on the mend after suffering a heart attack in July.

The news of the 81-year-old Edmunds’ condition was first revealed by his wife, Cici Edmunds, in a July Facebook post. She revealed he suffered “a major cardiac arrest” and “died in her arms,” but was revived by doctors.

Cici has now confirmed that Edmunds is doing better. She shared a post that first appeared on Carlene Carter’s Facebook that read, “Dave is expected to make a full recovery and be out of the hospital soon!” Carlene added, “Some really great news we all have been waiting for.”

Cici added the caption, “Bless you sweet beautiful Carlene for sharing the positive news regarding my amazing husbands miraculous recovery.”

Edmunds is best known for his 1970 cover of “I Hear You Knocking,” which peaked at #4 in the U.S. He also co-founded the 1970s band Rockpile with Nick Lowe, and released several solo albums. He worked as a producer with artists like Lowe, Paul McCartney, Stray Cats and more, and toured with Ringo Starr as a member of his All-Starr Band.

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John Mayer is sharing his feelings about getting to be a part of Dead & Company’s recent three-night stand at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead.

“No matter how many shows we play as a band, I will always be a guest in this musical world, and I’ll never lose sight of what is the great honor of my life,” he writes on Instagram. “Happy 60th, Grateful Dead, and long may you run.”

While Mayer says that he’ll “never come close to playing” like the band’s late singer/co-founder Jerry Garcia, he tells fans, “if I can somehow get you closer to him – and to the spirit he created 60 years ago – then I suppose I’ve done my job. Thank you for accepting me.”

The three Dead & Company shows took place Aug. 1, 2 and 3 and featured guest appearances by Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Phil Lesh‘s son Grahame Lesh, as well as Billy Strings and Sturgill Simpson.

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