Beatles legend Ringo Starr has teamed with Earth Day Network for a new merch collection to coincide with World Oceans Day.
The black-and-white collection takes inspiration from Ringo’s classic tune “Octopus’ Garden” and features an octopus, in a garden, of course, with the tag line, “An octopus’ garden needs clean water.”
The collection includes a T-shirt, sweatshirt, hat, framed print and tote bag. According to the organization, “each piece is a reminder that clean water matters – for the octopus, the oceans and all of us.”
The items are available to order from now until July 7, which is Ringo’s 85th birthday. Proceeds from sales will go to the nonprofit EarthDay.org, which is dedicated to promoting environmental education, conservation and action.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, has died at the age of 82, according to a statement from his family.
The statement says Stone died “after a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues.”
“While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come,” the statement continues. “Sly was a monumental figure, a groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer who redefined the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music. His iconic songs have left an indelible mark on the world, and his influence remains undeniable.”
Born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, Stone was the driving creative force behind the Family Stone, the first major American rock band to be racially integrated. They rose to fame in the mid-’60s/early ’70s thanks to their highly influential combination of soul, funk, R&B, rock and psychedelia on songs like “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” “Stand,” “I Want To Take You Higher,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” “Family Affair” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Sly and the Family Stone performed at Woodstock and were part of the Summer of Soul concerts in Harlem in 1969, the latter of which were the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary by Amir “Questlove” Thompson. Questlove went on to direct a documentary about Stone, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), which premiered on Hulu and Disney+ in February.
Stone released his autobiography, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), in 2023. According to his family, a movie based on his life is also in the works.
“In a testament to his enduring creative spirit, Sly recently completed the screenplay for his life story, a project we are eager to share with the world in due course,” they said in their statement.
“We extend our deepest gratitude for the outpouring of love and prayers during this difficult time,” they added. “We wish peace and harmony to all who were touched by Sly’s life and his iconic music.”
An unnamed act originally booked for Black Sabbath‘s upcoming Back to the Beginning reunion/farewell concert will no longer be playing the show at the behest of Sharon Osbourne.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, the wife of Ozzy Osbourne shares, “I had a huge, huge to-do with a manager over this celebration for Ozzy and Sabbath.”
“It was probably the worst way I’ve felt in years,” Sharon says. “And I don’t care what this person says about me, thinks about it, because he doesn’t know me. And he’s now going around making up bulls*** lies because I threw his band off the bill.”
Sharon does not specify which band she had booted, though she does say that it wasn’t Iron Maiden. Sharon, of course, has history with Maiden, having orchestrated the crowd to egg frontman Bruce Dickinson during the 2005 Ozzfest.
Back to the Beginning takes place July 5 in Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England, and will stream online. The bill also includes Ozzy’s final performance, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira and Alice in Chains, among others.
Alice Cooper reunited with his original bandmates for his upcoming album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper, and now they are teaming up for a one-off event in London.
Cooper announced on Instagram that he and the group — guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neil Smith —are coming together for a July 24 event at London’s Union Chapel.
The evening, hosted by Sir Tim Rice, will be open to just 900 “lucky souls,” with attendees getting to hear the album for the very first time. Cooper and the band will also answer questions from fans and share “some twisted tales from the road.”
Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday via the Rough Trade website. And for those who don’t get in, the evening will be streamed live.
The Revenge of Alice Cooper will be released on July 25. It marks the first album to feature Cooper playing with his original band since 1973’s Muscle of Love.
Billy Idol has shared a funny anecdote about a Saturday Night Live sketch in which Sting did an impersonation of him.
In an interview with The Ankler, Idol was asked about the 1991 sketch “The Sinatra Group,” where Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra hosted a talk show where he interviewed a variety of guests, including Sting as Idol.
Idol says he thought the sketch was “very funny” and shares that he was told that Sting’s wife, Trudie Styler, was a big fan of her husband’s impersonation.
“Sting’s wife, Trudie, told me that when he went into the dressing room after playing me, she got him to have sex with [her] as me,” Idol shares. “So that was a great caveat to the sketch. She said, ‘F*** me as Billy Idol.’ And he did.”
Idol is the subject of a new documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which will have its premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Tuesday, where he’ll also perform.
“I think the documentary has got a depth to it, as we really worked on it over quite a long period of time,” he tells the outlet. “I think it’s a really great documentary that shows a lot of aspects of my life.”
As for not holding anything back in the film, he shares, “You just have to own it and you realize what happened, whatever it was, the drug addiction or whatever else and own the different periods of my life. It all led to something: The bad stuff and the good stuff somehow ended up fusing [into] the music I’ve made.”
Deep Purple’s 18th studio album, Rapture of the Deep, will be reissued for its 20th anniversary.
A remixed and remastered version of the album will be released Aug. 29, with new artwork and bonus material made up of never-before-heard instrumental takes and studio rehearsal recordings. Among those tracks is a tune called “Closing Time,” written by the band’s then-guitarist Steve Morse, which is getting its first-ever release.
The new mix of the album was handled by Deep Purple’s bassist Roger Glover, who notes of the release, “It’s a new album now to me.”
As a preview of what to expect, the band has shared the new remix of the track “Junkyard Blues” to digital services.
Released in the U.S. on Nov. 1, 2005, Rapture of the Deep was the band’s fourth studio album with Morse and the second with keyboardist Don Airey. Glover notes in a press release the band was “going through a bit of a hard time when we started the songwriting and production of Rapture of the Deep.”
“Strangely enough, we didn’t have a record company at that point,” he says. “Let’s face it, we were a bit lost.”
Rapture of the Deep 20th Anniversary Remix will be available on CD, as a three-LP black vinyl and as a limited-edition three-LP transparent sky blue vinyl. It is available for preorder now.
Bruce Springsteen signed a record deal with Columbia Records. He had auditioned for the label’s A&R exec John Hammond in New York City the month earlier, where he performed “It’s Hard to Be A Saint In The City.”
On the same night, he performed for Columbia execs at the Gaslight Club in New York and later recorded a demo for the label.
Springsteen would go on to release his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., in January 1973. He has spent over 50 years with the label, releasing his last album, Only the Strong Survive, in 2022. His new box set, Tracks II: The Lost Albums, comes out June 27.
A new book about Pink Floyd is set to hit bookshelves this fall.
Pink Floyd Shine On: The Definitive Oral History was writtenby author Mark Blake, who’s worked with the band for the past 35 years. The book is described as a “forensic retelling of one of the most turbulent and enduring groups in rock music history.”
According to the description, the book is “the most comprehensive history of the band ever compiled” and includes new, archival and unpublished interviews with Pink Floyd members David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and the late Richard Wright. Their story is also told through the words of friends, family members, contemporaries and more.
Shine On also features a rare and previously unpublished interview with Rosemary Breen, the sister of Pink Floyd’s original frontman, Syd Barrett, who was kicked out of the band in 1968 and died in 2006.
Pink Floyd Shine On: The Definitive Oral History is due out Oct. 9 and is available for preorder now.
Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Glastonbury 2022/ Samir Hussein/WireImage
Bruce Springsteen brought his Land of Hope and Dreams tour to Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium Saturday and surprised the crowd with a very special guest: local hero Paul McCartney.
“We’re lucky tonight, we have a young man, a local young man, from Liverpool, who’s gonna dance with us tonight,” Springsteen told the crowd, as seen in fan-shot video posted to YouTube. “I think he’s got a lot of talent and I believe he’s gonna be going places So let’s bring out Sir Paul McCartney.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers then teamed up for two songs: The Beatles‘ classic “Can’t Buy Me Love” and a cover of the Leiber & Stoller tune “Kansas City,” which The Beatles recorded in 1964 after being inspired by Little Richard‘s version of the song.
The Liverpool show was far from the first time Springsteen and McCartney have performed together. In 2022, Springsteen made a surprise appearance during McCartney’s Glastonbury Festival set, performing “Glory Days” and “I Wanna to Be Your Man” with McCartney. The Beatle also joined Springsteen for his 2017 show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they performed “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Bruce and Sir Paul joined forces ahead of the Liverpool show for a non-musical appearance. According to the BBC, on Friday, the two rockers visited the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), which was co-founded by McCartney.
Springsteen and The E Street Band next hit Berlin on June 11. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.
Olivia Rodrigo: Marleen Moise/Getty Images; David Byrne: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Talking Heads frontman David Byrne made a surprise appearance at New York’s Governor’s Ball on Saturday.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer came out during pop star Olivia Rodrigo’s headlining set, joining her for Talking Heads’ 1983 hit “Burning Down the House,” with Olivia in red and Byrne in red-and-white. The two even performed some choreography to the song. You can see fan-shot video of the performance on social media.
Considering the fact that a downpour delayed the start of Olivia’s set by an hour, it’s fitting that the song includes the line, “Hold tight, we’re in for nasty weather.”
This has been a busy week for Talking Heads: On Thursday, they released the first-ever video for their iconic tune “Psycho Killer.” The release marked the 50th anniversary of their live debut at CBGB in New York, during which they opened for the Ramones.
