The U.K. department store chain Selfridges has unveiled a Black Sabbathmural at its Birmingham location ahead of the legendary band’s upcoming Back to the Beginning concert.
The piece is 6 meters long, which is almost 20 feet, and will be on display for eight days.
You can also check out the Back to the Beginning fan experience at Selfridges Birmingham, which includes exclusive merch and a Lego Ozzy Osbourne.
Back to the Beginning takes place July 5 in Birmingham, Sabbath’s hometown. It will feature the reunion and farewell of the band’s original lineup: Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. Ozzy will also perform solo in what will mark his final concert ever.
Others on the stacked bill include Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
Those who don’t have tickets to the sold-out concert can watch it streaming online.
Sammy Hagar will once again be celebrating his birthday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The rocker announced on Instagram that his annual birthday bash will take place at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico — and he’s not stopping at one celebration. In fact, the birthday bash will take place over four nights: Oct. 7, 9, 11 and 13.
While details have yet to be announced, Hagar, who’ll turn 78 on Oct. 13, shared in a video that the “usual suspects will be there.” One of those usual suspects will likely be his friend and bandmate, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, who commented on the post, “Hey Sambo, thanks for the heads up!!”
Ticket information has yet to be announced, although the post notes that info will be coming in early July on Sammy’s website, RedRocker.com.
In 2024 Sammy also celebrated his birthday over four nights, but did it in two different cities. He headlined two shows at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and also performed two nights at the Cabo Wabo Cantina. All of those shows featured Anthony, guitarist Vic Johnson and drummer Kenny Aronoff.
E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt is going to miss some shows on Bruce Springsteen‘s current Land of Hope and Dreams tour after undergoing surgery for appendicitis in Spain.
“Got a sharp pain in my stomach, thought it was food poisoning, turned out to be appendicitis,” the 74-year-old rocker shared on X. “Got lucky with an exceptional hospital in San Sebastian. Operation was a complete success and I’m hoping to get back on stage for at least one of the shows in Milan.”
He added, “Thank you all for all the good vibes. See you soon.”
Springsteen and The E Street Band’s next show is happening Tuesday in San Sebastian, Spain, which will be followed by a show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Friday. Those Milan shows Van Zandt is hoping to make are happening June 30 and July 3. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.
Bad Company and Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs has passed away at the age of 81.
“Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground. He has left us with exceptional songs and memories,” Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers shared in a statement. “He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humor.”
Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke added, “He was a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter, and an exceptional guitarist. We will miss him deeply.”
Ralphs was a founding member of the band Mott the Hoople, with the band releasing their self-titled debut album in 1969. After leaving the group in 1973, he formed Bad Company with Rodgers and Kirke, both former members of Free, and former King Crimson bassist/vocalist Boz Burrell.
Bad Company released their self-titled debut in 1974, which was a huge success thanks to such classic songs as “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love,” the title track, “Movin’ On” and “Rock Steady.” It went on to be certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA. Other Bad Company hits include “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Shooting Star” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”
Although a cause of death was not given, Ralphs suffered a stroke in 2016, which left him confined to his bed until his death. The stroke happened just days after his final performance with Bad Company, in October 2016 at London’s O2 Arena.
His death comes just a couple months after Bad Company was chosen for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When the news was announced, Ralphs said he was “elated” by the decision; Kirke expressed gratitude that his bandmate was here to see it happen.
“To be honest, every year we were not nominated it was another blow, not necessarily for me but we wanted Mick to be able to see this,” Kirke said. “So that’s been rectified, and we’ll give him a shout from the podium in November.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction will take place Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
While there’s no doubt that Bruce Springsteen is famous, he is very happy that he’s not enjoying the type of fame he had in the ’80s, when he released the hugely successful album Born in the U.S.A.
“Well, I was 35. I had previous experience [of fame] at 25, so I was capable of handling the moment,” he tellsthe U.K.’sThe Times. “Ninety percent I enjoyed the ride, 10 percent of it was stressful, and my take on it now is that it was a cool thing to be at the height of the cultural conversation in the pop world for a while. I just didn’t have any particular interest in staying there. That’s a fool’s game.”
Springsteen says he was “lucky” to have stars like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis as examples of what to do or not do when it comes to success.
“From there I learnt how important it was not to lose focus on who I am or the work I’m doing,” he says. “It’s more important than the money, although it’s great to get paid well. It’s more important than the fame, although that can be fun too, and a nuisance on occasion.”
He tells The Times, “I simply wanted to write great songs, play great shows and have a conversation with a great audience. It is what I’ve dedicated my life to doing.”
Springsteen will release the new box set Tracks II: The Lost Albums on Friday. His European tour with The E Street Band hits San Sebastian, Spain, on Tuesday. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.
Surfers honor Brian Wilson at paddle-out in Huntington Beach, California;Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
The late Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson was celebrated in Huntington Beach, California, Saturday with a paddle-out featuring over 100 surfers.
According to an Instagram post by the city of Huntington Beach, the paddle-out was part of International Surfing Day and featured an appearance by Jan & Dean singer Dean Torrence. Wilson co-wrote one of the duo’s biggest hits, “Surf City.”
According to the L.A Times, at least 400 people also gathered on land to remember Wilson, who passed away June 11 at the age of 82.
“The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson had a huge part in establishing what we would call the Southern California beach culture,” surfer Peter “PT” Townend, who emceed the event, said, according to the paper.
The surfers who took part paddled out into the water with flowers in their hand and formed a circle in honor of Wilson, before surfing back to shore.
The event took place one day after what would have been Wilson’s 83rd birthday.
He may be the guitarist in one of Ireland’s biggest rock groups, but believe it or not, U2‘s The Edge just became an Irish citizen.
The Irish Times reports that the 63-year-old rocker, who was born to Welsh parents in Essex, England, officially became an Irish citizen during a ceremony Monday in County Kerry, Ireland.
“I have always felt Irish, Ireland will always be home to me and I’m so grateful for that,” he said. He noted that his application for citizenship was “long overdue.”
“I’m a little tardy with the paper work. I’ve been living in Ireland now since I was one. But the time is right,” The Edge told reporters. “It couldn’t come at a better moment for me, so I am just so happy to be at this point to be in even deeper connection with my homeland.”
He added, “Honestly, there were many moments in the past when I could have done it with just the form to be filled out but I’m happy it’s now. It feels more significant.” He said it’s “more meaningful” at this moment because of “what is going on in the world right now, what Ireland stands for – it’s very powerful.”
Eric Clapton has added a new show to his upcoming U.S. tour.
The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to play Mershon Auditorium at Ohio State University on Sept. 5.
All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. The substance abuse rehabilitation center was founded by Clapton in 1998.
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
Clapton is set to launch a short U.S. tour starting Sept. 8 in Nashville. In addition to the Ohio State show, the tour will hit Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston and New York before wrapping Sept. 20 in Uncasville, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at EricClapton.com.
The Aussie Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have announced a five-date Australian leg of the tour, kicking off Nov. 12 in Melbourne. The tour will hit Sydney, Adelaide and Perth before wrapping Dec. 14 in Brisbane.
Amyl and the Sniffers, who are also from Australia, are set to open on all dates.
Tickets for all shows go on sale Thursday. A complete list of dates and more info on tickets can be found at acdc.com.
AC/DC launched their Power Up tour in May 2024. The tour was their first trek since 2016, and the first since releasing their 2020 album, PowerUp. They brought the tour to the U.S. in April, with the North American trek wrapping May 28 in Cleveland. The tour returns to Europe on Thursday in Prague.
