Classic Rock News

Gene Simmons wants KISS fans to know they weren’t lying when they played what they said were their “farewell” shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023.

The band recently announcement that Simmons and Paul Stanley will be headlining an “unmasked” KISS performance at November’s KISS Army Storms Vegas event, which will be their first show since those farewell gigs. In a new interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Simmons appears to fire back at critics of the new performance, noting the Vegas gig won’t be a usual KISS production.

“We will not do the makeup. We will hold true to the promise,” Simmons said. “There’s no stage show. There’s no crew. We won’t have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff.”

He adds, “This is [a] more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A.”

As for what fans should expect from the event, Simmons notes, “There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it’s much more personal. And of course, we can’t get by without playing, so we’ll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don’t know.”

KISS Army Storms Vegas will be held Nov. 14-16 at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. More info, including ticket information, can be found at kissarmystormsvegas.com.

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Back in October 2023, Roger Waters released The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, a reimagined version of Pink Floyd’s classic album The Dark Side of the Moon. Now one of his former bandmates is revealing what he thought about it.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason says he thinks many people had the wrong idea about Roger’s motivations behind the release, which coincided with Dark Side‘s 50th anniversary.

“I really liked it,” he says of the album. “There was a lot of talk about whether he’s trying to spoil it for the anniversary and stuff like that, and it was so not that. It was, ‘Let’s have another look at it from a different perspective.’”

He adds, “No one’s going to go, ‘I’m going to buy that one, I’m not going to buy that one.’ They’re interesting enough for everyone to go, ‘I’ll have both.’”

When it comes to Dark Side, Mason says one of his big regrets is that Pink Floyd didn’t spend more time touring on the album and that they didn’t film themselves performing it live.

“If one could play the whole thing back all over again, we probably should have taken longer, we should have spent more time playing Dark Side live and not worried about going back into the studio to make Wish You Were Here,” he says. “We actually spent quite a long time in the studio having not a great time when we could have just actually drawn things out a bit longer, done more live work and filmed it.”

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INXS has offered up another preview of their upcoming 40th anniversary deluxe edition of their album Listen Like Thieves.

The latest taste is a previously unreleased studio demo of the song “Kiss the Dirt.” It is the second track released from the deluxe edition, following a live performance of “Biting Bullets.”

Listen Like Thieves (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) will feature a brand-new remix of the album by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks, along with unreleased outtakes and demos. There will also be a new interview with the band, plus a newly unearthed BBC recording, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1986.

In addition to the three-CD/LP deluxe edition, there will be a two-CD extended edition, which includes the new mix and the CD of B-sides, remixes and live recordings, as well as a single LP edition with just the remix.

All versions will be released May 9 and are available for preorder now.

INXS — Michael Hutchence, brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss, and Garry Gary Beers — released Listen Like Thieves on Oct. 14, 1985. It was the band’s fifth studio album and was considered to be their international breakthrough. It featured the Aussie rockers’ first top-five single, “What You Need,” with the album reaching #11 in the U.S.

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Ringo Starr has released an all-star rendition of The Beatles’ classic “With A Little Help From My Friends,” with proceeds going to help California wildfire relief efforts.

The song was recorded live during Ringo’s January shows at the Ryman Auditorium. It features the superstar guests who joined him for the concerts, including Sheryl Crow, The White Stripes’ Jack White, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Brenda Lee and Billy String.

“With A Little Help My Friends” is available now via digital outlets. Starr will donate 100% of the song’s proceeds from now until March 27, 2026, to the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity ReBUILD LA.

“I love LA and have lived there for many years, and while we were recording this in Nashville, many of us had family and friends who were dealing with the wildfires in Los Angeles,” said Ringo. “It was so great performing this song with these incredible artists and we all wanted to do something to help. I think the song says it all really, ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ and we send it to all those affected by the fires with Peace and Love.”

The two-hour special Ringo & Friends at the Ryman, filmed during his two-night stand in Nashville, aired in early March on CBS. It is now streaming on Paramount+.

Next up, Ringo and his All-Starr Band are set to kick off a new tour on June 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They’ll also return to Las Vegas this fall, with dates at the Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort starting Sept. 17 and wrapping Sept. 24.

A complete list of dates can be found at RingoStarr.com.

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The Who returned to the stage Thursday night, performing the first of two concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall to benefit Teenage Cancer Trust.

According to setlist.fm, the band blew through plenty of Who hits, including “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “My Generation” and “Baba O’Riley.” They even surprised the crowd with a performance of the Who’s Next song “Love Ain’t for Keeping,” the first time they’ve performed the song since 2004.

Mojo reports that during the show, Pete Townshend revealed he is recovering from knee replacement surgery.

“I had a complete knee replacement four and a half weeks ago,” the 79-year-old Townshend shared. “But because I’m Superman, I’m here! Maybe I should auction off the old one.” He added, “Elton John had one done, and he wears his as a bracelet. Unfortunately, mine’s in three bits.”

And Pete isn’t the only one dealing with ailments. Roger Daltrey, who has been open about his hearing issues, shared that he’s now having trouble with his eyesight.

“The problem with this job is that you go deaf, and now I’ve been told I am going blind,” the 81-year-old told the audience, according to Planet Rock. “Thank God I’ve still got my voice. If I lose that I’ll go full Tommy,” a reference to the “deaf, dumb and blind” main character in The Who’s rock opera Tommy.

The Who returns to Royal Albert Hall for a second and final Teenage Cancer Trust show on Sunday.

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On This Day, March 28, 1976 … 

Phil Collins made his U.S. live debut as Genesis’ lead singer on the band’s first tour since Peter Gabriel‘s departure.

Gabriel announced his departure from Genesis in August 1975, following the tour in support of their sixth studio album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The first tour without him was in support of The Trick of Tail, with Genesis performing across North America and Europe.

Interestingly, on March 28, 1996, exactly 20 years after he made his live debut as frontman, Collins announced he too was leaving Genesis to focus on solo work and movie soundtracks.

That break lasted almost nine years, with Genesis launching a reunion tour in 2007. The band wrapped their final tour, The Last Domino? tour, on March 26, 2022, in London.

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Bachman-Turner Overdrive has dropped their first new single in over 25 years.

The Canadian band, led by Randy Bachman, has released the new track “60 Years Ago,” which features Randy’s sons Tal and Koko Bachman, with BTO’s Fred Turner on vocals, and a guitar solo from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and fellow Canadian, Neil Young.

“As a thank-you to Winnipeg, the city that shaped us, I wrote a song called ‘60 Years Ago,’” Bachman shares. “This song is our tribute to Winnipeg, the place where we grew up as teenagers in the ’60s, a time when the city’s music scene was exploding. It was the Liverpool of North America, a melting pot of incredible talents.”

“60 Years Ago” is available now via digital outlets. Proceeds from the song will go to The Bridge to Nowhere charity bike ride, which helps raise money to end chronic homelessness in Winnipeg, Canada.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive is set to kick off a Canadian tour on Tuesday in Victoria, British Columbia. They will hit the States this summer with The Marshall Tucker Band and Jefferson Starship. The tour kicks off July 18 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

A complete list of dates can be found at btoband.com.

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The reformed Sex Pistols are crossing the pond to cause anarchy in the U.S.

The punk icons have announced their first tour of the States in over 20 years, running from Sept. 16 in Dallas to Oct. 16 in Los Angeles. The run will mark the North American debut of the updated Sex Pistols lineup, which includes original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock alongside vocalist Frank Carter in place of frontman John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten.

Presales begin April 1, and tickets go on sale to the general public starting April 4 at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SexPistolsFeaturingFrankCarter.com.

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Paul McCartney recently reissued his band Wings’ album Venus and Mars for its 50th anniversary, and he’s giving fans a way to enjoy the music together.

The rocker just announced a new global Venus and Mars listening party Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Those taking part are asked to share their favorite Venus and Mars songs, lyrics and memories.

Meanwhile, in a Q&A on his website, McCartney answered some questions about what it was like touring with Wings after the release of Venus and Mars, which saw the band going from clubs to stadiums.

“After The Beatles, we had this tiny little band that didn’t have any hits and didn’t even know each other, except for me and (wife) Linda (McCartney) obviously. And Denny Laine, who I knew a little,” McCartney shares. “We were almost an amateur outfit, but we knew we would work at it and we did. We built it brick-by-brick.”

“In 1976 we did the big American tour and it was like, ‘Wow, this is it!’ That was the payoff, after all that work,” he explains. “This crazy idea of just getting a few friends together and doing little clubs and building it and learning how to be a group – it worked.”

Finally he notes, “It was the justification of the way we’d done it, with the world’s craziest idea – that after you’ve been a Beatle, you go down to little clubs or places you don’t even have bookings, like on the university tour. It was very daring.”

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A documentary about legendary New York concert promoter Ron Delsener is set for a May theatrical release.

Abramorama recently acquired the film, Ron Delsener Presents, directed by Jake Sumner. It has announced it will open with a weeklong engagement at Quad Cinema in New York City starting May 30, with the 86-year-old Delsener and some special guests taking part in Q&As during the run. It will then hit theaters in select cities nationwide.

The film gives music fans a behind-the-scenes look at Delsener’s 60-year career in live music and features interviews with a whole host of A-list musicians: Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Jon Bon Jovi, the late Jimmy Buffett, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Gene Simmons, Patti Smith, Cher and more.

“For generations most of the live music in New York City and most of its iconic venues were presided over by one individual and his small team, and that was Ron Delsener,” Sumner shares. “Ron’s personal story tracks the tale of live music from a cottage industry, to the dominant cultural force and global business it is today.”

He adds, “He is probably one of the only living sources of the live music business’s entirety, or at least a version of it.”

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