Forty years ago, Talking Heads released their sixth studio album, Little Creatures, which turned out to be the band’s most commercially successful release.
The album featured a slew of radio friendly hits, including the single “And She Was,” which peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, but also landed at #11 on the Mainstream Rock charts, as well as in the top 40 on two Billboard dance charts.
Thanks to two other popular songs, “Stay Up Late” and “Road to Nowhere,” Little Creatures became a top 20 hit for Talking Heads, and went on to sell over two million copies in the U.S.
Talking Heads went on to release two more albums after Little Creatures, 1986’s True Stories and 1988’s Naked, before breaking up in 1991.
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has announced a reworked edition of his 1994 solo album, Balls to Picasso.
Dubbed More Balls to Picasso, the set is described as a “brand-new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version” of the original album.
“While mixing all my catalogue into Dolby Atmos I had a nagging desire to revisit and reinvent the record,” Dickinson shares. “So putting more balls into Balls… was a labor of love.”
More Balls to Picasso is due out July 25. You can listen to the updated recording of the song “Gods of War” via digital outlets.
Dickinson released his latest solo album, The Mandrake Project, in 2024, marking his first solo effort in nearly 20 years. He’ll support the record on a North American solo tour that kicks off in August.
The progressive rockers — currently made up of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen — have announced dates for The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series. The tour will have them playing their 1971 album Fragile in its entirety, along with other classic hits.
The tour will also incorporate Yes’ iconic visuals, including Fragile’s cover, which was designed by Roger Dean, who also designed other Yes album covers and their logo. The band is set to perform in front of a video, which will show AI interpretations of Dean’s art.
The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series kicks off Oct. 1 in Wallingford, Connecticut, and wraps Nov. 16 in Reno, Nevada.
David Byrne is back with his first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia.
The former Talking Heads frontman will release Who Is the Sky? on Sept. 5, and has recruited some special guests to join him, including St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner.
The album features songs arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, and Byrne is previewing the record with the release of the track “Everybody Laughs.”
“Someone I know said, ‘David, you use the word ‘everybody’ a lot.’ I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,” says Byrne. “Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody’s wearing everybody else’s shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done.”
He continues, “I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together.”
Who Is the Sky? is available for preorder now in a variety of formats, including a limited edition cantaloupe orange/strawberry pink split vinyl with a lenticular cover.
Byrne has also announced a new tour in support of the album, which will kick off in North America on Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island, wrapping with two nights in Miami, Dec. 5 and 6.
An artist presale is happening now through Thursday at 10 p.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.
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.
