Ringo Starr announces new Las Vegas dates with his All Starr Band

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ringo Starr is returning to Las Vegas.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and his All Starr Band – Toto’s Steve Lukather, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette – have announced a new set of shows at the Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort.

The latest residency consists of six shows, starting Sept. 17 and wrapping Sept. 24.

Various presales kick off Tuesday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.

Ringo last hit The Venetian for a residency in May 2024.

Next up, Ringo and the band will hit the road for a spring tour that begins June 12 in Hartford, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

Blondie, Pearl Jam & more pay tribute to David Johansen

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Blondie’s Debbie Harry is one of the many artists paying tribute to the late David Johansen, lead singer and last surviving original member of the proto-glam-punk band New York Dolls, who passed away Friday at 75.

“One of my favorite things was to go see the New York Dolls. They were so exciting to watch. They were a real rock band,” Harry wrote, noting how “they were so New York.”

“They were straight but they dressed in drag, at a time when the cops were still raiding gay bars. They were ragged and raunchy and uninhibited, strutting, swaggering about in their leatherette, lipstick, and high heels,” she added. “The Dolls influenced countless bands, including 70’s [sic] punk bands, glam metal bands, and alternative rock bands. Thank you for your service, David. You will be missed dearly… and never forgotten.”

Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready wrote that the New York Dolls “were so ahead of their time” and mentioned how his early band Shadow was influenced by them.

“They were very important to me and my friends in the early 80’s [sic] Seattle music scene,” he shared. “They seemed free and dangerous while playing loud rock and roll.” He called Johansen “a singer with great – attitude.” McCready ended the post with, “Rest in Glam, David Johansen,” and suggested a few songs people should check out.

Other artists paying tribute to Johansen include KISS’ Paul Stanley, Billy Idol, Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens, Stevie Van Zandt, Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott and Duran Duran.

Eric Clapton announces limited run of US tour dates

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Eric Clapton will hit the road in September for a limited run of U.S. tour dates.

The trek, featuring special guests The Wallflowers, will kick off Sept. 8 in Nashville and will hit Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston and New York before wrapping Sept. 20 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Local presales for tickets begin Thursday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.

These are the only U.S. dates Clapton has booked for 2025. Starting April 14 he’ll kick off eight nights at the Nippon Budokan in Japan. He also has U.K. dates booked, including three nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall in May, plus shows in Italy and France.

A complete list of Eric Clapton tour dates can be found at ericclapton.com.

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts to play free show in Ukraine

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young is adding a new show to his upcoming European tour.

The rocker announced on his Neil Young Archives website that he and his band the Chrome Hearts plan to open their upcoming love earth tour with a free concert in Ukraine.

He added that they are currently in talks for the show and it will be officially announced on the site, ending the post with “Keep on Rockin’ in the FREE WORLD.”

Young’s love earth tour is currently set to kick off June 18 in Rättvik, Sweden. It hits the U.S. Aug. 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the tour wrapping with a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Sept. 15.

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

On This Day, March 3, 2009: U2 releases ‘No Line on the Horizon’ in North America

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, March 3, 2009…

U2 released their 12th studio album No Line on the Horizon in North America.

The album was released five years after their previous release, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which up until then, marked the longest break between albums for the band.

To promote the record, U2 performed for five consecutive nights on The Late Show with David Letterman. It was the first time ever an artist had played five straight shows on the late night talker.

No Line on the Horizon, which contained the singles “Get On Your Boots,” “Magnificent” and “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,” peaked at #1 in the U.S, and in several other countries.

Report: Bob Dylan really was invited to the Oscars

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

When Conan O’Brien and Mick Jagger joked that Bob Dylan was invited to present at the Oscars they apparently weren’t joking.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, producers did in fact invite the “Like a Rolling Stone” singer to not only to present but to perform as well, but he passed.

During Conan’s opening monologue he was talking about A Complete Unknown star Timothée Chalamet, and cracked that he “is nominated for his portrayal of Bob Dylan,” adding, “Bob Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly.”

Meanwhile, when presenting the best original song category, Jagger quipped, “The producers wanted Bob Dylan to do it, but Bob didn’t want to,” adding, “The best songs this year are obviously in A Complete Unknown.” He then noted that the 83-year-old Dylan said, “You should find somebody younger,” with Jagger, who is 81, adding, “I said OK, I’m younger. I’m younger than Bob. I’ll do it.”

Dylan didn’t have anything on his schedule keeping him from attending, although he does have several tour dates lined up starting later in March. His next show is happening March 25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A complete list of dates can be found at BobDylan.com.

Paul McCartney talks Wings’ ‘Venus and Mars’ ahead of 50th anniversary reissue

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney’s band Wings is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their fourth studio album, Venus and Mars, with a new reissue, and now McCartney is reminiscing about the record.

In a Q&A posted to his website, McCartney shares that they initially titled the album after a song on the record, but it soon took on a different meaning.

“We only meant the planets, but then we had a great party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and somebody said, ‘Oh, hi Venus! Hi Mars!’ to Linda and me,” he says, referring to his late wife, Linda McCartney. “So, it was a great observation from them: Venus is the female; Mars is the male. It made a lot of sense, really.”

“But to us it was just the planets, and the song is just about a kind of space cadet,” he continues. “There were loads of people at the time who were very ‘spacey’.”

The album was recorded in New Orleans, and McCartney says he chose to make it somewhere other than London because it was around that time it became “a little bit of a fashion” for artists to record outside of their home city.

“I was choosing somewhere where I liked the local music,” he says. “It’s a very musical city, so we were really trying to soak up an atmosphere. … We were just enjoying the buzz of being in a great place.”

The new half-speed master reissue of Venus and Mars will be released March 21. The album will also get its first-ever Dolby Atmos release, with Giles Martin and Steve Orchard behind the new mix.

Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary) is available for preorder now.

Elton John loses Academy Award to song from ‘Emilia Pérez’

March 3, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John lost his shot at his third best original song Oscar Sunday night at the 97th Academy Awards.

Elton was nominated for “Never Too Late,” from his Disney+ documentary of the same name. Elton’s friend Brandi Carlile started writing the song after seeing a rough cut of the documentary, and it impressed him so much that he changed the name of the film to match it. Elton, Bernie Taupin and producer Andrew Watt then finished the song.

But “Never Too Late” lost to “El Mal,” a song from Emilia Pérez that was performed by best supporting actress winner Zoë Saldaña in a show-stopping number in the musical.

Coincidentally, the best original song category was presented by Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger, a longtime friend of Elton’s. In fact, Elton played on the Stones’ most recent album, the Grammy-winning Hackney Diamonds, which was produced by “Never Too Late” co-writer Watt.

Despite his loss, Elton still had a good night: He and husband David Furnish hosted the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Viewing Party, which has raised millions of dollars over the years for HIV-AIDS research and awareness. Elton’s pal and best new artist Grammy winner Chappell Roan provided the entertainment.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in addition to her own hits, Chappell performed Elton’s classic “Your Song,” adding, “I think it’s like, I don’t know, maybe the best song of all time. I dedicate it to my parents because they introduced me to Elton John, so I would not even be here were it not for them, and obviously, Elton, this is your song.”

Oscars 2025: Mick Jagger presents at the Oscars

March 2, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger made an appearance at the Oscars Sunday night.

Jagger handed out the award for best original song, joking that he wasn’t the first choice to present: “The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this.”

He added that Dylan didn’t want to do it because he thought the best songs in film this year were in A Complete Unknown, referring to his own music in the Dylan biopic.

Jagger joked that the 83-year-old Dylan said, “You should find somebody younger,” with Jagger, who is 81, noting, “I said OK, I’m younger. I’m younger than Bob. I’ll do it.”

As for the winner, the trophy went to the Emilia Pérez track “El Mal.”

Joey Molland, last surviving original member of Badfinger, dies at 77

March 2, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bobby Bank/Getty Images

Joey Molland, the last surviving original member of the Welsh rock band Badfinger, passed away Saturday at the age of 77, according to the band’s official social media accounts.

A post on Instagram revealed that Molland died after a “3+ months long battle with multiple health issues.”

Badfinger rose to fame in the ’70s, thanks to top 10 hits like “Day After Day,” produced by Beatle George Harrison, which went to #4, and “Come and Get It,” written and produced by Beatle Paul McCartney, which went to #8, as well as “Baby Blue,” produced by Todd Rundgren.

Another one of their songs, “Without You,” became a #1 hit for Harry Nilsson in 1972, and was also covered by Mariah Carey, who took it to #3 on the Billboard chart.

Badfinger recorded several of their albums on The Beatles’ label Apple Records, and Molland wound up appearing on a few of the Fab Four’s solo records, including George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh, and John Lennon’s Imagine.

Molland also released several solo albums throughout his career, his first being After the Pearl, released in 1983.

Molland left Badfinger in 1974 over management issues. In 1978, three years after frontman Peter Ham‘s death by suicide in 1975, Molland and drummer Tom Evans revived the group and released two records before splitting and then each touring with rival bands, both under the name Badfinger.

Evans died by suicide in 1983, while drummer Mike Gibbins died in 2005.

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