Classic Rock News

The Who‘s Pete Townshend appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Nov. 12, where he also sat in with the house band. Now the show is revealing what fans at home didn’t get to see.

The Late Show just released the latest clip in its “Commercial Breakdown” YouTube series, this time featuring Townshend performing his 1980 solo single “Let My Love Open the Door.” The clip has Townshend on acoustic guitar, backed by Louis Cato & The Late Show Band.

Townshend was on The Late Show to promote Quadrophenia: A Rock Ballet, which ran at New York’s City Center. 

During the appearance he talked about being open to using AI to complete unfinished music he has in his vault and also discussed The Who’s final North American tour, which wrapped in October.

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We now know who’s going to be playing The Beatles producer George Martin in director Sam Mendes‘ upcoming films about the Fab Four.

Martin’s son, producer Giles Martin, recently revealed that British actor Harry Lloyd, who played Viserys Targaryen on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been cast to play his dad in The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.

Giles confirmed the news in an interview with Virgin Radio U.K.’s Ryan Turbridy.

“He’s really good,” said Giles. “He’s just very committed,” adding that all of the cast are.

George Martin, often referred to as the “fifth Beatle,” produced all but one of The Beatles’ albums, including 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which became the first rock album to win the Grammy for album of the year.

Mendes’ Beatles films are scheduled to hit theaters in April 2028, with each one told from the point of view of a different band member. The films will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the band members’ life stories and their legendary catalog of music.

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Eric Clapton has released a new animated video for “Higher Power,” written by Jerry Williams, one of the bonus tracks that appear on the just-released deluxe reissue of his 1989 album, Journeyman.

The reissue, out now digitally and on CD and LP, features a remastered version of the original album, along with four new bonus tracks, three of which are from the original Journeyman recording sessions and have never been released before.

“Journeyman … [i]t’s what I want to be known as; I like to think I’m a craftsman,” Clapton says of the album. “I think I’m always working on mastering my craft.”

Released on Nov. 6, 1989, Journeyman was Clapton’s 11th studio album and featured guest appearances by such artists as George Harrison, Phil Collins, Chaka Khan, Daryl Hall and Robert Cray.

The album hit #1 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart and peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200. It featured singles like “Pretending” and “Bad Love,” which both hit #1 on the rock charts. “Bad Love” earned Clapton a Grammy for best male rock vocal performance.

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Neil Young is returning to Europe and the U.K. in 2026.

The rocker and his band The Chrome Hearts — Spooner Oldham, Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick and Anthony LoGerfo — just announced dates for a new leg of their Love Earth tour, which kicks off June 19 in Manchester, England.

The trek, which will feature special guests Elvis Costello & The Imposters on select dates, includes headlining and festival appearances. Young and the band will make stops in France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland before wrapping July 16 in Codroipo, Italy.

Neil Young Archives members will have exclusive access to a ticket presale that begins Monday at 9 a.m. GMT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. GMT.

Young and The Chrome Hearts launched their Love Earth tour on June 18 in Rättvik, Sweden. It featured a headlining spot at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival and North American dates that started on Aug. 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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

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Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace, featuring Suzi Dian, are featured in the latest edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series.

Plant and his band perform five songs during the appearance, kicking things off with the traditional spiritual “Gospel Plough.”

That’s followed by three other songs from their recently released album, Saving Grace: “Higher Rock,” from songwriter Martha Scanlan, “Everybody’s Song” and Moby Grape’s “It’s a Beautiful Day Today.”

They then wrap the concert with a performance of the Lead Belly tune “Gallows Pole,” a song Led Zeppelin covered for their 1969 album, Led Zeppelin III.

Robert Plant and Saving Grace are currently on a U.S. tour. They play Oakland, California, on Friday, with dates confirmed through Sunday in Valley Center, California. A complete list of dates can be found at RobertPlant.com.

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As Queen continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album A Night at the Opera, they are highlighting live performances of their iconic single “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The latest episode of the band’s YouTube series Queen’s The Greatest is dedicated to iconic concert performances of the tune. Freddie Mercury kicks things off by introducing the track at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in December 1975, marking the first filmed footage of him doing so.

In addition to footage of the Hammersmith performance, the episode includes clips of their 1985 Live Aid performance and 1992’s Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, where Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose handled vocals.

There are also clips of Queen’s 2003 performance at the 46664 concert in Cape Town, South Africa, where Brian May and Roger Taylor were joined by the Soweto Gospel Choir, and their 2014 New Year’s Eve concert at London’s Big Ben, which featured their most recent frontman, Adam Lambert, sharing vocals with archival footage of Mercury displayed on screen.

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The 60-year legacy of the Grateful Dead is being celebrated in a new book.

The music magazine Relix, which started in 1974 as a handmade newsletter aimed at connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead music, is set to release 60 Years of The Grateful Dead Experience on Dec. 11. The 160-page softcover book comes from Relix‘s editor-in-chief, Dean Budnick, and Ricki Blakesberg.

The book features over 100 previously unpublished photos of the band to create a “visual chronicle” of their career from 1965 to 2025. It features photos from 40 music photographers, including Rosie McGee, Ron Rakow, Jay Blakesberg and Henry Diltz, who also offer up stories and reflections of the band. It includes archival interviews and insights into The Dead’s impact.

According to the description, the book is “designed to be treasured—whether you’ve followed the Dead since the Haight-Ashbury days or discovered the magic through new generations.”

Relix’s 60 Years of The Grateful Dead Experience is available for preorder now.

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The Paley Museum in New York has announced a special screening of the first episode of The Beatles Anthology, the ’90s docuseries that is being rereleased on Disney+.

The Anthology: Episode One screening will take place Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will be followed by a conversation featuring a panel that includes Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.

Following a presale for Paley members, tickets for the screening will go on sale to the general public Saturday at noon ET.

The original eight-part Beatles Anthology aired on ABC in 1995 and featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr telling stories of their life and career as The Beatles. The restored and remastered new version, which includes a brand-new ninth episode, will debut on Disney+ in three parts: episodes 1-3 on Nov. 26, episodes 4-6 on Nov. 27 and episodes 7-9 on Nov. 28.

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Back in August, Stevie Nicks was forced to postpone several of her tour dates after fracturing her shoulder, and now she’s revealing just how bad things got.

According to People, during her concert Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York, Stevie opened up to the crowd about her recovery.

“For a long time it was really over,” Nicks told her fans. “And I just want you to know that because of you, because of you, I said to myself from the very first day that I got back to L.A. one day later, ‘Well, I’m not gonna deal with this well, so I’m gonna have to just get well.'”

“Because I can’t do this. I can’t be away from my people,” she added.

And while recovery wasn’t easy, Stevie noted, “It doesn’t matter because the more it hurts, the more you know it’s getting better. And so, I am bringing the best shoulder I can to you tonight.”

Stevie has five more shows left on her 2025 tour. Her next stop is Boston on Nov. 24. A complete list of dates can be found at StevieNicksOfficial.com.

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After premiering in London in May, the John Lennon documentary Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade is finally getting a U.S. release.

The film, from British filmmaker Alan G. Parker, is set to premiere in New York on Dec. 8, the 45th anniversary of The Beatles legend’s death. The screening will include a Q&A with Parker moderated by Beatles historian and author Ken Womack.

Also on Dec. 8, the film will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and on digital platforms like Fandango and Prime Video, with additional platforms streaming it starting Jan. 13.

Borrowed Time explores Lennon’s post-Beatles career using archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with musicians, journalists and close friends. There are also archival interviews from Lennon, Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney.

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