The Beatles must now share one of their U.K. chart records.
According to the U.K.’s Official Charts, singer Robbie Williams just landed his 15th solo U.K. #1 album with the soundtrack to his movie Better Man, which now ties him with The Beatles for the most U.K. #1 albums.
Williams was previously tied with The Rolling Stones for the second-most number ones, with 14.
The Beatles landed their first U.K. #1 in April 1963 with Please Please Me and had their last #1 in 2000 with 1, a greatest hits album featuring #1 singles from 1962 to 1970.
Elton at his Academy Awards Party in 2024; Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
In March, Elton John will be hosting his annual Academy Awards viewing party, which raises funds for his Elton John AIDS Foundation. But this year that won’t be the only charity it will benefit.
The foundation writes in an Instagram post, “For over 30 years, Los Angeles has helped shape our annual Academy Awards® Viewing Party into the iconic celebration it is today. We are deeply grateful to this vibrant city and its people for their boundless generosity, passion and support.”
The post continues, “The devastation caused by the wildfires has been heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with everyone impacted. To give back to this extraordinary community that has given so much to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we are dedicating a portion of this year’s Oscar Party to wildfire relief and recovery efforts. We love you, Los Angeles.”
Elton’s party, featuring entertainment by his Grammy-nominated pal Chappell Roan, will take place in West Hollywood, California, on March 2 and will be hosted by Elton and his husband, David Furnish, along with co-hosts Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, plus Jean Smart and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
And Elton may find himself celebrating a win at the party: He’s nominated for an Oscar in the category of best original song for his duet with Brandi Carlile, “Never Too Late.”
Over the years, Elton’s annual bash has raised nearly $115 million for the fight to end HIV/AIDS.
Queen continues to celebrate the release of their Queen I box set, this time with a special video focused on Roger Taylor’s drum contributions to their debut album.
In the latest special episode of Queen the Greatest, Taylor reveals that he was disappointed when they got to Trident Studios to record the album, because he had little control over his sound.
“At Trident, it did feel like, ‘OK, now we’re in it,’ but I didn’t really get on with their ideas,” he shares. “They had a drum booth and it was a well-known sound: very dry and dead, which is not what I wanted. I wanted to hear the drums resonate.”
He adds, “I didn’t want it to go ‘thud, whack.’ But that’s what they wanted. There was cloth over everything, and everything was taped down.”
Taylor also notes that he couldn’t even play on his own drum kit.
“I had to play this s***** little kit. It was just awful,” he says. “We were told, ‘This is the Trident sound.’ But we didn’t want the Trident sound. We wanted our sound.”
As for why they went along with it, he says, “We sort of just did what we were told.”
The Queen I box set, which was released in October, features a new mix of the album, which the band is much happier with.
“What we’ve done now with Queen I … is we’ve used all the actual recordings but made it sound more like we wanted it to sound at the time,” Roger says. “So it’s ‘liver,’ the drums are more live and more ambient. So, for me, it’s a significant improvement, and I know Brian (May) feels the same.”
Ringo Starr is set to appear on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he’ll discuss his recently released country album, Look Up.
The album is already a success for Ringo, landing on several Billboard charts, including the all-genre Top Album Sales chart, where it’s at #7.
The album is also #1 on the Current Rock Album sales, Americana/Folk Album sales and Current Country Album sales charts, at #4 on the Current Digital Album sales chart and #6 on the Overall Digital Album sales chart.
It’s even landed on the rock charts, at #23 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart and at #30 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.
Meanwhile, on the all-genre Billboard 200, Look Up debuted at #147 and is now Ringo’s 20th album to land on that chart.
“Thanks everyone who supported me with Look Up, produced by T Bone Burnett,who did a great job,and all the musicians on it I want to thank,” Ringo shared on social media. “It’s just been a great experience for me to make this record and have the experience of it actually doing great, it fills my heart. Peace and love. Thank everybody. Thank you.”
Look Up, co-written and produced by Burnett, is made up of 11 songs, with special guest appearances by Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Lucius,Larkin Poe and Alison Krauss, the latter appearing on the album’s closing song, “Thankful,” which was co-written by Ringo.
Sammy Hagar, Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander and Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes are among the artists set to perform at the upcoming Rock for Responders benefit, taking place Feb. 27, at the LA Waterfront in front of the Battleship IOWA.
The trio will perform as part of the band Kings of Chaos, which also features Billy Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens, guitarist Orianthi, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Carmin Rojas and guitarist Brent Woods.
The event is being put on by the Pacific Battlefield Center, in partnership with the Port of Los Angeles and Princess Cruises. According to the announcement, the concert will raise money to support local first responders, “highlighting their critical roles in ensuring community resilience and recovery.”
Tickets to the benefit will be free to first responders. More info can be found at pacificbattleship.com.
Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks died by suicide in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was 69.
Born Claude Hudson Trucks, Butch joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1969 and played with them throughout their career. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1995.
Butch’s nephew, guitarist Derek Trucks, joined ABB in 1999 and went on to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife Susan Tedeschi. Derek’s brother, Duane Trucks, is the drummer for Widespread Panic.
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has shared an update about his health.
The rocker missed the band’s Jan. 18 concert in León, Mexico, with frontman Joe Elliott explaining he was “recovering from some treatment for his cancer.” Well, now Campbell has taken to social media to thank fans who have reached out and to share some good news about his condition.
“Thank you for all the recent messages and support. As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago,” he wrote on Def Leppard’s Instagram page. “I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and it’s safe to say that thus far it’s been a very successful transplant!”
“I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery,” he added, signing the post “A very happy Viv!”
While Campbell was replaced at the Mexico show by Phil Collen’s guitar tech John Zocco, it looks like he’ll have plenty of time to recover and make the next one. Their next show isn’t until May 15 in Puerto Rico.
After two successful solo albums, Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going, Genesis frontman Phil Collins saw his solo career skyrocket thanks to the release of his third solo record, No Jacket Required, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary on Saturday.
The 1985 release saw Collins embracing a more up-tempo sound, which proved to be wildly popular with fans. The album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, where it spent seven weeks. It also went to #1 in several other countries, including the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
No Jacket Required, which featured guest appearances by Sting and Collins’ former Genesis bandmate Peter Gabriel on background vocals, contained four top-10 hits: the #1 singles “Sussudio” and “One More Night,” as well as “Don’t Lose My Number,” which peaked at #4, and “Take Me Home,” which peaked at #7.
Collins has said the album’s title was inspired by an evening out in Chicago with Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, where he was denied admittance to a restaurant because it had a “jacket required” dress code.
No Jacket Required went on to become one of the bestselling records of all time and in 2001 was certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling 12 million copies in the U.S. It also won several accolades, including three Grammys, one for album of the year.
And while fans may have loved the album, it seems Collins grew to like it less and less. In fact, in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone he claimed it was his least favorite record, sharing, “At the time, I wasn’t being me.”
The band’s classic “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” is #1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart for December 2024, thanks to its use in the third season of the Disney+ series What If…?
The song earned 8.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads to earn the top spot.
“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” has also jumped to #2 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs Sales chart for Jan. 18 thanks to its inclusion in the show.
What If…? is an animated series that’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and explores alternate timelines in the multiverse.
“I Was Made for Lovin’ You” appeared on KISS’ 1979 album, Dynasty. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nominees for the 2025 Brit Awards were announced Thursday, with The Beatles recognized for their 2023 single “Now and Then.”
The track, which was billed as the final Beatles song, has been short-listed for song of the year, along with tunes by Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX with Billie Eilish and others.
The nomination comes nearly 50 years after The Beatles last earned a Brit Award nomination, which happened at the inaugural awards in 1977.
And this isn’t the first big nomination The Beatles have received for “Now and Then.” The track is also nominated for record of the year at the Grammy Awards, where it’s up against songs by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Eilish, Chappell Roan and rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Released in November 2023, “Now and Then” features vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s, along with new contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and guitar parts George Harrison recorded in the ’90s during the sessions for their Anthology series.
The BRIT Awards will be handed out in London on March 1, live from the O2 Arena.
