Classic Rock News

A former club in Liverpool that once hosted performances by The Beatles has now been turned into an Airbnb, the BBC reports.

The Casbah Coffee Club was opened in 1959 by the mother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best. The venue, in the basement of the Best home, closed in 1962 — but not before The Beatles performed there more than 40 times. John Lennon’s band the Quarryman also played there.

Now Best and his younger brother Roag have turned the rooms above the club into a place any Beatles fan would love to stay. It features rooms named after Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as well as original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and Best, with each room featuring a “sprinkling” of Beatles-related décor, like posters and photos.

There is no room named after Ringo Starr, who replaced Best before the band took off, but Roag insists it’s not a slight at Ringo.

“It’s nothing to do with Pete and Ringo and what happened,” he says. “Everything we do is about being authentic and The Beatles that performed and partied here were John, Paul, George, Pete and Stuart.” He notes, “Ringo was never a member when he was here.”

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Rocker Sebastian Bach plans to spend some more time on the road this year.

The former Skid Row frontman just announced a new set of fall dates, kicking off Oct. 4 in Portland. The new dates include a tour of Canada and two nights at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, before wrapping Dec. 14 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Bach’s tour is in support of his recent solo album, Child Within The Man, which came out in May. And to coincide with the tour announcement he’s dropped an alternate video for one of the album’s tracks, “(Hold On) To The Dream.”

Bach’s next show is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Johnson City, Tennessee. A complete list of dates can be found at sebastianbach.com.

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After teasing fans on social media, U2 has now confirmed that a movie of their Sphere residency is coming, but you’ll have to go to Sin City to see it.

The band and Sphere Entertainment just announced that V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas will open at the Sphere on Sept. 5. It gives fans a glimpse at the band’s residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby, which opened in September 2023.

The film, directed by U2 guitarist The Edge and his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, was shot using the ultra-high-resolution camera system developed by Sphere Entertainment. The screenings will use Sphere Immersive Sound, with the audience watching from haptic seats, which, according to a press release, “use vibrations so guests can ‘feel’ the experience.” 

“The goal was to give the immersive movie goers as close to the live U2:UV concert experience as possible — and then some,” says The Edge. “I’ve never seen a U2 show. I’m so relieved I caught a great one.”

Steinberg adds, “We knew all the tremendous capabilities of the technology, but we didn’t know what to expect from the process of making this film. The end result is a cinematic experience that transports viewers into the energy and beauty of the live show.” 

Tickets to V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas go on sale to U2.com subscribers Thursday. The general ticket sale starts Friday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets start at $100.

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Bryan Adams is getting ready to drop a new video on Friday.

The rocker shared a tease of the clip on social media with the caption, “You better watch out…23rd August #warmachine,” revealing it’s a video for “War Machine,” his take on one of two songs he co-wrote in the ’80s with Jim Vallance and Gene Simmons for KISS.

The black-and-white tease shows Adams walking through a field holding a white flag with a peace sign, then cuts to scenes of a war-torn city. It ends with the words “War Machine” on the screen, followed by “Launching Soon 23.08.2024.”

Earlier in August, Adams dropped his version of the other song he co-wrote for KISS, “Rock and Roll Hell.” Both tracks appeared on KISS’ 1982 album, Creatures of the Night.

Adams’ versions will be released as a limited-edition double A-side 7-inch single on Aug. 30 and are available for preorder now at bryanadams.com.

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Paul McCartney surprised fans at a concert in the Hamptons, New York, on Tuesday, jumping up on the stage to perform two songs. 

The Beatles rocker was the surprise guest during a set by producer Andrew Watt and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, featuring guitarist G.E. Smith, at the venue Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett.

Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows McCartney joining the musicians for The Beatles’ classic “I Saw Her Standing There” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

And it seems like this won’t be the only collaboration we hear from McCartney and Watt. In an October interview Watt did with Rolling Stone about the The Rolling Stones record Hackney Diamonds, which Watt produced, he revealed he was also working on music with McCartney.

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Is a movie of U2’s Sphere Las Vegas residency on the way? It looks like the Irish rockers may be hinting that it’s gonna happen.

On Monday, Sphere posted a trio of emojis on social media — a movie camera, a bucket of popcorn and an arrow with the word soon — suggesting movies either of the Sphere or to the Sphere were coming soon.

What made the post more interesting was the retweet it got from U2’s account, which added its own emoji: a set of eyeballs, suggesting there was something to see there, possibly indicating that a film about their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency is on the way.

U2 was the first band to play the Sphere, opening the venue in September 2023. The show had them performing an Achtung Baby-heavy set accompanied by stunning visuals. They wrapped the residency after 40 shows in March.

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Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds is revisiting his time with Swan Song records with a new box set coming this fall.

Swan Songs: The Singles 1976–1981, out Oct. 27, will feature 39 songs, made up of both the A and B sides of his released singles during that time period.

Tracks on the album have all been remastered and include such tunes as “Here Comes The Weekend,” which was cowritten with Nick Lowe; covers of John Fogerty’s “Almost Saturday Night” and Bob Seger’s “Get Out of Denver”; “Queen of Hearts,” a track made famous by Juice Newton; “Bad Is Bad,” which later became a hit for Huey Lewis & the News; and “Girls Talk,” written by Elvis Costello.

Swan Songs: The Singles 1976–1981 will be released as two-LP and two-CD sets. It is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, Aug. 21, 1965 …

The Rolling Stones landed their first #1 album in the United States with Out Of Our Heads, which went on to hold the top spot for three weeks. 

The band’s fourth album released in the States, Out Of Our Heads featured the future Stones classic “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which became their first #1 single in the U.S. and a staple at their live shows. The album also featured the top 10 single “The Last Time.” 

Out of Our Heads was certified Platinum by the RIAA. In addition to topping the U.S. chart, the album peaked at #2 in the U.K. and Australia. 

The Rolling Stones are still making music. Their most recent release, Hackney Diamonds, came out in October.

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Another day, another film festival premiere for the new Elton John documentary.

Elton John: Never Too Late will receive its European premiere Oct. 10 at the BFI London Film Festival. Elton and his husband, David Furnish, the latter of whom co-directed the movie with R.J. Cutler, will be in the audience.

The documentary follows Elton as he simultaneously gets ready for his final North American concert at LA’s Dodger Stadium and looks back at his impressive 50-year career, revealing how he overcame career challenges and personal struggles to rise to the top of the music biz.

BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson says in a statement, “We’re delighted to … give audiences a front row seat to one of the most electrifying creative careers of our age.” The BFI London Film Festival begins Oct. 9.

The documentary will receive its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, which starts Sept. 27, and its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, which starts Sept. 5.

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Lenny Kravitz is headed to the VMAs.

The rocker is one of the newly announced performers for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, happening Sept. 11 at UBS Arena in Queens, New York.

This will mark Kravitz’s first VMA performance in over 25 years. He previously graced the VMA stage in 1993 when he performed “Are You Gonna Go My Way” and won Best Male Video, and in 1998 when he joined Madonna for her performance of “Ray of Light.”

Lenny is nominated in the Best Rock Video category at this year’s VMAs. His Blue Electric Light track “Human” is up against Bon Jovi’s “Legendary,” U2‘s “Atomic City,” Green Day’s “Dilemma,” Coldplay’s “feelslikeimfallinginlove” and Kings of Leon’s “Mustang.”

Fan voting is open now and runs through Aug. 30.

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