Classic Rock News

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has some good news on the legal front. A judge in New York has dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit brought by Jeanne Bellino, a model who claimed she was assaulted by Tyler in the summer of 1975 when she was 17. She accused him of forcibly kissing and groping her. 

Bellino filed her suit under New York City’s Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which granted a two-year window to file suits that would have otherwise fallen outside the usual statute of limitations

In February, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed her case, suggesting she waited too long to file it and that in order to qualify under the Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, she would have had to show Tyler’s actions posed a “serious risk of physical injury,” but she didn’t.

While Bellino’s lawyers wanted to amend her initial complaint, on April 26, the judge denied their request on the “ground of futility” and dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning she’d be unable to refile her claims.

Tyler is still facing a lawsuit filed in December 2022 by a woman named Julia Misley, who accused him of sexual assault, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Tyler and Misley were in a relationship for three years, starting in 1973, when she was 16 and he was in his 20s. She claimed she was “powerless to resist” the rock star’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability” and said he “coerced and persuaded” her into believing their relationship was a “romantic love affair.”

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Pete Townshend recently indicated that he wasn’t too keen on touring with The Who anymore, and Roger Daltrey doesn’t seem willing to convince him otherwise.

In a March interview with The New York Times, Townshend shared, “I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money.” He also suggested doing one more tour for the fans before they “crawl off to die,” although he later said he was being “sarcastic.”

Well, now Daltrey has responded to the comments.

“If Pete doesn’t want to tour, I don’t want to be back with the Who on the road, at 81, with someone who doesn’t want be there – if that’s what he’s saying,” Daltrey told the Miami Herald. “But you know, every dog has its day and it was a wonderful ride.”

“I won’t do it with someone who is halfhearted about it. The music is too important to me,” he added. “The reason the Who was so powerful is because we meant it. We took your face off when we played; we didn’t swan about on stage.” 

But that doesn’t mean there still isn’t hope. Asked if he would tour should Townshend change his mind, Daltrey shared, “I’d be up for it if the reason Pete’s doing it isn’t just to make money. I’ll do it to make good music and to show people what we were, before we leave the stage forever.”

He noted, “I have never toured only for the money. Yes, the money is very useful. But I couldn’t do it just for that; you can’t. You need to be passionate about what you do and you really need to connect with the audiences. If you don’t, you’re failing.”

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Mötley Crüe fans are used to seeing them play arenas and stadiums, but a couple hundred lucky fans are about to see them rock a much smaller stage.

The band just announced on Instagram that they’ll be playing New York’s Bowery Ballroom on May 6, a venue that holds less than 600 people. 

The post includes the year 1981, with the show listed under that name on the Bowery website and tickets priced at $19.81. A Mötley fan club presale begins Thursday, May 2, at 10 a.m, and tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, May 3, at 10 a.m.

The show announcement comes just days after Mötley Crüe released their brand new song, “Dogs of War,” their first release since new guitarist John 5 joined the band after Mick Mars‘ retirement.

Ahead of the Bowery show, Mötley Crüe will play two nights at the Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 3 and 4. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

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Pearl Jam‘s new album, Dark Matter, has debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200.

The 12th studio effort from the grunge veterans moved a total of 59,000 equivalent album units, 52,000 of which were traditional album sales.

Dark Matter earned the second-highest debut on the Billboard 200 for the week of May 4, behind Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department, which notched over 2.6 million equivalent album units.

All of Pearl Jam’s previous 11 albums have also reached at least #5 on the Billboard 200. Five of their records hit #1: 1993’s Vs., 1994’s Vitalogy, 1996’s No Code, 2009’s Backspacer and 2013’s Lightning Bolt.

Pearl Jam will launch a North American tour in support of Dark Matter Saturday, May 4, in Vancouver.

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On This Day, April 29, 1989…

Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley.

Bon Jovi was in Los Angeles for their tour in support of their album New Jersey when the couple decided to head to Las Vegas, secretly tying the knot at the Graceland Wedding Chapel.

The couple went on to have four children together: one daughter, Stephanie, and three sons, Jesse, Jake and Romeo. Jake is currently engaged to actress Millie Bobby Brown.

Bon Jovi is the subject of a new four-part docuseries, Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story, that’s currently airing on Hulu. They will release a new album, Forever, on June 7.

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The Rolling Stones returned to the stage Sunday, April 28, kicking off their ’24 Hackney Diamonds tour at Houston’s NRG Stadium, treating fans to a mix of new songs and classic tunes.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers kicked things off with “Start Me Up,” sprinkling the set with plenty of hits, including “Gimme Shelter,” “Paint It, Black,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Beast of Burden.”

They also broke out the deep cut “Out of Time” as well as “Little T&A,” sung by Keith Richards. According to setlist.fm, it was the first time they performed the Keith song since 2016.

Stones’ latest album, Hackney Diamonds, was also well represented in the set, with the band playing “Angry,” and “Mess It Up” along with “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” which was the first song in The Stones’ two-song encore.

They wrapped up the entire show with their classic “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

It looks like the band had a great time, as they shared photos from the night on Instagram” “Thank you Houston!” the caption read. “You were an amazing audience for the opening night!”

Next up, the Stones bring the tour to Jazz Fest in New Orleans on May 2, followed by Glendale, Arizona, on May 7. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen has fond memories of working on their Diamond-certified album Pyromania, which was released 40 years ago.

The album was Collen’s first with the band. He was hired during the middle of the recording process to replace original guitarist Pete Willis, which is why he says it wasn’t too difficult of an album for him to make. 

“For me, I didn’t have to do the heavy lifting,” he tells ABC Audio. “All the songs had been written, all the anguish and pleasure about writing songs, I didn’t have to do any of that.” 

Pyromania was a huge hit for the band, peaking at #2 thanks to hit songs “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages” and “Foolin.” Collen says that while those songs were being played all over the radio and on MTV, it wasn’t until they toured the United States that they realized how big a hit they had.

“When we got to the States, that’s when we noticed that there was something really weird going on because we were getting a teenybop girl thing, kind of like the Duran Duran vibe,” he says. “But you’d also get rock fans, you know, guitar freaks and people who wanted to hear this other thing.”

He adds, “So that really worked well and worked in our favor.”

To celebrate the anniversary, Def Leppard just released a 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Pyromania featuring unheard demos from the band’s archives. Front man Joe Elliott took a very hands-on approach to finding these unreleased tracks, which according to Collen probably wasn’t too difficult for him.

“Every band, if they’re lucky, they have a geek who collects everything, and that’s Joe … he’s very meticulous,” Collen says. “So he gets the run of that and we trust him.” 

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Queen fans can now own a piece of Roger Taylor’s drum kit and wear it around their necks.

The band has just unveiled a set of Taylored Spinner Pendants, a piece of jewelry made out of one of Roger’s Zildjian cymbals, offering up the tagline, “You heard it….now wear it!”

The spinners are individually handmade, and numbered with a silver and a bronze cut. There are three different designs offered: one with a car on it, another with a drum kit and a third, Radio Gaga, with a radio and the words “Ga Ga” engraved on it. 

Each pendant comes with a 24-inch sterling silver chain with a Jolly Roger logo and a certificate of authenticity signed by Taylor, which includes a photo of the rocker taken by his daughter.

They are available at queenonlinestore.com.

This isn’t the first time Taylor’s cymbals have been turned into jewelry. Last May fans had a chance to purchase Taylored Spinner Cymbal Rings.

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Looks like Mick Jagger is doing a little sightseeing ahead of The Rolling Stones‘ Hackney Diamonds tour kickoff in Houston. 

The rocker just shared photos on Instagram from his visit to the Houston Space Center, where he apparently got to test out some of the equipment and meet some astronauts. They even welcomed him with a message on one of the big screens, reading “Welcome to Mission Control Mick Jagger” with his face in the middle. 

He captioned the post, “Thanks @nasa for being so welcoming to us and great to be shown around by astronauts Josh Cassada, Bob Hines and Jessica Meir.” 

The Stones will launch their tour on Sunday, April 28, at NRG Stadium in Houston. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Ringo Starr’s new EP, Crooked Boy, has just been released to digital services. To mark the occasion he’s shared a video for one of the tracks, “Gonna Need Someone.”

The video features Ringo and guitarist Nick Valensi, who plays on the song, and includes new footage, as well as footage from Ringo’s personal archives.

The EP features four songs written and produced by Linda Perry; this song is one Ringo specifically requested from her.

“I love what Linda did and I think all the songs are all great but one thing I did ask her was to write me a rocker,” he says. “And that’s ‘Gonna Need Someone’ and I love it!”

Crooked Boy was first released on limited-edition marble vinyl for Record Store Day. Black vinyl and CD versions are set to drop May 31.

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