Classic Rock News

Sebastian Bach is apologizing to actress Christina Applegate, who revealed in her new memoir that she dumped Brad Pitt for the Skid Row frontman in 1989 when she was just 17.

In her book, You With the Sad Eyes, Applegate writes that at the MTV VMAs that year she left her date, a not-yet-famous Pitt, for Bach and she and Pitt didn’t talk for years after.

In an interview with Billboard, Bach says he was “very surprised” when Applegate’s revelations hit the news.

“I was a single guy on tour, in a band, and I met a lot of girls and I apologize if I hurt her … if I hurt anybody,” he tells the mag. “When you’re young you get thrown into the whirlwind of rock ‘n’ roll, meeting a lot of people and you better hold on tight. It’s like being on a roller coaster.” He notes, “It was a long time ago. If I hurt anybody, I apologize for it.”

In the same interview Bach talked about his new gig filling in for Dee Snider as frontman of Twisted Sister on select tour dates.

“I am a fan,” he says of the band. “They had the tour booked and (Snider’s) doctors told him he couldn’t do it. They had a choice to either try to get another singer or cancel the whole tour.” He adds, “I just look at it in the same way as when Brian Johnson couldn’t do the AC/DC shows (in 2016) and Axl Rose stepped in, or when Queen wanted to tour and Paul Rodgers came in.”

Referring to his 2024 solo album, Child Within the Man, Bach notes, “[A] band like Twisted Sister 100% makes me feel like a child within the man. That music is very youthful and fun.”

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Barry Keoghan is set to play The Beatles’ Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ upcoming films about the legendary band, and in a new interview with Collider he opens up about what it’s been like to work on the films.

“It’s emotional. It is,” he says. “Because The Beatles, for me, I’ve met Ringo and Paul (McCartney), but you get to know the lads very much through all the research. It’s not pressure, it’s sort of like you just want to do them good.”

The film also stars Paul Mescal as McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. The cast has been filming in Liverpool, where The Beatles got their start, and it sounds like it’s been a great experience for Keoghan.

“And filming up in Liverpool, they’re such lovely people and very welcoming to it,” he says. “There’s just a nice energy around it, and a spiritual kind of circle as well with it.”

The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will consist of four films, each told from the perspective of one of band members. Due to hit theaters in April 2028, the cast also includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd.

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Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has announced a new graphic novel called Farewell to Seasons.

The book, which will be published by Z2, presents a “historical fantasy” set in the Seattle music scene of the ’80s and ’90s, told from the perspective of a fictional musician named David Williams.

“It’s a story I’ve been developing for many years, inspired by the creativity, community, and chaos of the Seattle music scene,” McCready says in a statement.

Deluxe editions of Farewell to Seasons will be accompanied by a rock opera of original music recorded by McCready.

“I’ve had a great time bringing this project to life with Z2, and I hope people enjoy the journey as much as I did creating it,” McCready says.

Farewell to Seasons is due out Oct. 6 and is available to preorder now via Z2Comics.com.

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A long list of artists will pay homage to Billy Joel at Carnegie Hall Thursday by performing his songs during the  latest installment of the annual Music Of charity concert, which raises money for music education for underserved youth. And according to his daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Billy will be in the house.

The Piano Man has been sidelined from performing since last year due to a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, a neurological condition that affects balance, vision and hearing. But as Alexa tells The Hollywood Reporter, “I said, ‘Dad, you better be there! This is Carnegie Hall. Everyone’s paying tribute to you, and it’s an amazing group of artists.’”

“He was like, ‘Let me mark that down.’ He’s very organized with his little calendar,” adds Alexa. “He was so excited when he first played Carnegie Hall in the ’70s, so it’s exciting for him to come back decades later and see amazing artists and his daughter pay tribute to him. It’s a full-circle moment.”

As for her dad’s health, Alexa tells the publication, “He’s doing physical therapy regularly and he’s doing great. He’s lost weight as he’s on his diet.” She adds, “I’m so proud of him. He’s such a [trouper], so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He’s a fighter. He’s always been a fighter.”

Alexa told The Hollywood Reporter that during Thursday’s show she’ll perform a song of her dad’s that she’s never covered before. She — and all the artists on the bill — will be backed by Billy’s longtime touring band.

Other artists paying tribute to Billy on Thursday night include Rob Thomas, Gavin DeGraw, Train’s Pat Monahan, Andrew McMahon, Tanya Tucker, Matt Nathanson, Rufus Wainwright, Wyclef Jean and Itzhak Perlman.

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Let it be known that if you make a promise, Metallica will make sure you follow through.

Ahead of the latest edition of the metal legends’ annual marching band competition, Barry Flowe, the band director at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia, declared that he’d get a ‘Tallica tattoo if his band placed in the top three.

Sure enough, Bridgewater earned second place in the Division 2/Division 3 category, which meant Flowe had an inky pact to fulfill. Bassist Robert Trujillo even reminded Flowe of his promise in a video announcing the winners.

As documented on Metallica’s Instagram, Flowe did follow through, and got a tattoo featuring the Metallica logo and the Bridgewater eagle mascot.

“Nice ink, Barry!” Metallica writes in the post’s caption.

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Tears For Fears’ classic track “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” has been given a new spin by pop star Harry Styles.

Styles covered the song during an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. The singer is out promoting his recently released album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., and will be the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live March 14.

“Everybody Wants To Rule the World” appeared on Tears For Fears’ second studio album, 1985’s Songs from the Big Chair, which hit #1 in the U.S. and has been certified five-times Platinum. “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” became the band’s first #1 hit, spending two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The second single from the album, “Shout,” also went to #1.

This isn’t the first time Harry has covered a classic tune for Live Lounge. In 2017 he performed his take on Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”

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Before Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher ended their long-running feud to get Oasis back together in 2024, another pair of formerly estranged brothers, Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson, reunited their band, The Black Crowes, in 2019.

So, did the Robinson reconciliation lead to the return of the “Wonderwall” outfit? Speaking with Rolling Stone‘s Nashville Now, Chris doesn’t just say maybe.

“Of course we did. There’s no doubt in my mind that we didn’t,” Chris says. “I don’t care what Noel or Liam say. They are that heavily influenced by how Rich and I’s relationship is going.”

“I would say we’re the barometer to their family dynamic,” the “She Talks to Angels” singer continues. “That’s just a fact. And I’d like to see either of them deny it.”

Oasis and the Crowes actually shared the road together back in 2001 on the Tour of Brotherly Love alongside another sibling band, Spacehog.

“It was amazing,” Rich recalls of the shows. “That was a great tour.”

As for yet another thing they have in common, Oasis and The Black Crowes are both nominated to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2026. The inductees will be announced in April.

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s iconic One To One concerts are coming to the big screen.

The concert film Power to the People, which features the subtitle John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant’s Memory and Special Guests – Live at the One To One Concert, New York City, 1972, will screen in theaters nationwide on April 29 and May 3.

The film captures John and Yoko’s historic August 1972 concerts at Madison Square Garden, which were Lennon’s only full-length performances after The Beatles’ 1970 breakup. The concerts, which raised money for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, featured performances of songs like “Imagine,” “Mother,” “Instant Karma!” and more, as well as special guests Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and others.

The footage of the concerts have been restored, re-edited and remixed by a team led by the couple’s son, Sean Ono Lennon. Highlights from the concerts previously appeared in the documentary, One to One: John and Yoko, directed by filmmaker Kevin Macdonald.

“It was a concert that had a legendary status in my mind, because it was my dad’s last concert,” Sean said in a statement. “Maybe not everyone realizes how special it is for me to hear my dad talking or to see him. I grew up with a set number of images and audio clips that everyone’s familiar with. So to come across things that I’ve never seen or heard is really deep for me, because it’s almost like getting more time with my dad.”

Tickets for Power To The People go on sale March 20, which would have been John & Yoko’s 57th wedding anniversary.

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On This Day, March 12, 2007 …

R.E.M., Patti Smith and Van Halen were among the artists inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

R.E.M. was inducted by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. The band reunited with original drummer Bill Berry, who had left the group in 1997, to perform three songs “Gardening at Night,” “Man on the Moon” and “Begin the Begin.” They also performed a cover of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” with Smith.

Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha handled the induction duties for Smith, who took the stage to perform a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” Her track “People Have the Power” was performed as part of the night’s all-star jam.

Van Halen was inducted by the band Velvet Revolver. Although all members of the band, including both frontmen David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, were inducted, only Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony attended the ceremony. Velvet Revolver performed “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” while Hagar and Anthony performed “Why Can’t This Be Love” with band leader Paul Shaffer.

Others inducted at the ceremony include Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and The Ronettes.

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Bruce Springsteen has released a cover of The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho,” the first track off an upcoming tribute album to the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan.

20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan is set to drop Nov. 13. In addition to Springsteen, the album features contributions from Dropkick Murphys, The Pogues, David Gray, Glen Hansard, Hozier and Jessie Buckley, Johnny Depp and Imelda May, Kate Moss, Primal Scream, Tom Waits, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and more.

“Shane was all naked bottomless humanity. Threatening to force us to ask ourselves if we were living deeply, authentically,” says Springsteen. “He was raw, hilarious, no apologies and profound. His soul was filled with the transgressive and ecstatic properties of the saints.”

Springsteen’s cover of “A Rainy Night in Soho” is available now via digital outlets.

A portion of the artist royalties from the album will benefit Dublin Simon Community and their mission to provide lifesaving housing and healthcare for those experiencing homelessness.

20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan will be released as a two-CD or three-LP set, as well as a three-LP, two-CD Deluxe Bookpack that comes with a book filled with memorabilia and liner notes. All formats are available for preorder now.

MacGowan passed away Nov. 30, 2023 at the age of 65.

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