Classic Rock News

Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has won a round in court against a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her in a helicopter cockpit in February 2023. 

The plaintiff, listed as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles back in December under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, but a judge has now thrown out the case, suggesting the plaintiff did not meet the requirements to file it under that law.

In order for the suit to stand, the plaintiff needed to show there was some sort of “legal entity” that tried to “cover up” the assault. The judge, however, dismissed the case, ruling that Doe’s lawyers did not prove there was a “concerted effort to hide evidence relating to sexual assault.”

But Lee is not totally off the hook just yet. The judge gave the plaintiff 20 days to amend her complaint to show proof of a cover up. If she fails to meet the requirement, the court will consider throwing the case out completely.

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It’s been a while since Journey fans have heard Steve Perry sing one of their songs, but now, they are getting their chance. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer appears on the just-released cover of the Journey Raised on Radio track “It Could Have Been You” from The Effect, the band made up of Trevor Lukather —son of Toto‘s Steve Lukather— Phil Collins‘ son Nic Collins, Steve Maggiora and Emmett Sans.

“Steve and I go way back. Other than my Pop, SP has been a mentor to me,” Trevor shared on Instagram when the song was first announced. “When he heard The Effect, he called me and expressed how much he really loved what we were doing. It meant the world. On that same call, I started raving about a deep cut Journey tune ‘It Could Have Been You.'”

He adds, “The idea came up about The Effect doing our own version of it. I asked SP if he’d be into singing on it and he said yes.”

“The power of Steve’s vocals is on another level. One of a kind. That’s why he’s the GOAT,” Trevor continues. “Thank you @steveperrymusic for not only for the honor, but for your belief in us and what we do. That is never taken for granted!”

“It Could Have Been You” is available now on digital outlets.

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On This Day, May 7, 1977…

The Eagles hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hotel California,” the title track from their fifth studio album, which also went to #1 on the Billboard Album chart.

The tune was the band’s fourth #1 single, following “Best of My Love,” “One of These Nights” and “New Kid In Town,” the last of which also appeared on Hotel California.

The six-and-a-half-minute song, which features a two minute and 12 second guitar solo at the end, went on to be one of the band’s signature tunes and is often played live during their shows.

“Hotel California” won Record of the Year at the Grammys and has been certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA.

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The Beatles’ 1970 documentary Let It Be premieres May 8 on Disney+ and the studio is giving fans another preview of what to expect from the newly restored film.

A new clip has just been released centered around the George Harrison track “For You Blue,” featuring footage from the studio and on the rooftop of the Apple Records building in London.

The film, which hasn’t been available to enjoy in more than 50 years, has been restored by Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production. In a just-released featurette, original director Michael Lindsay-Hogg chats with Jackson about the film, sharing that Beatles fans may be surprised by what they learn about the band during that time period.

“Let It Be is an entirely different part of the Beatles’ story,” he says. “The Beatles that we’d grown up with were not the Beatles in Let It Be. They were changing.”

He says that when he started the project it was originally supposed to be a concert movie, but quickly turned into a documentary. It took Beatles fans inside the studio as they recorded their album Let It Be and includes footage from their January 1969 Apple Corps rooftop concert.

“I loved the four of them,” he says about his relationship with the Fab Four. “I really felt love for them, like a director often feels love for an actor. I really cared for them.” He adds, “Also, I knew what a difference they’d made to the world. They did bring joy to the world.”

As for the newly restored film, Lindsay-Hogg shares, “It really looks beautiful and I think it’s wonderful Let it Be may have a new life in the sunshine.”

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Van Halen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, and not only did the band not perform, few of the group members attended — and bassist Michael Anthony still seems upset about it.

“Sammy (Hagar) and I were the only two from the band that showed up, and we weren’t even in the band at the time,” Anthony shared on The Hook Rocks podcast. “And it was pretty sad, because I turned to Sammy during the show — I forget who was onstage playing — and we were sitting at our table and I go, ‘Sammy, could you imagine if all of us, if we were all here and everybody got along and we got up there? We would kick the a** out of this thing. It’d be an induction ceremony that nobody would ever forget.'”

He added, “And sadly enough, it wasn’t to be.”

The topic came up as Anthony was discussing the failed attempts at a Van Halen tribute tour following Eddie Van Halen’s death, news of which first came to light in 2022.

The reports claimed Metallica’s Jason Newstead was approached by Alex Van Halen to do it, while Joe Satriani was to play guitar, with David Lee Roth also possibly taking part.

As for why it never happened, Anthony shared, “All I can say is — I’m not gonna point fingers — but through all of this there was — one of the ingredients was not, let’s say, playing ball with everybody else. And that’s all I’m gonna say. I’ll let you all figure it out. And that’s why none of it worked.”

But Hagar and Anthony will be playing Van Halen tunes again on Sammy’s The Best of All Worlds tour, launching July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

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David Lee Roth appears to have gotten some inspiration from LL Cool J for his latest video.

The rocker just shared a new video titled “back to cali..,” a spoken word track that has him sharing his take on LL’s classic 1988 single “Going Back to Cali.”

“Don’t harsh my mellow. I’m catching up on my VBT, Valuable beach time. Big priority. Three tides follow me down California coastline,” Roth says before adding LL’s classic chorus. “Sky above should know me by now. Big pink marshmallow with a sunburnt nose. Sky above just turned Day-Glo. Solar sparks twinkle Hollywood stars wrinkle on the Malibu beaches below.” 

The video also features a collage of photos covering highlights from Roth’s career, including his time with Van Halen and as a solo artist.

The clip is the latest in a series of random videos Roth has shared via Instagram. Many of them have him dancing to various tunes, while others have him showing off his sword skills and more.

(Video contains brief nudity.)

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Green Day is making their debut in Dubai.

The “American Idiot” outfit will play their first-ever concert in the UAE city on January 27, 2025. The Offspring, who’ve also never performed in Dubai, will be on the bill, as well.

“Dubai, we’re bringing the party to you for the FIRST TIME EVER next year on January 27th!!” Green Day says.

Tickets go on presale beginning Thursday, May 9, at 10 a.m. local time. For more info, visit GreenDayDxB.com.

Green Day will launch a U.S. tour in July. They’ll be supporting their new album, Saviors, and playing their Dookie and American Idiot records in full in honor of their respective 30th and 20th anniversaries.

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The Doobie Brothers are taking their tour up north.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers — consisting of Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons and John McFee — have announced a Canadian leg of their 2024 tour, consisting of six shows, kicking off October 8 in London, Ontario.

The tour then hits Kitchener, Laval and Kingston, Ontario, followed by Quebec City, before wrapping October 16 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, May 10, at 10 a.m.

The Doobie Brothers are set to open for the Eagles during their five-night stand in Manchester, U.K., starting May 31, followed by two nights in the Netherlands. They launch their U.S. tour starting June 23 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at thedoobiebrothers.com.

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The late Jimmy Buffett was celebrated on the final night of New Orleans Jazz Fest Sunday, May 5, with a set by his band, The Coral Reefer Band, who performed lots of his classic hits.

According to setlist.fm, the set kicked off with Buffett’s Alan Jackson collaboration, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” and also included “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Come Monday,” “A Pirate Looks at Forty” and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” with the set ending with the classic “Margaritaville.”

Buffett’s daughter Savannah was on hand to help introduce the song “Fins.” Video shows her taking the stage to thank fans for coming to celebrate her father and instructing them to get their fins up for her dad, who passed away in September.

“It’s the eighth day of Jazz Fest and we miss you Jimmy,” she said, “and we are gonna show you how much we love you tonight.”

The set also featured several special guests, including Trombone Shorty on “Pencil Thin Mustache,” the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on “University of Bourbon Street” and Irma Thomas on “I Will Play for Gumbo.”

Ahead of the weekend, Jimmy Buffett’s Instagram page shared a video of Jimmy talking about how important New Orleans was to him.

“What does New Orleans mean to me? “Where do I start?” he said in the clip. “It means a whole hell of a lot.”

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Paul McCartney has responded to one of his biggest fans from 60 years ago.

To help promote his photography exhibit, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm, opening at the Brooklyn Museum, McCartney responded to a viral clip of a young fan named Adrienne, in which she says, “and Paul McCartney if you are listening Adrienne from Brooklyn loves you with all her heart.”

“Hey, Adrienne. Listen, it’s Paul. I saw your video,” he shared in a post on Instagram.  “I’m in Brooklyn now. I’m in New York. I finally got here. We got an exhibition, a photo exhibition. Come along and see it.”

He added in the caption, “And Adrienne from Brooklyn if you are listening, Paul McCartney from Liverpool loves you too.”

According to Rolling Stone, the clip is part of a video taken by CBS News in 1964 during The Beatles‘ first visit to the U.S. The mag appears to have identified Adrienne, with a woman named Nicole D’Onofrio saying she believes it’s her mother.

“When I saw it, when I heard it, I was like, ‘that’s Mommy,’” Nicole said, noting she first saw the clip on TikTok and sent it to her siblings. 

“It looked like her and sounded like her, with that heavy Brooklyn accent,” her brother John adds. “We were like, ‘Oh my God, mommy is Adrienne from Brooklyn.’” 

Sadly, Adrienne died of cancer in 1992 at the age of 41, but John is confident she would have been “ecstatic” about the McCartney invite.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm will be at the Brooklyn Museum until August 18.

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