Freddie Mercury‘s birthday will once again be celebrated with a big bash this fall.
The Queen frontman would have turned 78 on September 5, and the band just announced that the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party 2024 will take place Saturday, September 7, at the Casino Barriere in Montreux, about two hours outside of Zurich, Switzerland.
“We will be celebrating The 1980s and 40 years of ‘The Works’ album,” Queen drummer Roger Taylorshares on Instagram. “The dress code for party guests will be anything in an 80s style! – so start thinking, crimped hair and mullets, bright colours, shoulder pads, mini skirts, bleached denim, sweatbands, sunglasses and very bright heavy makeup!”
The party will feature a performance by the Italian tribute band Galileo, along with Icelander DJ Thor.
More information on the party, along with ticket info, will be announced at a later date. Proceeds from the event will go to The Mercury Phoenix Trust, which raises funds for the fight against HIV/AIDs. It was founded by Taylor, Brian May and their manager Jim Beach in memory of Freddie, who died from the disease in 1991.
It was a big year for Pink Floyd. Even though the band is no longer together, and not necessarily on the best of terms, they didn’t let the anniversary of one of their most iconic albums, The Dark Side of the Moon, go unnoticed.
– The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers released a deluxe box set of Dark Side, featuring a newly remastered version of the album, as well as Blu-ray and DVD audio with the original mix and remastered stereo versions. It also included a new Blu-rRay disc and CD of the classic concert “The Dark Side of the Moon — Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974.”
– To coincide with the release, Pink Floyd held a contest asking fans to create animated music videos for any of the songs on the album and launched a new The Dark Side of The Moon planetarium exhibit.
– They also held a special solar eclipse event on a remote peninsula off the coast of Western Australia to coincide with the Ningaloo eclipse. They hit play on the album at 10:16:54 a.m. so the line “but the sun is eclipsed by the moon” would sync exactly when the total solar eclipse happened. Eight lucky contest winners got to experience the unique event, which was turned into a short film.
– But Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters had a totally different way of celebrating The Dark Side of the Moon — he remade it. The rocker released a solo reimagined version of the album, called The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, explaining it was “a way for me to honor a recording that Nick [Mason] and Rick [Wright] and Dave [Gilmour] and I have every right to be very proud of.”
– Waters even performed the album live at two shows in London, although reports claimed he was heckled for not playing enough music, instead reading from his unpublished memoir and ranting about Julian Assange.
– Unfortunately for Waters, any Dark Side celebrations were overshadowed by the constant controversy that surrounded his political views. He was accused of being an antisemite and two cities in Germany attempted to cancel shows on his This Is Not A Drill tour, although he won a court battle claiming his free speech was being violated. There was even a documentary released purporting to prove his antisemitism, which he vehemently denied.
– Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour inserted himself into the drama when his wife, Polly Samson, called Waters out on social media for being “antisemitic to your rotten core.” He reshared the post and also shared the antisemitism doc on his social media account.
– Released March 1, 1973, The Dark Side of The Moon spent one week at number one and went on to spend a total of 972 weeks on the Billboard chart. As of 1998, the album had been certified 15-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Metal headlines in 2023 were dominated by the return of Metallica and the touring retirement of Ozzy Osbourne.
At the end of 2022, Metallica announced the release of 72 Seasons, their first album since 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. To support the album, the “Enter Sandman” outfit planned the M72 World Tour, during which they’d play two shows with completely unique set lists in each city.
72 Seasons arrived in April and included the singles “Lux Æterna,” “Too Far Gone?” and the title track, all of which hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Each song off the album got its own video and was accompanied by American Sign Language interpretations.
Metallica also promoted the arrival of 72 Seasons with a weeklong residency on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The M72 tour kicked off in Europe shortly thereafter before coming to the U.S. in August. Openers on the trek included the reformed Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, Architects and Volbeat. Along the way, Metallica broke numerous attendance records and found themselves at the center of an adorable viral story, when a dog sneaked out of their house and ended up at an M72 show in Los Angeles.
While Metallica was tearing up the road, Ozzy Osbourne was stuck at home. The Prince of Darkness, who last played a full concert in 2018, continued to deal with a number of health issues, including undergoing numerous surgeries after suffering a fall in 2019. After postponing previously scheduled tour dates multiple times, Ozzy announced in February that he was retiring from the road.
In subsequent interviews, though, Ozzy shared that he hoped to still play one-off shows in the future. That seemed to come to fruition with the announcement of Power Trip, a new festival from the producers of Coachella and a metal-themed sequel to 2016’s stacked Desert Trip.
The initial Power Trip lineup included Ozzy and Metallica, as well as AC/DC playing their first show with vocalist Brian Johnson since 2016, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool. However, Ozzy soon dropped off the bill, citing his health, and was replaced by Judas Priest.
President Barack Obama has come out with his annual list of his favorite music of 2023, with Lenny Kravitz earning one of the coveted spots.
Kravitz makes the list for his tune “Road to Freedom” from the movie Rustin, which was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama‘s Higher Ground production company. The film tells the story of Bayard Rustin, an African American civil and gay rights leader who helped organize the March on Washington.
The tune has already been recognized with Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards nominations, and is on the short list for an Oscar nomination.
Kravitz fans, which apparently includes Obama, are about to get even more new music from the rocker. He’ll release the new album Blue Electric Light on March 15, with the album’s first single, “TK421,” out now.
Queen + Adam Lambert spent part of 2023 on the road touring the U.S. on their Rhapsody Tour. For BrianMay and Roger Taylor, the live experience certainly has changed since the ’70s and ’80s when they were touring with Freddie Mercury.
In this week’s episode of the band’s weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live, the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers discuss how their live show has evolved, and share some of the biggest differences between shows today and those of the past.
“The reaction is very similar to what it used to be,” May says. But he notes mobile phones have changed the concert experience, because audiences of the past “would just be there, their whole selves interacting in mind and body and eyes and ears.” He adds, “It’s not like that now. Everybody has this urge to kind of immortalize stuff. So, when you look out, you see almost as many mobile phones as people, which is weird.”
May says all that recording has taken away some of the magic because “there’s nothing secret anymore,” and fans can easily go online to see highlights of what the band has done at previous shows.
Roger adds that modern technology has its benefits, though, noting that lights aren’t as hot as they once were, plus, “you’ve got these wonderful screens, which are getting better every year.”
“It’s possible to do amazing things with them,” he says.
But while some artists will use technology to have all their lights preset and ready to go, Brian says Queen still has people “pushing the buttons in time with us, feeling what we’re doing.”
Billy Joel became a father when he and his wife, model Christie Brinkley, welcomed daughter Alexa Ray, the only child they had together.
Their daughter’s middle name was a tribute to legendary musician Ray Charles, who Billy had collaborated with on the 1987 song “Baby Grand.” Joel later wrote the 1993 song “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” for Alexa.
Alexa followed in her father’s footsteps as a musician and released the EP Sketches in 2006, along with several other singles.
Joel went on to welcome two more daughters with his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick; Della Rose wasborn in August 2015 and Remy Anne inOctober 2017.
A special featuring highlights from the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air Monday, January 1, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
The star-studded event took place in November in Brooklyn, New York. Among the inductees were Elton John‘s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, Chaka Khan, R&B group The Spinners, the late George Michael, country icon Willie Nelson, “Running Up that Hill” singer Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, rapper Missy Elliott and rockers Rage Against the Machine.
Highlights of the show included: Stevie Nicks and guitar legend Peter Frampton teaming up with Sheryl for her hit “Everyday Is a Winding Road”; a surprise appearance by Jimmy Page, who performed a tribute to late guitar legend and Musical Influence inductee Link Wray;and an all-star rendition of The Band‘s “The Weight” in memory of the late Robbie Robertson.
Elton was also on hand to induct Taupin: He sang“Tiny Dancer” and surprised the audience by announcing he and Bernie recently completed a new album.
Other highlights of the night included Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine performing “Faith” as part of a tribute to George Michael that also included R&B star Miguel singing “Careless Whisper” and Carrie Underwood belting out “One More Try”; Chaka Khan teaming up with Sia for her hits ”I’m Every Woman” and “I Feel For You”; and New Edition performing a medley of tunes by The Spinners.
A Bruce Springsteen tour after a seven-year absence was something fans were celebrating — until his stomach had other ideas.
– In February, Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their first tour since 2016 in Tampa, with a show that had Bruce exploring loss and mortality.
– The show included several songs off 2020’s Letter to You, as well as lots of old favorites, like “Rosalita,” “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark,” and deeper cuts like “Kitty’s Back” and “E Street Shuffle.”
– While the shows received critical praise, some fans were left disappointed because unlike previous tours, the set each night remained mostly unchanged with the exception of one or two songs.
– Fans also continued to be upset over the high ticket prices, with the organizers of longtime Springsteen fanzine Backstreets even announcing their decision to shut down over the issue.
– The tour also had to deal with COVID-19, with some shows going on without an E Street member and others postponed or canceled outright due to illness.
– After the first leg ended, Bruce brought the trek to Europe and the U.K., which included headlining British Summertime Hyde Park in London, a show attended by celebrities like Peter Gabriel, Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel.
– The tour returned to the U.S. in August with Springsteen playing stadium gigs, but he had to postpone several shows due to illness.
– Then, after a triumphant three-night stand in his home state of New Jersey, things took a turn, with The Boss announcing in early September he was postponing the month’s remaining shows to recover from peptic ulcer disease.
– By the end of the month, Springsteen had announced the postponement of the rest of the 2023 tour in order to have more time to recover.
– The shows were eventually rescheduled for 2024, with the new dates kicking off March 19 in Phoenix. He also announced a 2024 European leg of the tour.
Also in 2023 …
– Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., as well as The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, celebrated their 50th anniversaries.
– In March, President Joe Biden honored Springsteen at the White House with the National Medal of Arts.
– New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared The Boss’ birthday, September 23, Bruce Springsteen Day in the Garden State.
The Beatles’ final song, “Now and Then,” has made it on to Variety’s list of the best songs of 2023.
The track, which was released in November, lands at #32. Variety acknowledged that the tune was bound to be controversial, due to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr using an old tape of John Lennon’s voice, but they still see the good in it.
“The idea of Paul McCartney creating with his old frenemy in his headphones is touching enough,” they write. “But moral, ethical or nostalgic issues aside, the song is just lovely … which is all the justification anyone needs in this world.”
Also making the list is Paul Simon at #44 with “The Lord,” from his album Seven Psalms; Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach‘s “You Can Have Her” from the Songs of Bacharach & Costello box set at #50; and PeterGabriel’s i/o track “And Still” at #52.
Elton John may no longer have a farewell tour to occupy his time, but he’s got plenty of other projects to keep him busy.
In his special year-end message to members of his Rocket Club fan community, Elton reveals that the new album he mentioned during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be out in 2024.
Elton and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin collaborated on the new LP, which will be his first new solo studio album since 2016’s Wonderful Crazy Night. In 2021 he released the collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions, which featured him singing with everyone from Stevie Nicks to Stevie Wonder to Lil Nas X.
Elton also says that a documentary will be coming in 2024. While he didn’t give any additional information, this might be the film that was first announced in 2022 as a Disney+ project called Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend.
In addition, Elton mentioned that he’ll host his annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar viewing party on March 10 and that he plans to relaunch his stage musical version of The Devil Wears Prada. It debuted in Chicago in 2022 to poor reviews and was presumably sent back to the drawing board.
Concluding his message, Elton gave a special shout-out to his fans, saying, “The greatest thing about this year has been you guys, who’ve supported me, come to the shows, bought the records, and keep flying the Elton John name very, very highly.”
“I can’t thank you enough … i will be in touch next year!”
