Classic Rock News

Ed Sheeran and Elton John aren’t just friends — they’re also huge soccer fans, with Ed supporting Ipswich Town and Elton supporting Watford, the football club he used to own. When those teams played each other recently, Ed and Elton had a field trip to watch the match — and documented it all on social media.

“Went with @eltonjohn to watch our boyhood teams play each other, to celebrate 2 years of ‘Merry Christmas,'” wrote Ed, referring to the pals’ joint single that came out in 2022. He added, “Merry Christmas you wonderful people.”

In the clip, Ed and Elton exchange gifts, with Ed giving Elton an Ipswich Town Christmas sweater and Elton giving Ed a Watford one. “Thanks for the jumper, @teddysphotos! Hope you wear yours with pride!” Elton added in the comments. “Jumper” is British for sweater, in case you’re not familiar.

The video shows them sitting in the stands, being goofy while singing Elton’s classic “Your Song.” The two proceed to watch the game, with each singer cheering as their respective teams score. Ed’s Ipswich triumphed, 2 to 1.

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The Pogues are releasing a new “Fairytale of New York” vinyl single for charity in honor of late frontman Shane MacGowan.

The single features the original holiday classic on the A-side and an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. Preorders are open now.

Proceeds from the release will benefit Dublin Simon Community, which supports people experiencing homelessness in Ireland.

In a Facebook post announcing the single, The Pogues also share that they support the fan campaign to make “Fairytale of New York” the #1 single in the U.K. for Christmas.

MacGowan died on November 30 at age 65. In addition to a wealth of music, MacGowan reportedly left behind another gift for his friends and family: a prepaid five-figure bar tab.

According to The Independent, MacGowan paid a local pub 10,000 euros in advance to provide drinks to attendees of his funeral. The publication cites “one of infamously hard-boozing MacGowan’s former drinking partners” for the info, who says that the act was “Shane’s last request.”

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Robbie Robertson and Lenny Kravitz are among the nominees for the 2024 Critics Choice Awards. 

Robertson, who passed away in August, earned a nod in the Best Score category for his work on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. He’ll compete with scores from Barbie, Poor Things, Society of the Snow, Oppenheimer and Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. 

Kravitz earned a nod in the Best Song category for “Rustin,” from the movie of the same name. The tune will compete against “Wish,” from the animated movie Wish, and three songs from Barbie: Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For”; “I’m Just Ken,” which features Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar; and Dua Lipa‘s “Dance the Night.” 

The 2024 Critics Choice Awards, hosted by Chelsea Handler, will air January 14 on The CW.

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Former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars is out with another track from his upcoming solo debut, The Other Side of Mars, which drops February 23. The latest is “Right Side of Wrong,” which focuses on the idea of two sides each believing their opinion is the right one. 

Mars tells ABC Audio the song is about “greed, money, war.” He compared it to the Jedis and Darth Vader in Star Wars, noting “both think they’re on the right side, so there’s no right side.” He added, “You know, it’s like a play on words, kind of like [an] oxymoron.”  

You can listen to “Right Side of Wrong” now via streaming services and watch the video on YouTube.

Mars gave fans their first preview of The Other Side of Mars with the track “Loyal to The Lie.” The album features contributions from former Alice Cooper keyboardist Paul Taylor, who co-wrote many of the tracks, as well as Korn drummer Ray Luzier and bassist Chris Collier. Jacob Bunton provides vocals on eight tracks, and Brion Gamboa on two.

The Other Side of Mars will be released as an LP and CD, both signed and unsigned. It is available for preorder now.

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It’s not unusual for artists who are writing autobiographies to use a co-writer or a ghost writer, but Michael McDonald tapped an Emmy-nominated actor to help pen his memoir: Paul Reiser.

The Mad About You and Stranger Things star was a fan of the Doobie Brothers singer, but after they met, they became friends and even played together. Like Michael, Reiser is a pianist — he co-wrote “Final Frontier,” the theme song for Mad About You. Reiser tells People that he joked that Michael should write a book so he wouldn’t have to constantly ask him about of his career.

According to Reiser, Michael told him, “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how you start that.” So, notes Reiser, during the spring of 2020, they began writing the book together over Zoom. It’s called What a Fool Believes and will be out May 21.

“The thing that was the most daunting was wondering if there ever even was a story there,” McDonald tells People. “Because my story really, I’ve always felt, existed more in the people I worked with. That was really basically my story. It wasn’t really so much about me as my good fortune to work with a lot of different people.”

“But as we kind of moved along, the story emerged for me, and I think for the first time, I understood my own story a little better on a more personal level,” he adds.

In the book, McDonald covers his years in Steely Dan and the Doobies, his many collaborations with other artists, and his struggles with addiction and insecurity.

Now that the book is done, Reiser says he and McDonald are writing a song together and are considering creating a Broadway musical.

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On This Day, December 13, 2008…

Joe Walsh married Marjorie Bach in Los Angeles, California. Bach is the sister of actress Barbara Bach, who has been married to Ringo Starr since 1981, meaning the union made Walsh Ringo’s brother-in-law.

This was the fifth marriage for the Eagles guitarist. He was previously married to Margie Walsh in the ’60s, Stefany Rhodes from 1971 to 1978, to Juanita Boyer from 1980 to 1988, and to Denise Driscoll from 1999 to 2006. 

In addition to being related, Walsh and Starr have worked together several times. Walsh was part of Starr’s All-Starr Band from 1989 to 1992, and has occasionally guested with the group between 1995 to 2019.

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King Crimson is celebrating their 50th anniversary, and fans are getting a behind-the-scenes peek at the progressive rock band in the new documentary In The Court of the Crimson King.

The documentary follows the band while on tour. Director Toby Amies tells ABC Audio that while guitarist Robert Fripp, the only member who’s been around the full 50 years, wanted the film made, getting him to talk was one of his biggest challenges he encountered.

“I basically had to make an entire film in order to demonstrate that it might be better were he to be in it,” Amies shares. “King Crimson is not Robert Fripp, but King Crimson is not King Crimson without Robert Fripp.”

He adds that while it was important to have Fripp in the movie, “I was at great pains to make sure that it was not just the Robert Fripp show.”

Bassist Tony Levin, who’s worked with artists like John Lennon and Peter Gabriel, has been in King Crimson for 40 years and says he loves the challenge it brings.

“Being around musicians who push and challenge themselves on their instrument and already are expert at their instrument is inspiring,” he says.

Tony calls the film “a revelation” and believes even those who aren’t fans of King Crimson can enjoy it.  

He describes the doc as “a very deep and dark and funny exploration of a microcosm of life,” noting, “I think people who don’t know anything about, who don’t even like progressive rock, might go to this and walk out and feel like, ‘I’ve never thought there could be a documentary like this.’” 

In The Court of the Crimson King is currently available on video on demand.

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ZZ Top is heading over to Europe this summer for the first time since 2019.

The band just announced dates for The Elevation Tour, which has them hitting Norway, Denmark, Germany, London and more.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to check in with our European fans, so it goes without saying that we’re excited about coming back this summer,” Billy F Gibbons shares on Instagram. “We’re looking forward to a good time and that goes for both those in the audience and on stage.”

The tour kicks off Friday, June 28, with an appearance at the Dalhalla Festival in Rattvik, Sweden, and wraps Tuesday, July 16, at the Sion Festival in Sion, Switzerland.

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at zztop.com.

Before they head overseas, ZZ Top will be touring the U.S. They’ll once again hit the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour, which kicks off March 8 in Savannah, Georgia.

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Stevie Nicks is set to headline the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest, taking place May 3-5 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Post Malone and Noah Kahan will also headline the festival, which promises more than 40 artists across three stages. The rest of the lineup will be announced at a later date.

Early bird tickets go on sale Thursday, December 14, at 8 a.m. ET. More info on the festival can be found at lovinlifemusicfest.com.

Stevie has two more concerts before she wraps her 2023 schedule. She plays Sacramento on Tuesday, December 12, and San Francisco on Friday, December 15. She also has several dates on the books for 2024, starting February 10 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A complete list of dates can be found at stevienicksofficial.com.

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