Classic Rock News

A museum exhibit in Ozzy Osbourne’s hometown of Birmingham, U.K., has been extended for a second time due to public demand.

Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero opened on June 25 at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. It was originally supposed to close in September 2025 but was extended until January. Now, the museum has announced the exhibit has been extended again and will remain open until Sept. 27, 2006.

The exhibit was launched to coincide with Black Sabbath’s homecoming show at Villa Park on July 5, which also turned out to be Ozzy’s last concert. It highlights Ozzy’s solo achievements and many prestigious awards, and includes photos and videos charting his rise to fame, as well as Platinum and Gold discs.

On Dec. 3, which would have been Ozzy’s 77th birthday, the museum added a tribute wall to the exhibit featuring messages from fans following his July 22 death. The wall highlighted 77 notes chosen from over 50,000 that were left.

More than 425,000 visitors have checked out the exhibit since it opened.

“The demand to see the exhibition has been phenomenal, and we are very grateful that Sharon (Osbourne) and her family have allowed us to extend the exhibition until September 2026, which will give Ozzy’s fans from the UK and around the world an opportunity to celebrate his extraordinary life and achievements,“ Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said in a statement.

More info on the exhibit be found at birminghammuseums.org.uk.

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Elton John is getting into the non-alcoholic booze biz.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and his husband, David Furnish, have launched Elton John Zero, described on social media as a “meticulously crafted 0% alcohol and 100% delightful Blanc de Blancs.”

“Elton John Zero was born from a simple yet exquisite idea – to create a world where every moment of celebration can be shared by all,” Elton shares on his website. “Our 0% alcohol Blanc de Blancs captures the elegance, effervescence, and joy of a traditional Blanc de Blancs, without compromise.”

He adds, “Crafted with care and intention, it embodies the art of inclusion – inviting everyone to raise a glass, savor the sparkle, and share in the timeless celebration of togetherness.”

In an interview with the U.K. outlet The Standard, Elton, who’s been sober since 1990, says their motivation for developing the wine was so they’d have something to drink at their parties.

“David and I spend a lot of our time entertaining people and it’s boring just drinking water,” he says. “Especially if someone’s here at the house and it’s a special occasion. You want to raise a toast to someone and toasting with water just doesn’t do it.”

He adds, “We were just a bit selfish in that we wanted something to fill a need in our life,” noting, “It’s been a long time since we could entertain and partake, but we will serve wine to people who drink. So it’s nice to be able to ‘join in.’”

Elton John Zero Blanc de Blancs are available at EltonJohnZero.com.

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Queen frontman Freddie Mercury would have turned 80 in 2026, and the milestone won’t be overlooked.

As in previous years, the rocker’s birthday will be celebrated at the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party. The 2026 edition will be held Sept. 5, Mercury’s actual birthday, at the Casino Barrière in Montreux, Switzerland.

According to the announcement on Queen’s Instagram, this year’s theme will be “The Great Pretender’s Gala,” a reference to the song “The Great Pretender,” which was recorded by Mercury in 1987.

The dress code for this year’s event will be “fancy and formal,” with the announcement noting, “[W]e are leaning into Freddie’s smarter, sharper dress sense, so think tuxedos, dresses, waistcoats, cravats, scarves and maybe even a monocle or face mask.”

More information about the party, along with ticket info, will be announced at a later date.

Proceeds from the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party will go to The Mercury Phoenix Trust, which raises funds for the fight against HIV/AIDs. It was founded by Queen band members Roger Taylor and Brian May and their manager Jim Beach in memory of Freddie, who died from the disease in 1991.

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Pink Floyd is close to reaching a huge milestone on the Billboard 200 chart.

The band’s iconic album The Dark Side of the Moon recently landed its 996th nonconsecutive week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, meaning it’s only four weeks off landing 1,000 weeks on all-genre chart. It currently ranks at #167.

The Dark Side of the Moon, which was released in 1973, is already the current record holder for the most weeks ever on the Billboard 200, an honor it earned in October 1983 with its 491st week on the chart.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 in March 1973 and hit #1 on April 28 of that year. It rarely dropped off the chart from its debut until Oct. 8, 1988, spending 741 out of 813 weeks on it. The album then returned to the Billboard 200 on Dec. 12, 2009, after Billboard 200 rules changed, allowing catalog albums to return to the chart.

Pink Floyd celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon in 2023, releasing a box set that featured a remastered version of the album, along with a 1974 live concert.

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Yes is giving fans another preview of their upcoming super-deluxe reissue of 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans.

The band has just released the 2026 remastered single edit of “The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun),” described in a press release as being “inspired by Purāna, the mythic texts and sacred lore of humanity’s distant past.”

Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition) will be released Feb. 6 as a package of 12 CDs, two LPs and a Blu-ray. It includes a newly remastered version of the album, along with several new mixes by producer Steven Wilson, including a Dolby Atmos mix. It will also include rarities, and previously unreleased studio and live recordings.

Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes’ sixth studio album, was the first to feature drummer Alan White, who had replaced Bill Bruford. Frontman Jon Anderson came up with the idea for the album after reading a footnote in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.

The album, which went to #1 in the U.K. and was a top-10 hit in the U.S., featured four songs, all of which were at least 18 minutes in length, taking fans on a “four-part musical journey through ancient Hindu scriptures.”

Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition) is available for preorder now.

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Eagles and Dead & Company are among the nominees for the 2026 Pollstar Awards.

Both bands are in the running for residency of the year, with each recognized for stints at Sphere Las Vegas. Eagles played 28 shows at the Sphere in 2025, while Dead & Company played 18.

The category, which also includes Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Kenny Chesney and New Kids on the Block, recognizes “the most commercially and artistically successful run of seven or more shows at a single venue.”

Also earning nominations this year are AC/DC, up for rock tour of the year for their Power Up tour, and Metallica, also up for rock tour of the year for their M72 world tour.

This year’s other nominees include Oasis, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga.

The 37th annual Pollstar Awards will take place April 15 in Los Angeles.

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Sting has been honored with Bass Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

While the magazine’s 2026 awards ceremony will take place Jan. 22 in Santa Ana, California, the mag presented Sting with his award earlier in New York, sharing the moment in a video on Instagram.

In the clip, Sting jokes that while it’s a lifetime achievement honor, he’s “only halfway through” his lifetime. He then gets serious and says, “Thank you so much, I’m deeply, deeply honored, profoundly honored.”

The rocker then reads from a letter he wrote in 2001 about the Fender bass guitar, which he says was addressed to the “archeologist of the future.”

“There are few artifacts of the 20th century as consistently recognized and recognizable as the Fender bass. Those elegant functional lines have etched themselves into our consciousness for over half a century,” he says. “A Fender bass can shake a room with its thunder or moan softly like a sleeping giant. The bass is the ground of all harmony, the root, the foundation of all musical structure.”

He adds, “A Fender bass has been my constant companion for most of my life, a brother to me, sister. The loom on which I have woven dreams and stories, and my oldest friend.”

Next up for Sting, he’ll star in a production of his musical The Last Ship, which is set to open in Amsterdam on Jan. 13. He’ll also appear in a run at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House from June 9 to 14.

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Foo Fighters will be without guitarist Pat Smear for several upcoming shows.

“In the classic tradition of rockstars having bizarre gardening accidents, Pat Smear has apparently rung in the new year by smashing the s*** out of his left foot,” the Foos write in an Instagram post.

Of course, a “bizarre gardening accident” was the cause of death for one of the many ill-fated Spinal Tap drummers. 

Fortunately, said accident only injured Smear, though he will “be missing a few shows while the multiple broken bones in his foot heal.”

“We’ll miss our beloved Pat as much as you will, but we want him fully healed and back on his feet as soon as possible,” the Foos write.

The post doesn’t mention exactly how many dates Smear will miss. Foos are playing a show in Mexico on Saturday, followed by a benefit concert in Los Angeles on Dave Grohl‘s birthday, Jan. 14, and then a trip to Tasmania on Jan. 24. After that, their schedule is clear until May.

For the shows without Smear, the Foos will be joined by guitarist Jason Falkner, who’s played with Beck and St. Vincent.

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A new children’s book inspired by the life and career of rocker David Bowie is set for release this fall.

Starman: The Cosmic Voyage of David Bowie, by author Matthew Cordell, imagines Bowie as a real spaceman. It is described as “the galactic journey of Bowie’s life, with stops for each phase of his ever-transforming career.”

People revealed the cover of the book, which features Bowie inside a star. Each point illustrates a different iconic Bowie look, including the face of Ziggy Stardust.

“I wanted to share with young readers Bowie’s journey in a similar sense of how he lived it — traveling with eyes wide open, constantly seeking and observing, all with an intergalactic flair,” Cordell tells the mag. “I love the way Bowie’s endless curiosity led him to discover, be inspired by and implement new sounds into his own artistic output, throughout his artistic life.”

Starman: The Cosmic Voyage of David Bowie will be released Sept. 1.

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Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has shared a special message with fans as he celebrates 40 years of sobriety.

In a new video posted on Instagram, captioned “one day at a time,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer opened up about his decision to get clean and expressed his gratitude to those who have supported him.

“Four decades ago, I made a decision to change the entire course of my life, stepping out of darkness into the light, toward the future I couldn’t see. As I’ve said before, it wasn’t easy and still isn’t,” he said in the post.  “Recovery asks for complete honesty, humility and a willingness to grow one day at a time. With the love and support from my higher power, my family, friends and fans helping me, guiding the way, I kept moving forward.”

“Over these years, I’ve learned that sobriety isn’t just about staying clean, it’s the presence of clarity, purpose and connectivity, a gift of showing up for my life each day for the people I love,” he continued. “I’m grateful for the person I became and every challenge I’ve faced that made me stronger.”

Halford then addressed anyone who was thinking about getting sober.

“I hope that my own journey proves that recovery is possible,” he said. “Hope is real, and each day at a time is a chance to begin again,” signing off with, “I love you.”

Halford and Judas Priest are set to launch a European tour this summer. The trek kicks off July 25 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. A complete list of dates can be found at JudasPriest.com.

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