Classic Rock News

In addition to reimagining 40 of their songs for their upcoming album Songs of Surrender, U2 have also reimagined the visuals to go with them.

On Tuesday, U2 posted a trailer on on its socials, captioned, “40 songs re-recorded by us, re-imagined by you. 40 artists and creators from across the globe were commissioned by the band to create a video piece for each track on Songs of Surrender.” 

The trailer is soundtracked to the Songs of Surrender version of “Stories for Boys,” which originally appeared on U2’s 1979 debut release, the U2 3 EP and was then rerecorded for their 1980 debut album Boy.

You can track the release of all the visuals on a dedicated YouTube playlist, which so far contains the videos for “Pride (In the Name of Love” and “With or Without You.” Both those videos involve dance — although, according to the trailer, others are animated, others feature stunning landscapes, and some include special effects.

Songs of Surrender arrives March 17. Meanwhile, U2’s Las Vegas residency — focused on the songs from Achtung Baby — starts this fall.

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Graham Nash has dropped a new single called “Right Now,” from his new album, simply titled Now. It’ll be out May 19 and is available to pre-order now.

This will be the legendary singer’s first new studio album since 2016’s This Path Tonight. Last year, he put out a live album that featured him performing his first two solo releases — Songs for Beginners and Wild Tales — in their entireties.

On Facebook, Nash says Now is “the most personal album I’ve ever recorded.” He adds, “My life is a dream. I wake up in the morning and get on with my life. I check the news around the world, check in with my friends and write about stuff that I need to write about. Here’s to another chapter.”

Nash will kick off a tour April 12 in Phoenixville, PA. Called Sixty Years of Songs and Stories, it’ll celebrate Nash’s six-decade career, starting from his first single with The Hollies.

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It’s the collaboration that every rock fan has dreamed of for 60 years: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones together on an album. Well, sort of. 

Multiple sources tell Variety that Paul McCartney has recorded bass parts for the album the Stones are working on, which is being produced by Ozzy Osbourne/Iggy Pop/Elton John producer Andrew Watt. What’s more, Ringo Starr is also set to play on the album. 

Of course, the Stones lost their drummer, Charlie Watts, in 2021, and they’ve been without a permanent bass player since Bill Wyman left the group after their 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour.

Variety reports that the sessions with McCartney took place in LA recently. It’s not definite which songs will actually make the final cut for the album or whether or not Ringo and Paul might play on the same songs. The publication reports that the album is getting close to its mixing phase, but it’s not clear when it’ll be released.

While the Stones, McCartney and Ringo have known each other since the ’60s, the catalyst for the collaboration might have been Watt: McCartney said in 2021 and 2022 that he’d been working with the Grammy-winning producer.

The new project, when it emerges, will be the Stones’ first album of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Their last new album, 2016’s Blue & Lonesome, was an album of blues covers.

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Foo Fighters are headlining the 2023 Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival, taking place September 1-3 in Snowmass, Colorado.

The bill also includes The Lumineers, Billy Idol, Grace Potter and James Bay, as well as country musicians Old Dominion, Brothers Osbourne and Jade Jackson.

For ticket info, visit JazzAspenSnowmass.org.

Jazz Aspen is one of several festivals Foo Fighters are playing this year as part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March. They’re also headlining Bonnaroo and Boston Calling, among others.

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Billy Joel may be in a “New York State of Mind,” but he and his wife, Alexis, were honored over the weekend at a benefit hosted by The Everglades Foundation for the work they’ve done for the people of Florida. 

Billy and Alexis were honorary chairs for the event called Foreverglades. They were recognized for the work they’ve done through their charity, The Joel Foundation, in providing long-term recovery assistance to Florida residents in the wake of Hurricane Ian. 

As winter residents of Florida, the cause is particularly important to the couple. At the event, they also announced a new gift to expand a pre-K-to-12 literacy education program in Florida’s Lee County.

Lionel Richie provided the entertainment at the Palm Beach event, performing hits like “All Night Long,” “Brick House” and “Easy” for the star-studded crowd.

The Everglades Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to restoring and protecting America’s Everglades.

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Sean Stewart, the 42-year-old son of Rod Stewart, is reportedly a married man. Sean is Rod’s child with model Alana Stewart.

People reports Sean proposed to girlfriend Jody Weintraub, who is also 42, on Valentine’s Day, and the two didn’t wait long to tie the knot. Sean reportedly popped the question in Las Vegas, and the two exchanged vows hours later.

A source close to the couple claimed, “Sean asked her while they were out to dinner at Catch. They married shortly after getting their marriage license at 10 p.m. at Little Church of the West.”

Sean reportedly called his mom before the wedding and had to convince her it was actually happening “as he’s known as a bit of a jokester in the family.” He then told his father, who the source said “was so happy to hear the news.”

The married couple reportedly celebrated their nuptials with Rod and Alana at the upscale Nobu restaurant in Malibu. They are apparently planning on throwing a more traditional celebration in Spain later this summer.

Jody is the daughter of late Ocean’s Eleven producer Jerry Weintraub. She has a five-year-old son, Doc, whom Sean is close to. “They go to the beach, he reads him books, he takes him to karate class, they play Magna-Tiles,” the source spilled.

The couple reportedly have known each other since high school. The source credits their mutual “best friend, Courtenay Semal,” for being “the reason why they kept reconnecting over the years.”

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Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk will be raising money for charity with replicas of a skateboard deck hand-painted by Kurt Cobain.

As previously reported, Hawk obtained the board at an auction last year. In addition to featuring the late Nirvana frontman’s artwork — which depicts the cover of the 1981 Iron Maiden album, Killers — the deck was a signature model by late skater Jeff Phillips. Both Cobain and Phillips died by suicide.

On Monday, which would’ve been Cobain’s 56th birthday, Hawk announced “photorealistic versions” of Cobain’s original work, which will be available as skateboards, stickers and prints. Proceeds will benefit the Jed Foundation mental health organization and the Skatepark Project, which builds skateparks in underserved areas.

For more info, visit TonyHawk.com.

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or by visiting 988lifeline.org. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.  

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George Harrison‘s solo albums will now be available via a partnership with his Dark Horse Records label and BMG, the company that in 2022 signed on to administer the late Beatle‘s song catalog.

George’s son, Dhani Harrison, says in a statement, “22 years since his passing, for what would have been his 80th birthday, I am overjoyed to announce that we are bringing my father’s music catalogue back home to Dark Horse Records, the company he started back in 1974.”

Dhani went on to tease that “the finest of packages,” “the deepest of dives into our archives” and “all the custom limited vinyl that we can get away with” will be coming as a result of the deal. 

To mark the occasion, George’s entire back catalog is now available in Dolby Atmos surround sound for the first time, exclusively on Apple Music. “Happy 80th Dad!!! We love you always,” Dhani concludes. 

February 25 will mark the 80th anniversary of George’s birth.

Among the Harrison albums included in the deal are All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World, Cloud Nine, the concert recording Live in Japan with Eric Clapton and George’s solo debut, Wonderwall Music.

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If you saw U2‘s Zoo TV tour, you may remember that among the videos and transmissions shown on the wall of TV monitors onstage were dispatches from Sarajevo, which at the time was under siege during the Bosnian War. Now, the band’s role in helping the people of Sarajevo, culminating in their concert there in 1997, is the subject of a new documentary called Kiss the Future.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film features interviews with Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton, politicians and others. It describes how a photographer and filmmaker named Bill Carter — who wrote the documentary — wangled an interview with Bono and convinced him that the people of Sarajevo needed help. 

The band was fired up by what Carter told them, but after U2’s management nixed Bono’s idea of doing a concert there right way, they started incorporating those video transmissions into the tour.

“We gave them a serious dose of uneditorialized reality in the middle of our show,” The Edge says in the film. However, as Bono notes, they eventually stopped because “it started to look a little bit like reality TV, using people’s pain and anguish for entertainment.” Still, U2 continued bringing attention to the cause, recording the song “Miss Sarajevo” as part of their side project, Passengers.

The war officially ended in 1995, and U2 finally was able to come to Sarajevo in 1997 and do a full-scale concert.  As one attendee recalls, “The war ended the moment U2 came onstage.”

Produced by, among others Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Kiss the Future premiered over the weekend at the Berlin International Film Festival.

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On This Day, February 21, 1990…

At the 32 annual Grammy Awards, Bonnie Raitt took home four awards including Album of the Year for Nick of Time. 

She also won for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for the album’s title track as well as Best Traditional Blues Recording for her Johnny Lee Hooker collaboration “I’m in the Mood.” 

In total, Raitt has now won 13 Grammy Awards from 30 nominations. She was also honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

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