The latest Funko Pop! sees, hears and speaks no evil.
The toy company is releasing a new figurine inspired by Megadeth‘s Vic Rattlehead mascot. The plastic recreation stands over 3 inches tall and was inspired by the cover of Megadeth’s 1990 album, Rust in Peace.
Megadeth released a new album, The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, last September. The record is accompanied by a continuing video series, which tells the Vic Rattlehead origin story.
Rick Wakeman has booked some U.S. shows for this spring. The Yes keyboardist just announced dates for his latest tour, An Evening with Rick Wakeman: His Music and Stories.
The trek promises that Wakeman will be performing songs spanning his more than 50-year career, including tracks from Yes and his solo work. He’s also planning to perform songs from his days as a session player working with artists like David Bowie, as well as various covers.
“It’s always so enjoyable playing in America,” Wakeman shares. “At every show, I see old friends and hopefully, make new ones.”
The tour is set to kick off March 15 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, with dates confirmed through April 9 in Derry, New Hampshire; more are expected to be announced. Tickets for most shows go on sale February 3 at rwcc.com.
The tour announcement follows the news of Wakeman’s upcoming concept album, A Gallery of the Imagination, which will be released February 24.
The death of David Crosby last week has sparked renewed interest in his work, including his first-ever live album, David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre, which was released in December.
The vinyl release has now sold out, with BMG announcing that it is working on a repressing to make more available.
The album, recorded in December 2018 at the Port Chester, New York, theater, reached number three on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart and made it to 51 on the overall Albums chart.
In discussing the show that’s featured on the album, Crosby told Relix in what turned out to be one of his final interviews, “We were feeling very confident. The tour had been a success, this was the last show and we’d sold it out.” He added, “Everything had been building toward what ended up being one of those magical nights.”
An award-winning documentary about the legendary rock band The Doors is set to get its network television premiere next week. When You’re Strange, narrated by actor Johnny Depp, will debut on AXS TV February 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
The film, originally released in 2009, delves into the history and impact of the hugely successful rock quartet made up of singer Jim Morrison, drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
When You’re Strange, which was nominated for an Emmy and won a Grammy for Best Long Form Video, features historic and previously unseen footage of the band, including clips of rehearsals, and TV and concert performances. It also includes restored and remastered material from Morrison’s 1969 short film HWY: An American Pastoral.
A new book about Asia co-founder, singer and bassist John Wetton is in the works. John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life is being put together by his family and management, with input from over 70 people who were close to or worked with him.
The book will follow Wetton, who died in 2017, from the early days of his life through his work with bands like Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep and Asia. It will feature contributions from Wetton’s fellow musicians, like Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Robert Fripp and Carl Palmer, with his Asia bandmate Geoff Downes writing the book’s preface.
Downes shares, “[Wetton] had a love for fast cars, fine food, coffee, the Rams (that’s Derby County for non-football followers), films, books, crosswords, current affairs, sport, languages, classical music – anything that would stimulate his mind that he could use to great effect in his music and lyrics.”
In addition to stories about Wetton’s friendships, problems and triumphs, the book will be filled with personal photos of him at home and at work.
So far John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life does not have a release date, but the book is now available for preorder at Johnwettonbook.com.
Guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham, a founding member of The Yardbirds, passed away Monday after a battle with dementia. He was 75.
Topham, who adopted the name Sanderson Rasjid after joining the Subud spiritual movement, was the first guitarist for The Yardbirds, which he formed with his childhood friend Chris Dreja, singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and drummer Jim McCarty.
“Sanderson Rasjid, born Anthony ‘Top’ Topham, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 23 surrounded by his family,” read a statement from his rep, according to The Sun. “Born in London on July 3 1947, he was 75 years old and had been fighting dementia in his final years.”
Topham left the group before they hit it big and was replaced by Eric Clapton. When Clapton left he was replaced by Jimmy Page, who was later replaced by Jeff Beck. Topham’s death comes just two weeks after Beck’s passing at age 78.
After leaving The Yardbirds, Topham went on to form bands with his friend Duster Bennett and worked as a session musician for such artists as Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, the band’s founder Peter Green and others.
Billy F. Gibbons is hitting the road on his own this year. The ZZ Top guitarist just announced the Billy F Gibbons: The Big One – Part 1 – ’23 tour with his solo band, which features former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Austin Hanks.
So far Gibbons has only announced tour dates in England and Europe. The 12-country tour kicks off June 10 in Sölvesborg, Sweden, hitting Copenhagen, Denmark, Frankfurt, Germany, Vienna, Austria, London and more before wrapping July 11 in Bournemouth, England.
Tickets go on sale Friday. A complete list of tour dates and ticket information can be found at BillyGibbons.com.
If you ever wanted to play harmonica like Mick Jagger, now’s your chance. The Rolling Stones frontman has teamed up with harmonica company Lee Oskar for a new line of harmonicas that will be available in 10 major diatonic keys.
“Always loved Lee Oskar harmonicas,” Jagger, who’s played harmonica on Stones songs like “Midnight Rambler” and “Gimme Shelter,” shares, “and now I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with them on a harmonica of my own.”
The harmonicas all feature Jagger and Oskar’s names on them and come in a Jagger-branded custom case to keep them safe. They sell for a little over $60 and are now available for preorder, with shipments going out starting February 8.
As previously reported, a new exhibit opening in June at London’s National Portrait Gallery will feature never-before-seen photos taken by Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania. Well, if you can’t get to London to see them, you’re in luck, because they’ve been compiled into a new book.
McCartney’s 1964: Eyes of the Storm will be released June 13, featuring 275 photos taken in late 1963/early 1964 just as The Beatles were exploding across the world. These photos were all taken on a 35 mm camera and were rediscovered by McCartney in 2020.
The book includes a forward by McCartney, and focuses on photos of him and his bandmates, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, in six cities — Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami — with McCartney providing an introduction for each city.
“Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time,” Sir Paul shares. “This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back.”
He adds, “Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America.”
Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett and Gary Clark Jr. will be appearing in an upcoming Super Bowl commercial.
The three rockers will appear in an ad for the company Workday, which provides enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources.
Ahead of the game, Workday has shared clips from the commercial featuring Osbourne and Clark. In the Ozzy clip, the Prince of Darkness sports a shirt and a tie as he interacts with his confused co-workers, while Clark accepts a “rock star” compliment that his colleague thinks is for him.
According to a press release, the full ad will also feature “a few more well-known rockers.”
“Workday knows that it takes a ‘rock star’ to drive transformation, keep employees engaged, and run businesses efficiently,” says Pete Schlampp, Workday’s chief marketing and strategy officer. “If you high-five your co-workers as a rock star after seeing our ad in the Big Game, that’s a win in our book.”
Super Bowl LVII takes place February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.
