Classic Rock News

Eurythmics‘ Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart recently reunited for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, and now, a new report claims they may get together again for a new tour. According to The Mirror, the pair has been offered big bucks to reunite for a world tour, which would be their first in over 20 years.

“Eurythmics have been offered a huge amount to reform for a world tour,” a source tells the paper. “Seeing them perform together again at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has really stirred the interests of promoters who are throwing money at the band to hit the road again.”

While they have yet to accept any offers, the insider adds, “Nothing is off the table, including a brand new studio album,” noting, “It is very early days but everyone is excited to bring the project to life.”

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While most musicians dream of becoming a huge success, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck says it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. 

Louder Sound reports that in the latest Classic Rock magazine, Buck says the band’s huge success in the 1990s, thanks to songs like “Losing My Religion,” “Man on the Moon” and more, “took away some of the pleasure” of being in the band, noting, “when it got really big, I don’t know if anyone really enjoys that.”

Buck blames his unhappiness on the “non-musical stuff,” explaining, “It’s just the stuff where you kind of wake up and go: ‘God, I don’t really want to have my picture taken today. And I don’t really want to pretend to be an actor in some video where I can’t act.’”

R.E.M. mutually decided to call in quits in September 2011. While the band got to play in front of large crowds and sell millions of records, Buck says, “it was never the reason I did it,” sharing, “And when we got to the point where we decided that it was the end, it felt like a great shared experience. I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not gonna go back to it.”

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Tom Petty’s classic track “I Won’t Back Down” is being covered by an all-star group of musicians to raise money for a good cause. 

The new version, which was approved by the Petty estate, features country star Blake Shelton on vocals, backed by The Eagles’ Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit on guitar and bass, and Guns N’ Roses’ Matt Sorum on drums.

The philanthropic music and arts platform, GoodNoise.io is responsible for the track, with proceeds benefiting Miraculous Love Kids, a nonprofit music school that has protected and educated hundreds of young women in Afghanistan. The proceeds will help the school continue its mission in conflict zones and impoverished regions around the globe.

“In I Won’t Back Down, Tom Petty so powerfully wrote, ‘You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down,” musician Lanny Cordola, who founded Miraculous Love Kids in 2015, shares. “The girls and I are honored to have Blake, Joe, Timothy and Matt join us in spreading this message far and wide.”

Fans can listen to the song here and are asked to “give what you want” to support the project.

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Patti Smith is on the cover of this month’s Harper’s Bazaar, where she looks back on her 50-year career. The singer’s been given a variety of titles, including “rock poet,” “godmother of punk” and more, but she doesn’t care for them very much.

“Calling me a rock poet or the poet laureate of punk? What does that mean?” she asks. “If they just call me a worker, which is what I am, they wouldn’t have to try so hard to find some kind of absurd little tagline.”

Smith, who recently released her new visual book, A Book of Days, is certainly a lot of things, including a musician, poet and writer. She admits she has a lot of admiration for people who can focus on just one thing, which she’s incapable of.

“I’m just not that kind of person. I don’t know why,” she says, noting she loves to perform, talk to people and more. She does share, though, that there are times she’ll “just want my solitude or to sit alone in a café or in my room or at a desk and write for hours.” 

Patti is set to turn 76 on December 30, and she has some thoughts as to why she is still around. “I haven’t survived all this time, and sadly survived many of my friends and loved ones, because of any special formula,” she says. “I’ve survived [because] I want to live. I want to be here,” she adds. “Even in our troubled world. Even with all the greed and stupidity and terrible things that we’re all facing and reading in the news or experiencing, I want to be alive. I want to breathe. I want to do my work.”

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Deep Puprle’s Ian Gillan is mourning the loss of his wife, Bron, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 67. No cause of death has been revealed.

“GILLAN Bron Passed away peacefully on 19th November 2022, aged 67 years,” read an announcement on the Bridport & Lyme Regis News website. “A dearly loved wife to Ian, mother to Grace, daughter to Sheila, sister to Julie and Jill, and a devoted grandma to Rowan.”

The Deep Purple rocker acknowledged the news Sunday, posting a photo of him and his wife on Facebook without any further comment. They’ve been married since 1984.

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Mick Jagger has dabbled in acting over the years, and apparently, he had his sights set on a pretty iconic role. At the Torino Film Festival, actor Malcolm McDowell was the guest of honor at an evening about music, where he revealed that the Rolling Stones frontman really wanted to play his role in A Clockwork Orange.

“We used to be friends. We were hanging around in New York. At the time, we were the ‘In Crowd’ with Andy Warhol and all,” Malcolm shared, according to Variety. “One evening, we were hanging out at somebody’s apartment on the east side of Central Park. We were sitting in a window seat and talking because Jagger wanted to play Alex in ‘A Clockwork Orange.’” He added, “Before (director Stanley) Kubrick got hold of the property, Mick Jagger and the Stones wanted to do it! Well, I’d like to see that!”

Malcolm added that the same evening, Mick told him he didn’t see himself performing all that long. “Mick Jagger said to me, you know Malcolm, I can’t see myself doing this at 50!” he said. “50? And so what are they now? 80? Fantastic!”

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Tony Iommi is mourning the death of his longtime guitar tech Mike Clement.

“It’s a very sad day for me today,” the Black Sabbath guitarist tweeted Monday. “Mike Clement my dear old friend and my guitar tech for the last 33 [years] passed away this morning.”

Iommi added that Clement was “a really lovely man” and “very loyal.”

“I could depend on him 100%,” Iommi wrote. “My deepest condolences go out to his family and his many friends. RIP.”

Iommi had previously shared in April that Clement had been in an induced coma after suffering a fall.

Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler also offered his condolences, writing, “Very sad news today about the passing of Mike Clement, Tony’s long time guitar tech and one of the greatest people to ever grace this Earth.”

“We shared many a fun time together, on and off the road,” Butler continued. “A true wonderful gentleman and scholar. RIP Mike.”

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Amid Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain‘s public battle over a company credit card, Schon seems to be hinting that a change of lineup may be needed, and he’s already got someone in mind. 

In a post on Twitter, Neal shared a photo with co-founding Journey keyboardist Gregg Rolie, suggesting that maybe he should go on tour with them next year. 

“2 original founding members. I think my brother Gregg Rolie should join us for 2023 tour. What do you think friends?” he tweeted next to a photo of the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2017. “He will spice it up and we will have a great variety of songs to choose from. What would you like to hear for the 50th anniversary tour?”

Schon didn’t add anything else about Rolie possibly joining the upcoming 50th anniversary Freedom tour, which kicks off February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He did, however, post a cryptic meme, possibly about Cain, that read, “some people are holding grudges against you for things they did to you.” He tagged it as “psychology 101.”

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The late Jimi Hendrix would have turned 80 this past Sunday, and the milestone was just celebrated by an unlikely pop star.

One Direction’s Zayn Malik shared a cover of the guitar great’s track “Angel,” from his posthumous 1971 album, The Cry of Love. “Being asked to collaborate to celebrate @jimihendrix 80th birthday was such an unexpected and huge honor,” Zayn shared on Twitter. “I have so much respect and admiration for Jimi, his music and fans. ‘Angel’ is out now – hope you love the track as much as I do. Happy 80th Jimi.”

According to Billboard, Experience Hendrix L.L.C., which runs Hendrix’s estate, invited Zayn to create a new version of “Angel” using the music from the original track. 

In a statement, Experience Hendrix told Billboard,“We are pleased that Zayn has been inspired to use original music from Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Angel’ in his recording of the song,” adding, “We’re hopeful that this version of a Hendrix classic will enlighten a new generation of listeners about Jimi’s genius and further propel his continuing legacy.”

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Annie Lennox is set to perform at the second annual awards ceremony for The Earthshot Prize, the global environmental prize founded by Prince William. The event, which Prince William and wife Kate Middleton will attend, is happening Friday at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. 

“The urgent need to protect and restore our Earth’s damaged environmental systems is essential for future survival,” Lennox shares. “The objective of The Earthshot Prize is powerful in terms of building a ‘Waste-Free World’ and ‘Reviving Our Oceans.’ I’m therefore honured to lend my voice in support of this ambitious mission.”

In addition to Lennox, Billie Eilish and brother Finneas are also set to perform, along with Chloe x Halle and Ellie Goulding. Actor Daniel Dae Kim and presenter Clara Amfo will co-host the ceremony, which will feature appearances by Rami Malek, Catherine O’Hara, and Shailene Woodley, along with Sir Richard Attenborough. Prince William is also expected to speak at the end of the ceremony.

Winners will be announced at the ceremony, with Earthshot honoring those who find solutions to help reach the organization’s five goals: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world and fix our climate.

The public will get a chance to see the event when it streams December 5 on PBS.org at 2 p.m. ET, and on the PBS app at 8 p.m ET. It will also air on PBS December 14 at 8 p.m. ET.

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