Classic Rock News

Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour may be finished in the U.S., but he’s still got a lot more touring to do — and it may see him break a new record.

Elton wrapped the U.S. leg of the tour this weekend in Los Angeles and, according to Billboard, the last three Dodger Stadium shows brought in $23.5 million and sold 142,970 tickets. In total, the last 13 shows bring the tour’s total gross to $749.9 million, with over 5 million tickets sold since it began in 2018. And with about 50 shows still left to play, it’s certainly looking like Elton has a good shot at surpassing Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour for the title of best-selling tour of all time.

Ed’s tour wrapped in 2019 and grossed $776.4 million, which means Elton is less than $30 million away from taking over number one. It now sits at number two, having surpassed U2’s 360 Tour, which brought in $736.4 million.

Next up, Elton brings his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour back to Australia and New Zealand in January with 10 stadium shows, which puts him on track to break Sheeran’s record in early 2023.

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A rare live recording of Led Zeppelin performing a 13-minute version of “Dazed and Confused” has just turned up on YouTube.

The audio clip was shared by YouTuber Mark McFall, founder of the Zepfan memorabilia website, and features audio recorded at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on October 5, 1969. According to the post, the performance was recorded from a fan’s TV speaker during a broadcast of the show on November 12, 1969.

A review of the show on Ledzeppelin.com says “the atmosphere crackled” during the concert, noting, “Heavy, crashing Zeppelin sounds swept the audience onto another plain.” The review continued, “Wild, standing ovations brought the group back time and time again and they finally left the stage exhausted.”

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Bruce Springsteen has just landed another chart milestone. The Boss’ latest album, Only The Strong Survive, tops the Billboard Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts this week, moving 40,000 equivalent album units. 

The new number one marks the eighth time Bruce has topped both of these charts since they began in 2006. He first reached number one on them with 2007’s Magic.

Springsteen is now tied with John Mayer for the most number ones on the Top Rock and Alternative Albums charts. The Beatles, Coldplay, Dave Matthews and Tom Petty are just behind them, with six each.

In addition to the album chart success, two songs from Only The Strong Survive land on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart this week. “Nightshift” lands at eight, while “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” is at 16.

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Def Leppard is giving fans a taste of their live show without having to shell out money for a ticket.

The band just dropped the new video for the track “Kick,” which is a live performance clip from their 2022 The Stadium Tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.

“Kick” was the first single from the band’s most recent album, Diamond Star Halos.

Next up for Def Leppard, they bring their tour with Mötley Crüe to Latin America and Europe in 2023, with dates kicking off February 18th in Mexico City, Mexico.

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Mötley Crüe has announced a new box set collecting each of the band’s first five albums.

Dubbed Crücial Crüe: The Studio Albums 1981-1989, the package will arrive on February 17, 2023, and will be available in five-LP and five-CD configurations, each of which is limited to just 10,000 copies.

Inside Crücial Crüe, you’ll find 1981’s Too Fast for Love, 1983’s Shout at the Devil, 1985’s Theatre of Pain, 1987’s Girls, Girls, Girls and 1989’s Dr. Feelgood. In the vinyl edition, each of the records will be printed on a different colored LP.

Crücial Crüe is available to preorder now.

Mötley Crüe spent their 2022 on their reunion Stadium Tour alongside Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. They’ll link back up with Def Leppard for an international tour in 2023, though they’ll do so without guitarist Mick Mars, who’s retired from the road. Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will fill in for Mars.

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Tuesday marked the 25th anniversary of Michael Hutchence’s death, and the INXS frontman’s ex-girlfriend, supermodel Helena Christensen, paid tribute to him in a post on social media.

“Hey Michael, was just on the phone with some friends of yours who all love you very much. We shared some beautiful memories and of course we laughed a lot cause being around you was so fun and joyous,” she shared next to photos of them topless and hugging each other. “You made everyone feel alive and loved, there was always such a magical light shining from you ~ a light that will shine forever.”

The post comes just days after Michael’s sister, Tina, blasted Christensen for not revealing the truth about the singer’s state of mind at the time of his death. It wasn’t until the 2019 documentary Mystify that the model revealed he had suffered brain damage as a result of an assault by a taxi driver in Copenhagen, which caused him to suffer uncontrollable rages.

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Guitarist Wilko Johnson, best known for his work with the ’70s British band Dr. Feelgood, passed away Monday at the age of 75. No official cause of death was announced, but he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer nearly 10 years ago.

“This is the announcement we never wanted to make, and we do so with a very heavy heart: Wilko Johnson has died,” read a statement posted to social media. “Thank you for respecting the family’s privacy at this very sad time. RIP Wilko Johnson.” 

As a member of Dr. Feelgood, Johnson appeared on the band’s first four albums, Down by the Jetty, Malpractice, Stupidity and Sneakin’ Suspicion. He left the group in 1977, went on to become a member of Ian Dury and The Blockheads, and also released music on his own. In 2014, he paired up with The Who’s Roger Daltrey to release the album Going Back Home.   

“More than anything Wilko wanted to be a poet,” Daltrey shared in a statement paying tribute to Johnson. “I was lucky to have known him and have him as a friend. His music lives on but there’s no escaping the final curtain this time.”

In addition to music, Johnson dabbled in acting; he most recently appeared as mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne on the first two seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

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Misfits will no longer be ringing in 2023 onstage.

The reunited horror punks — consisting of original members Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only, along with longtime guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein — have canceled their upcoming New Year’s Eve show in Las Vegas, citing an “unexpected personal matter.”

“We look forward to hopefully seeing you at a show in 2023,” the group says.

Those who purchased tickets will receive refunds at their point of purchase.

Danzig and Only reunited in 2016 — 33 years after the former left the Misfits in 1983 — and have played a number of one-off shows since. Their most recent performance took place last month in Dallas to celebrate Halloween weekend.

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain is speaking out after his bandmate Neal Schon filed a lawsuit over the finances of their company Nomota, including an American Express card that Cain signed up for.

While Schon is arguing “millions of Journey funds have flowed through” that Amex card, which Cain set up without his knowledge, Cain says that’s not true, and claims Schon’s lawsuit is basically an attempt to cover up the guitarist’s own “excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle.”

“This is a matter that should have been resolved privately, but I am forced to publicly respond now to Neal’s malicious lies and personal attacks on my family,” Jonathan shares in a statement, saying Schon’s lawsuit is “ill-conceived” and has “absolutely no merit.”

Cain insists Schon has access to all credit card statements, noting, “What he lacks — and what he is really seeking — is the ability to increase his spending limits.”  He claims he has evidence proving Schon’s been “running up enormous personal charges on the band’s credit card account.”

Cain goes on to say that when they tried to limit Schon to using the card just for band expenses, Schon “decided to attack me rather than trying to get his reckless spending under control.” 

“I am saddened by the situation — for Neal and for our fans,” he adds, “but since Neal filed a lawsuit, I suspect he will not be able to ignore the court like he has ignored the countless financial advisors and accountants he has fired over the past several years who have tried in vain to help him.”

In his response, Schon tweeted, “For the record I’ve never even carried a corporate Nomota credit card for over 2 decades.. never cared. When I called Amex they informed me I’d been blocked since 1998 by [Jonathan Cain].”

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A new exhibit about John Mellencamp is set to open at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on November 30. The pocket exhibit will draw connections between Guthrie and Mellencamp, highlighting their many similarities. 

“Most people might shortsightedly think of Mellencamp’s ‘Jack & Diane’ and mistake it as a pop song rather than a Midwesterner’s reverence to the innocence found in small-town, working-class youth,” Woody Guthrie Center Director Cady Shaw shares. “With a closer look, you’ll find Mellencamp has been weaving threads of Heartland charm with folk-steeped storytelling and heavy-mitted activism through his lyrics, paintings and advocacy his whole life,” adding, “Mellencamp has consistently been an active voice for the greater good.”

The exhibit will feature Mellencamp photographs and album covers, as well as the singer’s guitar that features a profane sentiment carved into it, similar to what Guthrie once did. It will also feature a painting done by Mellencamp himself, which depicts Bob Dylan and Guthrie together.

Tickets for the exhibit are on sale now at the Woody Guthrie Center website.

And speaking of Mellencamp’s art, the singer’s coffee table art book, John Mellencamp: American Paintings and Assemblages, is out now and can be purchased on the singer’s website.

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