Classic Rock News

Peter Gabriel, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Sheryl Crow are among the artists lending their voices to the fight against gun violence in America, joining the Artists for Action to Prevent Gun Violence coalition, Variety reports. The group is led by musician Mark Barden, whose son was one of the young victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The group, which also includes Billie Eilish, Bootsy Collins, Bush, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Halestorm, will be hosting a series of live events, with a goal toward getting folks to help end gun violence in the U.S. through volunteering, donating and voting.

“After my son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I put my career as a professional guitarist on hold to devote myself to preventing gun violence,” Barden said. “Please join me and hundreds of other artists, musicians, actors, athletes, and people like you to finally end this senseless violence.”

Gabriel adds, “This needs to stop. So many needless deaths. So much suffering. It just needs a little common sense.” 

Bush is headlining the first event, a concert at New York’s Irving Plaza on September 22. There will be others, including a December concert celebrating the release of the documentary A Father’s Promise, about Barden and the work of Sandy Hook Promise. There will also be a concert at the Central Park Summerstage in New York next summer coinciding with Gun Violence Awareness month.

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Sotheby’s auction of Freddie Mercury’s personal items, Freddie Mercury: A World of his Own, began on Wednesday, September 6, and it’s brought in huge money. In fact, the first set of items brought in $15.4 million, with 100% of the lots sold. 

The auction was curated by the late Queen frontman’s good friend Mary Austin. Fifty-nine lots went up for sale Wednesday, with Mercury’s baby grand Yamaha piano bringing in the highest bid, $2.2 million.

Meanwhile, a Victorian-style silver snake bangle bracelet sold for $881,000, 100 times more than its lowest estimated bid. The item actually set a record for the highest price paid for an item of jewelry once owned by a rock star, surpassing John Lennon’s leather and bead talisman, which sold for $368,000 in 2008.

Other hot items included handwritten lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which revealed an alternate title, selling for $1.7 million; lyrics to “We Are The Champions,” which sold for over $400,000; the signature crown and cloak Mercury wore during Queen’s last live show in 1968, which sold for over $800,000, 10 times more than the lowest estimate; and a still operational 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox, which sold for over $512,000, more than 20 times its estimate.

There was also a Cartier onyx and diamond ring that was a gift to Mercury from Elton John. It sold for over $344,000, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Elton John Aids Foundation. 

And this is only the first of six total Mercury auctions happening at Sotheby’s. The next one, “On Stage,” is happening Thursday, September 7. Sotheby’s says a record 2,000 people from 61 different countries registered to bid in the auction.

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The Rolling Stones’ new album, Hackney Diamonds, is set to drop October 20, and the track list has now been revealed by their producer, Andrew Watt.

Hackney Diamonds contains 12 songs, including the just-released single “Angry.” Lady Gaga is confirmed to appear on the song “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” while The Stones previously shared that the tunes “Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword” will feature their late drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in 2021.

Watt has plenty of experience working with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists like The Stones. He previously produced Eddie Vedder’s 2022 solo album, Earthling; Ozzy Osbourne’s Grammy-winning album Patient Number 9; and Iggy Pop’s recent release, Every Loser.

During The Stones’ special media launch event in London for Hackney Diamonds, Mick Jagger talked about working with Watt, noting he “kicked us up the a**.” 

Here is the track list for Hackney Diamonds. It is available for preorder now.

“Angry”
“Get Close”
“Depending on You”
“Bite My Head Off”
“Whole Wide World”
“Dreamy Skies”
“Mess It Up”
“Live by the Sword”
“Driving Me Too Hard”
“Tell Me Straight”
“Sweet Sounds of Heaven” (Ft. Lady Gaga)
“Rolling Stone Blues”

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John Mellencamp is one of several artists set to perform at the 17th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit, put on by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival.

The event will take place November 6 at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with the lineup also featuring Josh Groban, The War And Treaty and Rita Wilson as well as comedians Jon Stewart, Ronny Chieng, Tracy Morgan, Shane Gillis and others.

“I’m thrilled to announce the 17th annual Stand Up for Heroes, an amazing night of hope, healing, and laughter to honor our nation’s veterans and their families,” said Bob Woodruff, ABC correspondent and cofounder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “The evening will include a fantastic lineup of comedic and musical performances.”

In addition to the entertainment, Stand Up For Heroes spotlights the inspiring stories of our nation’s service men and women, raising awareness and funds for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, an organization whose goal is to insure the future of those who serve our nation and their families. 

Tickets are on sale now.

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In announcing the return of The Osbournes podcast, Sharon Osbourne declared that no topic would be “off limits.” However, the heavy metal family is not too eager to discuss Ozzy having to cancel his Power Trip performance.

“We can’t talk about it in the house because it is just so heartbreaking to see that all he wants is just one more show,” Ozzy and Sharon’s daughter Kelly tells Rolling Stone.

“Ozzy wants to be on that show with all his friends,” adds Sharon. “It’s heartbreaking for him to see everybody going on, and he’s just left behind.”

Ozzy’s dealt with a number of health issues over the past few years, including undergoing various surgeries after suffering a fall in his home in 2019. In February, Ozzy announced that he was retiring from touring, but was later revealed to be part of the inaugural Power Trip lineup. It was set to mark his first full live performance since 2018. However, he pulled out of the festival in July, sharing, “My body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet.”

“He could do it right now if he sat in a chair,” Kelly says. “Because the voice is there; there’s nothing wrong with the voice.”

“He said that if he can’t give his fans what they paid to see, he won’t do it,” she adds.

Power Trip will take place October 6-8 in Indio, California. The bill also includes Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool, as well as Judas Priest in place of Ozzy.

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Devo is celebrating their 50th anniversary with a new career-spanning box set, 50 Years of De-evolution (1973-2023), dropping October 20. 

The set will be released in a variety of formats, including a four-LP set pressed on clear vinyl, a 25-song, two-LP set on black vinyl and a two-LP blue and red vinyl, which will be sold exclusively at retail stores. There will also be a 50-song, two-CD set.

The four-LP deluxe edition will be limited to 3,000 copies and will come with a 28-page book, a Devo air freshener, a paper version of the band’s signature red energy domes and a lithograph of the album’s artwork.

“This box set represents a great cross section of early experiments and later creations,” Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh shares. “I was looking to create a new sound, a concept in art and music that represented a new way of thinking about life on planet earth. With Devo, I think we did just that. Farewell to the first 50, Let’s get the next 50 started!”

The band has also offered fans a preview of the set, with the release of the seven-inch version of “Disco Dancer,” which is making its streaming debut.

50 Years of De-evolution (1973-2023) is available for preorder now.

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Once Elton John finished his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, he said he’d never go on the road again, but he didn’t rule out the occasional one-off performance. Well, he’s got one coming up in a very unexpected place.

On October 6, Elton is going to perform solo, without his band, at the El Dorado Waterpark in the Dominican Republic. He’ll be playing the property’s new Legends Arena, and it’ll be his first scheduled show since he concluded the tour in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 8.

Elton’s performance is part of the grand opening celebration of the park, which bills itself as “the largest and most advanced waterpark in the Caribbean.”

Tickets are on sale now for the performance.

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Three new Bob Dylan rerecordings are up for sale, and they likely won’t come cheap.

Back in 2022, a one-of-a-kind rerecording of Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ In The Wind,” which he recorded with producer T Bone Burnett, was auctioned off for $1.8 million. Well, now, Variety reports that three more tracks are up for sale. 

The latest rerecordings include “Simple Twist of Fate,” “Masters of War” and “Gotta Serve Somebody,” which are all now available via a private sale at Christie’s. The trio was recorded during a session Dylan had with Burnett in 2021 and come on an aluminum disc developed by Burnett that’s like vinyl but more durable. All three songs will be autographed and come in a display case.

As for why they aren’t getting auctioned off this time, Burnett tells the mag, “I realized when we had an auction that we had no idea who was going to buy it. It could have been somebody just to hoard it or something.” 

And it sounds like there will be more to come. Variety notes there are still two more rerecordings that have not been put up for sale yet: “Not Dark Yet” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

More info on the sale can be found at christies.com.

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Bowl for Ronnie is returning in 2023.

The annual bowling tournament, held in honor of the late Ronnie James Dio, will take place this year on November 16 at PINZ Bowling center in Studio City, California.

The lineup of celebrity bowlers has yet to be announced, but past participants include Dave Grohl, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Black Sabbath‘s Geezer Butler and ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler.

Bowl for Ronnie benefits the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, which raises money for cancer prevention and research. Last year’s event raised $70,000.

Dio died of stomach cancer in 2010 at age 67.

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The Smashing Pumpkins are going back in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Siamese Dream.

Billy Corgan and company have teamed up with Tower Records to recreate the Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream album release show at the franchise’s Chicago store in 1993. The pop-up will be open September 14-17 at Corgan’s Madame Zuzu’s tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois, and will feature limited edition merch.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “Wait, Tower Records is still around?” The former music retail giant did indeed go out of business in 2006 but relaunched as an online store in 2020. They’ve also opened a new physical space in Brooklyn, New York.

“The Smashing Pumpkins played an unforgettable in store performance at Tower Records, Chicago. We’re excited to celebrate Siamese Dream once again, 30 years after hosting the original album release party,” says Tower Records president Danny Zeijdel. “In the future, we intend to provide the same platform for young, emerging artists. We will continue with this at Tower in Brooklyn and new online experiences forthcoming.”

Additionally, the Pumpkins will perform a pair of Siamese Dream-themed acoustic shows at Madame Zuzu’s on September 17. The second set will stream live online via the platform Veeps. For more info, visit Veeps.com.

Siamese Dream, the second Smashing Pumpkins album, was released July 27, 1993. It’s been certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA and spawned singles including “Cherub Rock” and “Today.”

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