Classic Rock News

Queen‘s special relationship with their fans is the subject of the latest episode of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.

When it comes to their concerts, Queen makes it a point to connect with their fans regardless of how big the spectacle is onstage. 

“I think we have a very personal relationship with the audience,” Brian May shares. “We don’t get lost in being gods with the costumes and lights. We’re still human and we like the interaction. I think that’s something which is a little different.” 

Roger Taylor adds that it’s important for them to “involve the audience” in their shows and not be like bands who feel they’re “too cool” for their crowd. He notes, “I mean, I remember some bands, the guitar player might even face the back. It’s just f****** rude, you know?”

Queen makes sure the audience has extra fun with their call-and-response songs like “We Will Rock You,” and it’s so important that if the band doesn’t get a reaction to a tune, it may change the set list.  

May explains, “The audience are fashioning what we play, and I think they know that. Of course, you go for the things which produce a reaction, whether it’s happy or sad – but some kind of reaction.”

In the past, if the band wasn’t getting the reaction they wanted, they could always count on frontman Freddie Mercury to change that. Taylor notes, “He was incredible. He could just shout, ‘Come on!’, and then everybody would get up…”

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With the Super Bowl happening at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas next year, some fans may be expecting added glitz to the halftime show. But if Nevada’s governor had his way, there’d be more pyro than sparkle. 

The NFL and Las Vegas Super Bowl LVIII Host Committee press conference was held August 23, and according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gov. Joe Lombardo had one band in mind as the halftime show headliner.

“AC/DC!” he declared. “I was going to yell it out … But yeah, I’m serious. Bring ‘em back.”

So far there’s been no definitive news about which artist will headline the Super Bowl LVIII halftime, but AC/DC hasn’t been mentioned in the speculation. The last time a rock act headlined the halftime show was in 2010, when The Who performed. 

Super Bowl LVIII will take place February 11, and the halftime performer is expected to be announced this fall.

As for AC/DC, if Lombardo really wants to see them all he has to do is head to California in October. They are due to headline PowerTrip in Indio, California, with Brian Johnson returning to his frontman duties after sitting out of their last tour due to hearing issues.

PowerTrip will be held October 6-8, with the lineup also featuring Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Tool, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

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The official trailer for the upcoming Carlos Santana documentary, Carlos: The Santana Journey Global Premiere, has just been released.

The clip kicks off with the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer asking, “Do you believe in magic?” It features archival footage from throughout his career and ends with Carlos saying, “Magic is when you command the elements to capture people’s hearts.” 

The film is getting a special three-day premiere event in September. Carlos: The Santana Journey Global Premiere will be in theaters on Saturday, September 23; Sunday, September 24; and Wednesday, September 27. In addition to the doc, the event will feature exclusive introductory content from both Santana and the film’s director, Rudy Valdez. It will then get a wider theatrical release on September 29.

Tickets for Carlos: The Santana Journey Global Premiere are on sale now at carlosglobalpremiere.com.

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The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has teamed with Universal Music for a new songwriters award named after the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.  

The Bob Dylan Center Songwriter Fellowship will “mentor and develop aspiring songwriters in association with the tremendous educational resources of the Bob Dylan Center.” 

The fellowship will be handed out to two songwriters annually, and it comes with a $40,000 stipend. The recipients will be flown to Tulsa to spend time at the center where they’ll have access to the Bob Dylan Archive in order “to study Dylan’s creative process.” They’ll also get a chance to record at Leon Russell’s The Church Studio in Tulsa.

Those interested can submit their applications at bobdylancenter.com from now until October 18, with the fellowship running from May 2024 to April 2025.

This year’s winners will be chosen by a panel of international artists that includes John Mellencamp, Patty Griffin, Nas, French singer/songwriter Juliette Armanet and Mexican singer/songwriter Carla Morrison.

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The Rolling Stones have paid tribute to their late drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away two years ago on August 24, 2021.

The band posted some dashing photos of Watts through the years on their official Instagram account, writing, “Today, with much love, we remember our dear Charlie. We miss you everyday.”

Charlie’s bandmates shared their own tributes as well.  

Mick Jagger posted some photos and video of Charlie on his Instagram Story, while Keith Richards shared a black-and-white picture of them together.

“Charlie Watts was my bed,” Keith wrote. “I could lay on there, and I know that not only would I have a good sleep, but I’d wake up and it’d still be rocking,” adding, “Miss you, Charlie.”

Ronnie Wood also posted a photo of him and Charlie along with two

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Eric Clapton is paying tribute to The Band‘s Robbie Robertson, who passed away August 9 at the age of 80.

“The Band to me was amazing because they were all giants,” Clapton shared during an interview with The Real Music Observer. “Every one of them was a giant on his own, and [Robbie] was the visionary. I have no doubt that he wrote all those songs.” 

Clapton has said in the past that he wished he could have been in The Band, although he now says he knows it would never have worked, noting, “I was already like, this kind of, celebrity [at the time] and none of them personally, individually, were celebrities.”

“That was their thing – even the name was anonymity,” he explains. “That was also what was magnetic for me because I always wanted anonymity…And if that had been possible to sneak in, even where I’m disguised, and played rhythm guitar then we could have done it. But it was never gonna happen.”

Clapton says he plans to pay tribute to The Band at his upcoming solo shows as well as his two-day Crossroads festival, which featured Robertson on the bill. He says he knows it won’t be easy. 

“I know him well enough to know that he was really precise about what he did,” Clapton shares. “It’s so difficult to recreate that kind of on the edge of expression and not making a mistake, not blowing it. It’s really, really difficult.”

Clapton kicks off his new tour in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 8. His two-day Crossroads Guitar Festival is happening September 23 and 24 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at ericclapton.com.

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In between releasing a new Mammoth WVH album and going on tour, Wolfgang Van Halen is getting married. In an interview with Heavy Consequence, the son of Eddie Van Halen shares why he and his fiancée, Andraia Allsop, chose Peter Gabriel‘s “In Your Eyes” as their wedding dong.

“Peter Gabriel is one of our favorite artists,” Wolf says. “There’s a concert before our wedding that we’re going to see that’s Peter Gabriel, because he’s on tour right now and he’s just one of our favorite artists. So is one of my favorite albums of all time, and it was one of my dad’s favorite albums of all time.”

“I’ve just had a connection with Peter Gabriel and his music forever, and simultaneously, my fiancée [is a fan], as well,” he continues. “So, we couldn’t think of a better song.”

Wolf and Andraia got engaged in July 2022.

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In 2015, Whitesnake released The Purple Album, which celebrated frontman David Coverdale’s three years in the band Deep Purple. Well, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Coverdale’s Deep Purple debut, Whitesnake is now reissuing the album. 

The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition, a newly remixed and remastered version of the album, will be released October 13. It will contain plenty of extras, including previously unreleased recordings, one of which is the four-song demo that helped Coverdale land the Deep Purple gig.  

Coverdale says he found the original demo amongst his late mother’s belongings. “I had no idea my Mam had the tape,” he says. “For me, to open my Mam’s trunk of personal items, 30 years after her passing, was a gift from Heaven.”

Deep Purple is giving fans the first taste of the reissue with the digital release of a live version of the 1974 track “Burn.”

The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition will be released as a two-CD/Blu-ray set, which includes concert videos from The Purple Tour, official music videos and more, including commentary from Coverdale. It’s also being released on two-LP gold vinyl. Both formats are available for preorder now.

Coverdale joined Deep Purple in 1973 when he was just 21. He recorded three albums with them, 1974’s Burn and Stormbringer and 1975’s Come Taste The Band, and was eventually inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group. He left the band in 1976, and two years later, formed Whitesnake.

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Carlos Santana has seemingly shared his thoughts on the trans community during a speech at one of his concerts.

Video posted to social media, which Consequence reports was from a recent show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, shows the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer telling his audience, “a woman is a woman and a man is a man.” 

“When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are,” Santana said. “Later on, when you grow up, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it.”

He adds, “Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m okay with that.” 

In the speech, Santana also described comedian David Chapelle as his “brother” and made a gesture indicating how close they were. Chapelle has come under fire in the past for making what many felt were anti-trans jokes in his standup routines.

One person who was at the show told Consequence that Santana’s remarks were “very disturbing and seemed to come out of nowhere.”

The report comes just one day after Alice Cooper made some controversial remarks in an interview with Stereogum, saying he was concerned that being transgender was “a fad.”

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Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart is hitting the road to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s classic album Sweet Dreams, but fans hoping to hear Annie Lennox sing with him are out of luck.

Stewart announced plans for the Eurythmics Songbook Sweet Dreams 40th Anniversary Tour, but Annie won’t be a part of it because she is no longer touring.

“Looking forward to this, I love performing these songs,” he writes on Instagram. “I spent 1,000’s of hours crafting them in the studio and had the best partner in Annie but she has said she won’t be touring anymore which I totally understand.”

Instead, Stewart says he’ll be accompanied by “brilliant all female musicians and three wonderful female vocalists,” noting, “I promise a stunning show full of memorable songs.” 

Right now, Stewart has only announced one show, taking place November 7, in Basel, Switzerland. He advised fans to “stay tuned for more live show announcements coming soon!”

Tickets for the Basel show go on sale August 30 at 7 a.m. U.K. time.

The Eurythmics have not released any new music since their 1999 album, Peace. The last time Stewart and Lennox took the stage together was at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where they reunited to perform “Would I Lie To You,” “Missionary Man” and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

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