Classic Rock News

A cryptic ad posted in London’s Hackney Gazette appears to be teasing a new album from The Rolling Stones. It promoted something called Hackney Diamonds, with the ad’s message featuring several Stones song titles, leading to speculation that an album announcement is coming.

Well, the editor of the paper has confirmed the ad was taken out by the band.

“It’s very exciting to have such a massive band announcing their new album in our papers, especially in such a cryptic manner,” Simon Murfitt, senior editor of both the Hackney Gazette and Islington Gazette, said, confirming the ad was taken out by Universal Music Group. “I have already had several emails requesting back copies and no doubt the papers will become collectors’ items for music fans.” 

He added, “I’ve always said The Rolling Stones have good taste when it comes to their local news and this just proves it!”

If the speculation is true, the album will be The Stones’ first record since 2016’s Blue and Lonesome, which was an album of blues covers.

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Alice Cooper is the latest rocker to share his thoughts on young people who question their gender at an early age. 

During an interview with Stereogum, Cooper was asked about Dee Snider and Paul Stanley’s recent comments about gender-affirming care for kids, in which they suggested it was a “fad.” And he seems to agree.

“I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that,” he says. “I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.'” 

He adds, “I mean, if you identify as a tree … I’m going, ‘Come on! What are we in, a Kurt Vonnegut novel?’ It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity.”

Cooper also takes issue with “the whole woke thing,” suggesting it’s become “laughable.”

“If anybody was trying to make a point on this thing, they turned it into a huge comedy,” he says. “I don’t know one person that agrees with the woke thing. I don’t know one person.”

He also shares his worries about transgender people in public bathrooms. “A guy can walk into a woman’s bathroom at any time and just say, ‘I just feel like I’m a woman today’ and have the time of his life in there,” he says. “Somebody’s going to get raped, and the guy’s going to say, ‘Well, I felt like a girl that day, and then I felt like a guy.’ Where do you draw this line?”

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Lou Gramm doesn’t sound at all happy that his former band, Foreigner, which he fronted until 2003, is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He believes the omission is personal. 

“It’s not anything to do with our music or the amount of hits or notoriety or anything like that,” Gramm shares in an interview with The Rock Shop With Ralph. “It’s a personal thing that we’re not in there. It’s a personal vendetta between the gentleman who owns Rolling Stone and Mick,” referring to Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones.

The Rolling Stone owner he’s likely referring to is Jann Wenner, who cofounded the mag and is also the cofounder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In reality, Wenner no longer owns Rolling Stone, having sold his remaining interest in the mag in 2017.

Regarding the band’s snub, Gramm notes, “It’s very juvenile, the whole thing, and I don’t think it’s gonna get any better. I think it’s gonna stay that way. I think we’re being made an example of.”

Foreigner has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2002, but to this day have never been nominated, and Gramm thinks it’s a travesty. 

Asked whether he thinks they deserves to be in the Hall, Gramm declares, “Of course I do,” although he notes it should be “the original Foreigner” as opposed to later lineups. He adds, “I put an exclamation point at the end of that.”

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Yes’ biggest hits are about to be all in one place. Rhino is set to release the new vinyl Yessingles on October 6, featuring 12 of the band’s most popular tunes. 

The album features a chronological history of Yes hits, with songs from 1971 to 1984. Tracks on the album include “Your Move,” “Starship Trooper,” “America,” the #1 hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and more. Also included is a promo radio edit version of “And You And I (Part One),” which has just been released digitally for the first time.

Yessingles will be released on 140-gram black vinyl, with a special splatter-vinyl coming to retailers. It is available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for Yessingles:

“Your Move” – Single Version
“Starship Trooper: Life Seeker” – Single Version
“Roundabout” – Single Edit
“America” – Single Edit
“And You And I (Part One)” – Promo Radio Edit
“Soon” – Single Edit
“Sound Chaser” – Single Edit
“Wondorous Stories” – Single Version
“Don’t Kill The Whale” – Single Version
“Into The Lens” – Single Version
“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” – Single Version
“Leave It” – Single Remix

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Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder is doing even more to raise money for relief efforts following the wildfires that devastated Maui, Hawaii, earlier this month. 

The band is already raffling off two signed posters to raise money for those affected by the wildfires. Now, Vedder has donated an autographed ukulele featuring his original artwork to a silent auction for the Maui Mana Wildlife Relief Benefit, an event in Honolulu that includes the auction, a local concert and more. 

Bidding is open until Saturday, August 26, at 11:30 p.m. ET, with the current bid for Vedder’s ukulele at $6,000.

Vedder isn’t the only rocker lending support. Musician and Hawaii native Jack Johnson has also donated an autographed ukulele to the silent auction, while former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade has donated autographed drumsticks and a drumhead. 

“The goal of our Silent Auction is to unite our community in a shared mission of compassion and support,” reads a post on the auction’s site. “Each bid and contribution made during the auction serves as a tangible step towards rebuilding lives, restoring hope, and fostering a sense of unity.”

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Dave Grohl made a surprise appearance during a recent concert by Chevy Metal, a cover band that featured late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The show took place at the Harley’s Bowl bowling alley in Southern California on Monday, August 21. Along with Grohl, other guests included Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins and Hawkins’ son, Shane.

Chevy Metal posted photos from the gig on their Instagram. According to Setlist.fm, they played songs by artists including Van Halen, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and The Rolling Stones.

Chevy Metal was one of the many bands to play the two tribute concerts to Hawkins, which took place September 2022 in London and Los Angeles. For both shows, Chevy Metal performed alongside pop star Kesha.

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On this Day, August 23, 1946… 

Future The Who drummer Keith Moon was born in North West London.

Moon joined the band in 1964 before they recorded their first single, and went on to play on eight of The Who’s albums, with his last being 1978’s Who Are You.

Throughout his musical career, he was known for his destructive nature and turned trashing hotel rooms into an art.

He suffered from alcohol problems over the years and died in September of 1978 from an overdose of a drug that was supposed to prevent alcohol withdrawal.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey has been very vocal about his attempts to make a Keith Moon biopic; as of February, he revealed that he had finished the script for it.

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A new TV music series coming this fall will try to answer an often debated question: Who is the greatest rock star?

AXS TV is teaming with SPIN for the new series, SPIN’s 100 Greatest Rock Stars Since That Was A Thing, which is inspired by a list the mag initially put out in 2021. The series, which premieres October 2 at 8 p.m., will spotlight artists who “best embody the ‘Rock Star’ spirit,” including Stevie Nicks, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Page, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Syd Barrett, Grace Slick and more.

The series will include “Artist Spotlights,” and there will be segments celebrating musicians who are loved by other artists, including Sammy Hagar, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and AC/DC’s Angus Young. There will also be plenty of guests chiming in about what makes the artists on the list great, with appearances by Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Steve Vai, Joel McHale, Carnie Wilson and others.

“The problem with lists like this is they are invariably BS. So our prime objective was to make sure we didn’t do a BS list,” says SPIN founder Bob Guccione Jr. “A rock star is, perhaps by definition, undefinable. They just are. They’re luminescent. Even when, in some cases, they didn’t want to be,” adding, “I’m excited to bring this list to life with AXS TV!” 

So, who made SPIN’s list of the greatest rock stars? Well, it’s certainly possible the list will change, but the original 2021 article picked The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards for the top spot, with Prince, Hendrix, Page and Bowie also making the cut.

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A new documentary about Paul Simon is getting its U.S. premiere next month. 

Variety reports that In Restless Dreams: The Music Of Paul Simon, from award winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, is set to premiere at the Camden International Film Festival, taking place September 14-17 at venues throughout Camden and Rockland, Maine.

In the film, Gibney follows Simon’s career, from growing up in Queens to his partnership with Art Garfunkel and more. It also goes in the studio with the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer during the making of his most recent album, Seven Palms, which was released in May.

While the Camden Festival is the movie’s U.S. premiere, it won’t be the first time people will see it. It’s getting its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday, September 9.

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Eric Clapton and the Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir are among the guest stars featured on Stephen Marley’s new album Old Soul, which will be released September 15.

Clapton lends his guitar talents to Stephen’s acoustic cover of dad Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff,” which he also covered in 1974 for his album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Weir is featured on the track “Winding Roads” along with Jack Johnson and Weir’s band Wolf Bros, made up of Don Was and Dead & Company’s Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane.

Old Soul is Marley’s first full-length album since 2016. It will also feature guest appearances by Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton and Slightly Stoopid.

Old Soul will be released digitally, on CD and as a limited edition double vinyl; it’s available for preorder now.

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