Classic Rock News

The idea of Iron Maiden‘s Bruce Dickinson starring in a horror movie: totally understandable. Bruce Dickinson starring in a horror movie about an ABBA tribute band? Totally bizarre.

Deadline reports that Dickinson will star in the horror comedy Bjorn of the Dead, which follows an ABBA tribute band that enters a Battle of the Bands competition, only to find themselves fighting off the undead and attempting to save humanity in the middle of an apocalypse.  

It’s not clear which role Dickinson will play in the film, though he may be playing Bjorn, the lead singer of the tribute band, Abbatoir [ABBA-twahre]. “Abbatoir” is French for “slaughterhouse.” Deadline reports there will also be cameos from various rock and metal performers.

The movie was written by Dickinson’s son Austin Dickinson, who is also co-producing. The movie’s other co-producer, Andrew Prendergast, tells Deadline, “We are thrilled to be making this blood-drenched gore fest from Austin’s super funny, terrifying, cautionary tale about the inner workings of the music industry.”

Austin adds, “Get your spandex on, preen your wigs, and sharpen your axes. Bjorn is coming.”

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David Bowie is no longer with us, but his style will live on forever.

Designer John Varvatos has launched a limited-edition capsule collection inspired by the late rocker’s iconic style. Among the items are a leather trench coat, a geometric patterned shirt inspired by the backdrop of a candid shot of Bowie on the set of The Man Who Fell To Earth and a striped shirt inspired by a photo of Bowie taken while he was recording his 1973 album, Pin Ups.

There’s also a suit jacket and pants with a subtle lightning bolt design inspired by the Aladdin Sane album, a crewneck sweater inspired by the 2003 Reality album and a bomber jacket with “David Bowie” embroidered on the back in the same font used on the artist’s 1987 album, Never Let Me Down.

Slightly more affordable — but only slightly — are a series of Bowie T-shirts. Those “only” cost between $168 and $198 each. You can check out the entire David Bowie X JV collection at JohnVarvatos.com, as well as John Varvatos stores and select North American specialty stores.

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David Byrne‘s Broadway musical Here Lies Love, which he co-wrote with “Praise You” artist Fatboy Slim, will close November 26 after 33 previews and 150 performances.

In a statement, the producers said, “Succeeding on Broadway means not only producing excellent work with artistic merit — it also means creating the audience for it. And how much time it takes to find and grow new audiences is out of sync with the tight timeframes for audience-building and awareness.” Or, as Variety puts it, the show suffered from “lackluster ticket sales.”

Here Lies Love is a musical about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines. It features the first all-Filipino acting company on Broadway and broke new ground with its innovative staging. Its theater was completely redesigned to mimic a night club, with the orchestra seats removed to create a dance floor where audience members can stand among the performers.

The show will be filmed for the archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and it may mount international productions in Japan and Australia.

Byrne’s previous Broadway musical production, American Utopia — in which he starred and performed — had two separate Broadway runs between 2019 and 2022 and spun off a Spike Lee-directed film.

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Metallica continues to make history with their M72 tour.

The metal legends’ concerts at St. Louis’ The Dome at America’s Center on November 3 and 5 now hold the title for selling the most tickets to an event at the stadium.

“Over 100,000 tickets were sold to our No Repeat Weekend gigs at The Dome, setting the record for most tickets sold for any event since the venue opened in 1995!” Metallica writes in a Facebook post. “Thanks for coming out to see us, St. Louis!”

Notably, The Dome used to be home to the St. Louis Rams football team, which has since relocated to Los Angeles.

Metallica previously broke the single-show attendance record at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium during the M72 tour, which supports the band’s latest album, 72 Seasons.

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Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell broke up more than 50 years ago, but he still remembers her birthday.

On Tuesday, November 7, Joni’s 80th birthday, Nash posted a photo of the legendary singer-songwriter as a young woman on his Instagram Story and wrote, “Happy Birthday, Joan. Wishing you a beautiful day.” Nash and Mitchell dated between 1968 and 1970, and she inspired the CSNY song “Our House.”

In other Graham Nash news, the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will receive the John Lennon Real Love award at the Theatre Within’s 43rd annual John Lennon Tribute concert, scheduled for December 2 in New York City’s Town Hall. Nash will play some of his favorite songs by The Beatles and John Lennon at the event, which will also feature Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, soul singer Bettye LaVette and Judy Collins.

“This is a very special award. I thank Yoko and the Theatre Within for thinking of me,” says Nash in a statement. “Over many years, I watched John and Yoko ‘fight the good fight’ for many whose voices were not being heard, a fight that Yoko continues to this day. I’m proud to be associated with the many fine artists who were previously honored with the John Lennon Real Love Award.”

Proceeds for the show will support Theatre Within’s free workshops, including the John Lennon Real Love Project songwriting program. Tickets are available now at LennonTribute.org.

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Iggy Pop and Garbage‘s Shirley Manson are featured on an upcoming tribute album to Marianne Faithfull.

The compilation is titled The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull and will be released December 8. It includes 25 artists putting their spin on 19 of the English musician’s songs from between 1964 and 2004.

Pop performs the track “Working Class Hero” alongside Cat Power, while Manson takes on “Why D’Ya Do It” with Peaches.

Proceeds from The Faithful will support Marianne, 76, as she continues to battle with long COVID. She was hospitalized with COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

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A new book called Rebel Music: Bob Marley & Roots Reggae, in stores November 7, features contributions from Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, Paul Simon, Keith Richards and more.

The book comes from photographer Kate Simon, who met Bob Marley in 1975 and gained unprecedented access to him, his band and his fellow reggae stars. Originally released in 2004 in a sold-out limited edition, this marks the first time Rebel Music: Bob Marley & Roots Reggae has been widely available.

Patti Smith wrote the intro for the book, Kravitz wrote the foreword, and Richards wrote the afterword. Other artists’ contributions come in the form of essays or paragraphs, included alongside the more than 400 photographs Simon took of Marley and his circle.

Kravitz writes that Marley was “raw, powerful, vulnerable” and “a genius without pretense,” while Smith says he “kept his spiritual sense intact, even at the height of public acclaim” and “set an example for the rest of the world.”

Richards adds that Marley “never got over” discovering reggae in Jamaica in 1972, and Bruce writes, “He filled your spirit, made you dance and sharpened your thoughts.” Bob Marley & the Wailers opened for Springsteen in 1973.

Visit MarleyBook.com for more information on the book.

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In between rocking countless arenas with Rush, Geddy Lee amassed what he calls a “wonderful and supremely mammoth collection of baseball memorabilia.” Now, Lee is giving you the chance to own a piece of that collection.

The New York City auction house Christie’s has announced it will be offering historic items owned by Lee, including Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron jerseys and a signed baseball from The Beatles legendary 1965 Shea Stadium concert.

“I admit I’m a crazy person, who’s been obsessed with the acquisition of many, MANY, fascinating things,” Lee says. “Yet, you just can’t have it all!”

“What an effin’ blast it’s been, but I must have had too much stuff because after these selections were sent to Christies my wife stepped into my office and said, ‘Hey! I thought you were selling some of your collection??'” he adds. “Uh, yeah Honey, I am…. Oopsie!”

The auction will be open online from November 21 to December 7, with a live in-person event taking place December 6. For more info, visit Christies.com.

Meanwhile, Lee is set to host a new docuseries premiering December 5 on Paramount+. Are Bass Players Human Too? features Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo, Primus‘ Les Claypool and Hole‘s Melissa Auf der Maur.

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On This Day, November 7, 1987 …

Bruce Springsteen landed at #1 with his eighth studio album, Tunnel of Love, which he recorded without the E Street Band.

The record featured the hits “Brilliant Disguise,” which peaked at #5; the album’s title track, which peaked at #9; and “One Step Up,” which went to #13.

Although he didn’t record the album with the E Street Band, Springsteen did tour with them, launching the Tunnel of Love Express Tour in February 1988.

The album went on to be certified triple Platinum, and the song “Tunnel of Love” earned Springsteen a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.

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Bruce Springsteen wasn’t supposed to attend the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation — held November 6 in New York City — but he showed up anyway.

Bruce was originally scheduled to be on the road during the annual event, which raises money for veterans’ causes. But since he postponed those concerts due to a diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease, he was able to make it to the show, along with John Mellencamp, Josh Groban, Jon Stewart, Tracy Morgan and Tom Hanks.

Bruce performed solo songs and duetted with Mellencamp; the two sang “Wasted Days” from Mellencamp’s 2022 album Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. According to the Asbury Park Press, Bruce also sang “The Power of Prayer” from 2020’s Letter to You, Born In the U.S.A. cuts “Working on the Highway” and “Dancing In the Dark,” and debuted his recent release “Addicted to Romance” from the movie She Came to Me.

The Boss also continued his tradition of telling dirty jokes in between his songs.

Mellencamp, who introduced Springsteen as the “big brother” who he’s “looked up to … my whole life,” also performed his hits “Jack & Diane” and “Small Town.”

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