Classic Rock News

Pink Floyd is revisiting their fifth studio album, 1970’s Atom Heart Mother, with a special edition reissue.

Originally released in Japan in 2021, the reissue will include the album on CD and a Blu-ray featuring live footage of “Atom Heart Mother (Suite)” performed at Japan’s Hakone Aphrodite festival in August 1971.

The performance, which was part of The Early Years box set, is the only existing footage of Pink Floyd’s performance at the festival. Fifty years later, the original footage was found in a fan’s garage and has now been restored and remastered. The Blu-ray also includes a behind-the-scenes documentary with footage from the band’s Japanese adventures leading to the festival.

Additionally, the reissue comes with a photo book containing never-before-seen pics as well as reproductions of a poster, ticket and more from the 1971 concert.

The Hakone Aphrodite festival, which took place August 6 and 7, 1971, was Floyd’s first concert in Japan. It featured several international artists, with Floyd as the headliner.  

Atom Heart Mother – Special Edition is set to drop December 8. It is available for preorder now.

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The Who’s Tommy is coming back to Broadway next year. The musical is set to open at the Nederlander Theatre on March 28, with previews beginning March 8.

The version of the show coming to Broadway is a brand new staging featuring a cast of 28 and a nine-piece band. Directed by original Tommy director, Des McAnuff, it debuted at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in June with 36 sold-out performances, making it the highest grossing production in the history of the Goodman.

Based on The Who’s 1969 album and 1975 film, the original production of Tommy opened at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, on July 1, 1992. It opened on Broadway on April 22, 1993, and closed on June 17, 1995. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Direction for McAnuff and Best Original Score for Pete Townshend.

“In 1969, when I originally wrote Tommy with The Who, nobody had ever written popular music songs about trauma, nobody talked about bullying, domestic sexual abuse was a subject that was virtually censored,” The Who’s Pete Townshend shares. “Then, in 1993, working with Des on the staged theatre piece, we broke the established rules for a musical show. Now, the current generation is breaking all of those rules again—and what Des has achieved with this incredible new production honors them and their courage and audacity.”

In other The Who news, the band revealed on Instagram that they’ll be making a special announcement on Friday, October 27, “about two of their studio albums which were released in the month of October.” The post just happened to come on the same day as the 50th anniversary of the release of their album Quadrophenia.

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On This Day, October 26, 1965… 

The Beatles received quite an honor at Buckingham Palace when Queen Elizabeth II gave the group —  Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — medals recognizing them as members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. 

In 1969, Lennon returned his MBE in protest over “Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing,” “our support of America in Vietnam” and the fact that his single “Cold Turkey” was “slipping down the charts.”

In later years, two members of The Beatles went on to be knighted by the queen for their service to music: McCartney in 1997 and Starr in 2018.

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U2 brought a little extra star power to their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere on Wednesday, October 25.

Variety reports the Irish rockers surprised fans with special guest Lady Gaga, who Bono introduced as “the most audacious, vivacious woman in any room she’s ever in.” He added, “Would you welcome to our turntable, the divine — the divinyl— Lady Gaga.” 

Gaga, dressed like Bono in a black leather jacket and sunglasses, joined the rockers for three songs: the U2 classics “All I Want Is You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” as well as the A Star Is Born cut “Shallow.”

Gaga, who wrapped her Jazz & Piano Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM October 5, has been turning up a lot lately. Just last week, she was the surprise guest at The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds record release party. She also turned up as a spectator, checking out the U2 Sphere residency earlier this month. 

U2 recently added 11 more shows to their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere residency at The Venetian Resort. Their next concert is happening Friday, October 27, with shows now running until Sunday, February 18. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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The final song from The Beatles is almost here.

The band is set to release “Now and Then,” billed as “the last Beatles song,” on November 2 at 10 a.m. ET, with a video to follow on November 3. The track will be released as a double-A side single, paired with “Love Me Do,” the band’s 1962 debut single, putting their last and first singles together. 

The track features vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s. In 1994, his wife Yoko Ono gave the demo to surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, who used it to create “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which appeared on The Beatles Anthology project in the mid ’90s.

Then, in 2021 Peter Jackson, director of The Beatles: Get Back docuseries, used new technology to isolate Lennon’s “Now and Then” instruments and vocals with Paul and Ringo completing the song in 2022, using guitar parts Harrison recorded in 1995.

And fans will gain more insight into the making of the song with the 12-minute documentary, Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song, premiering November 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET on The Beatles YouTube channel.

“It’s quite emotional,” Paul says. “In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven’t heard, I think it’s an exciting thing.” 

Ringo adds, “It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room, so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you know.” 

The Beatles are also releasing 2023 Edition packages of two compilations, 1962-1966 (The Red Album) and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album), on November 10. Both versions are now mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos and will be released as four-CD and six-LP collections. They are available for preorder now.

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On October 26, 1973, The Who released what would become one of their most iconic albums: Quadrophenia.

The only Who album to be written entirely by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the band’s second full-length rock opera, following 1969’s Tommy.

The story, set in Brighton, England, in 1965, follows a young working-class mod named Jimmy on a journey of self-discovery. The album’s title was inspired by Jimmy’s four-way “split personality,” with each member of the band representing a different facet of that personality.

Featuring the future Who classics “The Real Me,” “Love Reign O’er Me” and “5:15,” Quadrophenia was a critical and commercial success, peaking at #2 in both the U.S. and the U.K., and going on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. In 2011, Townshend said he considers it to be the last truly great album The Who made.

Like Tommy, Quadrophenia inspired a film, but unlike Tommy, it was a drama, not a musical. Released in 1979 to critical acclaim and commercial success, it starred Phil Daniels as Jimmy, with The Police’s Sting as Ace Face.

In 1996, The Who performed Quadrophenia at a benefit show at London’s Hyde Park. Daniels served as the narrator, and guest stars included David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Gary Glitter and Stephen Fry. It marked Ringo Starr‘s son Zak Starkey‘s debut as the band’s drummer. A U.S. version of the tour featuring Billy Idol included a six-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 2010 The Who performed Quadrophenia at London’s Royal Albert Hall to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust, with guests including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. In 2012, the band toured Quadrophenia again, this time without guest stars; in 2017, Townshend toured with an orchestral version called Classic Quadrophenia.

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The asset management company HarbourView Equity Partners has made deals with the estate of the late Christine McVie, and Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo for the rights to their music.

Benatar and Giraldo made a deal that sees HarbourView acquiring a share of their recorded music and publishing for songs like “We Belong,” “Love is a Battlefield,” “Promises In The Dark,” “Heartbreaker” and more.

“We are overjoyed to welcome into our repertoire the iconic catalog of Pat and Neil. The works are cross generational, inspirational and a perfect complement to our portfolio,” HarbourView shares in a statement. “We are grateful to be stewards of this canon of work and look forward to partnering with Pat and Neil.”

The McVie deal includes the late singer/songwriter’s share of Fleetwood Mac record royalties. She wrote such popular Fleetwood Mac tunes as “Don’t Stop,” “Little Lies,” “Say You Love Me,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Don’t Stop” and “Songbird.”

“Christine’s remarkable talents played an integral role in shaping Fleetwood Mac’s sound,” HarbourView’s Sheresse Clarke Soares says. “Christine is a decorated and iconic legend in the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She is a global treasure. We hold her works with pride.”

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Grateful Dead fans are getting a chance to look back at the year that was with the just-released 2023 Grateful Dead Almanac. 

Started 31 years ago as a paper mailing to fans, the Almanac is now online, recounting all that went on in the Dead world in 2023, including the final tour of Dead & Company and what band members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh were up to. It also looks back at this year’s Jerry Garcia archival releases, the Here Comes Sunshine and Wake the Flood box sets, and more.

It also gives fans a preview of what is to come, including info on the upcoming Dave’s Picks Volume 49 and a tease about Volume 50. There’s also info on new merch and a whole lot more.

To read all about Grateful Dead’s year, check out the Almanac at dead.net.

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Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic and Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo are featured in an upcoming docuseries called Are Bass Players Human Too?, hosted by Rush‘s Geddy Lee.

The show will find Lee visiting the homes of and jamming with fellow bassists as he “dive[s] deep into their lives and their inspirations.”

Primus‘ Les Claypool and Hole‘s Melissa Auf der Maur are taking part, as well.

Are Bass Players Human Too? premieres December 5 on Paramount+. You can watch its trailer streaming now on YouTube.

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KISS is getting closer to saying goodbye to the road, and if you haven’t already snagged tickets to one of their End of the Road tour shows, now’s your chance. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have just launched a new charity sweepstakes in which the winner and a guest will win a VIP experience to KISS’ Indianapolis concert on Saturday, November 25. The prize comes with access to the crew pit, where they’ll watch the show; a preshow soundcheck; and a Q&A. After the show, the winner will get to hang with the band as they fly on their legendary KISS private jet to their next show.

The winner will also be the personal guest of the band’s manager, Doc McGhee, and get a photo with the band before they take the stage. They’ll also be able to take photos with the rockers’ instruments, get a signed KISS 2023 tour poster and have the opportunity to hang at the KISS Army Captain’s Lounge. 

To enter the contest, fans need to make a donation at fandiem.com; proceeds from the sweepstakes benefit Children of the Rainforest. More info can be found at fandiem.com.

KISS’ End of the Road tour hits St. Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday, October 25. They say goodbye to the road for good with shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden, December 1 and 2. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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