Classic Rock News

After The Zombies canceled two shows in Ontario, Canada, this week because founding singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent contracted COVID-19, the band launches the second leg of its 2022 Life Is a Merry-Go-Round Tour tonight in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Interestingly, Blunstone also celebrates his 77th birthday today.

The North American summer trek features 26 shows, and is mapped out through a three-night stand, July 28-30, in Park City, Utah.

Fans who attend the shows can expect the British Invasion group to perform their classic hits, some deeper cuts from their 1960s heyday and a few brand-new tunes that will be featured on the band’s upcoming studio album, which is expected to be released in the coming months.

Argent tells ABC Audio that it’s very important for the band to continue to make new music and to include fresh material in their concerts. He also notes that in general, Zombies fans have been reacting very positively to the new songs that the group has been performing.

“Obviously, if we play ‘Time of the Season,’ the place erupts,” Argent explains. “But…[when we play a] new song after that, [while the reaction isn’t] quite as amazing as we get after ‘Time of the Season’…it’s a really, really significant reaction…So people embrace that as well.”

One of the new tunes The Zombies are playing is “Merry-Go-Round,” which is the song that the tour is named after. Argent says “Merry-Go-Round” was one of the first tracks that the band recorded for the upcoming album, and he feels that it could be chosen as a single.

You can check out The Zombies’ full schedule at TheZombiesMusic.com. No word yet if the canceled Ontario shows will be rescheduled.

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Ozzy Osbourne has premiered a new solo song called “Patient Number 9.”

The track, which features guitar icon Jeff Beck, is available now via digital outlets. An accompanying video, directed by famed comic book artist Todd McFarlane, is set to premiere Friday at 10 a.m. ET on YouTube.

“Patient Number 9” is the first preview off Ozzy’s next solo album, also titled Patient Number 9, the follow-up to 2020’s Ordinary Man. Beck is one of the many guests to be featured on the upcoming record, along with Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde and Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo.

Patient Number 9, the album, is due out September 9. 

The new song arrives amid a rough couple of health months for Ozzy, who tested positive for COVID-19 in April and underwent surgery earlier in June. The 73-year-old rocker has since returned home from the hospital and is “recuperating comfortably.”

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The 13th annual Global Beatles Day will be observed on Saturday, June 25.

The event, which was founded in 2009 by an Indianapolis-based Beatles fan named Faith Cohen, was established to honor the music and ideals of the Fab Four’s members and their many contributions to the world’s culture, including their promotion of peace and love.

June 25 was chosen as the date of the annual event because that was the day in 1967 that The Beatles’ performance of “All You Need Is Love” was part of Our World, a famous satellite broadcast that aired around the world.

This year, in addition to generally celebrating the band on June 25, Cohen is asking people to send a link to a video of the 1967 “All You Need Is Love” performance, which can be found at DailyMotion.com, to “10 people who matter” as a way to spread the message of peace and love around the world.

“This could be to family, friends and coworkers or elected officials,” Cohen says. “It could be kings, queens, princes, presidents, ambassadors, military leaders and law enforcement organizations.”

She adds, “We want them to send links to 10 people or organizations that matter in running our world and keeping it going. Then we want them to ask those 10 entities to send it on to 10 more and ask them to do the same. On and on … Send the link to those in power, from the local to global level, who keep the world running.”

You also can check out Cohen’s general suggestions for 10 ways you can celebrate Global Beatles Day at the event’s official site.

Interestingly, Paul McCartney‘s headlining set at England’s Glastonbury Festival coincides with the 2022 Global Beatles Day.

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Paul McCartney turned 80 on Saturday, June 18, but the former Beatles star has even more to celebrate: He recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in total grosses over the last 30-plus years as a solo touring act, according to Billboard.

In addition, Sir Paul landed at #1 on Billboard‘s Top Tours chart for May, according to data reported to Billboard Boxscore from nine concerts that McCartney played last month as part of his Got Back Tour. His tour brought in $52.4 million and sold 206,000 tickets.

Macca’s full U.S. trek featured 15 dates, running from an April 28 show in Spokane, Washington, through a June 16 performance in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The outing grossed $101.7 million with 416,000 tickets sold.

After his May 31 concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, McCartney’s reported total career grosses increased to more than $1 billion. Paul becomes just the 11th artist to reach the $1 billion mark in the 30-plus-year history of the Billboard Boxscore.

Meanwhile, McCartney’s May 13 show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, brought in over $12 million alone, making it the second-highest-grossing concert event last month, according to Billboard‘s Top Boxscores. In addition, the rock legend’s May 28 show in Orlando, Florida, landed at #6 on the list, while his May 2-3 stand in Seattle was at #8; his May 6 and 8 engagement in Oakland, California, was at #9; and his May 21 show in Charlotte, North Carolina, was at #10.

In other news, McCartney just announced that he’ll be playing an intimate show on Friday, June 24, at the Cheese & Grain venue in Frome, England, as a warm-up gig for his headlining performance Saturday at England’s famed Glastonbury Festival.

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Details have been unveiled for the second annual Monsters on the Mountain festival, a three-day hard-rock extravaganza that will take place August 19-21 at The Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Set in the scenic Great Smoky Mountains, the event will feature over 30 performers, including Night Ranger, Quiet Riot, Cinderella‘s Tom Keifer, Queensrÿche, Ratt‘s Stephen Pearcy, Kip Winger, Autograph, Extreme, Stryper, Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Mötley Crüe frontman John Corabi, Enuff Z’Nuff, KIX, Firehouse, Nelson, Vixen and Pat Travers.

In addition to the performances, Monsters on the Mountain will offer a variety of interactive events and activities, including photo opportunities with the performers, a rock ‘n’ roll merchandise vendor market and a rock-themed art gallery.

Tickets for the festival are available now, with three-day packages starting at $349 per person, and single-day tickets starting at $175 for August 19 and 20, and at $155 for August 21.

For more information, visit MonstersontheMountain.com.

The Monsters on the Mountain festival is organized by the same people who bring you the Monsters of Rock Cruise, the next installment of which is scheduled to set sail in April 2023.

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Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine briefly speaks on founding bassist David Ellefson‘s departure from the band in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Ellefson, who formed Megadeth with Mustaine in 1983, was fired from the group in May 2021 after sexually explicit videos of him leaked online. Since the tweet announcing Ellefson’s departure, Mustaine has not publicly commented much on the situation, aside from revealing that Ellefson’s bass parts on the new Megadeth album would be re-recorded by someone else.

Speaking now with Rolling Stone, Mustaine shares, “With everything that had taken place over the past, 10, 20 years with my relationship with our past bass player, it just became time to…it’s so uncomfortable for me to talk about.”

Ellefson was previously absent from Megadeth when Mustaine reformed the band in 2004, which led to a legal battle between the two. He eventually rejoined the group in 2010.

When Ellefson was fired last year, he alluded to an “already strained relationship” between him and his now-former bandmate.

“It was hard on me letting him go,” Mustaine now says, adding “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”

Megadeth’s new album The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! will be released September 2. The parts that Ellefson had already recorded for the album were replaced by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Megadeth has since recruited returning member James LoMenzo to be the band’s official new bassist.

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Jeff Beck has released a new instrumental version of the 1966 Beach Boys gem “Caroline, No” as the latest advance track from 18, his upcoming collaborative album with actor/rocker Johnny Depp, which is due out digitally and on CD July 15.

The track is available now via digital formats, while a companion music video featuring footage of Beck playing the song live in concert has debuted on his official YouTube channel.

“Caroline, No” was the final song that appeared on The Beach Boys’ lauded 1966 album, Pet Sounds.

“That entire album was great support for me in horrible times,” Beck notes. “I’d left the Yardbirds and regretted it because I had nothing. I was back living with my mum and dad. I thought, right, I’m not going sit around doing nothing. So, I bought a stereo and Pet Sounds, and I was just riveted to the spot. I remember it was a great big cure from losing the Yardbirds, having Jimi Hendrix stomp all over things, and losing my girlfriend. All that happened in what seemed like the same day.”

“Caroline, No” is the fourth track released in advance from 18 following a cover of John Lennon‘s “Isolation,” the Depp original “This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr” and a rendition of The Velvet Underground‘s “Venus in Furs.”

As previously reported, 18, which can be preordered now, is a 13-track collection that features two songs written by Depp alongside 11 covers, including tunes by The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Everly Brothers and the aforementioned Lennon, Beach Boys and Velvet Underground.

Beck is currently on tour in Europe, and Depp has been joining him as a special guest at each stop of the trek.

Here’s the full 18 track list:

“Midnight Walker” (Davy Spillane cover)
“Death and Resurrection Show” (Killing Joke cover)
“Time” (Dennis Wilson cover)
“Sad Motherf***in’ Parade” (Johnny Depp original)
“Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” (Beach Boys cover)
“This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr” (Johnny Depp original)
“Caroline, No” (Beach Boys cover)
“Ooo Baby Baby” (The Miracles cover)
“What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye cover)
“Venus in Furs” (The Velvet Underground cover)
“Let It Be Me” (The Everly Brothers cover)
“Stars” (Janis Ian cover)
“Isolation” (John Lennon cover)*

* = on digital and CD version only.

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Pink Floyd has announced plans to release a physical version of its new song “Hey Hey Rise Up,” which the band recorded with singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox and first made available as a digital single in April.

“Hey Hey Rise Up” now will be released on CD and as a seven-inch vinyl single on July 15 in the U.K. and most other countries, while it won’t be available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australia in those formats until October 21, and in Japan until August 3.

The CD and vinyl single also will include a second track, a newly reworked version of the 1994 Pink Floyd song “A Great Day for Freedom,” which originally appeared on the band’s 1994 album The Division Bell.

As previously reported, “Hey Hey Rise Up” was recorded in late March and uses vocals taken from an Instagram post showing Andriy singing the Ukrainian protest song “The Red Viburnum in the Meadow” while standing in Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square. The song, which was written during World War I, has become an anthem in Ukraine protesting Russia’s invasion of the country.

The track also features Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, along with keyboardist Nitin Sawhney and longtime Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt. A music video for the song accompanied its release in April.

For the updated version of “A Great Day for Freedom,” Gilmour reworked the track using the original tapes, which also feature Mason and late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, along with backing vocalists Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine and Durga McBroom.

You can preorder the CD and vinyl single now. Proceeds raised by the discs and the digital version of “Hey Hey Rise Up” will benefit Ukraine humanitarian relief efforts.

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Megadeth‘s upcoming album, The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, finally has a release date.

The long-in-the-works follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia is set to arrive September 2. The first single, titled “We’ll Be Back,” is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a short film streaming now on YouTube.

“For the first time in a long time, everything that we needed on this record is right in its place,” says frontman Dave Mustaine. “I can’t wait for the public to get hold of this!”

The Sick is Megadeth’s 16th studio effort and their first since founding bassist David Ellefson was let go from the band last year after a sexually explicit video of him leaked online. The parts that Ellefson had already recorded for the album were replaced by frequent session bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Megadeth has since recruited returning member James LoMenzo to be the band’s official new bassist.

Megadeth will hit the road ahead of The Sick‘s arrival in August on a U.S. tour with Five Finger Death Punch.

Here’s the track list for The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, which also features collaborations with Sammy Hagar and Ice-T:

“The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!”
“Life in Hell”
“Night Stalkers” feat. Ice-T
“Dogs of Chernobyl”
“Sacrifice”
“Junkie”
“Psychopathy”
“Killing Time”
“Soldier On!”
“Célebutante”
“Mission to Mars”
“We’ll Be Back”
“Police Truck”
“The Planet’s on Fire (Burn in Hell)” feat. Sammy Hagar

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A new four-part docuseries called Women Who Rock that focuses on female singers and musicians who have made a significant impact on the music world since the 1950s will premiere July 10 on EPIX.

The show will feature new interviews with Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth, The B-52s‘ Kate Pierson, Sheryl Crow and many more reflecting on the musical contributions they and other female artists have made.

The series will showcase the artists sharing insights and stories behind their music, as well as discussing such topics as power, fame, truth and the struggle to achieve success.

The premiere episode, titled “Truth,” will look at the roots of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s and ’60s with profiles of Mavis Staples, Chaka Khan and the late Janis Joplin, plus commentary from Weymouth, Pierson, Norah Jones, Rickie Lee Jones, Merry Clayton and others.

Episode two, titled “Defiance,” which premieres on July 17, will focus on the 1970s and such artists as Wilson, Jett, Blondie‘s Debbie Harry, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks and Carole King.

The third episode, dubbed “Power,” debuts on July 24, and delves into the artists who emerged during the 1980s and ’90s, among them Benatar, Sheila E., Natalie Merchant, Crow, Missy Elliott, Courtney Love, Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette.

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