Classic Rock News

Phil Mogg, founding lead singer of the veteran U.K. hard-rock band UFO, suffered a heart attack last week, forcing the group to cancel its final series of farewell tour dates, which were scheduled for October in Europe.

A message posted Friday on UFO’s official website announced the news, and added that Mogg “has had an operation placing stents into two arteries.”

Mogg, 74, also issued a statement that reads, “I have just got back from my doctors, and obviously asked amongst other things my resuming work, playing, touring, etc. She said most definitely not, unless you want another heart attack. So there it is, I have to go on a rehabilitation program which starts in about six weeks and lasts for six weeks. Three months more or less. I certainly didn’t want to bow out in this fashion, as I am sure you chaps didn’t.”

The band adds, “At this point in time it is absolutely unclear whether or not the dates will [be] postponed into 2023. Most important now is that Phil recovers fully. Let’s see what the future will bring. Sorry for the bad news, but it is what it is. It was a pleasure working with you all, and if we don’t meet again (for obvious reasons) I wish you all the best.”

UFO launched its farewell tour in June. The band’s final shows had been scheduled to run from an October 15 concert in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium through an October 29 performance in Athens, Greece.

Mogg co-founded UFO in 1968. The band’s most successful album in the U.S. was 1977’s Lights Out, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard 200. Their most recent studio album was the 2017 covers collection The Salentino Cuts.

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The Who‘s 10th studio album, It’s Hard, was released 40 years ago this Sunday — September 4, 1982. The album was the British rock legends’ final studio effort to feature their founding bassist, John Entwistle, and their second and last recorded with ex-Faces/Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones, who replaced Keith Moon after Moon’s 1978 death.

It’s Hard peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the hit single “Athena,” which reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the enduring tune “Eminence Front.” “Athena” and “Eminence Front” also ascended to #3 and #5, respectively, on Billboard‘s rock-radio airplay chart.

It’s Hard was produced by Glyn Johns and was recorded at his Turn Up-Down Studio in Surrey, U.K. It has gone on to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 in the U.S, and features the song “Eminence Front,” which has been used in commercials, in TV shows and at sporting events.

The Who supported It’s Hard with a major trek that the band had planned to be its farewell tour. The outing included the famous concert at New York’s Shea Stadium that featured The Clash as one of the opening acts.

This past June, an expanded 40th-anniversary edition of It’s Hard was released as a limited-edition two-LP vinyl set as part of this year’s Record Store Day event. The release featured bonus tracks and one orange and one yellow LP.

Here’s the full original track list of It’s Hard:

“Athena”
“It’s Your Turn”
“Cooks County”
“It’s Hard”
“Dangerous”
“Eminence Front”
“I’ve Known No War”
“One Life’s Enough”
“One at a Time”
“Why Did I Fall for That?”
“A Man Is a Man”
“Cry If You Want”

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Ozzy Osbourne is going from “Iron Man” to the gridiron.

The Prince of Darkness will be performing during halftime of the NFL’s upcoming 2022 season opener between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills.

The game will take place Thursday, September 8, at LA’s SoFi Stadium, where the Rams won Super Bowl LVI earlier this year. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET.

According to a press release, Ozzy’s halftime set will feature a “multi-song medley” for the fans attending in person, a “portion” of which will air during the broadcast on NBC.

Ozzy will release his new solo album, Patient Number 9, on September 9.

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Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine turns 80 this Saturday, September 3, and just a day before his milestone birthday, a newly remastered version of his 2010 solo album, A Postcard from California, has been released via digital formats.

This marks the first time the star-studded collection has been made available via streaming services.

A Postcard from California features an impressive cast of guest artists, including Jardine’s fellow Beach Boys, Steve Miller, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, America‘s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, and Glen Campbell.

Jardine wrote or co-wrote over half of the tracks on the album, which also features updated renditions of The Beach Boys’ hits and of the Mamas and the Papas classic “California Dreamin’.”

The digital reissue includes two bonus tracks. The first is a previously unreleased extended version of “Waves of Love,” which features one of the last recorded studio vocal performances by late Beach Boys co-founder Carl Wilson. The second is “Sloop John B (A Pirate’s Tale),” Jardine’s reworked version of the popular folk tune “Sloop John B,” which was originally released in 2005 alongside Al’s children’s book of the same name.

Miller contributes to an updated version of “Help Me Rhonda,” the chart-topping 1965 Beach Boys hit featuring Jardine’s lead vocals. Crosby, Stills and Young all appear on Jardine’s rendition of “A California Saga.” Campbell, who was a touring member of The Beach Boys during the mid-1960s, lends his vocal talents to the title track and the “California Dreamin'” cover.

“I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since Postcard came out and I thank everyone involved in the production and creation of this album to help me get my songs out there,” says Jardine.

Here’s the reissue’s full track list:

“A Postcard from California” — featuring Glen Campbell
“California Feelin'”
“Lookin’ Down the Coast”
“Don’t Fight the Sea” — featuring The Beach Boys
“Tidepool Interlude” — featuring Alec Baldwin
“Campfire Scene” — featuring Neil Young
“A California Saga” — featuring Neil Young, David Crosby & Stephen Stills
“Help Me, Rhonda” — featuring Steve Miller
“San Simeon” — featuring America
“Drivin'” — featuring Brian Wilson & David Marks
“Honkin’ Down the Highway” — featuring Brian Wilson
“California Dreamin'” — featuring Glen Campbell
“And I Always Will”

Special Bonus Tracks
“Waves of Love” — featuring Carl Wilson
“Sloop John B (A Pirate’s Tale)”

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Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett‘s latest concert album and video, Genesis Revisited Live: Seconds Out & More, documenting a 2021 performance from his tour of the same name, got its release today.

The collection captures a September 2021 show in Manchester, England, that featured Hackett and his current backing band performing Genesis’ 1977 album Seconds Out in its entirety. It also features some select solo tunes, including two from 2021’s Surrender of Silence.

Genesis Revisited Live: Seconds Out & More is available as a two-CD/Blu-ray set, a two-CD/DVD package and via digital formats. A four-LP/two-CD version of the release will follow on November 25.

The versions featuring the Blu-ray and DVD boast 5.1 surround sound, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary and promotional videos.

Coinciding with Genesis Revisited Live‘s release, a video clip from the film featuring a performance of the 1974 Genesis song “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” has debuted on Hackett’s official YouTube channel.

In other news, Hackett and his solo band will launch a new Genesis-themed tour, “Foxtrot at Fifty,” with a series of U.K. shows running from September 9 through October 12. The trek also will visit Italy in mid-November. Hackett and company also have plans to return to North America in late November to play some rescheduled dates for postponed shows on their “Genesis Revisited: Seconds Out & More” tour. Visit HackettSongs.com to check out Steve’s full itinerary.

Here’s the full Genesis Revisited Live: Seconds Out & More track list:

“Apollo Intro”
“Clocks — The Angel of Mons”
“Held in the Shadows”
“Every Day”
“The Devil’s Cathedral”
“Shadow of the Hierophant”
“Squonk”
“The Carpet Crawlers”
“Robbery, Assault and Battery”
“Afterglow”
“Firth of Fifth”
“I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”
“The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
“Musical Box (Closing Section)”
“Supper’s Ready”
“The Cinema Show”
“Aisle of Plenty”
“Dance on a Volcano”
“Los Endos”

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Creedence Clearwater Revival has made available the band’s performance of its classic 1969 breakthrough hit “Proud Mary” at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s been released as an advanced digital track from the upcoming archival live album.

Titled Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, the album will be released on September 16 and features the band’s 12-song set from their concert at the famous London venue on April 14, 1970.

A video of the “Proud Mary” performance has also debuted on the band’s official YouTube channel and will appear in the upcoming documentary and concert movie Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall.

Travelin’ Band, which is narrated by Jeff Bridges, features previously unseen film of CCR’s entire performance, as well as rare behind-the-scenes clips of the band and archival interviews. The film will premiere internationally on September 16.

“Proud Mary,” which is perhaps Creedence’s most famous song, was the band’s first single to break into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #2 in March of ’69.

Last month, CCR released the performance of their classic song “Fortunate Son” on YouTube.

The group’s live album, which can be preordered now, will be available on CD, cassette, 180-gram vinyl and via various digital formats.

Meanwhile, a super deluxe box set will be released on November 14 that includes a Blu-ray of the Travelin’ Band film, two-LP 45-rpm versions of the live album and a bonus CD containing other music that’s featured in the movie.

Here’s the Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall album’s full track list:

“Born on the Bayou”
“Green River”
“Tombstone Shadow”
“Travelin’ Band”
“Fortunate Son”
“Commotion”
“Midnight Special”
“Bad Moon Rising”
“Proud Mary”
“The Night Time Is the Right Time”
“Good Golly Miss Molly”
“Keep On Chooglin'”

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A long-lost promo video that Motörhead had filmed to promote their 1982 album, Iron Fist, and its supporting tour has finally been officially released.

The unearthed clip shows the “Ace of Spades” trio — frontman Lemmy, guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor — dressed as medieval knights searching for the mythical Iron Fist weapon.

Forty years later, you can now watch the video, soundtracked by the previously unreleased instrumental demo “Ripsaw Teardown,” streaming on YouTube.

Iron Fist was the follow-up to 1980’s Ace of Spades and would be the final Motörhead album to feature the band’s classic lineup of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor.

As previously reported, Iron Fist is being reissued on September 23 in honor of its 40th anniversary. The deluxe collection features a variety of bonus tracks, including demos, alternate versions, instrumentals and live recordings.

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Megadeth has premiered the video for “The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!” — the title track off the band’s brand-new album.

The clip is the final installment in a trilogy telling the origin story of Megadeth’s Vic Rattlehead mascot. Previous videos in the series accompany the songs “We’ll Be Back” and “Night Stalkers” featuring Ice-T.

You can watch the video for “The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!” on YouTube.

The album The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! is out now. It’s Megadeth’s 16th studio effort and first since 2016’s Dystopia.

Megadeth is currently on tour in support of The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! alongside Five Finger Death Punch, The Hu and Fire from the Gods. The outing continues Friday in The Woodlands, Texas.

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The Osbourne family’s return to the U.K. has inspired a new BBC reality series.

The 10-part show, titled Home to Roost, will follow Ozzy and Sharon‘s life as they move back to their home country after decades of living in Los Angeles.

“Home to Roost will document Ozzy and Sharon’s journey back to Britain, alongside [children] Kelly and Jack‘s efforts to support them, as they attempt to re-start their lives in rural Buckinghamshire,” a press release reads. “The series will follow the Osbournes as they celebrate one of their most important years yet — with everything from Sharon’s 70th birthday to Kelly’s soon-to-be-born baby, Ozzy’s tour, and of course the big move itself.”

The Osbournes, of course, are no strangers to reality TV. The family famously starred in the MTV show The Osbournes, which aired from 2002 to 2005, and various members also have also been featured in other reality series.

Meanwhile, Ozzy is slated to release a new solo album, Patient Number 9, on September 9. He’s also set to launch a European tour in 2023, which has long been delayed due to Ozzy’s variety of health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The first of two tribute concerts honoring late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins takes place Saturday at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The star-studded event, which will feature a towering roster of guests performing alongside Foo members Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee, is set to stream live via Paramount+ and MTV’s YouTube channel beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.

An hour-long version of the concert will also air as a special on CBS on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. MTV will also air a two-hour special later in September.

The many artists joining the Foos in London for the tribute include AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson, Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, the Joe Walsh-fronted James Gang, The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic, ex-Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and Wolfgang Van Halen.

Grohl’s daughter Violet and Hawkins’ son Shane are also on the bill, as is Taylor’s cover band Chevy Metal.

You can view a full list of participants at TaylorHawkinsTributeConcert.com, which also features personal messages from a number of the guest artists sharing their memories of Hawkins and what it means for them to be performing in his honor.

Hawkins died on March 25 at age 50. The second tribute concert will be held at Kia Forum near Los Angeles on September 27.

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