After a four-year legal battle, John Lennon received his Green Card, granting him permanent residency status in the United States.
The Beatles icon faced deportation due to his political activism and 1968 marijuana conviction, but in 1975, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the deportation order.
Lennon and wife Yoko Ono had been living in New York since 1971. He would have been eligible for U.S. citizenship in 1981, but was murdered outside his Manhattan apartment in 1980.
Pretenders have shared yet another track from their upcoming album Relentless, which drops September 15. The latest is the single “A Love,” which frontwoman Chrissie Hynde describes as “the most traditionally Pretenders-sounding song on the album.”
“I often see love/relationships almost in the same vein as drug addiction,” she says of the song’s subject matter. “Although, having said that, I know I am jaded and cynical…”
The band has also dropped a video for the track, featuring performance footage from their recent U.K. club tour.
Pretenders are set to open for Guns N’ Roses on their North American tour, which kicks off August 11 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They also recently announced a short club tour, which starts August 16 at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. That tour sold out immediately. A complete list of all Pretenders dates can be found at thepretenders.com.
The Who’s support of their one young artist has now brought in a hefty donation for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.
A post on their website details how paintings created on an iPad by bass player Jon Button’s 9-year-old son, Kezlowe Button, became a big hit with fans after they were posted onlinelast Christmas. When the band brought their The Who Hits Back U.K. tour to Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle in early July, Kezlowe sent them a new painting of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey surrounded by bagpipes. One fan loved the new painting so much that he wanted it for himself.
John Chamley reached out to The Who to see if he could purchase the painting in exchange for a $650 donation to the charity, which is near and dear to the band, and they agreed. They mounted a digital print of the painting on a canvas, and Pete and Roger even autographed it for Chamley.
Teenage Cancer Trust, founded in 1990, seeks to improve the cancer experience for young people. Daltrey is as patron of the charity.
Megadeth‘s Dave Mustaine has given a positive update on his ever-shifting relationship with his former Metallica bandmates.
Mustaine, of course, was Metallica’s original lead guitarist before he was infamously fired from the band in 1983. Frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich then replaced him with Kirk Hammett, who’s remained in Metallica ever since.
“It took a while for James and Lars and I to kind of come around and become friends again,” Mustaine tells Consequence. “But I would say we’re probably better off now than we’ve been for a long time.”
Mustaine’s comments may be surprising, at it seemed that he was reigniting the rivalry in recent months. In a February Guitar World interview, Mustaine suggested that Metallica was “afraid” of playing shows with Megadeth.
“It comes and goes,” Mustaine says of the relationship. “I think the emotions between all of us, it’s probably understandable for a lot of people who break up with someone, it’s like a marriage and you part ways and sometimes you try and justify in your head the decision that you make. And sometimes the facts are all you need, and other times you feel compelled to kinda tell the story and you don’t really need to.”
“I just look at that whole period with Metallica as something that was really great for me,” he adds. “And I wish them the best.”
If Van Halen fans were hoping there’s some previously unreleased music that may at some point see the light of day, they’re likely going to be disappointed.
In an interview with AllMusic to promote the new Mammoth WVH record Mammoth II, dropping August 4, Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, doesn’t sound too optimistic about there being anything worth releasing from his dad’s musical vault.
“As far as that, Al is certainly the decision maker in that process,” he says, referring to Van Halen drummer AlexVan Halen, Eddie’s older brother. “I’m just kind of there to help him decide and help what he wants to go through – as sort of being the person in place of my father, in his absence.”
“But when it comes to that, I know my dad was vocal of that in the past, he released everything he wanted to release,” Wolfgang continues. “So, when it comes to stuff that hit the cutting room floor, that would certainly have to be a serious conversation to have – if anything is actually worth releasing.”
Finally he offers, “So, we’ll just have to see. I certainly wouldn’t hold your breath.”
Eddie Van Halen passed away in October 2020. The band’s last studio album, A Different Kind of Truth, which featured original frontman David Lee Roth, was released in February 2012.
Dolly Parton has just released the video for her cover of the Queen classic “We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You,” and sports fans will likely be seeing a lot of it in the coming year.
The video is a celebration of athletes and will be used to help NBCUniversal promote the Paris Olympic Games, which kick off July 26, 2024.
The clip features footage Olympic superstars like Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, NoahLyles, Katie Ledecky,the U.S. women’s soccer team and more. It starts with Dolly performing in an empty stadium and in front of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to next year’s games. In the end, the stadium gets filled by people who help her with Queen’s legendary “We Will Rock You” chant.
For Dolly, teaming to help promote the Olympics makes sense because she’s a big fan of the games.
“I love the Olympics! I do my best to plan my schedule to watch as much of it as I possibly can,” Dolly shares. “I laugh, I cry, I scream, there are no losers in the Olympics as they have all spent a lifetime preparing but I celebrate with the ones that go away with the gold, silver, and bronze medals.”
“We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You” is the latest single off Dolly’s upcoming album Rockstar, which drops November 17. It features Dolly collaborating with a whole host of A-list artists, including The Beatles‘ PaulMcCartney and Ringo Starr, Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Elton John and more.
Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin has a new label and a new record. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just signed with InsideOutMusic, which will release his new album, Rio, on October 6.
Rio is Rabin’s first solo album of vocal material in 34 years, his last being 1989’s Can’t Look Away. He hasn’t been completely away from music, however. He’s spent much of his time writing movie soundtracks and working on such films as Con Air, Remember the Titans, Enemy of the State, National Treasure and more.
“Over the past ten years I was having ideas, concepts that I couldn’t implement due to my busy schedule,” Rabin says of the delay since his last record. “To be honest, those years flew by in a flurry. I knew that this was the time, and once I found my momentum I worked on the album 24/7.”
Rio, named after Rabin’s granddaughter, will be available for preorder starting August 4.
Mick Jagger officially became an octogenarian on July 26, and he received lots of birthday wishes from his famous friends.
The day started with TheRolling Stones‘ social media accounts sharing a tribute video to Mick, set to the Stones track “You Got Me Rocking.” “It’s a special day today! Join us in wishing @mickjagger a very happy 80th birthday!!” they captioned the post. “Keep on rockin’ Mick!”
The now 80-year-old also received lots of well wishes from his bandmates.
Keith Richardsshared a video of him sitting behind a piano with the message, “Happy Birthday, Mick. Long may we keep saying this to each other, Happy 80th!”
Even the late Charlie Watts‘ social media account sent birthday wishes to Mick, sharing photos of Mick and Charlie over the years, with the caption, “Wishing @mickjagger a very happy birthday!”
Mick also took to social media to acknowledge his big day, sharing a photo of himself in a shiny maroon suit. “Thanks so much for all your lovely comments and birthday wishes!!” he wrote. That birthday post garnered comments from the likes of Christie Brinkley, Sean Ono Lennon, Lenny Kravitz, Bebe Buell and more.
The Metallica Scholars program is coming back for a fifth year.
The initiative, which the metal legends launched in 2019 through their All Within My Hands charity foundation, supports workforce education for community college students.
In year five, Metallica is welcoming 11 new schools to the program, each of which will receive $100,000. They join the 31 returning Metallica Scholars colleges from previous years.
“The Metallica Scholars initiative is so important to us because we are seeing results,” says drummer Lars Ulrich. “Five years in, with the help of community colleges across the country, we are helping people fill these essential jobs which require skills and training. We are so proud and grateful that we can facilitate this program.”
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has released the new song “I Saw God on 10th Street,” the second single from his upcoming solo album, Lighthouse, which drops October 20.
“I picture him as an old guy with white beard and hair, leaning up against a wall on a city street,” says Duff about his view of God. “The ultimate jurist of us all. Pissed off, squinting eyes to ward off what he sees, spitting frequently with no care for who may be around. The Creator. God. Allah, Shiva…or whomever.”
He adds, “I think I see him sometimes over on 10th St., hands in tight fists, and toes curled up and tense.”
You can listen to “I Saw God on 10th Street” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming on YouTube.
Lighthouse, McKagan’s first solo release since 2019’s Tenderness, features 11 tracks, with guest appearances by his GN’R bandmate Slash,Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell and Iggy Pop. It is available for preorder now.
