Classic Rock News

A new Queen photo exhibit is set to open in London this week.

Queen Will Rock You in 3D will open at London’s Proud Galleries on June 2 to coincide with the return of the band’s musical We Will Rock You, playing at the London Coliseum.

The exhibit, which runs through September 23, tells the band’s history using photos taken by guitarist Brian May with his own stereoscopic (3D) camera lenses.

The exhibit features photos taken onstage, on the road and more, some of which are being shared with the public for the first time. Many of them show the rarely seen private side of the band’s late frontman, Freddie Mercury, as viewed by his close friend and bandmate May. It also features fan-shot footage of the current Queen lineup with Adam Lambert, as well as the musical.

Tickets for the exhibit are on sale now. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dire Straits fans are going to have a chance to enjoy their music live this fall.

DSL Dire Straits Legacy has announced a new tour that will kick off in September. DSL is made up of original Dire Straits band member Alan Clark; former Dire Straits musicians Danny Cummings, Mel Collins, Phil Palmer and Jack Sonni; and Italian musicians Marco Caviglia, Primiano Di Biase and Cristiano Micalizzi.

Clark shares, “We do this, we play the music of Dire Straits because we love it … and we made it!”

The tour is set to launch in Snoqualmie, Washington, on September 15, with dates confirmed through September 30 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at dslegacy.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bruce Springsteen has more energy than most 73-year-olds, but even he shows his age now and again.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is currently touring Europe with The E Street Band and, in case you missed it, a now viral video on TikTok shows him taking a stumble onstage at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam over the weekend.

The Boss was performing the Letters To You track “Ghosts” when he missed a step coming back from the audience, but he wasn’t down for long. While he laid on his back for a few seconds, guitarist Nils Lofgren took his guitar away while members of the crew helped him back on his feet.

Bruce was quick to joke “Good night, everybody,” although the show did go on. In fact, he treated the crowd to a 29-song set that featured such hits as “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Thunder Road” and more.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s tour continues in June, with the next show scheduled for June 11 in Landgraaf, Netherlands. A complete list of tour dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Extreme is set to drop their sixth studio album, aptly titled Six, on June 9, and now they’ve just shared another track from the record.

The latest single is “Other Side of the Rainbow,” the fourth song they’ve released from the album, following “Rise,” “Banshee” and “#REBEL.”

“Every once in a while, we’ll harness some kind of magic, and I think we did on this one,” frontman Gary Cherone says. “It’s a universal theme. It’s about restoring someone’s faith in love…we feel that it’s the perfect marriage of lyrics and melody.”

Six is available for preorder now.

Extreme is set to launch a U.S. tour in support of Six beginning August 2 in Portland, Maine. Living Colour will also be on the bill. A complete list of dates can be found at extreme-band.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An apology note The Beatles wrote to a schoolgirl back in 1963 has sold at auction in London. 

According to The Mail, the band wrote the letter to a young girl named Diana after canceling a visit to see her on the Isle of Wight.  

Diana’s aunt worked for Paul McCartney’s cousin Bette Robbins; the band had planned to visit Robbins after their April 1963 show in Southsea, Portsmouth, and Diana was supposed to get to meet them. Unfortunately, the band had to cancel to return to London for some TV and radio appearances.

But The Beatles made it up to her with an apology note signed by all four members on a Parlophone publicity card, with Paul adding, “To Diana, lots of love, from The Beatles. Sorry we couldn’t be there to see you!”

And that apology proved profitable. After holding onto it for almost 60 years, it was recently sold at auction at London’s Bonhams auction house, where it went for over $14,000.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters are used to playing stadiums and arenas, but they returned to the club Tuesday night to help open the new Washington, D.C., venue The Atlantis, a replica of the city’s 9:30 Club.  

Consequence reports the band treated the crowd of about 450 to a two-hour, 22-song set that opened with a hardcore reunion of Dave Grohl and his Scream bandmate Pete Stahl covering Bad Brains’ “At The Atlantis.”

The rest of the set included such Foo classics as “This Is A Call,” “My Hero,” “Best of You” and “Everlong,” along with a performance of The Colour and the Shape track “New Way Home” for the first time since 2011. The show also featured Grohl’s daughter Violet Grohl on “Shame Shame” and “Rope” and 9:30 Club owner Seth Hurwitz on drums for “Big Me.”

And the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, was once again remembered during the show, with Grohl dedicating “Aurora” to him. He also thanked their fans for helping them carry on following Hawkins’ death in March 2022.

Foo Fighters are headed overseas for their next set of shows. They play Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park in Germany on June 2 and 4, respectively. They return to the States June 14 for a show in Rogers, Arkansas. A complete list of dates can be found at foofighters.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

KISS has added one more show to their End of the Road Tour. The rockers just announced they’re headed to the Middle East, headlining a one-night-only show on Friday, October 13, at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.

A KISS fan presale will kick off June 5 at 10 a.m. GST, with a general on-sale happening Tuesday, June 6, at 10 a.m. GST. More information about tickets can be found at coca-cola-arena.com. 

KISS kicks off the U.K./European leg of their End of the Road Tour on June 5 in Birmingham, England. The tour is set to wrap for good on December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A complete list of KISS dates can be found at kissonline.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, May 31, 1948…

John Bonham was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England.

In 1968 he joined Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bass player John Paul Jones to form Led Zeppelin, which went on to become one of the most legendary rock bands of all time.

They released their self-titled debut album in 1969, and went on to release eight studio albums, featuring such classic tunes as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Kashmir,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Good Times Bad Times” and more.

Bonham was a member of Led Zeppelin until his death on September 25, 1980 at the age of 32. Led Zeppelin disbanded following his death, although the remaining members did reunite a few times, the last time in 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert at the O2 Arena in London, with Bonham’s son Jason Bonham, behind the drum kit.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Guns N’ Roses is heading out on their 2023 World Tour next week and they’ve lined up a diverse group of artists to join them on their North American leg.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced the support acts joining them on the tour, including The Pretenders, Alice in Chains, The Warning, Dirty Honey and country star Carrie Underwood on select dates.

The World Tour is set to kick off June 5 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and hits North America on August 8 in Moncton, Canada. The first U.S. show happens August 11 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  

And the North American leg just got bigger, with two just added shows – August 18 in Pittsburgh and October 14 in Seattle. The general on sale for Pittsburgh is happening Friday, June 2 at 10 a.m. local time, with Seattle going on sale Friday June 9 at 10 a.m. local time. 

A complete list of dates and openers can be found at gunsnroses.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rolling Stones want to help their fans wake up in the morning. The band has teamed up with Keurig for a new limited edition “Start Me Up” iced coffee kit.

The kit features all you need for a Rolling Stones morning, including a custom-designed K-Iced Brewer with the band’s Hot Lips logo, a matching tumbler and a special K-Cup coffee Pod blend, which is described as having “electrifying notes of strawberry” to give fans the “uncapped energy of The Rolling Stones.”

“We’re thrilled to be branching into the iced coffee space with Keurig,” the band said in a statement, according to Rolling Stone. “We’ve collaborated to bring this limited-edition product to life and give fans a new way to fuel their day.”  

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are even helping set the morning mood, hand-picking songs for a branded Spotify playlist to enjoy with the iced cup of Joe.

The “Start Me Up” iced coffee kit goes on sale June 6 for $139.99, with a 10-count of the K-Cup Pod and the tumbler, also sold separately for $10.99 and $12.99, respectively. Those interested can sign up for more info at Keurig.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.