Classic Rock News

The official Beatles fan magazine, The Beatles Book Monthly, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its debut by making a selection of prints from the magazine’s vast library available for purchase for the first time.

The Beatles Book Monthly was launched in August 1963 by publisher Sean O’Mahony and gave fans the latest news on the band. The first edition featured bios on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, along with manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin. Subsequent issues chronicled the band’s rise to superstardom and gave fans the inside scoop on their favorite group.

In total there were 77 issues of the mag, which sold about 330,000 copies each month. The final edition was published December 1, 1969, although that magazine was later revived in May 1976 and again in October 1982. Thanks to photographer Leslie Bryce getting unprecedented access to the band, the mag featured loads of photos; over 6,000 of them went on to become part of The Beatles Book Photo Library.

Fans can now get their hands on prints of some of those photos from the library, including a “Hard Day’s Night” photo of Lennon, a shot of McCartney onstage during the band’s last British tour, a smiling shot of Ringo and a shot of Harrison during the Rubber Soul recording sessions.

The prints are available for purchase at bbplstore.com and range in price from $78 to $143, depending on the size.

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Van Halen’s post David Lee Roth years could have looked a lot different, according to Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes. In an interview with The Classic Rock Podcast, Hughes revealed that Eddie Van Halen told him he had considered asking him to join the band to replace the departing Roth.

“Well, you know, Eddie was newly sober at that time,” he told the podcast regarding the discussion. “This would have been … I don’t know, 22 years ago.”

He continued, “We spoke about it. … Would it have worked? I’m not sure. Unless I was completely sober, and I’ve been sober now for almost 24 years. Yeah, it would have been interesting, wouldn’t it? You never know.”

Instead, Van Halen replaced Roth with Sammy Hagar and went on to release four albums that went to number one in the U.S.: 1986’s 5150, 1988’s OU812, 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and 1995’s Balance.

As for Hughes, he’s due to kick off a new tour with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s classic 1974 album, Burn. It kicks off August 17 in Falls Church, Virginia. A complete list of dates can be found at glennhughes.com.

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Album covers are often just as memorable as the music featured in the release, and there’s no doubt some covers are truly iconic. Billboard is chiming in with their thoughts on the subject, releasing their picks for the 100 greatest album covers of all time.

Topping the list is The Velvet Underground and Nico’s 1967 release, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The original version of the record featured Andy Warhol’s banana print with instructions to “peel slowly and see,” referring to a peel-off sticker that revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. Later versions did not include the sticker, making the originals collector’s items.

Coming in at two is The Beatles’ 1969 classic, Abbey Road, featuring the Fab Four walking across the iconic cross walk; Patti Smith’s Horses, featuring photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s infamous photo of the singer, is number three. 

Other albums making list include Led Zeppelin’s 1969 self-titled release at five; Pink Floyd’s 1973 classic, The Dark Side of the Moon, at six; Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 debut, She’s So Unusual, at seven; Elvis Presley’s 1956 self-titled release at nine; and The Beatles’ 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, at 11.

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Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde is still rocking out at age 71, and while some artists may dread getting older, she seems to be embracing it.

“I don’t mind getting older. I do mind getting uglier,” she shares in a new feature in The Guardian. “Come on, there’s only one thing we know of that is definitely going to happen to us. That’s all the information we have in this life.”

She adds, “You know, a lot of my friends didn’t get old,” referring to people like her late Pretenders bandmate James Honeyman-Scott, who died in 1982 at 25 years old.

Hynde believes “there are so many great things about getting older,” noting, “For example, I don’t think there’s very many things that I know now that I didn’t know when I was 16 – but there’s a big difference between knowing something and realizing it. Realizing something takes 50 years.”

Hynde, who turns 72 on September 7, says, “I’m more relaxed now, if you can believe it,” sharing, “This is the real mellow version of me. Ageing is like being a pothead again. Though that’s not to say there are not things that wind me up daily.”

And age isn’t slowing Chrissie down. Pretenders are set to release the new album, Relentless, on September 15. They are slated to open for Guns N’ Roses on their North American tour, which kicks off August 11, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and they’ll be headlining a short club tour, which starts August 16, at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. A complete list of all Pretenders dates can be found at thepretenders.com.

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Paul Stanley is a Swiftie. The KISS rocker took to social media to praise Taylor Swift after taking his wife and daughters to see her Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 

“Took Erin, Sarah and Emily to see @taylorswift Last Night!” he writes next to a picture of him in an Eras Tour T-shirt. “6 shows at SoFi Stadium for a total of A HALF MILLION PEOPLE and I know why… PHENOMENAL SHOW BY A PHENOMENAL ARTIST.”

He added, “Thanks to her staff for rolling out the red carpet for us.”

Swift wraps her SoFi Stadium stand on Wednesday, August 9. Meanwhile, KISS is currently on a break from their End of the Road tour. Their next show is happening September 1 in Crandon, Wisconsin, with their final shows taking place December 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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Paul McCartney is heading to Brazil. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just announced dates for a Brazilian leg of his Got Back tour, his first return to the country since 2019. 

The trek kicks off November 30 in Brasília then hits Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Curitiba, before wrapping December 16 in Rio De Janeiro. 

“We have such great memories from all our visits. I love coming to Brazil because you guys like to rock, sing and party all at once,” McCartney says. “We’re really excited. Let’s have fun. Let’s rock. Let’s roll. Let’s stomp. Let’s stroll. And Brazil, let’s have a great time.”

A ticket presale kicks off Tuesday, August 8, at 10 a.m. local time, with a general onsale set for Thursday, August 10, at 12 p.m. local time. 

And that’s not all. McCartney has added a new date to the Australian leg of his Got Back tour, which kicks off October 18 in Adelaide. He’s added a second date in Sydney and will now play Allianz Stadium October 27 and October 28. A ticket presale is happening Wednesday, August 9, followed by a general onsale on Thursday, August 10.

A complete list of Paul McCartney’s Got Back dates can be found at paulmccartney.com.

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Stewart Copeland is giving fans yet another way to enjoy The Police’s music.

Earlier this year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer released Police Deranged, featuring orchestral versions of the band’s classic tunes. Now, he’s announced the upcoming release of Police Beyond Borders, an album of the band’s greatest hits interpreted by musicians from around the world. He teamed with Ricky Kej for the project, a collaborator on the Grammy-winning album Devine Tides.  

“The flavors of all these amazing languages on Police Beyond Borders light up these tunes that are so familiar,” Copeland shares. “The Police were always a global band, and Sting wrote songs about the bigger picture of humanity.” He adds, “Music brings us together, and my humble hope is that this record can contribute to that special human bonding experience that we need now more than ever.”

Police Beyond Borders will be released digitally August 18.

Here is the track list for Police Beyond Borders:

“King of Pain” (feat. Berklee Indian Ensemble)
“Roxanne” (feat. Mzansi Youth Choir)
“Message in a Bottle” (feat. Salim-Sulaiman, Masa Takumi)
“Tea in the Sahara” (Cui Jian)
“Don’t Stand So Close To Me” (Soweto Gospel Choir, Ron Korb)
“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” (feat. Berklee Indian Ensemble)
“Can’t Stand Losing You” (Mzansi Youth Choir, Max ZT)
“Murder By Numbers” (Alison Balsom, Shankar Mahadevan, Max ZT)
“Demolition Man” (featuring Serj Tankian)
“Every Breath You Take” (Soweto Gospel Choir)

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On This Day, August 7, 1987…

Lindsey Buckingham quit Fleetwood Mac, one day after a contentious group meeting at Christine McVie’s house led to a physical altercation between him and Stevie Nicks.  

With a tour starting in a month, the band replaced Lindsey with Billy Burnette and Rick Vito and hit the road for the Shake the Cage Tour.

Buckingham would eventually return to Fleetwood Mac when they reunited in 1993 to perform “Don’t Stop” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. They then reunited in 1997 for a live concert, which was recorded for the live album The Dance and followed by an arena tour.

Buckingham remained with Fleetwood Mac until 2018, when he was fired over a disagreement about touring. He was again replaced by two guitarists, Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell.

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Metallica‘s M72 World Tour finally came to the U.S. with shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Friday, August 4, and Sunday, August 6.

Both concerts featured the live debuts of songs off the new ‘Tallica album, 72 Seasons. Night one got the track “Shadows Fall,” while night two featured “Too Far Gone?” in the set.

The M72 tour, which first launched in Europe in April, finds Metallica playing two shows featuring completely different set lists in each city.

For the full set lists, visit Metallica.com.

The M72 tour continues with a detour to Canada’s Quebec City on August 11 and 13, before returning to the U.S. for shows in Arlington, Texas, on August 18 and 20. The Texas shows will be broadcast live in movie theaters worldwide.

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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are ready to bring their tour back to the States, and guitarist Nils Lofgren is certainly happy about it.

Lofgren tells ABC Audio he’s thrilled to be back in the U.S. after their recent tour of Europe and the U.K., especially because he’ll be able to stop back home a bit more. 

“How lucky and blessed we all are is not lost on any of us,” Lofgren says about working with such a great band and great boss. “Once you walk out there, that’s just a joy and a dream and a gift for all of us.” 

He adds, “I really feel like this band is as good or better than we’ve ever been. And of course, you know, mainly it’s Bruce doing the heavy lifting, but he’s in it, man, he’s down in it and he’s giving it.”

Lofgren says being in The E Street Band is good for his “musical soul,” and while other artists who write their own music like he does may not enjoy being in the background, he insists, “I love it.”

“Past earning a living and a salary, there’s some emotional hit you get if you’re still in love with performing after half a century,” he says. 

The second leg of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s North American tour kicks off with a two-night stand at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, August 9 and 11. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.com.

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