Classic Rock News

A collection of guitars and memorabilia belonging to former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman that had been displayed at the recently closed Sticky Fingers restaurant he owned in London have been added to an auction of music collectibles scheduled for May 20-22.

The auction, the latest installment of Julien’s Auctions’ “Music Icons” sale, will be held at the Hard Rock Café in New York City, while bids also will be accepted online.

Almost 150 lots belonging to the 85-year-old rocker are part of the auction, including guitars, basses, “gold” and “platinum” record awards, photos, posters and other artifacts.

Among the instruments going on the block is a 1965 Framus Star bass that Wyman used during Stones concerts and recording sessions in 1965 and ’66. It is valued between $30,000 and $50,000.

Also being auctioned are a 1974 Dan Armstrong prototype bass that Wyman played on the Stones’ 1975-1976 tour, and a 1978 Travis Bean custom short-scale bass that was custom built for Wyman and was used on Stones recordings and tours from 1978 to 1981; both are estimated to sell for $20,000 to $30,000.

In addition, a 1969 Fender Telecaster guitar that Wyman used for home recordings in the 1970s and ’80s is expected to bring in $15,000 to $25,000.

Wyman also is selling “gold” record awards for such Stones albums as Out of Our Heads, Aftermath, Between the Buttons, Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers.

Sticky Fingers restaurant was open from 1989 to 2021. Wyman notes, “This wonderful collection of Stones memorabilia that was displayed there … [gives] people the chance to have a piece of Sticky Fingers history for themselves.”

Check out the full list of items up for bid at the auction at JuliensLive.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall have three shows left on their current series of joint U.S. tour dates, but a new six-date summer leg has now been added to the trek.

The newly announced concerts, which will mostly take place in the Southeast, run from a July 31 performance in Hollywood, Florida, through an August 11 gig in North Charleston, South Carolina. The other shows are scheduled for August 3 in St. Petersburg, Florida; August 5 in Roanoke, Virginia; August 7 in Mason, Ohio; and August 9 in Durham, North Carolina.

Tickets for the concerts go on sale to the general public this Friday, May 20, at 10 a.m. local time via LiveNation.com.

Rundgren’s current run of shows with Hall — their second of 2022 — winds down with performances this Wednesday in Denver; Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Sunday in Austin, Texas. The first run of concerts kicked off on April 1, the same day that Hall released his first solo compilation, BeforeAfter.

BeforeAfter is a 30-track collection that features selections from all five of Hall’s solo studio albums, as well as eight performances from his acclaimed TV/web series Live from Daryl’s House. Among the Live from Daryl’s House performances is a duet between Hall and Rundgren on Rundgren’s 1978 hit ballad “Can We Still Be Friends.”

Meanwhile, Rundgren’s 2022 tour schedule also includes a new series of dates on the “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today” Beatles tribute trek — also featuring Badfinger‘s Joey Molland, ex-Wings member Denny Laine, Christopher Cross and former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff — running from May 24 to June 26, as well as his own his own headlining trek, The Unpredictable Tour, which is plotted out from June 30 to July 30.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron is distancing himself from the recent Rolling Stone piece in which he was interviewed about Taylor Hawkins.

The article, published Monday evening, features interviews with both named and anonymous friends of the late Foo Fighters drummer, including Cameron and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

The piece includes multiple sources claiming that Hawkins had expressed concern with the amount of touring he had to do as part of Foo Fighters, with both Cameron and Smith quoted as saying Hawkins had a “heart-to-heart” conversation with Foo frontman Dave Grohl and the band’s management about it.

“[Hawkins] told me that he ‘couldn’t f***ing do it anymore’ — those were his words,” Cameron’s quote reads. “I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”

A rep for Foo Fighters denied that such a conversation between Grohl and management took place. The article also reports that Hawkins had “lost consciousness” on a plane last December, which the rep denied, as well.

In a statement posted to his Instagram Tuesday afternoon, Cameron writes, “When I agreed to take part in the Rolling Stone article about Taylor, I assumed it would be a celebration of his life and work.”

“My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I had never intended,” Cameron continues. “Taylor was a dear friend, and a next level artist.”

Cameron adds that he has “only the deepest love and respect for Taylor, Dave and the Foo Fighters families,” and that he’s “truly sorry to have taken part in this interview.”

“I apologize that my participation may have caused harm to those for whom I have only the deepest respect and admiration,” he concludes.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Last month, Julian Lennon performed a cover of his late father John Lennon‘s classic peace anthem “Imagine” as part of Global Citizen’s Stand Up for Ukraine campaign. Now he’s set to release a special audio-visual NFT focusing on the performance, which will raise money for Ukrainian relief.

The NFT will include Julian’s recording of “Imagine,” which features him accompanied by Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt on guitar and backing vocals, as well as a visual interpretation of the song and audio narration by Julian explaining why he decided to perform his father’s famous tune.

The visual element that accompanies the recording includes black-and-white pencil strokes by Julian that transform into pockets of light.

Starting this Friday, May 20, the NFT will be available for purchase at the Yellowheart digital marketplace for 11 days priced at $11. A portion of the proceeds raised by sale of the digital tokens will benefit Julian’s White Feather Foundation and the charity’s efforts to aid Ukrainian refugees.

“The war on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy, and as a human and an artist I have always felt that music finds a way to heal, comfort, rally and support during times of crisis,” Julian says. “Performing my father’s classic ‘Imagine’ was a very personal decision, but an obvious one given his lyrics reflect our collective desire for peace worldwide.”

He adds, “Partnering with YellowHeart to offer NFT artwork that includes my interpretation of the song will provide an opportunity for fans to connect and unite through the song’s message of unity in a new and innovative way.”

A video of Julian performing “Imagine” with Bettencourt debuted on Julian’s YouTube channel on April 8 in conjunction with the Stand Up for Ukraine campaign. It marked his first public performance of his late father’s song.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Back in January it was announced the acclaimed three-part Disney+ documentary The Beatles: Get Back would be released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 8, but the release was indefinitely delayed.

Now, Variety reports that the physical versions of the doc will finally get their release on July 12.

According to Variety, the delay was due to a defect that was discovered in the discs.

The DVD and Blu-ray sets will feature the entire 468-minute documentary across three discs, although the outlet reports that there are no bonus features. The foldout packaging includes four commemorative cards boasting pics of each Beatles member. Both editions will offer multiple audio options.

As previously reported, The Beatles: Get Back was directed by Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson and premiered on Disney+ in late November 2021.

The series was created from dozens of hours of previously unseen footage shot in January 1969 for what became the 1970 film Let It Be.

Besides showing the Fab Four working on the songs that eventually appeared on the Let It Be album, Get Back also captures the group jamming on covers and older Beatles tunes, playing songs that would be featured on Abbey Road and the bandmates’ future solo albums — joking, arguing, chatting and more.

The docuseries ends with footage of the entire surprise performance that The Beatles gave on the roof of their Apple company’s headquarters in London’s Savile Row, which turned to be the last time the band played together in public.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

With Matt Cameron still absent from Pearl Jam‘s tour due to testing positive for COVID-19, the grunge rockers reunited with their original drummer, Dave Krusen, during their show Monday in Fresno, California.

According to a photo of the concert’s set list shared by the PJ Twitter, Krusen manned the kit for a run of songs off of Ten, including “Even Flow,” “Alive” and “Jeremy.” Ten, Pearl Jam’s Diamond-certified 1991 debut album, was the only album Krusen played on before leaving the band shortly after it was recorded.

Krusen previously reunited with Pearl Jam when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Eddie Vedder and company in 2017. During the ceremony, he joined PJ for a performance of “Alive,” marking the first time he played with the band in over 25 years.

In addition to Krusen, Pearl Jam’s drummers for the Fresno show included Jeff Ament collaborator Richard Stuverud, and ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer, who both also filled in for Cameron the last two shows he missed since testing positive last week. The first show also featured Pearl Jam jamming with a fan named Josh Arroyo, while the second show found an 18-year-old high school student named Kai Neukermans joining the band for a song.

Pearl Jam’s tour is set to continue Wednesday in Sacramento, California.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Journey has released a third advance track from its forthcoming studio album, Freedom, a heavy, funk-flavored mid-tempo rocker called “Let It Rain.”

The song is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while a visualizer video for the tune has debuted at Journey’s official YouTube channel.

“Let It Rain” showcases some sizzling guitar work by Neal Schon, who in a post on his social media pages describes the song as “a Sassy Funkin Rocker,” adding, “New Chapter from us and definitely proud of it.”

As previously reported, Freedom is a 15-track collection that will be released on July 8. The other songs that have been issued from the album are “The Way We Used to Be” and “You Got the Best of Me,” which debuted in June 2021 and last month, respectively. You can pre-order Freedom now.

Meanwhile, this Friday, May 20, at 9 p.m. ET, Schon will make an appearance on Talk Shop Live’s Rock N Roll Channel, where he will chat about the album and Journey’s upcoming tour plans. In addition, autographed copies of Freedom will be available to pre-order during the steaming event.

Journey recently wrapped up the initial leg of its Freedom Tour 2022, although the final four shows were postponed because an unspecified member of the group tested positive for COVID-19. Those dates are expected to be rescheduled in the coming months.

The band next scheduled performances are a series of four special symphonic concerts in Las Vegas that will take place at the new, state-of-the-art Resorts World Theatre. The shows are scheduled for July 15, 16, 22 and 23 and tickets are available now.

Schon also promises that Journey is planning a summer leg of its tour.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Friends of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins tell Rolling Stone that he expressed concern with the band’s heavy touring schedule in the days leading up to his unexpected death this past March.

According to Pearl Jam‘s Matt Cameron, Hawkins had a “heart-to-heart” conversation with Foo frontman Dave Grohl about the subject.

“[Hawkins] told me that he ‘couldn’t f***ing do it anymore’ — those were his words,” Cameron says. “So I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”

An anonymous friend adds, “The fact that [Hawkins] finally spoke to Dave and really told him that he couldn’t do this and that he wouldn’t do it anymore, that was freeing for him…That did take a year of working up the guts to do.”

Meanwhile, “multiple friends” tell Rolling Stone that Hawkins had “lost consciousness” while on a plane this past December.

“[Hawkins] just said he was exhausted and collapsed, and they had to pump him full of IVs and stuff,” says Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, adding that incident was “one of the straws that broke the camel’s back” that led him to approach Grohl and the band’s management with his concerns.

However, a rep for Foo Fighters tells Rolling Stone that Hawkins “never ‘informed Dave and [management]'” of wanting to scale back his touring, and also denies that there ever was a “heart-to-heart” or “any sort of meeting on this topic” between Hawkins, Grohl and the band’s management. The rep also tells Rolling Stone that the reports of Hawkins losing consciousness on the plane are “not true.”

Hawkins died March 25 ahead of a scheduled Foo Fighters show Bogotá, Colombia. He was 50. All Foo Fighters’ remaining tour dates have been canceled.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Edgar Winter‘s latest album, Brother Johnny, which was released in April, is a star-studded tribute to his late sibling Johnny Winter.

The 17-track collection includes a version of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hoochie Koo,” a song written by Rick Derringer that Johnny first recorded in 1970 with his band Johnny Winter And, which featured Derringer, and that Rick subsequently had a solo hit with in 1973.

Edgar’s version features guitar work by Toto‘s Steve “Luke” Lukather, who also is a longtime member of Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band. Edgar tells ABC Audio that he specifically chose Lukather to play on the track because he envisioned a Jimi Hendrix-style solo that he knew Luke could deliver.

“I wanted it wild, crazy, sort of twisted and demented. And I knew that Steve would do exactly that,” Winter explains. “I said, ‘I know…Steve [is] gonna play something different than Rick would ever have played or completely different than Johnny ever would have played’…And, man, Luke delivered.”

Edgar adds, “He played exactly what I was hoping he would. And I didn’t really tell him anything, I just know Luke and know more or less how he thinks and navigates things, and he always likes to push the envelope.”

Lukather has been a member of Ringo’s All Starr Band since 2012, while Edgar recently rejoined the group after previously playing with Ringo and company from 2006 to 2011. Speaking about Luke’s personality, Edgar notes, “[H]e has this rough, raw sense of humor, sometimes perverse, that we all love.”

Other artists featured on Brother Johnny include Ringo, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, The Doobie Brothers‘ Michael McDonald and John McFee, ex-Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, among many others.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.