Classic Rock News

Van Morrison has received a lot of media attention lately for his outspoken views protesting the U.K.’s COVID-19 safety policies, which he considers overly restrictive and believes are unfairly causing great harm musicians’ livelihoods. That being said, Morrison has just postponed the four upcoming Florida concerts he had lined up in February due to COVID-related issues, and he also revealed that his three-show Las Vegas residency that’s slated to take place next month also may be rescheduled.

“With the surge in Covid cases as a result of the omicron variant in the US, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule our upcoming dates originally planned for February to later in the year,” a message on Morrison’s Facebook page reads. “Our primary concern is the safety of our much valued audience.”

The Florida shows now are scheduled for April 20-21 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, and April 23-24 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood.

In addition, the message states, “[W]e are also working hard to reschedule Vegas shows.” The concerts, which will take place at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, currently still appear to be confirmed for their original dates — February 18, 19 and 20.

The Facebook note adds, “All tickets will be valid for the rescheduled dates…We greatly appreciate your continued support and apologize profusely for any inconvenience this has caused. We understand it’s important you have plenty of time to change long-standing plans.”

To check out Van’s full touring itinerary, visit VanMorrison.com.

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Earlier this month, plans for an art exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art inspired by music from dozens of acts, including U2 and Nine Inch Nails, was announced. Now you’ll be able to buy your own version of those artworks — for a hefty price.

The exhibit, “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined,” marks the 30th anniversary of Interscope Records and features over 50 original works by visual artists relating to a particular album or song from the Interscope catalog.

As previously reported, the U2-themed art was based on the band’s 2000 hit “Beautiful Day,” and was created by John Currin, while Two NIN albums, Broken and The Downward Spiral, served as inspiration for two separate pieces of art that will be featured in the exhibit, created by Emily Mae Smith and Richard Prince, respectively.

Starting January 27, you’ll be able to buy limited-edition vinyl albums featuring the artwork from the exhibit. There will be 100 copies of each album available, and each will come with a numbered archival quality print of the artwork on the cover. On top of that, each album will be delivered in a custom Gucci box. The price? $2,500 each.

The albums will be released in groups, with the first group being available to purchase from January 27 through January 31, exclusively via the app for the livestream shopping platform NTWRK. All profits will go to a charity foundation which is building a school in L.A.

The “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined” exhibit will be on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 30 to February 13. For more info, visit LACMA.org.

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John Lennon‘s older son Julian is auctioning off a series of one-of-a-kind NFTs focusing on Beatles-related items from Julian’s personal collection and memorabilia that his late dad gave him.

The “Lennon Connection: The NFT Collection” auction will take place on Monday, February 7, and is being presented by the NFT marketplace YellowHeart in partnership with Julien’s Auctions. The sale will be held live at Julien’s Auction’s Beverly Hills location and online at JuliensAuctions.com.

The NFTs being auctioned, which will be offered as audio/visual collectibles, include images of an Afghan coat that John Lennon wore during the filming of the Magical Mystery Tour special, a black cape that John wore in the Beatles film Help!, three different electric guitars that Julian received as gifts from his father, and a sheet of notes for the recording of “Hey Jude” handwritten by Paul McCartney and featuring some doodles and drawings by Paul.

“As an artist, I have great respect for all that my father accomplished in his career. As a son, I hold dear the good memories I have of my time with him,” Julian says in a statement. “I feel incredibly lucky to live in a day and age where innovation allows me to share such personal pieces of my Lennon family history. Through this NFT collection, I’m able to grant exclusive access to special items that I cherish and carry on the legacy of my father in a new way.”

Some proceeds from the sale will benefit Julian’s White Feather Foundation, and will be used to support the charity’s efforts to help reduce global carbon emissions.

Online bidding on the NFTs began Monday. The auction will end with a live-bidding session that starts at 10 a.m. PT on February 7. Visit JuliensLive.com for more information.

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Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards will release a 30th anniversary edition of his second solo album, 1992’s Main Offender, on March 18.

The reissue, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available in multiple formats and configurations, including a limited-edition super-deluxe box set featuring remastered CD and vinyl versions of the album and a bonus live album on CD and two LPs.

A follow-up to Richards’ 1988 solo debut, Talk Is Cheap, Main Offender was released in October 1992. It  features 10 songs that Keith co-wrote with acclaimed drummer/producer Steve Jordan — who became The Stones’ touring drummer in 2021. Guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist/keyboardist Charley Drayton and backing singer Sarah Dash also contributed to the songwriting.

Jordan, Wachtel, Drayton and Dash, along with keyboardist Ivan Neville, all were members of Richards’ side group X-Pensive Winos.

While the album didn’t make much of a chart impact, the songs “Wicked as It Seems” and “Eileen” reached #3 and #17, respectively, on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks tally.

The live album featured in the box set, titled Winos Live in London ’92, features Keith and his band playing select songs from both Talk Is Cheap and Main Offender, as well as renditions of The Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” “Before They Make Me Run” and “Happy.”

The super-deluxe collection also features an LP version Main Offender pressed on smoke-colored vinyl; an 88-page, leather-bound book offering rare photos and Keith’s handwritten lyrics; and collectibles including a guitar pick, a bumper sticker and posters.

A video for one of the deluxe set’s live tracks, a rendition of the Talk Is Cheap cut “How I Wish,” has been posted at Richard’s YouTube channel. The track is available as a digital single now.

Here’s the Main Offender track list:

“999”
“Wicked as It Seems”
“Eileen”
“Words of Wonder”
“Yap Yap”
“Bodytalks”
“Hate It When You Leave”
“Runnin’ Too Deep”
“Will but You Won’t”
“Demon”

And here’s the Winos Live in London ’92 track list:

“Take It So Hard”
“999”
“Wicked as It Seems”
“How I Wish”
“Gimme Shelter”
“Hate It When You Leave”
“Before They Make Me Run”
“Eileen”
“Will But You Won’t”
“Bodytalks”
“Happy”
“Whip It Up”

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Bryan Adams has released yet another song and video from his forthcoming album So Happy It Hurts, which is due out March 11.

The new track is called “Never Gonna Rain,” and Bryan explains what it’s about in a statement. “The ultimate optimist is someone who keeps on expecting the best, even in the face of the worst,” he notes. “Living in the moment, instead of in fear. Turning the negatives into positives. Taking the rain and turning it into a gift.”

The simple black-and-white video shows Bryan playing bass with his band as they stand outside what looks like a loading dock.

“Never Gonna Rain” is the fourth track Bryan’s released from So Happy It Hurts, following the title track, “On the Road” and “Kick A**.”  A limited-edition box set, which features CD, vinyl, a signed photo and a hardbound book, is available to pre-order at Bryan’s online store.

Bryan’s got some European dates lined up that begin this weekend; no word on when he’ll return to North America.

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After finally re-launching his long-delayed Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour last week, Elton John has now been forced to postpone two concerts — because he’s tested positive for COVID.

Elton’s two shows in Dallas, TX tonight and Wednesday night are being rescheduled, and tickets for the original shows will be honored. A statement notes, “Fortunately, Elton is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is experiencing only mild symptoms…Elton and the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour look forward to returning to the stage shortly.”

On his Instagram Stories, Elton wrote, “It’s always a massive disappointment to have to move shows and I’m sorry to anyone who’s been inconvenienced by this but I want to keep myself and my team safe.” Elton adds that he’s “fully expecting to make the Arkansas shows this weekend.”

Ahead of the tour’s launch, Elton’s longtime guitarist and musical director Davey Johnstone told ABC Audio that all COVID-19 precautions were being taken.

“There’s no backstage, there’s no guests. There are no backstage passes. There are no wives or girlfriends or anything,” said Johnstone, adding, “Everybody’s super masked up and getting tested every two days to make sure everybody on the tour stays safe.”

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Neil Young has demanded that Spotify either stop hosting the popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience or remove his music from the streaming service.

Rolling Stone reports that Young recently posted online a now-deleted letter he sent to his manager and record label in which he explains that he’s giving Spotify this ultimatum because he feels the podcast “is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”

Young then tells his reps in the letter, “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”

Neil continues, “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”

Young’s demand comes after, according to Rolling Stone, 270 doctors, physicians, and science educators signed an open letter last month asking Spotify to stop spreading what they consider Rogan’s misinformed and baseless claims regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neil adds in his letter, “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”

At the time Rolling Stone published its article, it says Spotify hadn’t responded to the magazine’s question about whether they intended to remove Young’s music from the service. You could still stream Neil’s recordings on Spotify as of this morning.

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All-star hard-rock act The Dead Daisies have welcomed back journeyman drummer Brian Tichy into the lineup.

Tichy replaces Tommy Clufetos, who joined the group in early 2021 and who also has served as Ozzy Osbourne‘s touring drummer since 2010.

“Well, what a nice way to start off 2022,” Brian says in a statement. “I’m excited to get behind the drum kit and do some powerful, groovy rocking with my good friends Doug Aldrich, Glenn Hughes and David Lowy in THE DEAD DAISIES. Looking forward to seeing you all out on tour this year.”

Adds Lowy, The Dead Daisies’ leader and rhythm guitarist, “We are thrilled to have Brian return to the DAISIES fold. He is an exceptional drummer and it’s great to have him taking command of the engine room. Tommy has decided to step away from THE DEAD DAISIES to pursue his own solo projects. We’re really looking forward to getting into the studio and hitting those global stages in 2022.”

Tichy previously played with The Dead Daisies in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017. His resume also includes stints with Whitesnake, Billy Idol and Foreigner.

Lowy formed The Dead Daisies in 2013, and the band has featured a frequently changing lineup of respected rock musicians. Lead guitarist Aldrich, who previously played with Whitesnake, Dio and several other notable groups, joined the Dead Daisies in 2016. Singer/bassist Hughes, best known for his mid-’70s stint with Deep Purple, has been a member of The Dead Daisies since 2019.

The Dead Daisies most recent album, Holy Ground, was released in January 2021. The band is scheduled to kick off a European tour with a June 18 performance at Hellfest 2022 in Clissold, France.

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As The Zombies prepare to launch the previously announced spring U.S. leg of their Life Is a Merry-Go-Round Tour, the British Invasion legends have now added a series of North America summer dates to the trek.

The summer portion of the tour begins with a June 21 concert in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, and is plotted out through an already-scheduled July 28-30 engagement in Park City, Utah. The outing also includes shows in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, the Pacific Northwest, California and Arizona.

Tickets for many of the newly announced dates will go on sale to the general public this Friday, January 28, at 10 a.m. local time. Visit TheZombiesMusic.com/live for more information.

Canadian pop-rock duo Altameda will open 11 of the new shows.

As previously reported, The Zombies’ spring U.S. tour leg kicks off on April 1 in Orlando, Florida, and runs through a May 1 concert in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Veteran singer-songwriter Bruce Sudano, who is the widower of late disco great Donna Summer, will be The Zombies’ special guest through an April 14 show in Knoxville, Tennessee, while singer-songwriter-pianist Jesse Lynn Madera will serve as the opening act for the rest of the leg.

Just prior to the start of the spring trek, the band will take part in the Flower Power Cruise, which sets sail from Miami on March 28.

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Following Meat Loaf‘s death this past Thursday at age 74, his fans began consuming sizable amounts of the singer’s music via streaming and download, Variety reports.

According to MRC Data, on Friday, when the news of Meat Loaf’s passing began to circulate, on-demand streaming of his recordings increased by 4,650% from its average during the beginning of 2022, while his album sales jumped a whopping 18,684%, and his individual digital track sales surged by an even more impressive 33,793%.

Variety points out that the increase in sales and streams of Meat Loaf’s music is particularly noteworthy because many of his songs were being bought and streamed regularly before his death.

According to MRC Data, Meat Loaf amassed 205,666 on-demand audio streams last Thursday, the day he died, while on Friday, that figure increased to 9,344,181. As for his sales, Meat Loaf’s albums surged from 54 to 12,675 and individuals tracks jumped from 95 to 36,346 from Thursday to Friday.

Thanks to the surge in streams and sales, Meat Loaf’s most popular songs and his classic 1976 album Bat Out of Hell are likely make a big impact on the next Billboard charts, which won’t debut until early next week.

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