Classic Rock News

The mechanical bull from the 2022 Commonwealth Games has officially been named after Ozzy Osbourne, the BBC reports.

The 33-foot statue was first unveiled during the sporting event, which took place in the Black Sabbath frontman’s hometown of Birmingham, England. Ozzy also performed during the closing night of the festivities, joining Tony Iommi for renditions of the Sabbath classics “Iron Main” and “Paranoid.”

“I can’t believe it, I’m absolutely blown away,” Ozzy tells the BBC. “I don’t know what to say any more, I’m just thrilled to bits. God bless you all, and Birmingham forever!”

As previously reported, Ozzy was one of four potential names for the bull, which was chosen by a public vote. The other possibilities were Boulton, referring to 1700s industrialist and Birmingham native Matthew Boulton, as well as Brummie and Bostin, slang for a Birmingham resident and the word “great,” respectively.

Ozzy’s Commonwealth set marked his first live performance in three years. Earlier this year, Ozzy announced his retirement from touring due to health issues, though he later said he wanted to continue to perform live. He’s scheduled to play the upcoming Power Trip festival in October alongside AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool.

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Dead & Company is currently on what they’re calling The Final Tour, but drummer Mickey Hart doesn’t seem so sure how “final” it is.

“Who knows what the next page is, we’re just turning the page,” he tells ABC Audio. “It’s not final anything. We never said we’ll never play again, but we’ll never tour again.” Not that he sees the end of this iteration of the Grateful Dead ending as bad: “Some things, good things, they come to an end and it’s really good to put a period on it and then move on.”

After almost 60 years of touring, Mickey says one of his favorite things about being a member of the Dead has been “raising [the] consciousness of millions of people, and helping them enjoy life and themselves and their families.” When it comes to his job, he says he’s “the luckiest guy in the world.”

As for why Dead music has had such a lasting appeal over generations of music fans, Mickey says it’s because “it’s a kind music. It’s a happy music,” adding it has “deep meaning for many people but it’s packaged in a rock ‘n’ roll band.” But, he shares, “This thing transcends rock ‘n’ roll. It stands for something wholly other than a rock ‘n’ roll band.”  

Dead & Company will play the second of two nights at New York’s Citi Field on June 22 before moving to Boston’s Fenway Park on June 24 and 25. The tour wraps with a two-night stand in San Francisco, July 15 and 16. A complete list of dates can be found at deadandcompany.com.

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Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, is opening up about their relationship and is clarifying the meaning behind the diamond ring she wears, which was a gift from The Rolling Stones frontman. 

“I mean, I have to giggle because did Mick give me the ring? Yes. Is it for that finger? Yes,” she tells People. “But are we like, horny teenagers where we’re giving each other … In my mind, it’s a promise ring. We’ll be immature and call it a promise ring.”

As for whether that means they’ll walk down the aisle at any point, she shares, “I don’t know. I’m kind of like, a live-in-the-moment type of person, so who knows.” 

Jagger and Hamrick have been dating since 2014 and have a 7-year-old son together, Deveraux. While she has shared video of their son on social media, she says she prefers to not share too much.

“If we didn’t have social media, then no one would know anything about your life. So I guess it’s, why don’t we keep it as it would be if there wasn’t social media and share the things that you want to share,” she says. “I like that approach. I think what goes on in someone’s home is private.”

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Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 50th anniversary concert, which was also their final show with guitarist and founding member Gary Rossington, is coming to the big screen.

The 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd: An Exclusive Concert Film Experience will have a weeklong run in movie theaters, drive-ins and outdoor venues from July 8 to 14.

The concert took place in November 2022 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. It featured a host of special guests, including Jelly Roll, Brothers Osborne‘s John Osborne, Marcus King, Shinedown‘s Brent Smith and 38 Special‘s Donnie Van Zant, brother of current Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant and their late frontman, Ronnie Van Zant.

Rossington had stopped regularly touring with the band in 2020 but showed up for the Ryman show, where he played most of the set. He passed away March 5, 2023. 

Tickets for the concert film are on sale now.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is set to hit the road this summer with ZZ Top on The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour. It kicks off Friday, July 21, in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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Another iconic piece of Van Halen memorabilia is up for sale.  

A mini replica of Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat guitar, used in the video for the hit “Hot For Teacher,” is currently up for grabs on eBay. The non-playing red guitar with black and white stripes is the one that “young” Eddie plays in the clip, and it is signed by the rocker. 

“You are looking at quite possibly the oldest piece of legitimate Van Halen memorabilia to ever go up for sale,” reads the description of the guitar. “This is maybe the most amazing piece of memorabilia I have ever owned with rock solid provenance.”

The guitar comes with a leather carrying case, as well as the outfit the young Eddie, played by Bryan Hitchcock, wore in the clip. Photos from the shoot, as well as photos from the 1985 American Video Awards, are also included. 

All of this will cost you a pretty penny. The guitar’s current asking price is over $219,000. But that is cheap compared to the original “Hot For Teacher” Frankenstrat, which was sold in April for almost $4 million.

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Nils Lofgren’s new solo album, Mountains, is due out in July, and he’s just shared another track from the record: a song inspired by the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in August 2021.

“Won’t Cry No More (For Charlie Watts)” is described as “a song about loss and perseverance.” “Without the Beatles, Stones, (Jimi) Hendrix, this music of mine wouldn’t exist,” Lofgren shares. “I was so furious and hurt when Charlie Watts died, I turned to his music for solace, desperate for connection and inspiration through the grief.”

He adds, “Needed his musical spirit to cope and found it. One raw riff to sing for him. Miss you, Charlie.”

“Won’t Cry No More (For Charlie Watts)” is the third single Lofgren has released from the album, following “Nothin’s Easy” featuring Neil Young and “Ain’t The Truth Enough” with Ringo Starr on drums.

Mountains, due out July 21, is available for preorder now.

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Billy Idol is celebrating the album that started it all for him. The rocker is releasing an expanded edition of his 1982 self-titled debut, with lots of new goodies for fans.

The new release, dropping July 28, will feature a previously unreleased 12-minute Clubland Extended Remix of his classic tune “White Wedding.” In addition, the two-CD set will feature a separate album with a previously unreleased concert, recorded August 12, 1982, at The Roxy in West Hollywood, California. It features performances of such tracks as “Hot in the City,” “Mony Mony,” “White Wedding” and more.

Billy Idol Expanded Edition is available for preorder now.

Idol is set to perform at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, June 24, as part of the new supergroup Generation Sex, featuring Idol and Tony James from Generation X, along with Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. He’ll also hit the road on a North American solo tour in late summer, kicking off August 27 in Vancouver, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at BillyIdol.net.

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Kelly Osbourne has shared a new photo of her baby with a nod to her dad, Ozzy Osbourne.

The picture, posted on Instagram, shows the infant dressed in an adorable bat costume. Ozzy, of course, infamously bit the head off a bat during a 1982 concert.

Kelly’s post marks the first photo she’s shown of her son’s face. She’s long kept details about the baby private; after her mom, Sharon Osbourne, announced in January that Kelly had given birth, Kelly wrote, “I am not ready to share him with the world.” She added, “It is no one’s place but mine to share any information on my baby.”

Kelly shares the baby with Slipknot member Sid Wilson. The two revealed their relationship in 2022.

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Rob Halford has shared his support for Josh Kiszka after the Greta Van Fleet frontman came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community on Tuesday, June 20.

In a comment on Kiszka’s Instagram post — in which he shared that he’s “been in a loving, same-sex relationship with my partner for the past 8 years” — the Judas Priest icon wrote “I love you Josh” alongside various emojis.

Halford, perhaps the most famous openly gay metal musician, came out in 1998. When Judas Priest was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, Halford introduced himself as the “the gay guy in the band” during his acceptance speech.

“We call ourselves the heavy metal community, which is all-inclusive,” Halford said. “It doesn’t matter what your sexual identity is, what you look like, the color of your skin, the faith that you believe in or don’t believe in, everybody’s welcome.”

Kiszka opened up about his sexuality while hoping to raise awareness for organizations supporting LGBTQ+ rights where he lives in Tennessee amid the state’s efforts to pass laws that “threaten the freedom of love.”

“The LGBTQ+ community is a cultural pillar, constantly championing positivity and acceptance through art, music, literature, film, and most importantly, legislation,” he wrote. “The greatest mortal gift of all is our capacity to love and as we travel through time, may our greater understanding of the matter around and within us teach us to love ever deeper.”

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Rod Stewart is shooting down reports of his retirement. In recent interviews, Rod suggested that his upcoming concerts in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 6 and 7 would be “the last” of the rock ‘n’ roll shows, but in a letter posted to Instagram, Stewart insists that’s not the case.

“I’d like to clear up any confusion that I may have caused my dear fans and the media,” he writes. “I shall never retire. I was put on this earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good Lord lets me.” He also assures fans he will be playing the hits at his upcoming U.K., U.S., South America and Vegas shows, which are set to run into 2024.

Stewart notes that he has said in interviews that his “newest passion is big bang/swing music,” and once he’s done touring the hits, he’s “eager to share” that with fans. But he’s not about to abandon his classics.

“I could never turn my back on the songs that I’ve written and sung over the last six decades,” he says. “They are like my children. I created them and I love them. I’ll always come back to them.” Finally he adds, “I look forward to seeing you on the road with all the hits and I can’t wait to introduce you to my new swing album next year.”

Rod is currently on a tour of the U.K. with Culture Club. His North American tour is set to kick off July 29 in Sparks, Nevada. A complete list of dates can be found at rodstewart.com.

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