Classic Rock News

Plenty of bands have been turned into Funko Pop! figures, but Iron Maiden is the first to release one as an NFT.

The legendary metal group’s iconic mascot, Eddie, will be Funko’s first-ever music-themed Digital Pop! NFT. Instead of getting your hands on an adorable, big-headed vinyl figure, you’ll have a unique, digital version of an adorable, big-headed vinyl figure on the WAX blockchain.

“We are huge Iron Maiden fans here at Funko and couldn’t be more excited to have our inaugural music Digital Pop! NFT be the music icon, Eddie,” says Funko CEO Brian Mariotti. “With the popularity of Senjutsu and a rabid fan base, Iron Maiden and Funko fans alike appreciate creative genius in music and pop culture. Now, they can celebrate both in digital form.”

Senjutsu, of course, is Iron Maiden’s new album, which gave them their highest-charting record on the Billboard 200.

The Iron Maiden Funko Digital Pop! NFT goes on sale Thursday, September 30 via WAX.io.

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Elton John has unveiled his new duet with pop singer/songwriter Charlie Puth, “After All,” which will appear on Elton’s upcoming all-star album of collaborations, The Lockdown Sessions.

The two musicians met in March of 2020 at an L.A. restaurant and since Elton was already a fan of Charlie’s, they started chatting and discovered that they were neighbors. So Charlie invited Elton over and they wrote and recorded “After All,” which was the first track either of them completed during lockdown.

“Charlie is an amazing musician; we just hit it off. He’s become a friend and a friend of the family,” says Elton. “Our children love him and he loves them. Everyone we’ve worked with on The Lockdown Sessions I’ve really gotten closer to them, it’s quite amazing.”

He adds, “I played electric piano and actually wrote the song all the way through and then Charlie wrote the lyrics pretty quickly. He’s incredibly quick, Charlie. We just had an amazing chemistry in the studio.”

Puth, who says he’s been a fan of Elton his “entire life,” adds, “It is truly incredible how the melodies and chords seem to come to him instantly whenever he sits down at the piano…He is world class and the true definition of a musical genius. Being a part of his musical journey is a dream come true.”

This weekend, Elton and Charlie will both be performing in Paris during the Global Citizen Live event, which will span seven continents and feature more than 50 artists over 24 hours. You can watch it on ABC TV and ABC News Live.

On Sunday, John and Puth will go live on their TikTok pages to chat about the collaboration.

 

 

 

 

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Last month, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts returned to the road for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band has now decided to postpone most of the remainder of its 2021 shows because of the ongoing health crisis.

In a joint statement on their official Facebook page, Jett and her group say, “It’s been a thrill to be back on tour recently. We all missed being on the road, playing for the fans and playing together again.”

Having said that, the band notes, “The continuing surge of COVID cases due to the Delta variant should be of concern to all of us. While we are fully vaccinated, we are still being extremely cautious to protect our fans, our crew and everyone else that work so hard to put on our shows. For that reason, we have decided to postpone the remaining performances that were planned for 2021.”

Jett and the Blackhearts report that they will play one more concert on their 2021 schedule, a September 28 gig at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York.

The band ends the message by saying, “We’re disappointed to have to take this step but we feel it is necessary to protect the health of everyone. Stay safe and we’ll see you in 2022!”

According to JoanJett.com, the band had seven other shows on its 2021 itinerary, spanning from an October 2 concert in Laughlin, Nevada, through a November 21 performance in Reading, Pennsylvania. No word yet if or when those dates will be rescheduled.

Jett and the Blackhearts’ 2022 schedule is slated to begin on June 16 in Atlanta, when the long-delayed Stadium Tour, which also features Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Poison, is set to kick off.

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The Rolling Stones have premiered an official music video for “Living in the Heart of Love,” a recently released archival track that also will appear on the upcoming deluxe 40th anniversary issue of the band’s 1981 album, Tattoo You.

The clip, which you can check out now at The Stones’ official YouTube channel, was shot in Paris and was directed by veteran video director Charles Mehling.

The video follows and young French woman and her friends as they enjoy an evening in Paris filled with partying, bar-hopping and romance. Scenes from an archival Rolling Stones music video pop up in the clip, as various people are shown watching the band on a laptop. The “Living in the Heart of Love” video ends with a brief tribute to late Stones drummer Charlie Watts, with a message reading “Charlie is my darling” appearing on screen during the final scene.

Charlie Is My Darling is the title of an unreleased 1966 documentary about The Stones, a restored version of which came out in 2012.

“Living in the Heart of Love” is one of nine previously unreleased bonus tracks originally recorded around the time of Tattoo You that will be featured on the expanded reissue, which is due out October 22. The rollicking rock tune currently is available as a digital single and via streaming services.

As previously reported, the Super Deluxe edition of the Tattoo You reissue will be available as either a four-CD or five-LP vinyl set. It includes a newly mastered version of the original album, the nine unreleased tracks, and a two-disc live collection dubbed Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, featuring a 26-song performance The Stones gave at the famed London venue in June ’82.

You can pre-order the Tattoo You reissue now.

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Now that many artists have returned to the road following the lockdowns of 2020, ticket marketplace StubHub is able to once again announce who the most in-demand touring artists are this fall — and which of those stars fans are most looking forward to seeing in concert in 2022.

Based on StubHub ticket sales for concerts this month through December, among the veteran acts with the most in-demand tours of 2021 are The Rolling Stones at #3, The Eagles at #9 and Genesis at #10.

Pop star Harry Styles‘ Love on Tour trek is officially the most in-demand tour this year, garnering more ticket sales than any other artist this fall. By taking first place, he broke Elton John‘s two-year streak on top.

Speaking of Elton, he’s been declared the most in-demand artist of 2022, based on ticket sales for concerts next year, when even more artists will be back on the road. The pop-rock legend is slated to relaunch his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in ’22, his health permitting. Last week, John announced that he had to postpone his plans for a 2021 U.K. tour because of a hip injury.

Meanwhile, at #2 on StubHub’s list of artists fans can’t wait to see next year are hair-metal icons Mötley Crüe.

Check out the full lists of in-demand artists at StubHub.com.

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Dave Grohl is taking part in this year’s edition of The New Yorker Festival, an annual week-long event held by the famed magazine.

On October 8, the Foo Fighters frontman will join New Yorker staff writer Kelefa Sanneh for a conversation about his upcoming memoir, The Storyteller. Grohl is also set to perform.

The event will be held live and in-person at an outdoor venue in Brooklyn, and will also stream online. Tickets are available now via Festival.NewYorker.com.

Grohl’s New Yorker Festival appearance will fall in the middle of his fall book tour in support of The Storyteller, which will also make stops in London, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

The Storyteller, Grohl’s debut book, will be released October 5.

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Here’s wishing a very Happy 70th Birthday to Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale.

Asked how he plans to celebrate the milestone, the British rocker tells ABC Audio, “I’m going to ignore it,” adding with good humor, “It’s not 70, by the way, it’s 69 plus one, so you can stick that in your old pipe…and light it. But the circumstances…just snuck up on me, and I’m just simply not prepared emotionally.”

Reflecting on reaching 70, David says, “I’m delighted to have made it this far, and legitimately was hoping to actually retire, as I thought was appropriate for the lead singer with Whitesnake, at 69.”

Coverdale notes that his plans to mount a farewell Whitesnake tour this past year were sidetracked because of the COVID-19 pandemic, “[s]o now, I’m just gonna have to go out…at the ripe old age of 70.”

He adds, “I’m assured by everyone that I’m still kicking a** and singing appropriately.”

David, who lives in Reno, Nevada, with his wife Cindy, tells ABC Audio that he does actually have plan to celebrate his birthday.

“Hopefully my son’s flying in. We’re gonna have a small private dinner of people who won’t mention 70,” he notes. “And I think social media will be fun that day.”

As for his perfect birthday gift, Coverdale says it would be “to fly my daughter and my grandchildren from Germany safely, to make the family celebration complete, but that’s gonna be virtual.”

Looking back at some career and personal highlights, Coverdale includes joining Deep Purple during the ’70s, getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with that group in 2016, “taking Whitesnake from playing 300 seaters to 30,000-seat arenas and stadiums,” “working with Jimmy Page [in the ’90s],” and “the birth of my children.”

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Ten years ago today, it felt like the end of the world for R.E.M. fans, as the college radio favorites-turned-rock icons broke up for good.

On September 21, 2011, the group — down to a trio of Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck following the 1997 departure of Bill Berry — posted a message on their website, reading, “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band.”

“We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished,” they added. “To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.”

Mills wrote, “We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart. The time just feels right.” 

Stipe added, “A wise man once said, ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it.”

And Buck wrote, “Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.”

To mark the anniversary, R.E.M has posted a playlist of songs called “Ten Years Onward,” described as “songs still as resonant today as they were on September 21, 2011.”  It’s a collection of singles, deep cuts, demos, live tracks and rarities from across R.E.M.’s entire catalog.

On his Facebook page, the band’s manager, Bertis Downs, wrote, “Disbandment Day — a bittersweet day in memory. But a good decision by the guys. And thankfully the music and the people live on.”

Over their 31-year career, R.E.M. won three Grammys, sold 85 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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As previously reported, The Rolling Stones on Monday night played a private event at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA hosted by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, which was the group’s first gig without their late drummer, Charlie Watts, who died on August 24.  Now, Mick Jagger has posted on Instagram a video of the emotional dedication he made to Watts from the stage at the event.

Jagger can be seen telling the crowd, “It’s a bit of a poignant night for us, ’cause this is our first tour in 59 years that we’ve done without our lovely Charlie Watts.”

As the crowd cheers, Mick continues. “And we all miss Charlie so much, we miss him as a band and we miss him as friends on and off the stage, and we got so many memories of Charlie and I’m sure some of you that seen us before have got memories of Charlie as well.”

“I hope you will remember him like we do, so we’d like to dedicate this show to Charlie,” Jagger adds to cheers. “So we’re gonna do it for Charlie!”  Jagger then picks up a glass and raises it in a toast, handing the microphone to Ronnie Wood, who adds, “Charlie, we’re praying for you, man, and playing for you!”

“What will we do now?” Mick muses. “Now I’m all emotional.” 

The band went on to play a 15-song set with veteran drummer Steve Jordan behind the kit. The Stones’ No Filter 2021 tour officially kicks off this weekend.

 

 

 

 

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