Billy Joel likes to have fun with the set lists for his Madison Square Garden residency, and he pulled out a deep cut at his show April 25, performing the track “Los Angelenos” for the first time in 42 years.
“We never do this song,” Joel told the New York audience, according to Rolling Stone. “We haven’t done this since the ’80s I think. We’ll give it a shot.”
“Los Angelenos” was featured on Joel’s 1974 album Streetlife Serenade, with a live version appearing on 1981’s Songs in the Attic. The last time he played it was in July 1981 in Huntington, New York.
Joel’s next MSG show is scheduled for May 5. For a complete list of Joel dates, check out billyjoel.com.
The public is about to get a good look at Freddie Mercury’s London home, Garden Lodge, which has remained practically unchanged in the past 30 years. Sotheby’s is hosting a series of exhibitions, dubbed Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own, giving fans a peek inside the Queen frontman’s estate.
Highlights of the auction, which was curated by Mercury’s good friend Mary Austin, will be on display at Sotheby’s galleries this summer, hitting New York June 1-8, followed by Los Angeles June 14-18 and Hong Kong June 26-30. It will then move to London for a monthlong exhibit that will display almost 1,500 items. That exhibit will run from August 4 to September 5, which would have been Mercury’s 77th birthday.
Among the items up for grabs: the replica St Edward’s Crown and robe Freddie wore to perform “God Save The Queen” during Queen’s 1986 The Magic Tour; handwritten working lyrics to “We Are The Champions” and “Killer Queen”; a military-style jacket Mercury wore for his 39th birthday party drag ball in 1985; a Tiffany & Co. silver mustache comb; and the silk waistcoat Mercury wore in his final video for “These Are The Days Of Our Lives.”
All together there will be six dedicated Mercury auctions, according to a release, including a live Evening Sale on September 6. There will also be an auction dedicated to Mercury On Stage on September 7, and an At Home auction on September 8. Plus, there will be three online auctions: one dedicated to his love of Japan and two “Crazy Little Things” auctions, featuring some of Mercury’s more eclectic items.
Yes is giving fans another taste of their upcoming album. The band, currently made up of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen, just released the new tune “All Connected,” the second single they’ve shared from their upcoming album, Mirror To The Sky, which drops May 19.
“The initial idea came from a musical sketch I’d created using the idea of our ‘connectivity’ in regard to communications in the modern age,” Sherwood shares. “It’s very exciting to know Yes are maintaining that edge and energy we all know and love.”
He added, “This track is firing on all cylinders. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating it.”
Mirror to the Sky is available for preorder now and comes in a variety of formats, including a limited deluxe box set, featuring transparent electric blue double vinyl, two CDs and a Blu-ray, with a 36-page hardcover book, a poster and more.
The concert documentary The Last Waltz, about The Band’s farewell concert, opened in theaters.
The movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, focused on The Band’s Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, which was billed as their “farewell concert appearance.”
The show featured guest appearances by a whole host of musicians, including Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, EricClapton, Dr. John, Ronnie Wood, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison and Neil Young.
Considered one of the greatest concert documentaries of all time, in 2019 the film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry.
Lynyrd Skynyrd revealed in March they decided to go on following the death of guitarist and original member Gary Rossington, and Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke thinks it’s a decision that just makes sense for the band.
Medlocke tells ABC Audio that the band, management and the families of Gary, Johnny Van Zandt and the others got together and decided, “Let the band go out and honor and pay tribute to what was great music and a great band.” Because at the end of the day, Medlocke notes, “We are still players, we love to perform. Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been a live entity, even the old band. The original band was a live entity.”
In fact, he says playing live was always what was important to them, sharing, “We grew up in a time, Johnny and myself, Gary, we never thought about being rock stars. We thought about going out and making our living playing music.”
And while Medlocke knows there will be some music fans who question the decision to go on, he’s not losing sleep over it.
“At some point, of course, all good things come to an end,” he says. “And for all those people out there that, you know, at one time or another beat us up over doing whatever we’re doing, guess what? At some point we’ll be gone and then they can go on to somebody else and beat somebody else up.”
Until that happens, fans have plenty of chances to see Lynyrd Skynyrd live. They’re set to play Brandon, Mississippi, on Saturday, April 29. And they kick off their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top on Friday, July 21. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.
While The Clash broke up in 1986, there were rumors of a possible reunion in the ’90s. But bassist Paul Simonon reveals in a new interview that it wasn’t something he really wanted to do. In fact, he could have made a lot of money if he just said yes, but he turned it down.
Simonon tells Mojo that he, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Mick’s manager had discussed a possible reunion, but says “it didn’t happen for a lot of reasons.” He admits he was “pissed off” at Mick, who couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to reunite. “Mick said, ‘Why not? You’ll get a million pounds,’” Simonon says. “That pissed me off even more. So I said, “I don’t want a f****** million pounds.”
Simonon says Mick was shocked that he passed on the reunion, but also says he believes Strummer “would not have wanted to do it either.” As for why he was against the reunion, Simonon says, “For me The Clash story was over.”
Fans were also hoping to see a reunion when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, but Strummer passed away before that could happen. Simonon said he had no plans to perform anyway. He notes, “I had no interest in those kind of awards things. I don’t want a pat on the back.”
Before the tickets for U2’s Las Vegas residency have even gone on sale, the band is extending their stay in Sin City.
Noting that there have already been over 1 million requests for tickets, the Irish rockers just announced seven additional dates for U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, bringing the total number of shows to 12 … so far.
The additional shows, at the new venue the Sphere at The Venetian, all take place in October – October 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21 and 25.
Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan registration remains open until Wednesday, April 26, at 10 am ET, with Verified Fan presale beginning Thursday, April 27.
Little Feat is set to release remastered deluxe editions of two of their classic albums, 1972’s Sailin’ Shoes and 1973’s Dixie Chicken.
The deluxe edition of Sailin’ Shoes will include previously unreleased outtakes from the album’s recording session, including alternative versions of “Cold Cold Cold,” “Apolitical Blues” and “Willin’.” There’s also a previously unreleased concert recorded August 28, 1971, at the Palladium in Los Angeles.
The deluxe edition of Dixie Chicken also includes unreleased session recordings, including alternative versions of “Roll Um Easy,” “On Your Way Down” and “Juliette.” There’s also a live concert recorded on March 1, 1973, at Paul’s Mall in Boston.
The newly remastered deluxe editions of both albums will be released June 23. They will both be released as a two-CD and three-LP 180-gram vinyl set and are available for preorder now.
And Little Feat fans will be able to hear them play these albums live this fall when they kick off their The Albums Tour. The tour consists of the band playing each album in its entirety, one at each show. The Albums Tour kicks off September 29 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. A complete list of dates can be found at littlefeat.net.
Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Desmond Child is ready to tell his story. Child, who has written hits for artists like Bon Jovi, KISS, Aerosmith,Katy Perry and Ricky Martin, is set to release his memoir, Livin’ On A Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, on September 19, featuring a forward by KISS’ Paul Stanley.
“The process of writing the book has been more than cathartic. It has been revelatory,” Child shares. “Not until I went through the deep and sometimes painful experience of writing this book did I realize the great adventure I’d been living … an adventure I’m thrilled to share with the world.”
Child, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, has been responsible for more than 80 Billboard Top 40 singles, with his hits having sold more than 500 million records worldwide. Some of the hits he’s had a hand in include Bon Jovi classics “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name,” KISS’ “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like A Lady),” Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” Joan Jett and theBlackhearts‘ “I Hate Myself For Lovin’ You” and Perry’s “Wakin’ Up In Vegas.”
Queen‘s Roger Taylor has commented on the rumors that his son, The Darkness drummer Rufus Taylor, will be playing drums with Foo Fighters on tour.
Rufus was among the many guest drummers who played alongside Dave Grohl and company at last September’s tribute concerts to the late Taylor Hawkins. As he was good friends with Hawkins and the Foos, Rufus’ name has been bandied about as a possible replacement when the “Everlong” outfit returns to the road in May.
During an interview with BBC Radio 2, Roger was asked if he knows whether Rufus will be taking on the Foo Fighters drum throne.
“[Rufus] does play brilliantly with [Foo Fighters], he knows all their stuff, he knows them all very well,” Roger replied. “He did play ‘Best of You’ with the Foos [at the tribute concerts], and it was phenomenal.”
He added, though, “What exactly is happening, I don’t know.”
Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron was also rumored as the new Foo Fighters drummer. In response, Cameron said, “FYI the internet rumors are false, I haven’t joined the Foos.”
What we do know for sure is that Foo Fighters will release a new album called But Here We Are, featuring the single “Rescued,” on June 2. Their first show back is scheduled for May 24 in Gilford, New Hampshire.
