Classic Rock News

Duran Duran just dropped the new song “Free to Love,” featuring Nile Rodgers, which puts a message of positivity and love out in the world. Bassist John Taylor tells ABC Audio he “100%” believes the song’s message is one that’s particularly important right now.

“I mean, look, we’ve never been a political band,” he says. “But sometimes just dancing is a political statement.”

Taylor says the groove for the song came out of a recording session with Rodgers two years ago. Now that it’s finally out, he almost can’t believe it.

“I think whenever we’re able to pull something off like this we’re all a bit taken aback that we actually did it,” Taylor says. “But, you know, I couldn’t be happier with this song.”

Accompanying the single is a video directed by Jonas Åkerlund, which Taylor says was “so much fun to shoot.”

“It was really done as an homage to the great British pop music TV show Top of the Pops,” he says, noting the program “was the great democratizing music show of the ’70s and into the ’80s. And everybody did it.”

Duran Duran will next headline BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California, on Friday. Taylor says he loves playing festivals, where the audience may not be filled with only Duran Duran fans.

“I love the opportunity to play for people that … have a, you know, half-formed idea of what the band is about,” he says, adding that the festival audience experience is “just different.”

“People need to get together. They need to occupy the same space,” he says. “I just think people will appreciate any kind of opportunity to get together and just hang out and have a good time.”

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Like a lot of people, Paul McCartney likes to share his musical discoveries with his family, and in the latest edition of his You Gave Me the Answer series on his website, McCartney reveals that one of the ways he does that is by making playlists.

“If we’re having a party and I want a dance list, I’ll make one,” he says. “I’ve also done it with my grandson, Arthur, which has been really nice. We sort of cobbled one together; a mix of old rock ’n’ roll favourites and some newer tracks. It turned out pretty good.”

McCartney says the playlist he created with Arthur starts out with Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville,” noting he was “big friends” with the late singer. It also features songs from Daft Punk and Tame Impala, which are bands Arthur likes.

Other songs on the playlist include The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” and Donovan’s “Sunny Goodge Street,” along with Dominic Fike’s version of “Kiss of Venus,” a song from McCartney’s 2020 solo album, McCartney III.

As for whether he and Arthur have similar tastes, or if they’re introducing each other to new music, McCartney says it’s “a bit of both.”

“I’ll show him things I think will work, and then he adds to it, we’ve got a collaborative playlist,” he says. “A friend of his who’s a painter even knocked up a little cover for it.”

McCartney is getting ready to release his new solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, on May 29. He’s also set to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on May 16.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne and Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh are among the artists taking part in concerts featuring the music from director Wes Anderson’s movies.

The shows take place July 10, 11 and 12 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The sets will feature score and soundtrack selections from throughout Anderson’s filmography, which includes The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Others participating include Beck, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Spoon’s Britt Daniel and actor Jeff Goldblum. The lineup of performers will vary over the three nights.

For ticket info, visit HollywoodBowl.com.

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As part of Taylor Swift’s inclusion in The New York Times Magazine‘s 30 Greatest American Songwriters Alive list, the publication tapped someone to write a tribute to her who many feel should have been included on the list herself: Stevie Nicks.

However, Stevie doesn’t seem to feel it’s a slight. She posted a link to her tribute on her Instagram Story and wrote, “It’s always an honor to speak about my good friend Taylor Swift.”

In the tribute, she focuses on Taylor’s Midnights track “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which she says is the song that “reconnected” her to Taylor. Stevie notes that the song helped her process the grief of losing her Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie in 2022.

“I feel that her song is generational. I think it’s all of her relationships written into one song — a little bit of this, a little bit of that — and dropped into my lap,” Stevie writes. “Over time, I have dropped in my own great loves to stand in her story, and it makes me cry for both of us — what we lost, what we learned and how we survived. That is how a great songwriter reaches into people’s hearts and connects with them.”

Speaking generally about Taylor, Stevie goes on to write, “All that beauty and tragedy and life’s lessons have led her down this path of unstoppable creativity; she just doesn’t stop, and that is what has turned her into this beautiful young woman who makes magic with everything she touches.”

Stevie also penned a little poem about Taylor and the song: “You ask about her brilliance. I can only say~ If only I had — written it … For me, this song will always live ~ In my heart.”

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Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler just nabbed a win in the lawsuit brought by a woman who accused him of sexual assault.

Julia Holcomb aka Julia Misley filed the lawsuit against Tyler back in 2022. She and Tyler had a three-year relationship starting in 1973 when she was 16 and he was 20. In her suit, she accused him of sexual assault, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

While Holcomb filed the suit in California, the suit argued that the alleged sexual assault happened in several states across the country. On Tuesday, the judge in the case ruled that the accusations of sexual assault in other states cannot be tried in California and only the California allegations can move forward, which in this case refers to one incident in 1974.

“This is a massive win for Steven Tyler. Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case,” Tyler’s lawyer David Long-Daniels said in a statement provided to ABC Audio. “The court has decided that only one night, fifty-plus years ago, out of a three year relationship is allowed to remain. We look forward to trying this case on August 31.”

In her suit, Holcomb said she and Tyler were allowed to be together because the rocker got her mother to grant him guardianship over her, which allowed her to live and travel with him. She claimed she “was powerless to resist” the rock star’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability,” and that he “coerced and persuaded” her into believing their relationship was a “romantic love affair.”

 Lawyers for Holcomb have not yet responded to ABC Audio’s request for comment.

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Def Leppard is releasing a new Greatest Hits compilation on vinyl.

The album will feature newly remastered versions of the band’s biggest hits, including the iconic “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and the #1 hit “Love Bites,” along with “Hysteria,” “Animal” and “Rock of Ages.”

The album will be released June 12 on black vinyl. In celebration of their upcoming European/U.K. tour, there will also be a red marble vinyl tour edition, featuring alternative artwork. Both are currently available for preorder. Signed versions of both formats are currently sold out on Def Leppard’s website.

Def Leppard is set to launch their European/U.K. tour on June 13 in Rättvik, Sweden, with the U.K. portion beginning June 26 in Belfast, Ireland. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

Here is the Greatest Hits track list:
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Hysteria”
“Photograph”
“Love Bites”
“Animal”
“Rock Of Ages”
“When Love And Hate Collide”
“Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”
“Foolin’”
“Armageddon It”

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Warren Haynes is giving fans a preview of his upcoming album.

The Gov’t Mule frontman has released a live version of “Banks of the Deep End,” which originally appeared on Gov’t Mule’s 2001 album, The Deep End, Volume 1.

The new version of the song is an orchestral arrangement with Haynes backed by the 64-piece Asheville Symphony Orchestra. The performance was recorded at his 2019 Dreams & Songs symphonic show in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.

“‘Banks of the Deep End’ is one of the songs that we probably play more than any other,” says Haynes. “Although it doesn’t vary as much on a nightly basis as some of the other tunes, it somehow takes on its own personality just based on the song itself and the lyric and uniqueness of the chord structure and the melody.”

He adds, “Playing it with a symphony emphasizes all the dramatic and dynamic changes that song presents, and it’s wonderful hearing it in that light.”

The song, out now via digital outlets, is the first track released from Haynes’ upcoming symphonic album, Dreams & Songs. Details on the album will be released at a later date.

The release coincides with Haynes’ next Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience show, taking place Thursday at The Orpheum Theater in New Orleans, where he’ll be backed by the Chicago City Lights Orchestra. He will return to the venue on Friday with Gov’t Mule for the final night of their spring headlining tour.

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Foo Fighters have premiered the video for “Spit Shine,” a track off the band’s new album, Your Favorite Toy.

The clip finds Dave Grohl and company performing in front of a mural of the late Motörhead Lemmy Kilmister when the show is invaded by zombies. A press release describes what happens next as a “nightmare come true for connoisseurs of disemboweling, dismemberment and rock and roll.”

They’re not kidding about the disemboweling, either — there are a few pretty graphic shots of intestines being pulled out, which showers the band members in blood.

You can watch the “Spit Shine” video streaming now on YouTube, but maybe make sure you’re not eating anything before you hit play.

Foo Fighters will play an intimate show at New York City’s Irving Plaza Thursday night, followed by another underplay performance at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, on Saturday. They’ll headline the Welcome to Rockville and BottleRock Napa festivals in May, before launching a full North American stadium tour in August.

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On This Day, April 30, 1971…

Paul McCartney and Wings released their second studio album, Red Rose Speedway.

Their debut album, Wild Life, was released under the name Wings, but Red Rose Speedway was credited to Paul McCartney and Wings, as it was believed that Wild Life’s pour performance was due to the public’s unfamiliarity with the band.

Red Rose Speedway hit #1 in the U.S. and #5 in the U.K., giving Wings their first commercial success. The album featured the future classic “My Love,” which went to #1 in the U.S. and #9 in the U.K.

The 50th anniversary of the album was celebrated with a special half-speed mastered vinyl release for Record Store Day in 2023.

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A never-before-released recording by George Harrison will be part of the deluxe edition of the late Beatle’s upcoming photography book, The Third Eye: Early Photographs.

The deluxe edition, being released on Oct. 27, will include the previously unreleased song on 7-inch vinyl, along with four collectible photo prints and signed, numbered cards from the rocker’s widow, Olivia Harrison, all housed in a specially designed case.

The Third Eye is described as “the first ever collection of George Harrison’s personal photos taken between 1963 and 1970,” featuring over 200 color and black-and-white images capturing the rise of The Beatles. The images, curated by Olivia, were taken from the rocker’s personal photos and 8mm film stills.

The Third Eye (Deluxe Edition) is available for preorder now. The regular edition of the book will be released Oct. 6.

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