Classic Rock News

Eric Clapton recently made headlines for blaming “the propaganda” for what he described as his “disastrous health experience” after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, for supporting Van Morrison‘s anti-lockdown stance, and then for subsequently declaring that he won’t perform at any concert that requires the audience to be vaccinated.  Well, count fellow British guitar hero Brian May as someone who thinks Clapton’s wrong.

Speaking to the U.K. paper The Independent, the Queen guitarist was asked to comment on musicians like Clapton and their vaccination comments.  “I love Eric Clapton, he’s my hero, but he has very different views from me in many ways,” May responds. “He’s a person who thinks it’s O.K. to shoot animals for fun, so we have our disagreements, but I would never stop respecting the man.”

As for people against the vaccine, May declares, “Anti-vax people, I’m sorry, I think they’re fruitcakes. There’s plenty of evidence to show that vaccination helps. On the whole they’ve been very safe. There’s always going to be some side effect in any drug you take, but to go around saying vaccines are a plot to kill you, I’m sorry, that goes in the fruitcake jar for me.”

May, who has a PhD in astrophysics, was also asked whether he’d like to buy a ticket to join billionaires like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk on one of their space missions.  May responds, “When it comes to one very rich guy putting himself into space — actually not into space, only about 60 miles high — I ask myself, ‘What is it really for?’”

He adds, “I saw this cartoon where somebody said, ‘We’ve got two billionaires competing to see who can get into space first. Wouldn’t it be nice if they competed on how quickly they could solve world hunger instead?’”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham are now reunited.  Well, at least their catalogs are.

According to Variety, McVie, who just turned 78, has just sold her 115-song catalog to Hipgnosis, a music company that’s made headlines in the past few years for spending billions to acquire pop and rock copyrights.  It includes the hits she’s written for Fleetwood Mac — a list that includes “Don’t Stop,” “Over My Head,” “Say You Love Me” and “You Make Loving Fun” — as well as the songs she wrote with her pre-Mac group, Chicken Shack, plus her solo material.

In January, ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham sold his publishing rights to Hipgnosis.  Stevie Nicks, meanwhile, sold a chunk of her catalog last year to a company called Primary Wave, while drummer Mick Fleetwood made a similar deal with BMG.

As Music Week points out, thanks to Hipgnosis’ deals with McVie and Buckingham, it now owns the rights to eight of the 11 songs on Rumours, seven of the 11 songs on the band’s 1975 self-titled album, 11 of the 16 songs on Greatest Hits, and 15 of 20 songs on Tusk.

In a statement, Merck Mercuriadis, the head of Hipgnosis said, “It’s wonderful for us to welcome Christine to the Hipgnosis Family and particularly wonderful to reunite her once again at Hipgnosis with Lindsey Buckingham.”

McVie added, “I am so excited to belong to the Hipgnosis family, and thrilled that you all regard my songs worthy of merit. I’d like to thank you all for your faith in me, and I’ll do all I can to continue this new relationship and help in any way I can!”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa, rocked her first-ever Olympic Games over the weekend, taking home the silver medal for the U.S. Equestrian jumping team.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the Springsteen clan reacted with pure joy and triumph after Jessica’s Olympic victory.

“I FaceTimed them really quick,” the 29-year-old Springsteen said after collecting her medal. “They were all screaming, I don’t think we understood anything.”

This latest win now pushes Jessica to a new ranking.  Prior to competing, she was listed as 27th in the world; now, she ranks 14th.

“It was also super exciting,” the Olympian added, noting she dealt with some “jitters” before making her final run in Tokyo.  “My horse jumped it beautifully. And we really gave it our all out there.”

She competed alongside fellow Team USA members Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and two-time gold medalist McLain Ward in a neck-and-neck race for first against Sweden.

The two countries faced against each other in a jump-off, with the Swedes eking out Team USA with a slightly better time of 122.90.  Team USA completed the jump-off with an overall time of 124.20.  Both managed the course with no penalties.

Despite taking home the silver, Team USA managed to make history: Not only does this mark Jessica’s first Olympic Games and medal, but teammate Laura Kraut, 55,  is now the oldest Olympic medalist.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Def Leppard will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s sophomore album High ‘n’ Dry with a special livestreamed event that will premiere exclusively inside the Def Leppard Vault website on August 28 starting at 4 p.m. ET.

The High ‘n’ Dry 40th Anniversary Retrospective will feature new interviews with all five members of the group.

Singer Joe Elliott, drummer Rick Allen and bassist Rick Savage will share behind-the-scenes stories about the 1981 album, while guitarists Phil Collen and Viv Campell — who joined Def Leppard in 1982 and 1992, respectively — will discuss the impact High ‘n’ Dry had on them and the rock world in general.

The band members also will be answering select questions from fans, who can submit written or video queries now to events@leppardvault.com.

Tickets to the event and ticket bundles offering special merch items can be purchased now at LeppardVault.com, although you must be a Def Leppard Vault member to access them.

Released on July 11, 1981, High ‘n’ Dry helped establish the band in the U.S. in advance of their massive 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania.  MTV’s heavy rotation of a performance video for the High ‘n’ Dry track “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” earned Def Leppard a lot of American fans, and the album eventually peaked at #38.

To date, High ‘n’ Dry has sold over two million copies in the U.S.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has postponed four of their concerts because longtime guitarist Rickey Medlocke has tested positive for COVID-19.

In a note to fans, the band says their shows in Canton, OH; Jackson, MI; Atlanta, GA and Cullman AL will no longer go forward.  “Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment. We will continue to update you on his condition,” the note adds.

The Atlanta show on August 13 has been rescheduled to October 23. No word yet on the other dates.

After the Alabama show, the next date on Skynyrd’s Big Wheels Keep on Turning tour is August 20 in Canandaigua, NY.  The tour is currently scheduled to wrap up November 19 in Bossier City, LA.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Lynyrd Skynyrd (@skynyrd)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Grateful Dead spinoff group Dead & Company are set to continue their long strange trip with a new U.S. tour that kicks off later this month, and the nugs.net concert-streaming service will be offering livestreams of all 18 of the band’s shows scheduled through September.

Streams of the concerts, spanning from an August 16 performance in Raleigh, North Carolina, through a September 18 show at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, will be available in the HD and 4K formats. Visit LiveDead.co for more information.

An interesting feature of the Dead & Company livestreams will be a virtual experience hosted by Grateful Dead experts Gary Lambert and David Gans, who will take part in a live conversation via Zoom during set breaks at each show.

Dead & Company features Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, as well as singer/guitarist John Mayer, ex-Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge, and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.

The group’s 2021 tour is scheduled though an October 29-31 stand at Los Angles’ famed Hollywood Bowl.

Here’s a full list of shows that are available for livestream:

8/16 — Raleigh, NC, Coastal Credit Union Music Park
8/18 — Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
8/20 — New York, NY, Citi Field
8/21 — Philadelphia, PA, Citizens Bank Park
8/23 — Bethel, NY, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
8/25 — Darien, NY, Darien Lake Amphitheater
8/27 — Saratoga Springs, NY, Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8/28 — Hershey, PA, Hersheypark Stadium
9/2 — Mansfield, MA, Xfinity Center
9/3 — Mansfield, MA, Xfinity Center
9/5 — Hartford, CT, The Xfinity Theatre
9/7 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Blossom Music Center
9/10 — Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre
9/11 — Cincinnati, OH, Riverbend Music Center
9/13 — Maryland Heights, MO, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
9/15 — Noblesville, IN, Ruoff Music Center
9/17 — Chicago, IL, Wrigley Field
9/18 — Chicago, IL, Wrigley Field

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The expanded 50th anniversary reissue of George Harrison‘s classic 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass was released today in multiple formats and configurations.

Among the various versions available is a Super Deluxe box set featuring either eight vinyl LPs or five CDs and Blu-ray-audio disc.

The Super Deluxe reissue features a new mix of the original 23-track album, demos that Harrison recorded during the first two days of the All Things Must Pass sessions, and a variety of outtakes and studio jams. Forty-two of the tracks are previously unreleased.

The collection comes packaged with a 60-page scrapbook curated by Harrison’s widow, Olivia, that features rare images, handwritten lyrics, studio notes and more. A replica of the original album poster also is included.

Originally released in November 1970, All Things Must Pass spent the seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. It features George’s enduring spiritual anthem “My Sweet Lord,” which spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Other standout tunes on the album include “Isn’t It a Pity” — released as a two-sided single with “My Sweet Lord” — the top-10 hit “What Is Life,” “Wah-Wah,” and George’s memorable cover of Bob Dylan‘s “If Not for You.”

The All Things Must Pass reissue was executive-produced by Harrison’s son, Dhani.

In celebration of the reissue’s release, a living-art installation depicting the album’s cover opened today at London’s Duke of York Square and will remain on display until August 20. The installation includes two giant garden gnomes made out of flowers and foliage.

Visit GeorgeHarrison.com for a full track list and more details about the various versions of the All Things Must Pass reissue.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters have some advice for the Westboro Baptist Church: Why not try dancing, instead?

The Kansas-based hate group, known for its inflammatory homophobic and racist remarks and demonstrations, set up a protest against Dave Grohl and company’s concert Thursday in Bonner Springs. In response, the Foos drove past the protest while blasting their cover of the Bee Gees song “You Should Be Dancing.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got something to say,” Grohl can be heard saying in footage capturing the interaction. “Because you know what? I love you. I do! They way I look at it, I love everybody. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Can’t you just love everybody?”

He continued, “‘Cause I think it’s about love! That’s what I think. I think we’re all about love, and you shouldn’t be hating. You know what y’all should be doing? You should be dancing!”

You may recall that the Westboro Baptist Church set up similar protests when Foo Fighters played Kansas City, Missouri, in 2011 and 2015, which were met with similar responses. For the 2015 show, the Foos shot back with an IRL Rickroll by driving by the crowd while playing Rick Astley‘s ’80s hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pearl Jam will finally return to the road this fall for a series of festival shows, marking the band’s first full live performances since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They shows also will be the grunge icons’ first concerts since they released their new album Gigaton in March 2020.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” bassist Jeff Ament tells Spin. “We’ve never played the Gigaton songs live yet.”

Ament then explains, “We’ll need a solid week [of six focused hours per day] with just that. Some of the technical stuff, like me playing keyboard on ‘Dance of the Clairvoyants,’ will be set so we won’t have to figure out what we have to do.”

Being sidelined by the pandemic also means that the upcoming shows will be Pearl Jam’s first since 2018.

“The rest of the catalog we haven’t played in three years,” Ament says. “There’s the physical thing where your hands just know where to go with a lot of the songs and I think the earlier tunes, like ‘Even Flow’ and ‘Corduroy,’ will be easy. But if we decide to play like a ‘Swallowed Whole,’ or ‘Infallible’ or even ‘Pendulum’ — any of those kinds of songs, we’re gonna have to work.”

PJ’s fall schedule includes sets at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, as well as three performances at frontman Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana Festival.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Theatrical rocker Arthur Brown of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is releasing an incendiary new version of his band’s classic 1968 hit, “Fire,” that’s available now as part of a limited-edition, seven-inch colored-vinyl single.

Brown recorded the updated rendition of “Fire” with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, Stooges guitarist James Williamson, veteran U.K. jazz-rock keyboardist Brian Auger, and Jürgen Engler of the German industrial-metal band Die Krupps.

The single can be purchased on either red or yellow vinyl. The track also is available as a digital download and for streaming.

The B-side of the disc features a new tune titled “Zombie Yelp,” which Brown originally released last October digitally and via streaming services.

The track also features Vanilla Fudge keyboardist Mark Stein and former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey. Brown co-wrote the monster-themed song with Davey.

Meanwhile, a companion music video for Brown’s new version of “Fire” is streaming now at Cleopatra Records’ official YouTube channel. The clip features scenes from the 2017 horror film The Black Room.

Both “Fire” and “Zombie Yelp” also will be part of a star-studded new Arthur Brown album that’s due out in 2022.

Arthur says of the forthcoming project, “It’s a great pleasure being involved in making this high quality, imaginative piece of terror and fun.”

“Fire” originally peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the U.K. and Canadian singles charts.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.