Classic Rock News

During a recent interview with The New Yorker, Paul McCartney took a dig at The Rolling Stones when asked whether he thought The Beatles were a better band than their British Invasion counterparts, and apparently Mick Jagger was paying attention.

As previously reported, McCartney commented to The New Yorker, “I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are…I think [The Beatles’] net was cast a bit wider than theirs.”

Keeping that in mind, footage has emerged from The Rolling Stones’ Los Angeles-area concert Thursday night at SoFi Stadium that shows Jagger playfully making reference to McCartney’s insult while chatting with the audience between songs.

In the clip from the show, shared by The Daily Mail‘s website, Jagger listed some of the celebrities who were in the audience, including Megan Fox, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lady Gaga. He then joked, “Paul McCartney is here. He’s gonna join us in a blues cover later on.”

McCartney made similar comments about The Beatles being better and more diverse than The Rolling Stones in an April 2020 radio interview, while also declaring that he loved The Stones.

Jagger was asked about McCartney’s 2020 comments that same month while chatting with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, and he called Sir Paul a “sweetheart” and insisted that there was “obviously no competition” between their two bands.

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In honor of its 50th anniversary, Queen will be celebrated on the fourth and latest installment of ABC’s Singalong franchise, which will air November 4 at 8 p.m.

Hosted by Emmy-winning actor and singer Darren Criss, The Queen Family Singalong will feature various well-known music artists and other celebs performing hits by the iconic British band, including Adam Lambert, who currently serves as Queen’s frontman.

Lambert will be singing “The Show Must Go On” on the special. Other stars who will be performing on the special include Fall Out Boy, former Alice Cooper guitarist Orianthi, country singer Jimmie Allen, Miss Piggy, singer and reality star JoJo Siwa, OneRepublic and vocal group Pentatonix.

Previous installments of ABC’s Singalong specials have focused on Disney music, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the Queen-themed show also will feature the casts of the Broadway productions of Disney’s The Lion King and Aladdin, who’ll team up to perform a group rendition of “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

Here’s a list of confirmed performances on the special, with more to be announced soon:

Adam Lambert –- “The Show Must Go On”
Derek Hough featuring Alexander Jean -– “Another One Bites the Dust”
Fall Out Boy -– “Under Pressure”
Jimmie Allen featuring Miss Piggy -– “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
JoJo Siwa and Orianthi -– “We Will Rock You”
OneRepublic -– “We Are the Champions”
Pentatonix –- “Somebody to Love”
The casts of Disney’s The Lion King and Aladdin — “Don’t Stop Me Now”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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The Rolling Stones are giving fans an extra chance to see them perform on their current No Filter Tour of the U.S. The band has just announced a November 23 concert at the Hard Rock Live venue at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which will be the final show of the trek.

According to a press statement, the Hard Rock Live concert will be the most intimate performance The Stones have given in more than a decade. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Monday, October 18, at 10 a.m. ET, and will be available at MyHRL.com.

“[W]e are honored to have the privilege of hosting perhaps the most iconic rock band of all-time on the final date of their North American tour,” says Hard Rock International executive Keith Sheldon. “With what will be by far the most intimate performance on the No Filter Tour, we know this will be an incredibly special evening at our 6,500 seat Hard Rock Live venue.”

The Rolling Stones next concert will take place Sunday, October 17, in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium, the second of two shows the band has scheduled at the venue.

Just Announced – The Stones will bring the No Filter tour to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on November 23. Tickets go on sale this Monday, October 18 at 10am ET. pic.twitter.com/0KMk1PDkmp

— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) October 14, 2021

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It’s The Velvet Underground as you’ve never seen them before.  A new documentary from acclaimed indie-film director Todd Haynes about the hugely influential rock group debuts today on Apple TV+. 

Haynes tells ABC Audio that the film, like the band itself, is different from other rock documentaries.

“This band…and the whole culture from which the band arose, is kind of an invitation to look at what this whole experimental attitude,” he explains. “And not just in terms of music making…but in the sort of the language that was being swapped from medium to medium.”

Titled simply The Velvet Underground, the documentary features new interviews with surviving members John Cale and Maureen Tucker, as well as other people associated with the band. There are also archival conversations with the late artist Andy Warhol, who managed and helped promote the group during its early years. What you won’t see in this film is the typical archival material, because it doesn’t exist.

“There is no live concert footage…no promotional record label material, there aren’t interviews of them at the time on film,” notes Haynes. “What you see is what’s in the film, which is films from Andy Warhol, where they were kind of part of an art project.”

The doc offers an inside look at the group and its classic lineup — the late Lou Reed on lead vocals and guitar, Cale on bass and viola, Tucker on drums and the late Sterling Morrison on lead guitar — as well as their life inside Warhol’s studio, The Factory.

“They were making art all day long…because Andy was a taskmaster…And then they’d go out partying all night,” adds Haynes. “And you’d go to a party and then you’d go wake up the next morning, do some more speed, and start making art again…it was a…ludicrously pleasurable time.”

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Neil Young and Crazy Horse have revealed complete official details about their recently announced forthcoming studio album, Barn, which will be released on December 10.

According to a press release, the 10-track collection was recorded “this summer under a full moon, in a restored off-grid 19th century barn high up in the Rockies,” and features “stunning love songs, reflective ballads and powerhouse rockers.”

You can check out the album’s first track, “Song of the Seasons,” now at NeilYoungArchives.com and Young’s YouTube channel. The song is a lilting folk-rock tune showcasing Young’s acoustic guitar and harmonica playing, as well as Crazy Horse multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren‘s accordion talents.

Barn will be released on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats. A deluxe box set version of the album also will be available featuring a CD, a vinyl LP and a Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray will feature a film directed by Neil’s wife, actress Daryl Hannah, offering a look at the making of Barn. The Blu-ray also will be available as a standalone release.

Vinyl versions of Barn purchased at The Greedy Hand Store at Young’s website and at independent record shops will come with six behind-the-scenes photos. The pics also will be included in the box set.

All versions of Barn bought via The Greedy Hand Store will come with a free hi-res digital download of the album.

Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Song of the Seasons”
“Heading West”
“Change Ain’t Never Gonna”
“Canerican”
“Shape of You”
“They Might Be Lost”
“Human Race”
“Tumblin’ Thru the Years”
“Welcome Back”
“Don’t Forget Love”

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Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that’s in remission now, thank God,” Halford tells Consequence.

“That happened while we were all locked down, so things happen for a reason as far as time sequence of events,” he adds. “I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life, still doing what I love the most.”

As Consequence reports, Halford goes into more detail about his private fight with cancer in the newly released paperback edition of his 2020 book, Confess.

In an added chapter to the book, Halford writes that he underwent surgery to treat prostate cancer in July 2020. When the cancer returned earlier this year, Halford started radiation therapy, and was cleared by doctors in June. His appendix was also removed after it grew a tumor.

“It’s been a draining year, I can’t deny it, but I’m delighted to have come through it,” the book reads.

Meanwhile, Halford’s Priest band mate Richie Faulkner just went through his own scary health ordeal when his aorta ruptured during a performance at September’s Louder than Life festival. He’s currently recovering after undergoing over 10 hours of emergency heart surgery.

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A previously unheard 2000 version of the early David Bowie song “Karma Man” that Bowie recorded for his unreleased album TOY, was made available today as a digital single.

“Karma Man” also will appear on the recently announced Bowie box sets Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX), which will be released on November 26, 2021, and January 7, 2022, respectively.

Along with the 2000 version of “Karma Man,” an exclusive alternate mix of an updated rendition of the 1967 Bowie tune “Silly Boy Blue,” also recorded during the TOY sessions, has been released digitally.

As previously reported, TOY was a planned album that Bowie recorded in 2000 that featured updated versions of songs that date from 1964 through 1971. David first recorded “Karma Man” in 1967, although the track wasn’t released until 1970. The original studio version of “Silly Boy Blue” appeared on Bowie’s self-titled 1967 debut album.

The full TOY album will get its first official release as part of Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001), an expansive collection that also includes remastered editions of five Bowie studio albums — 1993’s Black Tie White Noise, the 1993 soundtrack The Buddha of Suburbia, 1995’s 1. Outside, 1997’s Earthing, and 1999’s ‘hours…’ — a previously unreleased live album and a compilation of alternative versions, B-sides, soundtrack recordings and other rarities.

The TOY (TOY:BOX) set also will include the originally planned TOY album, as well as alternative mixes of the TOY tracks and tunes intended as B-sides, and stripped-down, mostly acoustic mixes of the songs.

Meanwhile, a series of clips of interviews with some of the musicians who contributed to TOY have been posted at Bowie’s official YouTube channel.

You can pre-order Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX) now.

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Ozzy Osbourne has released a deluxe digital version of his 2001 solo album Down to Earth in honor of its 20th anniversary.

The expanded collection includes three bonus tracks which had been previously unavailable on streaming platforms: the B-side “No Place for Angels,” an acoustic recording of “Dreamer,” and the “Single Version” of the track “Gets Me Through.”

Down to Earth was Ozzy’s eighth solo effort, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. It was recorded with longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, and a pre-Metallica Robert Trujillo on bass.

The digital Down to Earth reissue follows last month’s 30th anniversary re-release of 1991’s No More Tears.

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The Beatles have launched an official account on the TikTok video social-media platform: @TheBeatles.

Thirty-six of the Fab Four’s classic songs are now available for TikTok members to use to soundtrack their own video creations.

The debut of The Beatles’ TikTok account coincides with the release today of the deluxe reissue of the band’s final studio album, 1970’s Let It Be.  It’s also in advance of the upcoming three-part Disney+ documentary series The Beatles: Get Back that will feature hours of unseen film footage shot of the band while they recorded the album.

Beatles songs available to TikTok users include all of Let It Be‘s 12 tracks, as well as the many #1 hits the band scored throughout its existence, including “Love Me Do,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Day Tripper,” “Paperback Writer,” “Hey Jude” and “Something.”

In the weeks leading up to the late-November premiere of The Beatles: Get Back, the band’s TikTok page will debut exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the Let It Be sessions, as well as videos looking at the making of individual songs from the album that feature interviews with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The launch of The Beatles’ TikTok account also marks the arrival of the platform’s month-long #Rocktober campaign, a celebration of significant rock artists on TikTok.

All four Beatles members — McCartney, Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison — already have official solo TikTok accounts.

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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has tied the knot with his girlfriend of five years, Kamilah Chavis.

The British rock legend shared the happy announcement on Instagram, along with photos from the ceremony, which was reportedly held in New York’s The Hamptons.  Waters titled the reveal, “I’m so happy, finally a keeper.”

The photos include snaps of the happy couple sharing kisses, cutting their cake, laughing together and, of course, photos of Chavis’ lace wedding dress.

Not much else is known about the couple’s nuptials. 

In a 2018 interview, the 78-year-old Waters told Infobae, an Argentine media outlet, how he and his new bride first met and fell in love. “I actually met her at one of my concerts a couple of years ago.  She worked in transportation. She was driving the car that was taking me,” the bassist said. “Something about her attracted me.”

Waters admitted that he made the first move and that he threw Chavis a compliment, which was, “Did someone ever tell you that you have beautiful cheekbones?”

It worked, and he recalled, “I saw a little reaction, and that was the beginning.” 

This is Waters’ fifth marriage.  He was previously married to Judith Trim, his childhood sweetheart, from 1969 to 1975, aristocrat Carolyne Christie from 1976 to 1992, actress Priscilla Phillips from 1992 to 2001 and to filmmaker Laurie Durning between 2012 and 2015.

I’m so happy, finally a keeper. pic.twitter.com/48pp2IBGhs

— Roger Waters (@rogerwaters) October 14, 2021

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