Classic Rock News

On This Day, February 14, 1984…

Rocker Elton John married German-born sound engineer Renate Blauel in an extravagant wedding in Australia.  The marriage didn’t last long and they split in 1988.

Elton has said he realized he was “living a lie” and later said he believed that “being married would cure me of everything wrong in my life.”

Elton’s love life took a turn for the better when he started a relationship with David Furnish in 1993. In 2005 they entered into a civil partnership in the U.K., and after same-sex marriage became legal there they married in December of 2014. They have two sons together: Zachary Jackson Levon, who was born in 2010, and Elijah Joseph Daniel, who was born in 2013. 

In 2020, Blauel sued Elton for writing about their relationship in his 2019 autobiography, Me, but the suit was quickly settled out of court.

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Roger Daltrey left fans in Clearwater, Florida, disappointed when he cut short his show Saturday night in order to protect his voice.

Planet Rock reports that earlier in the show, The Who star complained he was suffering from indigestion, as well as being unable to hear the band, and finally gave up about 12 songs in.

“I’m going to do myself some serious damage here and I’m not going to do it because I’ll never sing again,” he told fans. 

Daltrey wound up stopping for good during The Who song “Naked Eye,” telling the audience, “I’ll try and make it up to you. I’m really, really sorry. I am not a robot! I am definitely not a robot! I’m not doing this to myself anymore. Thank you so much for coming.” 

Daltrey did not make an official statement after the show was canceled, but he did mention onstage that fans could request refunds.

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U2 is set to headline a new Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere, this fall. But many fans are unhappy the band will be performing without drummer Larry Mullen Jr.

Larry will be sitting out the shows in order to recuperate from surgery, with drummer Bram van den Berg filling in for him. And while the band said in a press release that “Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg, who is a force in his own right,” fans don’t appear to be as welcoming. 

“The magic that is left in the band has been the longevity of the four original members always doing it together,” one fan commented on the band’s Instagram announcement about the residency. “I can’t say how disappointing it is to see the band abandon that for the glam of Las Vegas’ new toy.”

Another added, “No Larry? U2 is not a 3 legged table with a spare leg. I’ll skip this one.” Another wrote, “No Larry, no go.” And one commented, “They should of waited until Larry was 100%. It will not be the same without him no matter how flashy this tour will be.”

So far no dates for the residency have been announced, but fans who want to go — despite the drummer controversy — can sign up at u2xsphere.com to be the first to get details.

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The Black Crowes and Modern English are among the artists booked for the first-ever Evolution Festival, taking place August 26 and 27 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Headliners for the festival include The Black Keys on Saturday and Brandi Carlile on Sunday, with the bill also including Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Brittany Howard, Ice Cube, Morgan Wade and Sugar Hill Gang.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit EvolutionFestival.com. 

And this isn’t the only new festival The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson have booked. They just announced their acoustic project, Brothers of a Feather, will be playing MerleFest, which is happening April 27 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Their complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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Forbes is out with its list of the highest-paid entertainers of 2022, with Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Genesis taking the top spot. 

The group, made up of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, earned the number one position with earnings of $230 million, thanks largely to the sale of their music catalog to Concord Music Group, in a deal reportedly worth $300 million (before fees). They also brought in about $27 million from their final tour.

And they aren’t the only rockers to benefit from a catalog deal this year. Sting lands at number two, earning $210 million in 2022 from his catalog deal with Universal Music Group, also said to be worth around $300 million.

Also while they didn’t sell their catalog, The Rolling Stones still landed in the Top 10 at seven, with $98 million in earnings thanks to their most recent European tour and royalties.

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Megadeth is getting back together with guitarist Marty Friedman for at least one show.

Friedman, who last played with the thrash metallers in 2000, will be a “special guest” during Dave Mustaine and company’s upcoming concert at Tokyo’s famed Budokan venue on February 27.

“Marty and I have remained friends over 23 years, since we last played together,” Mustaine says. “However, I hear his music every night, and he still is among the top guitar players I’ve ever heard.”

“This is an amazing treat for the fans, as well as myself,” Mustaine continues. “I am going to enjoy this as much as the fans are, and I’m sure many of you will catch me sneaking a peek during Marty’s appearance.”

You won’t have to be at the Budokan to enjoy said treat, either. As previously reported, the concert will stream live online.

Friedman joined Megadeth in 1990, and played on albums including Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction. Following his departure from the band, Friedman moved to Tokyo in 2003, where he’s continued to live.

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U2 is set to release the new album Songs of Surrender in a little over a month, and they have just shared another track from the record. The band has released their new take on the Achtung Baby classic “One,” which has basically been turned into a piano ballad, with an added choir at the end. 

U2 will release Songs of Surrender, containing 40 reimagined and rerecorded songs, on March 17. Curated and produced by The Edge, each song on the album is a completely new recording, with new arrangements — and in some cases new lyrics. 

This is the third taste of the record the band has shared with fans. They previously released their new takes on “With or Without You” and “Pride (In The Name of Love).”

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A new Bruce Springsteen song is heading to the big screen. Variety reports The Boss has written the tune “Addicted to Romance” for Rebecca Miller’s new movie She Came to Me, which stars Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway.

The romantic comedy is set to have its world premiere Thursday, February 16, at the Berlin Film Festival, with the song playing over the end credits. 

“I really love Bruce’s music. For the end of She Came to Me, we wanted an original song,” Miller tells the mag. “I had a secret wish it might be Bruce, but I was reluctant to ask because I felt it was so unlikely, and frankly I was a bit shy.” 

She says she eventually got up the nerve to ask; Bruce and wife Patti Scialfa watched the film and “loved it.” She notes, “Bruce said he’d take a few days to see if anything came to him for a song. Miraculously, ‘Addicted to Romance’ was the result. He says he was inspired by the film, which is a great honor for me.”

This isn’t the first time Springsteen has written a song for the movies. In fact, he won an Oscar for the song “Streets of Philadelphia,” from the 1994 movie Philadelphia. And in 1996 he was nominated for an Oscar for his song “Dead Man Walkin’,” which he wrote for the Sean Penn/Susan Sarandon film Dead Man Walking.

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Richie Sambora got all dressed up for his latest gig. The former Bon Jovi guitarist has just been revealed as the “Jacket Potato” (aka baked potato in the U.S.) on The Masked Singer UK. 

According to NME, during his appearance on the show he performed songs like “Viva Las Vegas,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” and even got a chance to play guitar in costume. 

“My hiatus from Bon Jovi and the Covid impact on my solo touring meant I could only do one thing which is make a new record, until I saw The Masked Singer,” he said after being unmasked. “I loved it and it was a lot of fun to watch it at a time where due to lockdowns and being forced to be at home the world was a little quieter than it had been since Bon Jovi kicked off 37 years ago.” 

And it sounds like we’ll be hearing a lot more from Sambora soon. He revealed on Good Morning Britain, “There’s new music coming in about a month. We’re looking towards the end of March, beginning of April.” He also revealed that Dolly Parton just called him and he’ll be playing on her new rock album.

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Steven Van Zandt is known for wearing his signature bandana on his head, and now he’s helping Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is battling cancer, master the look. Raskin recently took to social media to thank the E Street Band member for sending along one of his signature bandanas to cover his head as he loses hair due to his treatment. 

“Look what I received from one of the greatest musicians on earth, a gift I will treasure almost as much as his song ‘I am a patriot,’” Raskin tweeted. “You are about to see a step up in my chemo head-cover fashions for the next few months. Rock on Stevie, keep spreading the light.”

Little Steven soon responded to Raskin’s post, writing, “That gift is from all of us who want to thank you every day for giving us hope that there is a politician that cares about justice! Here’s to a rapid complete recovery.”

Raskin announced in December that he had been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It is his second bout with cancer, following a 2010 colon cancer diagnosis.

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