Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 17th, 2026

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Oct. 15, Billy Joel revealed he's "not allowed to drive" after stepping away from the stage in 2025 and is preparing to auction off his beloved collection of over 70 vintage motorcycles. Announcing he was canceling his previously scheduled 2025-2026 tour at the time, Joel said that the brain disorder he'd been experiencing had "been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance" and that he was undergoing physical therapy under his doctor's instructions. In his Hollywood Reporter interview, Joel said, "I have to take a series of tests before I know," adding, "I can't drive right now. I'm not allowed to drive." He said a neurologist informed him that "every time you do a show, it's like you're getting a concussion." Billy continued: "I'm into my 70s now, and I realized I can't ride as much as I used to. I don't want to die like a bug on a windshield. So I thought I'd put a lot of them on auction." He said his brain disorder makes riding a bit "iffy," and he realized "it's time for me to turn it over to somebody else." In September, The Piano Man said that he didn't want people worrying about his health. "I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is," he said on SiriusXM when taking calls from fans. "I'm okay. My balance isn't that good. Lost a little bit of my hearing, but that may have to do with my age, too, and the rock and roll life and the loud volume probably didn't help. But I'm fine. I want people to not have to worry about me. I'm okay." Joel has been collecting and restoring vintage bikes for decades, and for 15 years, he ran 20th Century Cycles on Long Island, a shop for storing and servicing his bikes that doubled as a free museum to showcase his collection before shuttering the business in 2025. The auction of his personal motorcycle collection is scheduled for Nov. 20 and 21. - Rolling Stone, 10/15/26...... More than six decades after becoming a permanent resident of the U.S., Canadian-born Joni Mitchell has officially become a United States citizen. The legendary singer/songwriter shared the news via an Instagram post on Oct. 13, posting a photo of herself smiling while holding a miniature American flag. She also uploaded a video showing her being applauded as she stepped forward during her citizenship ceremony. "A journey that began 62 years ago," she captioned the post, and did not provide further details about her decision to pursue American citizenship. Born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1943, Mitchell first moved to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, settling in Los Angeles and becoming a defining figure in the Laurel Canyon music scene alongside fellow singer/songwriters and musicians such as members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Over the decades, Mitchell built a catalog that would influence generations of artists, earning her a place among the most celebrated and recognized songwriters in popular music. Her relationship with the U.S., however, has not always been straightforward. During a 2024 performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Mitchell made her political feelings known with a blunt expletive directed at then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. She followed it with a lament about her inability to vote as a Canadian citizen, jokingly referring to herself as "one of those lousy immigrants." Mitchell, who celebrates her 83rd birthday on Nov. 7, leaves an extraordinary legacy behind her and has spent decades influencing American music. - Billboard, 10/13/26...... Roger Waters has called Metallica frontman James Hetfield a "complete prick" who has "an IQ of about three" after Hetfield made comments during a Metallica show at the Las Vegas Sphere on Oct. 10 criticizing other artists with "bullshit agendas" about the world's issues. "Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK," he shared. "No bullshit. We're here to forget about all the outside shit, OK? Metallica's agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!" Although Hetfield didn't mention any names, some fans have speculated that it could be a nod to rapper Macklemore, who was dropped as a support act for Ed Sheeran's "Loop" tour after making a speech calling for a "free Palestine," or possibly other younger artists including Hayley Williams, who criticized ICE during her recent concerts, or even Tom Morello who recently enlisted Jack Black, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and more for his politically-charged "Power To The People" festival. Now, former Pink Floyd star Waters has shared his thoughts on the comments made by Hetfield, calling him a "prick." "Can we stop talking about this prick?" he said when making a guest appearance on Katie Halper's podcast. "I'm so bored with him. He's just showing that he's a complete prick. He's got an IQ of about three, and why we're talking about him, I honestly don't know, because he's a nobody." Waters continued: "He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he's a prick, and he's no musician. I heard them playing acoustic instruments, and they couldn't. It was appalling." Metallica have been largely apolitical over the years, and back in 2017 Hetfield said that he wanted to keep his thoughts about Donald Trump to himself, arguing that politics "separates" people. Footage of Hetfield's swipe at other artists has been shared on X, and Waters' comments can be viewed on Instagram. - New Musical Express, 10/16/26...... The early '80s English rock supergroup Asia is returning with its first studio album in 12 years, Indigo. Asia's history is almost too perfectly engineered to be true: four musicians drawn from major prog-rock acts of the 1970s -- John Wetton of King Crimson, Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Steve Howe of Yes and Geoff Downes of the Buggles -- came together in 1982 to form a supergroup that quickly became something much bigger, with their self-titled debut reportedly selling as many as 80,000 copies a day. Then came changes. Wetton gave way to John Payne on lead vocals as the 1980s became the 1990s, and Asia continued producing chorus-driven, highly melodic rock. In 2006, the original four reunited for three albums and tours before members once again began peeling away. Wetton died in 2017, following the release of Asia's 2014 studio album, Gravitas. Downes now leads a new lineup of Asia with vocalist Harry Whitley on Indigo, and the collection balances radio-ready rock with ambitious progressive explorations while honoring the band's legacy and his songwriting partnership with Wetton. There are the radio-friendly songs of their 1982 debut similar to "Heat of the Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell," but also longer, more experimental pieces that allow the musicians to stretch. Indigo doesn't erase or replace either chapter of the band's history. Instead, it shows how Asia can sound when its history is allowed to evolve. Indigo arrives on Nov. 6, and he official video for the album's first single, "Arcadia," can be streamed on YouTube. - Canoe.com, 10/15/26...... Neil Young is raving about the new controversial Tom Cruise film Digger, calling it "the best film I have ever seen." Co-written and directed by Oscar-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant) and follows oil tycoon Digger Rockwell (Cruise) as he tries to save the lives of thousands from an environmental disaster that he's behind. The satirical black comedy also features plenty of genre-twists which divided critics, who largely panned the film. While the movie has struggled at the box office -- only taking in $20 million against a production budget of $160 million and is on track to become one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history -- several artists have praised the film. Actress Anne Hathaway called it "smart, trippy, aggressive, funny and ambitious" in a glowing review on her Letterboxd account, and Neil Young has shared a lengthy blog post where he calls Digger the "best movie I've ever seen." "None of the reviews I have read describe this film adequately, in my opinion. They seem to miss the overall effect and most of them are negative," he wrote. "This film lives in a world of art. It is its own best review. Don't read any other reviews and forget this one before you see Digger." He went on to say that it would be "misleading" to view Digger as your typical Tom Cruise blockbuster. "I do not view this film as a commercial venture. Rather it is an artful film of our times. The things that are said in Digger are a direct reflection of today's political and social world. The film is so full of artful expression and radical change ups, that it may be too much to take in for those expecting a commercial film like we are used to today." He described Digger as a "must see for those frustrated by the lack of genuine engagement present in much, if not all, of today's offerings," and encouraged fans to see it with "an open mind." "Stick with it when you are sure it is no good. Stay. Don't be confused by its approach. This is the greatest film -- work of art I have seen, and that's just my opinion," he continued. "You must stay open and see it. Forget everything I said." The Digger official trailer can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 10/16/26...... Former Black Sabbath and Deep Purple singer/bassist Glenn Hughes has told fans that he is on the mend after undergoing another major heart procedure. In an Instagram post on Oct. 16, Hughes said he is "Now Home after an 8 day stay, and a 10 hour open heart surgery operation, called aortic valve replacement, exactly the same procedure I had done in 2013, at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Westwood, LA." Hughes, 75, praised his doctor, the head of cardiothoracic surgery at UCLA, and the staff and assured fans, "Each day as I move forward, I am getting my energy back. There is only love in my life. There are no mistakes." In August, Hughes announced that he was retiring from touring effective immediately, calling off a planned six-week tour due to health issues and giving up on life on the road after half a century on doctor's advice that he needed heart surgery. "This past year, I've had some health issues. The results from numerous MRIs, CT scans, and an echocardiogram have alerted my medical team, that I need another open-heart surgery," he wrote at the time. "I really have no option and no choice as health is my number one priority. Grateful to have been chosen with a life full with the gift of music Thank you for walking beside me." Beginning his career as the singer of the British funk-rock band Trapeze in the early 1970s, Hughes got the chance of a lifetime when he was tapped to replace Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover in 1973, where he sang alongside lead singer David Coverdale on three albums. After Deep Purple's original breakup, Hughes struck out on his own, releasing his 1977 solo debut, Play Me Out, the first of more than a dozen solo LPs he's released. He played with a number of bands throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, including stepping in to sing lead vocals on the 1986 Black Sabbath album Seventh Star. In his new post, Hughes kept a chin-up attitude about his health, writing, "Everything is in its right place. Never believe that there is something wrong in your life. You are where you're supposed to be. Going through those experiences that are necessary for you right now. When you become angry at yourself, because you don't like the experiences that you are going through, you are hindering your growth. Rather be grateful, & thankful, for every experience that you're going through." - Billboard, 10/16/26...... The deluxe reissue of The Beatles' 1965 LP Rubber Soul has risen to the top of Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, also claiming first place on the publication's Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts. In the week ending Oct. 8, Rubber Soul earned 58,000 equivalent album units in the United States, up 1,626% from the previous period's 4,000, according to Luminate. Of its 58,000-unit sum, 50,000 copies are via album sales, which allows the set to reenter the all-genre Top Album Sales chart at No. 1, the band's eighth leader since the chart launched in 1991. It also tops Vinyl Albums with 24,000 copies being sold via the vinyl configuration, the English quartet's seventh top spot on the 15-year-old chart. Rubber Soul becomes The Beatles' seventh No. 1 on Top Rock Albums, which began in 2006. It first reigned in 2007 with Love (the companion album to its Cirque du Soleil show) and had most recently reigned via a similar reissue of Revolver in 2022. Reissues of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017 and Abbey Road in 2019 have also topped the chart in previous years; for the reissues, all versions of the album are combined for tracking and charting purposes. Rubber Soul was reissued in a variety of configurations, including a four-CD, five-LP reissue includes original and new mixes of the album as well as demos and alternate session takes. It also contains a home demo of the previously unheard song "Little Girl" that was written and recorded by John Lennon. Meanwhile, Paul McCartney has claimed he can remember details of his birth. Appearing on Amy Poehler's podcast Good Hang on Oct. 13, Paul explained that he believes can actually remember being born. These things, you don't know if you've made it up. But I have this feeling that I kind of remember being born," he began. "I was born in a place in Liverpool called Walton Hospital, which was a real old Victorian thing; I think it had been something else before a hospital." Sir Paul went on to list some details of the hospital, however he emphasized that he is unsure whether the memories are real or if he had dreamed them up later. "So, I kind of remember white tiles, very sort of hygienic white tiles and chrome instruments and a clanging, because I was a forceps birth. They had to pull me out," the 84-year-old continued, adding: "I don't know if it's true." Also on the podcast, Macca cleared up an annoying "tall tale" that he says filmmakers keep getting wrong about The Beatles. When Poehler asked who was the tallest Beatle, McCartney said a bit defensively, "We were all the same height," holding up a finger in emphasis. "You really were," Poehler said with a sly smile as she willfully opened the Pandora's box. "You know I've got a thing about that, do you?" McCartney shot back as Poehler feigned ignorance and let out a laugh. After Poehler said "You really were," McCartney said: "Oh my God. Well, we were all the same height and Ringo [Starr] was a bit smaller." Elsewhere, the animal rights group PETA has sent an official letter to the UK's Omega Auctions asking for 43 Elswick Street, the Liverpool house where McCartney first learned to play the guitar, to be donated to the charitable organization. With the property set to go under the hammer, PETA aims to transform the historic home into a dedicated museum celebrating the music legend's lifelong advocacy for animals and the planet. In the letter, PETA highlights how McCartney has spent decades using his global music platform, voice, and influence to encourage environmental stewardship and kindness toward animals. As a committed vegetarian, McCartney once famously declared, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." Alongside his daughters Mary and Stella McCartney, he has carried forward the legacy of his late wife, Linda McCartney, through impactful global initiatives such as Meat Free Monday, inspiring millions worldwide to leave animals off their plates. Finally on the Fab Four front, Sean Ono Lennon has clarified fan speculation about how his deceased dad John Lennon divided inheritance between him and his half brother Julian Lennon. Replying to a post on X on Oct. 11 in which someone presumed, "One guy inherited most of the estate, the other largely cut out and forced to engaged in decades-long litigation in pursuit of a comparatively small share of it. Unbearably painful and enraging for the one, surely pretty darn awkward for the other. That they remain friends (and largely always were) is testimony to the redemptive power of being a chill dude with broad implications for the wider world." The comment was tied to a post from Sean a day earlier of the Lennon brothers enjoying a nice day out in nature to celebrate his 51st birthday and, according to Sean, the commenter got it all wrong. "Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad," he wrote. "Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so." Sean is the adult son of John and wife Yoko Ono and Julian, 63, is Lennon's eldest, from his six-year marriage to his first wife, Cynthia Lennon. The two appear to have developed a close relationship and often share pictures together on their socials, including posing together at the 2021 Los Angeles premiere of Peter Jackson's Beatles miniseries Get Back. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 10/15/26...... On Oct. 15 Blondie announced their first new album in nine years, High Noon, will be released on Feb. 26 via BMG Music. According to a release, the 13-track set mixes their "classic punk/new wave energy with dance music and Latin rhythms" on songs that feature contributions from former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, and Beirut's Zach Condon, among others. It is also the last recording co-founders singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein made with late drummer and fellow co-founder Clem Burke before his death in 2025. "This album is classic Blondie -- an amalgamation of all our different influences and eras into something new," said Harry in the statement. "This music feels grounded in the present, shaped by who we are and how we're living now." High Noon will be the New Wave icons' first LP of new material since 2017's Pollinator, and like that album, High Noon was produced by John Congleton, and the group said that following Burke's death at 70 from cancer in Apr. 2025 the record took on added meaning. "It's been a long, strange ride, and somehow here we are with another Blondie album," said Stein of the latest from the band formed in New York in 1974, which now stands as one of the last remaining groups still making new music from an era that spawned the likes of Talking Heads, The Ramones, Television and Patti Smith. "I'm not sure what the f--- I'm supposed to say at this point, except that we're incredibly grateful for all your support over the years." The new album's first single, the Johnny Marr-penned "Spectral Eyes," can be previewed on Spotify.com. - Billboard, 10/15/26...... The Rolling Stones have announced a release date for a deluxe edition of their 25th album Foreign Tongues, just five months after its July release. The update, dubbed Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips, is due out on Nov. 27 from Capitol Records and it will feature five new songs from the sessions for the LP that has already spawned the singles "Rough and Twisted," "In the Stars," "Jealous Lover" and "Mr. Charm." It will feature the previously issued iTunes bonus track "Bad Luck Hideaway," a duet between singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards that was recently made available across other digital platforms as the B-side the latest streaming single "Mr. Charm." Also included will be "Who You Callin' Crazy," featuring British jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine, which was released digitally on Oct. 16. The other songs include "Where There's a Will," "Human Tide," and "She Still Comes Around," none of which have been previously available. All five extra songs will be available in a standalone vinyl edition, as well as in a deluxe 2CD edition and across all digital formats. The vinyl edition -- which will come on heavyweight red vinyl -- will feature all five Loose Lips songs on LP, alongside the original Foreign Tongues album. - Billboard, 10/14/26...... Al Jardine says that despite years of animosity and legal battles between himself and fellow founding The Beach Boys member Mike Love, he still feels for his former longtime bandmate after seeing footage of the 85-year-old Love struggling during a recent performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. "It's shocking and I was really depressed," Jardine told Rolling Stone about his concern for Love performing with the surf pop legends at a time when the last remaining original member of the group is struggling with his health. "I had to really shake myself out of it just to get onstage. Just the optics of it were just awful and I'm speechless," Jardine, 84 said of the feelings he had watching Love remain seated during the band's show and sing the occasional background as the bandleader told the audience that he's been "going through some health issues for quite a while." That same night Jardine, the only other surviving member of the BB, was playing his own show with fellow former BB band members Bruce Johnston and David Marks at the Cerritos Center for the Performing arts in Cerritos, Calif. His gig also featured appearances from Carnie Wilson (late BB founder Brian Wilson's daughter and member of the 1990s group Wilson Phillips), Marilyn Wilson (Brian Wilson's first wife), as well as Jan and Dean's Dean Torrence. Asked if he thinks Love's band are going to play more shows, Jardine said: "That's just not right, that I can see. Obviously, he's a total pro. He wants to be onstage, but he just doesn't know how not to do it. He doesn't know what else to do, so I think he's trapped." Love has sued ardine several times over his use of the Beach Boys name, including in 2003 for touring under the names "Beach Boys Family & Friends," claiming that the gigs represented unfair competition with the Love-led Beach Boys. The Beach Boys have a handful of upcoming dates on their schedule, including a Nov. 11 performance at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park in Orlando, Fla., and a Nov. 13 show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Bristol, Va., as well as a May 8, 2027 booking at River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, Canada. - Billboard, 10/14/26...... Led Zeppelin has finally allowed "Stairway to Heaven" to be used on screen in the trailer for the upcoming movie Narnia: The Magician's Nephew because of their love for C.S. Lewis. The pioneering heavy metal band have never let the original recording of their iconic 1971 track be licensed for use in a film or TV series before, but filmmaker Greta Gerwig says she was able to convince them for her latest offering. Speaking during a Q+A with former late night TV host Stephen Colbert, she said: "They had not let it be used in anything. I was so moved that they allowed me to use the song." Gerwig said she spoke to Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, who wrote the song, and got them to personally sign off on using the song in marketing for Narnia. "I showed them and I talked to them, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. They did it because they saw the heart of the story in the film and they, too, love C.S. Lewis, and they have a reverence for his work. The whole thing was very fortuitous. I'm so happy that it got to be this song," she sad. Gerwig added she was determined to use "Stairway" in her film's first trailer as a way of introducing her adaptation. "It's an epic song. It's an amazing song. It's a narrative. It's about a spiritual journey. It's about the true path of enlightenment and spirituality, and then this path of false idols and the wrong roads you can go down. And I was like, 'This is exactly the story of this movie.'," she noted. Led Zeppelin have rejected several approaches to use "Stairway" on screen in the past. In 1992's Wayne's World, the titular character did play the opening notes in the guitar store, but the band forced them to remove the snippet from broadcast, video and foreign releases. The band also rejected a proposal by director Cameron Crowe for the song to be used in his 2000 film Almost Famous. Starring Daniel Craig and Cary Mulligan, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew will open in theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, before arriving on Netflix on Apr. 2. The full official trailer can be viewed on YouTube. - Music-News.com, 10/16/26...... Michael Jackson's legendary 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance is getting a documentary titled Spectacle: Michael Jackson at the Superbowl. Directed by Bao Nguyen, whose previous credits include Netflix's The Greatest Night in Pop, the feature-length documentary will explore the behind-the-scenes journey that brought Jackson's halftime show to life. The film will also include never-before-seen footage of the pop superstar and his team, giving fans a new perspective on a performance that helped reshape one of television's biggest annual events. A newly released teaser, available on YouTube, shows a glimpse of the spectacle, with footage of Jackson commanding the stage at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., in his signature military-inspired outfit as thousands of fans fill the venue, chanting his name. The clip also previews the documentary's title before revealing its February premiere on Hulu and ESPN. Jackson's appearance at Super Bowl XXVII on Jan. 31, 1993, marked a turning point for the halftime show. Instead of a typical intermission between the game's two halves, the performance was an event of its own. It helped establish the halftime stage as a destination for some of the biggest names in music. Elsewhere, MJ has surged to the front of the pack in the race for the UK's Official biggest album of 2026 as the third quarter comes to a close. Following the release of the cinematic biopic Michael in April, public interest in the King of Pop's legendary musical catalogue has reached a massive fever pitch. His 2005 compilation release, The Essential Michael Jackson, has now amassed over 508,000 UK chart units this year alone. That impressive tally sees the late icon overtake Olivia Dean's acclaimed record The Art of Loving at No. 2, as well as Harry Styles' Kiss All The Time. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 10/13/26...... For the 36th time, Sammy Hagar has celebrated his birthday with a star-studded bash at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Hagar celebrated turning 79 on Oct. 13 over three nights -- Oct. 9, 11 and 13 -- with guest-filled rock n' roll festivities, and says he already has his eye on turning 80 with a different kind of party next year. "My dream would be to play somewhere where I can accommodate every ticket request, and everybody who never got to be at the Bash could come to this final bash," Hagar told Billboard. Hagar says that this year he received 100,000 requests for about 1,600 tickets over the three nights, a number that continues to grow every year. "I would love to be able to say to everyone, 'Guess what? You're all gonna be able to get a show.' If I have to play four or five nights somewhere, maybe I play a big stadium, maybe we block off the whole town of Cabo and do it for free. I don't know what we're gonna do yet, but I do know for my 80th birthday, that would be the dream." For this year's bash, Hagar assembled a house band reuniting him with members of his Waboritas -- guitarist Vic Johnson and bassist Mona Gnader -- joined by drummer Kenny Aronoff from Chickenfoot and Hagar's recent Van Halen-oriented Best of All Worlds band, and guitarist Stevie Salas. Hagar says he plans on focusing on his "Red Rocker" years in 2026, which, he adds, will include the entire debut album from Montrose from 1973. "The musicians wanted to do that stuff," Hagar explains. "I'm really looking forward to doing the full Montrose record. That's gonna be pushing my ass, lemme tell ya. I was 24 years old!" - Billboard, 10/13/26...... Sir Cliff Richard celebrated his 86th birthday on Oct. 14 alongside his devoted fans at a special afternoon tea event held at London's Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane. Hosted by UK radio legend Ken Bruce, the gathering marked the upcoming release of his 48th studio album, Only Number Ones, with the music icon exclusively sharing a selection of new tracks with those in attendance. Fans who secured entry by pre-ordering the album were treated to photos with the "Devil Woman" singer and enjoyed a classic afternoon tea featuring sandwiches, scones, and bespoke desserts. During the event, Sir Cliff was presented with a birthday cake to celebrate his milestone year. Guests also heard an exclusive preview of "My Sweet Lord" and his brand-new version of "Oh, Pretty Woman" --a track originally taken to No. 1 in the UK by Roy Orbison 62 years ago, which Sir Cliff officially released on his birthday. "I am so thrilled to have been able to celebrate my 86th birthday with my fans," said Sir Cliff. "They have always been very special to me and are the reason why I continue to make music and tour. They helped me all of these years to get to number one, and it is great that I am now able to give back with my own versions of number one tracks that I personally love." Arriving on Nov. 27 in the UK and Dec. 4 in the US via major streaming platforms and retailers, Only Number Ones sees Sir Cliff put his signature touch on iconic chart-toppers spanning eight decades. The record features covers of tracks originally made famous by The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, The Monkees, Elvis Presley and Harry Styles, alongside a fresh 2026 rendition of "White Christmas." - Music-News.com, 10/15/26.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 12th, 2026

Jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine has revealed that The Rolling Stones are back in the studio, and he played "another session" with Mick Jagger for the band. "I've just done another session a couple of weeks ago with him [Jagger] for The Rolling Stones," Pine told BBC Radio 3's Private Passions. "Mick's an amazing artist," he added. "That whole pop world is completely different to anything that I know." Pine has worked with Jagger before, playing saxophone on his 1993 solo album Wandering Spirit. Recalling those sessions, he said: "I played on one version of Mick Jagger's solo album and they threw it away and then I get a call, 'Can I come out to LA tomorrow and play on another version of the same album?' Mick Jagger? Of course!" There has been no official confirmation that the latest session is intended for the next Stones album, but the news follows Jagger revealing in June that he had already begun writing again before the band's latest effort, Foreign Tongues, had even been released. Asked whether the album could become the middle instalment of a run of three Stones records, Jagger replied: "Yeah, it could be a trio [of records] I've already started writing songs anyway." "They could be for other people though," he added. "When you write a song, you sometimes decide, 'That's not for me, but it could be for the Chili Peppers' or whatever. I'm very open-minded to it. I've got a lot of stuff, and not all of it's suitable for The Rolling Stones. It shouldn't stop me writing them, you know. If you get an idea, just write it." - New Musical Express, 10/10/26...... Barry Manilow canceled two shows on his residency at the International Theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino after walking off the stage on Oct. 8 after only two songs, reportedly telling the crowd, "Talk amongst yourselves," and didn't come back. Manilow, 83, had only just returned to the venue for what his team called a "triumphant welcome-back concert" following a weeks-long break, but is reportedly struggling with a bout of bronchitis and "had to cancel his Friday and Saturday shows," a representative for the musician and the venue told Variety. The illness carries particular significance for the "Copacabana" singer. He disclosed in Dec. 2025 that he had been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, discovered after doctors ordered scans while he was recovering from a bout of bronchitis; he subsequently underwent surgery. The health issues repeatedly postponed his Westgate residency, originally set to begin in February, before he returned to the stage in the U.K. and resumed Vegas dates in July. In late August, he announced another break after a demanding summer run, saying "we were pushing a little too hard." His team has not said whether upcoming dates -- the residency is listed to continue Oct. 15 -- will be affected. Manilow's Westgate residency has made him one of Vegas' most enduring headliners, with his tally of shows at the venue surpassing Elvis Presley's record. Attendees have said they later received refund emails from Ticketmaster for the canceled shows. - Billboard, 10/10/26...... Co-founding Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill announced his retirement from the British heavy metal group on Oct. 9, effective immediately. "It is with heavy hearts that we are sending out this personal message from our Ian.he has been the backbone of Judas Priest for so long and will be greatly missed by us all," Judas Priest posted on Instagram. The post also contained a lengthy personal message from Hill, 75, who opened by describing his answer to the frequent question of how long he could continue with the band he joined with his childhood friend, guitarist K.K. Downing, in 1970, a year after original vocalist Al Atkins founded the "Breaking the Law" group in Birmingham, England. "I've always answered, 'until my performances suffer,'" Hill wrote. "I hate to say it, but that time has come. For some years now, I've been struggling with the onset of the evil arthritis, which is now in an advanced state in my left shoulder and right hand, established in my right shoulder, and present in both knees. I've been fighting this with painkilling pills, gels, and recently with cortisone injections in my shoulder and hand." Hill added that even though he was able to play his basslines on the songs for Priest's upcoming album, it was unclear if he'd be able to finish out the band's most recent European tour without incident. The band asked Uriah Heep bassist Davey Rimmer to step in for Hill on Sept. 21 during Priest's show at London's Eventim Apollo. Hill said he had to skip that show after "snapping a tendon" in his left shoulder just before the encores at a gig in Brussels on Sept. 18. In light of the various health issues, and the fact that he's "neglected my family life for fifty-seven years," Hill said he's made the hard decision to retire and spend his remaining years "making up for it, and doing things with them before it involves one of 'em pushing me around in a wheelchair." Hill is the only Judas Priest member to appear on all 19 of the band's albums, from their 1974 debut, Rocka Rolla, through the upcoming, as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2024's Invincible Shield. After spending all summer on the road in Europe on their "Faithkeepers" tour, the band has a long layoff before its next gig in June 2027 at a pair of festivals in Norway and Denmark. - Billboard, 10/9/26...... On Oct. 8 Def Leppard announced an extensive 2027 North American arena tour that will take the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rockers from coast to coast and up through Canada from early spring through summer. The 45-date outing featuring support from Goo Goo Dolls and The Struts is slated to kick off on Mar. 2 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., and feature stops in Montreal (3/5), Detroit (3/7), Toronto (3/9), Boston (3/17), Nashville (3/19), Chicago (3/25), Denver (3/29), Los Angeles (5/1), San Francisco (5/5), Seattle (5/9), Vancouver (5/14), Houston (6/1), St. Louis (6/7), Tampa (6/13), Atlanta (6/17), Cleveland (6/21), New York (6/23) and Philadelphia (6/27) before winding down on July 2 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The band closed out their third residency at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace in February and have an upcoming run of October gigs in Hollywood, Fla., followed by several stops in Mexico, and shows in El Salvador, Costa Rica and Ecuador. They will close out their 2026 schedule with November gigs in Colombia, Argentina and Chile. Def Leppard will also be the subjects of an upcoming feature-length documentary, Long Live Def Leppard, which is slated for release in theaters in 2027. - Billboard, 10/8/26...... Journey drummer Deen Castronovo was reportedly rushed to hospital on Oct. 8 after falling ill during Journey's performance at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. A reporter for a local paper posted on X that Castronovo "had a medical emergency after two songs" and "was helped off the stage," later posting that the show continued after a 20-minute delay. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, co-founder and lead guitarist Neal Schon then told the crowd that Castronovo was en route to the hospital and that the band's drum tech, Steve Toomey, would fill in. Later during the show, Schon dedicated the concert to Castronovo. "This concert's for Deen tonight. I'd love you all to pray for him. Everybody's been going through a lot. I think he's going to be fine." Journey are making their final go-round with a lineup featuring Castronovo, Schon, Jonathan Cain, and singer Arnel Pineda, who joined the group in 2007, replacing original lead singer Steve Perry. Castronovo, 62, played drums and contributed vocals for Journey from 1998 until 2015, and later rejoined the group. A former member of Bad English and Hardline, he has also played for the late Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers and GZR, with Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler. Journey's ongoing "Final Frontier" North American tour expanded in May with the announcement of 40 additional concerts. Journey has yet to share an update on Castronovo's condition. - Billboard, 10/9/26...... Art Garfunkel postponed his upcoming UK tour on Oct. 10 after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection. Garfunkel had been due to bring his "What A Wonderful World"' tour to Watford, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London in mid-October, beginning at the Watford Colosseum on Oct. 13. Now all four shows have now been postponed, with Garfunkel revealing that a visit to his doctor during rehearsals led to the diagnosis. "During rehearsals for my upcoming concerts, I nearly postponed a scheduled appointment with my physician," the 84-year-old crooner said in a statement. "Thankfully, my wonderful wife, Kim, insisted that I keep it. As it turns out, I have been diagnosed with a respiratory infection, and my doctor has advised me to take some time to rest and recover." He continued: "My heart is broken that I must postpone these performances. At this season of my life, to be so warmly received by audiences and surrounded by so much love is a gift beyond words. Singing for you has always been one of the greatest joys of my life, and the thought of disappointing you saddens me deeply." The venues are currently working to reschedule the performances, and ticket holders have been advised to retain their tickets while new dates are arranged. "I promise you that I will return to the stage and sing for you as soon as my health allows," Garfunkel added. "Please don't worry about me. I'm in good hands, and I expect to be just fine." His next currently listed show is at L'Olympia in Paris on Oct. 21, followed by a series of US dates beginning in Virginia on Oct. 30. - NME, 10/10/26...... After Steven Tyler teased that Aerosmith would play their first gigs in three years in an Instagram post earlier in October, the band announced on Oct. 7 that two shows will take place at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 and be headlined by the "Sweet Emotion" band along with The Black Crowes, the group's "Walk This Way" collaborators Run-DMC, Heart, producer Andrew Watt (Ozzy Osbourne, Rolling Stones), Billy Idol, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, Eric Church, Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez, Train singer Pat Monahan, Sammy Hagar and Tom Morello. The official photo released for the outing also suggests that the band's full classic lineup will be on hand for the shows, including founding drummer Joey Kramer, who hasn't played with the group in six years, since stepping away in 2020 due to health issues. The announcement also noted that lineups will vary by night and additional "legendary" artists, special guests and surprise appearances will be revealed later. - Billboard, 10/8/26...... The deluxe reissue of The Beatles' classic 1965 LP Rubber Soul features an 88-page hardbound book featuring a brand new written introduction by Paul McCartney, who reveals how the album's legendary cover came to be. "Our friendship with the photographer Robert Freeman, who had lived in the same block of flats at John, meant that he was an obvious choice to take the cover photograph," Sir Paul writes. "We did the session with Robert, and he showed us the results. The method he used in those days was to project the images he had taken on to a white piece of cardboard the shape and size of an album cover. While we were choosing a suitable shot the piece of cardboard slipped backwards, giving the image an elongated shape. When things like this happened with The Beatles, instead of just thinking it was a mistake, we grabbed hold of the idea and said, 'That's perfect. If you print it with this stretched shape it will echo the title of 'Rubber Soul". Robert liked the idea and that is what we did." The Super Deluxe Special Edition of Rubber Soul comes as either a 5-LP box-set or a 4-CD box-set, with 68 tracks and a selection of previously unreleased session recordings and home demos. Meanwhile, a special edition of McCartney's 2026 solo album The Boys of Dungeon Lane has been released with four new songs written around the same time as the original record. One of the new tracks is an alternate "Flip Mix" version (available on YouTube) of "Home To Us" -- the tender duet that saw McCartney reunite with his Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr for their first solo collaboration. Other new songs on the special edition of the album include brand new, previously-unreleased songs called "City Fox," "One Night Stand" and "Chelsea Boots." The album is available digitally now, and physical copies will be released on Dec. 9. Vinyl formats include a limited edition 2LP orange and blue marble vinyl featuring a zoetrope etching, and all new editions of the album come with a new artwork. Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, The Beatles' milestone of reaching 100 weeks on Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart has been joined by Taylor Swift and her latest album The Life of a Showgirl. Swift has become only the second act to spend at least 100 weeks on top of the chart, joining The Beatles, who have logged 132 weeks at No. 1. The Fab Four was last on top with the greatest hits set 1, which spent its eighth and final week atop the list dated Feb. 3, 2001. Among all acts, Elvis Presley has the third-most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 67. NME/Billboard, 10/8/26...... Cher's follow-up to her bestselling memoir Cher: Part One: The Memoir has been scheduled to drop on Apr. 20, 2027, and is now available for pre-order. Part Two will be available in hardcover, paperback, audiobook and ebook formats. The book is listed at 480 pages, adding to the already considerable 432 pages delivered in the first tome. Clearly, the "Believe" singer has a lot more to say. The first installment was an instant No. 1 New York Times bestseller as well as a global No. 1 bestseller, giving Cher's memoir a strong start ahead of its highly anticipated conclusion. Among the many striking revelations in Cher: Part One: The Memoir regarding her ex-husband Sonny Bono's volatile behavior, the Oscar and Grammy winner also recounted being pursued by Warren Beatty at 15 and helping Tina Turner navigate an abusive marriage to Ike Turner. The memoir is available in paperback, hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats, with the latter narrated by the author herself. - Billboard, 10/8/26...... Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint, who starred in such memorable classic films as On the Waterfront and North by Northwest, died on Oct. 6 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 102. The delicate, fine-boned actress, one of the first breakout talents from early television, won her Academy Award as best supporting actress for On the Waterfront in 1955, making her the oldest living Oscar winner. She played Edie Doyle in the Marlon Brando starring film, with the New York Times writing in its review, "Amid scenes of carnage, she gives tenderness and sensitivity to genuine romance." As Ms. Saint raised her family from the late 1950s on, she returned to acting intermittently, and many of her later appearances were onstage and on television, most notably in the ABC series Moonlighting and later as Clark Kent's adoptive mother in the 2006 movie Superman Returns. One of her most memorable roles was as the cool but seductive blonde spy in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 spy thriller North by Northwest. "Not only does she provide the requisite icy sex appeal as Eve Kendall, a shadowy secret agent, but she also proves to be much more than a standard damsel in distress," Variety wrote in an appreciation on her 97th birthday. Ms. Saint made her TV debut on Camp Hoop La, then became a regular on One Man's Family. Other TV credits include Philco Playhouse, Robert Montgomery Presents and Studio One. After North by Northwest, she appeared in Exodus and All Fall Down. The latter, directed by John Frankenheimer and co-starring Warren Beatty, saw her give one of her best dramatic performances. She was the spiritual but scorned wife in 1965's Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton adultery tale The Sandpiper and then appeared in a better vehicle, Norman Jewison's comedy The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, in 1966. Other roles include Loving, 36 Hours and Grand Prix. On Broadway she acted in "The Lincoln Mask" in 1972 and then, opposite Henry Fonda, in "The First Monday in October" in 1979. The actress had a recurring role on the ABC series Moonlighting, starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, as Shepherd's mother. She returned to film again in the 2000s, appearing in films such as I Dreamed of Africa (2000), Because of Winn-Dixie and Don't Come Knocking (2005) and 2006's Superman Returns, in which she played Martha Kent. In 2014 she made her final bigscreen appearance, in the Akiva Goldsman written and directed Winter's Tale. Her husband, TV director Jeffrey Hayden, died in 2016. Survivors include her two children, Darrell and Laurette, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. - Variety, 10/7/26...... NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, the former tight end, Super Bowl-winning coach of the Chicago Bears, and TV analyst whose gruff "Iron Mike" style was parodied on Saturday Night Live, died on Oct. 9. He was 86. The cigar-smoking Mr. Ditka said his "Iron Mike" nickname derived from his upbringing in a Pennsylvania steel town, but his brusque manner and short temper contributed to his tough image. He became a larger-than-life character, whether he was sticking a wad of gum on a photographer's camera lens or berating a referee behind his trademark sunglasses. His persona was so large that he inspired a recurring sketch on SNL in the early '90s known as "Bill Swerski's Superfans." Created by Robert Smigel and Bob Odenkirk, the skit had several Chicago sports fans (played by Smigel, George Wendt, Joe Mantegna, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, et al) sitting around a table at Ditka's sports bar, drinking, smoking and gorging themselves on assorted meats while extolling the greatness of "Da Bears" and the Windy City's other teams. Born on Oct. 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Penn., Mr. Ditka was recruited by 40 schools coming out of Aliquippa High and chose the University of Pittsburgh to stay close to home and pursue a career in dentistry. He was a three-sport star at Pitt, also excelling in baseball and basketball. (The Panthers retired his No. 89 in football, and he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.) The Bears selected Mr. Ditka fifth overall in the 1961 draft, and he won Rookie of the Year honors after catching 58 passes and scoring 12 touchdowns, extraordinary numbers for a tight end in that era. After retiring from playing, he was hired by Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry as an assistant coach in 1973, and spent nine years on Landry's staff as Dallas captured three NFC titles and won another Super Bowl. He coached the Bears from 1982-92, guiding the 1985 team to a Super Bowl rout of the New England Patriots 22 years after winning an NFL championship with Chicago as a standout player. The 1985 Bears, widely considered among the most dominant teams in NFL history, went 15-1 during the regular season before trouncing three playoff opponents by a combined 91-10 margin. Mr. Ditka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, and also worked as an analyst for NBC and CBS, and later appeared as an ESPN commentator on a variety of platforms. Mr. Ditka was married twice and had four children, Michael III, Mark, Megan and Matthew. "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Mike Ditka," his family said in a statement. "While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach and leader of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever." - AP, 10/10/26.

A rare Led Zeppelin single that the band ordered to be recalled and destroyed has been found on the UK version of Antiques Roadshow. Taping the show in Wales, a man named Caerphilly Castle brought in a seven-inch single of the group's classic "Whole Lotta Love," telling antiques expert Marc Allum how he managed to get his hands on it. "I was looking for records to start a disco and out of his bag came a couple of records and he went 'you can have those'," he told Allum, to which the expert said that the vinyl was only ever released in the US and "shouldn't really exist" in the UK. "There are a lot of myths and stories that build up around these things, and I heard that 500 were pressed and they went out," he continued. "This came about apparently because there was a kind of disparity between the relationship between the band, the management and the record company, and Led Zeppelin the band hadn't agreed to have any singles released." Allum also noted that there were some finger marks and light scratches on the vinyl, and while it was "difficult to put a value on," he estimated that it could fetch around £1,000 at auction. Castle also said that despite its rarity, the people who came to his disco were not "impressed" with it, and that "it cleared the dance floor" when he would put it on. "It's been with me for 55 years and I will probably give it to my daughters to do what they want to do with it. I don't think I will play it again as it will devalue it," he added. "Whole Lotta Love"' was the opening track for the band's 1969 second album Led Zeppelin II, which also featured such classic Led Zep numbers as "What Is and What Should Never Be," "The Lemon Song" and "Ramble On." "Whole Lotta Love" was certified gold in the US and had a rare single pressing of 500 copies made by Atlantic Records. The band had a strict no-single rule throughout their career, and only wanted their music to be released as full albums. As a result, their manager Peter Grant ordered all copies of the single to be recalled and destroyed. - New Musical Express, 10/6/26...... Elvis Costello has revealed he once pitched himself as the bandleader for the now-canceled CBS late night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Interviewed on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Costello said that he pitched himself for the job before the show's original bandleader, Jon Batiste, got the gig. "It was an impulsive thing to put myself forward," Costello said of his offer to have himself an his band, the Impostors, serve as the house band on the show that was canceled by the network and aired its final show on May 21 of this year. Costello said when host Stephen Colbert asked his advice about the role, "I said, 'What about me?' And I think he thought I was joking, and I said, 'No, I'm not joking.'" While a Colbert spokesperson did not comment on the report, Costello said there were "serious discussions" about him taking on the role that he said he pitched after watching acts such as the long-running Tonight Show house band The Roots deftly navigate a four-show-a-week gig while also recording new music and avoiding the grind of touring. Costello, 72, who noted that after he pitched himself (and his band) he quickly realized the idea might not work for them, as they're scattered across the U.S. and Europe, including France-based keyboardist and longtime collaborator Steve Nieve. "I started to think about how much it asked of my bandmates, that they would all have to relocate," said Costello, who is the only member of the group based in New York, where the show taped. "It would have never worked. We would've been asking an awful lot, and the money involved and everything would've been unbelievable to relocate three band members to New York," he added. Though he missed out on the Colbert gig, the "Veronica" singer ended up making an appearance on the May 21 Late Show finale, where the host sang the My Aim Is True deep cut "Jump Up" with Costello, Batiste and his bandleader successor, Louis Cato, as part of a medley that featured a Paul McCartney-led "Hello Goodbye." - Billboard, 10/6/26...... Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Dave Matthews and Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler were among the musicians participating in the inauguaral edition of Tom Morello's "Power To The People" festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Oct. 3. Held to "bring together artists, fans, activists, organizations and community leaders for an unforgettable day celebrating the power of music and collective action to inspire change," the event organized by the Rage Against The Machine frontman saw some unique collaborations when it kicked off early that day. One of the biggest moments of the festival came when School of Rock star Jack Black took to the stage alongside Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Cypress Hill, Tom Morello, Public Enemy's Chuck D, and Anthrax's Scott Ian to break out a cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," which has been shared on YouTube. One of the most star-studded moments of the festival was the all-star jam session that came at the very end of the night, which started out with Springsteen on the stage solo, performing his politically charged song "Streets Of Minneapolis," before inviting Baez to join him for a cover of Bob Dylan's "Chimes Of Freedom." The collaboration with Springsteen at the one-day festival comes on the heels of Morello touring with The Boss on the New Jersey rocker's "Land Of Hope And Dreams" tour earlier in 2026. - Billboard, 10/6/26...... In a recent interview with London's The Times, Queen guitarist Brian May revealed that his legendary band won't be touring again. "A close family friend died when we were in the States, so I said to my tour manager, 'I'll just nip home for a few days and come back'," May, 79, said. "She looked me in the eyes and said, 'You know you can't do that.' I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom. I have a wife (actress Anita Dobson), grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I'm thinking maybe 50 years is enough." Since 2005, May and his co-founding Queen bandmate Roger Taylor have toured with singers Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert filling in for the band's late frontman Freddie Mercury. Queen and Lambert, who have worked together since 2011, concluded their last tour in Feb. 2024. Later that year, May suffered a "minor stroke" and was temporarily unable to use his left arm. He has since made a full recovery. - Music-News.com, 10/6/26...... Alice Cooper released his third memoir, Devil On My Shoulder, on Oct. 6, and says he wants to set the record straight with this one -- or as straight as it can be. "I've rarely allowed facts to get in the way of telling a good story," Cooper says of his earlier memoirs." He even acknowledges in the new book's preface, "I'd go as far as to say I've been the most outrageously unreliable interviewee of all time, weaving a tangled web of embellishments and exaggerations as I went alonguntil even I couldn't separate fact from fiction." Devil On My Shoulder is certainly the most detailed account of Cooper's "eviloution," from growing up in Detroit through the original Alice Cooper band's formation in Phoenix, its time in Los Angeles and subsequent rise to notorious -- and often reviled -- superstardom with horror-show onstage theatrics and big hits such as "Eighteen," "School's Out" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy." He leaves some of the legends dangling -- maintaining that "I still don't know who had the chicken" that he threw into the audience at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival in 1969 -- while he comes clean about others, including the mundane origins of the Alice Cooper name. "The real story at the time was not as good as the one that was a like... the reincarnation of the witch and the Ouija board and all of that," he says. "I just said, 'Look, it's a better story.' What we learned at that point was you didn't have to (say) it, you just have to not deny it." Cooper launches a national book tour in the US on Oct. 7 in New York City and will also appear at the NYC Comic-Con the following day, before heading overseas to promote the memoir on Oct. 11 in Cardiff, Wales. He'll also be doing book-siginings in Cardiff, Brighton, London, Manchester, Stockton, Glasgow and Wolverhampton. On Nov. 2, he'll participate in a Q&A at Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of fame and on Nov. 5 greet fans in Livonia, Mich. at Rock City Music. Alice kicks off a 16-date fall U.S. tour on Oct. 27 in Clearwater, Fla., wrapping on Nov. 21 in Reno, Nev., and beginning a "Welcome To Our Nightmare" residency at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 4-6. - Billboard, 10/6/26...... Heavy metal pioneer and Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi has helped raise more than £15,000 to launch a brand-new scholarship supporting the next generation of musical talent in Birmingham. The funds were generated during a sell-out headline event, "An Evening with Tony Iommi," held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's Bradshaw Hall. Fans travelled from across North America, South America, and Europe to pack the venue, kicking off the night with a stunning string quartet performance of Black Sabbath's classic "Paranoid" by Conservatoire students in the group Jezt. Hosted by legendary U.K. sports broadcaster and close friend Gary Newbon, the evening saw Iommi reflect on his extraordinary life and career. The guitar icon discussed the origins of his pioneering sound, which was forged after an industrial factory accident at age 17 cost him the tips of his fingers. Drawing inspiration from jazz great Django Reinhardt, Iommi crafted makeshift prosthetic tips and adapted his technique, paving the way for the birth of heavy metal. - Music-News.com, 10/6/26...... Roxy Music have shared a previously unreleased early demo of "Pyjamarama," taken from their forthcoming expanded reissue of their 1973 sophomore effort For Your Pleasure. Featuring only Bryan Ferry's voice and acoustic guitar, it also documents the first time the Roxy Music frontman had written a song using the instrument. The demo, available on Spotify.com, was recorded while Ferry was staying alone at a remote cottage in the Derbyshire Dales, where he retreated amid the band's hectic touring schedule to concentrate on writing their second album. Roxy Music have also shared a newly recovered performance of "Pyjamarama" from Top Of The Pops in Mar. 1973 on YouTube. The tape had been missing from the BBC archive, but was recently rediscovered in a collection belonging to mobile disco DJ Roger Hill. Due out on Nov.r 6 via UMR/Island EMI, the Super Deluxe edition spans three CDs and a DVD, featuring songwriting demos, rehearsals, AIR Studios outtakes, BBC sessions, instrumentals and archive TV and concert footage from 1972 and 1973. Roxy Music most recently reunited for a 50th anniversary tour in 2022, with Ferry, Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson performing together for the first time in more than a decade. - NME, 10/3/26...... Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb will be profiled on PBS' long-running series Great Performances on Oct. 30. Jimmy Webb: American Songwriter will include a Webb concert recorded in Feb. 2026, in which he takes the stage to perform such classics as "Wichita Lineman," "Highwayman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Galveston" and "MacArthur Park." Webb is joined by guest artists Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Ashley Campbell (Glen Campbell's daughter), all of whom perform and offer commentary. The program also features archival clips of Webb's hits sung by the original artists: Campbell, The 5th Dimension and Richard Harris and a notable cover version of "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer, who took a disco version to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. - Billboard, 10/6/26...... A new David Bowie tribute called "Bowie80" started on Oct. 5 with a series of events celebrating what would have been the iconic musician's 80th birthday on Jan. 8, 2027. As part of the collection, there will be special events, releases, anniversaries, collaborations and fan experiences around the world, as well as limited-edition merchandise made especially for the occasion. To kick off the initiative is a new partnership with Nordstrom, who will be celebrating the music legend with three immersive shops in its Seattle, NYC, and Chicago flagships. Each will hold a range of exclusive and limited-edition collections, and collaborations also come from Undercover, Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith and AllSaints. Also in the US, there is a celebration of Bowie from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, which is hosting a retail pop-up that will run from mid-November up until January across its museum store, online shop, and airport location. The Rock Hall will also be holding some fan events, including Bowie-themed presentations, trivia, and an exhibition. More details about the latter, including the photographers included in the exhibition will be announced at a later date. Limited edition merchandise for the celebration of Bowie's 80th birthday will be launched by Perryscope Productions, longtime merchandising representatives for Bowie, on his webstore. Other new events as part of "Bowie80" include "Strange Fascination" -- a major photography exhibition celebrating the artistry and evolution of the songwriter -- which is held at Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City and West Hollywood next February, as well as a new live symphonic concert production called "BOWIE (breaking) GLASS." On top of all that, there will also be another collaboration with the V&A in London for "Bowie80" -- this time showing artefacts from Bowie's 90,000-item archive. After launching in London, it will head on tour, going to Dundee and Blackpool in 2027, before visiting further venues in 2028 and 2029. - NME, 10/5/26...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has teased the band my perform their first live show in more than three years in a stort video with famed rock photographer Ross Halpin posted on Instagram. In the video, 78-year-old Tyler climbs a ladder outside the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to affix some letters to its iconic marquee, with Halfin along to help with the spelling. "Y H W," Halfin says in the video as Tyler shouts, "Gimme the O! Ampersand! Ampersand!" "Don't you miss performing?" Halpin asks. "Of all the things I ever missed, I miss my mind the most," Tyler responds as the two enjoy smoothies and gaze at the marquee with the dates Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 on it. Aerosmith were forced to abandon their planned final outing, "Peace Out" Farewell Tour, in Sept. 2023 due to Tyler's fractured larynx, which the singer suffered just three shows into what was booked as their last road hurrah. The tour was first postponed, then subsequently canceled and the band announced a retirement from touring. Tyler and bandmate Joe Perry then went on to record an Aerosmith EP with rapper Yungblud, 2025's One More Time, and Tyler has made a few singing appearances, including a six-song set at the annual Grammy Awards benefit for his Janie's Fund and last summer's massive "Back to the Beginning" farewell concert by Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. - Billboard, 10/6/26...... AC/DC brought out Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl during their set on Oct. 2 at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. "Hey everybody, we got something to tell you. You better listen up close now. A very good friend of ours asked us today if he could come up and join us on the stage for 'Highway for Hell'," singer Brian Johnson told the crowd. "And we said, 'Yes Dave, you can.' David Grohl!" The MetLife show marked the final date of AC/DC's "Power Up" Tour in support of the band's 2020 album, Power Up, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. AC/DC has not announced additional dates beyond the "Power Up" Tour. At the end of their show, Johnson told the audience, "Good night, hope we'll see you again." Footage of Johnson introducing Grohl can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/3/26...... Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Oct. 3, Paul McCartney revealed how he wound up performing at Taylor Swift's much-ballyhooed marriage to Travis Kelce on July 3 at Madison Square Garden. "Did you know you were gonna sing going in?" host Jimmy Kimmel asked, getting the scoop for the general public, whose curiosity about the wedding still lingers. "Yep. She asked me to do it," McCartney said, verifying that the song he sang was the 1964 Beatles classic "I Want to Hold Your Hand." "That was her request? Or she asked you to pick a song?" was Kimmel's next question. "Yeah, it was, yeah," Macca answered, then added that he'd hoped Swift would join in on the performance since she was on the stage already. "I said, 'You should sing along. You should sing to" Sir Paul recounted, then paused. "Your man." Seemingly forgetting the name of Swift's husband for a moment, after a quick laugh from the audience and a nudge from Kimmel he came back with: "I know. Travis." "Seems like reasonable advice," Kimmel quipped of McCartney's idea for a live wedding-day collab with Swift, and then wrapped the interview, which has been shared on YouTube. Elsewhere, Phil Collins has seemingly reignited his long-running feud with McCartney -- suggesting that the Beatles legend was behind him being taken out of a documentary. The spat between the two dates back over 20 years ago, when the singer, drummer and Genesis member was allegedly on the receiving end of a belittling comment from McCartney when he met him at Buckingham Palace. Collins opened up about the supposed incident in 2016, saying that he approached McCartney and his then-wife Heather Mills at the palace in 2002 and asked them to sign a "first edition of The Beatles by Hunter Davies". "I said, 'Hey Paul, do you mind signing this for me?' And he said, 'Oh Heather, our little Phil's a bit of a Beatles fan,' Collins claimed. "And I thought, 'You f---. You f---'. Never forgot it." "He has this thing when he's talking to you, where he makes you feel [like], 'I know this must be hard for you because I'm a Beatle. I'm Paul McCartney and it must be very hard for you to actually be holding a conversation with me.'" Since then, the two seemed to have put the feud to one side. In 2018, Collins announced details of a huge, 59-track box set that featured the Beatles star, and earlier this summer he said that he "wish[ed]" that he never spoke publicly about the feud -- particularly as they had now "made up." Now though, it looks like the feud could come back again, as Collins has made a sly quip, suggesting that McCartney could be the reason why a mention of him was taken out of a Beatles documentary. Speaking at a Q&A in London with Steven Wilson to celebrate 45 years of his 1981 album Face Value, Collins shared that he was originally mentioned in The Beatles Anthology documentary. "The one feather in my cap, which I'll never forget, was with The Beatles Anthology. The three got the tapes out of "Tomorrow Never Knows." And they were playing it on the multi-track," he said. "I thought, 'The Beatles mentioned my name'," he added. "I went back to watch it recently and they'd taken it out. It's not there anymore I don't know, maybe McCartney didn't like it." McCartney has not publicly responded to the comments made by Collins. - Billboard/NME, 10/3/26...... In other Beatles news, the deluxe reissue of the quartet's 1965 classic Rubber Soul is on track to hit No. 1 on the U.K.s Official Albums Chart, exactly 60 years after its last appearance at the top. Should the Fab Four clinch the top spot, it will be their first chart-topping album milestone since Oct. 2019, when their Abbey Road reissue similarly rebounded back to the summit. Holding the record for more weeks at No. 1 than any other act in U.K. chart history, the group is once again poised to roll back the years and reign supreme. This newly enriched Rubber Soulreissue brings together 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three captivating home demos. Fans have been particularly excited to discover early versions of timeless classics like "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out," alongside a rare, previously unheard John Lennon demo titled "Little Girl." - Music-News.com, 10/5/26...... Former The Doobie Brothers member and '80s solo star Michael McDonald has reconnected with a son he put up for adaption at age 14, nearly 6 decades later. McDonald made contact a year and a half ago with biological son Michael Goessling, who recalls putting it together over a preliminary phone call that he was related to a rock star. Adopted as a baby, 59-year-old Goessling told NBC that he never knew his biological parents until last year, when he received a letter informing him that they wanted to meet him. His first conversation with McDonald was over the phone. "I just said: 'What a voice that guy has!'" Goessling said. "It just sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it. Finally, I just said: 'Are you Michael McDonald?' And he chuckled and he said, 'Yeah, I'm afraid so.'" Goessling also figured out the identity of his birth father after McDonald told him he was a musician with a gig that night at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. A quick Google search showed that the Doobie Brothers were booked for the venue on that date. "There are still days I wake up, and my first thought is I am coming out of the craziest dream, and it's been a year and a half," Goessling added. "I'm still trying to get my head around all of it." Back when McDonald was 14, he had a child with his middle-school girlfriend. The pair put the child up for adoption, and the musician went on to replace Tom Johnston as the lead singer of the Doobie Brothers. McDonald has five Grammys to his name and helped the Doobie Brothers score Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "What A Fool Believes," as well as other top 10 hits such as "Real Love" and "The Doctor." Goessling also told NBC that he never harbored resentment for his biological parents -- who he says are still good friends -- for putting him up for adoption. "I just wanted to thank them for the choices they made on my behalf and for giving me a shot in this world, and how grateful I was for that," he said. "They were always heroes in my story." - Billboard, 10/2/26...... Alexander Skarsgård appears in the the video for the new The Rolling Stones single "Mr. Charm" as a sweat-soaked, shirtless dancer in front of a flaming tree. The band dropped the video for the latest Foreign Tongues single on Oct. 1 and it is a feast for the eyes and senses. The Henry Scholfield-directed clip, which can be viewed on YouTube, has a pretty simple premise: Skarsgård shows up to sleepy Palmdale, Calif. with his Blue Steel gaze to charm the locals and hoof his way through town. The scene opens at an old gas station, where the Pillion actor struts up in his red cowboy boots, tight black jeans, chest full of silver necklaces and fringed buckskin jacket (but, as noted above, no shirt), strikes a pose, checks his 'fit in the mirror and then slinks around making everyone fall in love with him. The lyrics to the classic Stones rocker say it all: "I could show you places that you have never seen/ And fill your mind with images of tantalizing dreams/ And caves full of crystals shot through with pinks and greens/ And no man's land in the Darkest Days of 1916/ Call me Mr. Charm, Mr. Charm, Mr. Charm/ Call me Mr. Charm, Mr. Charm, Mr. Charm," Mick Jagger sings. "Mr. Charm" is the latest single from Foreign Tongues, which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 200 in July. Previous videos from the album have also featured some Hollywood stars, including Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton in "Jealous Lover" and Odessa A'Zion in "In the Stars." - Billboard, 10/2/26...... As the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 50th anniversary commemoration ramps up, original drummer Stan Lynch is adding his own tribute with "High Flying Bird," a sentimental song and video dedicated to his late musical cohort. The song will appear on upcoming Origins 1971-1978 box set, out Nov. 6, and curated by Petty's daughter, Adria. "At the time I had this song I had started years ago that was evoking my feelings towards Tom, but that's such a touchy, personal thing," Lynch says. "I wasn't sure I would ever want to put out a song with that kind of through-line. But then when I saw all the (archival material), I kind of went, 'Hey.'" Despite the acrimony over his departure from the Heartbreakers 32 years ago, Lynch -- who subsequently came back to good terms with all of his bandmates -- is feeling positive about what's going on in the band's orbit these days. In recent years he filled in on drums for guitarist Mike Campbell's Dirty Knobs band, and on Sept. 16 Lynch joined the other Heartbreakers at the 25th Annual Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, where the group performed with Chris Stapleton in front and also received a Lifetime Achievement Award. - Billboard, 10/2/26...... The Beach Boys have canceled another planned comeback gig -- this one on Oct. 9 in Bloomington, Ill. -- after gradually cancelling all their dates over the past three months. Facebook post by the Grossinger Motors Arena says the show has been "cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances." Co-founder and frontman Mike Love has been taking time to "recharge" following an unspecified health ailment, according to recent reports. The group last played a public show on July in Valdosta, Ga., following a sketchy few months where Love appeared gaunt and sang in a raspy, diminished voice. A month later, the group postponed all their shows until late September so that Love had additional time to rest. But when September came, the four planned concerts were cancelled without explanation. Love and the rest of the touring band, including frequent guest John Stamos, came together on Oct. 3 for a private show in Dana Point, Calif. Few details of that show have come out, but a photo uploaded to the group's fan forum shows Love seated in a chair onstage. Al Jardine, the only other living member of the original BB lineup, continues to tour with veteran members of Brian Wilson's backing group. - Music-News.com, 10/6/26...... R&B icon Freddie Jackson, known for such hits as "You Are My Lady," "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)" and "Love Me Down," died on Oct. 5. He was 70. Born in Harlem, N.Y., on Oct. 2, 1956, Jackson began singing as a youth in his church choir. At that point in time, he met his later record producer and songwriting partner Paul Laurence. As a member of Laurence's group LJE (Laurence Jones Ensemble), Jackson began playing clubs in New York before relocating west in the late '70s to join the California funk band Mystic Merlin. After returning to New York, Jackson reteamed with Laurence at Hush Productions, where he sang on demos and doing background vocals for Melba Moore, Evelyn "Champagne" King and Angela Bofill. Stepping out on his own, he hit his stride as a solo singer with Capitol Records in 1985 with the R&B No. 1 "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. He received two Grammy nominations in 1986 -- best new artist and best R&B vocal performance, male, for "You Are My Lady." From there, Jackson churned out a string of 10 No. 1 R&B gems -- as well as several top 10 singles -- between 1985 and 1992. All told, Jackson logged 35 entries on the R&B songs chart with his silky-smooth tenor: 19 went top 10, and with 10 reigning at No. 1. On the albums front, Jackson scored four No. 1s on the R&B chart: Rock Me Tonight, Just Like the First Time, Don't Let Love Slip Away and Do Me Again. He also earned a top 10 slot for Time for Love. Jackson continued to record well into the 2000s (including 2006's Transitions and 2010's For You), and remained a popular concert and festival draw. His additional career credits include the 1989 soundtrack for the film All Dogs Go to Heaven ("Love Survives" with Irene Cara), an appearance as a singer on a 1989 episode of The Golden Girls ("Two Rode Together") and a cameo in the 1990 movie King of New York. "It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved Freddie Jackson, who went home to rest last night," his family posted on Instagram. "Freddie was more than a legendary voice. He was a kind, generous soul who loved his fans, his family, his friends and his music with everything he had. To everyone who ever sang along, danced or felt something when Freddie took the stage: thank you." No cause of his death has been revealed. - Billboard, 10/6/26.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 2nd, 2026

In early September, Stevie Wonder announced he is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his landmark 1976 18th studio album, Songs in the Key of Life, with a world tour on which he will play the entire LP. And now, he's released a four-track EP to the double-album featuring previously unreleased tracks. On Sept. 28, Wonder dropped the EP featuring a quartet of classic-sounding previously unreleased tracks from the session personally curated by the singer and newly mixed by the album's original recording and mixing engineers, John Fischback and Gary O Adante. Songs in the Key of Life debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and spun off two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles in "I Wish" and "Sir Duke," as well as winning Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards. Wonder's new EP can be streamed on Spotify.com. - Billboard, 9/28/26...... Earth, Wind & Fire's classic tune "September" has entered the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart for the first time since 1979. While the song normally gains popularity every Sept. 21 (the track's opening lyric is "do you remember the 21st night of September"), this year's cycle produces an added dimension to its success, sparking its first return to the Hot 100 since its original release cycle in 1979. "September" reentered the Hot 100 at No. 45 on the list dated Oct. 3, its first appearance since the chart dated March 10, 1979, when it ranked at No. 83. The song peaked at No. 8 and now adds an 18th week on the chart across its entire history. With the revived "September," EW&F have claimed their first Hot 100 visit since "Sunday Morning" in 1993. The R&B icons count 33 Hot 100 hits in their career, including seven top 10's and a No. 1, "Shining Star," in 1975. "September" first appeared on the 1978 greatest-hits The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. - Billboard, 9/30/26....... Billy Joel reassured a fan asking about his well publicized brain disorder that it "sounds a lot worse than it actually is" during a his first-ever live call-in special on his SiriusXM "The Billy Joel Channel" on Sept. 24. Joel also answered questions about his favorite songs and lyrics, and the call-in gave one fan an opportunity to ask about an update on his Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus diagnosis in 2025. "I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is," said Joel to a fan named Mary from Texas. "I'm OK. My balance isn't that good. Lost a little bit of my hearing, but that may have to do with my age, too, and the rock and roll life and the loud volume probably didn't help. But I'm fine. I want people to not have to worry about me. I'm OK. And I appreciate your call," he said. Joel, who joked at the top that he's got a "face made for radio," also answered a call from a fan from Racine, Wisc. who wondered after performing with everyone from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Olivia Rodrigo, was there anyone he never got a chance to play with that he regrets missing? "I would have liked to have performed with John Lennon. And when he was shot, that was a horrible, horrible thing for me," Joel said of Lennon's murder by a crazed fan on Dec. 8, 1980. "It was like, he was like my old brother, my older brother to me. So, John Lennon would have been one of them. I'm trying to think, I love Steve Winwood. I think he's a terrific guy." Joel's SiriusXM call-in can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 9/30/26...... Meanwhile, Billy Joel's erstwhile touring partner Elton John opened London's Apple Music Hall on Sept. 28, performing a one-off show for 600 fans at the brand-new venue at Battersea Power Station. Elton performed solo at the piano and moved through an hour's worth of career-spanning favorites, including "Rocket Man," "Bennie And The Jets," "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," "Your Song," "Tiny Dancer" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," and the show was streamed live globally across Apple Music platforms, as well as projected onto the outside of the venue. Guests at the show included TV host Graham Norton, DJ Peggy Gou and Apple Music global creative director and Apple Music 1 host Zane Lowe, among others. The performance marked John's first U.K. show in more than three years, following his headline set at Glastonbury Festival in June 2023, where he concluded his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. Since then, the superstar has made only a handful of live appearances, most recently performing at Brazil's "Rock In Rio" festival on Sept. 7. Footage from the performance can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 9/29/26...... Posting on Instagram on Sept. 28, Rod Stewart announced plans to retire from mounting major tours in the future, while stressing that he's not going away entirely. "Ladies and gentlemen, after much deliberation and sadness, I have to announce that next year will be my last tour ever, ever," Stewart said. "I'm not retiring, but this will be the last rock 'n' roll tour. So I want to thank you for everything you've given me and hopefully I've given you something in return." Dressed in white pants and matching shirt and a gold brocade jacket, Stewart then leaned over to a piano and began pounding on one of the keys as he shout-sang, "So please come out and see me on the tour! It's gonna be great!" The caveat that it was his last rock tour might leave some wiggle room for Stewart to hit the road in the future to perform songs from his series of early 2000's well received American Songbook albums of pop standards. The European leg of Stewart's tour is slated to kick off on Apr. 23, 2027 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, and include stops in Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London before moving on to Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin and other cities before winding down on July 24 at ZAG Arena in Hannover, Germany. Stewart was forced to cancel some dates on his "One Last Time North American" tour after a series of medical issues disrupted the outing, including pausing his concert in Utah after nearly fainting on stage and doubling over in discomfort. On Aug. 9, Stewart called off the remaining dates on his North American tour following a minor medical procedure. The cancellation impacted planned shows in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado and a run of gigs in Mexico. Stewart, 81, has been touring for more than 60 years as both a solo act and as a member of the Faces, as well as the vocalist in the Jeff Beck Group. He's been on the road with his "One Last Time" trek since 2024 and earlier in 2026 told British sports chat show talkSPORT that after next year's shows he was planning to call it a day on major tours. - Billboard, 9/28/26...... The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has opened a new exhibition of his paintings and sketches of Jimi Hendrix at the Handel Hendrix House museum -- Hendrix's former apartment on Brook Street, Mayfair in Central London. Alongside previously unveiled paintings and sketches of the guitar legend created by Wood, the collection will also feature two new, unseen original portraits made by Wood. As well as being a longtime admirer of Hendrix, Wood was a friend of the legendary musician, having met him when he first moved to London in 1966. At the time, Wood was playing bass for The Jeff Beck Group -- and went on to briefly share a house with Hendrix in Holland Park. "I got to know him when he was a name that was already on people's lips," Wood says. "People like Eric Clapton would say, Have you seen this new phenomenon? And with the people that were in the know back in the 60s, the word would pass around very quickly that, OK, you've got to see this new boy in town." Wood says he "got a nice invitation from the people that run the 25 Brook Street who are preserving Jimi and his famous neighbor... Jimi came along and revolutionised the whole way people played guitar, so when they asked me to exhibit my renditions of Jimi, I was very honoured. I had just done a few [artworks] before I even knew that I was going to have an exhibit here, but now I've topped up the collection with a few new images." Wood says now that Rod Stewart has announced his final tour, a reunion of his old band Faces is off the table for the time being. "While I'm touring with my band and while Rod is touring with his band, we'll let those things go on their run, but then we'll carry on. We have a lot of good Faces stuff in the bag." - New Musical Express, 10/1/26...... Roger Waters and his son Harry Waters have announced details of Legacy: A Pink Floyd Show, a new touring production celebrating the golden era of Pink Floyd. The show will focus on Floyd's 1971-1979 period, with songs drawn from The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. The concerts will run for more than two hours and aim to reproduce the original recordings as closely as possible. Legacy has been created under Roger's direction, with Harry serving as musical director and leading a 10-piece band on B3 organ, piano and vocals. Roger Waters himself is not scheduled to perform in the shows. "We are going to authentically recreate the albums as close to note-for-note as we possibly can," Harry said. The stage production has been developed by Roger's team and will incorporate imagery inspired by Pink Floyd's original visual work, displayed across high-definition LED screens. "These songs have meant so much to so many people for so many years, and I'm excited for audiences to come together and experience them live again," Roger said. "Harry has assembled a terrific band, and I can't wait for fans around the world to see the special show we've created together." Harry added: "I fell in love with the music immediately. It really had an impact on me, irrespective of any bias because it was dad's music. I still love it deeply to this day." The extensive tour will begin in Columbus, Ga. on Feb. 15, 2027, and will ultimately visit more than 100 cities across North America and Europe. European shows will be announced at a later date. The tour's announcement can be viewed on Instagram. - NME, 9/29/26...... The new Paul McCartney documentary Man On The Run, was screened at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on Sept. 28, and the presentation was followed by a Q+A with McCartney and documentary director Morgan Neville and hosted by filmmaker Judd Apatow. Set between about 1968 and 1980, Man On The Run starts with Paul on his isolated Scottish farm with his wife, Linda McCartney, and growing family, wrestling with what to do with his newfound freedom. The Beatles had called it quits -- "it was John Lennon's idea," says McCartney -- but the world didn't know it yet. Over the course of its runtime, Man On The Run shows McCartney as he makes his way back to headlining arenas across America and all the bumps along the way to get there. Unflinching, the documentary does not shy away from addressing the critics panning of much of McCartney's solo work, the murder of John Lennon, his brief stint in a Japanese prison and his bold choice to sue the Beatles. Key figures like daughters Stella and Mary McCartney, Mick Jagger, Denny Laine, Laurence Juber, Chrissie Hynde, Joe English, as well as Paul himself, shared stories for the documentary. Linda, who passed away in 1998, also shared several stories via archival footage, voice-over, and photos. Man On The Run is also currently available on Amazon Prime. Elsewhere, McCartney's ex-fiance Jane Asher has revealed that she has no plans to watch Sam Mendes' forthcoming quartet of Beatles biopics, in which she will be portrayed by Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody). Asher, now 80, dated Paul from 1963 until 1968, with the couple announcing their engagement in 1967 before separating the following year. In an interview with The Telegraph, Asher revealed that the filmmakers had contacted her about the project. "They approached me about it, of course, but I said my usual," she explained, referring to her long-standing decision not to discuss her relationship with the famous Beatle publicly. Asked what she made of Boynton being cast as her, Asher replied: "Well, of course, Lucy is beautiful. But I won't watch the films, otherwise everyone will ask me what I thought." She went on to explain that she had made a conscious decision decades ago to stop answering questions about her time with McCartney. "People would offer me money to talk about it, all sorts of things," she said. "But I won't discuss it. It was so long ago." The couple met in 1963, when she interviewed The Beatles at the Royal Albert Hall as a teenager. McCartney later moved into the Asher family home in London, where he lived for several years. The relationship fed into a number of songs written during one of The Beatles most prolific periods, including "And I Love Her" and "I'm Looking Through You." "For No One," from 1966's Revolver, has also long been associated with difficulties in the relationship. Asher announced that their engagement had ended during a BBC television appearance in 1968. McCartney married Linda McCartney in 1969, remaining with her until her death in 1998. He later married Heather Mills in 2002 before their divorce in 2008, and has been married to Nancy Shevell since 2011. - Billboard/NME, 9/29/26...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr is among numerous musicians and celebrities who have donated unique items for auction in Housing Works' second annual "Turn It Up!" auction. Founded in 1990 by people living with HIV/AIDS and their allies, Housing Works emerged during the AIDS crisis in response to the urgent need for housing, healthcare, and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Over the decades, the New York City nonprofit has expanded its work to address housing instability, homelessness, healthcare access, HIV/AIDS, and social justice. Ringo donated an autographed Housing Works T-shirt, and other items include original artworks by David Byrne and Joan Baez, a signed drum head from Def Leppard's Rick Allen, and a color print of Bob Gruen's iconic photo of John Lennon standing in front of the Statue of Liberty. Of the Lennon photo, the entry on the auction site reads: "The US government was trying to deport John Lennon because of his support for the peace movement during the Vietnam war so I suggested we take a picture at the Statue of Liberty to illustrate that America was supposed to welcome people," Gruen wrote. "Since Lennon's death, this photo has taken on a new meaning as people think of John Lennon in terms of personal freedom similar to the Statue of Liberty." - Variety, 9/29/26...... Willie Nelson and Family's Farm Aid went forward on Sept. 26 in Virginia Beach, Va., despite a storming Noreaster that shut down major music events throughout the New York region. Highlights included Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts offering a veritable greatest-hits set of ballads including "Comes a Time," "Old Man" and "Harvest Moon," as well as "Lost Highway" and "Earth Girl." Through the years, Farm Aid fans never quite knew which flannel-shirted Neil Young would show up -- the master of acoustic ballads or the guitar-slashing rocker -- but on that night fans got both. After the mellow tunes, out came "Old Black," Young's vintage electric guitar, and the Chrome Hearts -- with Nelson's younger son, Micah Nelson, on second guitar -- roared through "Powderfinger" and "Rockin' in the Free World" with Young's newly ad-libbed line in the chorus. "Take America Back!" he shouted. Nelson once again made his classic "Whiskey River" the opener of his set, also playing such favorites as "On the Road Again" and "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" with a non-stop pace. "Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground," with Nelson's amazing solo on his trusty guitar, Trigger, gave the couples in attendance time for a slow dance. Then once more, Nelson gathered the day's musicians around him for the traditional closing of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and" I Saw the Light." Earlier in the evening, former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell performed with his band the Dirty Knobs. Campbell shared lead vocals with the Knobs guitarist Chris Holt on the Heartbreakers hits "Even The Losers" and "Running Down A Dream." In John Mellencamp's hit-laden Farm Aid set, "Rain on the Scarecrow" was once again a standout as he sang: "This land fed a nation/ This land made me proud/ And son, I'm just sorry/ There's no legacy for you now." In its 41st year, Farm Aid is the longest running concert for a cause. Since 1985, the festival launched by Nelson, Young and Mellencamp -- and now boasting Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff on its board -- has raised $90 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. - Billboard, 9/27/26.

Elton John will make his first public U.K. performance in over three years when he plays London's Apple Music Hall on Sept. 28. The surprise performance at the the newly remodeled 600-capacity venue at Battersea Power Station will be the Rocket Man's first U.K. performance since the wrapped his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at Glastonbury Festival in June 2023. John has sporadically performed live since, most recently at Brazil's Rock in Rio festival on Sept. 7. On Sept. 22, Apple announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art space which features a 48-speaker spatial audio system and a customizable 38-foot-wide stage. In 2014, Elton performed a private concert at the venue to mark the building's residential and commercial redevelopment. Other artists including Baby Keem, Skye Newman and Troye Sivan will help christen the new venue with concerts between Oct. 2 and Dec. 2. - Billboard, 9/25/26...... In a new interview with Vulture magazine, Todd Rundgren took aim at Taylor Swift, claiming she has "ruined music" and called her the "apotheosis of mediocrity." Rundgren is the producer of Meat Loaf's classic 1977 set Bat Out of Hell which he has previously said he approached partly as a spoof of Bruce Springsteen. After being asked which contemporary artist he would target if he were making an album intended as a parody, he replied: "Taylor Swift, of course. There's an argument to be made that she ruined music. It's an understandable phenomenon. It's just that, to me, Taylor Swift is the apotheosis of mediocrity." The veteran singer-songwriter-producer then offered his theory for why female artists have come to dominate mainstream pop, arguing that a shift began in the 1990s when young male consumers increasingly spent their money on video games rather than records. "Back in the '90s, boys stopped spending money on music and started spending it on video games, and that left the music market with, 'Well, where do we go here?'," Rundgren explained. "And they said, 'Well, there's all these young girls and they've got their allowances, too. Why don't we start making music for young girls instead of Pearl Jam or something like that?'" He went on to name Swift alongside Lady Gaga and Pink, but singled out Gaga for praise as a "real musician" and a "classically trained piano player." Returning to Swift, Rundgren said: "Taylor Swift doesn't do anything particularly great except grow hair. She's not a great singer. She's not a great songwriter. She's not a great dancer." Rundgren's comments come shortly after Swift released The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore, an expanded version of her 2025 album featuring four newly recorded tracks. - New Musical Express, 9/26/26...... Posting on Instagram on Sept. 21, Ozzfest announced it will come to the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade after previously announcing a show in Birmingham, U.K. "Ozzfest will come to the U.K. and U.S. @theozzfest," with the caption promising, "More Info Coming Soon!!! Where are you hoping Ozzfest 2027 will pop up?" In August, Ozzfest said the hard rock festival would take place at Villa Park, Birmingham, the 42,000-capacity stadium that hosted Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne's farewell show "Back to the Beginning", which took place in July 2025. The event dates and lineup have not yet been shared for the Villa Park show, nor for Ozzfest concerts in other cities. Meanwhile, the trailer for the new Back to the Beginning theatrical film has been shared on YouTube. The minute-long trailer for the film documenting the late Ozzy's final show is packed with emotion, tension, tears and, of course, the indomitable spirit of the Blizzard of Ozz himself. "There's never been a precedent for a show like this," says the event's musical director, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello in voice-over as the camera pans over the 45,000 metalheads who gathered at Villa Park in Birmingham, U.K. on July 5, 2025 to celebrate Ozzy's nearly six-decade career in music. "Millions of people around the world who got to say, 'thank you Black Sabbath. Thank you Ozzy,'" Morello continues over footage of Osbourne performing with Sabbath at the gig. Back to the Beginning is set to debut in theaters worldwide on Oct. 28. Elsewhere, the woman who was confirmed to be the mysterious figure on the cover of Black Sabbath's 1970 self-titled debut LP has announced that she has created a new rock opera, inspired by AI and Alice in Wonderland. The woman on the cover had gone unidentified for decades until 2020 when Rolling Stone magazine shared that she was a model named Louisa Livingstone, with photographer Keith Macmillan saying he chose her for the role because she's five feet tall, and as a result, the landscape around her would look bigger. Since then, Livingstone has been releasing music of her own too, including two tracks inspired by her time on the Sabbath cover: "Witch Woman" and "The Woman by the Mill." More recently, she has been releasing music under the alias Indreba, including a five-song album called Alice, which dropped in August. Livingstone says the inspiration for Alice came to her as a memory of her father reading Lewis Carroll's classic 1871 novel to her as a child, and over time she has seen the premise through the lens of panpsychism -- the notion that all objects and items possess some form of consciousness. That, she shared, led to her exploring the narrative of "myself (or Alice) falling in love with AI", but going on to realise that it is "just a beautiful illusion along with everything else on the internet." She added that the album was about "getting back to being oneself and nature," and that she did use some AI assistance to produce the album. - Billboard/NME, 9/22/26...... On Sept. 24 The Beach Boys abruptly cancelled their "Pet Sounds 60" tour dates which was intended to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their seminal 1966 LP Pet Sounds. In July, the iconic American band had rescheduled the dates until September to allow co-founding member Mike Love time to rest and "recharge." Now, the band have axed their shows in Massachussetts, Pennsylvania, and two shows in South Carolina. No explanation was given for the cancellation. Venues planned to host the Beach Boys such as the Univest Performance Center in Quakertown and Alabama Theatre in North Myrtle Beach have said the cancellation was due to "circumstances beyond [our] control." Now the band are apparently going to restart the tour on Oct. 9 at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Ill. Multiple concerns for Mike Love's health on tour have been noted as the tour has gone by. After one May 30 concert, a reviewer for Slate said the singer's voice was "reduced to a whisper, all warbled, strange, and barely there." Days after that review went up, The Beach Boys axed a series of dates due to Love suffering from an unspecified illness. Love is the only remaining original member of the band left, following the exit of Bruce Johnston earlier this year and the recent death of their iconic frontman Brian Wilson, who died last June aged 82. In January of 2026, the BB released their lost experimental album Adult/Child after almost 50 years, recorded in 1977 and reportedly shelved due to the band's label and Wilson's bandmates not fully believing in the project. - NME, 9/24/26...... After a campaign by Rush members to erect a public art memorial to their late bandmate drummer Neil Peart that began in 2020, Rush singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson have presented a check for $785,000 to the Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force Fundraising sub-committee to go toward the $1 million for a Peart memorial in his hometown of Lakeside Park in St. Catharines, Ontario. "This public art memorial will be far more than a tribute to Neil Peart; it elevates the park into a world-class cultural landmark," St. Catherines city manager Eric Lamothe said. "We are thrilled to see a space that is already a beloved destination for residents and tourists become a global beacon for enthusiastic music fans to gather, reflect, and celebrate an icon for generations to come." The campaign launched in 2020 in an effort to place a statue or plaque dedicated to drummer and lyricist Peart in the park that inspired the song "Lakeside Park" on Rush's 1975 Caress of Steel album. The concept for the memorial includes two larger-than-life bronze sculptures of Peart, which will be connected by a pathway offering "experiential and interpretive features providing insight into Peart's personal and professional legacies, including his time with the band," according to the City of St. Catharines site. The memorial park is officially slated to open in late 2027, and a rendering can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 9/23/26...... Giles Martin says the newly unearthed John Lennon song "Little Girl" appearing on the definitive Super Deluxe edition of The Beatles's 1965 album Rubber Soul is "just a little ditty... don't expect 'Strawberry Fields' or 'In My Life' from it." The recording is just as Martin describes -- strong in fidelity but clearly unfinished and light on lyrics, with plenty of la-la's as placeholders. "John was playing around with the word 'girl' quite a lot," Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin, notes. "'You can run for your life if you can, little girl'; obviously 'Girl' was on the record; You know, he liked words. He was obsessed with Dylan Thomas, etc. So it's a valid sketch of the songwriting of the period." He adds that there was never a notion of doing more with "Little Girl" than including it amid the wealth of rarities, outtakes, alternative versions and studio chatter included on the new Rubber Soul release, which includes a 4CD/5LP edition featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol U.S. album version. The Super Deluxe edition of Rubber Soul hits stores on Oct. 2. Elsewhere, Martin says the new four-part series of Beatles films he's working on with director Sam Mendes are "gonna be very good." "I think they'll trigger a new wave of Beatlemania, to be honest with you," he says. - Billboard, 9/22/26...... Lionel Richie has undergone a procedure to correct his atrial fibrillation, an erratic heartbeat often caused by inefficient blood flow that can cause dizziness and fatigue. Richie, who recently posponed a number of shows on his headlining arena tour with Earth, Wind & Fire has been experienced heart issues off and on since the tour kicked off June 24 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn. While performing his '80s hit "Dancin' on the Ceiling," Richie told the audience he was feeling shaky and then sat down. "When you're feeling dizzy, sit your ass down," he said. He then took an unscheduled intermission and ultimately did not return to stage. Then following his Aug. 29 concert in St. Louis, he checked himself into a local hospital to have some tests run. Richie struggled at times during the normally high energy show, according to TMZ.com, asking for a chair during concert closer, "All Night Long." A rep for Richie says the former The Commodores member and '80s superstar is doing great and his doctor said "everything went perfectly," but will take some time off and will be back on stage soon." As he recuperates, Richie has canceled the next three scheduled shows in San Francisco on Sept. 26, Chicago on Sept. 30 and Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 2. (The latter two dates were already rescheduled from the earlier postponements.) The next concerts on his schedule are a six-show residency at Las Vegas' Encore Theater at the Wynn starting Oct. 14. - Billboard, 9/22/26...... Gary "Angry" Anderson, the feisty frontman of the '70s and '80s Australian band Rose Tattoo, one of the hardest-rocking bands to emerge from Australia in the 1970s, died on Sept. 21. He was 79. "It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Gary 'Angry' Anderson on the eve of Monday 21 September 2026, surrounded by his loved ones here in Australia," reads a statement from Rose Tattoo. Anderson had suffered a heart attack in August while Rose Tattoo was on tour in Europe. The singer was hospitalized in Germany and the remainder of the group's 50th anniversary tour was scrapped, including planned shows in Australia. With Anderson at the mic, Rose Tattoo enjoyed a string of hits in '70s and '80s including "Bad Boy for Love," "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw" and "We Can't Be Beaten." Rose Tattoo was the quintessential Aussie pub rock band, and induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame came in Rose Tattoo was in 2006, in a class that included Helen Reddy. Often clad in leather or a simple singlet, revealing his arms-length collection of tattoos, Angry Anderson always looked hard as nails and as angry as his nickname. But he was a softy at heart. Raised in the school of hard knocks, Anderson was a passionate advocate for disadvantaged young Australians, his work recognized with Anderson made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for services to the community. He also had several movie roles, including a spot alongside Tina Turner in 1985's Max Mad 3: Beyond Thunderdome, and was a familiar face on Australian TV. - Billboard, 9/23/26.