Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 7th, 2026

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.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on September 22nd, 2026

Neil Young has opened up about his love for current wife Daryl Hannah in new song called "Earth Girl" on his new album with his band The Chrome Hearts, Second Song. Young has revealed the song is one of his favorites on the new LP, telling Mojo magazine: "It has two melodies in it -- one melody on top of another. One has a lot of words that come fast, and the other one is more gentle. That's one of my favourite songs. I know it describes my love for Daryl pretty well." Young tarted dating the Splash star in 2014 after splitting from his second wife Pegi Morton earlier that year and the couple went on to tie the knot in 2018. Now Young has confessed it took him his "whole life" to find his true love, telling the publication: "It took my whole life to find it, but then when I was there, I was going: 'There are no worries here of any consequence'. We are very close together in our life experiences. As artists, we understand each other. We understand the space and the time that's required to do whatever it is we want to do." - Music-News.com, 9/18/26...... Barbra Streisand is slamming what she describes as the "unchecked ego" of Pres. Donald Trump after the president hinted he may order the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts demolished. Posting on her official website, Babs began by recapping some of the history of the Washington, D.C., cultural institution. "In 1964, in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's shocking assassination, Congress passed legislation designating the National Cultural Center as a living memorial to him," she wrote. "Re-naming the Cultural Center in JFK's honor was a fitting choice, because he was a true champion of the arts." She continued: "In 2008, I was deeply honored to be included in the 31st annual class of Kennedy Center Honorees," she continued. "For me, and for so many artists, that honor represented something larger than a career recognition. It represented a belief in the importance of art to the life of a democracy." The icon went on to say that because of her personal history with the center, she finds it "galling and painful to witness" the twice-impeached POTUS' large-scale shake-up of the Kennedy Center that has been ongoing since his second term began. "When Donald Trump attempted to put his name alongside the late President Kennedy's on the building's entrance, the move was met with widespread opposition from artists and much of the public," she shared. "And now, a thoroughly defeated Trump has announced that the Kennedy Center is being closed for what the completely stacked board describes as a major renovation. Oddly, when Trump's name was still on the building, there was no discussion of closing it!" She added that "You can easily imagine my indignation at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man's name and unchecked ego," before encouraging American readers to ensure that they vote in the upcoming midterms. Pres. Trump's push and pull with the Kennedy Center first began at the beginning of his second White House term, when he replaced much of the board and installed himself as chair. In December, that board voted to officially change the name of the institution to the Trump-Kennedy Center, which a federal judge blocked in May. - Billboard, 9/17/26...... Talking Heads announced on Sept. 18 they'll reunite later in the month to launch a new channel on SiriusXM, which will play their back catalogue and feature a special conversation between the members. The channel, titled Talking Heads Radio, which runs until from Oct. 1 to Oct. 22 on in-car satellite radios, and until Oct. on the SiriusXM app, promises "five decades of music from David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth, as well as a special reflective conversation between the group, which airs at noon on launch day. The conversation will be recorded live in front of an audience in New York on Sept. 28, with the Q&A hosted by Este Haim of the pop trio Haim. Talking Heads made their first public appearance together in over 20 years in 2023. They reunited for a Q&A at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11 to celebrate the anniversary of their iconic concert film Stop Making Sense. When asked then about the potential to perform together again, Weymouth said the group were "just savouring the moment." SiriusXM's announcement of the reunion can be viewed on Instagram. Meanwhile, David Byrne has released an expanded edition of his 2025 solo album Who Is The Sky?, featuring two new songs. Who Is The Sky? was Byrne's first studio record since 2018's American Utopia and featured contributions from Hayley Williams, St. Vincent and The Smile's Tom Skinner. To mark its one year annivesary, Byrne has shared an expanded version featuring four bonus tracks including new single "My Madness," which has been shared on YouTube, and previous single "¿Cul Es La Razn?" "Here's my most recent album now expanded with 2 songs that were cut, not because they weren't good (I hope) but to give the initial album a nice variety of grooves and subjects," Byrne says. Byrne is also set to release his new book, Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up, on Oct. 8. Published by Penguin Random House, the book centers on philosophical questions including why some ideas are considered ahead of their time and naturally move back into the spotlight when the world is ready for them. In November, he'll embark on a book tour of the U.K. - New Musical Express, 9/18/26...... Ozzy Osbourne's final concert will get a theatrical run in November. Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning will hit theaters beginning on Oct. 28, with tickets going on sale on Sept. 24 at BackToTheBeginning.com. The 100-minute film, produced by Mercury Studios, chronicles the farewell show by Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates -- guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward -- in a marathon all-day hard rock gathering in Sabbath's hometown of Birmingham, U.K. at Ozzy's beloved Aston Villa football club's home stadium at Villa Park on July 5, 2025. The concert featured both solo sets from Osbourne and a reunion of the original Sabbath lineup for the first time in more than two decades, along with such rock acts as Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Guns N' Roses, Sammy Hagar, Steven Tyler and members of Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink-182 and many more. Osbourne, who battled a variety of medical issues in the final years of his life and had trouble standing and walking near the end of his life, sang from a gilded throne during the event, which took place 17 days before his death at 76 on July 22, 2025. - Billboard, 9/16/26...... The late Tom Petty's backing band The Heartbreakers made an emotional return to the stage on Sept. 16 at the Americana Honors and Awards show to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award. Founding members Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair were joined by country superstar Chris Stapleton for a three-song tribute built around some of Petty's most enduring classics. They opened with "American Girl," a track long synonymous with the band's legacy and Petty's unmistakable voice. Campbell acknowledged the weight of the moment as he addressed the audience. He said: "It's true, we haven't played together since 2017, and it's really emotional and sweet to be here. We have two more songs, and we're so happy to have Chris up here with us. It's great to see you all, I think you know this one." The group then moved into "Breakdown," from their 1976 self-titled debut album. For the night's final number, Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston -- both key members of the band's later eras -- stepped onstage to help deliver "You Wreck Me" from Petty's 1994 solo album Wildflowers. Stapleton introduced the Lifetime Achievement Award with a tribute to Petty's influence, saying "words cannot express how much that catalog of music means to me," and afterward Petty's daughter Adria Petty accepted the award on behalf of her father, thanking Stapleton for bringing the musicians back together. Campbell reflected on the devastating loss of his beloved bandmate: "We'll probably be grieving until the last day I live. But I'm OK, and we're OK, and he's OK, and the music is alive thanks to you." The appearance marked The Heartbreakers' first performance together since the death of frontman Petty in 2017, and the first time the original line-up had played together in more than two decades. - Music-News.com, 9/18/26...... Queen drummer Roger Taylor released his seventh solo album, Violence Insane In a Beautiful World, on Sept. 18. Recorded at Taylor's home in the U.K., the 10-track LP takes its theme from the opening track, "A Beautiful World," which extols the virtues of the planet while acknowledging the challenges of current times, ending with the warning "don't f--- it up." "It's about how this is a beautiful world that we live in, and with all this terrible violence and everything let's not screw it up," Taylor, 77, says. "It's a very simple point, really, but a fairly important one. We're in a bad state in most of the world at the moment -- more wars, more needless deaths and insane violence. There are times when I despair for what we're leaving our children, our grandchildren, but I hope it gets better." The track "Spit In His Eye," meanwhile, posits an attitude of defiance -- "You can never surrender," Taylor notes -- while "Chump" is a direct shot at a certain U.S. president with a surname that rhymes with the title. Taylor and his band, which includes several musicians from the Queen + Adam Lambert lineup, will tour behind the new album with a quick six-concert swing through the U.K., starting Sept. 21 in Newcastle and wrapping Sept. 29 in Swansea. "I feel very content to keep it in the U.K. right now," he says -- while Queen + Adam Lambert has been quiet since its early 2024 dates in Japan. Although guitarist Brian May is "in pretty good shape" following some recent health scares, Taylor is "not sure he'd be up for doing the whole grueling tour." "I've always loved touring. I think [May] loved it up to a point, and then not, up to a point." Nevertheless the two, who reside nearby and "see quite a lot of one another," are looking at other ways to present Queen in the future -- possibly an ABBA Voyage style virtual concert as well as at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which he and May have both visited "and were pretty blown away by that." Taylor, 77, says "maybe there won't be a next (album) -- but I hope there will be. ""I just love to work. I think if you're in a creative industry, work is precious, and I think it keeps you going," he says. "The idea of retiring and doing nothing is anathema to me. It's nice to think you might be slightly relevant, in a tiny way." - Billboard, 9/18/26...... Actor and sometime musician William Shatner has made his heavy metal live debut, performing covers of Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica and Motörhead. The 95-year-old Star Trek legend played a warm-up show at Chicago's Park West on Sept. 19 with his newly-formed metal band The *uckers, playing a six-song set ahead of his appearance at Riot Fest the following day, where the band played a 40-minute set. Shatner had teased the unlikely new chapter in his musical career ahead of the performance, writing on social media: "I have explored space. I have explored time. Now I explore distortion." The *uckers' forthcoming record is also set to feature an array of prominent metal and rock guests, including Queen's Brian May, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, Disturbed bassist John Moyer and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. In August, Shatner appeared to accidentally reveal that the band had been booked for Coachella 2027, telling CNN that they were due to perform a 30-minute set at "the one in the desert" next spring. The festival has yet to officially confirm Shatner as part of its 2027 line-up. Fan-captured footage of The *uckers' performance of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and other metal classics can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 9/20/26...... A spokesperson for Billy Joel has confirmed that the Piano Man is not dead after a Google glitch on Sept. 17 that claimed the 77-year-old had passed away. The search engine included an information box on the singer/songwriter legend, which stated his date of death as Sept. 17, sparkng a flurry of concern online. But Joel's publicist confirmed to Newsday that he is still among us. "Billy's not dead," the singer's publicist, Claire Mercuri, said firmly. "I was just emailing with him." oel is yet to address the error himself on social media. Joel has been battling health issues recently, which caused him to cancel tour dates in 2025. On social media, he announced he had been diagnosed with a brain disorder, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which affects a brain disorder that can cause problems with hearing and balance. In January, he played live for the first time since his diagnosis, appearing alongside his own tribute act, a band named Turnstiles, in Florida. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, said in March that her father is "doing great". "He's lost weight as he's on his diet" she told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm so proud of him. He's such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He's a fighter." - NME, 9/18/26...... Sting has said that he doesn't see AI technology as "competition" because it can't replicate genuine human emotion. Appearing on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, he said: "I think AI can make perfectly serviceable pop music that you might hear in a railway station or a hotel lobby, and you can hear it, but would you listen to it? Because AI has never had its heart broken, it doesn't have a story, it has a borrowed story, so you're not really hearing a song. So, in that sense, I don't feel any competition so far, people still want to come and see live concerts, they want to see a human being, a vulnerable human being who can make mistakes and not a machine that is perfect." However the 74-year-old musician warned there is a "danger right now with AI potentially destroying the labour economy." - Music-News.com, 9/21/26...... The U.K.'s National Album Day on Oct. 17 will feature its largest-ever lineup of exclusive limited-edition releases and classic reissues for its annual celebration, including exclusive pressings from legendary acts including Pink Floyd, The Who, New Order, The Pretenders, George Michael, Suede, Pulp and Sade. Additional standout releases include 50th-anniversary editions of Bob Dylan's Desire on marbled vinyl and Donna Summer's Four Seasons Of Love, alongside special pressings for Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls and Aretha Franklin's Aretha's Gold. Organised jointly by the BPI and ERA, National Album Day aims to unite record labels, independent record shops, and high street retailers in promoting album discovery. All exclusive titles will be available at participating physical and online music retailers across the UK on Oct. 17, with full pre-order details accessible via the official National Album Day platform. - Music-News.com, 9/18/26...... Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey is trying to drum up support for him to be behind the kit during the 2027 tour of alternative faves Oasis. Starkey previously toured with Oasis between 2004 and 2008, however Liam and Noel Gallagher decided to use another sticksman when they made their long-awaited return last year for the Oasis Live '25 tour, opting for Joey Waronker. Alongside a clip of him drumming on an unreleased Liam Gallagher track, Zak recently posted on Instagram: "My money's on this dude for O LIVE 27. (sic)" Zak confirmed he had tallks about being part of the 2025 run, but was ultimately unable to commit to the gig, saying it was discussed with Noel [Gallagher], but I was in The Who." Starkey says he adored his time with Oasis: "It was just f------ great fun and fantastic rock'n'roll, start to finish... We were the greatest live band in the world, I think, at that time. It was like a f------ comet coming at you." - Music-News.com, 9/18/26...... Famed psychedelic pop artist Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the "flower power" movement of the 1960s and graced everything from postage stamps to a cruise ship, died on Sept. 14. He was 88. No cause was given, but he had been suffering from advanced dementia. Mr. Max began his career in graphic design in the 1960s, and his swirly, colorful, instantly recognizable designs epitomized the era's "flower power" art. But thanks to his prolific output and fun, accessible style, Mr. Max's work remained popular well into the 21st century. He was the official artist for several sporting events including the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500, the World Cup, the World Series and many other events. His art appeared on a Boeing 777 airplane and a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, and his portrait subjects ranged from U.S. presidents to Taylor Swift. But in his first flush of success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, his murallike tableaus of flowers, the cosmos and cartoonish figures -- all in vivid colors like turquoise, orange and neon green -- seemed to be everywhere. Dorm room walls were plastered with his posters. Household furnishings like clocks and bedspreads sported his designs. He even created covers for the Manhattan Yellow Pages, a business phone directory distributed to millions of people. Mr. Max himself was featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1969, his trademark dark, bushy mustache framing a hearty grin. "We will remember his extraordinary creativity, his warmth, his curiosity, and the way he saw beauty and possibility everywhere," his son Adam Max said in the statement announcing the death. "His art became part of American culture, but the man behind that art -- the father we knew and loved -- is the person we will miss most." Born Peter Max Finkelstein in 1937 to a Jewish family in Berlin, Mr. Max's family fled Nazi Germany for Shanghai when he was a baby and later spent time in Tibet, Israel and Paris before settling in New York City when Max was 16. By then, he said in an interview, he was already "a huge fan of American culture": comics, movies and "all the jazz music." He studied in New York at the Art Students League, the School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute. In 1961, he opened a graphic design studio with friends. His bold, unique style was an immediate hit with ad agencies, publications, the corporate world and in pop culture. That led to a booming commercial business. "My work was really, I would say, almost exploited," he said. "It was on mugs, it was on bedsheets, it was on dresses, it was on silks and scarves and ties -- 70 product lines." Mr. Max's work has been featured in dozens of museum exhibitions around the world. New York's Museum of Modern Art owns seven of his works. The art for the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Mr. Max, but the design for the album cover and Yellow Submarine movie are officially credited to the late Heinz Edelmann. Mr. Max claimed in a 2012 interview he did the original "Yellow Submarine" design before handing it off to Edelmann. But the website for New York's Park West gallery, a longtime dealer of Max's art, described Max's involvement in "Yellow Submarine" as "early consulting work." Mr. Max was, however, friends with the Beatles and many other celebrities. He also had a deep interest in Eastern spirituality. He brought "Swami" Satchidananda Saraswati to the U.S., and helped him popularize yoga here. His first marriage to Elizabeth Nance ended in divorce. In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Libra Astro. - Associated Press, 9/16/26.

A new book about Freddie Mercury features the late Queen frontman's personal notes and alternative "Bohemian Rhapsody" lyrics. Authored by Mercury's longtime friend, Mary Austin, A Life in Lyrics: The Official Creative Legacy of Freddie Mercury opens a window into the private creative world behind the rocker's legacy. It brings together handwritten drafts, rough ideas, unused verses and visual notes from Mercury's creative work, reaching from his pre-Queen days through his solo years. Among the archive are early versions of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and several drafts connected to "Don't Stop Me Now," alongside complete songs that never made it into the studio. Personal photographs and recollections also add intimate context throughout the book. - Billboard, 9/15/26...... Roger Waters has sent a social media message to British pop star Ed Sheeran regarding Sheeran's decision to remove rapper Macklemore from his tour for making pro-Palestine comments on stage. The controversy started when Macklemore made an impassioned speech on-stage while opening for Sheeran, calling for "all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality" and for a "free Palestine," which prompted the Israeli-American Council to call for his removal from the tour, claiming the rapper had used his platform to "advance a one-sided political agenda." Macklemore then shared a social media message claiming New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who is Jewish, had started a campaign against Sheeran to drop him or the shows couldn't go ahead. Now, Roger Waters has weighed in on the discussion, and showed his backing for Macklemore, while calling Sheeran a "little prick." "Ed Who," Waters began a video message he posted on Instagram. "This is a little message for Ed Sheeran," he said, before showing an image of United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese behind him, as well as an unnamed woman from Gaza pictured with tears in her eyes. "I just have a little message for [Sheeran]," Waters added. "There are two kinds of people in this world. There's people who do the right thing -- the rapper Macklemore would be one of those people. "And there's people -- many of them, sadly -- little f excuse me, I nearly used the F-word then pricks like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye." Waters has been a longtime supporter of Palestine. In 2024, he urged followers on social media not to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the US election due to their respective stances on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. More recently, last July, he voiced his support for Palestine Action after the organisation was proscribed as a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000. - NME, 9/16/26...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Bruce Springsteen revealed he has two albums on the way -- one of which is completed and another he's still working on, but that he would like to release first. "I'm currently working on a couple of records. I did finish one, and it is done. I'm in the process of working on this other one, which, because of the nature of the material, felt like it should come out first," he said. "So that's the situation I'm in. I'm trying to finish that up, and I'd like to release that first. And then this other record that I made, which is not time-relevant, it can come out at any time and it'll work," he added. When asked whether they are solo efforts or E Street Band records, Springsteen said: "It's a surprise." No title, release date or further information has been shared for either album. The Boss has also revealed that his wife and fellow E Street Band musician Patti Scialfa is in remission from cancer. "As you know, Patti's been living with her multiple myeloma for over eight years, but now thankfully she is in remission," he said. Scialfa first publicly discussed her 2018 diagnosis in the 2024 documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, explaining that the condition had weakened her immune system and led to limited appearances for her on tour. Meanwhile, Springsteen has shared a "Philadelphia Freedom Cut" from his "Land Of Hope And Dreams" US tour, which captures footage of his live show. The official video, shared on YouTube, comes as his show in Philadelphia on May 30 was filmed in its entirety, and is set to be released in four segments. This is the first of the four segments of footage, and captures the first seven songs of the tour's Philadelphia finale -- held at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. To open the show, The Boss played Motown classic "War" before following it with classic track "Born in the U.S.A." and "Death to My Hometown." More details about the remaining footage from the show will be released soon, and all three additional segments are set to be released chronologically throughout the rest of 2026. Elsewhere, Springsteen has defeated a second attempt at litigation over his use of a New Jersey man's 1967 Pontiac GTO in the album art for his 2022 cover collection Only the Strong Survive. On Sept. 15, a New Jersey appeals court affirmed the earlier dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Springsteen by the family of deceased classic car collector Louis Billotti. The case had also targeted Sony Music, which owns Springsteen's label Columbia Records, and his longtime manager Jon Landau. Billotti died shortly before the LP's release, and the man's son alleged in a 2023 lawsuit that Springsteen had orally promised to pay his father additional money if the car photos ever ended up on an album cover. Springsteen denied making any such promise, and a trial court judge threw out the case last year due to insufficient evidence. Billotti's estate appealed. The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division ruled Tuesday affirmed the dismissal, saying there isn't a single witness or document to back up the younger Billotti's description of a conversation relayed to him by his late father, a legal situation known as "double hearsay," which must clear a high bar to be deemed admissible as evidence in court. - NME/Billboard, 9/14/26...... Columbia/Legacy Recordings announced on Sept. 15 that a huge 39-CD Bob Dylan box set, The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1976 Live Recordings will drop on Nov. 6. With 381 tracks -- 371 of which have never been released up until now -- the set fully captures Dylan's 1976 tour. The trek kicked off on Apr. 18, 1976 in Lakeland, Fla., and spanned 27 dates -- concluding in Salt Lake City on May 25 that year. This is the first time the performances have become available for fans to listen to since the shows. Included in the release is a 3LP set of the complete May 16 Fort Worth show, remixed from the original multi-track tapes, and Dylan's rendition of "Going, Going, Gone" from that show has been shared on YouTube. During the tour, Dylan reunited with his old girlfriend Joan Baez to perform a moving set of duets across many dates, including performances of "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Railroad Boy." Earlier this summer, Dylan wrapped up the US leg of his 2026 "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour. The UK and European leg of the tour kicks off in Norway in October. - NME, 9/15/26...... Dionne Warwick has teamed with a fellow Grammy-winning songstress, R&B/pop singer Mya, and platinum-selling rap star Saweetie for a new song in conjunction with International World Peace Day, "One Heart Can Change the World." The song is being released Sept. 25 and, according to a press release, "the day is dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples." Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, the United Nations' International Good Will Ambassador, is the single's narrator. Also appearing on "One Heart Can Change the World" are Grammy-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari and sound healer Ana Netanel. "I was part of the supergroup that united for USA For Africa in 1985 with a Michael Jackson/Lionel Richie-penned song produced by Quincy Jones, 'We Are the World'," Warwick commented. "This groundbreaking musical collaboration was aimed at raising awareness for famine relief in Ethiopia. I was also joined in 1986 by my friends Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder on the Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager anthem 'That's What Friends Are For,' a No. 1 Grammy-winning song with all proceeds to this day benefiting the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR.) I have seen just how powerful a song for a call to action can be," she added. - Billboard, 9/14/26...... Tony Iommi has revealed why he turned down the chance to make one final Black Sabbath album with members of the original line-up. In a new interview with Classic Rock, Iommi shared that Andrew Watt, who produced Osbourne's final two albums (2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9), had approached him about making a Sabbath album with the original line-up. "I'd met Andrew Watt when he was producing Ozzy," Iommi said. "He was very keen and a bit too excited. He also didn't know what it was like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill [Ward]. Also, we'd done 13, and I didn't like the idea of: 'Now here's another album'," he added. The line-up for 13, in addition to Ozzy and bassist Geezer Butler, was completed Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk after original drummerBill Ward chose to not participate due to a contractual dispute. At one point, Osbourne said Black Sabbath would record "one more album" after 13, but in 2015 he revealed that the band had "opted against" it and that they would be too old by the time it was completed. "It would take three or four years to write and record an album, by which time I'll be f----ing 73 or 72 or something, so we decided just to do a farewell tour," Osbourne said at the time. The band did later reunite in 2025 at the huge "Back To The Beginning" event at Birmingham's Villa Park. The gig saw both Sabbath and Ozzy stage their last-ever shows, and it marked the first time the original members had played alongside each other since 2005. The performances were held just over two weeks before Osbourne passed away in July 2025, aged 76. - NME, 9/14/26...... The first-ever authorized rockumentary on Def Leppard, Long Live Def Leppard, is slated for release in theaters in early 2027. Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig (The Devil and Daniel Jonston), the film is an all-access account of the U.K. rockers' rise from humble beginnings in working class Sheffield to global chart domination in the 1980s and 1990s with such hits as their No. 1 smash "Love Bites," as well as their other top 10 hits "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (No. 2), "Armageddon It" (No. 3) and "Hysteria" (No. 10). The film was produced in collaboration with the Joe Elliott-led Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group that has sold 110 million albums worldwide; the group also features guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen, who along with Elliott, will be featured in new interviews. It will feature never-before-seen footage, with writer/director/producer Feuerzeig saying in a statement that his connection to the band goes back to their rise to fame with 1981's breakthrough sophomore album High 'n' Dry. Def Leppard concluded a residency run at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in February, then began a European tour this summer. They'll play the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. on Oct. 15 before moving on to a run of shows in Mexico and Central and South America later than month into November. - Billboard, 9/11/26...... Meanwhile, a new documentary showcasing late Rush drummer Neil Peart debuts on Sept. 16 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Peart, the much-admired drummer-lyricist for the Toronto-based prog-rock trio, died in 2020 at the age of 67 from a brain tumour, but his friendships with and inspiration to other drummers -- as well as his two surviving bandmates -- live on in the touching and funny film. The documentary, which will also get a nationwide Canadian broadcast on Sept. 23 on CBC/CBC Gem, finds Rush bassist-singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson playing songs like "Working Man" and "Dreamline" with other drummers from such bands as Tool, The Police, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it becomes obvious very quickly just how demanding Peart's drumming parts are to play. - Canoe.com, 9/14/26...... Original Journey bassist Ross Valory has confirmed he will not be rejoining the band on its ongoing "Final Frontier Tour." Valory, who was fired alongside drummer Steve Smith in 2020, says he has made peace with his departure and has no desire to revisit the past. Speaking on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Valory explained that the legal fallout between him and the band is firmly behind him. "We made what I think is a very reasonable settlement, and everyone moved on with their lives," Valory said. "I certainly have, and I believe that everyone else involved has just moved on. I'm no longer a part of the organization or the brand, so my position now, at best, is a casual observer. So it was many years ago, and we all move on. Everybody gets on with their lives." Asked whether he had been approached about returning, Valory made it clear the answer is no -- and compared the speculation to long-running fan hopes for a Steve Perry comeback. He said: "Not that I know of, no. And there's been rumours for years about Steve Perry returning, and he has to keep telling people, 'No, I'm just not doing it.' And you understand it from the fans' standpoint that's what they really want. The hardcore fans want to see everybody together. But I don't see that happening." Valory added that Journey's legacy is ultimately defined by the music, not the lineup, and praised the current incarnation for delivering what audiences expect. "It's about the songs. Regardless of which band has too few, (or) how many original members, it's a matter of being able to go onto that stage and provide for, let's say the average ticket buyer, they want to hear the songs, they want to hear them like they heard them on the record," Valory noted. "And as long as any band can do that, there's no reason to consider who's in the band and who's not. And Journey's one of those bands that continues to do that." Formed in 1973, Journey have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, earning induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. The band's history has been marked by financial disputes, trademark battles and lawsuits between members. The "Final Frontier Tour" is set to wrap on Nov. 28, with guitarist Neal Schon previously suggesting Journey will continue without keyboardist Jonathan Cain once the run ends. - Music-News.com, 9/15/26....... The Beatles have shared an early version of their Rubber Soul track "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," with George Harrison putting his sitar mastery on display, on YouTube. Dubbed "Second Version -- Take 2," the recording comes as the first original version of the now-classic song was recorded during the first day of sessions for Rubber Soul and featured Harrison's new discovery, the sitar. The band were unhappy with that version, so recorded three more takes nine days later. On Take two, the first attempt featured John Lennon's acoustic guitar, Paul McCartney's bass, Ringo Starr on drums and George playing drone notes on sitar. George added more sitar on tracks two and three, and John and Paul's vocals were also recorded on track three. While the final version opens with an instrumental version of the verse melody, this this arrangement opens with double-tracked sitar playing the bridge section. Speaking about how the instrumental was used, George previously shared: "It felt very familiar to me to listen to that music. Around that time I'd bought a cheap sitar in a shop called Indiacraft in London. When we were working on 'Norwegian Wood', it just needed something and it was quite spontaneous. I picked the sitar up and kind of found the notes. We put it on and it seemed to hit the spot and that was it." The song is set to feature on the new expanded special edition of Rubber Soul, which is released on Oct. 2. - NME, 9/14/26...... Cheetah Chrome, the co-founding drummer of the legendary punk band Dead Boys, has died aged 71. His death was announced by the band on Sept. 13 in a statement on Instagram. "We are incredibly sad to announce the news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Cheetah Chrome," the statement read. "Cheetah was a true original, an architect of the punk rock movement. A one-man hurricane tearing up the musical landscape with his feral guitar riffs and manic energy. Beyond all that Cheetah was also just a really sweet guy that loved rock-roll. No cause of death has been provided. Cheetah (real name Eugene Richard O'Connor), first joined the band Rocket from the Tombs before forming Dead Boys alongside fellow RFTT members Stiv Bators and Johnny Madansky. As Dead Boys, they released two albums: 1977's Young, Loud and Snotty and, the following year, We Have Come for Your Children. The band broke up in 1980 and later reunited for a series of live performances -- first in 1987, again in 2004 and once more beginning in 2017. They never released another studio album. The band also featured prominently in Lech Kowalski's iconic 1980 punk documentary D.O.A.: A Right of Passage. After Dead Boys disbanded, O'Connor went on to pursue several solo projects, as well as working as a session musician and touring with GG Allin. Dead Boys had planned to reunite in 2027 to mark their 50th anniversary. O'Connor is survived by his wife, Anna O'Connor, and his 14-year-old son Rogan, who reside in Nashville. - NME, 9/14/26...... Bob Mackie, the dress designer whose legendarily glitzy gowns were the go-to for stars including Cher, Barbra Streisand, Carol Burnett, Tina Turner and Miley Cyrus, died on Sept. 14. He was 87. "It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today," reads a statement on his Instagram page. "He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world." The post was accompanied by a photo of the designer flashing his signature smile while seated at his drafting table surrounded by colored markers and sketches. Born in Monterey Park, Calif. on March 24, 1939, Mr. Mackie dropped out of Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and began working as an apprentice designer at Paramount Studios before renowned film costume designer Edith Head took him under her wing as a sketch artist. One of his first gigs out of college was the iconic skin-tight mesh dress covered in crystals worn by Marilyn Monroe when she serenaded Pres. John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in 1962; social media influencer Kim Kardashian wore the dress at the 2022 Met Gala. The combination of his sketching skills, eye for attention-grabbing looks and love of Hollywood glamour helped land Mr. Mackie -- also known as the "Sultan of Sequins" -- his first big break when singer/actress Mitzi Gaynor hired him to design the costumes for her Las Vegas revue, and then later for her TV specials, which earned him Emmy awards in 1976 and 1978. He also scored another major gig early in his career when he was tapped to be the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, a hugely popular weekly sketch series that ran from 1967-1978, for which he cranked out dozens of outfits per week. The gig helped make Mr. Mackie the go-to designer for some of the eras biggest stars. He met Cher on the set of the Burnett show and began a long friendship and professional collaboration with the singer that included him becoming the official costumer for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and, later, one of the singer/actresses' favorite designers. Over the years, their creative partnership would spawn some of the most outrageous, talked-about red carpet outfits of all time, including the sheer, sequin- and feather-covered "nude illusion gown" she wore at the 1974 Met Gala, where she was escorted by Mr. Mackie, and the black, belly-baring two-piece with a giant feathered headdress she wore to the 1986 Academy Awards. Among their other legendary collabs is the "seat belt" outfit Cher wore in the "If I Could Turn Back Time" video, which famously consisted of a sheer black bodysuit with garters, thin black strips of fabric covering Cher's private parts and not much else. A 32-time Emmy nominee, Mr. Mackie was nominated for three Oscars in his lifetime -- for Lady Sings the Blues (1973), Funny Lady (1976) and Pennies From Heaven (1982) and won nine competitive Emmy Awards and one honorary award, as well as a Tony in 2019 for The Cher Show, for which he created more than 450 outfits. Mr. Mackie debuted the Bob Mackie Barbie collection in 1982 and in 2002 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. "My dear Bob has gone up to heaven. Knowing him, he's bringing Sequins, Beads, & his sketch pad," Cher posted in tribute on X on Sept. 15. "Good nite sweet Prince." - Billboard, 9/14/26.