Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on November 27th, 2020

After becoming perched atop the UK's top album chart, AC/DC's new album Power Up has debuted at No. 1 in the US on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart and Hard Rock Albums chart for the week ending Nov. 28. In its debut tracking week (Nov. 13-19), the set earned 117,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 111,000 are from album sales. The band now has a total of four No. 1 albums on the Top Rock Albums chart, which began in 2006, also including Black Ice (2008); Iron Man 2 soundtrack (2010), and Rock or Bust (2014-2015). AC/DC has the same amount of No. 1's on the Hard Rock Albums chart, which began in 2007. - Billboard, 11/25/20...... In a new interview with GQ magazine, Ozzy Osbourne said that catching COVID-19 would be particularly risky for him because his respiratory health is weak . "I've got emphysema, so if I get this virus, I'm f---ed," the 71-year-old heavy metal legend says. He added that being older does not help things. "Once you're 70, the floodgates open and everything goes downhill. Mind you, I've got away with it for a long time." To protect himself during the pandemic, Osbourne said he is trying his "hardest" to stay shielded. "If I go out, I wear a mask, but I don't like wearing a mask, so I don't go out much," he said. - NME, 11/27/20...... Ever wonder what the hell happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears, the band with David Clayton-Thomas' soulful vocals and a boisterous horn section behind such hits as "You've Made Me So Very Happy," "Spinning Wheel" and "And When I Die"? So does award-winning director John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary and 2020's Herb Alpert Is...) who will write, produce and direct a BS&T documentary called What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? that could premiere as early as the end of 2021. The rockdoc will feature highlights from the more than 65 hours' worth of found footage, including a 1970 U.S. State Department-sponsored tour behind the communist-controlled Iron Curtain, including Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland. A crew chronicled that tour with the intent of releasing a live film, but the footage allegedly disappeared and the movie was never released. Although BS&T continued recording, they eventually faded away from the charts. What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? will examine the politics surrounding the tour, the story of a band caught as a tool between the political Right and Left, a corrupt U.S. president, and even the intrigue that ultimately involved the FBI and CIA. "John Scheinfeld is a unique combination of filmmaker, historian and detective," says BS&T's Bobby Colomby, who went on to a career as a Columbia Records A&R executive. "He asked me a simple question: 'What the hell happened to Blood Sweat & Tears?' My convoluted answer somehow ignited an engine inside of John that was the beginning of an unexpected adventure: creating a documentary film to reveal the answer to this decades old question. This won't be your typical music doc, in any way, shape or form." Producers are looking for photos and memorabilia of the band from 1968 through 1971. To submit, go to BloodSweatandTearsDoc.com. - Billboard, 11/23/20...... Actor Idris Elba will sit down with Paul McCartney for a new one-off BBC One special, it was announced on McCartney's Twitter account on Nov. 27. "This December, @BBCOne and @BBCRadio2 will air a world exclusive special featuring Paul in conversation with @IdrisElba. Find out more: https://t.co/vpoxSccqfl #IdrisMeetsPaul," the post states. The special will see the Beatles legend discussing his writing process, while Idris will seek to understand what continues to inspire the singer some 50 years into his career. "I am a massive fan of Paul s! His work has inspired and driven me as a musician, and once I get through the shock of sharing the stage with him, I m excited to talk about his music and craft. What an honour! Looking forward to sitting with you Paul," Elba posted, with Sir Paul responding "I'm looking forward to sitting down to a chat with the mighty Idris!" Also in the works is a release of Paul's "secret" 2018 show at Liverpool's Cavern Club, where Macca performed a 28-song set to 250 lucky gig-goers. The release date is to be confirmed. Meanwhile, McCartney has revealed he uses a teleprompter at his live shows in case he forgets the lyrics to the Beatles' songs. In an interview on a recent edition of the SmartLess podcast, the 78-year-old said: "Sometimes I'll be doing a song, like 'Eleanor Rigby' [released in 1966] or something, and I'm on autopilot. And I'm starting to think, 'Oh, what am I gonna have for dinner? Maybe you won't have the soup but maybe you'll just go for the main course'. Then I go, 'Stop!' because I'm singing 'Eleanor Rigby'! I've separated myself not only from Paul and fame, but a couple of bits in my head are going in different places. Sometimes that breaks down and I forget the song. I have a teleprompter." McCartney has also reflected on the 80th anniversary of the birth of his former bandmate John Lennon on Oct. 9 in an interview with Uncut magazine. McCartney explained how Lennon's birthday had sparked a mixture of emotions from him. "That was happy sad. It reminds me he was murdered -- but it also reminds me of the fantastic times we had. I tend to think back to early times," he said. He added that he still mentally consults Lennon while writing. "We collaborated for so long, I think, 'OK, what would he think of this? What would be say now?' We'd both agree that this new song I'm taking about is going nowhere," he explained. "So instead of sitting around, we'd destroy it and remake it. I started that process yesterday in the studio. I took the vocal off it and decided to write a new vocal. I think it's heading in a better direction now." - NME, 11/27/20...... Thanks to a $15 sale on all vinyl albums at Walmart, Queen's 1981 Greatest Hits LP has finally entered the Top 10 in the US, ranking at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart for the week ending Nov. 28. Greatest Hits was first released in Oct. 1981 and has been reissued multiple times over the ensuing decades, however until now a 1992 edition of the album came closest to the Top 10, peaking at No. 11 on Oct. 10, 1992. In the week ending Nov. 19, Greatest Hits sold 24,000 copies across all formats, with vinyl LPs accounting for 23,000 of that sum. Other artists who took more than 10 years to reach the Hot 200's Top 10 include greatest hits albums by Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Prince, Phil Collins and David Bowie. - Billboard, 11/25/20...... In other Queen news, guitarist Brian May has paid an emotional tribute to Freddie Mercury on the 29th anniversary of the legendary singer's 1991 death. Posting on Instagram, May shared two mirrored images of Mercury relaxing in a dressing room before a performance with the caption "Missing you Freddie, on this day. Rest in Peace. Rock in Eternity. Bri." Mercury passed away at his home in Kensington, UK on Nov. 24, 1991, only 24 hours after he had confirmed his battle with HIV/AIDS. Tributes also came from an official Twitter account run by Mercury s management, which shared a photo of the singer in full flight during a Queen performance. - New Musical Express, 11/24/20...... Keith Richards says he's taken up gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic after finding some unexpected downtime. "I spent the whole summer actually admiring the garden and also doing a bit of gardening myself -- watering the veggies and the stuff. I got into a more normal way of life, which is un-normal," the Rolling Stones guitarist recently told Goldmine magazine. Richards, who recently quit cigarettes and alcohol, explained how he sheltered from the virus at his home in America with his wife Patti. When asked if he feared contracting the virus, he said: "Oh yeah. In this particular area, New York and Connecticut, it was very heavy at the beginning. It's been pretty well controlled since but this is about the only place in the whole country where it is... I've been in hiding, basically. Hunkering down with the family and a few friends because we have to stay in a bubble you know. I've been out to a restaurant with outdoor seating a couple times but now it's getting a bit chilly so we're eating in. Thank God the wife's a good cook, bless her heart!" - NME, 11/26/20...... In other Rolling Stones news, the band has just launched a new global e-commerce shop following the opening of their London flagship store, RS No.9 Carnaby. Complete with a fully immersive, 360-degree virtual shopping experience, the online version of their Soho store allows customers to step inside the shop from anywhere in the world. Situated at 9 Carnaby Street in London, the shop stocks a wide range of Stones records and memorabilia, including "an exclusive mix of collections and collaborations for fans of all ages" and a bespoke T-shirt customisation station. Fans can visit the new e-shop at the RS No.9 Carnaby's official website. - NME, 11/26/20...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Elton John are among the musical guests who have been confirmed to appear on NBC's Saturday Night Live during the month of December. Springsteen and his band, who previously appeared on the late night comedy show in 2015, will appear in an episode airing Dec. 12 hosted by Timothe Chalamet. - NME, 11/25/20...... An all-star lineup of Australian artists performed a tribute to late pop singer Helen Reddy at the 2020 ARIA Awards. Tones and I, Amy Shark, Marcia Hines, Christine Anu, Montaigne, the McClymonts and host Delta Goodrem were among those who covered Reddy's iconic feminist anthem "I Am Woman" live from the ceremony at The Star in Sydney. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the performance, honouring the legendary singer-songwriter's continued dedication to her activism throughout her life. "I was carried away by her power and potential," Gillard said, reflecting on first hearing Reddy sing "I Am Woman" as a child. The powerful tribute has been shared on YouTube. Reddy passed away in September, aged 78, following a lengthy battle with dementia. Her life was immortalised in 2019 in the biopic I Am Woman, directed by Unjoo Moon and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey. - NME, 11/25/20...... It has been announced that a documentary of Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood's live tribute to the late Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green will be shown in UK cinemas on Mar. 23 and 28, 2021. In February, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, a concert was held at the London Palladium to celebrate the music of Green, who passed away at age 73 in July, and the original incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. A physical copy of the accomanying album will also arrive on Apr. 30 and will include event photos and quotes from each artist who performed on the night as well as photographs of the concert, rehearsals and behind the scenes shots. A Blu-Ray of the concert film and the full recording on double CD and quadruple vinyl will also be released. - NME, 11/24/20...... As the new Frank Zappa documentary Zappa was released for sale and rent on Nov. 27, director Alex Winter has shared his thoughts on the influential late musician. "He was much more than this groovy, mustachioed rock guitar guy," said Winter. "He was a political satirist and he was an artist and a filmmaker. ... I really wanted to just tell what I considered to be an extraordinary life story of somebody engaged in a very interesting period of American history." Winter says much of the material comes from Zappa himself. "He would hang out with his friends in his basement and he would slap on a film camera or a video camera, and they would talk for hours about all the things that interested them. "From a documentary standpoint, it's like dying and going to heaven but it's also a curse, right?" Winter said. "I looked at it and I thought, 'There's the next six years of my life,' and it was." Asked what he thought Zappa would make of the documentary, Winter quipped that he would likely loathe it. "If you're Frank Zappa, the last thing you'd want is your whole life put together and tied with a neat little bow... He'd be like 'please, please don't do this for me." - WENN/Canoe.com, 11/25/20...... A drum kit played by late Rush drummer Neil Peart between 1974 and 1977 is expected to fetch more than $100,000 (£75,000) at Bonhams' Music Memorabilia auction set for Nov. 23-Dec. 9. The coveted Slingerland kit features dual blue heads printed with Rush's logo and Neil Peart's name, as well as chrome-wrapped Tom-toms with an original head signed by Peart himself. Bonhams says it expects the drum kit, which Peart used for his first performance with Rush on Aug. 12, 1974 and used as his main drum set until 1977, will sell for approximately $104,000 (£77,695) to $157,000 (£117,290). Peart, who was widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers of all time, passed away in January 2020 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. - NME, 11/23/20...... In related news, the silver trousers that Iggy Pop wore during The Stooges Raw Power era are going up for auction. The metallic, studded trousers were worn by the frontman on the sleeve of the 1973 album, as well as at several performances at the time. The item will go up for auction on Dec. 2 at 10:00 am PT ia Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills as part of the auction house's "Icons & Idols: Trilogy Rock 'N' Roll"' sale. An online catalog lists the guide price for the trousers as $800-$1,200 (£602-£904). - NME, 11/22/20...... Dena Dietrich, a veteran actress who gained pop-culture renown for her turn as a hoodwinked Mother Nature in a decade-long series of margarine commercials, died on Nov. 21 at a health-care facility in Los Angeles. She was 91. From 1971 until about 1981, the lanky Ms. Dietrich appeared as Mother Nature in commercials for Chiffon margarine, a substitute for butter that came in a soft tub and was made out of hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Her pleasant character would taste the product and think it was real butter, only to be informed by the narrator that it wasn't. "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature," she would say with a scowl before unleashing Zeus-like thunder and lightning. The commercials closed with the melodic line, "If you think it's butter but it's not, it's Chiffon." Ms. Dietrich also starred opposite Peter Falk and Lee Grant in the original 1971-73 Broadway production of "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" and played the sister of Bea Arthur's Dorothy on a 1991 episode of NBC's The Golden Girls. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/24/20.

The first trailer for the upcoming Bee Gees documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart has been shared on YouTube. The first feature-length film about the three famous siblings from Oz, Broken Heart will chronicle the stratospheric rise of Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb and screen in UK cinemas for one night only on Dec. 3. Meanwhile, a narrative biopic based on the life and career of the Bee Gees is also in the works, courtesy of Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King and screenwriter Anthony McCarten. Bradley Cooper is reportedly in line to play Barry Gibb in the film, which will be produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. - NME, 11/20/20...... In related news, rapper Nelly has been cast as the late Chuck Berry in a forthcoming biopic about rock & roll pioneer Buddy Holly named Clear Lake. Nelly will portray Berry, who died in 2017, in the film, with Ruairi O'Connor cast as Holly. The film will "tell the story of how Holly and other famous musicians of the late 1950s gave birth to rock & roll while changing the trajectory of civil rights in America," according to Variety.com. - NME, 11/19/20...... A recently published article in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed that country superstar Dolly Parton played a key role in funding the research that aided the development of a major vaccine for Covid-19. Parton reportedly chipped in $1 million of her own money to aid research by the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville since the start of the pandemic. The Vanderbilt research has subsequently played a key role in the development of a vaccine from U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna, which was announced on Nov. 16. The Moderna vaccine boasts nearly 95% protection against the disease, and follows the announcement of a separate immunization from pharmaceutical firm Pfizer a week earlier. In the footnotes of the medicine journal, it is confirmed that the funding came from the "Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund." Announcing the gesture back in April, the Grammy-winning singer wrote on Instagram: "My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who's been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards that research of the coronavirus for a cure. I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations." It's believed that Dolly and Dr. Abumrad became friends after the singer was involved in a car accident and underwent treatment at Vanderbilt in 2014. Parton can currently be seen in Netflix's latest yuletide offering, Christmas on the Square, which features 14 of her original songs and will make its worldwide debut on Nov. 22. - New Musical Express, 11/17/20...... "Distance," a tribute to late guitar god Eddie Van Halen by his 29-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen, is on track to debut in the Top 5 of Billboard's Rock Digital Song Sales chart for the week ending Nov. 28. In a press release, Wolfgang said "As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I'd miss him. While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life." Wolfgang says he finished the song before Eddie's death, and the track became a "favorite" of his dad's. "Distance," which has been shared on YouTube, is also garnering immediate airplay across mainstream rock radio and could debut on the next Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart after drawing spins on 30 reporting stations to the ranking in its first two days of release. Meanwhile, Wolfgang is pushing back at rumours he'll "replace his dad" in Van Halen. During a Nov. 16 interview on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show (which can be viewed on YouTube), Wolfgang said those rumors were "f---ing stupid." "You can't have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen. I'm not my dad. I'm not going to replace him... I've spent my life making sure I'm not like him and I'm my own person.... outside of maybe a tribute show at some point down the line and archival releases further down the line, it's done." Wolfgang continued: "I don't have a dad anymore and I'm coming to terms with that. So, I think fans can come to the terms with the fact that we're not going to have Van Halen anymore. The music is going to live on forever but you can't continue without Eddie Van Halen." - NME, 11/18/20...... An anonymous buyer paid $495,000 at auction on Nov. 19 for a trove of Bob Dylan documents including the rock icon's musings about anti-Semitism and unpublished song lyrics. Boston-based R.R. Auction says the collection was privately held by the late American blues artist Tony Glover, a longtime Dylan friend and confidante. A majority of the key pieces went to a bidder whose identity was not made public. The collection included transcripts of Glover's 1971 interviews with Dylan and letters the pair exchanged, revealing that Dylan had anti-Semitism on his mind when he changed his name from Robert Zimmerman, and that he wrote "Lay Lady Lay" for Barbra Streisand. Glover, who died in 2019 and whose widow Cynthia Nadler put the items up for auction, and Dylan broke into music in the same Minneapolis coffeehouse scene and remained close throughout the years. Meanwhile, former president Barack Obama called Bob Dylan "one of the greatest examples" of social consciousness in music during a surprise appearance on YouTubers Fred and Tim Williams' TwinsthenewTrend channel. The 44th president recalled how Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" earned its place on the playlist for both his presidency and his best-selling new memoir, A Promised Land. "I've been a Bob Dylan fan for a long time, partly 'cause I'm just older," Obama told the Williams twins. "He was part of that kind of social conscience that was in rock music, and then later in hip-hop music. Look, I'm like everybody else, I like music about girls and cars and, you know, rock and roll and hip-hop. But whenever you can find some musicians that really have a message about how America might be, how the world might be, that always is something that I pay attention to. And he's one of the greatest examples of that." - AP/Billboard, 11/21/20...... Bruce Springsteen performed three acoustic tracks at the 2020 "Stand Up For Heroes" virtual benefit concert on Nov. 19. The Boss, accompanied by his wife and E Street Band bandmate Patti Scialfa, performed "House Of A Thousand Guitars" from his new Letter To You album in an empty New Jersey bar. The New Jersey rocker also played a solo-acoustic version of "Long Walk Home" from his 2007 album Magic before teaming up with Scialfa again for a rendition of "I'll See You In My Dreams" from his new album. The performance, along with songs by the likes of Sheryl Crow and Brad Paisley has been shared on YouTube. - NME, 11/20/20...... AC/DC's new album Power Up has become the Aussie rockers' fourth No. 1 album in the UK according to OfficialCharts.com, selling 62,000 copies and becoming the fastest-selling album in the UK to date. AC/DC's Angus Young thanked fans for their support. "A very big thank you to everyone who put in their time, effort and creativity to get PWR/UP to Number 1! Also a big shoutout to all our fans, old and new. You are, and always have been, our guiding inspiration," he told OfficialCharts.com. Power Up is AC/DC's first No. 1 album in the UK since 2010's Iron Man 2 soundtrack. - NME, 11/20/20...... What is probably the most infamous souvenir of the tragic assassination of John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980 in front of his New York City apartment building is being put up for auction. The copy of John and Yoko Ono's then new LP Double Fantasy signed by John at the request of Mark Chapman five hours before he was slain by Chapman is being put up for sale by Goldin Auctions, with bidding opening on Nov. 23 at 2:00 am EST (5:00 am GMT). Police markings from the investigation appear on both the front and back of the record sleeve. The album will have an opening bid of $400,000 (£301k). Earlier this year, Chapman apologized to Yoko "for the pain that I caused to her." "I think about it all of the time," he said at a hearing in New York, where the 65-year-old inmate was denied parole for the 11th time. - NME, 11/21/20...... In other Beatles-related news, the release of Paul McCartney's forthcoming album McCartney III has been delayed one week to Dec. 18 due to what Sir Paul describes as "unforeseeable production delays." A post on Macca's Facebook on Nov. 19 says that "Unforeseeable production delays have forced the release date of Paul's all-new all-Paul album 'McCartney III' to be moved back one week to December 18, 2020. Thank you to everyone for your patience, support and excitement for the album. We can't wait for you to hear it!" McCartney III is the long-awaited final part of his McCartney solo album trilogy, following 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II. - NME, 11/20/20...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the 19-year-old grandson of Ringo Starr and Gene Gallagher, the 19-year-old son of Oasis member Liam Gallagher, have pleaded guilty after being charged with attacking an Indian security guard in a convenience store in May 2019. The pair, along with model Noah Ponte, 20, pleaded not guilty on Nov. 20 to an assortment of charges stemming from a fight at a Tesco Express shop in north London. Gallagher allegedly stole a can of beer at around midnight after the shop had stopped selling alcohol. Officials at Wood Green Magistrates Court heard he then told a South Asian worker: "You bloody Indians. Go back to where you came from. You're not wanted here." The trio is then claimed to have attacked members of staff before leaving the store. Gallagher and Ponte are also accused of racially aggravated assault, while Sonny is facing two charges of assault by beating two Tesco workers. All three only spoke to plead not guilty to the charges. - WENN/Canoe.com, 11/22/20...... Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's eldest daughter Aimée Osbourne has confirmed that casting is set to begin on the forthcoming Ozzy and Sharon biopic. "Yes, it's still happening, and I've been helping them with that as well," Aimée said of the film that was first announced in the summer. "I think we're getting ready to start casting too, which is really exciting. Finding the right kind of actors to portray them is going to be challenging, but we're looking forward to finding some newcomers," she said. "I think authenticity, vulnerability, charisma, all those kinds of things will needed to play them, because they're just both so unique. It's definitely going to be challenging, and as excited as I am, it's going to be intense to find someone who can embody a challenging mix of characteristics for both of them. But I have faith we will find the right people," she added. The film is said to skip Ozzy's original tenure in Black Sabbath and fast forward to when he left the band in the late 1970s and began dating Sharon. Sharon previously discussed how she doesn't want the film to be "squeaky, shiny clean" like Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Sharon also recently announced she is self-quarantining again after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. "We're all on lockdown," Sharon said from home at the top of her daytime talk show The Talk, and that one of her assistants who she works with at home had tested positive for the disease. "She's (my assistant) doing OK, but can you believe it? This is my second lockdown." - NME/Music-News.com, 11/20/20...... Kiss are set to close out 2020 with a "Kiss 2020 Goodbye" virtual special on Dec. 31 at the Atlantis in Dubai. Kiss is promising "the biggest & baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year" when they take the stage at 5:00 p.m. BST, with tickets ranging from $40 (£30) for a standard ticket, all the way up to $1,000 (£750) for deluxe tickets which includes all manner of Kiss merchandise and memorabilia. "In true KISS fashion, they are bringing the biggest & baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year, proving once again, that KISS never does anything small," according to a press release. "The massive stage production and FREE pre-show will be brought directly into your living room at 9 pm LIVE from Atlantis Dubai on December 31st!" - NME, 11/21/20...... The music of Queen is now officially available on the popular social media app TikTok. Up to 10 of the band's classic hits -- including "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites The Dust," "Don't Stop Me Now" and "We Will Rock You" -- have been made available on the app for fans worldwide to use in their video creations. Other hits from their back catalog on TikTok include "Under Pressure," "We Are The Champions," "I Want To Break Free," "Somebody To Love," "Killer Queen" and 'Radio Ga Ga." The account was launched in partnership with the band and its label partners Universal Music Group and Hollywood Records. To commemorate the band's music arriving on TikTok, a hashtag challenge has been launched globally, encouraging fans to #SingWithQueen. The Queen TikTok page can be viewed at tiktok.com@queenofficial. - NME, 11/19/20...... In a new interview with BBC News, Keith Richards joked that he "might get a new wheelchair" to celebrate the Rolling Stones' 60th anniversary two years from now. "I don't know [how I plan to celebrate]. I might get a new wheelchair," he said, then reflected wistfully that "this particular life" has "been pretty exceptional." "I'm really at a loss sometimes to sort of figure out how the hell I got here," he admitted. "But the music is the thing that keeps you going, so that's what I try and concentrate on." The Rolling Stones, who formed in 1962, are set to celebrate 60 years together in 2022. - NME, 11/19/20...... The Who's Roger Daltrey has branded Elton John "arsey" as he reignited the row between the two over Elton's alleged snub of the Daltrey-organised Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) gigs in 2018. Daltrey said at the time that John "should answer his bloody emails" in regards to the annual charity gigs, claiming that he had played at events organised by John's charity "three times," but a rep for Elton says that they were "slightly perplexed by his claims" because "each time prior commitments meant Elton was unfortunately unable to take part." "No one here has any recollection of Roger performing at any Elton John AIDS Foundation events 'three times' either, which makes it all the stranger," the rep added. In a recent inteview with the UK's Daily Mirror paper, Daltrey recalled the incident by claiming that he "wasn't making a big deal out of it, but then Elton got arsey about it." Daltrey also claimed that Elton remains hard to get hold of. "I've had the same number 40 years. But when you get to Elton's status as a monstrous, massive star... it's not easy to get hold of these guys." Daltrey did add that he was still holding out hope that John would one day join the line-up for his TCT gigs, adding: "I've done a couple for his AIDS charities and foundation." Daltrey is among the artists who will perform at the Nordoff Robbins-organised charity livestream event "The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas" on Dec. 15. - NME, 11/18/20...... Gibson Guitars has recreated two classic guitars based on instruments once played by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix's 1969 Flying V and 1967 SG Custom are being made available for fans to buy, with both models looking and sounding like the guitars Hendrix actually played. Both also come with official photos of the late guitar legend and a collection of anecdotes and personal images from the archives of Eddie Kramer, his renowned engineer, producer, and collaborator. Hendrix played the Flying V throughout the Band of Gypsys era and during his legendary set at the Isle of Wight Festival on Aug. 31, 1970. He was seen performing with the 1967 SG Custom on his national television debut on The Dick Cavett Show on July 7, 1969. The guitars, which will retail for $9,999 (£7,548) each, can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 11/19/20...... Bruce Swedien, the longtime engineer for Michael Jackson and who has also worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Jennifer Lopez and Donna Summer, passed away on Nov. 16, according to his daughter Roberta Swedien. "My dad, Bruce Swedien, passed away peacefully last night, November 16th. He was 86," Roberta posted on Facebook on Nov. 17. "A legend in the music industry for over 65 years and 5-time Grammy winner, he was known for his work with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and many more. He had a long life full of love, great music, big boats and beautiful marriage. We will celebrate that life. He was loved by everyone. Rest in peace dear sweet Daddy-ji. We will love you forever, Bea and Roberta." Mr. Swedien worked with Quincy Jones on Jackson's 1979 album Off The Wall, along with his classic albums Thriller and Bad. Over the years, he also worked with Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Barbra Streisand. - NME, 11/17/20...... British football agent and music publicist Eric Hall, who organized the Sex Pistols' infamous 1976 expletive-filled interview on The Today Show with Bill Grundy, has died at age 73. The flamboyant Hall, known for his trademark catchphrase "Monster Monster," first cut his teeth as a publicist for EMI Records in the 1970s. It was at EMI that Hall first met Queen's Freddie Mercury, claiming in later years that the band's 1974 hit "Killer Queen" was written about him. Hall, who was born in Bethnal Green in 1947, also worked as Elton John's tea boy in his formative years and went on to promote the likes of Frank Sinatra, Queen and T. Rex. - NME, 11/17/20.