Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 13th, 2021

Elton John has extended his span of Top 40 hits on Billboard's Hot 100 chart to 50 years and 10 months with his new Dua Lipa collaboration, "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)." Jumping from No. 46 to No. 32 on the chart for the week of Oct. 16, the single mashes up four of his songs from the '70s and '80s and is Sir Elton's first top 40 Hot 100 hit since "Written in the Stars," with LeAnn Rimes, in Apr. 1999. Elton first hit the Top 40 in Dec. 1970 with "Your Song." "A lot of it is, of course, due to Dua Lipa's popularity and the brilliant Pnau remix, but I feel very, very content and happy that I'm relevant," John recently told Billboard. "I've always tried to be relevant. I think a lot of that is due to my [Apple Music] show ['Rocket Hour']. My object when I do that is to play new music by new artists. I've come into contact with them, promote[d] them and become friends," he added. Meanwhile, "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" is poised to topple Ed Sheeran from top of the pops in the United Kingdom. "Cold Heart" leads the UK's First Look chart, which ranks singles based on 48 hours of sales and streaming activity, with Sheeran's "Shivers" single, which has led the chart for four weeks, coming in at No. 2. An animated video of "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/12/21...... Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist/singer/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham was part of a stunning duo performance with singer Halsey on the Oct. 9 episode of Saturday Night Live. For her first song, Halsey gave a futuristic performance of the powerful single "I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God." Halsey slowed things down for their second performance, bringing out Buckingham for the beautiful acoustic ballad "Darling." Halsey's SNL performances can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/10/21...... A preview of a new Paul McCartney interview with the BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life series reveals that Sir Paul has decided to set the record straight on who was behind the decision to split up the Beatles. "I didn't instigate the split. That was our Johnny," Macca said of John Lennon in a preview of his upcoming interview shared on The Guardian's website. "John walked into a room one day and said I am leaving The Beatles. Is that instigating the split, or not?" He also added, "This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue." Further speaking on what he described as "the most difficult period" of his life, McCartney explained that following Lennon's decision, he and remaining members Ringo Starr and George Harrison were "left to pick up the pieces," and confusion surrounding their breakup arose because their manager Allen Klein advised them to keep quiet while business deals were concluded. "So for a few months we had to pretend," McCartney says. "It was weird because we all knew it was the end of the Beatles but we couldn't just walk away." Paul added that he "let the cat out of the bag" after being "fed up of hiding it." "Around about that time we were having little meetings and it was horrible. It was the opposite of what we were. We were musicians, not meeting people," he said. McCartney sued the Beatles in 1970 but he explains he did so as a means to avoid Klein's control. "I had to fight, and the only way I could fight was in suing the other Beatles, because they were going with Klein. And they thanked me for it years later," he said. The interview is scheduled to air in full on BBC Radio 4 on Oct. 23. Meanwhile, in a new interview with The New Yorker, McCartney said he feels the Beatles' main '60s rival The Rolling Stones were mainly "a blues cover band." "I'm not sure I should say it, but they're a blues cover band, that's sort of what the Stones are. I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs," Paul said. In Apr. 2020, McCartney told Sirius XM host Howard Stern that "When [the Stones] are writing stuff, it has to do with the blues. [The Beatles] had a little more influences." "There's a lot of differences, and I love the Stones, but I'm with you. The Beatles were better," Paul said. Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr has opened up about a bizarre reunion offer made to the Beatles in 1973, which they turned down. Starr is featured an Oct. 11 profile of Paul McCartney talking about the band turning down "a fortune" to reunite for a concert, which proposed an opening act of a man wrestling a shark. "We called each other and said no," Ringo said. "We were taking our own roads now." The McCartney profile had focused on the upcoming three-part Beatles documentary The Beatles: Get Back from director Peter Jackson which is due in November. - The Hollywood Reporter/New Musical Express, 10/10/21...... The estate of David Bowie has announced it plans to release a posthumous Bowie album to mark what would have been the late music legend's 75th birthday on Jan. 8, 2022. According to papers filed by the Bowie's estate Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company, there are various music releases in the pipeline, as well as collectors' books, artwork, clothing, footwear, ceramics and glassware. What's more, a new logo with Bowie's iconic lighting bolt and "Bowie 75" was submitted for trademarking and copyright approval. "David's 75th birthday would have been a big deal, and the estate want to mark it," a source told the UK paper The Sun. "There is still a huge appetite for more material, recordings and all things Bowie. It's a perfect time to release some. Obviously they want to be careful to keep to stuff they feel David would have approved of," the source added. Just recently, it was announced that Bowie's lost 2001 album Toy will be released on Nov. 26 as part of a David Bowie 5: Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) box set. - Music-News.com, 10/12/21...... A preview of the upcoming release Bruce Springsteen's legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film featuring the Boss delivering an electrifying performance of "Sherry Darling" has been shared on YouTube. Springsteen, 31 at the time, is a ball of energy as he bounds across the stage in black jeans and a grey sport coat, swinging his guitar behind his back as he leans in to address the crowd in the front rows. The film will be distributed globally in HD for digital download on Nov. 16, and it will arrive Nov. 19 in physical formats, with bundles available on CD and DVD, CD with Blu-Ray and vinyl and digital rental beginning on Nov. 23. It's the first time the film is being released worldwide and it will feature 10 performances and full footage of the entire setlist from the shows held on Sept. 21-22, 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York at a time when the rocker was between his fourth and fifth studio albums, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River. - Billboard, 10/8/21...... Renowned musician/producer Brian Eno has spoken about Coldplay and The 1975's efforts to tackle climate change, while calling for "a revolution" in the wider music industry's approach. Eno appeared as a guest on the second season of Fay Milton's Sounds Like A Plan podcast, which focuses on how the music community is confronting the climate crisis. Eno spoke of this year launching Earth Percent, "a charity providing a simple way for the music industry to support the most impactful organisations addressing the climate emergency." "We've got quite a few people on board already," Eno explained, "either actually on board or with a commitment to join us. We're not talking only to artists; we're talking to agents, promoters, managers, record companies, publishing companies, legal and so on. We're saying to all of them, 'We're all part of this business together, and you're as an important part of it as anyone else. Why don't you join us?'" The podcast can be heard in full on Spotify.com. - NME, 10/12/21...... Gene Simmons of KISS managed to avoid a fall after a descending platform malfunctioned at the start of the band's show in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 9. As Simmons and his bandmates Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer began descending to the stage on individual platforms for their opener "Detroit Rock City," Simmons' failed to lower all the way to the ground and became unbalanced, tilting and shaking. He was luckily unhurt and managed to hold his balance throughout the ordeal, holding onto a cable as the platform eventually lowered to the ground, allowing him to escape onto the stage. Fan-shot footage of the near accident has been shared on YouTube, and Simmons acknowledged the moment on Twitter on Oct. 11, sharing a photograph of himself atop the wobbling stage prop. Paul Stanley recently revealed when KISS's "End of the Road" world tour would wrap up, saying he believes that the run of dates will be completed by the beginning of 2023, ending the tour in New York. - NME, 10/12/21...... The Rolling Stones dug deep into their catalog during their Oct. 9 "No Filter" tour stop in Nashville, Tenn., for a rare performance of their 1967 song "Connection." Originally appearing on their LP Between the Buttons, "Connection" was last played by the band in Nov. 2006 during a show in Vancouver. "It's great to be back. It's great to be anywhere," Stones guitarist Keith Richards told the crowd in Nashville midway through the set as he took over on lead vocals before launching into "Connection." "Hey, blessings on us all. Gold rings on us. I'm going to start off with something I haven't done in years, but this should be fun," Richards added. Fan-shot footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. "Connection" was penned primarily by Richards, and alludes to the heavy scrutiny the Stones were facing by both the media and authorities around their recreational drug use by early 1967. Meanwhile, Stones frontman Mick Jagger crashed a bachelorette party during the band's stop in Nashville. During the group's set at Nissan Stadium, Jagger revealed he had visited some of Music City's most famous landmarks and dive bars incognito. "I went to Printers Alley and sang 'Honky Tonk Women' in a karaoke bar," Jagger told fans at the show. "I crashed a bachelorette party on a pedal tavern. They loved my Goo Goo Clusters. We all ended up at the Wild Beaver riding a mechanical bull," he added. Jagger also uploaded photos of his Nashville adventures on Twitter and shared video footage of himself, donning a Covid-19 mask, walking through downtown Nashville unrecognized. - NME, 10/12/21...... The Doors' surviving guitarist Robby Krieger says that time gone by, and having lots of time on his hands due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has allowed him to finally finish his first ever memoir. Due from publisher Little, Brown on Oct. 12, Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with the Doors, has been on the burner for a long time, according to Robby. "I started it, like, 20 years ago and just never got around to (publishing) it," he says. And he wasn't encouraged to do so when books by bandmates John Densmore (Riders on the Storm, 1991 and The Doors: Unhinged, 2013) and the late Ray Manzarek (Light My Fire, 1998) resulted in bad blood. "They caused a lot of problems," Krieger says. "Each one of them kind of put each other down in their books, and it ended up leading to a lawsuit (between Densmore and the others), so I kinda put mine on hold. I had a good outline... and then the pandemic hit and I had some time on my hands and I found a good guy to help me (co-writer Jeff Alulis) and we finally got it done. I just wanted to tell my version of everything and try to clear up things that were in other books or in The Doors movie and just give my slant on everything, which I hope is closer to the truth," he adds. Krieger says he's also anxious to try to replace the 1980 best-seller No One Here Gets Out Alive, by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, as the definitive tome about the band. "What really annoyed me was that [Danny] tried to make [Doors frontman] Jim [Morrison] sound like was talking through Danny, and it wasn't the way Jim really was," Krieger explained. "So I wanted to correct a few of the things that were in the movie and in the other books -- a lot of things that never happened." Krieger said he allowed Doors drummer John Densmore to preview his manuscript and make some corrections. "He seemed to like it," Krieger says. Meanwhile, other Doors projects in the pipeline include a The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68 Special Edition concert film screening at movie theaters on Nov. 4, and a 50th anniversary deluxe edition of L.A. Woman on Dec. 3. - Billboard, 10/11/21...... Queen has unveiled a line of limited seven-inch vinyl records that will soon be for sale at their pop-up store at London's Carnaby Street. The vinyl series will comprise four unique editions, each release dedicated to the work of a Queen band member. The tracks were personally curated by Brian May and Roger Taylor, with each A-side representing a hit song and the B-side a deep cut written by a respective band member. Each vinyl copy is individually numbered and comes with a member's printed signature. Its first -- for drummer Taylor -- was released on Oct. 9 and has since sold out. It features "Radio Ga Ga" on its A-side and "I'm In Love With My Car" on the B-side on blue vinyl. The record can be seen on Queen's Twitter page. The release for former Queen member John Deacon, due Oct. 22, will feature "Spread Your Wings" and "One Year of Love"on green vinyl. The series will conclude with a release for May on Oct. 29, featuring "We Will Rock You" and "Sail Away Sister." All four editions have been printed at 1000 copies -- 500 available at the pop-up store, and 500 online at Queen's official website. - NME, 10/11/21...... Blondie has shared a rare Christmas track titled "Yuletide Throwdown" co-written with hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy on YouTube. Blondie famously gave a shout-out to Fab 5 Freddy (real name Fred Brathwaite) on their 1980 song "Rapture," with frontwoman Debbie Harry launching into its rap section with "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." Freddy later appeared in the song's accompanying video. Blondie and Freddy then linked up in 1981 to record "Yuletide Throwdown,"with Harry and Freddy rapping Christmas-themed lyrics over the original backing track for "Rapture." A new remix of "Yuletide Throwdown" by Cut Chemist has also been shared on YouTube. The festive track was only released on a special flexi-disc that was given away by the UK music magazine Flexipop in 1981, but it was recently rediscovered by Blondie when they raided their personal archives for a new box set which is set for release in Aug. 2022. In a statement about the rare song, Harry said: "It has been an impossible amount of time since I believed in Santa Claus, but I could very well believe again if he was Freddy Brathwaite!! Some of my best times have been making music with [Blondie guitarist] Chris Stein and Freddy B." - NME, 10/11/21...... Eric Clapton reportedly donated £1,000 and lent his own van to the UK anti-lockdown music group Jam For Freedom earlier this year, congratulating its founder on doing "great work." Clapton donated £1,000 to a GoFundMe page to help support the group, its founder Cambel McLaughlin told Rolling Stone magazine. McLaughlin thought it could have been fake, but emailed the account listed with the donation and got a text from Clapton himself. "It was something complimentary, along the lines of, 'Hey, it's Eric - great work you're doing,'," McLaughlin said of the text message. Jam For Freedom revealed Clapton's donation on Instagram in April. "Delighted to announce one of the greatest modern musicians alive has helped us stay afloat after damage to our equipment from police recklessness on Saturday," they wrote at the time, referring to an encounter with the police they had at an anti-lockdown rally in Hyde Park on Apr. 24. - NME, 10/11/212...... In a new interview with GuitarWorld magazine, James Taylor said that his "arrogance of youth" helped him audition in front of Paul McCartney and George Harrison for a spot on the roster of their newly formed Apple Records in the late 1960s. "I had some kind of competence and the arrogance of youth, without which nobody would ever do anything, because you'd hedge your bets," Taylor recalled. "There's a stage in our development where you're allowed to do impossible things, which is why the military looks to people about that age. You can talk people into doing things that if you were asked when you were 35, you'd say, 'No thanks, I'll pass on that.' I also knew that it was somehow good. It worked for me, and I was a music connoisseur. I thought, 'This stuff could go somewhere. I want somebody to hear this.' I've had that feeling a few times, at different points in my life," he said. Taylor also explained what it felt like to release his 1968 debut self-titled album on the Beatles' label. "It was just otherworldly, because I was a huge Beatles fan. And they were at the very height of their powers. They just kept going, kept growing. So, to be in London, the first person signed to their label in 1968, was really like catching the big wave. It was unbelievable," he said. Meanwhile, Taylor is set to embark on a UK tour in 2022. He released his 20th studio album, American Standard, in Feb. 2020, with the album going on to win Best Tradition Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys. - NME, 10/11/21...... Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared a new single titled "High and Lonesome" on YouTube. Taken from the duo's forthcoming sophomore collaboration Raise the Roof, the track was co-written by Plant and T-Bone Burnett, who also produced Raise The Roof, as well as Plant and Krauss's previous album, 2007's Raising Sand. The song starts with a grooving little rumble, with some typically blues-rock lyrics and a shuffling undertone generated by sparse guitars. The rise of Plant and Krauss' vocal harmonic creates a subtle depth in texture. Dropping on Nov. 19 via Warner Music, the new album marks 14 years since the release of their first collaborative release. In a press statement, Plant noted that Raise The Roof is "a far cry from everything I've done before." - NME, 10/9/21...... Genesis have postponed their final four UK reunion tour dates due to a positive Covid-19 test. Genesis has been touring the UK for their "The Last Domino" tour, which kicked off in Birmingham in September and marked their first shows in 14 years. They were due to play in Glasgow on Oct. 8 at the SSE Hydro before heading to London for three shows at The O2 on Oct. 11, 12 and 13, however all those gigs have now been cancelled. The band announced on Twitter that they had been forced to cancel the remaining shows on the tour "following guidance and advice from the Government" and that "We are working to reschedule them as soon as possible and will announce the new dates through our website (www.genesis-music.com) and social media channels as soon as possible." Genesis is scheduled to kick off a 13-date North American leg of the tour on Nov. 15 in Chicago, running through a Dec. 13 show in Pittsburgh. - NME, 10/8/21...... Influential UK ska drummer Everett Morton of The Beat (aka The English Beat) passed away on Oct. 9 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 71. "It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Everett Morton, a beautiful and talented man. His family are naturally grieving. Please respect their privacy. RIP Gaffah!," the band posted on social media. Morton was born in St Kitts and eventually moved to Birmingham in the 1960s where he attended drum school. Later, he played drums in his cousin's band. In 1978, he joined Dave Wakeling, David Steel, Andy Cox and Ranking Roger who formed The Beat in 1978. They signed to Coventry's 2-Tone Records and in 1979 hand chart success with "Tears Of A Clown/Ranking Full Stop,", which reached number six in the charts. Later, they set up their own record label, Go-Feet. The Beat released three albums during their first period together: I Just Can't Stop It (1980), Wha'ppen? (1981) and Special Beat Service (1982). Among their best-known songs are the likes of "Stand Down Margaret," "Mirror In The Bathroom" and "Drowning." - NME, 10/9/21...... A memorial plaque to Eddie Van Halen is scheduled to be unveiled during a ceremony in his hometown of Pasadena, Calif. on Oct. 11 to remember the musician one year after his passing. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and fellow council members will attend the unveiling close to the city's Convention Center, which is next to the Civic Auditorium. Van Halen, 65, died from throat cancer on Oct. 6, 2020. The event will not be open to the public due to the city's coronavirus restrictions that are still in place. The tribute was spearheaded by two Pasadena residents, Randa Schmalfeld and Julie Kimura, who set up a GoFundMe page earlier in 2021 to set up a permanent memorial. The pair raised almost $7000 for the tribute. - NME, 10/9/21...... Paddy Moloney, the founder and leader of the traditional Irish music group The Chieftains, died on Oct. 12 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 83. "It is with great sadness to hear of the passing of my very good friend and colleague, Paddy Maloney," renowned flautist James Galway posted on Twitter, alongside a photo of the two artists laughing together. "A man with a vision and passion on bringing traditional Irish music to the masses for which we are forever indebted to. Such wonderful memories for which I shall always cherish." Under Moloney's guidance, The Chieftains charted on a multitude of Billboard charts, including Classical Albums, and even topping the Top Latin Albums chart for several weeks in 2010 with San Patricio, a tribute to the San Patricios, the ill-fated battalion of mostly Irish soldiers who abandoned the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 and crossed the border to fight alongside the Mexicans. Their last studio recording was 2012's Voice of Ages, which came out on Concord in the U.S. Commemorating the group's 50th anniversary, the album found them collaborating with a number of contemporary artists, including Bon Iver and The Decemberists. Their last show was an early St. Patrick's Day celebration in Philadelphia in 2020 before the pandemic led to them canceling the rest of their tour. - Billboard, 10/12/21...... Beverly Noga, a music publicist who helped guide the careers of such artists as Sonny & Cher, Cream, the Bee Gees and The Chambers Brothers, died on Oct. 8 of cancer at her home in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said. She was 87. Ms. Noga and Bobbi Cowan, niece of legendary publicist Warren Cowan, founded Contemporary Public Relations in 1964. Their clients also included The Turtles, Three Dog Night, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Joe Cocker and Blind Faith. When the office closed, Noga and Willie Chambers of The Chambers Brothers formed Hebewillen Enterprises and Hebewillen Publishing, running both until her death. Ms. Noga's mother discovered and managed Johnny Mathis, and as the singer's career took off, he and her family moved into a home on Sunset Boulevard and Elm Drive in Beverly Hills. Ms. Noga became an integral part of her mom's management team in its California and New York offices, and their Beverly Hills home became a place to host celebrities from the worlds of music and film. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/11/12.

Speaking to the popular UK paper Metro, co-founding Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward says he's interested in making another album with the band. Ward, 73, says he's even floated the idea with the band's management. "My biggest contention has been 'let's make another album'. Nothing live necessarily, because I'm looking at what I can realistically do," said Ward, who retired from the band in 2012 and from performing altogether in 2017. Ward continued: "The way I play the drums, it's becoming tougher as I get older. I haven't spoken to the guys about it, but I have talked to a couple of people in management about the possibility of making a recording. Which I can do safely, even with COVID around. I can lay tracks at my studio in Los Angeles. I'm very open-minded about doing something like that." According to the article, Ward's fellow co-founding bandmates Ozzy Osbourne and Tommy Iommi have also recently voiced wishes for a reunion, possibly during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the band's hometown of Birmingham. In 2019, Osbourne admitted that he wishes Black Sabbath could have finished their recent farewell tour with Ward. "I didn't like the fact that Bill Ward wasn't there, for a start," Osbourne said. "People put that down to me, but it wasn't me, honestly. We didn't have the fucking time to hang around, we had to get going, but I'm sorry it didn't work out with Bill," Ozzy said. - New Musical Express, 10/8/21...... Deep Purple have announced what will be their 22nd studio album -- and their first covers album ever -- will be released on Nov. 26. Dubbed Turning to Crime the set will be the band's "first album entirely made of songs not written by the band and previously recorded by other artists," the band said in a press release. Turning to Crime will arrive just 15 months after the release of their last LP, Whoosh!, which reached No. 4 on the UK's official album chart. Turning to Crime's first single is called "7 And 7 Is," a song first recorded by the '60s cult band Love, led by Arthur Lee. Turning to Crime will be released as a digital download, across streaming platforms and on CD and vinyl and is currently available for preorder on the band's official website and on Amazon. Like Deep Purple's previous three albums, it will be produced by Bob Ezrin, perhaps best known for his work with Alice Cooper. Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover revealed earlier that the Covid-19 lockdown inspired him and his bandmates Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Steve Morse and Don Airey, to work on new music as they couldn't go on tour. - Music-News.com, 10/7/21...... As the legendary New Year's Eve broadcast Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve prepares to celebrate not only the arrival of 2022 but also its own 50th birthday, MRC Live & Alternative and ABC have announced the show's first-ever Spanish-language countdown will also be featured in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Convention Center will be the locale of the Spanish-language countdown, and coincides with the celebration of San Juan's -- the capital of Puerto Rico -- 500th anniversary. As in recent years, host Ryan Seacrest will oversee the show's New Year's festivities in New York City's Times Square, set to air Friday, Dec. 31 live on ABC at 8:00 pm EST. Puerto Rico's countdown will occur at 11:00 pm EST. - Billboard, 10/7/21...... Former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has told Jim DeRogatis' podcast The Coda Collection that he is "flabbergasted" by his former bandmate Roger Waters' recent statement that he felt bullied by members in Pink Floyd. "I'm slightly flabbergasted by it," Mason told DeRogatis during the interview, which has been shared on YouTube. "But I think that's a slightly over emotional way of putting that there was some sort of division within the band about. Because Roger was always looking beyond the music, in a way. I think it was artificial, but I think possibly there was the side that wanted to do inflatables and films, as well as music, and those who just wanted to do music. But, I don't think they were mean to him, particularly. It's hard to imagine being mean to Roger. Stalin was the bullied," Mason added. In September, Waters claimed to Marc Maron's WTF podcast that the band had a "toxic environment." "I was in a very toxic environment," Waters said. "I was around some people, well, David [Gilmour] and Rick [Wright] mainly, who were always trying to drag me down. They were always trying to knock me off whatever that perch was," he alleged. When asked how that manifested in actuality, Waters answered: "By claiming that I was tone deaf and that I didn't understand music. [They'd thought] 'Oh he's just a boring, kind of, teacher figure who tells us what to do, but he can't tune his own guitar.' Stuff like that. They were very snotty or snipe-y because they felt very insignificant at that point." - NME, 10/7/21...... Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen emembered his late dad on Oct. 6, the one-year anniversary of his death, with a touching reflection on Twitter. "You fought so hard for so long, but you were still taken away. It's just so unfair," Wolfgang wrote while sharing an old photo of the father-son duo. "I'm not OK. I don't think I'll ever be OK. There's so much I wish I could show you. So many things I wish I could share with you. I wish I could laugh with you again. I wish I could hug you again. I miss you so much it hurts." Eddie Van Halen died on Oct. 6, 2020, after a battle with cancer at age 65. - Billboard, 10/6/21...... The Who's Pete Townshend announced on Instagram on Oct. 6 that he's moved from his Richmond Hill, UK home of 26 years, leaving behind the home studio but taking with him the console he used for many recordings by The Who. "Moving house is never fun, but with it went the home studio (which I helped build for Ronnie Wood when he lived in the house before me in 1973 where I have produced a lot of my songs and quite a bit of commercial music," Townshend explained. Townshend's Neve BCM10 console, which he is taking with him, was used to mix the Live at Leeds album, the piano part of "Love Reign O'er Me" and more. "I did all the synthesizer backing tracks for Quadrophenia, the music for Ken Russell's Tommy movie, 'Baba O'Riley' and 'Won't Get Fooled Again'.' This console has so much mojo for me. I truly love it. I've rarely managed to get a bad sound out of it," he added. Townshend, who sold the 18th-century Grade I listed Georgian house for £15 million in August, said he was relocating his studio to the countryside. In September, Townshend said that the "old fashioned way that [the band] work" is a stumbling block that makes him "reluctant" to record any new music with The Who. - NME, 10/7/21...... Rising British pop sensation Ed Sheeran revealed during an Oct. 6 interview on the Dutch radio station NPO Radio 2 that he has collaborated on a new Christmas song with Elton John. Sheeran revealed that Sir Elton -- whom he says he talks to on the phone "almost every single day" -- called him on Christmas Day back in 2020 to propose his idea. "He rung me on Christmas Day and he said, "'Step Into Christmas' is No. 6 on the charts, and I'm 74, and I'm still having f---ing chart hits, this is great! I want to do another Christmas song, will you do it with me?'," Sheeran said. Ed admitted that he was skeptical at first about the idea, saying "I've never really wanted to do a Christmas song." However, after the death of a close friend, he said he got some perspective and decided to take John up on the opportunity. "It really just hit home how stuff can just change overnight," he said. "I was like, 'Why the f--k am I not doing a Christmas song with Elton John? I might not be here tomorrow, this will be a f---ing great way to celebrate Christmas.'" A clip of Sheeran's interview can be heard on Twitter. - Billboard, 10/6/21...... Blondie have postponed their "Against All Odds" UK tour until next spring. The tour is now set to happen between April and May 2022, with Johnny Marr appearing as a special guest in place of Garbage, who have been forced to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. Marr, a former guitarist with The Smiths, contributed to Blondie's latest studio album, Pollinator (2017). "Having collaborated with Johnny on Blondie's last album, and with plans for a new collaboration on our next album, we are looking forward to a long-overdue return to the UK, and even better, to sharing the stage with the inspirational musical influence that is Johnny Marr," Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry said in a statement. The UK tour is set to launch on Apr. 22 in Glasgow, also visiting Cardiff, London, Brighton, Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Nottingham before wrapping in Birmingham on May 7. - NME, 10/6/21...... Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has revealed that he suffered an "aortic aneurysm" during his band's performance at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Ken. on Sept. 26. Faulkner told Rolling Stone that the health issue came "totally out of the blue" as he has "no history of a bad heart, no clogged arteries or high cholesterol." "I've always been grateful for the opportunities I've been presented with," Faulkner said. "I've always considered myself THE most fortunate man ever -- to be able to play my favourite music -- with my favourite band -- to my favourite people around the world. Today just being able to type this to you all is the biggest gift of all." The guitarist added he was "thankful" to still be alive: "Whatever the circumstances, when watching that [Louder Than Life] footage, the truth is, knowing what I know now, I see a dying man." He then thanked his "friends, family, fantastic band, crew, management" and fans for all of their "love and support during the last week." Faulkner, 41, has been a member of Judas Priest since 2011, replacing longtime guitarist K. K. Downing following his departure from the band. He has since performed on Priest's last two studio albums: 2014's Redeemer of Souls and 2018's Firepower. - NME, 10/6/21...... KISS have confirmed that their current "End of the Road" farewell tour will very likely end after next year. KISS are currently in the middle of the lengthy tour, which was originally slated to end on July 17, but now KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley says the tour is likely to take much longer to complete. "I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished," Stanley told UltimateClassicRock.com, adding that the band will end their tour in New York. "It seems only natural to be in New York. That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people. It seems we should go full circle." Stanley also said this would definitely be the band's last ever tour. "The fact is that, physically, it's incredibly demanding to do what we do," Stanley explained. "Look, we played [recently] in Austin, an outdoor show, 100 percent humidity. We're running around for two-plus hours, not only with guitars, but I've got 30-plus pounds of gear on. There's a point where you go, 'You know what? This is more challenge than I want.' And I only want to do it as long as I can do it smiling... It has nothing to do with personalities in the band or tensions or a difference of opinion or musicality. It's purely practical. You can play beat the clock, but ultimately the clock wins," he added. - NME, 10/6/21...... Handwritten lyrics to the Bruce Springsteen songs "Thunder Road," "For You" and "Night" along with two harmonicas used by the musician are set to go under the hammer at auction during a Bonhams auction on Oct. 28. The harmonicas were used on the original recordings of "Thunder Road" and "Johnny 99," and like the lyrics, have been in the hands of a private collector who acquired them from Mike Batlan, who worked for Springsteen as a musical instrument technician from 1973 to 1985. More info about the auction and how to bid can be found on the Bonhams website. Elsewhere in the auction, a host of Beatles memorabilia will be up for grabs including two handwritten setlists from the early days of the Fab Four. - NME, 10/4/21...... On Oct. 5 BMG announced that it has acquired Tina Turner's music rights in a new blockbuster deal that sees the company owning her share of recordings, her writer's share of publishing and neighboring rights, as well as her name, image and likeness. BMG is calling the deal with Turner its single largest artist acquisition ever. Turner's discography includes 10 studio albums -- including classics like her "comeback" album Private Dancer, two live albums, two soundtracks and five compilations. Altogether, the 8-time Grammy-winning singer has sold over 100 million records to date. - Billboard, 10/5/21...... Dolly Parton and her businesses in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains have raised $700,000 to help residents impacted by recent floods in the Volunteer State. On Aug. 21 more than 500 homes and 50 businesses were damaged after up to 17 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours, causing rising waters to tear through Humphreys, Hickman, Houston and Dickson counties. Parton chose United Way of Humphreys County to receive and distribute her donation, as suggested by her friend and fellow country music legend Loretta Lynn. Wayne Spears, a foreman at Lynn's ranch, was among those who died in the flood. "After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could," Parton said in a statement. "It meant so much to me that Loretta -- and so many folks -- were ready to give in any way they could. This was just one small way I could help Loretta's people for all they did to help my people," she added. The flood relief funds were raised by donating a portion of ticket sales from her Dollywood theme park and her Pigeon Forge dinner show properties -- Dolly Parton's Stampede Dinner Attraction, Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show and Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud -- during the Oct. 2-3 weekend. - NME, 10/7/21...... Ringo Starr is part of a massive, all-star group of the world's greatest drummers who've gathered for a cover of the Beatles' Come Together" for a good cause. The effort, part of WhyHunger's "Drum Together" campaign, brought together 100 of the world's elite drummers including Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band), Stewart Copeland (the Police), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Steve Gadd (Steely Dan) and sessions legend Jim Keltner (who helped organize the campaign) to raise funds to build a "just, hunger-free" world. The funds raised by the recording will support WhyHunger's mission to end global hunger by "tackling its root causes and investing in grassroots solutions to advance the human right to nutritious food for all," according to a statement. The project was conceptualized and produced by Tony Award-winner Brian Resnick (Hadestown) and legendary drummer/educator Dom Famularo, with the latter saying, "When it comes to impactful compositions, 'Come Together' is at the top of the list. It was the perfect song to galvanize this community for such a critical cause." A jazzy, 10-minute video for the effort has been shared on YouTube and opens with Starr playing the song's iconic intro, then quickly being joined by a galaxy of players drumming along on a wide variety of percussion instruments and impressive kits, joined by horns, guitars and vocalists, with plenty of time for a number of them to get in ripping drum solos. - Billboard, 10/5/21...... Peter Frampton is among the contributors to the third annual "Dear John Concert For War Child UK" virtual concert set for Oct. 9. Ahead of the event, Frampton and other musicians have released their official "Dear John" anthem in tribute to the legacy of John Lennon. "Dear John" has been released featuring the daughter of former Small Faces rocker Steve Marriott, Mollie Marriott, and Frampton, who has worked with Ringo Starr and David Bowie. Tickets for the live-streamed event on sale now from BlurredVision.Veeps.com, and the new video for "Dear John" can be viewed on YouTube. The non-profit War Child UK organization supports young people in war-torn countries. - Music-News.com, 10/6/21...... Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has revealed to the LA Times that he was one of the last people to see the band's late drummer Charlie Watts alive, in a London hospital, before Watts' death on Aug. 24 at age 80. Woods said Watts was in the exact same room he was treated for cancer in 2020. "We call it the Rolling Stones suite," Wood said he joked with Watts. Speaking about the last time he saw Watts he then added: "We watched horse racing on TV and just shot the breeze. I could tell he was pretty tired and fed up with the whole deal. He said, 'I was really hoping to be out of here by now,' then after that there was a complication or two and I wasn't allowed back. No one was." The Rolling Stones are currently in the midst of their "No Filter" US tour, next visiting Nashville on Oct. 9, New Orleans on Oct. 13, and Los Angeles on Oct. 17. The tour will run through a Nov. 20 date in Austin, Tex. - NME, 10/8/21...... A live cover of Bob Dylan's classic "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" by late country music legend Johnny Cash has been released for the very first time. Taken from the upcoming posthumous Johnny Cash live LP Bear's Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash, At The Carousel Ballroom April 24, 1968, the 28-song set saw Cash performing with his then-new wife June Carter Cash and his backing band The Tennessee Three. Recorded by the late Owsley Stanley at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco, the performance included a cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's All Right." Taken from Dylan's 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Cash previously shared a studio version of the cover on his 1965 album Orange Blossom Special. Cash's live cover of "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" has been shared on YouTube, and the Bear's Sonic Journals album will drop on Oct. 29 via BMG Music. - NME, 10/3/21...... Aretha Franklin's hometown of Detroit, Mich., has renamed a post office in honor of the "Queen of Soul," who died in the city in 2018 at age 76. Formerly known as the Fox Creek post office, the Aretha Franklin Post Office Building was celebrated with a ceremony on Oct. 4. It is located five miles east of downtown Detroit, close to a concert amphitheatre on the Detroit River also named after the singer. The legislation to change the post office's name was introduced by Michigan Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence in January and signed by Pres. Donald Trump after passing through Congress. "Her legacy lives on in her music, in her family. But we have added to that list of her legacy: A post office with her name on it," Lawrence said at the ceremony. "Sometimes people wonder if Congress can come together," Democratic senator Gary Peters added. "Congress can come together when it comes to standing up and recognising this amazing person," she added. A biopic based on Franklin's life, Respect, premiered in cinemas in September starring Jennifer Hudson. - NME, 10/6/21.