The Sex Pistols released a "Pistol Mint Commemorative Coin" on May 30 ahead of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee celebration on June 3 celebrating her 70 years on the throne. The nickel-plated coin features artist Jamie Reid's Union Jack flag design on the front, with a high quality decal of his depiction of the Queen sporting a lip piercing on the back. It comes days after the Sex Pistols reissued their controversial 1977 single "God Save The Queen," which includes the lyrics "God save the queen / She ain't no human being / And there is no future / In England's dreaming." The single was seen as an anti-monarchy protest song, released around the time of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in the summer of 1977. Despite being banned by the BBC at the time, the song reached No. 2 on the UK's singles chart. Meanwhile, director Danny Boyle's new Sex Pistols biopic Pistol premieres on Hulu (and Disney+ where Hulu isn't available) on May 31. - New Musical Express, 5/30/22...... 
After a 40-year wait, Swedish pop sensations ABBA made their eagerly-anticipated return to the live stage on May 26 and although none of the real-life musicians were actually onstage performing, all four of them were present in London, making a rare public appearance at the premiere of their virtual live concert "ABBA Voyage." Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog walked the red carpet and received a rapturous standing ovation when they appeared onstage together at the end of the much-hyped show, which features de-aged digital avatar versions of the band -- or "ABBA-tars," as the show's producers insist on calling them -- and takes place in a new purpose-built 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Billed as a "Concert Like No Other," the launch was attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, as well as several music stars and VIPs, including Kylie Minogue, Zara Larsson, Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, Kate Moss and Keira Knightley. To create the digital versions of Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida, technicians from George Lucas' special effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) spent five weeks inside a Stockholm movie studio filming the four band members -- now all in their 70s -- performing their back catalog, while wearing figure-hugging motion-capture suits. For now, the concert runs to just over 90 minutes and 20 songs, spanning some of ABBA's biggest hits ("Mamma Mia," "Thank You For The Music," "The Winner Takes It All," "Knowing Me Knowing You") alongside fan favourite album cuts ("The Visitors," "Hole In Your Soul," "When All Is Said And Done") and two tracks from last year's comeback album, also called Voyage ("Don't Shut Me Down" and "I Still Have Faith In You"). The show is currently booked to run in London for least the next 12 months, hosting between seven and nine gigs a week, including two weekend matinees. - NME, 5/27/22...... Pink Floyd has joined the popular social platform TikTok, using their tracks "Breathe (In the Air)" and "Another Brick in the Wall" for their first two videos on May 30. The first features a hypnotic spinning pyramid set to "Breathe (In the Air) to commemorate the pending 50-year anniversary of their seminal album The Dark Side of the Moon, which turns half-a-century old in the spring of 2023. Posted just hours later, Floyd's second video is more straightforward in heralding their arrival on the popular social media platform. Text appears on the screen reading "PINK FLOYD NOW ON TIKTOK over "Another Brick in the Wall from 1979's The Wall. "We don't need no education/ We don't need no false control/ No dark sarcasm in the classroom/ Teacher, leave..." the late Syd Barrett intones before the clip abruptly cuts off. After just one day on the app, the veteran prog rockers have amassed more than 7,500 followers. In April, the band released "Hey Hey Rise Up," their first single in almost 30 years -- with surviving members David Gilmour and Nick Mason (sans Roger Waters) recruiting Ukrainian vocalist Andriy Khlyvnyuk for the charity track. Proceeds from the song are being donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund. - Billboard, 5/30/22...... Elvis Costello announced on May 30 that he's reuniting with his old bandmate Allan Mayes to release, as he calls it, "the record we would have cut when we were 18, if anyone had let us." Costello says the album will be titled Rusty: The Resurrection of Rust, and will be based on songs the duo played 50 years ago as part of Rusty, the first band Costello was ever in. (Back then, he was known as D.P. McManus.) Rusty will drop June 10 and feature six songs from the band's 1972 set lists, including "Surrender to the Rhythm" and "Don't Lose Your Grip on Love" by Nick Lowe; Jim Ford's "I'm Ahead If I Can Quit While I'm Behind"; a mashup of Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Dance, Dance, Dance"; and two originals titled "Warm House" and "Maureen and Sam." "By the summer of '72 we were playing up to five or six nights a week, Costello reminisced in a lengthy letter posted to his official website. "I was still at school, supposedly studying for my A Levels. Once I got a job, we had to schedule our Rusty gigs around my shift work as a computer operator until early in 1973, when I decided to leave Liverpool looking for something and took to this long and crooked road," he continued. Five years later, Costello would release his debut album, My Aim Is True, under his stage name, led by his debut single "Less Than Zero." Nearly five decades later, Costello has most recently dropped his 32nd studio set, 2022's The Boy Named If and signed a publishing deal for his entire catalog with BMG. - Billboard, 5/30/22...... Neil Young announced on his Neil Young Archives site on May 26 that he's releasing Toast, a previously shelved album he recorded with Crazy Horse back in 2001, on July 8 via Reprise Records. The news came alongside a track from the new album titled "Standing In The Light Of Love" -- a rough and raw, barn-stomping rock'n'roll tune -- which has been shared on YouTube. Young has previously described the song as "sort of like a Deep Purple hit." He also said that Toast, which is named for the San Francisco studio in which it was recorded, is "an album that stands on its own in [his] collection." He cited the record's melancholic tone as a reason why it never left the studio, explaining it was "so sad [and] I couldn't handle it at that time. 2001." The release of Toast comes amid Young's ongoing series of archival reissues. In April, he released the "Official Release Series Volume 4" box set, comprising three classic albums from the 1980s -- one of his own, and two collaborative efforts -- as well as a rare EP that was only ever sold in Australia and Japan. His most recent album was another effort with Crazy Horse, 'Barn', which landed in Dec. 2021. - NME 5/28/22...... 
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons announced on May 29 that the band are retiring out of "self-respect" and because of the "love" for their fans. "The reason for stopping touring is because of pride and self-respect and a love and admiration for the fans," Simmons told Full Metal Jackie on an episode of KLOS' Whiplash, which can be streamed on omny.fm. "The last thing you wanna be is to be a world-champion boxer and stay in the ring too long. It's only a matter of time until your legs are not gonna be able to hold you up, and you're gonna lose," Simmons said. KISS announced back in 2018 that they would embark on one massive final tour, before hanging up their iconic costumes. They currently have a number of concerts booked for Europe and Australia this summer -- including a headline slot at the UK's 2022 Download Festival -- and then they'll return to North America at the end of the year for a few more festivals, which is everything they have officially left on the schedule. They also plan to reschedule their Las Vegas residency, which was cancelled late in 2021 due to Covid-19. - NME, 5/29/22...... In a new installment of Billboard's "Behind the Setlist" podcast, Ann Wilson of Heart talked about her song selection for her concert at Seattle's Neptune Theater on Oct. 13. "You want to give people an experience, you want to have an experience yourself. And if the set is designed right, it's just like a natural momentum...some make the transition to live and some just don't work," says Wilson, who played three songs from her 2022 album Fierce Bliss, including "Greed," "Black Wing," and a cover of Queen's "Love of My Life." The Neptune Theatre setlist also featured several songs by rock icons, including John Lennon's "Isolation," The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," Aerosmith's "Dream On" and Led Zeppelin's "Going to California." Wilson's entire interview can be streamed on Spotify.com. - Billboard, 5/27/22...... The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., the former home of the Grand Ole Opry and now it its 130th year as one of country music's most revered performance venues, has been designated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an official Rock & Roll HOF Landmark. During a ceremony held at the Ryman on May 26, Mark Fioravanti (president of Ryman Hospitality Properties), Greg Harris (president/CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the band Old Dominion gathered to unveil a historic marker to commemorate the milestone. "It's spiritual, and it's one of the reasons she's called the Mother Church. Like any good mother, she commands respect and makes you feel at home. As Music City and Country Music continue to expand around her, she remains the center of the family," Old Dominion singer Matthew Ramsey said in a statement. "She's a beacon and a bucket list experience for us all, creators and fans alike." The Ryman joins 11 other rock 'n' roll landmarks throughout the country, including the Austin City Limits studio, King Records, Surf Ballroom, Whisky a Go Go and others. There are 351 members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and one of those members, Bonnie Raitt, performed at the Ryman on May 26 and paid tribute to the Ryman's contributions to the history of rock 'n' roll music. "The Ryman has played an important role not only in the history of Nashville, but in country music and rock & roll as well," Raitt said via a statement. "This stage holds a special place in my heart as I'm able to perform live with many of the incredible Nashville songwriters in the audience whose work has enriched my life and music. I'm honored to help pay tribute to of one of America's great rock & roll venues." - Billboard, 5/27/22...... Def Leppard released its 12th studio album, Diamond Star Halos, on May 27. The new LP features "Kick," a Top 40 debutant on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in April, the rockers' first ranking on that tally since Mar. 2003. To celebrate the new release, the band recently performed on SiriusXM's "Small Stage Series" and Jimmy Kimmel Live, a warm-up for its "The Stadium Tour" with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett, which is scheduled to kick off June 16. Diamond Star Halos can also be streamed on Spotify.com. - Billboard, 5/27/22...... The city of London has announced its intentions to honour Jimi Hendrix with another Blue Plaque. The plaque will be located at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch and will be unveiled on June 10 alongside the "Experience Hendrix L.L.C" event. The location marks Hendrix's last London residence, which was then known as the Cumberland Hotel. Hendrix also wrote the lyrics to "Look Over Yonder" and "Suddenly November Morning" on the hotel's stationary. As part of the celebrations, there will be a screening of the Grammy-nominated documentary Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix In Maui as well as a question-and-answer session with Jimi's sister Janie Hendrix, his producer and engineer Eddie Kramer, and the film's director John McDermott. Music, Money, Madness... has also been shared on YouTube. The first Blue Plaque honouring Jimi was unveiled in 1997 at his 1968-69 Mayfair residence. - NME, 5/29/22...... 
As the new Tom Cruise-starred Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick is currently the most popular movie in theaters across the U.S., Kenny Loggins has reflected on his 1986 song "Danger Zone" which was used in the original Top Gun and utilized again in Maverick. As Loggins explains in his upcoming Still Alright: A Memoir, due out June 14, the iconic Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated musician wasn't even among the top choices to record the high-octane number written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 Top Gun soundtrack. But, through a series of events, Loggins went on to rock the song, which became arguably his most synonymous hit, instantly cemented in pop culture as a quintessential '80s anthem. Although "Danger Zone" was a solid number when Moroder and Whitlock wrote it, Loggins says he had to tinker with the tune -- chord changes and lyrics -- for the final product to be a massive hit. In fact, as he notes in his memoir, Kenny did enough to merit a co-writing credit, but that would have torpedoed Moroder and Whitlock's eligibility to submit the required number of songs from Top Gun for Oscar consideration. So, Loggins' name was kept off the tune and subsequently Moroder and Whitlock's "Take My Breath Away" won for best original song. It would be more than a decade, after Moroder sold his catalog to Warner Bros., before Loggins would be properly compensated and credited as "Danger Zone" co-writer. Loggins, who has two upcoming shows in July at the Hollywood Bowl with his former partner and collaborator Jim Messina, told The Hollywood Reporter hat Cruise told him backstage during an appearance both made on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2018 that a new Top Gun "would not be Top Gun without 'Danger Zone'." "I thought maybe he was trying to be nice, but he meant it, and I was very pleased," Loggins said. He added that "when I went in there to record "Danger Zone," I was thinking of Tina Turner and that aggressive growling that she did. So, that's what my performance was influenced by, Tina's style." Loggins also commented on his former partner and collaborator Jim Messina who will be sitting in for a few numbers during his two Hollywood Bowl performances in July: "We just came to a place where we felt we could do it again, and we got this tremendous offer from the Hollywood Bowl. And we thought, 'OK, do we want to do that again?' So, we're exploring that answer. This may be the last of the Loggins-Messina shows -- or maybe not. It depends on how it goes, how strong it feels and what the vibes are in the room." - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/27/22...... Van Morrison has announced he's issuing legal proceedings against Northern Irish politician Robin Swann over an opinion piece published in 2020. The Health Minister criticized the Northern Irish singer-songwriter's stance on Covid-19 restrictions in a Rolling Stone op-ed published in Sept. 2020, according to BBC News. In the piece, Swann described the songs Morrison wrote on the issue as "dangerous" and a "smear" on those involved in the public health response to the virus. In his songs, released in 2020, Morrison protested against the Covid-19 lockdowns and claimed scientists were "making up crooked facts" about the virus to "enslave" the population. A spokesperson for Morrison has confirmed the Celtic crooner has filed for legal action against both Swann and Northern Ireland's Department of Health as co-writers of the Rolling Stone article. "We confirm that legal proceedings have been issued against Mr Robin Swann MLA and the Department of Health as co-publishers of an op-ed in Rolling Stone," the spokesperson said. In 2021, Swann took legal action against Morrison after the singer called him "very dangerous" during a June 2021 dinner. - Music-News.com, 5/31/22...... 
Rare footage from one of Led Zepplin's most iconic concerts -- held at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1970 -- has been unearthed and uploaded to YouTube courtesy of YouTuber ikhnaton. Captured on 8mm film, the brief clip was shot during Led Zep's Sept. 19, 1970 performance at the famed venue. The footage jumps in places, but isn't too fragmented, as it's synced to bootleg concert audio. In it, we see Robert Plant sing the signature opening to "Immigrant Song," before the clip moves into "Heartbreaker," with Jimmy Page's searing guitar mastery on full display. The show is dubbed "one of their best ever" by the band's own website, and comments from fans under the clip would agree. "I was at the afternoon show that day. Saw them 5 times over the years but they were the best ever on this day. None of the sloppiness that became part of their charm over time. Plant's voice was super strong almost as high as the studio!," wrote user DemoMan. - NME, 5/27/22...... Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has said that "heavy metal" started off as a "sarcastic" term before it was coined as a name for a musical genre. Speaking in a new interview with Eddie Trunk, which be streamed on Spotify.com, Butler said the term was used derogatorily at first, with Sabbath being "stuck with it" in the early 1970s. "When we were on tour in America -- I think it was the second tour in the [United] States -- I read this review, and the guy said, 'This isn't music; it sounds like a bunch of heavy metal being smashed together,'" Geezer recalled. "Somehow that got over to England, and from then on it was like the sarcastic thing they used to apply to us - 'this isn't music, it's a load of heavy metal being smashed together.' And for some reason we got stuck with it." - NME, 5/27/22...... Michael Jackson's red "Thriller" jacket is getting a brand new (temporary) home. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is now the new destination for fans to view the King of Pop's iconic jacket, as it entered the museum's Legends of Rock exhibit on May 26 as a featured artifact, ahead of the 40th anniversary of Thriller. "We are thrilled to display Michael Jackson's jacket from his groundbreaking music video for 'Thriller' -- one of the greatest videos of all time and the title track to the best-selling album of all time," said Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Amanda Pecsenye in a statement. "It's an iconic artifact from Jackson's monumental career." The jacket -- which is owned by the Verret family in Austin -- was transported to the Rock Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, under "high level security," and will remain in the exhibit for at least a year, according to a press release. - Billboard, 5/26/22...... Bob Dylan's original parchment bearing the lyrics to his 1965 classic single "Like a Rolling Stone" -- which are surrounded by various doodles and feature clear edits to his notes -- is currently listed on the memorabilia site Moments in Time for a staggering seven-figure sum. And if that proves too pricey for fans, they've also got the opportunity to splash out on the handwritten lyrics for another of Dylan's 1965 tracks, "Mr. Tambourine Man," which the website is listing for sale for $425,000. According to TMZ.com, Dylan's team sold the lyric sheets to a collector over a decade ago and they are now going on sale to the public. Although both songs were released in the same year, they feature on two different albums, with "Like a Rolling Stone" appearing on Highway 61 Revisited and "Mr. Tambourine Man" taken from Bringing It All Back Home. Meanwhile, a new version of Dylan's 1963 track Blowin' in the Wind is expected to sell for at least $750,000 when it goes to auction in London on July 7. It will be available on a unique Ionic Original format disc, and marks the first time in 60 years the music legend has re-recorded the song. - Bang Showbiz, 5/30/21...... Paul McCartney appeared to show his support for actor/musician Johnny Depp during his Orlando gig on May 28, as the Hollywood actor awaits the verdict of his defamation trial against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. Although it could be entirely coincidental, the Beatles legend -- who turns 80 in June -- showed a clip of his music video for "My Valentine," which features Depp, on giant screens behind him while playing the Camping World Stadium in Florida, in what is being reported as a show of solidarity for the Pirates of the Caribbean star. Depp claims a 2018 op-ed written by Heard falsely implies that he is a domestic abuser -- which he has vehemently denied -- and that it has left him struggling to land roles in Hollywood. Depp is suing for $50 million, while Heard is countersuing for $100 million -- accusing Depp of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of "abuse and harassment." Meanwhile, after several weeks appearing in court in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp travelled across the pond to give a surprise performance alongside his musician friend, Jeff Beck, during his show at Sheffield City Hall in England on May 29. The pals performed their 2020 cover of John Lennon's 1970 hit "Isolation," as well renditions of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," according to videos of the concert shared on social media, in which the Sweeney Todd star appeared on good form. - Bang Showbiz, 5/30/22...... 
Alan White, longtime drummer of Yes, has died at age 72 "after a short illness," the English prog rock band announced on Instagram on May 26. "The news has shocked and stunned the entire YES family. Alan had been looking forward to the forthcoming UK Tour, to celebrating his 50th Anniversary with YES and their iconic Close To The Edge album, where Alan's journey with YES began in July 1972," the band shared on Instagram alongside a photo of their drummer of 50 years. "He recently celebrated the 40th Anniversary of his marriage to his loving wife Gigi. Alan passed away, peacefully at home," the post added. The band's tribute noted that White was "considered one of the greatest drummers of all time." White -- who was born in County Durham, England, on June 14, 1949 -- joined Yes in the summer of 1972, after original drummer Bill Bruford left to join King Crimson. Prior to that, John Lennon in 1969 invited him to join the late Beatle and Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band; White contributed to Lennon's Imagine album, including the iconic title track. His work with Lennon also resulted in White's collaboration with another Beatle -- he played drums on George Harrison's 1970 release All Things Must Pass. Yes found chart success in the United States with hits such as "Owner of a Lonely Heart" off 1983's 90125; the song reached the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 in Jan. 1984. Other hit singles include "Roundabout," from 1971's Fragile, which peaked at No. 13. White and the band were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. In announcing White's death, Yes noted that the band's 50th anniversary Close to the Edge tour in the U.K. would be dedicated to its beloved drummer. White is survived by his wife Gigi, his kids Jesse and Cassie, and two grandchildren. - Billboard, 5/25/22...... Producer, music arranger and music director Bill Walker died on May 26. He was 95 years old. Mr. Walker served as the musical director on The Johnny Cash Show on ABC, which ran from 1969 to 1971. In the '70s and '80s, Mr. Walker also wrote, arranged and conducted music for network and syndicated television. Among his credits are 15 years of the CMA Awards for CBS, The Grand Ole Opry at 50, Nashville Remembers Elvis on His Birthday, Ann-Margret's Rhinestone Cowgirl and Opryland in Russia. He also composed music for movies featuring Kirk Douglas, Tony Franciosa, Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy and Gregory Peck. - Billboard, 5/27/22...... Veteran actor Bo Hopkins, known for his roles in such iconic films as The Wild Bunch and American Graffiti, died on May 27 at the age of 80. Mr. Hopkins appeared in more than 100 film and television roles in a career that spanned more than five decades. He picked up the nickname "Bo" thanks to a character of the same name he played in "Bus Stop," his first off-Broadway play. His television appearances included The Phyllis Diller Show, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, The Rockford Files, Charlie's Angels, The A-Team and The Andy Griffith Show. His first shot at a regularly scheduled TV series came in 1973 in medical drama Doc Elliott, which lasted one season. Although he began his career playing heavy, trigger-happy cowboys or sadistic rednecks, he later evolved into more "law-abiding" roles as he got older. In 2020, Mr. Hopkins appeared in his final film, Hillbilly Elegy, directed by Ron Howard, his American Graffiti co-star. Mr. Hopkins is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sian Eleanor Green; his son, Matthew Hopkins and his daughter, Jane Hopkins. - Reuters, 5/29/22...... 
Ronnie Hawkins, the Arkansas-born rockabilly singer who called Canada home for more than 60 years, died on May 29 after a lengthy illness. He was 87. Mr. Hawkins, also known as "The Hawk" or "Rompin' Ronnie," had an ear for talent. His band The Hawks -- which he originally formed during his days at the University of Arkansas -- served as a farm team for many musicians, most notably Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson, who went on to back Bob Dylan before creating The Band. While he remained a U.S. citizen, Mr. Hawkins received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2002. He was also made an Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014. Mr. Hawkins relocated to Canada after country star Conway Twitty told him rockabilly musicians could make a lot of money there, and he lived in a 6,800-square-foot home he called "Hawkstone Manor Estate" on Stoney Lake in the Kawarthas, which was put up for sale in 2017. Mr. Hawkins was diagnosed in 2003 with pancreatic cancer and given a few months to live. His choice of alternative treatment was covered in the documentary Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin'. "Ronnie was the godfather. The one who made this all happen," Robbie Robertson said in a Facebook post. "He had us rehearsing constantly into the wee hours. We balked about it, but we got better and better. Our goal whether we knew it or not." - Billboard, 5/29/22...... Charles Siebert, the stage-trained actor perhaps best known for portraing the snooty Dr. Stanley Riverside II on all seven seasons of the CBS drama Trapper John, M.D., has died. He was 84. On the big screen, the accomplished Mr. Siebert showed up in such films as The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Blue Sunshine (1977), Coma (1978), And Justice for All (1979), All Night Long (1981), White Water Summer (1987) and Eight Men Out (1988). Mr. Siebert played Helen Kelle's father in the 1979 NBC telefilm The Miracle Worker that starred Melissa Gilbert as Helen and Patty Duke as teacher Annie Sullivan. Mr. Siebert appeared on all 151 episodes of the M*A*S*H spinoff Trapper John, M.D., which aired from 1979-86. His character, the head of emergency services at San Francisco Memorial Hospital, often clashed with surgeon "Trapper" John McIntyre, played by Pernell Roberts. He became a TV director on the Fox Television series in 1982 and went on to helm episodes of such other shows as Knots Landing, Pacific Blue, Silk Stalkings, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess through 2001. His TV credits also include All in the Family, N.Y.P.D., Kojak, Police Woman, The Rockford Files, The Incredible Hulk, Maude, Mancuso, FBI and Murder, She Wrote. Survivors include his second wife, Kristine, whom he married in 1986, and children Gillian and Christopher, a musician with the band Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/31/22.
In an interview with the London paper The Sun's "Bizarre" column, Björn Ulvaeus insisted that ABBA's 2021 album Voyage will be the last new music from the Swedish quartet, also comprised of Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson. "When you do a thing like that, you don't know how people will receive it. It was with such pride that we released that album," Ulvaeus said when asked if ABBA plans on releasing new music. "I don't think there will be any more music with ABBA. I think that was definitely our last album," he added. ABBA are currently in London to visit their new digital show featuring their "Abba-tars" on May 27 at their purpose-built arena in Stratford, east London. Even though the upcoming holographic show is "performed" by their avatars on stage, all four members of ABBA are expected to attend the premiere, with such ABBA-philes as Sir Elton John and Kylie Minogue also expected to attend. The 90-minute set features pre-recorded classics mixed with the band's new numbers such as "Don't Shut Me Down." Ulvaeus, 77, also admitted it was "very emotional" seeing his younger digital likeness performing: "It's very emotional at times. The life-size avatars that you see on stage together with the live musicians, you have to pinch yourself. Even I get the feeling that they really are there. There seems to be a common reaction of, 'What the hell was that?!' Jaws were dropping to the ground. This is layer on layer of music, emotion and illusion in a beautiful texture." - Music-News.com, 5/25/22...... 
As the United States is forced to face the aftermath of its latest mass shooting -- this one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., on May 24 that resulted in the death of 19 children and two adults as well as the 18-year-old male perpetrator -- singer/songwriter legend Don McLean has announced he's pulling out as one of the entertainers at a National Rifle Association annual meeting set for Houston, Tex., on May 28. "In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week," McLean said in a statement on May 25. "I'm sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans. I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation," the "American Pie" singer added. Despite the Ulvade shooting being the deadliest school shooting in the US since the Sandy Hook, Conn., massacre in 2012, the NRA has announced its convention and "Grand Ole Night of Freedom" concert will go forward in Houston, roughly 275 miles from Uvalde, on May 28 with performances from such country stars as Lee Greenwood, Jacob Bryant and T. Graham Brown. Larry Gatlin and former Restless Heart lead singer Larry Stewart, also scheduled for the concert, announced on May 26 that like McLean they would also be pulling out of the show. The event is part of a three-day NRA celebration of "firearms and the second amendment" with scheduled speeches from former Pres. Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The Gun Violence Archive reports that, including the Uvalde tragedy, the U.S. has seen 212 mass shootings in the first 145 days of 2022. - Billboard, 5/25/22...... A new recording by Bob Dylan of his folk classic "Blowin' in the Wind" and produced by Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett using his patented "Ionic Original" disc format is headed to auction. The new "Blowin' in the Wind," Dylan's first recording of the song since 1962, is the first recording to use the tech from Burnett's NeoFidelity Inc., and will go under the gavel during auctioneer Christie's sale in July as part of its "Classic Week" in London, with an estimated bid range between $752,000 and $1.2 million. "Sixty years after Bob first wrote and recorded 'Blowin' In The Wind', he is giving us a new recording of his song; one that is both deeply relevant for our times and resonant with decades of the artist's life and experience. We're grateful to Christie's for their belief in the 'Ionic Original' and for presenting Bob's masterful recording to the world in a unique and meaningful way," Burnett said in a statement. He added that the tech used to create the recording "advances the art of recorded sound and marks the first breakthrough in analog sound reproduction in more than 70 years, achieving dramatic improvements in listening experience and durability." In April, Burnett revealed that he's been in the studio with Dylan using the new high-fidelity medium that the producer said represents the first breakthrough in analog sound reproduction since the 1950s. The Dylan recordings -- which have not been specifically detailed -- will be issued in a format that resembles vinyl, though Burnett has promised it will be "a whole new medium." A photo accompanying the announcement showed Burnett holding the aluminum platter on which "Ionic Originals" releases will be available. The upcoming auction will coincide with Dylan's 60th anniversary as a recording artist, and Christie's is offering exclusive in-person chances to listen to the new recording before the auction on a by-appointment basis in Los Angeles (June 8) and New York (June 15) as part of the public pre-sale exhibition in London (July 2-7). - Billboard, 5/25/22...... 
Saying he's simply "got the jones to play live very badly," Bruce Springsteen announced on Instagram on May 24 that he and The E Street Band will embark on their first tour together since their 14-month global "The River Tour" that kicked off in 2016. "After six years, I'm looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year," Springsteen said in a press statement. "And I'm looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year -- and beyond," he added. While the U.S. arena dates have yet to be announced, the European stadium trek kicks off Apr. 28, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain. The planned European stops also include Dublin, Paris, Ferrara, Rome, Amsterdam, Landgraaf, Zurich, Dsseldorf, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Vienna, Munich and Monza. Additional cities and shows in the U.K. and Belgium will be announced at a later date. Springsteen & The E Street Band last reconnected to perform on Saturday Night Live in Dec. 2020, where they launched live versions of two songs from their most recent studio album, Letter to You. The Boss dialed in to SiriusXM's "E Street Radio" station on May 24 to chat with host Jim Rotolo about their 2023 tour. "It's kind of mind boggling to be honest with you and it doesn't feel that long, but, you know, we stayed busy over that time, but still it's... I'm really... I've got the Jones to play live very badly at this point," he said. "So, I'm deeply looking forward to getting out there in front of our fans." Given the long break, Springsteen told Rotolo that he's "aching to play, but also to travel and see their fans all over the globe... and feel that life again and see their faces again." The entire interview can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 5/24/22...... Aerosmith announced on May 24 that they have cancelled their "Deuces Are Wild" summer Las Vegas residency dates due to frontman Steven Tyler recently voluntarily checking himself into a drug rehabilitation facility. The residency had been slated to kick off at Park MGM's Dolby Live on June 17 and run until Dec. 11, however the band announced in an Instagram post the June and July dates will not be going ahead due to Tyler suffering a relapse following recent foot surgery. "As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years. After foot surgery to prepare for the stage and the necessity of pain management during the process, he has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health and recovery," the band wrote. "We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must cancel our first set of Las Vegas Residency dates this June and July while he focuses on his well-being," they added. The band said they will now start the residency on Sept. 14 and will let fans know any further updates "as soon as we can." The residency already had two dates scheduled for October, five dates in November and four dates in December. Aerosmith had also been expected to perform at the UK's 2022 Glastonbury festival after previously being confirmed for the 2020 edition. However, the band are not on this year's line-up. In March, they announced that longtime drummer Joey Kramer would be taking a "temporary leave of absence" from band. - NME/Billboard, 5/24/22...... 
Iggy Pop was among the honorees of the prestigious Polar Music Prize during a Royal Ceremony held in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 24. "Godfather of punk" Pop and the Parisian classical musical collective Ensemble Intercontemporain are the 2022 Laureates, while singer/songwriter Diane Warren, who was named a Laureate in 2020 but that year's ceremony was postponed until 2021 and then canceled as the pandemic continued to surge around the globe, also was finally able to accept her honor at the 2022 ceremony. Pop, Ensemble Intercontemporain and Warren all received their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf at the Scandinavian city's Grand Hotel. The prize was founded by ABBA manager Stig Andersson in 1992, and over the last 30 years recipients have included Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and B.B. King, among others. - Billboard, 5/24/22...... The artist lineup for the highly anticipated soundtrack for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis Presley biopic Elvis was revealed on May 23, with contributions from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Jack White, Eminem & CeeLo Green, Tame Impala, Jazmine Sullivan and Gary Clark Jr., among many others. The lineup was revealed in an Instagram post, however it doesn't yet reveal which Elvis songs the artists will each be recording. Also featured on the announcement is hot rising singer Doja Cat, whose dynamic "Vegas" was previously released as the soundtrack's first single. The song interpolates Big Mama Thornton's 1952 seminal rock & roll song "Hound Dog," which was later famously recorded by Presley. Elvis stars Austin Butler as The King, and will officially hit theaters on June 24. The film's release date was pushed back a number of times due to Covid-19, including after Tom Hanks, who plays Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker, contracted the virus in Australia, where he was filming the biopic. A trailer for Elvis has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 5/23/22...... In related news, the first teaser trailer for Moonage Daydream, a new documentary featuring the late David Bowie's personal archives and unseen performance footage, has been shared on YouTube. Helmed by Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jane), the rockdoc promises to take viewers on an "immersive" journey through via "sublime, kaleidoscopic imagery, personal archived footage, unseen performances" that are anchored by Bowie's music and words. In the teaser, Bowie speaks off-camera about the importance of life. "It's what you do in life that's important, not how much time you have," he says as a montage of performance clips spanning his 50-year career and other behind-the-scenes imagery plays out. Moonage Daydream is the first film to be supported by the David Bowie Estate, which granted director Morgen unprecedented access to its collection -- some 5 million assets -- in 2017. Moonage Daydream premiered on May 23 at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be released worldwide in September, with firm dates set to be announced. Meanwhile, it was recently announced that Bowie's iconic 1972 breakthrough LP The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars will be getting a special 50th anniversary re-release via Parlophone Records on June 17, with two special edition vinyl LP's containing all 11 of the original's tracks being made available online. - NME, 5/23/22...... 
Ringo Starr will make his debut on the blockchain in June, announcing a collection of non-fungible token (NFT) artworks dubbed "The Creative Mind Of A Beatle." The collection features five of Starr's original art pieces -- two paintings, one Bansky-esque self-portrait, and two hybrid works -- each being minted as editions of four. Each piece will come with a physical print of the corresponding artwork, signed by Ringo, as well as an audio recording of Starr performing an original composition inspired by the piece, written for and released exclusively through the collection, on the drums. "I am excited to join this digital art community," Ringo said in a video announcing the collection he posted on Twitter on May 24, "and look forward to continuing to learn and build in Web3... I've been doing art for many, many years, with paint, stencils, digitally, spin art and I'm honoured to be part of this community." As for why Starr chose to jump onboard the NFT train, he explained: "It's really important to have a platform to display your art and to be in control of how it is shared and appreciated." "The Creative Mind Of A Beatle" will be opened as an online auction, accessible via Julien's Auctions, on June 13. Each of the 20 NFTs will launch with a starting bid of $1,000 (£800), with an unspecified portion of the final proceeds being donated to Starr's own charity, The Lotus Foundation. However the collection's existence has been widely derided by Beatles fans, with almost all of the 70-plus replies to its announcement on Twitter being negative. "I love Ringo and I find his art very tasteful, but the majority of us Beatles fans are not in favour of the concept of NFTs," one fan wrote, while another pleaded with the artist: "In the name of peace and love please stop." Meanwhile, Ringo is set to kick off an ambitious tour of North America with his All-Starr Band this summer, beginning with back-to-back shows in Ontario on May 27 and 28. The tour will roll into June with a further 20 shows, before picking back up in September for another 19 dates. - NME, 5/25/22...... The Eagles have just confirmed a number of additional special guests for their BST Hyde Park show in London on June 26. Singer/songwriter Cam, Nashville artist Morgan Wade, London band The Wandering Hearts and New Jersey-raised musician Patrick Droney will all perform before the Eagles in June, with more artists set to be announced soon. The Eagles previously confirmed that they will be supported on the London date by Robert Plant + Alison Krauss and Little Big Town. On June 17, the band will kick off their 2022 European leg in Arnhem, Netherlands, followed by shows in Liverpool, UK (6/20), Edinburgh, UK (6/22), Dublin (6/24) and the London show. Each stop will feature a choir and an orchestra accompanying the band for a run through of their classic 1976 LP Hotel California before an interval followed by a set of the band's greatest hits. - NME, 5/24/22...... 
A Johnny Cash mural on a water tower in his Arkansas hometown of Kingsland has been shot by a rifle in a "very sensitive area." The silhouette of Cash was shot last earlier in May, causing the water tower to leak. Kingsland Mayor Luke Neal said the vandalism caused the painting to appear as if the "Ring of Fire" hitmaker was "taking a leak" on the town. "Somebody shot our water tower, shot the silhouette of Johnny Cash," Neal explained. "It's been leaking for the last almost week." Neal told local news channel THV-11 that the tank loses 30,000 gallons of water every day that the leak continues. "You kind of run on a tighter budget in small towns like this, because it's really all you've got to work with. And things like this can set you back a little bit," he said. Neal estimated it will cost around $5,000 to repair, with crews having to drain the tower before they can begin. Police arrested a suspect, Timothy Sled, on May 12 and charged him with two felonies -- criminal mischief and impairing the operation of a vital public utility -- for allegedly shooting the tower. If convicted, he could face up to 16 years of prison. The mural, which stands at Cash's exact height of 6'2' (1.88m), was originally painted on the water tower in March 2021. A news story of the incident from a local TV station can be viewed on YouTube. Cash was born in Kingsland, Ark. in 1933 to poor cotton farmers. His family left when he was three years old and settled in nearby Dyess. He returned to his birthplace in 1994, when a local post office was named in his honor. - Music-News.com, 5/20/22...... Drummer Alan White of the prog-rock band Yes has been forced to pull out of the band's 50th anniversary "Close To The Edge" UK and Ireland tour due to illness. The 72-year-old White, who also played drum on John Lennon's classic 1971 LP Imagine, has been forced to miss the upcoming run that will mark five decades of the seminal progressive rock band and celebrate its 1972 album, Close to the Edge. While will be replaced by his friend and fellow sticksman Jay Schellen, who has been a stand-in for Alan on several occasions, for the run, which kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland on June 15, and wraps on June 29 in Cork, Ireland. The band will also make stops in Manchester (6/17), Nottingham (6/18), Liverpool (6/20), London (6/21), York (6/22), Birmingham (6/24), Newcastle (6/26) and Dublin (6/28). - Music-News.com, 5/23/22...... In a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he "can't walk properly these days" as a result of an injury sustained in a quad bike accident at his estate in Buckinghamshire, England, in Dec. 2003, and is set to undergo surgery to treat an existing neck injury. Osbourne said he still faces lasting damage from his injuries, which also included a broken collarbone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. "I'm just waiting on some more surgery on my neck," he revealed. "I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road." Ozzy was also asked if he often thinks about mortality. "At f---ing 73, I've done pretty well. I don't plan on going anywhere, but my time's going to come," the shock rocker said. - Music-News.com, 5/23/22...... As Roxy Music prepares to kick off its first jaunt in 11 years in September in Canada -- an international treck that will include three UK dates to celebrate its 50th anniversary -- the band's guitarist Phil Manzanera says the tour would be "beneath" former Roxy member Brian Eno. "What would he do for the songs he wasn't on? Just hang around? It would be a bit beneath him," Manzanera told Mojo magazine of the glam rock legends' tour which will be the first time he, Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson have performed together on stage since 2011's "For Your Pleasure" tour. The 71-year-old Manzanera joked however that he would like to see their American fans get "glammed" up and wear feathers to honor Eno's androgynous style. "In fact, I want people to come dressed up, glammed up! I want to see people in feathers, in tribute to Eno," he quipped. Eno -- who played synths in Roxy Music and was backing vocalist briefly between 1970 and 1973 -- will not be part of the reunion, though he's allegedly been invited. - Music-News.com, 5/22/22...... 
American actor Ray Liotta, who starred in director Martin Scorsese's 1990 blockbuster crime film Goodfellas, died in his sleep on May 26 in the Dominican Republic, according to the Dominican Republic General Directorate of Cinema. He was 67. Liotta died in bed at a hotel where he was staying with his fiance Jacy Nittolo while filming Dangerous Waters, said his publicist Jennifer Allen. Liotta had a leading role in the film about a sailing holiday that goes awry when family secrets are revealed. A cause of death was not specified, cinema officials said. According to media reports, an emergency service team had entered the hotel, and his body was transferred to the forensic institute of Santo Domingo. Liotta was born Dec. 18, 1954, in Newark, N.J. His many starring roles included playing mobster Henry Hill in Goodfellas and baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He is also known for films including The Many Saints of Newark and Something Wild. He leaves behind a daughter, Karsen Liotta, 23. - Reuters, 5/26/22.
As the U.K. gears up for the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee gala this summer celebrating her 70 years on the throne, an all-star collection of rock and pop stars have been confirmed for a concert at Buckingham Palace on June 4. Queen with Adam Lambert, Diana Ross, Sir Elton John, Sir Rod Stewart, Duran Duran, Craig David, Alicia Keys, Elbow, Hans Zimmer, Andrea Bocelli, Nile Rodgers, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and more will perform across three stages set up in front of the palace with an in-person audience of 22,000 and be broadcast live on BBC One and Radio 2. "The evening will pivot around global themes that have been born, or evolved, during the breadth of Her Majesty's reign due to extraordinary British and Commonwealth contributions including Fashion, Sport, The Environment, 70 Years of Pop Music and Musicals," according to a statement announcing the event. Andrew Lloyd Webber will curate a selection of performances from some of the most beloved Broadway hits, including casts and special guests from "The Phantom of the Opera," "Hamilton," "Six," "The Lion King" and" Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat," including a special appearance from Miranda. Among the other stars set to appear are: Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham, Stephen Fry, Dame Julie Andrews, The Royal Ballet and Ellie Simmonds. "Twenty years after playing The Queen's glorious Golden Jubilee we're very happy to be invited again," the band Queen said in a statement. A poster of the event can be viewed on the 
Pioneering rock & roller and later country singer Jerry Lee Lewis is one of three new inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the CMA announced on May 15. Lewis is the veterans era inductee, while Keith Whitley is this year's medern era artist, and veteran music exec Joe Galante is being inducted in the non-performer category. The newest members were inducted on Mar. 17 at an event at the Hall of Fame and Museum's rotunda in Nashville. At 86, Lewis attended to accept his induction, telling the audience, "I'd like to say it's a great honor and a great pleasure to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. My name is Jerry Lee Lewis and I love everybody. I'm just overwhelmed to be asked to be here today. It's always great to be recognized." Lewis has notched 28 top 10 hits on Billboard's Country Songs chart over four decades, earning more hits over a longer period of time than he did on the Billboard Hot 100. In the country genre, his hits have included "Chantilly Lace," "Another Place Another Time," and "There Must Be More to Love Than This," while signature rock and roll songs of his including "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire" also topped the Country Songs chart. Lewis is also the fourth member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's founding 1986 class of inductees to also gain membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Elvis Presley (1998), the Everly Brothers (2001) and Ray Charles (2021). - Billboard, 5/17/22...... Peter Gabriel picked up an Academy Fellowship award at the Ivor Novellos in London on May 19, and earlier spoke to reporters about his recent collaboration with Arcade Fire. Gabriel, who lent his vocals to "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)" on Arcade Fire's latest acclaimed album WE, said he "thought that they were a great band and they asked me." "That's the simple truth about it," he said. "Regine [Chassagne, keys] grew up in Montreal so was exposed to a lot of my music. They're great writers and it was really fun and interesting to see how other people worked," he added. Asked about the music industry's ability to tackle the climate change crisis, Gabriel described it as "a work in progress." "Touring in itself isn't energy efficient," he said. "I know that bands like Massive Attack have tried very hard to deal with that. There are no perfect solutions. They're talking about upping the quality of lighting and PA in venues, which is how it used to be in the very old days. Not that they were good, but it meant that bands didn't take tonnes of gear. That might help. There's a venue in Vegas and they're trying to get one in London too, which was a massive visual and audio sphere. That may take off and would get cheaper to reproduce, and people could arrive and cut down on what they bring," he added. - NME, 5/20/22...... More details of The Who's first performance in Cincinnati, Oh., for nearly 45 years at the city's TQL Stadium on May 15 have leaked. The midwest US city was the centre of an infamous tragedy during the band's tour in December of 1979 after a crowd crush occurred while fans were entering the Riverfront Coliseum left 11 dead and dozens more injured. "I've been trying to think of what to say, what would be cool to say, [and] what would be uncool to say," Who guitarist Pete Townshend told the audience. "Really, there are no words that we can say that can mean (as much as) the fact that you guys have come out tonight and supported this event. Thank you so much," he added. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the band paid direct tribute to the victims of the 1979 tragedy during their performance of "Love, Reign O'er Me," and black-and-white photos of the 11 victims were projected onto the screen, with the full list of names presented following the performance. A video message from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder was also shared prior to the first encore of the evening. Vedder, who is currently also on tour in North America, told the Cincinnati audience that he was "hoping to be" at the show but was unable to attend. "We're all thinking about you," Vedder said to the audience. "It's a great thing remembering those young people, who will never be forgotten." Vedder went on to mention that both Who frontman Roger Daltrey and Townshend had been there for him following Pearl Jam's own tragedy, when nine people were killed during a stampede at the Roskilde Festival in 2000 while the band was performing. For the final song of the evening, "Baba O'Riley," the band were joined on-stage by students from Finneytown High School, a nearby school in Cincinnati. Three of the victims of the 1979 tragedy went to Finneytown High, and the school established its P.E.M. Memorial Scholarship Fund in the wake of it. "You never get over it, but you gotta live," Daltrey said as the band took its final bows of the evening. Fan-shot footage from the emotional evening can be viewed on 
On May 16 Eric Clapton announced the postponement of two dates on his current European tour after testing positive for Covid-19. The legendary rock singer/guitarist/songwriter -- who has repeatedly railed against Covid lockdown measures and vaccines -- says he tested positive after playing the second date of a two-night stand at London's Royal Albert Hall on May 8 that served as the kick-off of his current European tour. "Eric Clapton is unfortunately suffering from Covid having tested positive shortly after the second concert at the Royal Albert Hall," read a statement from Clapton about the outing that was originally scheduled for summer 2020, pushed to spring 2021 and then rescheduled a third time to spring 2022 due to the global pandemic that has killed more than 6.2 million to date. "He has been told by his medical advisors that if he were to resume traveling and performing too soon, it could substantially delay his full recovery. Eric is also anxious to avoid passing on any infection to any of his band, crew, promoters, their staff and of course, the fans... we very much hope he will be sufficiently recovered by the end of the week to be able to perform the remainder of the planned performances," the statement added. As a result, planned dates in Zurich at the Hallenstadion on May 17 and Milan's Mediolanum Forum on May 17 have been postponed with plans to resume the tour with two shows in Bologna on May 20 and 21; the statement said that the postponed dates will be rescheduled within the next six months. In 2021, Clapton, 77, teamed up with fellow lockdown opponent Van Morrison for the anti-lockdown screed "Stand and Deliver," as well as releasing his own similar take, "This Has Gotta Stop." Clapton also refused to play shows that required proof of vaccination and earlier this year appeared to embrace a controversial, widely debunked theory claiming that secret messages are allegedly being hidden inside YouTube videos with the goal of driving mass compliance with Covid precautions. The star has also claimed that he suffered from severe nerve damage to his fingers as a result of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine, and was so sick he could not play his guitar for months. - Billboard, 5/17/22...... R&B legend Chaka Khan, whose hits include "I'm Every Woman," "Tell Me Something Good" and "I Feel for You," has signed a new record deal with The SRG/ILS Group, and her first project under the agreement is slated to arrive this summer. In announcing the signing, SRG/ILS Group founder/CEO Claude Villani stated, "Chaka Khan is a beacon of light in our industry. Her spirit and her vocals soar. It is a pleasure working with her on this next chapter. We've got a hot record here." Added Khan, "I'm very proud to be with SRG/ILS, a company that's run by a real musician who understands that the needs of artists have been overlooked for years." Khan's forthcoming project will be her first since 2019's Hello Happiness, which yielded the singles "Like Sugar" and the title track. The singer-songwriter's powerful vocals first garnered attention when she fronted R&B/funk band Rufus, which scored its first top five single in 1974 with "Tell Me Something Good." She later embarked on a solo career in 1978. Distributed worldwide by Virgin Music (Universal Music Group), The SRG/ILS Group's roster includes the likes of Brian McKnight, Mary Mary, Erica Campbell and Kenny Lattimore. - Billboard, 5/19/22...... Former One Day at a Time star and the late Eddie Van Halen's first wife Valerie Bertinelli, 62, filed for divorce on May 12 from her husband of 10 years, financial planner Tom Vitale, 60. The couple, who legally separated in Nov. 2021, cited irreconcilable differences. - People, 5/30/22...... 
Sony Music and the estate of Michael Jackson announced on May 15 that a double-CD anniversary edition of Jackson's 1982 LP 
Greek composer Vangelis, whose rousing electronic theme music for the Oscar-winning 1981 film "Chariots of Fire" became one of the most loved movie scores, has died on May 17 of as yet undisclosed causes, according to his law firm. He was 79. Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou in 1943, the young Vangelis developed an early interest in music and experiments with sounds produced by banging pots and pans or fixing nails, glasses and other objects to the strings of his parents' piano. He absorbed the tones of Greek folk songs and Orthodox Christian choral music, but he had no formal musical training, which he later said had helped save his sense of creativity. After a start with local rock bands, Vangelis left for Paris at the age of 25, joining an exodus of young artists following a 1967 coup that installed a military junta in Greece. Away from home, he was attracted by the then-new field of electronic synthesizers that allowed him to create the lush melodic colors that became his trademark sound. Despite enjoying success in the European "prog rock" scene of the early 1970s with Aphrodite's Child, a band he formed with fellow Greek musician Demis Roussos, Vangelis was uncomfortable with the expectations on a commercial performing artist and largely retreated to the recording studio he created for himself in London. It was there that he wrote the score for the film Chariots of Fire, the story of the triumph of a group of British runners at the 1924 Olympic Games. Unashamedly non-contemporary, its pulsating synthesizer beats and soaring melody made the slow motion opening sequence of a group of athletes running along a beach a model for the way the cinema portrayed sport. Vangelis once said the score, which earned him an Academy Award and topped the charts for weeks, was in part a tribute to his father, who had been a keen amateur runner. But he was also slightly dismissive of the enormous popularity it enjoyed. "It's only another piece of music," he told an interviewer. The success of "Chariots of Fire" overshadowed his other scores, but he wrote the music for a number of major films including Missing, directed by his compatriot Costa-Gavras, and Ridley Scott's futuristic thriller Blade Runner. He refused many other offers for film scores, saying in an interview: "Half of the films I see don't need music. It sounds like something stuffed in." Vangelis was a prolific composer over many decades, his work ranging from advertising music and film scores to elaborate symphonic-style compositions and Jon and Vangelis, his duo with Yes frontman Jon Anderson. Vangelis received many awards in Greece, France and the U.S. Little was known of his personal life besides that he was an avid painter. "Every day I paint and every day I compose music," he said -- in that order. In a post on Twitter, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Vangelis "a pioneer of the electronic sound." "He began his long journey on the Chariots of Fire," Mitsotakis wrote. "From there he will always send us his notes." - Reuters, 5/19/22.
The Who took the stage at Cincinnati's TQL Stadium on the evening of May 15 for the English rock icons' first show in the city in over 40 years. Eleven people tragically died in a pre-show stampede at the same venue in 1979, and at the time the Who were on their first tour following the 1978 death of legendary drummer Keith Moon and the sold-out, general admission Cincinnati show was the third stop on the outing. In a heart-wrenching 2019 documentary, The Who: The Night That Changed Rock, the band lamented the show going on, and their decision to leave town shortly after it finished, rather than staying around to grieve with their fans. "For us to come back to Cincinnati after such a long time... we should never have left," Who guitarist Pete Townshend said before the concert. "It gives us a chance to get back there and reconnect, which is very, very important for us." Townshed added that remembering the 11 "does remind us ultimately that accidents happen and when you have a bunch of people caught up in an accident it is tempting to get caught up in the wave of headlines and examination that often drown out the details of the actual loss." "It becomes more about issues, about politics, about policing, about truth-telling and analysis. And then you lose the individual stories," he noted. On the night of the show, a crowd had been slowly gathering all day outside the venue in frigid weather and when they heard the band's music playing inside two hours before showtime. A sudden rush occurred near the only two doors that were open at the time, and the sound the crowd heard, according to the band's manager, Bill Curbishley, was a quick test of a trailer for the Who's Quadrophenia film, not, as erroneously reported, a late sound check. The May 15 Cincinnati area show was originally scheduled to take place just across the river at Northern Kentucky's BB&T Arena in Apr. 2020, however that stop was subsequently canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. - Billboard, 5/13/22...... Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly Osbourne announced via 
A sequel to the 1984 "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap has been announced by Castle Rock Entertainment, with original director Rob Reiner at the helm, along with original stars Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer also reprising their roles as the fictional English heavy metal band. In addition to directing, Reiner will reprise his onscreen role as documentarian Martin "Marty" DeBergi. "When it was announced that Spinal Tap would reunite for one final concert, Marty DeBergi saw this as a chance to make things right with the band who viewed This is Spinal Tap as a hatchet job. So he left his position as visiting adjunct teacher's assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts in pursuit of film history," said Reiner. The sequel will launch at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and an early 2024 general release is being planned, tied to the 40-year anniversary of the original. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/13/22...... The Rolling Stones have announced a new box set of all their single releases from 1963-1966 in conjunction with their 60th anniversary celebration in 2022. 
Veteran film and television actor Fred Ward, best known for playing gruff, tough-guy roles in movies such as Tremors, Escape from Alcatraz and The Right Stuff, died on May 8, according to his publicist. He was 79. No cause or place of death was released, as per his family's wishes, his publicist said. Ward served three years in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, then worked as an Alaskan lumberjack, short-order cook, and amateur boxer where his nose was broken three times. He made his first American film appearance playing a cowboy in the 1975 film, Hearts of the West, but his breakthrough role came when he played opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1979 film 
Meanwhile, Bob Dylan's share of the rights from his superstar 1980s group The Traveling Wilburys has been purchased by the talent management company Primary Wave, the company announced on May 11. Under the deal, Primary Wave now owns Dylan's share of the master and neighboring rights royalties from the group's two studio albums and 2007 box set. Comprised of Dylan and fellow superstars George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, the group was founded when they gathered to record a B-side single with Harrison in 1988. They went on to record two full-length LPs: the three-times platinum Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and the platinum-selling Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. The group earned an Album of the Year nomination at the 1990 Grammys for Vol. 1, won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the same album and received vast critical acclaim, but by the late '90s, their records faded out of print, creating a scarcity that continued until the release of their 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection. The release created a massive Wilburys resurgence, with the set reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and being certified gold by the RIAA. This is Primary Wave's first investment in the catalog of Dylan, whose entire song catalog sold to Universal Music Publishing Group in Dec. 2020 for a price estimated at between $375-400 million. - Billboard, 5/9/22...... As LGBTQ+ Pride Month approaches in June, Elton John is ready to celebrate the season with a headlining performance at the "Can't Cancel Pride 2022: Proud AND Together" fundraising concert at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles and remotely from around the US. Sir Elton, Sam Smith, Katy Perry, Lizzo, Anitta, Dove Cameron, Betty Who, Kim Petras and others are set to appear at the June 14 event, which will be hosted by social media star JoJo Siwa. Along with performing at the fundraiser, John will also be receiving the first-ever Impact Award from P&G and iHeartRadio, honoring the pop/rock legend's continued humanitarian work through the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "Can't Cancel Pride 2022" will stream live on iHeartRadio's TikTok, YouTube, Facebook pages, iHeartRadio's PrideRadio.com and Revry on June 14 at 8 p.m. ET. The one-hour event will later be available on-demand until June 30. Proceeds from the event are set to go to organizations with "a track record of positive impact and support for LGBTQ people, including groups such as GLAAD, SAGE, The Trevor Project, the National Black Justice Coalition, CenterLink, and OutRight Action International. - Billboard, 5/11/22...... A new David Bowie tribute show called "Bowie: Oddity To Mars" will be held soon in the UK's largest planetarium at the National Space Centre, with four shows slated to go down later in May. The show will feature a live performance from the five-piece tribute band David Live -- named for Bowie's 1974 live album -- alongside projections of footage provided by NASA, and an additional visual element developed by the Space Centre's own in-house team. The show itself will celebrate the same stretch of Bowie's career that the Apollo program ran for, beginning with his 1969 self-titled LP and ending with The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. The show will take place in the Space Centre's Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium -- the largest of its ilk in the UK -- on May 20 and 21. Two shows will be held on each evening, with tickets on sale now from the 
A new documentary on Australian TV about late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott has been released and can be streamed on 
In a new interview with People magazine, The Who's Pete Townshend reflects on the 1978 death of original Who drummer Keith Moon, saying he "tried everything" to keep him alive until Moon eventually overdosed on Heminevrin, a drug used to treat and prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. He was 32 years old. "I tried everything," Townshend said. "I tried giving him money, I tried starving him of money. I tried sending him into rehab. I tried sending him to a guru weirdo, voodoo doctors." He continued: "I was obsessed with trying to keep Keith alive. It was quite clear that he was on a downward slide, and there was very little I could do. He was a very complicated character." Earlier in 2022, it was reported that the long-awaited biopic about Moon is set to begin shooting this summer. The new film project, which is provisionally called The Real Me after the Quadrophenia song, will be executive produced by Townshend and Who frontman Roger Daltrey. - NME, 5/6/22...... In related news, Queen guitarist Brian May has said he found it "weird and traumatizing" after hearing the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's vocals after Mercury's death from AIDS in Nov. 1991 at age 45. Speaking to Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live's How Do You Cope podcast, he shared: "It was very weird. It was traumatising in itself. I spent hours and days and weeks working on little bits of Freddie's vocals. Listening to Freddie the whole day and the whole night. I'd have moments thinking, 'This is great... this sounds great Fre... Oh, you're not here.'" May, 74, also said he had to step away from the band's 1995 Made in Heaven project every so often to "recover" from the grief he was hit with. He continued: "It was quite difficult. You'd have to go away from it sometimes and recover and come back. But I felt this immense pride and joy in squeezing the last drops out of what Freddie left us." Despite the emotional ordeal of finishing the record, Brian says it's actually his favourite of their 15 studio albums. He said: "I still love that album. I think it's my favourite Queen album." May also revealed that, unlike many Queen fans, he tends to hide away on the anniversary of Mercury's death: "People do a lot of, sort of celebrating on the day of Freddie's death, but I don't want to and I don't feel I can. I'll celebrate his birthday, or the day we first got together, but the day of losing him will never be something I can put straight in my head. There was just nothing good about it." - Music-News.com, 5/11/22...... As the classic 1972 Rolling Stones LP 
Former 
Country star Mickey Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film Urban Cowboy and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, died on May 7 in Branson, Mo., after a recent bout of failing health. He was 86. He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side," according to a statement from Mickey Gilley Associates. Mr. Gilley -- cousin of rock 'n' roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis -- opened Gilley's, "the world's largest honky tonk," in Pasadena, Tex., in the early 1970s. By mid-decade, he was a successful club owner and had enjoyed his first commercial success with "Room Full of Roses." He began turning out country hits regularly, including "Window Up Above," "She's Pulling Me Back Again" and the honky-tonk anthem "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time." Overall, he had 39 Top 10 country hits and 17 No. 1 songs. He received six Academy of Country Music Awards, and also worked on occasion as an actor, with appearances on Murder She Wrote, The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island and The Dukes of Hazzard. A Natchez, Miss., native, Mr. Gilley grew up poor, learning boogie-woogie piano in Ferriday, La., alongside Lewis and fellow cousin Jimmy Swaggart, the future evangelist. Like Lewis, he would sneak into the windows of Louisiana clubs to listen to rhythm and blues. He moved to Houston to work construction but played the local club scene at night and recorded and toured for years before catching on in the '70s. "I thank John Travolta every night before bed for keeping my career alive," Mr. Gilley told the AP in 2002. "It's impossible to tell you how grateful I am for my involvement with Urban Cowboy. That film had a huge impact on my career, and still does." The soundtrack included such hits as Johnny Lee's "Lookin' for Love," Boz Scaggs' "Look What You've Done for Me" and Mr. Gilley's version of "Stand by Me." The movie turned the Pasadena club into an overnight tourist draw and popularized pearl snap shirts, longneck beers, the steel guitar and mechanical bulls across the country. But the club shut down in 1989 after Mr. Gilley and his business partner Sherwood Cryer feuded over how to run the place. A fire destroyed it soon after. An upscale version of the old Gilley's nightclub opened in Dallas in 2003. In recent years, Mr. Gilley moved to Branson and had suffered health problems. He underwent brain surgery in Aug. 2008 after specialists diagnosed hydrocephalus, a condition characterized by an increase in fluid in the cranium. Mr. Gilley had been suffering from short-term memory loss, and credited the surgery with halting the onset of dementia. He underwent more surgery in 2009 after he fell off a step, forcing him to cancel scheduled performances in Branson. In 2018, he sustained a fractured ankle and fractured right shoulder in an automobile accident. "If I had one wish in life, I would wish for more time," Mr. Gilley told the AP in 2001 as he celebrated his 65th birthday. Not that he'd do anything differently. "I am doing exactly what I want to do. I play golf, fly my airplane and perform at my theater in Branson, Missouri. I love doing my show for the people," he said. Mr. Gilley was married three times, most recently to Cindy Loeb Gilley. He had four children, three with his first wife, Geraldine Garrett, and one with his second, Vivian McDonald. - The Associated Press, 5/7/22.
On May 4 the 
A museum honoring Bob Dylan will hold its grand opening in Tulsa, Okla., on May 7 with such celebrities as Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples attending, but not the famous rock bard himself. The Bob Dylan Center will offer an immersive film experience, performance space, a studio where visitors can play producer and "mix" different elements of instrumentation in Dylan's songs. A curated tour is also being offered where people can take a musical journey through the stages of the Nobel laureate's career. The archive has more than 100,000 items, with many accessed only by scholars through an appointment. Museum creators said they wanted to build an experience both for casual visitors who might not know much of Dylan's work and for the truly fanatical. Dylan designed and built a 16-foot high metal sculpture that will be displayed at the entrance to the museum, but otherwise, he had nothing to do with the museum's design. While the center's subject and namesake has an open invitation to come anytime, his absence seems perfectly in character, said Steven Jenkins, the center's director. "I don't want to put words in his mouth," Jenkins said. "I can only guess at his reasoning. Maybe he would find it embarrassing." Oddly, Dylan was just in Tulsa three weeks ago for a date on his concert tour, sandwiched in between Oklahoma City and Little Rock. He didn't ask for a look around. Dylan, due to turn 81 on May 24, is still performing onstage in a show devoted primarily to his most recent material, which includes "Murder Most Foul," a nearly 17-minute rumination on the Kennedy assassination and celebrity. The Bob Dylan Center will be open to the public on May 10. - AP, 5/6/22...... In other Dylan-related news, a new music video for the singer/songwriter's classic 1965 track "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was released on May 6 to celebrate his 60 years as a Columbia Records recording artist. The arrival of the "Subterranean Homesick Blues 2022" video on 
Reliably liberal outspoken divas Cher and Bette Midler are among the many music artists reacting on social media on May 3 after a majority draft opinion to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court was leaked by Politico.com, indicating an end to women's rights to seek safe, legal abortions in the United States. "REPUBLICANS MAY HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN THEIR WISH AFTER 49 YEARS," Cher 
In 1977 The Sex Pistols made their definitive statement during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee celebrations with the incendiary single "God Save The Queen." Dropped by their record label A&M in the midst of controversy after just 6 days, the label destroyed 25,000 copies of "God Save The Queen," making the handful of copies remaining, ultra rare collectibles. Now, as the country prepares for another royal Jubilee, the single is back. Just 1,977 copies of the re-released A&M version, in honor of the original 1977 release date, will be available. The Sex Pistols then signed to Virgin and officially released the single, which was banned by the BBC and reached Number 1 on the UK's NME chart, but appeared at N. on the Official UK Singles chart, leading to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot. For the only time in chart history, the track was listed as a blank, to avoid offence to the establishment. Virgin Records will celebrate this with 4,000 copies of their label's re-release made available for sale to fans. Both versions recreate original artwork, with the A&M edition featuring its generic company sleeve and pressed on silver/platinum vinyl. The Virgin single has the absolutely iconic Sex Pistols artwork designed by Jamie Reid. - Music-News.com, 5/3/22...... It has been revealed that Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne and the couple's youngest daughter Kelly Osbourne have tested positive for Covid-19 days after Ozzy was diagnosed with the disease. Sharon appeared virtually on her brand-new U.K. show The Talk on May 2 and told host Jeremy Kyle that the virus has spread throughout her household as she gave an update on Ozzy's health. "He's doing much better thank you. His temperature is now back to normal, his coughing has stopped. He's doing much better," she said. "But I've got some news to share. My daughter Kelly has it, I have it, and the entire household has it now." When Jeremy asked if Ozzy will now look after her, she laughed and replied, "Maybe, we'll see. I feel OK actually." Sharon will remotely appear on The Talk, which airs every weekday night, until she is able to return to London. - Music-News.com, 5/3/22...... Van Morrison has released a new track titled "Dangerous" which appears to reference the Irish musician's ongoing feud with Robin Swann, the Northern Ireland Minister Of Health. In Nov. 2021, Swann filed a defamation lawsuit against Morrison over comments he had made regarding Covid-19 earlier in 2021. During a pre-show dinner event in Belfast in June, Morrison branded Swann "very dangerous" in a response to Swann criticizing him for his anti-lockdown stance in a 2020 op-ed, in which he said Morrison's words "will give great comfort to the conspiracy theorists." On Apr. 29 Morrison released "Dangerous," the third single from his upcoming 43rd studio album 
ABBA have previewed their upcoming "ABBA Voyage" shows by sharing a series of amazingly realistic official images of the pop quartet. After sharing a dazzling first trailer for the production late in 2021, the foursome have now revealed four new photos -- one for each "digital" member of the band: Agnetha Flatskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The upcoming "Voyage" gigs will see the so-called "ABBAtars" performing alongside a 10-piece live band at a new purpose-built 3,000-capacity venue called ABBA Arena. "ABBA Voyage" kicks off on May 27 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. ABBA returned with their first album in 40 years, Voyage, in Nov. 21. The LP went platinum within the first month of its release, while ABBA also received their first-ever Grammy nomination; their single "I Still Have Faith In You" was up for the UK's "Record Of The Year" prize. Additionally, the long-awaited album reached Number One in the UK and became the fastest-selling vinyl of the century. Bjorn Ulvaeus recently told London's Sunday Times that he expected other musicians to be watching the "Voyage" show closely. "Lots of artists are going to be studying us, definitely," he said. "I won't name names, but I can think of a few." - NME, 5/4/22...... Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters joined forces with the contemporary female singing duo Lucius during the latter's gig at New York's Beacon Theatre on May 4 for a performance the Floyd classic "Mother" from The Wall. The duo, made up of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, have previously toured with Waters, who was formerly the bassist/vocalist in Pink Floyd. The Lucius/Waters acoustic performance of "Mother" has been shared on 
Ric Parnell, the drummer best known for playing in the heavy metal parody band Spinal Tap, died on Apr. 30. He was 70 years old. While Parnell became well-known for playing Mick Shrimpton, the doomed drummer of the fictional hard-rock act who happens to, well, literally explode onstage during the film, he brought bona fide musicianship to the role as the drummer for prog-rock group Atomic Rooster from 1970 to 1973, followed by stints with Italian bands Tritons and Ibis, short-lived pop-rock group Stars, and Italian/British jazz fusion act Nova. At one point, Journey frontman Steve Perry purportedly offered Parnell a spot in the lineup of his platinum-selling hard rock band, but he turned down the opportunity to focus on working with his own studio band, Zoo Drive. Prior to his big break in the