Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on June 21st, 2023

Interviewed by the UK talk show BBC Breakfast, Rod Stewart said he's planning to "leave all the rock 'n' roll stuff behind" after his 2023 tour wraps. "I'm not retiring," Stewart told host Charlie Stayt. "I've just done a swing album with Jools Holland, which is going to come out next year, so I want to go in that direction. I just want to leave all the rock 'n' roll stuff behind -- for a while, maybe." Stewart added that he was "really looking forward to doing something else" and that his forthcoming work with Holland's band "borders on rock 'n' roll anyway... it's just not 'Maggie May' and 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?'" Stewart's interview, accompanied by his forthcoming touring partner Boy George, can be viewed on Twitter. - NME, 6/18/23...... Speaking with BBC Radio One on June 20, Elton John has revealed that he's created a "brand new show" for his headlining set at the 2023 Glastonbury festival. "I'm starting with a song I haven't played for about 10 years, so we'll see how it goes," he began. "I've got the set list down, I've got rehearsal dates booked for the guest artists, so we just have to hope the weather will still be nice." He continued: "It's a different show to what people have been seeing. On [my] Farewell Yellow Brick Road [tour], there's quite a lot of deep cuts, it's not all hits, and you've got to keep people interested." Although pop/rock superstar didn't provide any details on who may be joining him on stage at the Glastonbury, some fans are already hoping that the line-up may be similar to that of his final US show at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium in 2022, when he was joined by an array of surprise guests including folk-rock singer Brandi Carlile and pop sensation Dua Lipa. Elton is set to take the stage on June 25 in the final night of the three-day festival at Worthy Farm in Glastonbury, UK, when he will perform on the Pyramid Stage as part of the Music Icon slot. The gig will also mark the final date of his mammoth Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which has spanned over 350 dates across the course of five years. In other Elton news, the singer has claimed that a response to UK television host Phillip Schofield's secret affair with a younger colleague was "totally homophobic." Schofield recently departed from his daytime show This Morning after he admitted to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship with a male runner. In the time since the affair came to light, the TV personality has faced immense scrutiny from numerous news outlets and the public. John told the Radio Times that he felt the reaction would be much different if Schofield was straight. "I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic," he said. "If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn't even make the papers." The 76-year-old music icon also claimed that hatred towards the LBGT+ community was rapidly expanding, and spreading around society "like a virus." - New Musical Express, 6/20/23...... Motown Records has revealed a new partnership with the virtual reality company Second Life and the music integration platform STYNGR for an immersive Motown venue for gamers in which the fabled label's music can be explored. Alvaro Velilla, senior VP for Motown's parent company Universal Music Group, describes the partnership as "unprecedented," one that provides Motown fans "with an unparalleled immersive experience." Visitors to the Motown hub can also nab so-called "Styngs," which enables Second Life participants to attach music snippets to their avatars, like a digital badge. Also, the new space is home to a dedicated Motown Records radio station, curated by Motown and STYNGR, with more experiences and music to roll out in the months ahead. STYNGR specializes in imports curated music from music companies, and has recently struck deals with Warner Music Group, Merlin and Luminate, among others. Founded in Detroit in 1959 by Berry Gordy, Jr., Motown is the home of such legendary acts as Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha & The Vandellas, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. In related news, Capitol Records announced on on June 20 that it's bringing back Tamla Records, the precursor to the legendary Motown label, as a mainstream imprint specializing in positive R&B and hip-hop music. Founded 65 years ago by Berry Gordy Jr., Tamla's first release was the 1959 single "Come to Me" by gospel singer-turned-R&B artist Marv Johnson. Later renamed Motown, Tamla was also the home of icons Wonder, Gaye and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. - Billboard, 6/20/23...... As Barry Manilow reached his milestone 80th birthday on June 17, Billboard has compiled a list of the Brooklyn-born crooner's 25 hits on the Hot 100 Top 40, ranked from worst to best. No one but Barry's devout "Fanilows" probably remembers the last three singles on the list -- 1984's "Reed 'Em and Weep" (written by Jim Steinman and first recorded by Meat Loaf in 1981), "Some Kind of Friend" (the highest-charting Hot 100 hit for Manilow's friend and Arista labelmate Melissa Manchester in 1982), and "Oh Julie" (a rockabilly-infused song that wasn't even included in his 2005 2-CD hits collection). However on the other side of the list, 1978's "Even Now" was praised as "a sublime song [that] speaks to how someone's feelings for someone can last long after the relationship has ended," while 1977's "Looks Like We Made It" is "more modest in scale than many of Manilow's Big Ballads - and is all the more appealing for that reason." The ultimate hit from Barry, according to Billboard, was 1978's "Copacabana (at the Copa)," one of Manilow's own compositions that became his most famous song and brought him his only Grammy win (Best Male Pop Vocal performance). The entire list can be viewed on Billboard.com. - Billboard, 6/16/23...... Legendary record producer and composer Quincy Jones was rushed to the hospital on the afternoon of June 17 over a bad reaction to "something he ate." Jones, 90, called paramedics out of an abundance of caution after he suffered a bad reaction to some food he ate, according to his rep. The rep says Jones never lost consciousness during the ordeal, and was in "great spirits" by the time doctors gave him the all-clear and released him from the hospital. Back in 1974, Jones suffered a brain aneurysm that required two operations that left the producer with six steel pins in his head. "I actually had two brain aneurysms," he recalled in his 2018 documentary Quincy. "So I guess I would classify as having some experience with trauma to the brain. Also, my mother suffered from mental illness." He was also hospitalized in 2015 for chest pain and shortness of breath. - Music-News.com, 6/19/23...... In related news, Dionne Warwick has been forced to cancel a June 24 concert at the Rivers Casino Des Plaines outside Chicago after the 82-year-old Grammy-winning songstress reportedly suffered a minor health issue. TMZ.com was first to report that Warwick said she began having an unspecified issue with one of her legs on June 15 that was serious enough that she pulled the plug on show slated for June 24. An unnamed spokesperson for Warwick told People that, "it's a minor issue that has been fixed and she is fine." The Rivers Casino Des Plaines venue said all tickets will be fully refunded and Warwick reportedly told TMZ that she hopes to reschedule the gig in in the future. - Billboard, 6/16/23...... Mick Jagger and his current dancer girlfriend Melanie Hamrick have put their Florida home up for sale. A listing on Realtor.com says the lakefront home with four bedrooms and 5.5 baths is listed at $3.499 million -- and it looks like the Rolling Stones frontman connection is a key selling point. "You can't always get what you want but this house is definitely what you need!" the listing overview says, quoting part of the famous Stones song written by Jagger and Keith Richards. "This magnificent, custom-built Rutenberg home in the premier gated community of The Lake Club was designed with privacy in mind." Jagger and Hamrick bought the home in the Lakewood Ranch area east of Bradenton along the Gulf Coast for a little over $1.9 million in Oct. 2020. The property was registered to Hamrick and was chosen mainly because her family lives in the area. Its original purchase price was $1.2 million in 2010. Jagger, 79, and Hamrick, 36, have a 6-year-old son together, Deveraux. They also have residences in New York City among other places around the world. Jagger and Hamrick, a former ballerina and choreographer at American Ballet Theatre, have been together since 2014. - Billboard, 6/17/23...... Promoting his new candid memoir Into The Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath - and Beyond, Black Sabbath bassist/lyricist Geezer Butler told Uncut magazine that he previously would self-harm so he wouldn't be focused on his mental state. "People didn't understand. You'd go to the doctor and he'd say, 'Go and have a couple of pints' or, 'Go and walk the dog.' I thought, well, that's not going to help me," Butler explained. "Nobody talked about it and nobody understood it. I just thought in the end it was a normal thing to be depressed and I started cutting myself to get relief. One day I cut myself so deeply that I couldn't stop the blood. People used to think I was really moody, but it was when the depression hit me I couldn't get out of it, I couldn't talk to people. People used to think I was miserable," he added. After co-founding Black Sabbath with its frontman Ozzy Osbourne, Butler said he penned the title track of Sabbath's 1971 album Paranoid about his battle with mental health, and it wasn't until a long time after then that he decided to seek treatment and he's been on a number of different medications ever since. "Then I wrote the song 'Paranoid' which is all about mental health stuff and it wasn't until ages after that that I went to the doctor and they gave me pills," the 73-year-old axman said. "I had a mental breakdown, went to a doctor in America and he put me on Prozac. After about six weeks on that, the depression started lifting. I've been on various antidepressants ever since." However, Butler says even all the money and success from Black Sabbath couldn't cure his depression. "People would say you've got all this money coming in, you've got a No 1 album, what have you got to be depressed about? It's like a disease -- there's nothing you can do about it, no matter how much money you've got or how happy you are with your job. When you're in it you don't think you're going to get out of it. I'd go into this big black hole. And once you're in it you can't remember what normal life was like. People used to think if you were depressed, that you were antisocial, miserable." - Music-News.com, 6/18/23...... During the 2023 Tribeca Festival on June 15, Paul McCartney sat down with Conan O'Brien for an upcoming episode of O'Brien's Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast to preview Sir Paul's new book 1964: Eyes of the Storm. Explaining why his bandmate John Lennon -- who was no more than a teen at the time -- looked especially downcast in some of the images, Macca shared that his late friend had a particularly sad upbringing. "[John] had a really tragic life," McCartney recalled. "As a kid, his mother was decreed to not be good enough to bring him up. And his father had left the home when John was three. So that's not too wonderful." "[He] grew up with these sort of little minor tragedies throughout his life," the newly turned 80-year-old musician continued. "It made me realize why he had that vulnerability. I always admired the way he dealt with it because I'm not sure I would deal with the stuff he went through that well." 1964: Eyes of the Storm arrived on June 13, and was compiled by McCartney using decades-old photos he took himself on a 35mm camera. It captures a young McCartney, Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr right as they were on the cusp of a level of global fame that's since gone down in history as "Beatlemania." "What I love about [these photos] is the innocence," he told O'Brien of the project. "We didn't know we were going to [become] famous. We really wanted to be [famous], but we didn't know." - Billboard, 6/16/23...... Dolly Parton has rolled out two more tracks from her upcoming rock music themed album Rockstar. Digging into a song she's always loved, Parton teams up with Ann Wilson of Heart on a straightforward cover of the latter's signature 1975 jam "Magic Man (Carl's Version)." "I've always wanted a reason to sing 'Magic Man' by Heart and it was one of my first choices for the album," Parton said in a statement. "I was so happy that Ann Wilson agreed to sing it with me. Nobody can out sing Ann, but I gave it my darndest, and we added a few lines that were not in the original. We wanted to have a few things that made it seem like ours. Thank you, Nancy, for letting me fill in for you on this. Hope I've made you both proud. I think it's magic!" Also dropping June 16 was "Bygones," featuring Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, as well as Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and touring guitarist John 5. "'Bygones' is one of her favorite tracks from the album," Dolly said in the statement. "The song fits with so many couples and coupling my voice with Rob, one of my all-time favorites, made it even more special." Both "Magic Man (Carl's Version)" and "Bygones" can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 6/16/23...... Glenda Jackson, one of Britain's most acclaimed actresses, died on June 15 in London. She was 87. Ms. Jackson won Oscars for 1969's Women in Love, based on the D.H. Lawrence novel, and 1973's A Touch of Class, a frothey rom-com, and also earned two Emmys as Elizabeth I in the 1972 miniseries Elizabeth R. She had no trouble seducing the camera, but when someone suggested she was a sex symbol, she retorted: "How bloody weird!" Then she chucked it all to serve as a member of Parliament for 23 years, returning to acting only in her 80s, and winning a Tony in 2018 for "Three Tall Women." She is survived by her son, political journalist Dan Hodges. People, 7/3/23...... '70s political icon Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst and anti-war activist whose disclosure of the so-called Pentagon Papers revealed systemic US government deception about the Vietnam War, died of pancreatic cancer on June 16 at his home in Kensington, Calif., according to his family. He was 92. Considered "the patron saint of whistleblowers" for revealing to The New York Times in 1971 that the US knew the Vietnam war was "unwinnable," Mr. Ellsberg spent his life focused on peace and transparency, later co-founding the Freedom of the Press Foundation. In the late 1960s, Mr. Ellsberg was working as a defense analyst for the RAND Corporation when he became disillusioned with US involvement in Vietnam. As part of his work with RAND, Ellsberg had access to classified documents that demonstrated how the US government had systemically lied to the public about the war, and Ellsberg felt compelled to reveal the information. He first approached several US senators in hopes that they could enter the papers into public record, but when that wasn't successful, he leaked all 7,000 pages to the NYT, which published them in 1971. The documents revealed damning information against the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations. While officials spoke optimistically about the war to the public and continued to send troops to Vietnam, they privately knew that the US was losing, with then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara advising President Lyndon B. Johnson as early as 1967 that American escalation would not win the war and, by some accounts, advocating for withdrawal. Among other revelations, the report showed that President John F. Kennedy had approved the overthrowing of Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem -- whom he and other administrations had previously supported - in 1963, according to the Times. In an unprecedented move, the Richard Nixon administration barred the Times from continuing to publish pages of the report after the first few stories. Ellsberg then leaked the document to The Washington Post, which was also sued by the government. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of the two publications, concluding that the government had not made the case for censorship, and full publication of the Pentagon Papers resumed. Mr. Ellsberg admitted to being the whistleblower and faced 115 years in prison after being charged as a spy under the Espionage Act. He was eventually freed after it was revealed that the Nixon administration wiretapped his conversations, resulting in a mistrial. Mr. Ellsberg announced his cancer diagnosis in March, saying at the time that doctors had given him three to six months to live and that he had decided not to undergo chemotherapy. "Daniel was a seeker of truth and a patriotic truth-teller, an antiwar activist, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, a dear friend to many, and an inspiration to countless more," his family said. "He will be dearly missed by all of us." A public memorial, his family said, will be planned in the coming months. - CNN, 6/16/23.

On June 16 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band announced 13 additional artists who will be joining them at their BST Hyde Park show in London on July 6 and 8. The Coronas, STONE, Picture Parlour, First Time Flyers, Theo Lawrence and Attawalpa will be among the acts joining previously announced special guests The Chicks, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls on July 6. For the July 8 show, Brittney Spencer, Pa Sheehy, Kezia Gill, Kelly McGrath, Sam Barber and Kingfishr will be among the opening performers. The BST Hyde Park shows are included as part of the UK leg of Springsteen and his band's extensive world tour. Currently underway, the shows kicked off on May 30 with a performance in Edinburgh. The dates mark Springsteen's first tour with the full E Street Band since 2017, and US dates recently wrapped up. Several stops across Europe are also planned. - New Musical Express, 6/16/23...... On June 15 Alice Cooper announced his forthcoming 22nd studio album will be named Road, and shared a raucous lead single, "I'm Alice," that returns to his early '70s roots. Cooper, 75, has also reunited with his longtime producer Bob Ezrin for the new LP, his followup to 2021's Detroit Stories. In a press release, Coop says the new set "channels the spirit of old school Alice with instantly recognisable grit and plenty of gusto." "For Road, I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs," he said. "I only see these guys when we're on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off, and this is my way of doing so." Road is set to drop on Aug. 25 and will be ccompanied by a bonus DVD/Blu-ray of Alice's full live show at the Hellfest 2022 festival. Cooper is currently on tour with his supergroup The Hollywood Vampires, which in addition to himself features Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and guitarist Tommy Henrikson from his solo touring band. - Music-News.com, 6/15/23...... As 2023 marks the seventh anniversary of Prince's death, his legendary Paisley Park compound in Minnesota honored the icon in its annual Celebration over the second weekend in June. The star-studded, seventh annual event featured unreleased music from the Prince vault, as well as and special appearances by and conversations with Chaka Khan, Chuck D, D-Nice and Doug E. Fresh. Among those who took the stage to perform included D-Nice; Minnesota gospel groups Sounds of Blackness and The Steeles; R&B star Stokley of Mint Condition; DJ Rashida; members of Prince's band NPG; Prince backup singer and solo artist Shelby J; Minneapolis youth choir Known MPLS and more. Attendees were gifted special cassette-shaped USB keys with two previously unreleased tracks from the Prince vault, including "All A Share Together Now," recorded on Sept. 4, 2006; and "7 (E Flat Version)," recorded on August 9, 1992. Both tracks are set for a worldwide release on July 7. Paisley Park, located in Chanhassen, Minn., was where Prince lived and worked and, after his death in 2016, the location was turned into a museum and concert venue that also offers tours for visitors. - Billboard, 6/15/23...... Ticketholders for Dionne Warwick's upcoming concert near Chicago on June 24 were notified on June 15 that the show has been cancelled after the 82-year-old Grammy winning singer suffered a "medical incident." "We regret to inform you that the Dionne Warwick performance on June 24, 2023 at Rivers Casino Des Plaines has been cancelled due to a medical incident," the email, obtained by TMZ, stated. "All ticket purchases will receive a refund. Thank you for your understanding." Warwick reportedly told TMZ that she scrapped the concert after she started having issues with one of her legs. However, she assured fans that she is already on the mend and simply needs to take the time off to rest up. Warwick added she remained hopeful that she would be able to reschedule the Chicago show in the future. Warwick also has gigs scheduled in Connecticut and Pennsylvania on June 22 and 23 respectively, however the cancellation of these shows has yet to be publicly announced. - Music-News.com, 6/16/23...... In a new interview with the UK paper The Guardian actor Joseph Fiennes admitted that "people are right to be upset" over his portrayal of late King of Pop Michael Jackson in a 2017 episode of Urban Myths, a British biographical dramedy series. The decision by Fiennes, who is white, to accept the role of the Black pop superstar sparked heated conversations at the time around "whitewashing" and representation in media. "I think people are absolutely right to be upset," Fiennes told The Guardian. "It was a wrong decision. Absolutely." The Emmy-nominated actor added, "I'm one part of that -- there are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors all involved in these decisions. But obviously if I'm upfront, I have become the voice for other people." When Fiennes' casting was revealed, several members of Michael Jackson's family expressed their dismay and objected to the decision. The UK's Sky network never aired the episode, explaining at the time that the decision was made "in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson's immediate family." Also adding to the controversy was the fact that the episode was set to debut in the summer after a fiery political season in the US and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. After initially defending the decision to portray Jackson, Fiennes' new outlook is more in line with the "Human Nature" singer's steadfast objection to ever being portrayed by a white actor. The episode, which was never aired, featured Fiennes as Jackson and also actors portraying Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando on an imagined road trip together after the September 11 attacks. - Billboard, 6/13/23...... Norman Greenbaum's Top 5 1970 hit "Spirit in the Sky" has reached the lofty height of the top of Billboard's Top TV Songs chart after the fuzz guitar-laden tune was heard in the final season of Amazon Prime Video's hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. "Spirit in the Sky," which appeared in the sixth episode of the series' fifth and final season on May 5, earned 9.5 million on-demand official U.S. streams and 9,000 downloads, according to Luminate. Debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 28, 1970, "Spirit in the Sky" is Massachusetts native and West Coast transplant Greenbaum's sole top 40 on the chart, reaching No. 3 in April 1970 and remaining on the charts for 14 weeks. It's one of two songs from Mrs. Maisel to appear on the May 2023 Top TV Songs survey -- Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" bowed at No. 9 after its synch in the season's seventh episode on May 12, accumulating 7.1 million streams and 1,000 downloads that month. - Billboard, 6/14/23...... Lisa Marie Presley's daughter Riley Keough has been named the sole trustee of her late mother's estate. Keough moved to approve the deal on June 12 in Los Angeles Superior Court, and her grandmother Priscilla Presley will be paid an undisclosed amount to drop her petition challenging a 2016 amendment to her late daughter's will that replaced her as a co-trustee. She argued that the amendment was never delivered to her while her daughter was alive, as required by the trust's terms. Following the death of her father Elvis Presley and his parents, Lisa Marie became the sole inheritor to the King of Rock 'n' Roll's estate, which was managed by Priscilla, who was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973. When the trust was dissolved on Lisa Marie's 25th birthday in 1993, she formed a new trust to continue the management of the estate with Priscilla Presley as co-trustee. Lisa Marie died at age 54 on Jan. 12 after being hospitalized for suffering cardiac arrest. - Billboard, 6/13/23...... On June 14 Stevie Nicks announced she'll release a staggering retrospective of her four decade-plus career with a new box set and a new collection of rare and unreleased tracks later this summer. Complete Studio Albums & Rarities is slated for a July 28 release as a 10-CD set combining each of Nicks' solo studio albums with a new compilation of hard-to-find tracks. Four of her albums -- Rock a Little (1985), The Other Side of the Mirror (1989), Street Angel (1994), and Trouble in Shangri-La (2001) -- were newly remastered from their analog masters for this new release. For Stevie fans unwilling to shell out around $100 for the box set, Nicksd has made a new remastered version of the Rarities track "One More Big Time Rock & Roll Star" available on all digital download and streaming platforms, and can be heard here. The box set will also be available in a 16-LP crystal-clear vinyl version for $300 and limited to 3,000 units globally. - Billboard, 6/14/23...... Elton John is closing in an an unprecedented $900 million gross in the final days of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. In January, Elton's tour became the highest-grossing concert run in Billboard Boxscore history. Since then, the Rocket Man has only added to the tour's gargantuan total with one last leg of arena dates in Europe. According to figures reported to concert industry publication Boxscore, the tour has grossed $887 million and sold 5.7 million tickets over 309 shows through May 30. John's farewell tour has 18 scheduled dates left to be reported before he wraps on July 8 at Stockholm's Tele2 Arena, plus a festival date when he headlines Glastonbury (which won't factor into his Boxscore sum). This current leg of shows has been averaging $2.2 million and 13,817 tickets per show, which means his yet-to-be-reported totals could amount to almost $40 million and 250,000 tickets. After it ends, the tour will circle the $925 million mark, becoming the first tour to gross over $900 million after becoming the first to clear $800 million earlier in 2023. Meanwhile, John's career gross recently crossed $1.9 billion, now at $1.928 billion. That means he will likely fall just short of the $2 billion mark when all is said and done. Still, he is the highest-grossing and best-selling (20.3 million tickets) solo artist in Boxscore history, dating back to the mid-1980s. - Billboard, 6/13/23...... In a recent interview with the BBC Radio 4's Today talk show, Paul McCartney said that artificial intelligence has allowed him to create a "final" song by The Beatles -- which is set for release later this year. While Sir Paul did not explicitly mention which specific track he is now in the process of completing, it seems likely that the track will be one developed by Lennon back in 1978, titled "Now And Then." Macca reportedly received the demo from Lennon's widow Yoko Ono in 1994. It was featured on a cassette that John had made shortly before his death in 1980, and was titled "For Paul." Surviving members McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr contemplated releasing the song on their career-spanning Anthology series in 1995, although this idea was later scrapped. The Anthology series -- cleaned up by producer Jeff Lynne -- instead featured two other tracks from the cassette, "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love." Completed in 1995 and 1996, both songs were labelled as the band's first "new" material in a quarter of a century. The reason why "Now And Then" failed to make it into the project was due to the extensive work it would need. "The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses," Lynne once told the BBC. "We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn't finish." In an interview with Q magazine, Paul also said that the song was withheld from the compilation albums because George disliked it and there were a variety of technical issues in the original recording. "It didn't have a very good title, it needed a bit of reworking, but it had a beautiful verse and it had John singing it," he told the publication. "[But] George didn't like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didn't do it." In recent years, Paul continued to discuss his desire to work on the track again -- particularly after the release of Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary, where dialogue editor Emile de la Rey used new technology to distinguish each member's voice and separate it from background noise. "So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles' record, it was a demo that John had [and] we were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. So it gives you some sort of leeway." He added: "We just finished it up and it'll be released this year.... It's kind of scary but exciting, because it's the future. We'll just have to see where that leads." - NME, 6/13/23...... In other Beatles-related news, the upcoming biopic based on the band's early '60s manager Brian Epstein, Midas Man, has hired a new director to helm the film. The producers have reportedly hired Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll to take over directorial duties from filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) earlier in 2023. Sugarman is said to have left the project over creative differences and scheduling issues, according to sources close to the film. "When I was approached to take the helm of Midas Man, I didn't have to think twice," Stephenson told Deadline.com. "The last twelve weeks have been an epic journey and I can't thank my cast and crew enough. The Brian Epstein story has needed to be told for years and I'm honoured to finally bring it to the big screen." Epstein, the Beatles' manager from 1962 until his untimely death in 1967 at age 32, will be portrayed by UK actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd. Midas Man has yet to receive a release date. - NME, 6/12/23...... The new Gloria Gaynor documentary Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival at Spring Studios on June 9 in New York City. Directed by Betsy Schechter, the film was screened to a buzzing audience of a few hundred film and music enthusiasts alike. The documentary is a sublime take on the 79-year-old artist's comeback journey working on a passion gospel project in tandem with the ebbs and flows of her historical career. Despite being an established name in music well into her seventies, Gaynor contends with enduring past freak accidents, ageism, abuse and pivoting music genres. The film and Gaynor share themes of owning who you are and love, maintaining perseverance and inclusivity, and breaking down barriers for other Black and female artists. After suffering a fall onstage performing in New York's Beacon Theatre in 1978, Gaynor recalls how she woke up one day suddenly unable to move and without a record deal. Luckily, Polydor Records reached out to her, seeking to have her re-record the insanely popular UK song "Substitute" as the A-side, and "I Will Survive" as the B-side. Gaynor flew to Los Angeles in a back brace to record both songs. Reflecting on the song, she speaks candidly to the camera, "I thought, you're gonna put this on the B-side... what are you, nuts?" The audience laughed as she broke the fourth wall remarking to the Tribeca audience, "New York loved it, and New York audiences don't really love anything. It doesn't really happen in New York." - Billboard, 6/12/23...... On June 14 it was revealed that BMG Music has acquired the back catalog of '60s and '70s British popsters The Hollies. The legendary group's recordings from their "golden period in the US," including the 1972 classic "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)," are now owned by the major label. "The Hollies spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the Sixties, and we are delighted to have secured rights to their golden period in the US, including 'Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)'," said BMG exec Thomas Scherer in a statement. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who marked their 60th anniversary with a live run in 2022, are set to embark on a new UK tour this fall continuing the milestone celebration. Featuring original members Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks, the trek begins on Sept.16 in Blackburn at King George's Hall and wraps on Nov. 9 at the London Palladium. - Music-News.com, 6/14/23...... Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers has been named Apple Music's first artist in residence to focus specifically on spatial audio, the streaming service announced on June 12. The partnership will involve a number of live spatial audio listening sessions and educational events in the coming months in Los Angeles, New York City and London, as well as a new short video, with a trailer out today, in which the iconic producer, songwriter and artist showcases how he has remastered his work in Dolby Atmos audio, as well as the possibilities the technology can unlock. Apple Music released spatial audio and lossless streaming in June 2021, and has been steadily adding to its catalog of albums remastered for spatial in the two years since. "What Apple is doing with spatial audio, is the gateway to the future," Rodgers said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Streaming, and the portability that comes with it, has completely changed the way we consume music and today everything we do is accompanied by a soundtrack of our favorite songs. That came with a sacrifice to audio quality, but now with spatial audio you can have the convenience you want while getting a completely immersive audio experience. Rodgers' new role with Apple expands his partnership with the company, which already includes his Deep Hidden Meaning show on Apple Music Radio, where he tells the stories behind the songs that he's worked on over his extensive career, and speaks to other songwriters about the meaning behind their works as well. - Billboard, 6/12/23...... Patti Smith took part in Greta Thunberg's final ever school strike in Stockholm on June 9 as the climate activist graduates. After 251 weeks of striking outside her school in the Swedish capital every Friday in protest of climate change, Thunberg marked her last ever strike, though will still be holding the weekly protest. "School strike week 251. Today, I graduate from school, which means I'll no longer be able to school strike for the climate," she wrote on Twitter. "This is then the last school strike for me, so I guess I have to write something on this day." In an Instagram post of her own, Smith -- who was on tour in Stockholm in June -- was pictured next to Thunberg at the protest, and shared her admiration for the activist."This is Greta Thunberg, faithfully taking her Friday School Strike for Climate Action," Smith wrote. "She graduates today, and we extend our gratitude and congratulations." In an interview with local outlet Dagens Nyheter, she added of Thunberg: "I had tears in my eyes when I met her. I'm a big fan." - NME, 6/11/23...... Recently deceased Grammy-winning lyricist Cynthia Weil was honored with a music-filled memorial in a lush courtyard of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles on June 11. Tony Orlando, who hosted the private event from a small stage with a grand piano, admonished attendees that despite the cloudy skies the day was not to be mournful, but a sunny celebration. "I want the applause to be loud!" Orlando said, before performing "Bless You," the 1961 ballad that gave Weil and her longtime songwriting partner Barry Mann their first top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. They were married within months of the song's release. White-coated waiters distributed trays of bright green apple martinis, Weil's favorite cocktail, to her friends, family members and show business contemporaries. Among those raising their glasses were Mann, record producer Lou Adler, singer/songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, singers Bill Medley and Dolly Parton, songwriters Carole King, Jeff Barry, Mike Stoller and Diane Warren. Weill, who helped compose "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "On Broadway," "Walking in the Rain" and dozens of other timeless tunes with her husband Mann, died on June 1 at age 82. - Billboard, 6/12/23...... Appearing on CBS Sunday Morning on June 4, original Star Wars actor Mark Hamill said he's ready to hang up his lightsabre and retire his Luke Skywalker character. "I just don't see any reason to (return to Star Wars)," Hamill said. "Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don't need Luke anymore. I had my time, and that's good. But that's enough." He added of his iconic role: "I mean, the truth of the matter is, I never really expected to be remembered for anything. I just wanted to make a living doing what I liked. And I thought, 'Well, it could be worse. I could be, like, known as being the best actor who ever played Adolf Hitler, you know?' At least Luke is an admirable fellow!" Luke Skywalker died in Rian Johnson's 2017 movie Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, but he appeared as a Force ghost in J.J. Abrams' 2019 movie Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker and was later seen in The Mandalorian which was set in the years prior. Hamill recently admitted he felt emotional when he filmed Luke's demise, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "Well, the whole thing was emotional, because when I read (Episode) VIII, I knew it was over. So I was relishing every moment, but also saying goodbye to all those people that I had associated with over the years. So I still miss them." - Bang Showbiz, 6/5/23...... Actor Treat Williams, the versatile and ruggedly handsome actor who broke out in the 1979 movie musical Hair, died on June 12 after he was involved in a motorcycle accident near his home in Manchester, Vt. He was 72. According to the Vermont State Police, Willams was thrown from his 1986 Honda motorcycle when the driver of a car turned into his path. Williams, who suffered "critical injuries," was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in New York and pronounced dead. The avid pilot is survived by his wife of 35 years, Pam Van Sant, and their two adult children, Gill, 30 and Ellie, 24. Willams also costarred in the 2002-06 WB series Everwood and made memorable appearances on series such as Blue Bloods and Chicago Fire. - People, 6/26/23.