Posted by Administrator on April 26th, 2024
Def Leppard will release a 40th anniversary edition of their classic 1983 set Pyromania on Apr. 26. With ace producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange back in the studio after 1981's High 'n' Dry, the band crafted a technically sophisticated album of hard chugging yet melodic songs that catapulted them onto radio waves and stages usually reserved for pop stars. "The obvious observations for those two records is that High 'n' Dry sounds like a band playing live and Pyromania sounds like a band in the studio -- a la Pink Floyd, a la the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper -- that sat down to craft some songs," says Def Lep frontman Joe Elliott. Bassist Rick Savage adds: "What we really set out to do was create this a wall of sound. High 'n' Dry was very much in your face and very aggressive. It was our first album with Mutt and he got us ultra-focused in creating a rock song. With Pyromania, we wanted to take a lot of elements of that but develop the harmonies, banks of vocals, banks of guitars, just everything very multitracked and very orchestral." Pyromania's blockbuster success eventually included a diamond RIAA certification for over 10 million units shipped, and paved the way for the pop-metal crossover of bands like Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Poison. In 2022, the still-active band from working-class Sheffield, England, became only the third group to notch a top 10 album on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart in every decade since the '80s. - Billboard, 4/26/24...... 
During the Apr. 21 episode of the long-running talent competition series American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie revealed which artists will constitute the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, Cher, Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest are all entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year in the performers category. Three guitar-slinging blues trailblazers will be inducted in the musical influence category: the late Alexis Korner, one of the founding fathers of British blues; John Mayall, the 90-year-old blues-rock legend whose outfit John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers fostered some of the biggest names in rock history; and "Big Mama" Thornton, an R&B pioneer whose big personality, guitar tone and brash vocals helped shape early rock n' roll. Four more artists make it into the Rock Hall in the musical excellence category: Jimmy Buffett, the standard bearer of laid-back, good-time rock until his death in Sept. 2023; MC5, the political firebrand proto-punk outfit; elegant, sophisticated pop hitmaker Dionne Warwick; and Motown Sound songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield. Suzanne de Passe, a former Motown exec who brought the Jackson 5 to Berry Gordy and oversaw numerous music-related TV specials, will be given the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Those nominated but passed over this year include Mariah Carey, Eric B. & Rakim, Jane's Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinead O'Connor and Sade. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 2024 ceremony will stream live on Disney+ on Oct. 19 from Cleveland, be available on Hulu the following day, and air in edited form on ABC at a later date. - Billboard, 4/21/24...... Reacting to his RRHOF induction, Peter Frampton said, "I think I'm a little bit in shock, and speechless. I never expected this. People always said, 'You should be in.' I said, 'Eh, what is to be,' y'know? So mixed emotions, because it's something that I just never expected, whereas other people did for me. (laughs) It's wonderful." Frampton, who's been battling a degenerative inclusion body myositis (IBM) disorder during the past six or so years, is particularly stoked that he also finished second in the fan vote with 528,000 -- second only to the Dave Matthews Band. "You never quite know how you are regarded," Frampton explained. "I don't think about that; I just do my thing. But ending up in the number two position blew me away, actually. It's an honor people regard me in this way. I'm just honored and blown way." "I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago," Foreigner principal Mick Jones said. "I've had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top. It's something I will savor over the years. It's a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years," added the 79-year-old Jones, who revealed his battle with Parkinson's disease earlier this year. Ozzy Osbourne, who is preparing for his his second RRHOF induction -- this time as a solo artist -- says this induction to Sabbath's "feels different, because my solo career, it's been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole." And after finishing fourth in the fan vote with more than 480,000 votes, he says it "feels more special, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way." - Billboard, 4/21/24...... 
The Eagles have flown back onto the charts with their new best-of collection, To the Limit: The Essential Collection. The thoughtfully curated 2-disc collection gathers 51 songs from the band's studio albums and live recordings released between 1972 and 2020, including such fan favorites as "Desperado," "Victim of Love" and "In the City." To the Limit sold 7,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Apr. 18, with physical sales comprising 6,500 of the album's first-week sales (5,000 on CD and 1,500 on vinyl) while digital download sales comprise 500. Elsewhere on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler is back with One Deep River, his first new entry since 2018. Knopfler's latest studio effort bows at No. 7 with 8,000 copies sold, and is his first entry on the list since his last studio album Down the Road Wherever debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Dec. 1, 2018-dated list. - Billboard, 4/25/24...... The Rolling Stones have announced the support acts for their 2024 "Hackney Diamonds"' US tour, which gets underway in Houston on Apr. 28. The tour will see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood perform in 16 cities across North America and Canada. For the Houston show, Gary Clark Jr. will serve as the opening act, with Ghost Hounds opening for the Stones in Atlanta on June 7, Cleveland on June 15 and lastly Vancouver on July 5. KALEO will open the Philadelphia date on June 11. After Stones' Jazz Fest performance in New Orleans on May 2, they will be joined by both Electric Mud and Carin León in Glendale, Ariz., on May 7. The Pretty Reckless will join Jagger and co. in Las Vegas on May 11, while it will be Joe Bonamassa in Seattle on May 15. The band will close out the first month on road with Lawrence in East Rutherford, N.J., at MetLife Stadium for the second show date on May 26, as well as The Red Clay Strays in Foxboro, Mass., on May 30. Additionally, Tyler Childers will open in Orlando on June 3, Widespread Panic in Denver on June 20, Bettye LaVette in Chicago for night one at Soldier Field on June 27 and Lainey Wilson on night two on June 30. The Stones will close out the series of dates in California with The War and Treaty opening the first night in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium on July 10 and The Linda Lindas on the second on July 13, followed by The Beaches in Santa Clara for the final stop on July 17. To celebrate the tour, the Stones have dropped a merch collection on Amazon.com comprised of T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and more.- New Musical Express, 4/25/24...... In other touring news, Aerosmith is ready to come together this fall and winter for what could be the last time for the rescheduled dates of their "Peace Out" farewell tour. The band originally had to cancel tour dates when frontman Steven Tyler announced a vocal chord injury, but starting Sept. 2024 until Feb. 2025, the Boston-based rockers will head back on the road and travel to cities across North America. Select dates will also include special guests like The Black Crowes and Teddy Swims. Originally, the tour was slated to begin Sept. 3, 2023, and go on for more than 40 concerts. The tour will kick off on Sept. 20 in Pittsburgh and play 40 concerts before wrapping in Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 26, 2025. - Billboard, 4/23/24...... Independent music publisher Primary Wave has acquired the music publishing catalog of Kiwi musician Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House fame. Songs included in the deal are the classics "Better Be Home Soon," "Weather With You" and "Don't Dream It's Over." Through the partnership, Primary Wave Music will also represent Finn's solo material. "I look forward to seeing Primary Wave's plan for the ongoing care of my songs. I am confident they see the body of my work as music that matters," says Finn in a statement. "This deal has been a good while in the making and feels right." The New Zealand-born and based Finn co-founded Split Enz, an alternative rock outfit that landed hit after hit in Australia and New Zealand, prior to their dissolution in 1984. From its embers, Finn formed Crowded House. A U.S. breakthrough happened in Apr. 1987 when "Don't Dream It's Over," recorded by the classic lineup of Finn (singer, songwriter, guitar), Nick Seymour (bass) and the late drummer Paul Hester, peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. The song made a mighty comeback in 2023, thanks to a sync to an episode of the rebooted detective classic Magnum P.I. "Don't Dream It's Over" powered to No. 1 on Billboard's Top TV Songs chart. - Billboard, 4/25/24...... 
Former Pink Floyd guitarist-vocalist David Gilmour has announced Luck and Strange, his first solo album in nine years. Gilmour released the LP's first single, "The Piper's Call," on Apr. 25 on BBC Radio 2's Breakfast Show, with the track's accompanying music video will be released the following day. Luck and Strange, recorded over five months in Brighton and London, is set for release on Sept. 6. Gilmour's wife, author-lyricist Polly Sampson, previously documented Gilmour's studio visits and shared the photos on her personal Instagram. The album's title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright and was recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at Gilmour's house. Other contributions for the LP emerged from the live streams that Gilmour and family performed to a global audience during the global pandemic. His daughter Romany Gilmour sings, plays the harp and appears on lead vocals on "Between Two Points" and his son Gabriel Gilmour also provides backing vocals. - NME, 4/24/24...... In other Pink Floyd-related news, the band's Dark Side of the Moon track "The Great Gig in the Sky" will be at the heart of a new immersive exhibition. Brainstorms: A Great Gig in the Sky will take over Frameless in London on Friday and Saturday evenings in June, which brings to life the results of a research project from Brainstorms, a joint venture between San Francisco-based creative studio Pollen Music Group and Richard Wright Music Limited. It brings to life the results of the Brainstorms research project that took place last autumn. To create the visuals, 125 people had their brain activity recorded while listening to the Dark Side of the Moon track in immersive sound Dolby Atmos. The EEG readings of brain activity, which will be showcased within the experience, were captured at Dolby by the neuroscience experts within the Pollen Music Group team and reflect the participant's excitement, interest, relaxation and stress felt whilst listening to the track. Participants will then be able to see their brain activity visualised into stunning large-scale cloud formations, projected into Frameless' re-imagined "Cloud" Gallery. Each participant will also receive a personalised memento based on their individual brain's reaction to the piece. - Music-News.com, 4/26/24...... Paul McCartney & Wings have announced they'll release their 1974 live studio album One Hand Clapping for the first time this summer. The album was recorded back in Aug. 1974, while the band were enjoying their long run on the U.S. and U.K. charts with Band on the Run. One Hand Clapping was recorded when McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the recording of a documentary and possible live studio album. Filmed across four days and directed by David Litchfield, the album was never officially released despite overwhelming demand, although various bootleg versions emerged over the years. Set to drop on June 14, the upcoming version of the LP marks the first time in 50 years that it has received an official release. "One Hand Clapping showcased Wings' new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville where they recorded the classic single 'Junior's Farm'," reads a press release. "Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece 'Band on the Run', Paul, Linda and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton." The band was joined in the studio by orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey -- both of whom had previously played with McCartney, and would go on to join the Wings touring band. The album opens with an instrumental jam, which would soon become the One Hand Clapping theme song, and features live-in-studio renditions of hits "Live and Let Die," "Band on the Run," "Jet," "My Love," "Hi, Hi, Hi," "Junior's Farm," and Macca's much loved solo song "Maybe I'm Amazed." One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats including an online exclusive 2LP + 7" package. This features an exclusive vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios. - NME, 4/23/24...... 
Deep Purple have shared details of a new studio album titled =1, set for release later in 2024. =1 marks the classic rockers' first full-length release since 2021, when they dropped the covers album Turning To Crime, and first LP of original material since 2020 with Whoosh! It also comes after Deep Purple members shared hints at a new announcement across cities in Europe over recent days. Fans first began to speculate that new material was on the way after mysterious equations and depictions of multiverses appeared in London, Paris and Berlin, making nods to the album's title. According to a press release, the title of the upcoming 23rd studio album "symbolises the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one." The first single of the album will arrive on Apr. 30, and the full album will drop on July 19 via earMUSIC. The band are currently fronted by the legendary Ian Gillan, alongside bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice and keyboardist Don Airey. =1 will also mark Deep Purple's first album with guitarist Simon McBride, who joined the line-up after longtime member Steve Morse left due to personal circumstances. The news of a new album arrives just weeks after Deep Purple announced details of a new arena tour, set to take place across the UK later this year. Called the "One More Time" tour, the dates comprise five shows across the country -- kicking off with an opening night in Birmingham on Nov. 4, before continuing two days later with a show at London's O2 arena on Nov. 6. A gig at the First Direct Arena in Leeds is scheduled for Nov. 7, and the tour wraps up with slots at Manchester's AO arena and Glasgow's OVO Hydro -- set for Nov. 9 and 10 respectively. - NME, 4/24/24...... Stevie Nicks has announced the first wave of special guests for her forthcoming show at London's BST Hyde Park. The Fleetwood Mac legend is due to play a solo headline set at the concert series on July 12. It comes as part of her 2024 UK and Ireland tour, which kicks off in Dublin on July 3 and also visits Glasgow on July 6 and Manchester on July 9. Brandi Carlile will be supporting Nicks at Hyde Park this summer, and also on the bill are Anna Calvi and Paris Paloma, with "many more" acts still to be announced. Nicks last performed at BST Hyde Park back in 2017 when she opened for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. This year's edition will also host headline performances from the likes of SZA, Kings Of Leon, Kylie Minogue, Shania Twain, Stray Kids and Robbie Williams. - NME, 4/23/24...... 
10cc's Graham Gouldman has announced a new solo album that includes collaborations with Sir Brian May, Sir Ringo Starr, Hank Marvin and Albert Lee. Gouldman will release his sixth solo LP, I Have Notes, via British independent record label Lojinx on July 5. As well as the four above named legends, Graham is also joined on the record by Nashville-based singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman, who has previously worked with the likes of Bette Midler, Trisha Yearwood and Neil Diamond. The two artists co-wrote "We're Alive," the first single from the record, which also features guitarist Gordon Kennedy -- who has played with Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and Garth Brooks. Queen guitarist May, 76, joins the 77-year-old Graham on literal space-ballad "Floating In Heaven," while Beatles legend Ringo, 83, adds his talent to "Couldn't Love You More" which is inspired by The Fab Four. I Have Notes will be released on vinyl LP, CD and digital on July 5. Gouldman's work with 10cc continues to endure in the build up to next year's 50th anniversary of the band's iconic album The Original Soundtrack. 10cc recently completed a UK wide tour, which included a sold out Royal Albert Hall show, and they've also announced a further Autumn UK tour; and announced their first major US tour in over three decades. - Music-News.com, 4/22/24...... Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. is caught up in an ugly legal battle pitting his son against a former business advisor and romantic partner -- a lawsuit he says is a "craven, desperate, and disgusting attempt" to "shake down" his family. In a filing on Apr. 22 in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Gordy demanded that he be dismissed from the case, arguing that the legendary record executive had been unfairly dragged into the litigation to distract from "wanton acts of embezzlement" committed by his son's accuser. "Extortion though illegal and highly unethical is a powerful weapon," wrote Gordy's lawyers Christopher Frost and John D. Maatta. "Nowhere is that more true than here." Gordy founded Motown in 1959, paving the way for the influential soul music sound that came to bear the same name. He eventually signed The Supremes, Marvin Gaye,The Temptations and Stevie Wonder and many others to the label, before selling it off to MCA in 1988. His strongly-worded response ame amid a back-and-forth legal dispute between his son, Kennedy Gordy (better known by his stage name Rockwell), and Anita Hawker Thompson, who previously served as the CEO of Kennedy's company, Rockwell Entertainment Enterprises. Kennedy's company sued Thompson in 2023, claiming that he suffers from "psychological impairments" and that Thompson had abused her power over him to steal $1.7 million in royalty payments that had been paid to the company. Thompson responded by filing her own scathing countersuit, accusing Kennedy of subjecting her to "physical, sexual, and psychological abuse" during a years-long romantic relationship. In it, she also named the elder Gordy as a defendant, claiming he knew about his son's abusive conduct and "tried to cover it up." - Billboard, 4/23/24...... Terry Carter, the actor best known for his roles in Battlestar Galactica and McCloud, died on Apr. 25 at the age of 95. Born John Everett DeCoste in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 16, 1928, the actor would proceed to have a prolific career. He became one of the first Black actors as a regular on a TV sitcom series, The Phil Silvers Show. He appeared in 92 episodes as Private Sugarman from 1955-1959. Two years later, he appeared in the film adaptation of the Mildred Savage novel Parrish. Then, in 1965, he portrayed the only Black G.I. in the World War II series Combat! The series ran from 1962 to 1967, with 152 episodes. Mr. Carter starred in several feature films, including the 1970 TV movie Company of Killers and the Blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown, alongside Pam Grier. Throughout the decade, he also starred as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst, the sidekick to Dennis Weaver's Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on McCloud. The series ran from 1970 to 1977. The next two years, he starred as Colonel Tigh in 21 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. In addition to starring in both film and television roles, Mr. Carter also formed his own production company in 1975. He focused his attention on educational documentaries, and by the following decade, he began creating documentaries for the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS. - People, 4/23/24...... 
Mike Pinder, the last surviving original member of the veteran psychedelic prog rock band The Moody Blues, died on Apr. 24 at his home in Northern California of undisclosed causes. He was 82. Moody Blues bassist John Lodge shared a statement from Pinder's family on Facebook, in which they wrote, "Michael Thomas Pinder died on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024 at his home in Northern California, surrounded by his devoted family. Michael's family would like to share with his trusted friends and caring fans that he passed peacefully. His final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family. Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart." It continued, "He created his music and the message he shared with the world from this spiritually grounded place; as he always said, 'Keep your head above the clouds, but keep your feet on the ground.' His authentic essence lifted up everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in the cosmos will touch generations to come." Born in Erdington, Birmingham England on Dec. 27, 1941, Pinder co-founded the group in May 1964 with multi-instrumentalist/singer Ray Thomas, singer/guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist/singer Clint Warwick. Laine and Warwick left the band in 1966 after the release of 1965's debut album, The Magnificent Moodies, and were replaced by guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist Lodge. Pinder and Laine co-wrote all the original songs on Moodies, which included the band's wistful, R&B influenced breakthrough single, "Go Now." The new lineup released one of the landmark early prog rock albums, Days of Future Passed, in 1967, on which Pinder made his recorded debut playing the mellotron, a keyboard that used prerecorded three-track tapes to reproduced a variety of orchestral instrumental sounds and special effects. "The Mellotron enabled me to create my own variations of string movements. I could play any instrument that I wanted to hear in the music. If I heard strings, I could play them with the Mellotron. If I heard cello, brass, trumpets or piano, I could play them," Pinder told Rolling Stone in an oral history of the album's enduring hit single, "Nights in White Satin." Pinder took lead vocals on the majestic, symphonic opening instrumental, "The Day Begins," and is credited with writing "Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling" and the "Sunset" portion of the trippy "Evening" suite. 
The album also featured what would become the group's signature mind-trip single, "Nights in White Satin," which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart when it was re-released in 1972. Pinder's experimentation with the then-new mellotron helped it become a staple of prog and psychedelic recordings by groups including Yes, Genesis and King Crimson. His explorations continued on the Moody's 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord, another concept LP which explored the concepts of inner exploration and discovery. He contributed vocals to the propulsive single "Ride My See-Saw" and is the credited songwriter on the mind-tripping psychedelic journey through the universe "The Best Way to Travel." The group's 1972 LP, Seventh Sojourn, found Pinder blazing a trail with another new instrument, the Chamberlin, another electro-mechanical keyboard that also used a tape-like device that would later be featured on recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and Edgar Winter. Pinder released his debut solo album, The Promise, on the band's label, Threshold, in 1976, followed by a second one, Among the Stars, in 1994 and 1995's A Planet With One Mind. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Moody Blues, although was the only member of the band who did not give a speech while on stage. Before his passing, Pinder the was the last living member of the original lineup following the death of bassist Warwick in 2004, singer/flautist Thomas in 2018, drummer Edge in 2021 and guitarist Laine in 2023. "Mike your music will last forever. Rest in peace on your travels to heaven," Lodge wrote on X. - Billboard, 4/25/24.
Heart has announced they'll reunite this spring and fall for a world tour and a new song. Heart guitarist/singer Nancy Wilson describes the tour as "the full-on rocker size" and she's been getting in shape for the tour. "I've been strengthening. I've got my trainer," she says. "You go one day at a time and you strengthen one workout session at a time. It's a lot of work, but it's the only job I know how to do." In addition to the band's classic hits like "Magic Man," "Crazy on You" and "Alone," Heart will be featuring some tracks from of their solo albums -- like Nancy's "Love Mistake" and sister Ann Wilson's "Miss One and Only" -- along with a new song called "Roll the Dice." "I like to say we have really good problems because the problem we have is to choose between a bunch of different, really cool songs that people love already," says Nancy. The tour, Heart's first in five years, kicked off on Apr. 20 in Greenville, S.C., then will visit cities including Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Col. International dates include stops in London, Oslo, Berlin, Stockholm, Montreal and Glasgow. Their "Royal Flush Tour" will have Cheap Trick as the opening act for many stops, but Def Leppard and Journey will headline for three stadium dates in Cleveland, Toronto and Boston this summer. "The shows can be so elating and so transcendent, and the electric energy is unbelievable. So that's what we're here for," says Nancy. "We've built this train. We've got the wheels on and we're putting it on the track, and we'll see how fast things thing can go -- and how far it can go." - AP, 4/19/24...... 
Taylor Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department has become the toast of the current pop scene since its release early on Apr. 19, and the album contains shoutouts to two important '70s female "tortured poets" -- Stevie Nicks and Patti Smith. Nicks penned a poem dedicated to Swift, as printed inside the CD casings of the 16-track record. "He was in love with her/ Or at least she thought so," it reads. "She was broken hearted/ Maybe he was too/ Neither of them knew." "He really can't answer her," the text, dated Sept. 13, continues. "He's afraid of her/ He's hiding from her/ And he knows -- that he's hurting her/ She tells the truth/ She writes about it/ She's an informer/ He's an x-lover/ There's nothing there for her/ She's already gone." Nicks dedicated the poem, "For T -- and me." Her contribution, which can be read in full on X, comes after Swift gave Nicks a shoutout on the closing track of Tortured Poets -- "Clara Bow." "You look like Stevie Nicks in '75, the hair and lips," the pop superstar sings on the finale. "The crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshin5, a full eclipse." Meanwhile, Patti Smith has responded to Swift's insertion of her name into the title track of Tortured Poets. In the song, Swift makes reference to Smith and the poet Dylan Thomas in the lyric: "I laughed in your face and said, 'You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith / This ain't the Chelsea Hotel / We're modern idiots.'" It is thought that the title track refers to Taylor's short-lived relationship with The 1975's Matty Healy and her comment about Smith and Dylan refers to the 1975 frontman and herself in the sense that the pair should not take themselves so seriously and they are just "modern idiots." Now, Smith has had her say on her name being dropped in the song in an Instagram post featuring a photo of her reading Thomas. "This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Thank you Taylor." Nicks and Smith are two of several celebrities namechecked on the new album, including Kim Kardashian, Charlie Puth and Lucy Dacus. Swift will resume her career-spanning "Eras Tour" in Europe in May before heading to the UK and Ireland in June. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 4/19/24...... German electro-pop pioneers Kraftwerk will be among the headliners at the 2024 installment of the Montreux Jazz Festival, set for Switzerland's Lake Geneva shoreline between July 5-20. The 58th edition of the prestigious Swiss event will also feature the likes of Sting, Alice Cooper, Duran Duran, Lenny Kravitz, Smashing Pumpkins, Soft Cell, PJ Harvey and more on its Lake Stage. The Casino Stage program, meanwhile, "blurs the lines between jazz, afrobeats, pop and rap," with such artists as Dionne Warwick, Andre 3000, Paloma Faith, Brittany Howard and Loreen. Additionally, former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will bring his "Saucerful Of Secrets" project which focuses on the band's founding years -- from 1967 to 1972 -- to the Casino Stage on July 13. The full lineup can be viewed on the festival's X page, and more info can be found at www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/. - NME, 4/18/24...... New tracks from David Bowie, Brian Eno, Aurora and London Grammar have been shared to promote Earth Day on Apr. 22. Launched by The Museum for the United Nations, the project is called Sounds Right, and is developed to both spark a global conversation about the value of nature and galvanise people to take meaningful action to protect our planet. It sees "Mother Nature" recognized as an official artist with her own profile on major streaming platforms -- where music lovers can listen to the eclectic mix of sounds from the natural world, including ocean waves, wind, rainstorms and birdsong. Bowie and Eno's track "Get Real" is one of the songs featured -- now remixed by the latter to incorporate the harsh cries of hyenas, rooks and wild pigs. Eno explained the remix in a post on Instagram: "In the nature remix of 'Get Real', a track I co-wrote with David Bowie 30 years ago, the animals are invading the song -- it's like it has sprung leaks everywhere and these animals are coming in through every window and crack between the doors. They're sort of threatening -- suddenly Nature has crept into the art." The full playlist can be checked out on Spotify.com. - NME, 4/18/24...... 
Barbra Streisand has recorded a new song, "Love Will Survive," for the upcoming Sky/Peacock original series The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The track recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra was composed by two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer in collaboration with Emmy-nominee Kara Talve and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey); the song's lyrics were penned by Grammy and Golden Globe nominee Charlie Midnight; Afanasieff and Peter Asher produced the track. "Because of the rise in antisemitism around the world today, I wanted to sing 'Love Will Survive' in the context of this series, as a way of remembering the six-million souls who were lost less than 80 years ago," Streisand said in a statement. "And also to say that even in the darkest of times, the power of love can triumph and endure." The song, Streisand's first-ever recording for a TV series, will be released by Columbia Records on Apr.25, a week before the series launches globally on streaming on May 2. Zimmer also composed the original score for the six-part limited series starring Harvey Keitel, Melanie Lynskey, Jonah Hauer-King, Anna Prchniak and Jonas Nay. It tells the story of a Slovakian Jewish man, Lali (Hauer-King), who in 1942 was deported to the Nazi death camp where more than one million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The series will be available beginning May 2 on Sky Atlantic and the NOW streaming service in the UK and Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as Peacock in the U.S. and Stan in Australia. - Billboard, 4/17/24...... The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., has announced the recipients of its inaugural Bob Dylan Center songwriter fellowship. Tega Ethan, a 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Nigeria, and Taylor Zickfoose, a 28-year-old native of Washington state, were selected by global panel of leading artists and songwriters, including Juliette Armanet, Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp, Carla Morrison and Nas, and reviewed by executives at BDC in Tulsa, Okla. and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Each fellowship includes a $40,000 project stipend, public engagement and presentation opportunities, dedicated time in the Bob Dylan Archive to study the legendary artist's creative process, roundtrip airfare to Tulsa and accommodations, mentorship from the music publishing giant's songwriters and executives, recording time, and more. Nearly 600 works were submitted from around the world, organizers say, based on the criteria that applicants were 18 years or older and unsigned to a publishing agreement of any kind at the time of the Fellowship start date, May, 1, 2024. Announced last August, the fellowship is to be awarded each year to two standout talents, through an initiative that identifies, mentors and develops rising talent, doing so with the resources of the BDC. - Billboard, 4/17/24...... In a new interview with Mark Goodman and Alan Light on the Sound Up! podcast, The Who's Pete Townshend appears to put a dampener on any hopes for a Who farewell tour, saying that he was being "sarcastic" when he hinted at the idea. Initially, it seemed that the band were planning a farewell tour to end their touring days with a bang, with Townshend stating in March that The Who have one "final" thing left to do before they call it quits. "It feels to me like there's a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die," he said. "I don't get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I'm really honest, I've been touring for the money. My idea of an ordinary lifestyle is pretty elevated." However, when asked about the prospect by hosts Goodman and Light, Townshend replied: "I'm not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it." He also elaborated on how he has "felt old" for the majority of his time with the band, going on to give one song from his 1982 solo album All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes in particular as an example. "When I was 34, I wrote the song 'Slit Skirts,' and I think the line is 'I'm 34 years old and I'm still wandering in a haze. I felt old at 34." Townshend's comments about the band coming to an end also follow on from comments made by Who frontman Roger Daltrey in March, when he reflected on turning 80, saying that "he has to be realistic" and is "on the way out." Daltrey recently announced a new "semi-acoustic" solo tour of North America, which will take place across nine dates in June. - NME, 4/17/24...... 
Director Peter Jackson, who helmed the Beatles' The Beatles: Get Back documentary series in 2021, has announced that director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's legendary 1970 documentary Let It Be will be available for the first time in more than 50 years when it airs exclusively on the Disney+ streaming channel beginning May 8. According to a press release, the film -- recorded during the midst of the group's breakup -- "now takes its rightful place in the band's history... Once viewed through a darker lens, the film is now brought to light through its restoration and in the context of revelations brought forth" in Jackson's Emmy-winning 2021 docuseries. The restored Let It Be features footage that appeared Get Back, taking viewers into the studio and onto the Apple Corps London rooftop in Jan. 1969 for what would be the quartet's final live performance. It also features the band in the studio writing and recording their Let It Be album. In the wake of the rapturous appreciation for Jackson's series, and with Lindsay-Hogg's support, Apple Corps asked Jackson's Park Road Post Production team to restore Let It Be from the original 16mm negative, a process that also included the remastering of the film's sound using the same MAL de-mix technology that was employed on Get Back. Though Let It Be premiered in movie theaters in 1970 and was released on home video formats in the early 1980s, it has never been officially issued on DVD, blu-ray or streaming. The new Let It Be released was teased on Apr. 15 in a post on the Beatles' Instagram page with the cryptic message: "There will be an answer." - Billboard, 4/16/24...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr has announced an autumn 2024 tour of North America with his All-Starr Band that will kick off in Omaha, Neb. on Sept. 12 and wrap at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 25. The autumn tour is in addition to the previously announced spring/summer tour which sees the All Starr Band on the road for 12 shows including Las Vegas and Mexico City. The current incarnation of the All-Starr Band, in addition to Sir Ringo, includes Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette. Starr, 83, released a 4-song EP, Crooked Boy, on Apr. 12. - Music-News.com, 4/19/24...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Neil Young revealed that he has uncovered the "lost verses" from the 1975 song "Cortez The Killer," and that he's considering playing them during his upcoming tour with Crazy Horse. Young reportedly recently hosted a Zoom session with a handful of fans who are subscribed to his official website. During this call, the artist revealed that he had recently found "the other verses" from "Cortez The Killer" that were either cut from the song, or lost due to technical difficulties while recording the track. He also teased performing them, though nothing is set in stone just yet: "Just a couple of days ago, I found the other verses. Just the lyrics we may have those lost lyrics in the show, which will be fun for me." In February, Crazy Horse announced their upcoming album FU##IN' UP, which will contain songs from the band's 50 year career, freshly recorded for 2024. The album will have its initial release on Record Store Day (Apr. 20); it will arrive in all formats on Apr. 26. The pair, who last reunited for a Hyde Park BST festival date in London in 2014, will tour North America between Apr. 24 and May 23. Young and Crazy Horse released their last music collaboration in 2021, with Barn. - NME, 4/16/24...... Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The award recognizes a woman whose work in media honors the legacy of Gracie Allen, a pioneering force in the industry and the award's namesake. The awards are presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF). "Carol Burnett is a true icon of television and entertainment, whose impact spans decades and resonates with audiences of all ages," Becky Brooks, president of the AWMF, said in a statement. "Her groundbreaking work on The Carol Burnett Show set a standard for excellence in comedy and storytelling." Burnett won her seventh competitive Emmy Award in January for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. The two-hour NBC special featured such pals as Julie Andrews and Cher and a performance by Katy Perry of "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together," the theme song to The Carol Burnett Show. In 1985, Burnett became just the second woman (after Lucille Ball) to be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Her many other honorary awards include the Kennedy Center Honors (2003), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005), the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2013), and the life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild (2015). In 2019, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association created The Carol Burnett Award which is an honorary Golden Globe to celebrate outstanding contributions to television. Burnett was the first recipient. Burnett co-stars in the new series Palm Royal for Apple TV, which premiered Mar.20. The cast includes Kristin Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas. - Billboard, 4/16/24...... It was revealed on Apr. 15 that the Class of 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees will be announced live coast-to-coast during a Rock Hall-themed episode of American Idol on Apr. 21. The inductees will be announced by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest along with judge (and 2022 Rock Hall inductee) Lionel Richie. The episode will air 8-10:01 p.m. ET and 5-7:01 p.m. PT on ABC, with a repeat scheduled for 8-10:01 p.m. PT on the West Coast. In that same episode, Gene Simmons will serve as a guest mentor for the top 14 Idol contenders. Simmons was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2014 as a member of KISS. - Billboard, 4/15/24...... 
Co-founding The Allman Brothers Band singer-guitarist Dickey Betts passed away on the morning of Apr. 18 following a battle with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 80. "It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard 'Dickey' Betts (December 12, 1943 -- April 18, 2024) at the age of 80 years old," his family announced on his Instagram account. "The legendary performer, songwriter, bandleader and family patriarch was at his home in Osprey, Florida, surrounded by his family. Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt worldwide. At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days. More information will be forthcoming at the appropriate time," they added. Born Forrest Richard Betts in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 12, 1943, Betts grew up listening to bluegrass and country music as a child and played in a number of rock band in his home state before being tapped to join the Allmans. An integral part of the Allman's swampy, rambling Southern rock sound, Betts joined brothers Gregg and Duane Allman in 1969 in the group the siblings formed after splitting up their earlier band, the Allman Joys. Taking his place alongside drummers Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe and bassist Berry Oakley -- Betts had played with Oakley in the band the Second Coming -- Betts provided lead guitar as well as initially sharing vocals with Duane and Oakley before Gregg Allman stepped up to be the lead singer and primary songwriter. Though he did not have a songwriting credit on the band's 1969 self-titled debut album -- which featured a mix of blues covers and Allman originals such as "Black Hearted Woman," "It's Not My Cross to Bear" and the furious blues guitar workout "Whipping Post" -- he did land a few songwriting nods on their 1970s follow-up, Idlewild South. Along with his buoyant, album-opening acoustic jam "Revival" Betts contributed a song that would become one of the band's signature extended jam showpieces, the explosive, jazz-influenced seven-minute workout "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed." On the band's next album, the iconic 1971 live album At Fillmore East, fans who had not yet caught the group's exploratory, expansive live show yet were treated to a nearly 13-minute version of "Reed" that showcased the jazz and Western swing influences Betts brought to the table. And, in keeping with their growing reputation as one of the most experimental, unpredictable American rock bands, that long walk was accompanied on side four by a furious, 22-minute "Whipping Post." On 1972's hybrid studio-live album Eat a Peach, Betts penned and sang what would be the Allman's only top 10 Billboard Hot 100 single, the AM radio staple "Ramblin' Man," which rose to No. 2 on the chart. Betts would also contribute lead and slide guitar as well as the a handful of lead vocals on the 1975 album Win, Lose or Draw. 
During his stint in the group the unpredictable, mustachioed Betts -- who famously inspired the wildman character Russell played by Billy Crudup in director Cameron Crowe's rock-themed film Almost Famous -- released a series of solo albums, beginning with 1974's jazz and country/bluegrass-influenced Highway Call, followed by 1977's Dickey Betts & Great Southern (featuring a songwriting collab on "Bougainvillea" with actor Don Johnson) and, in 1979, Atlanta's Burning Down, during the group's first hiatus. The Allmans came back in 1979 for the album Enlightened Rogues, but things went south again quickly and they called it quits once more in 1982. Betts continued to play shows and tour until 1989, when the group once again reformed with a new slide guitarist from Betts' band, Warren Haynes. Three more Allman albums were released in the early 1990s, though Betts was not always on stage with the group when they toured later in the decade and he played his final show with the band in May 2000 at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, after which he was fired for what the band dubbed "creative differences." Betts filed suit against his former bandmates over his sacking and never performed with them again, though he continued to tour with his own band for several years before retiring from music in 2017. Betts suffered a mild stroke in Aug. 2018 after a brief return to the road in 2018 with a band that included his son, Duane. In Dec. 2023, Betts attended an 80th birthday concert in his honor by the Allman Betts Family Revival Band. The Allman Brothers also posted a statement to their website mourning the death of their former bandmate, writing in part, "His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock. He was passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate or boxing. Dickey was all in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention." - Billboard, 4/18/24.
Billy Joel fans are feeling "closer to the borderline" after the CBS network cut a telecast of his 100th Madison Square Garden Show a few minutes short due to the network's live coverage of the Masters golf tournament on Apr. 14. The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden special was announced during this year's Super Bowl and taped on Mar. 28 during the Piano Man's 100th performance at the legendary New York city venue. The show was slated to run from 9-11 p.m. on CBS but unfortunately, the network's live coverage of the Masters tournament pushed back the start of the Joel concert's airing, which meant that the climactic ending of the show was cut off for many viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones to throw to the local news. To make matters worse, according to posts from livid viewers, the screen went black at the worst possible time, near the celebratory ending of Joel's signature sing-along ballad, 1973's "Piano Man." "#BillyJoel #MSG #100 concert not only starts a half hour late, but then you cut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130?," read one rage-filled tweet that opened with a not polite, four-letter salutation to the Tiffany network. "Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that's been advertised for MONTHS, and you f--k it up." The abrupt cut-away from the broadcast had some X users comparing to the infamous moment in 1968 when NBC jumped from a nail-biter New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game to switch to children's movie Heidi. A spokesperson for CBS apologized for what was described as a "network programming error" and added "due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, [the concert] will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT." - Billboard, 4/15/24...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, former Hall & Oates member John Oates shot down a H&O reunion, saying he has "moved on." When asked if "an official end date should be added to the career of one of the most successful pop duos of all time?", Oates responded: "You can ask Daryl [Hall] the same question. But, yes. As far as I'm concerned, I've moved on. I feel like I have a new lease on my creative life." Oates's comments come after Hall said he was suing Oates after claiming that he was left "blindsided" by his plan to sell a business stake in Nov. 2023 -- while the latter described the claims as "inaccurate." Although he is not open to a reunion, Oates said he would be open to repairing their friendship in the future: "I'm always open for that. Daryl Hall is an amazing individual. He is one of the great, great songwriters of all time, and without a doubt, one of the great singers of all time. I would never say anything negative about him. But we have a different strategy for our lives, and we have a different strategy for our business lives as well as our personal lives. And that's that, so be it. We're old guys. We deserve to be allowed to do whatever we want to do." When asked if the duo will ever get back together, he continued: "I have no idea. But I don't see it. I really don't. Life is funny though. You never know what kind of curve it will throw you." - NME, 4/13/24...... 
Classic rockers Blue Öyster Cult have revamped 40-year-old recordings for their latest album, 
A Paul McCartney and The Eagles jam happened during a tribute concert for the late Jimmy Buffett at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl on Apr. 11. The concert, titled "Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett," also included performances from the likes of Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Zac Brown, Jon Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlile and Buffett's own Coral Reefer Band. Introduced to the stage by his pal, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, McCartney spoke about his relationship with Buffett. "I had the great pleasure of knowing Jimmy, and like everyone else on the bill tonight has said, this is one great man," he said. "He was generous, he was funny, he'd done just about everything in his life. I was on holiday with him and I forgot to bring my guitar, so he had his own guitar strung left-handed for me. And then the next time I saw him he'd had one custom made left-handed for me." Sir Paul then took to a grand piano and performed the Beatles classic "Let It Be," backed by The Eagles. Footage of the performance has been shared on 
Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson has recorded a posthumous duet with the late Glen Campbell, on a version of the latter's song "Strong," which appeared on the latter's 2011 album Ghost on the Canvas. Campbell, known for hits including "Wichita Lineman" and "Rhinestone Cowboy," died in 2017 at the age of 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, and toured with the Beach Boys for a short time in the 1960s. Campbell addressed the disease in the original version of "Strong," singing "As I look into these eyes I've known for all these years / I see for the first time in my life fear." On this new version, which can be heard on 
Longtime PBS newscast host Robert MacNeil died on Apr. 12 of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He was 93. The veteran newsman co-founded and co-hosted the long-running PBS NewsHour and The MacNeil/Lehrer Report with the late Jim Lehrer, with the two solidifying their partnership in 1975 with the 30-minute PBS news program that soon would bear their names. Lehrer died in 2020 at age 85. Unlike other newscasts, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report focused on one story per day, taking a deeper dive beyond the headlines. Their approach and execution would earn them considerable accolades, including News Emmys and a Peabody Award. It was the predecessor to what is now the PBS NewsHour. Born on Jan. 19, 1931, in Montreal and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mr. MacNeil had a brief acting career for the CBC, then he moved to London to become a playwright. While there, he signed on to the new network ITV as a reporter. From there, he landed a job as an editor at Reuters. He joined NBC News in 1960, working as a London-based correspondent. In 1963, he was transferred to the network's Washington bureau, where he covered the Civil Rights Movement and the White House, among other beats. Within five years he was co-anchoring a 30-minute weekend news broadcast with Ray Scherer. After his work at NBC and, briefly, the BBC, he joined PBS in 1971 as a correspondent. Two years later, his national profile increased considerably with the award-winning coverage of the Watergate hearings. After retiring in 1995 from the nightly news program, Mr. MacNeil periodically would return to PBS, most notably hosting the 2007 PBS docuseries America at a Crossroads. He is survived by sons Ian MacNeil, a Tony Award-winning "Billy Elliot: The Musical" theatrical set designer, and Will MacNeil; daughters Cathy MacNeil and Alison MacNeil; and five grandchildren. - Deadline.com, 4/12/24.
Rush fans are now able to discover the origins of the famous Canadian rock band in a fun way with 
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr is set to share "February Sky," the first single from his forthcoming EP, 
The English rock band The Libertines have revealed that they've bought the Paris bathtub that late The Doors frontman Jim Morrison died in for their Margate, England hotel, The Albion Rooms. During a new interview with Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1, The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Bart talked about achieving their "dream" of opening their own Libertines hotel and studio space in 2020. "We've also got the bathtub that Jim Morrison died in, which we're going to be putting in one of the rooms," Doherty explained at one point in the chat. Morrison, aged 27, was found dead in the bathtub of the Paris apartment he was renting in 1971, with the official cause of death being ruled as heart failure. Due to French law, however, no autopsy was carried out as no foul play was suspected at the time. Doherty continued: "There's a fellow who my wife's cousin knows, and his cousin was basically the landlord. And he's not interested in music, and even less interested in music mythology, and so he's just been going on about this bathtub which people have been trying to buy off him. He doesn't want it. He thinks it's morbid to make money off it. So I said, 'Well, we'll take it for the hotel'." The Libertines released their fourth album, 
The Isley Brothers' master guitarist and vocalist Ernie Isley was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Guitar Center Music Foundation on Apr. 4 during the foundation's second annual benefit concert and fundraiser at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. "It's such an honor to be a part of this because Ernie's influence has been truly unrecognized for a long time," said award presenter and fellow guitarist-songwriter Vernon Reid, founder of the rock band Living Colour. He added in part, "It's so long overdue that it's ridiculous. So this is a measure of justice as well. As a kid, I used to get guitar magazines and I'd see Duane Allman on a cover. I'd see Dicky Betts on a cover. Or I'd see Rory Gallagher, who I love, on a cover. But the one person I didn't see on those magazines was the person who had the most influence on me. And that's Mr. Ernie Isley." Video tributes from a host of artists and musicians also were presented, among them: Nile Rodgers, Chaka Khan, Narada Michael Walden, Sheryl Crow and Carlos Santana. Referencing his Isley Brothers siblings -- O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph, Ronald, Vernon and Marvin Isley -- Ernie remarked in part as he accepted the award, "We've been blessed with longevity and the music. This is a highly distinguished honor and privilege. I really don't have the words to describe it. Just thanks." Proceeds from The Guitar Center Music Foundation's annual fundraiser go toward music education and music therapy. - Billboard, 4/6/24...... Veteran Australian concert promoter Garry Van Egmond, who produced blockbuster tours for AC/DC, Dire Straits and many others, died on Apr. 6 following complications of recent surgery. He was 82. Based in Melbourne, Mr. Van Egmond was AC/DC's promoter of choice for touring Australia and New Zealand, and, in 1986, he helmed Dire Straits' record-smashing Brothers In Arms tour, a juggernaut that shifted more than 900,000 tickets when Australia's population was just 14 million. More than 250,000 tickets for that Dire Straits tour were sold in Sydney alone. With over 50 years' experience in live events, Mr. Van Egmond sold upwards of 35 million tickets across Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Mr. Van Egmond also produced AC/DC tours dating back to 1985, including the 2010 Black Ice trek, which shifted more than 600,000 tickets across 11 Australian dates (and 760,000 tickets across Australia and New Zealand). The rock legends' "Rock or Bust" Australasia leg in 2015 sold in excess of 460,000 tickets across nine stadium dates in seven cities (five in Australia, two in New Zealand). He is survived by his daughter Katie, son Christo and grandchildren Hugo and Saskia. - Billboard, 4/7/24...... 
Joe Flaherty, a writer and performer on the influential and beloved sketch comedy series SCTV and a series regular on the retro TV series Freaks and Geeks, died on Apr. 1 following a brief illness. He was 82. "After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I've been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss," Mr. Flaherty's daughter Gudrun Flaherty said in a statement. "Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the '40s and '50s.... In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together -- moments I will forever hold dear." Born Joseph O'Flaherty in Pittsburgh on June 21, 1941 -- he eventually dropped the O' because the name was already taken by another Actors' Equity Association member -- he began his comedy career at The Second City in Chicago, and appeared on the National Lampoon Radio Hour from 1973-74. He moved to Toronto to help launch a Second City troupe there, and in 1976 became a founding cast member of the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV that would feature some of the most influential comedians of the era, including himself, John Candy, Harold Ramis, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. Among Mr. Flaherty's were popular characters were fictional TV station owner-manager Guy Caballero; Sammy Maudlin, a fawning talk show host inspired more than a little by Sammy Davis Jr.; and the station's horror movie host Count Floyd, whose Monster Chiller Horror Theater featured movies so bad -- and frequently very non-horror -- that the host would be forced to unconvincingly stammer, "Oooh, that's scary, kids"; and Big Jim McBob, whose Farm Film Report (with Candy) was a sort of Siskel & Ebert for fans of movie explosions. The segment made a catchphrase of "that blowed up real good." After SCTV stopped production in 1984, Mr. Flaherty appeared in such films as Johnny Dangerously, Innerspace, Who's Harry Crumb, Back To The Future Part II, Stuart Saves His Family and Happy Gilmore. But he would find his second signature role as an alternately angry and befuddled dad in 1999 on the short-lived cult favorite Freaks and Geeks, the Paul Feig-Judd Apatow coming-of-age drama about high school students in 1980s Detroit. Like SCTV, the series launched the careers of numerous actors, including Linda Cardellini and John Francis Daley (who played Mr. Flaherty's kids), James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jason Segel and Busy Philipps. In March, Mr. Flaherty's former improv group Second City organized a fundraiser to help support the actor during his illness, with his former SCTV co-star Martin Short writing in part: "We are writing to our friends because we believe SCTV meant something to you, and that would not be the case if it were not for Joe Flaherty. He was a mentor, a director, and an inspiring improviser who gave us many of the tools we are still using in the careers he helped kickstart." In addition to his daughter, survivors include son Gabriel and brother (and SCTV writer) Paul Flaherty. - Deadline.com, 4/2/24.