Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 28th, 2025

Neil Young performed his 1987 track "Long Walk Home," first recorded with Crazy Horse on their album Life, live for the first time since 1989 during an Aug. 23 concert in Wantagh, N.Y. The protest song deals with the experience of living in a country that prides itself on personal liberty, while still engaging in systemic violence. With these themes remaining relevant in current times, Young made a change to some of the lyrics -- switching the line "from Vietnam to old Beirut" from the studio version to "from Canada to old Ukraine" for the 2025 live performance. Fan-shot footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. In July, Young and the Chrome Hearts dusted off the rarity "Ambulance Blues" at a concert in the Netherlands -- marking its first live appearance in over 50 years. He released his first studio album with the Chrome Hearts, Talkin' to the Trees, in June. - NME, 8/23/25...... A source close to Paul McCartney claims Sir Paul is not only nearing completion on his follow-up to 2020's McCartney III album, but the 83-year-old musician is said to be plotting a return to his homeland for a UK tour in 2026. "Paul has been working on the album all year and initially hoped it would be out by the end of this year but as with most things plans change," according to the source. "It's not quite finished but the majority of the album is done and Paul is really proud of it." The source added that Macca also wants to tour behind the new LP: "As for live shows he's told his team he wants to tour the UK again, so live gigs next year are also happening." Until then, McCartney will be busy with a fall US tour which launches on Sept. 29 in Palm Desert, Calif., and run through a Nov. 25 gig in Chicago. - Music-News.com, 8/26/25...... The UK's BBC One channel abruptly pulled a new Ozzy Osbourne documentary titled Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home from its schedule on Aug. 18 just hours before it was slated to air with no explanation. According to a BBC report, the network had been expected to air the doc on that evening, it "has postponed the screening without giving reasons or a new transmission date." However a BBC spokesperson told US Weekly that "the film has moved in the schedules and we'll confirm new [transmission] details in due course." Described as a "moving and inspirational account" of the final chapter of Osbourne's life, Coming Home was filmed over three years with participation from his wife/manager Sharon Osbourne, and two of the couple's children, Jack and Kelly. The doc was originally pitched as a chronicle of the Osbourne's return to England after years of living in Los Angeles, serving as a kind of bookend to the family' beloved 2002-2005 MTV reality show, The Osbournes. Osbourne died on July 22 at age 76, two weeks after performing his final show at his home soccer stadium, Villa Park, in Birmingham, England. - Billboard, 8/18/25...... In other Ozzy-related news, his daughter Kelly Osbourne is firing back at professional womens wrestler Becky Lynch for making "disrespectful" comments about Ozzy just a month after his death. On Aug. 25, Lynch insulted the late Black Sabbath frontman's home city while appearing on Netflix's WWE RAW, which aired live from Birmingham, England. During a round of on-camera trash talk between Lynch and her soon-to-be opponent Nikki Bella ahead of their upcoming Women's Intercontinental Championship match in Paris, the former had a harsh response to the latter's request that they fight right then and there. "I'm not wrestling in Birmingham," Lynch goaded. "The only good thing that came out of here died a month ago. But in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to L.A., a proper city," she added as the surrounding crowd booed. "Because if I lived in Birmingham, I'd die too." The following day, Kelly posted on her Instagram Stories page that Lynch was a "disrespectful dirtbag" and quipped, "Birmingham would not piss on you if you were on fire. Shame on the WWE for allowing such things to be said about my father and his home!!!" Born in the Aston area of his beloved Birmingham, UK on Dec. 3, 1948, Osbourne was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. - Billboard, 8/26/25...... Legendary author Stephen King revealed that he "never liked" Black Sabbath in a recent Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session as he promoted the latest movie adaptation of one of his novels, The Long Walk. Set in a dystopian US and ruled by a totalitarian regime, the movie focuses on a group of young men who enter an annual walking contest in which they must maintain a speed of at least three miles per hour or be killed, with the remaining walker declared the winner. When asked in the AMA session what playlist he would have for the fictional walk. He replied with two selections, one reflecting his taste at the time of the novel's publishing (1979) and his tastes now. "Back then I would have picked 'Get Together,' by the Youngbloods, 'Eve of Destruction,' by Barry Maguire (sic), 'Carol,' by the Rolling Stones, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues,' by (Bob) Dylan, maybe 'Summertime Blues,' by Eddie Cochran, 'Rock and Roll is Here to Stay,' by Danny and the Juniors." He continued: "Now I'd load my playlist with AC/DC, Rancid, Metallica, Stones, (Bruce) Springsteen. Not Black Sabbath, I never liked them. Music has often featured in King's books as a cultural indicator for the period in which they are set. In turn, his work has inspired several artists, including "Ride The Lightning" by Metallica (the title is a phrase from King's book The Stand) and "Pet Sematary" by Ramones, which borrowed its title from his 1983 novel. In 2007, he compiled a list of "The 24 Greatest Rock Songs Ever Made" for Entertainment Weekly. Several Stephen King adaptations have been scheduled for 2025, with The Long Walk hitting cinemas in September, and a new version of The Running Man arriving in November. The Life Of Chuck, based on a short story by King, is now playing in cinemas, while The Monkey came out in February. Meanwhile, the bard of horror recently described Pres. Donald Trump's second term in office as a "horror story," and called for his impeachment. - New Musical Express, 8/28/25...... Musician/producer Steve Wilson of The Porcupine Tree, who began remixing classic albums in 2009 by the likes of Black Sabbath, The Who, Van Morrison, Chic, Tears For Fears and others, has explained why he only decided to remix Sabbath's 1972 set Volume 4 from the band's catalog. "The tapes were lost," Wilson admitted in an interview with Noise 11 (available on YouTube). "So, that's a classic example. And this has happened a few times over the years with me. The will to do it was there. The record company wanted to do it, the manager wanted to do it, I wanted to do it, and then they couldn't find the tapes." Wilson however said they found outtake reels of the band running through different takes of Volume 4 songs, and "we did what we could... which [is] fascinating if you're a fan of that record." Wilson then explained some more of the background information about the status of master multi-track tapes of Sabbath's other albums. He said: "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to mix the actual album, because the multi-track tapes have, as with the whole Sabbath catalog, they've pretty much disappeared, sadly." - NME, 8/24/25...... Shortly after giving an interview with AARP magazine to promote the American leg of The Who's "The Song Is Over" farewell tour, guitarist Pete Townshend and Who frontman Roger Daltrey sat down with The New York Times on Aug. 25 to open up about if The Who may play more live shows after their current farewell tour comes to an end (The Who's 1982 tour was also billed as their final dates, and was captured in a live album titled Who's Last). When asked if these 2025 U.S. dates actually do mark the definitive end of The Who, Townshend cheekily responded: "Are you suggesting we're swindling the public? The fact is, we are willing to swindle them. That's what we've done our entire life. Why stop?" Townshend continued, "It's in Roger's hands. If we don't extend, would we be in breach of contract? Would we be in swindle-land if we came back and played all those important venues we've left off the list, like Duluth," he added. "I'm 80, I don't like being away from my family, my studios, my dogs and my friends. I'm not looking to spend the next five years of my life waiting to drop dead on the stage The end of the tour could give Roger and I permission never to call each other again. I hope that doesn't happen." Daltrey continued, saying that there will likely be some upcoming shows added in the future, but perhaps not a full tour. "We're not giving up as a band. We might do a couple of residencies. Hopefully, Pete and I won't stop making music." - Billboard, 8/26/25...... Fans of Judas Priest could soon be treated to the unlikely pairing of Priest frontman Rob Halford and the late popular music crooner Tony Bennett. Although best known for his piercing screams and iconic vocal chops with Judas Priest, Halford has long been vocal about his affinity for non-metal genres, like country and jazz music -- in 2022, he even teamed up with Dolly Parton for a special rendition of Parton's "Jolene" as the musicians were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They later teamed up again on her album Rockstar. Now, Halford has revealed that he's also a big fan of the late Tony Bennett. Speaking to UltimateClassicRock.com , Halford shared: "There's so many musical things I want to do I was singing Tony Bennett in the shower the other day and I listened to my voice and I'm going, 'Do I dare to consider something like this?'" He continued: "And then I go, 'I'm an old man; I can do what I f---ing want!' And I love Tony Bennett; I was sad, like a lot of us where, when he passed. He as an icon and a beacon. I love all kinds of singers. My love for what the voice can do is always so attractive to me the ideas, the imagination, like [Lady] Gaga doing her thing in Vegas when she does the jazz side of stuff." However Halford added that he doesn't have concrete plans on putting that album together just yet: "So, yeah, I'd love to do that. I don't know how I would go about it, but I better get a move on if I'm going to do something like that. I wouldn't have dared to have done this back in the day." In other news, it was announced earlier this year that Judas Priest are due to get their own documentary film soon, and it's being co-directed by Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello. - NME, 8/26/25...... KISS' Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have reunited for a World Of Tanks Modern Armor collaboration following the band's 2023 farewell tour. Running from Aug. 26 through Sept. 15, this year's annual Metal Fest is a celebration of KISS. "The in-game music event delivers an electrifying KISS-themed experience," promises developers. "Players can take on two thrilling challenges loaded with exclusive KISS-inspired rewards, try an all-new PvE mode on a specially designed map, enjoy daily gifts, and more." The Metal Fest features four premium tanks, with each one inspired by a classic KISS character -- The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman, and The Catman. Each one will also blast their 1975 hit 'Rock And Roll All Nite' when it's selected by players from their garage. "All four KISS personas come alive as fully animated 3D Hero Commanders, complete with custom voiceover," continued the press release on X/Twitter, with KISS icons Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley recording custom audio for the collab. KISS wrapped up the final scheduled date of their extensive Farewell Tour back in Dec. 2023 at Madison Square Garden. Just after they left the stage, the band announced that they were about to move into their "new era"' and were planning on doing some shows using virtual avatars -- similar to that of the hit ABBA Voyage shows. No virtual KISS concert has been announced yet but Stanley and Simmons will be performing together in Las Vegas in November as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the KISS Army fanclub. - NME, 8/27/25...... The UK tabloid The Sun is reporting that former The Police frontman Sting is being sued by his former Police bandmates over lost royalties. Sting (real name Gordon Sumner) was the ex-frontman/primary songwriter of the best-selling late '70s/'80s London trio, and he's reportedly being taken to court for "substantial" damages by guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland. It follows years of legal disputes between the group. "Lawyers tried repeatedly to reach an out-of-court settlement but hit a stalemate," The Sun reported. "Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative than court so pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties." The case is said to have been listed at London's High Court under "general commercial contracts and arrangements." Sting appears as a defendant along with his company, Magnetic Publishing Limited. Formed back in 1977, The Police charted such smash singles as 1983's "Every Breath You Take" before breaking up in the mid-'80s. Sting, who is credited as the sole songwriter on the track, reportedly earns £550,000 a year in royalties from that song alone. A spokesman for Sting denied the legal action was related to "Every Breath You Take," per the article. However, they did not elaborate on the case. The Police have reunited on numerous occasions in the past, with their most recent shows taking place in 2008. In 2021, Sting said that he regretted reforming the trio in 2007, calling the tour that followed "an exercise in nostalgia". He explained at the time that he preferred being a solo artist due to the "total freedom" it offered. "It's not a power thing, at all; it's just about producing exactly the brand and style of music that feels right for you," he said. Sting's hugely successful post-Police solo career includes headlining the Isle Of Wight Festival and Latitude festivals, and will embark on his "Sting 3.0" tour in Europe in the fall. - NME, 8/25/25.