Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on April 5th, 2026

English prog-rockers Yes took to Instagram on Apr. 2 to announce that the group is delaying the 11-date "Fragile" tour of Europe to allow guitarist Steve Howe time to recover from an undisclosed surgery. "The upcoming YES 'Fragile' UK and EU Tour, due to commence on 22nd April, has had to be postponed as guitarist Steve Howe requires an essential operation that requires recovery time," the band posted. "This decision has been made to ensure that Steve can return to the stage in full health and deliver the performances that fans deserve." Set to kick off on Apr. 22 at Scotland's Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the European leg was set to feature a full performance of the band's 1971 album, Fragile. The tour follows a North American leg, which took place in 2025. Yes said they they are "working hard to reschedule the UK and EU shows to a later date, with full details to be announced after Easter... please retain your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled dates." They concluded with: "Tour dates currently being arranged for later in 2026 will proceed as planned. Steve Howe and YES would like to thank their UK fans and hope for their continued support at this time." Howe is the sole active member of the lineup that recorded Fragile, as drummer Bill Bruford left the group in 1992, while vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman departed in 2004. Bassist Chris Squire stayed with the band until his passing in 2015. - Billboard, 4/4/26...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their "Land Of Hope And Dreams" tour in Minneapolis' Target Center on Mar. 31, with the Boss using his time on stage to continue his long-running criticism of the US Pres. Donald Trump. Springsteen started his show by telling the crowd: "We are living through some very dark times. Our American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged as never before. We've got our young men and women's lives at risk in an unconstitutional and illegal war." He also criticized the targeting of immigrants by ICE agents and hit out at Atty. General Pam Bondi, who was recently fired by Trump: "Bondi takes her marching orders straight from a corrupt White House," he said, accusing her of prosecuting the president's "perceived enemies" and covering up his alleged misdeeds. "You want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can't handle the truth," he continued, accusing Trump and his family of getting richer at the expense of working Americans in a "corruption unmatched in American history." Fittingly, the marathon 28-song show began with a cover of Edwin Starr's 1970 hit song "War," which saw him bring out Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello to the stage, and perform the cover for the first time since 2003. Morello remained on stage to help perform "Born In The U.S.A" and "Death To My Hometown," and Springsteen later broke out his politically-charged new song "Streets Of Minneapolis" for the first time with his E Street Band. He also helped close out the show with a cover of "Chimes Of Freedom" by Bob Dylan, and Springsteen's first cover of Prince's "Purple Rain" in 10 years. Other covers included a rendition of "Because The Night" by the Patti Smith Group, and more of his own classics included "Dancing In The Dark" and "Born To Run." In the midst of the unpopular and grinding Iran war, rising inflation and gas prices at home and historically low poll numbers, Pres. Trump took time the following day to lash out at Springsteen in a Truth Social post in which he wrote about the "bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome" and called on his MAGA faithful to boycott Springsteen's "overpriced concerts, which suck... save your hard-earned money." - NME/Billboard, 4/2/26..... As Ringo Starr prepares to release his 22nd solo album Long Long Road on Apr. 24, the 85-year-old Beatles legend has revealed to Rolling Stone that his secret to anti-ageing is "peace and love and broccoli." "Well, you've got to eat more broccoli. All the good things about me, I blame broccoli for," Starr said when asked how he keeps his energy up to keep recording and touring new music. Elaborating on his trademark catchphrase, Starr quipped: "So now I saw, peace and love and broccoli." In 2025 during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ringo gave fans more insight into his idiosyncratic eating habits He confirmed a rumor that he had "never eaten pizza," and added to audience gasps when he added, "or a curry." He clarified that he's "allergic to several items," and that with pizza and curry, "you don't know what the f---'s in it." The gamble to try either dish is too great for him: "I'm strict with myself since it makes me ill immediately." In March, Starr gave fans a taste of Long Long Road's music with a YouTube video of the LP's first single, "It's Been Too Long," co-written with T-Bone Burnett, who has produced the entire record, as he did with last year's Look Up album. Ringo will head out on the road beginning on May 29 in Temecula, Calif., also visiting San Diego; Charlotte, N.C.; Tuscon; Lincoln, Neb.; Paso Robles, Calif.; Albuquerque; San Jose; and Tempe, Ariz. before wrapping at L.A.'s Greek Theatre on June 15. - New Musical Express, 4/4/26...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Paul McCartney has shared his "must-see spots" for anyone visiting his hometown of Liverpool as he preps his first new studio effort in five years, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, for a May 29 release. Asked by fans about specific locations that mean a lot to him in Liverpool on his official PaulMcCartney.com website, Sir Paul first named "Forthlin Road, the house I ended up," as well as the "Liverpool Institute, which is now LIPA." As for what else he'd show people if he were to give them a personal tour, he said: "I show them the site of the first gig we ever played, called the Wilson Hall in Garston. And then I show them everything in between. Where John [Lennon]'s mum used to live, where John used to live, where George [Harrison]" used to live, and where Ringo [Starr] lived." To celebrate the album announcement, McCartney play a two-night stint at 1,200-capacity venue the Fonda Theatre on Mar. 28 and 29, his first gigs since wrapping his "Got Back Tour." On Mar. 31, Macca brought Apple Computer's worldwide 50th anniversary festivities to a close with a special performance at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif. The musician, songwriter, and former Beatle has been a longtime user of Apple's products, capturing riffs and song fragments in the Voice Memos app on his iPhone, some of which became full-blown songs on his last solo album, McCartney III. Before that, McCartney starred in an animated iTunes and iPod ad in 2007 that featured his song "Dance Tonight," and iTunes offered an exclusive pre-order of his album Memory Almost Full. At the time, Apple CEO Steve Jobs commented, "Paul McCartney is one of the greatest musicians of all time." McCartney and his former band have long served as a source of inspiration for the innovation that still guides the company today. In 2003, Jobs famously declared in an interview, "My model of business is the Beatles. They were four very talented guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. And that's how I see business. Great things in business are never done by one person, they re done by a team of people -- and we've got that at Apple as well." - NME/Apple.com, 3/31/26...... There are rumors swirling that The Rolling Stones may be gearing up to drop new music or play a surprise gig in London under the moniker "The Cockroaches." As highlighted by journalist and broadcaster Matt Everitt, the name appears to be one that the rock gods have adopted in the past as a pseudonym. In the early '80s, they played a secret show under the alias "Blue Sunday And The Cockroaches." "I could be falling for an elaborate April Fool's hoax, or I could have dropped down a rabbit hole of obscure Stones folklaw, but this would appear to be some form of cryptic @therollingstones announcement, right?" Everitt wrote on Instagram, also sharing images of the pages that come up when the QR code is scanned. The code takes you to a new website called "thecockroaches.com," and when you click the button to "sign up," the page reads "Who The F--- Are The Cockroaches?" and invites fans to subscribe for updates. As highlighted by Everitt, the text on that sign-up page is similar to that seen in an old, famous photo of Ronnie Wood, in which he is seen wearing a shirt that reads "Who the f--- is Mick Jagger?". When signing up for updates, an email is sent out with a confirmation message from Universal Music -- which also happens to be the same label that represents the Stones. it isn't clear if the Cockroaches poster has any connection to the Stones beyond speculation, nor is it clear if it is angling at new music or a new live show. As well as the gig in the early '80s, Jagger and co. have used the alias The Cockroaches before -- usually for the occasional secret set, or for impromptu warm-up shows over the years. Previous instances include a gig in Toronto in 1977, a stop in Atlanta the following year, and a show in Worcester in 1981 -- which was revealed to be The Rolling Stones shortly before it kicked off. If they came to fruition, the gigs would have been the first tour dates from the rock legends since they went out on their "Hackney Diamonds" tour in the US in 2024. They sold nearly a million tickets across those 20 dates and generated an estimated $235 million (£185.1 million) - making it to No. 6 on the highest-grossing music world tours of that year. The Stones last played the UK in 2022, when two huge BST Hyde Park gigs followed a stadium show at Liverpool's Anfield. - NME, 4/1/26...... Elton John's The Remixes album is set to be released on vinyl for the UK's Record Store Day on Apr. 18. The LP will be available as a limited-edition glow-in-the-dark 1LP, on the day, exclusively at participating record stores and via Positiva Records. The album presents John's deep connection to club culture and dance music, and features five remixes on vinyl for the first time, with edits of such Elton standards as "Philadelphia Freedom," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," "Rocket Man," and others by the likes of The Blessed Madonna, Purple Disco Machine, The 2 Bears, Shine A Light, Claptone, Shep Pettibone, Sanchez and KDME. Speaking on the release, John said: "Record Store Day is incredibly important to me and with this package I really think we've made something special for dance music fans. I first got into dance music in '70s New York through disco and those early days at clubs like Le Jardin and Studio 54. It's been a huge part of my life ever since." The 19th instalment of RSD will celebrate independent record shops and vinyl culture in the UK. More than 300 UK and Ireland record shops will be taking part, alongside thousands of indie retailers worldwide, as they sell an array of exclusive physical releases on a first-come-first-served basis and host some in-store events for one day only. The album will also be available to download on Beatport.com. The full list of Record Store Day 2026 releases, which also includes music by David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, The Cure, and others can be viewed on recordstoreday.co.uk. - NME, 4/3/26...... '70s artists George Clinton and Heart are among the music acts who have been added to the list of performers for the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum's 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala taking place May 8. Fourteen titles spanning nearly a century of recorded music will be honored for their historical significance at the gala, extending as far back as 1926's "Trouble in Mind" recorded by Bertha "Chippie" Hill to 1998's "Car Wheels on A Gravel Road" by Lucinda Williams. Among the other three singles and 11 albums being inducted are Pink Moon by Nick Drake, Maggot Brain by Clinton's band Funkadelic, Dreamboat Annie by Heart and All Eyez on Me by 2Pac. The Recording Academy's national trustees established the Grammy Hall of Fame to honor recordings released before the Grammy Awards began being handed out in 1959. The honor is now open to any recording that is at least 25 years old. A special member committee selects the recordings to be inducted based on their qualitative or historical significance. Final ratification comes from the Recording Academy's national board of trustees. - Billboard, 4/2/26...... A dreadlock from '70s reggae legend Bob Marley's hair has been estimated to sell for 25,000 at an upcoming auction. The 1.5 inch length of hair originates from a 1978 Marley Top of the Pops where the singer appeared on the programme with The Wailers to perform their new single "Satisfy My Soul." The owner of the lock explained that "after Bob Marley had finished singing, myself and a friend went up onto the platform where he was performing. He was chuckling away and I asked if I could take off a piece of his hair. He just kept nodding and chuckling and appeared amused by it so I twisted a piece of his dreadlock off. And he of course gave me his autograph as well." The autograph alone is estimated to be worth 4,000 alone, but Bristol company JC Auctions estimates that the lock will go for between £20,000-25,000 when it goes on auction on April 9. It will be the first Bob Marley dreadlock to auction in over 20 years, and will be accompanied by the signature. The dreadlock and autograph can be viewed at invaluable.com. - NME, 4/2/26...... Former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham was reportedly attacked by a woman on his way to an appointment in Santa Monica, Calif., on Apr. 1. According to NBC4 Investigates, Buckingham had just entered a building when the woman allegedly threw an unknown substance at the musician before running away. Police believe that she had discovered the time and location of his appointment and waited for him there ahead of his arrival. Law enforcement sources say the police suspect the perpetrator is someone who is known to Buckingham due to previous run-ins. No arrests have been reported, though police said an arrest is expected soon. A few days prior to the alleged attack, Buckingham had shared in an Instagram video his excitement for his ongoing work on another solo album, as well as an upcoming Fleetwood Mac documentary from Apple Original Films and hinted at a potential Fleetwood Mac reunion after he and former partner Stevie Nicks are now back on talking terms after the reissue of their 1973 collaborative effort Buckingham Nicks. - Billboard, 4/1/26...... On Mar. 29 Jimmy Page shared the "original home demo" version of Led Zeppelin's "Ten Years Gone" on YouTube. The Led Zep guitarist/founder uploaded the early recording of the 1975 song to his official YouTube channel, with the description: "As a footnote to Physical Graffiti [Zeppelin's 1975 sixth album], I thought you might like to hear the original home demo, recorded in my studio at Plumpton Place, of a piece of music that was going to surface as 'Ten Years Gone'," he wrote. "I presented this rough mix to the band at Headley Grange in order to do this for real. Robert Plant came up with some lyrics for my music that were extraordinary and then we arrive at the song 'Ten Years Gone'." In the comments section, one fan hailed the alternate version as "a genius of layering guitars." Another listener said: "Jimmy's stripped down guitar playing heals my soul to the core... we need more of this pleaseeee." Someone else wrote: "Hard to choose, but 'Ten Years Gone' may be the greatest Zep song. It's all right here in the demo. Incredible." Elsewhere, a user called for "more of these" demos. A fan agreed by saying: "We wanna hear this all, Jimmy. Keep it coming." In 2023, Page shared a previously unreleased Led Zeppelin instrumental demo, "The Seasons." This recording would eventually form the basis of '"The Rain Song" from the group's 1973 album Houses Of The Holy. Last autumn, Led Zeppelin marked the 50th anniversary of Physical Graffiti with the release of "Live EP" on 123 vinyl, CD and digital formats. A deluxe edition had arrived in 2015 to celebrate the LP's 40th anniversary. High-quality rare footage of Led Zeppelin playing live in Amsterdam in 1972 emerged online earlier this year. - NME, 4/1/26...... Iconic The Who frontman and longtime charity activist Roger Daltrey has lent his support to the fight against Parkinson's disease by joining Think Loud 4 Parkinson's -- a high-profile charity project dedicated to raising funds and global awareness for the neurological disorder. "Wow, what a coup to have Roger Daltrey involved in this," Andy Simons, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Cure Parkinson's, remarked. "Ian Grant and the Think Loud team are pulling out all the stops to raise funding to find a cure for Parkinson's! Thank you so much on behalf of the 11.8 million people hoping for a cure." Daltrey joins an elite roster of "famous faces" committed to the cause, including bandmate Pete Townshend, Alice Cooper, and Sir Richard Branson. The project is centered around a charity album and a series of musical releases aimed at supporting the UK-based charity Cure Parkinson's. In a major musical contribution to the initiative, the "Superband" Blue Water Giants comprised of members of Procol Harum, Tears for Fears and Simple Minds have announced their new single, "Dangerously in Love," set for release on April 29. The band's connection to the cause is deeply personal; their consultant, Ian Grant, is currently living with Parkinson's. In summer 2025, the late Ozzy Osbourne selected Cure Parkinson's as a primary beneficiary for Black Sabbath's historic farewell show at Villa Park. - Music-News.com, 4/3/26...... Dolly Parton has made a "generational and transformational" donation to the East Tennessee children's hospital that was named in her honor in February. Dolly Parton's Children's Hospital CEO Matt Schaefer says Dolly has "made a generational and transformational commitment to Children's and its mission... and that commitment is something that goes beyond our wildest expectations, that is beyond generous, and will be a lifeline for this mission for now and for years to come." Sevierville, Tenn. native Parton has long made charitable giving tied to children a priority, most famously through her Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which to date has registered more than 3.1 million children for its services, which including gifting more than 314 million books to date. - Billboard, 4/2/26...... Bob Dylan, described by one fan as "guaranteed to zig when you think he'll zag every single time," has baffled fans after posting an Instagram story with a flyer promoting "Lectures From the Grave," an exclusive series on his new Patreon.com account, which costs $5 a month to view. As yet, there are only six posts on Dylan's Patreon, with the first simply an embedded video of a Mahalia Jackson performance, which is followed by three posts featuring audio essays seemingly read aloud by an AI voice. These are about former Vice President Aaron Burr, 19th-century outlaw Frank James, and American folk hero Wild Bill Hickock. There's also a series titled "Letters Never Sent." The sole entry so far features a fictional letter written by Mark Twain and sent to Rudolph Valentino, an Italian actor from the silent film era -- who was 14 years old when Twain died in 1910. The letter ends with Twain's cursive signature, and the post is attributed to the pen name "Herbert Foster." The latest move from Dylan, who has won a Nobel Prize for Literature, has baffled fans, particularly given many of the posts seem to utilize AI. "Bob Dylan AI history patreon just confirms he is in the very top percentile of weirdest/most inexplicable people ever born," wrote one X user after he launched it. His flyer can also be viewed on X/Twitter. Dylan resumed his "Rough And Rowdy Ways" tour on Mar.30) at Waukegan's Genesee Theatre, and will continue until the final announced show in Abilene, Tex. on May 1. - NME, 3/30/26...... Suki Lahav who played violin with Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band in the mid-1970s, has died at the age of 74. The news was confirmed by her son Yonatan Lahav on Apr. 2who wrote on Facebook that his "beloved and beautiful mother" had been "gathered into infinity after a short and hard battle with the cursed disease." "She wrote songs that touched people's hearts," he added. "She was a special woman, smart, pure in heart and loving life. She was the best mom I could ever ask for." Tzruya "Suki" Lahav's spell with the E Street Band was relatively short -- spanning between Oct. 1974 and Mar. 1975 -- but in that time, she contributed to the sessions for Springsteen's second album The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle and its follow-up Born To Run. Among her most notable contributions were on the violin introduction to the latter album's "Jungleland," and on the choir-like vocals on the former's "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," which saw her voice overdubbed several times to imitate the real church choir that failed to show up to the recording session. She played with the group at their shows in late 1974, debuting at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall on Oct. 4, and would join them on stage for any songs requiring violin parts - including "Incident On 57th Street" and their version of Bob Dylan's "I Want You" -- until her final show on March 3 in Washington DC. Shortly afterwards, she moved back to her native Israel and found success as a musician and writer, playing with the Kibbutz Orchestra and writing for other artists. - NME, 4/3/26...... Legendary R&B drummer James Gadson, who backed such artists as Diana Ross, Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye, has died at the age of 86. Mr. Gadson became one of the defining funk, soul, and disco drummers of the 1970s, providing the beats on classics such as Withers' "Lean on Me" and "Use Me," The Jackson 5's "Dancing Machine," and Ross' "Love Hangover." During that decade, he also played on Gaye's "I Want You," Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way," and Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself." As a highly in-demand session player, Mr. Gadson also recorded with The Temptations, Leonard Cohen, Bobby Womack, B.B. King, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Herbie Hancock, Paul McCartney, D'Angelo, Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Lana Del Rey and Harry Styles. He was a wonderful man," his wife Barbara told Rolling Stone on Apr. 2. "He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and one hell of a drummer." - Billboard, 4/4/26...... Christopher North, the keyboardist co-founder of the 1970s/'80s LA-based yacht rock band Ambrosia, died on Mar. 30 after a battle with cancer. He was 75. "Fans of Ambrosia, we honor the legendary life and career of our dearest family member Christopher North, the 'Hammond B3 King' whose sonic architecture defined a generation of progressive and soft rock," the band posted on Facebook. "A founding member since 1970, he was a keyboard wizard who brought an unmatched intensity and emotional depth to every performance," they added. Born in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 1951, North played in a series of high school bands before forming Ambrosia in Los Angeles in 1970 with singer/guitarist David Pack, bassist Joe Puerta and drummer Burleigh Drummond. The group released their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album in 1975, which included the soft prog rock opening track "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," featuring lyrics cribbed from a poem in Kurt Vonnegut's postmodern 1963 sci-fi novel Cat's Cradle; the album reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and the song made it to No. 63 on the Hot 100 pop singles chart. Like their debut, 1976's Somewhere I've Never Travelled toed the line between layered Beach Boys-like vocal harmonies, prog rock flourishes and gentle melodies, peaking at No. 79 on the Billboard 200. North's keys and backing vocals helped anchor the band's third studio album, 1978's Life Beyond L.A. -- their album chart peak at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 -- and their fourth, breakthrough effort, 1980's One Eighty. It was an apt title given the group's shift into a more radio-friendly pop sound on such hits as their No. 3 "Biggest Part of Me" and their No. 13 followup, "You're the Only Woman (You & I)" on the LP that scored three Grammy nominations, including best pop vocal group; the album peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200. The group's final album, 1982's more prog-leaning Road Island, only managed to reach No. 115 on the chart and spawned just one charting single, the bouncy pop tune "How Can You Love Me," which topped out at No. 86 on the Hot 100. Ambrosia broke up in 1982 and then reunited in 1989 with all four original members. The have continued to tour ever since, with North stepping aside for a period in 2024 to get treatment for throat cancer. No official cause of death had been revealed. Back in Oc. 2025, lead singer David Pack sent well wishes to North -- his friend since their late teens -- after he reported that the band's co-founder was recovering after being struck by an "out of control speeding car while walking into a restaurant." At the time, Pack said North was "fighting for this life" after "bravely surviving cancer." - Billboard, 3/31/26.