Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on June 19th, 2026

'70s music icons Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen were among the famous artists and celebrities helping to launch the new presidential museum of former Pres. Barack Obama on June 18. The grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago also featured a galaxy of other superstars, including performances and appearances from U2 members Bono and The Edge, Christina Aguilera, Common, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, and The Roots. The $850 million Center was financed through private donations and sits on a 19.3-acre campus in the city's Jackson Park. It officially opens to the public on June 19, "Juneteenth," with a series of celebrations and events planned for the public throughout the weekend. - Billboard, 6/17/26...... The Clash bassist Paul Simonon's smashed bass guitar will go on display at a new branch of the London Museum at Smithfield Market on Nov. 28. Simonon's Fender Precision bass was damaged by the musician during a concert at The Palladium in New York City on Sept. 20, 1979, and photographed by legendary rock photog Pennie Smith. According to Simonon, he became frustrated at the venue bouncers who were not allowing the audience to stand for the show. "That frustrated me to the point that I destroyed this bass guitar," he explained in a 2011 interview with Fender. "Unfortunately you always sort of tend to destroy the things you love." The bass went on to feature on one of the genre's most recognizable LP covers for the band's London Calling album, and was housed at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many years. The London Museum's regeneration of the historic Smithfields Market site has been several years in the making and was announced in 2016, and will house many other notable musical items, including tablas belonging to British Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra, the genius behind cult favorite album Punjabi Disco. - Billboard, 6/18/26...... Bette Midler and Patti Smith were among the performers at an all-star "Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert For the First Amendment" event at New York's Town Hall on June 14. The gathering organized by the Committee For the First Amendment -- a group originally formed in 1947 during the McCarthy Red-scare era -- featured a fiery speech from actor/activist Jane Fonda took aim at the blockbuster Paramount-WBD mega-merger and what she described as government efforts to silence free speech. "Right now, the government and its cronies [are] routinely violating its First Amendment to silence artists," Fonda said before enumerating a list of actions taken by the Pres. Donald Trump administration and its right-wing supporters. "Shuttering institutions like the Kennedy Center, defunding museums and the National Endowment of the Arts, and banning books, canceling TV, hosts who speak out. It's really bad. And it's being allowed by cowardly corporations. I'm not gonna name names right now. But I am honored now to pass the mic to artists and activists who continue to speak up and sing out so that we might be inspired to rise up." Midler said she was overjoyed to be part of a community that's "so bright, so intelligent, so well-meaning so desperate for justice," before performing a fiddle-flecked cover of Woody Guthrie's "All You Fascists," adding in some of her own topical lyrics. "Hey there all you fascists, let me put you straight/ When you come for the rest of us we'll fight you at the gate/ And you will lose, you fascists bound to lose/ We'll battle ICE together until they cut and run/ Just like in Minneapolis and when the midterms come/ You're bound to lose, you fascists bound to lose," she sang before a performance later by Smith, who sang her 1988 protest classic "People Have the Power." Among the other artists and activists who spoke at the event were Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, Lily Gladstone, RuPaul's Drag Race's Miss Peppermint, Joy Reid, and others. The full event can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 6/15/26...... Long-lost footage of The Beatles performing on the BBC's Top of the Pops program has reportedly been found and will be restored. The Beatles appeared on the show on Mar. 19, 1964 to record live performances of "Can't Buy Me Love" and "You Can't Do That," the A-side and B-side of a single released the following day which went on to become their fourth UK Number One. However like many early episodes of Top of the Pops, the footage was not preserved by the BBC and it has not been seen for decades. Now, the UK film preservation group Film Is Fabulous have said that they were presented with a 35mm BBC negative of the performance at the recent British Film Collectors' Convention in Surrey. They claim the family of a deceased former industry professional passed the precious film to them, and they will work to restore the footage and return it to the BBC Archives. "Discussions will also be held with other parts of the corporation to ensure the content is made available to a wide audience," Film Is Fabulous wrote on Facebook. Describing the footage, the group said: "Recorded on the 19th March 1964, at the BBC's Television Theatre (since renamed The Shepherd's Bush Empire), in London, the inserts beautifully captured the Fab Four at the height of Beatlemania. Passages of the recording show the studio, the technicians, and the make-up ladies. There were four takes of the first song, 'Can't Buy Me Love', with two being aborted because of technical errors. During breaks, the Beatles openly joked, and could be seen dancing to amuse themselves. The other song, 'You Can't Do That', had two takes. During the second of these recordings John Lennon pulled a funny face when the camera came in for a 'close-up'. It's an amusing piece of Beatle history." Footage of the performance can be streamed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 6/18/26...... A series of events has been organized to celebrate what would have been the 80th birthday of Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett this fall. Barrett -- who passed away in July 2006, aged 60 -- will be celebrated through a spectacular live concert in the UK at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Oct. 10, when Kula Shaker will headline the event, supported by the likes of Soft Machine, Men on the Border, Radhika and the Pink Floyd tribute band Punk Floyd. "Eighty years after his birth, Syd Barrett's influence remains as powerful as ever," said event co-organizer Neil Jones. "His music, creativity and unique vision continue to inspire artists and audiences across generations. It's especially fitting that this celebration takes place in Cambridge, the city at the heart of his story. Bringing together live music, art and a new album on World Mental Health Day is a fitting tribute to one of the city's most extraordinary cultural figures," he added. The anniversary will also be marked with the release of a new tribute album on Oct. 9, called Clowns and Jugglers, celebrating Barrett's creative legacy and his enduring influence in the music business. It will feature brand-new studio recordings, previously unreleased material and standout live performances, alongside new interpretations of some of Syd and Pink Floyd's most iconic songs, while the album sleeve also features one of his most iconic images, created by Mark Wilkinson. A major exhibition exploring Barrett's life, art and cultural impact will also run from Oct. 3-9 at Cambridge Openspace arts venue and will showcase original paintings and sketches by Barrett, alongside prints of larger works. All proceeds will be donated to mental health charities. Barrett grew up in Cambridge and adopted the nickname "Syd" in his teens. He was the principal songwriter and driving creative force in the early days of Pink Floyd. But just when the band's career was taking off, Barrett's drug use and mental health issues resulted in increasingly erratic behaviour. It led to his departure from the band and his eventual return to Cambridge, where he lived a quiet life and was happiest when painting. He died in 2006. - Music-News.com/NME, 6/18/26...... The 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be the newest movie experience coming to the Las Vegas venue the Sphere. As it did with The Wizard of Oz, Sphere Entertainment says it will use its "advanced technologies to enhance" the original 1975 film for the venue. "Since The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered in 1975, it redefined audience participation and became a cultural phenomenon. With Sphere, we have the opportunity to take that spirit of immersion to an entirely new level," said Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment, in a statement. In the case of The Wizard of Oz, Sphere used AI to expand the film's visuals to better fit the venue's curved, 160,000-square-foot screen. It also digitally restored them using an AI-powered "super resolution tool" to render the images in "ultra-ultra-high-definition," according to Google, which worked with Sphere on the project. Due to the expanded canvas, "composites" of characters were also added to some scenes in which they were originally absent. - Billboard, 6/16/26...... Interviewed by the UK show Sunday Sitdown, Mick Jagger opened up about the Rolling Stones' new album Foreign Tongues and expressed his enthusiasm once more to hit the road. "I'd love to. I really want to and I'm ready to go," he replied when asked if the band were planning on announcing more tour dates. Jagger also suggested that fans won't have long to wait to see them live, and while a tour may not be planned for 2026, they are talking about plans for 2027. "I don't think we're gonna do shows this year, but hopefully we'll do shows next year," he said. As for the sound of the new record, the frontman said he "hopes" people see it as a "classic Stones album", but is certain it has "got something for everyone" across the 14 tracks. The Stones' 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues hits stores on July 10 and will feature guest appearances from Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and the band's late drummer Charlie Watts. On June 18, the band announced that the album's second single will be "Jealous Lover," and drop on June 26. Shifting away from the upbeat, driving pop-rock energy of their previous single, "In The Stars," the new track leans heavily into a soulful, deep R&B groove. The song is anchored by a captivating, distinctive falsetto lead vocal performance from Jagger, with Winwood adding a warm, retro texture to the soundscape with his performance on the Rhodes piano and organ. - NME/Music-News.com, 6/16/26...... The Who frontman Roger Daltrey was presented with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award at a ceremony in London on June 18. The accolade is reserved for music creators who have made pioneering contributions to the industry, placing Daltrey in the company of previous recipients such as Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones. Knighted for his services to music and charity, Daltrey was celebrated for a career spanning electrifying rock operas like Tommy and decades of tireless philanthropic curation for the Teenage Cancer Trust. "Roger's cultural impact is legendary," stated ASCAP Chairman and President Paul Williams. "His extraordinary music career has been defined by his unstoppable energy, passion, authenticity and a voice that has shaped the sound of rock and roll." The invite-only event recognized the British creative minds behind some of the year's biggest global hits in music, film, and television, and during the evening acclaimed actor Idris Elba was presented with the ASCAP Creative Voice Award, an honor celebrating members whose career achievements seamlessly blend creative spirit with community advocacy. - Music-News.com, 6/18/26...... Rod Stewart is in hot water with some fans after attending a World Cup game just hours after abruptly cancelling a concert. On June 13, the 81-year-old rocker was spotted cheering for Scotland in the stands at a World Cup game, just hours after cancelling a concert in California due to health reasons. Just a day before, Stewart's team shared a statement to his Instagram Stories, detailing that "on the advice of his doctors and following a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take the stage this evening." Stewart later followed up with his own statement less than an hour before a California gig was scheduled to start, adding: "Following treatment, I'm feeling much better, but my voice is not. I'm very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans." Then, over the weekend, he shared a video of himself flying to Boston in a private jet alongside his sons. "Here we are flying off to Boston to see Scotland in the World Cup," Stewart said in the Instagram video. "It's been 28 years, so these kids, I've told them about it, but they've never been. I've been to seven World Cups." They ended the video with a high-energy chant of "No Scotland, no party," sparking criticism from some fans in the comment section, given he'd cancelled the aforementioned show in Chula Vista less than an hour before he was set to take the stage. Later that day, Stewart was seen throwing his arms in the air in the stands as he celebrated Scotland's victory. Stewart has over 20 dates remaining in the US this year, and in a recent interview on TalkSport, he looked ahead to next year, hinting that he is considering calling it a day after one last UK run. "Then I'm touring the UK next year, doing The O2, and that'll probably be it, I think," he said. "I'll have to do something new, come on your show more often, maybe." - NME, 6/15/26...... Bob Dylan has given his insight into the positives and negatives of aging, saying you "outlive the clocks that have been chasing you." The iconic singer/songwriter contributed to a piece in the New York Times on the occasion of Pres. Donald Trump's 80th birthday on June 14, with a selection of octogenarians giving their perspective on what it means to hit that milestone. Dylan, 85, opted not to address Trump directly or reference his politics, but instead gave a thoughtful reflection on his own experiences. "The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you," he wrote. "It's freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don't chase the parade anymore. You're an old king from some vanished country. You're harder to program." He also pointed to some negatives, adding: "The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it. Also, nothing surprises you. It sounds like a luxury but it's not, and also you've run out of illusions." Dylan continued: "The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you've got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered. When you're young you think that time moves forward. At 80 you know that it doesn't, it stands still. We're the ones that move." - NME, 6/14/26...... Six decades after its initial release, The Kinks have officially broken the historic record for the longest gap between UK number-one singles with a rerelease of their 1966 classic, "Sunny Afternoon." The tune has re-entered the Official UK Charts at Number 1 on the 7" Vinyl Singles Chart, while simultaneously clinching the Number 4 spot on the Official Physical Singles Chart and Number 12 on the Official Singles Sales Chart. Originally written by frontman Ray Davies as the lead single for the band's fourth studio album, Face to Face, the satirical tale of lost wealth famously turned tax-time blues into a baroque pop anthem. The track topped the national chart for two weeks during the summer of 1966, ultimately becoming an era-defining snapshot of wry British songwriting. Pitchfork Media later cemented its legacy by naming it one of the greatest songs of the 1960s. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the track, the band has issued a specialized, limited-edition 7" vinyl package featuring the remastered original mono recording alongside its classic B-side, "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." The exclusive, sunshine-colored physical release features a commemorative written message from legendary English football hero Sir Geoff Hurst, who famously scored a hat-trick during the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. The monumental chart achievement adds to a long list of accolades for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, who have earned an Ivor Novello Award, secured four certified Gold albums, and amassed over 50 million record sales worldwide throughout their influential career. - Music-News.com, 6/15/26...... TV personality Gene Shalit, the Today show film critic and arts commentator whose pouf of ebony hair, bushy mustache, funhouse eyeglasses and floppy bow ties -- not to mention his groan-inducing puns -- made him a kooky and welcome presence on morning television for decades, died on June 12. He was 100. "He passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life," his family told NBC News in a statement. Born on Mar. 25, 1926, in New York, Mr. Shalit was raised in New Jersey, where his father purchased a drug store. Starting his career as a print journalist, he was the senior film critic for Look and wrote the "What's Happening?" page for Ladies Home Journal for a dozen years. He also authored articles published The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, TV Guide, Seventeen, Glamour and McCall's. He reached national fame as an on-air personality for the Today show, where he interspersed his entertainment coverage with offbeat in-the-field reports and improvisational hijinks on set. He started as a part-time Today show contributor in 1970 before moving to a full-time role three years later. He earned national fame as the program's go-to movie analyst, offering his take on summer blockbusters, awards contenders and other big-screen projects until his retirement in 2010. He stood out from the broadcast television crowd with his colorful bowties and puffy hair. He often studded his reviews in the Today show "Critics Corner" with puns and other cheeky turns of phrase, endearing him to millions of viewers. "The Silence of the Lambs may be all wool and a yard wide, but it makes a terrific yarn," he said in his review of the 1991 horror classic, which won best picture at the Academy Awards the following year. He rarely minced words when a movie left him cold. In panning X-Men, he said the first entry in the hit superhero franchise "should not be taken seriously. In fact, it should be taken with two aspirin." Judd Apatow's Funny People is "passable," he said -- "speaking colonically." In addition to surveying Hollywood releases, Mr. Shalit interviewed some of the biggest stars of the day, from Oprah Winfrey to Harrison Ford. His questions ranged from the serious to the silly, such as when he asked Kermit the Frog whether he planned to marry Miss Piggy. In more recent years, Mr. Shalit largely retreated from the public eye. He was married to Nancy Lewis for 28 years, from 1950 until her death in 1978. - NBC News, 6/12/26...... Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Walter Parazaider, a co-founding member of Chicago, died on June 17 after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's. He was 81 years old. His wife, JacLynn, told TMZ.com that she was beside her beloved husband's side when he passed at 2:10 a.m. on June 17. His daughter Felicia Helen Parazaider also confirmed his death in a Facebook post. "My father, my hero, is gone," she wrote in part. "There's no more pain. No more struggle. This was the worst six years. The hardest season of my life. And I'm so grateful that my dad is not suffering anymore. I love you poppy, my Pal." Known for his skills as a saxophonist and ability to play multiple instruments, Mr. Parazaider helped found Chicago in 1967 with his friends Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and Danny Seraphine in the city after which the band was named -- although the group originally called themselves The Big Thing followed by Chicago Transit Authority before shortening the latter to one word. The lineup would change over the years, but Mr. Parazaider was a constant member of the band up until his retirement in 2018. He and his bandmates scored a multitude of hits with Chicago, including three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s: 1976's "If You Leave Me Now," 1982's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and 1988's "Look Away." The band also notched five Billboard 200-topping albums, with Chicago V spending nine weeks atop the chart in 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Mr. Parazaider's death comes about six years after the musician was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He was one of the estimated 6.9 million people in the United States who live with the disease, which is the most common cause of dementia and involves a buildup of proteins that causes brain cells to die over time, according to the Mayo Clinic. - Billboard, 6/17/26.

Alice Cooper has thanked a man in his home state of Arizona with a signed copy of his latest album after the man found Cooper's credit card in a gas pump. After Cooper had been golfing in the Payson, Ariz. area, he'd lost his card at a gas station after leaving it at a pump. It was later found by a local named Geoff Guy, who somehow managed to get it back to the veteran shock-rocker, and was rewarded with a signed copy of his latest album, The Revenge Of Alice Cooper. After finding the card, Guy's wife suggested he call Cooper's Phoenix-based charity, the Alice Cooper Solid Rock Teen Center, and, after doing so, he was able to get it back to Cooper on June 8, right before the rocker set off on his European tour. "The guy is a legend for people of my generation, that's for sure, and I'm really glad I could help get it back to him," Guy told a local TV station. Cooper and Guy appeared side by side in a local news segment, with Cooper stopping for pictures and thanking Guy for making "a good call" right before he set off for his tour. The tour kick-off follows Cooper announcing details of a new "definitive autobiography" titled Devil On My Shoulder, and confirming plans for a new Q&A book tour for later in 2026. Guy was interviewed about the incident on the Chaz and AJ podcast, which can be streamed on Instagram. - New Musical Express, 6/14/26...... Carly Simon has revealed the first single on her upcoming first album in 20 years will be "Howl," a letter to a friend whose lover has just left them. "'Howl' lives in that space between betrayal and forgiveness, where anger has to be voiced before it can be released," the 82-year-old singer/songwriter said in a press release about the track. "It's about letting the frustration out, so it doesn't sit and simmer. The song begins in anger, but it moves toward forgiveness and speaks to any situation where trust has been broken." The lyrics include the words, "Howl like the wind/Roar like the river/Wail like the rain/Cry, shout, and shiver," before it says, "Call love a liar." Simon wrote and recorded her new album, titled Comes in Waves, at her studio in Martha's Vineyard. It contains nine new songs, plus two songs she had written previously and revisited. Her children, son Ben Taylor, and daughter, Sally Taylor, both feature on the album, and Sally produced the artwork for the album. Simon's label says the theme of Comes in Waves is "resetting oneself." The album "does not attempt to recreate the past," according to a statement, but "continues the conversation Simon has been having with her audience for decades, one grounded in truth, vulnerability, and a refusal to simplify emotion. It is a reminder of an artist still fully engaged with her craft, still asking questions, and still finding new ways to articulate what it means to live, to love, and to let go." Comes In Waves will drop on Aug. 14. - Music-News.com, 6/12/26...... Michael, the box office smash Michael Jackson biopic that premiered on Apr. 24, has surpassed the 2018 Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, crossing $911.9 million worldwide as it continues its global rollout. The Lionsgate and Universal co-production has surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody's total gross with $358.6 million at the domestic box office and $553.3 million internationally -- with Universal generating $540.5 million of the international total after acquiring foreign theatrical and ancillary rights. With the film opening in Japan on June 14, Michael is expected to push past $1 billion worldwide in 2026, joining the company of Universal's Super Mario Galaxy Movie. By comparison, Bohemian Rhapsody grossed $216.6 million domestically and $694.3 million internationally for a $910.9 million global total. Both films were produced by Graham King, meaning King has now broken his own all-time box office record for music biopics. Michael's other records include the largest global opening weekend ever for a music biopic, the highest-grossing domestic biopic of all time, and the most successful biopic ever in France, surpassing La Vie en Rose. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan and with Michael's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the titular role, the film was forced to undertake $50 million in reshoots after the Jackson estate identified a key issue with a plot point in the screenplay concerning one of Jackson's accusers, who was not meant to be dramatised in the film. Meanwhile, MJ child abuse accusers James Safechuck and Wade Robson have been given a new trial date for 2028. The pair, who appeared in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland where they detailed their alleged abuse by Jackson, allege that they were befriended by the singer and abused at his Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., between the ages of 7 and 10. They also accused employees of his companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, of helping enable and conceal the alleged abuse. Robson, a choreographer and director, and Safechuck, a writer, actor, and director, sued MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures for negligence, breach of duty, and intentional infliction of emotional distress in separate lawsuits in 2013 and 2014, respectively. After consolidating their cases in 2024, the two men and their lawyer, John Carpenter, previously wanted their case heard before the release of the recently released Michael biopic, but the case faced a series of delays and was previously set for trial in October 2027. On June 12, a judge in California agreed to set a new trial date in the sexual abuse case brought by the men. Judge Michael E. Whitaker set the new trial date for Feb. 14, 2028, but he ordered everyone back for another hearing in September to keep the case on track. The Jackson estate has adamantly and repeatedly denied that he abused either of the boys, and has emphasised that Robson testified at Jackson's 2005 criminal trial that he had not been abused, and Safechuck said the same to authorities. - Billboard/NME, 6/14/26...... On June 10 the music publishing and talent management company Primary Wave announced it has entered into a new partnership with the estate of late '70s disco icon Donna Summer. The deal will see Primary Wave work alongside Summer's estate to expand the reach of her song catalog and recordings. It also includes her name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. Through the agreement, the company will work closely with the estate on new marketing, branding digital and sync opportunities, along with film and TV projects. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to a press release, Summer, a primary force in bringing disco to the mainstream, has sold more than 100 million albums globally. Her catalog includes 17 studio albums, three of which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200. That includes 1978's Bad Girls, which spent six weeks atop the tally. She also enjoyed four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, including "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "MacArthur Park" and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," and placed a total of 14 songs in that chart's top 10. The five-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025. She died in 2012 at age 63. - Billboard, 6/10/26...... Speaking to reporters on the red carpet after attending the 55th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony on June 11, John Fogerty said he thought "whoever that Bob Dylan guy was" would be a great fit to portray him in a planned biopic of the legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival co-founder and frontman. Fogerty, of course, was referring to the hot young actor Timothee Chalamet, who took on the role of the iconic singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed biopic A Complete Unknown. Earning a BAFTA nod and eight Oscar nominations, the film saw Chalamet perform some of Dylan's biggest hits himself, rather than mime them. Fogerty said he was "really excited" about the biopic of his life which is currently in the works, with the script currently being written. "That's such an honou, to get a movie made about you," he said. "I'm thrilled and happy that this is finally going to come out. I think they're working on it. That's about all I can say." When asked who he'd want to play him in a film about him, Fogerty quipped, "I used to joke, 'Oh, Brad Pitt!'. Speaking to another reporter the same night, the "Centerfield" singer was asked about his dream casting, and said he'd pick: "Whoever that Bob Dylan guy was. That would be great." The musician kept details of the new film largely under wraps, but told The Hollywood Reporter he'd be content with whoever got cast. "Years ago, probably in the middle of all the dark times, I would tell people, 'Someday they're going to make a movie about me, but I'll be too old to play myself,'" he said. "It's kind of like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz singing about someday.... Whoever they find that makes it work, I'll be happy with." - NME, 6/14/26...... Speaking of Bob Dylan, the rock bard has delved into his The Basement Tapes LP once again, this time playing "I Shall Be Released" for the first time in 18 years at a recent concert. During his gig at Oregon's Cuthbert Amphitheatre on June 9, Dylan brought back the song he last played at a 2008 concert in Warsaw. He wrote the track in 1967, and he and the Band recorded it during their "Basement Tapes sessions." The Band also recorded their own version of the song without Dylan, and they used it as the closing track on their 1968 debut Music From Big Pink. It comes after he opened a previous Washington gig on June 6 with anotherBasement Tapes cut, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." The song, which he hasn't played in concert since 2012, saw him joined on vocals by his guitarists Doug Lancio and Bob Britt, a callback to the Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton era in the late '90s to early '00s, when it was far more common for his bandmates to sing with him. - NME, 6/13/26...... Paul McCartney has paid tribute to his artist friend David Hockney, who passed away peacefully at his home in the UK on June 11 at the age of 88. The Bradford native died after a career that saw him lauded as one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the 20th century. A defining figure in British art, his works included "A Bigger Splash" and "Portrait Of An Artist (Pool With Two Figures)." One of the friends he made over the years was Beatles legend McCartney, who has shared a personal tribute to him on his Instagram page. Alongside a photo of the two arm in arm, McCartney wrote: "David Hockney was a friend and an incredible painter. I knew him during the 1960s and kept a friendship going till he died on Thursday, the 11th of June. He was very clever witty and fun to be with." "His paintings often gave off a feeling of great joy," he added. "Nancy and I enjoyed visiting his studios in California where we took a drive along Mulholland Drive which he made famous all over again in his sensational paintings. Or in his London studio. The rooms were filled with paintings. Often some of the most recent pictures that he had done. He would talk about them and his very particular views on art. He felt that it was important to see correctly. He wasn't a great fan of perspective and was always involved in inventing new ways to view the world. His many paintings, drawings, films and other media like iPad drawing he took readily to and mastered." Meanwhile, Sir Paul has defended the lyrics to "Momma Gets By," the closing track of his acclaimed new album The Boys of Dungeon Lane. The song concerns a put-upon wife who shoulders the burden of family life while her feckless husband shirks his responsibilities. "Momma gets by while papa gets high," McCartney sings, "She makes enough to raise a family." Later, he adds: "Even though he's complicated, she takes it in her stride / What are his silly faults compared to what she feels inside?" Certain corners of the internet and music press have questioned the song's gender politics, with one fan writing on Reddit: "It's a nice melody, lovely string arrangement, but the lyrics and message that it's ok to have a deadbeat drug addict absentee husband / co parent if you love him? Really odd, and so impersonal!" Speaking to UK comedian Rob Brydon onstage at The Roundhouse in north London on June 10, McCartney explained: "Sometimes you write songs about somebody you know, or an experience that you've had. And sometimes you just make 'em up 'cause you're in a more theatrical mood. I imagined this [track] like a play. I don't know the characters, but I'm imagining the woman and then the song is told from the perspective of the kid. So it just kind of unfolded itself. I was imagining the musical Porgy and Bess and that sort of thing. It's like a little theatrical story; a little musical theatre moment about this woman." He continued: "Some people would say, 'Oh, she's a bit of a sucker 'cause the guy's a bit of a waster.' But for me she's a very strong woman and it explains that in the song. I'm very proud of her and women like her." As the crowd cheered, McCartney added: "There's a lot of strong women out there." - NME, 6/13/26...... Queen drummer Roger Taylor has announced his seventh solo album, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World, will be arriving Sept.18. Marking his first full-length release since 2021's No. 3 UK LP Outsider, the drummer, songwriter and vocalist has launched the album with its first single, "Come On Summer (It's Party Time)," featuring a vibrant performance from South Africa's Ndlovu Youth Choir, who famously went viral for their Zulu-language rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. The album, recorded largely by Taylor himself with long-time collaborator Joshua J. Macrae and members of his touring band, explores what he calls the tension between the world's beauty and its escalating turmoil. He said: "There is a theme what a beautiful world we live in, don't f--- it up. The violence in the world seems to be as bad as it ever was but kindness is very important. It seems to be forgotten quite a lot." Although not a concept album, the record threads together Taylor's reflections on global conflict, environmental damage and political unrest, while still leaning into optimism and the "eclecticism" that has defined his solo work. The Ndlovu Youth Choir appear on three tracks -- a collaboration Taylor describes as transformative: "They're just wonderful it gives the songs a whole new dimension." The album also includes an emotional cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," which Taylor calls "one of the greatest ballads ever written." Taylor will embark on a short UK tour behind the new album -- his only UK shows of 2026 - performing with the same band that joined him on the Outsider tour. The run begins Sept. 21 in Newcastle before heading to Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, Swansea and London's Roundhouse, where Taylor last appeared as a guest of Foo Fighters in 2011. It wraps on Sept. 29 in Swansea. - Music-News.com, 6/10/26...... Bruce Springsteen has apologized to U2 frontman Bono for refusing to license "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" for a new advertisement for the clothing brand GAP in partnership with Bono's AIDS foundation (RED). While presenting Springsteen with the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award at Tribeca Festival in New York on June 13, the Bono recalled asking the Boss to license the 2007 track after he'd joined forces with the clothing brand for the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, which raised money to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. "That was a big mistake," Springsteen said, drawing laughs. "I should have said yes." He called the song one of his "personal favorites" and one that the "audience doesn't really care" about. "That was just a song that I love," he continued. "Damn it, I still think back: 'Bono asked you to put this thing on a commercial on television.' I should have f---ing done it! People would hear it like a hit, you know? So I have to apologize." At the beginning of the event, Tribeca Festival founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal introduced Bono, who then heaped praise on the New Jersey rocker. "Bruce Springsteen is America," Bono said. "Bruce made poetry from the voices of the people and set that poetry to music. We honor him tonight as a musician and poet and as an activist and a patriot." In conversation, Bono and Springsteen talked about bringing political resistance to the masses with Springsteen's "Land Of Hope And Dreams" tour, throughout which he has used his time on stage to mount criticisms of the Donald Trump regime. It was prompted by the killing of two Minneapolis citizens by ICE agents earlier in the year, with the Boss saying that US citizens are "living through some very dark times" as the "American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged as never before." Fan-shot video of Springsteen wrapping up the event by performing "Land of Hope and Dreams" can be viewed on Instagram. - NME, 6/14/26...... New Wave legends DEVO and The B-52s are set to perform at London's O2 on June 20, 2026, followed the next evening with a show at Manchester's AO Arena. The two UK dates come as an extension to their "Cosmic De-Evolution Tour," which has already seen them take to stages across the US and Canada. The two groups say they will rotate who tops the bill each night. "We keep trying to fight about who gets to be the opening band so we can go out to the restaurant after the show," said DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh. Joining the two bands at the London and Manchester shows will be Scottish punk legends The Rezillos and fellow New Wave artist Lene Lovich. - NME, 6/13/26...... In a new interview with Vulture magazine, Paul Stanley says KISS' secret weapon has always been their larger-than-life personas. The rock icon says the face paint-wearing group have spent five decades as "Batman with a guitar and Superman with a Marshall amplifier," a comparison he made while looking back at the moments that turned KISS into one of rock's most enduring acts. Stanley pointed to the release of their raucous 1975 live album Alive! as the moment everything shifted. "Alive! was such a turning point for us," he said. "We wanted you to be in the crowd and have a sense of empowerment to hear the noise of people next to you between songs, because technology doesn't really allow for multisensory overload." The album, he added, finally showcased "the power and commitment of us as a band." He believes the band's visual identity -- the makeup and ageless personas -- has been just as crucial to their longevity as the music itself. Fans who see KISS today, he said, still feel like they're watching the same superhero figures they first encountered in the '70s. He added: "Part of what has been our strength over the years is looking the same onstage. The idea of being omnipotent, of being ageless, is incredibly powerful So in that way, we're timeless superheroes -- Batman with a guitar and Superman with a Marshall amplifier." Another way they are securing their legacy is with their digital avatar show. "There's no reason for us to live within the boundaries of other rock bands," the musician recently said on the Rock of Nations podcast. "They live within those boundaries because that's all they can be. And it's great, but we are not that -- we're KISS." - NME, 6/12/26...... The Rolling Stones have announced they're teaming up with Marvel Studios to launch a special vinyl collector series for their new album Foreign Tongues. For a limited time, a special collector's release of the album will be on offer -- replacing the original artwork with Marvel-inspired designs. There are five variants on offer, one shows the Hulk carrying a truck with the Stones' iconic lips logo on the side, one shows Spider-Man crafting the logo out of webs, and another shows Captain America crashing through a wall covered in the design. Other variations include Thor holding his hammer, with the lips logo being formed by lightning around him, and one of Wolverine standing in front of the design. Each design has been designed by Marvel illustrators especially for this release, and they can be pre-ordered at therollingstonesshop.com. Foreign Tongues is due July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. Meanwhile, Stones frontman gave a surprise impromptu performance at the Half Moon pub in St Clements in Oxford on June 7, performing as part of the pub's weekly folk session. Jagger was in attendance with his partner, former American ballerina Melanie Hamrick, and they were there as guests of Oriel College. The college confirmed that the couple had drinks and dinner at the college, before heading off to the pub with Stones keyboard player Matt Clifford and Oriel Politics academic Robert Cheah. There, they delivered an impromptu performance of traditional song "Handsome Molly," which Jagger covered on his 1993 solo album Wandering Spirit. Speaking to BBC News about the surprise appearance, an employee at the Half Moon said that they were "delighted" by Jagger taking to the stage, and added that the venue "prides itself on its authentic atmosphere and welcoming community." "Our Sunday folk session has been going for many years and is open to everyone -- whether you're a beginner player or an international rock star," they added. "You never know what to expect at the Half Moon." Footage of the performance has been shared on Instagram. NME, 6/11/26...... As Taylor Swift prepares to wed fiance Travis Kelce in one of the biggest celebrity events of the season, the current reigning pop queen performed a duet with Randy Newman at the world premiere of Toy Story 5 in Los Angeles. Before a screening of the fifth instalment of Pixar's Toy Story film series, the music superstar took to the stage to sing "I Knew It, I Knew You" at a piano. In addition, Swift was joined by the Toy Story franchise's long-running composer Newman for a rendition of his 1995 track, "You've Got a Friend in Me." The theme song has been incorporated into the soundtracks of all of the Toy Story films, starting with the 1995 original. Swift, who recently became the youngest woman inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, thanked all the artists and animators who worked so hard on creating the feature. Swift's performance can be viewed on YouTube. - Music-News.com, 6/10/26...... A dystopian sci-fi movie based on the iconic 1973 Emerson, Lake & Palmer track "Karn Evil 9" is in development. The Radar Pictures-produced movie has secured a director and screenwriter, and reportedly has the cooperation of the band's management and surviving members. As reported by Variety, the film draws its name and thematic core from "Karn Evil 9," the sprawling half-hour track from the band's 1973 album, Brain Salad Surgery. Written by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and lyricist Peter Sinfield, the piece fused rock, classical motifs, and futuristic dread in a way that had no clear precedent in popular music. Its album cover, designed by H.R. Giger, became an enduring image of the era. The official synopsis hints that the story complements contemporary anxieties. "When Zak, a brilliant but troubled musical prodigy, is invited to perform at a major music festival simulcast in the world's most popular video game, he is shocked to discover the game's mysterious creator may be using him to promote a terrifying new technology. In a harrowing twist, our hero comes to believe that this technology may be of inestimable benefit to humanity. And he is hunted by ruthless, anti-technology mercenaries." Isaac Ezban, the Mexican filmmaker behind the acclaimed thriller The Incident, has signed on to direct, while Tim Hedrick, a veteran writer on Avatar: The Last Airbender, has penned the screenplay. Ezban described the project in vivid terms. "This is, quite literally, a miracle of a movie and just the kind of movie I had always dreamt of directing," he said in a statement. Hedrick argued that "Karn Evil 9" functions as a cultural precursor to landmark sci-fi films. "'Karn Evil 9' predates The Matrix and The Terminator, but it anticipates both of those films, as well as our present moment of technological chaos. I can't wait to explore this world." - ComingSoon.net, 6/12/26.