Classic Hits

Fans on a Beatles tour of Liverpool got quite a surprise when they had a chance encounter with Paul McCartney.

Neil Morton, who drives the Magical Mystery Tour Bus around Liverpool, tells the BBC that during a recent tour, the bus pulled up to find McCartney at a traffic light. It happened at the very moment McCartney was on a video call with his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.

“It was surreal,” said Morton. “I had pulled up at the traffic lights on Hope Street when who should I see – Sir Paul with Ringo on Facetime. He waved to us and everybody took photos. The passengers could not believe it.”

Unfortunately for fans, Morton said, “Nobody really got chance to speak with him.”

According to the BBC, McCartney was back in Liverpool to honor Adolescence actor Stephen Graham with a companionship from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the school he co-founded.

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Queen is looking back at the past for a new series of posters.

The band is releasing a new collection of replica vintage Queen posters, with the first installment in the series featuring four posters.

The first set includes Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You and Queen Are Coming posters. There’s also a 1980 concert poster with an image of the band, and frontman Freddie Mercury in a jumping position that makes it appear as though he’s floating onstage.

All posters feature an official Queen embossed stamp and cost $50. They are available for preorder now, with shipping set for Aug. 15. More info can be found at QueenOnlineStore.com.

This isn’t the first time Queen has released a vintage replica poster. In 2025 they released a replica Queen Live Aid poster for the 40th anniversary of the all-star benefit concert. Proceeds from that poster were split between The Band Aid Trust and The Mercury Phoenix Trust.

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Jimmy Buffett passed away in 2023, but his music lives on.

Mac McAnally, longtime member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, tells Billboard that he and his Coral Reefer bandmate Michael Utley have been working on a posthumous Buffett release.

McAnally tells Billboard the album will include songs that are “for the most part, things that have never been out,” or they were “cut for a one-off purpose, a TV episode or a movie.”

“The oldest of these tracks is, like, 2003, and the newest is maybe four years ago or so,” McAnally says. “None of those things have ever been on a Jimmy Buffett album. We’re pretty excited.”

This won’t be the first Buffett album released since his death from skin cancer at 76. McAnally and Utley produced his final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, which was released in November 2023, two months after his passing.

There’s currently no release date or title for the posthumous album, which McAnally says is “really good.”

“When you hear Jimmy sing you can tell that he’s smiling; you can hear that smile, and I’ve been listening to that smile for three months finishing this record, so I’m almost sore from smiling — but I ain’t gonna quit,” he adds.

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Tedeschi Trucks Band has been forced to cancel some upcoming appearances as Susan Tedeschi undergoes surgery to have her appendix removed.

“I had an appendix scare and I’ve been told I need surgery to have it removed,” Tedeschi writes on Instagram. “It’s a very common procedure, or course, and I’ll be okay, but sadly it does mean we have to cancel our appearances at Newport Folk and Floyd Fest.”

“I’m incredibly disappointed. I never cancel shows and I don’t like inconveniencing our fans, band and crew,” she continues. “So I need to take care of this now so it doesn’t become something more serious later.”

Finally she writes, “Thank you for your understanding and support. We promise we’ll make it up to y’all as soon as we can. I’ll be back on my feet before you know it, and we’ll see you out there soon.”

Tedeschi Trucks Band was due to play FloydFest in Check, Virginia, on July 24 and Newport Folk Festival, in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 26.

Their next scheduled shows are July 31 and Aug. 1 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

A complete list of dates can be found at TedechiTrucksBand.com.

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U2’s The Edge made a surprise appearance during Dutch DJ/producer Martin Garrix’s set at Tomorrowland in Belgium Friday to debut a new Garrix/U2 collaboration.

The guitarist came out to play guitar to Garrix’s upcoming song “Fireflies,” which will feature the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band.

According to Garrix’s Instagram, the song is “coming soon.”

This isn’t the first time U2 and Garrix have collaborated. Bono and The Edge were featured on Garrix’s song “We Are The People,” the official song for UEFA Euro 2020.

U2 recently released “Street of Dreams,” the first single off their upcoming new album, which so far does not have a release date. The band recently posted some behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the song’s video in Mexico City, adding in the caption, “⁠Mexico city, thank you for your hospitality.”

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Pink Floyd is being celebrated with a new limited-edition cassette player from the company We Are Rewind.

The We Are Rewind x Pink Floyd Collector’s Box Set comes with a Bluetooth cassette player featuring artwork from the band’s iconic album The Dark Side of the Moon. It also includes the only cassette edition of 2023’s 50th anniversary remastered edition of the album.

The cassette player features both a stereo playback and recording function, as well as Bluetooth capabilities that allow fans to listen to the music on wireless headphones. It also has a rechargeable battery, good for 12 hours of playback, and comes with a pencil and a numbered authenticity card.

Only 3,000 sets are available. More info can be found at WeAreRewind.com.

In other Pink Floyd news … the band recently posted an archival live performance to YouTube. The clip features a 1989 performance of the A Momentary Lapse of Reason track “On the Turning Away,” with the band performing on a floating stage in Venice, Italy.

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Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman released the album The Red Planet in 2020, and now he’s revisiting Mars for yet another album.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will release Return to the Red Planet on Oct. 16, described as “a sweeping new progressive work that fuses science, imagination, and musical virtuosity.” The description adds that it’s inspired by “the remarkable images and research that have transformed our understanding of Mars in recent years.”

“Once I started looking at the new data and photographs, I realised there was an entirely new album waiting to be written,” Wakeman says. “There was simply too much more to say about Mars – musically and spiritually – not to return.”

The album, recorded between August 2025 and January 2026, has Wakeman backed by The English Rock Ensemble, made up of bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarist Dave Colquhoun, drummer Adam Falkner and vocalist Mollie Marriott, daughter of English musician Steve Marriott.

Return to the Red Planet is available for preorder now.

The album will be released ahead of Wakeman’s upcoming memoir, The Wizard of Prog, which comes out Oct. 29. He’s also set to tour the U.K. in December and in early 2027. A complete list of tour dates can be found at rwcc.com.

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AC/DC recently kicked off a new North American leg of their Power Up tour, and undoubtedly some fans may be wondering whether this will be the last time they see the rockers on the road.

It seems AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Angus Young don’t really know yet.

The duo recently spoke to USA Today, and when the subject of where they’d like to play their last show came up they skirted the question.

“I hope it’s not my funeral,” Young said, with Johnson adding, “Upstairs rather than down!”

Narrowing it down a little more, Young responded, “On Earth?” He noted, “It’s a tough, tough call.”

“I wouldn’t want to upset any of the fans by saying, ‘No, that’s the best place,’” Johnson said of where they’d say goodbye. “After a gig, when I say, ‘Hey, thank you so much’ (to the crowd), you mean it, you know?”

As for how they want to be remembered, Young said, “I would just say ‘a great rock band.'”

“They were great at what they did. And they did it consistently,” Johnson added of their legacy. “You never thought back in the day that, when I finish here … I’m going to be 79,” to which Young joked, “Can you count that high?”

“I can’t even (expletive) think of it,” Johnson said. “Saying it back then, I would have just laughed at you.”

AC/DC’s Power Up tour hits Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday. It wraps Sept. 29 in Philadelphia. A complete list of show dates can be found at acdc.com.

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Four iconic albums from The Who — 1965’s My Generation, 1969’s Tommy, 1970’s Live At Leeds and 1971’s Who’s Next — are getting audio upgrades.

Analogue Productions has announced definitive audiophile editions of all four albums in a variety of premium formats, including 180-gram 45 RPM vinyl, Hybrid SACD, Ultra High Quality Record editions and Ultra Tape reel-to-reel.

All the reissues have been sourced from the original analog master tapes.

My Generation and Live at Leeds are the first two albums getting audiophile upgrades. Both will be released July 24 as a 180-gram 45 RPM two-LP set, and on Hybrid SACD and Ultra Tape reel-to-reel.

A release date for Tommy and Who’s Next has not been announced yet. Tommy will be released on Hybrid SACD and Ultra Tape reel-to-reel, while Who’s Next will be pressed as a UHQR edition on 200-gram clarity vinyl.

All are available for preorder now.

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On This Day, July 17, 1981…

Journey released their seventh studio album, Escape, which hit #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and went on to become a huge hit for the band.

The record was the band’s first with keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who replaced founding member Greg Rolie after his departure in 1980.

Escape featured the track “Don’t Stop Believin’,” written by frontman Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon and Cain, which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went on to become a signature tune for the band. In 2022, the song was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

The album also featured the hit power ballad “Open Arms,” which peaked at #2 on the singles chart, becoming Journey’s highest charting single ever, and “Who’s Crying Now,” which peaked at #4.

The album launched the band into superstardom. It has been certified Diamond by the RIAA and is the band’s most successful studio album.

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