Classic Hits

Based on recent interviews with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, fans of The Who may be worried that they’ll never see their favorite band again — but Townshend is now giving them some hope.

In a March interview with The New York Times, Townshend said he no longer got a “buzz from performing with The Who” and that he was only “touring for the money.” Then in April, Daltrey told the Miami Herald that if Pete wasn’t into touring he wouldn’t do it, noting, “I don’t want to be back with the Who on the road, at 81, with someone who doesn’t want be there.”

But in a new interview with MOJO, Townshend seems to have changed his tune, insisting, “The Who are not done yet” and noting that his relationship with Roger is “better than it’s ever been.”

“I wish it were more intimate, but that’s not possible because we are so different,” he says. “But we value and respect each other more.”

Regarding their working relationship, Townshend says, “The Who are a brand and a friendship, but it’s not a band. It’s not a hard-working, complicated, growing and evolving f****** jazz group. We’re not challenging each other to work musical miracles, but we’re playing music we know so well.”

“So never say never,” Pete offers about the future of the group. “I don’t want to do what I did before and say we’re never going to work again.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Barbra Streisand has just released the song “Love Will Survive” from the TV series The Tattooist of Auschwitz. But a new report suggests she may actually have a new album in the works, too.

Showbiz411 reports that Streisand was so happy with the results of the new song that she asked its producers, Peter Asher and Walter Afanasieff, to work with her on a new album of duets. Among the artists she’s supposedly lined up for the project are Paul McCartney and Sting, according to the website.

The story also claims Adele, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande are “in talks” to appear on the album, which is said to be a “superstars only” project.

In 2014 Barbra released Partners, an album featuring her singing duets with male artists, including Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, John Mayer and her son, Jason Gould.

In 2016 she released Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, featuring duets with actors who also sing, like Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Seth MacFarlane, Antonio Banderas, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman.

Her most recent studio album, Walls, came out in 2018.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

One of Ed Sheeran‘s favorite things to do is drop in on schools unexpectedly and meet with music students. But on May 16, he went one step further during a surprise visit to The Sheffield College in Northern England.

During his visit to the campus of the music career-focused college, Ed walked onstage during a workshop that was being held in the theater and performed with several students. Nineteen-year-old Lol Bailey was singing Ed’s hit “Shape of You” when the singer appeared.

“It really threw me off when Ed Sheeran walked on stage but it was brilliant,” Bailey told The Star.

Another student, 18-year-old Brad Lyne, got the chance to rap alongside Ed. He told The Star, “It was so cool. He’s a global superstar and an absolute legend but he was a normal dude who gave us some great advice. It made me think if he can achieve success, we can too.”

You can watch footage of both performances on Instagram. According to the college, Ed also performed “Castle on the Hill” during his visit and answered students’ questions about the music industry.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

David Gilmour has added more shows to his upcoming Luck and Strange tour.

After initially announcing two shows each in New York and Los Angeles, the Pink Floyd rocker has now added one additional LA show and two more in the Big Apple. 

Gilmour previously announced he’d be headlining Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on October 29 and 30; the newly added show is on October 31. In New York, he’s playing Madison Square Garden on November 4 and 5, with the new additions of November 6 and 9. The two cities will be Gilmour’s only North American concert appearances. 

Tickets for all shows go on sale to the general public starting Friday, May 17, at 10 a.m. local time.

The tour is in support of Gilmour’s new solo album, Luck and Strange, which drops September 6. It is his first album of new material in nine years.

Luck and Strange is available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It looks like we may soon be getting new music from Steve Perry. 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the former Journey frontman opens up about his musical future, sharing good news for fans.

“I just signed with a new label,” Perry says. “I’m very excited about it, and I’ll have an opportunity very soon to work with these very, very musically creative people.” He adds that he’s “working on stuff.”

Perry released Traces, his first solo album in 22 years, in 2018 and then followed it up with the holiday album The Season in 2021. While fans had to wait over two decades for a new record, they’ve been waiting even longer to see Perry back out on tour. Well, the wait may be over soon.  

“It’s something that I’m absolutely missing terribly,” he says. “I can’t even tell you how much, but there’s been a big soulful reclaiming of this original feeling that I had about singing that I needed to get back to.” 

In the same interview, Perry, who sang on the iconic tune “We Are the World,” talked about the recent making-of documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, noting, “Watching it was a big bag of emotions.”  

“Seeing it for me was more emotional than being there,” he shares. “I just remember being so intimidated by all these people, from Bruce (Springsteen) to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie. It just went on and on. Tina Turner was there! That completely killed me.”

He adds, “I just wish this could happen again today for a great cause. With the times we’re in, it saddens me that the possibility of such a thing seems remote.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Black Crowes brought their Happiness Bastards tour to London’s Eventim Apollo on Wednesday, May 15, where they were joined by a very special guest: Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

Tyler came out for the final song of the night, joining The Crowes for a cover of the Aerosmith classic “Mama Kin.” It was Tyler’s first public performance since fracturing his larynx in September, which forced the postponement of Aerosmith’s Peace Out final tour.

“If it is alright with y’all, we wanna play one more song. We wanna dedicate it to somebody who is a dear friend, and a hero, and a legend, Mr. Steven Tyler,” Chris Robinson shared. “We will be touring with Aerosmith soon, so we wanna play one of his songs.” 

The Crowes were special guests on the Peace Out tour and will join Aerosmith again when the tour resumes September 20 in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Tyler wasn’t the only rock superstar to take in The Crowes’ London show. The band shared a picture on Instagram revealing that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page was also backstage. They captioned the clip, “Rock Royalty Reigned last night at the #HappinessBastardsTour at the @eventimapollo in London.”

Next up, The Black Crowes bring their Happiness Bastards tour to Newcastle on May 17. A complete list of date can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

David Bowie‘s classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is the latest album to get the Dolby Atmos treatment. 

The first-ever Dolby Atmos mix of Ziggy Stardust will be released September 6 to streaming services and on Blu-Ray Audio, featuring four iterations of the album: the 2024 Dolby Atmos mix, 2024 Stereo and two different versions of the original 1972 Stereo Mix – 2012 remaster.

“You’re in there with the act, with David. He was so theatrical I think being able to put him into an immersive place makes this a really good choice for an Atmos mix,” Ken Scott, who co-produced the Dolby Atmos mix with Emre Ramazanoglu, shares. “My whole philosophy with this has been to make it more like a live experience.”

He adds, “Hopefully, it just feels as if you’re in the theatre with this amazing show going on.”

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in Dolby Atmos is available for preorder now.

The news of the new Ziggy Stardust release comes as the album is set to be explored in the new box set Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, due out June 14. It features 29 unreleased tracks that show Bowie’s journey from February 1971 to the release of Ziggy Stardust in 1972.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, May 16, 1966…

The Beach Boys released their 11th studio album, Pet Sounds, a critical hit that’s often considered one of the best albums of all time. 

The album was recorded a year after Brian Wilson quit touring and suffered a breakdown in 1964; he’s said that he considers Pet Sounds “probably the best album I ever did.”

Pet Sounds featured such classic Beach Boys songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “Sloop John B” and more. The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard Album chart, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, and in 2004, it was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

In June, Pet Sounds was released with a new mix in Dolby Atmos, courtesy of music producer Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin.

A whole lot more about The Beach Boys will be learned, as a new documentary, The Beach Boys, directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, is set to debut May 24 on Disney +.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Audio sound waves of Queen’s 1986 song “A Kind of Magic” have been turned into a piece of art that’s now being sold for a good cause.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor, who wrote the song, has teamed up with the Soundwaves Art Foundation for a limited-edition art collection, with each piece featuring a handwritten lyric by Roger that has been digitally added to the artwork. “I’m hearing secret harmonies, It’s a kind of magic!” reads the lyric.

The collection features four originals and 100 numbered prints autographed by Taylor and the sound waves artist Tim Wakefield. There are also autographed prints, which come in both mini and standard sizes. 

Proceeds from the sale benefit Teenage Cancer Trust, which is dedicated to providing specialist treatment and support for young people with cancer. 

More info can be found at soundwavesartfoundation.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Crowded House is set to celebrate their upcoming new album, Gravity Stairs, with a special intimate show in New York City.

The band is set to headline the 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom on May 31, the same day the album will be released. 

Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, May 17, at 10 a.m.

Gravity Stairs is the eighth studio album from Crowded House, which is now made up of frontman Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Neil’s sons Elroy Finn and Liam Finn. It’s their first album since 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting.

And for those who can’t make it to the New York show, there will be plenty of other chances to see the band live this year. They will launch the North American Gravity Stairs tour on August 29 in St. Augustine, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at crowdedhouse.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.