Classic Hits

Duran Duran frontman Simon LeBon has been named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles, recognizing his services to music and charity.

“What an incredible and totally unexpected honour,” Simon shared. “It is fitting that the honour has been awarded not just for my role in music, but also for the work I’ve been fortunate to be involved with outside the band for some of the causes I believe in. To name but two of them, I hope this moment helps to raise awareness for the Blue Marine Foundation and the importance of their conservation work, and for Centrepoint.”

He later shared his feelings about the honor on social media, noting, “Blimey this is a SURPRISE! I have to begin by saying that right now, I am experiencing the most severe case of IMPOSTER-SYNDROME.”

He went on to thank the band’s fans, noting, “I think it’ll help if I feel that I can share the honour with you all. It’s true to say that without you Duran Duran supporters, there would be no service to music; there’d be no service to charity; there’d be no MBE. So please, I want you to to feel the honour. Thank you.
WHOOOSH!”

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On This Day, June 17, 1972 …

The Rolling Stones hit #1 with their double album Exile on Main St., which went on to spend four weeks on top of the chart. 

Recorded mostly in a villa in the South of France, where the band had moved to escape paying U.K. taxes, the album featured such classics as “Happy” featuring Keith Richards on vocals, “Tumbling Dice,” “Rocks Off,” “Rip This Joint” and “All Down the Line.” 

The album was one of nine #1 albums The Stones have had over the course of their career. Others include 1965’s Out of Our Heads, 1971’s Sticky Fingers, 1973’s Goats Head Soup, 1974’s It’s Only Rock and Roll, 1976’s Black and Blue, 1978’s Some Girls, 1980’s Emotional Rescue and 1981’s Tattoo You.

In October, The Stones released Hackney Diamonds, their first album of new material in 18 years. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 Album chart.

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As rumored, Pete Townshend joined the cast of The Who’s Tommy for a performance on Sunday’s 77th annual Tony Awards 

Dressed in a  suit and red hat, Townshend took the stage to introduce a performance from the show, which began with a snippet of “See Me, Feel Me.” Then Townshend really kicked things off with the opening chords of “Pinball Wizard” before the full cast joined in for the song. 

The Who’s Tommy was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at this year’s Tonys, but lost out to Merrily We Roll Along.  The 1993 original run of the show won five Tony Awards, including Best Original Score for Townshend.

The Who’s Tommy is currently running at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre.

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Longtime Moody Blues singer/guitarist Justin Hayward is ready to launch the latest leg of his Blue World tour, which is a unique concert experience.

In addition to performing, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer shares some stories about his songs, but he tells ABC Audio the tales don’t distract from what’s really important to him.  

“Really, it’s about the music,” he says. “And then, I often feel that it needs an introduction, sometimes a bit of explanation and context of what was happening. I kind of get sidetracked into talking about things because I’m encouraged to.”

Hayward plans to play new songs, fan favorites and even some deep album cuts during his shows, and he says it’s always a bit of a challenge to come up with the right set list that will please fans.

“You know, I’m sorry to say this because it sounds like showing off, but it’s never what I play, it’s what I leave out,” he says. “But that’s what keeps it all fresh and keeps it going.”

Justin loves that he can connect with fans through music, sharing that when he was growing up he and his brother would “live our lives” through music and their records, which is something fans can relate to.

“You know, I can feel it when you can see people going, ‘Oh, there’s the guy who sang it, that’s him and he’s doing it right now’ kind of thing,” Justin says. “It creates a wonderful kind of magic in a room. It’s brilliant.” 

Justin Hayward’s Blue World tour kicks off June 18 in Sacramento, California. A complete list of dates can be found at justinhayward.com.

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The 77th annual Tony Awards are happening Sunday in New York, with The Who‘s Pete Townshend previously confirmed as a presenter. Well, he may be doing more than that. 

Deadline is now reporting that Townshend is actually going to perform on the show, joining the cast of The Who’s Tommy for “Pinball Wizard.”

The Who’s Tommy is nominated this year for Best Revival of a Musical, where it’s up against Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Gutenberg! The Musical! and Merrily We Roll Along.

Townshend previously won the Tony for Best Original Score for Tommy’s original run in 1993. The show won a total of five Tonys that year.

The 77th annual Tony Awards air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET live on CBS from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater.

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U2 has released the next installment in their digital series, U2 To Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides, this time dedicated to the track “Mofo,” from their ninth studio album, Pop.

The series will consist of 12 newly remastered collections, released throughout the year, which are made up of songs that until now were only available on vinyl, CD or cassette.

This sixth collection includes five different remastered “Mofo” remixes: Phunk Phorce Mix, Mother’s Mix, Black Hole Dub, House Flavour and Romin Mix.

And to coincide with the playlist, U2 has released a limited-edition 2024 reissue of a “Mofo” T-shirt that reads “Mother Sucking Rock And Roll.” It is available for preorder now.

U2 launched To Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides in April and so far has released collections  dedicated to Pop songs “Discothèque,” “Staring at the Sun,” “Last Night on Earth,” “If God Will Send His Angels” and “Please.”

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Paul McCartney & Wings’ live album One Hand Clapping is finally out, and to celebrate the release, McCartney has shared a fully restored performance video of the track “Soily.” 

The video is taken from footage recorded by director David Litchfield in August 1974, when McCartney and the band hit Abbey Road Studios to film what was to be a video documentary and possible live studio album. That live album was never officially released until now, although portions of it have appeared on bootlegs.

One Hand Clapping includes live recordings of such Wings hits as “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “My Love,” as well as Paul’s solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed” and reworked versions of Beatles tracks like “Let It Be,” “Lady Madonna” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

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When The Who‘s Roger Daltrey kicked off his solo tour on June 10 he included a cover John Fogerty’s Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” in the set list, and Fogerty took to social media to thank him for the tribute.

Fogerty shared a clip to social media of Daltrey’s introduction of the song, where he talked about Fogerty’s 50-year fight to get his publishing back. Daltrey added that he’s always been a Fogerty fan, calling him a “wonderful guy” and the “real deal.” 

“Thank you to my friend Roger Daltrey for celebrating with me!” Fogerty shared in the caption to his post. “Can’t wait for us to jump on stage together sometime soon.”

Unfortunately, that won’t be happening this weekend, as the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ tours will just miss each other. 

Daltrey brings his solo acoustic tour to Niagara Falls, Canada, on Friday, while Fogerty’s tour hits Bethel, New York, on Friday, playing the same venue Daltrey is booked to play on Sunday.

A complete list of Daltrey’s dates can be found at thewho.com, while information on Fogerty’s shows can be found at johnfogerty.com.

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A new compilation of rarities from late The Who bassist John Entwistle is being released later this year.

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume Two is the follow-up to the 2022 release Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One, and features alternative takes, demos, studio tracks and live tracks from the early years of the John Entwistle Band.

Just like the original release, Volume Two has been curated by Entwistle’s good friend and bandmate Steve Luongo.

“When I agreed to do two volumes of John Entwistle rarities, I knew volume two had to be even better than volume one,” Luongo shares. “It is!”

The latest installment includes a remastered version of “Endless Vacation” and an alternative mix of “Sometimes,” as well as live performances of Who songs like “Real Me,” “Long Live Rock” and “Had Enough,” the latter of which is out now on digital services. There’s also what’s described as an “epic version” of The Who’s “Young Man Blues.” 

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume Two will be released in August and is available for preorder now in a variety of CD bundles, including one that packages both volumes together. 

Here is the track list for Rarities Oxhumed – Volume Two:

“Endless Vacation” (Video Mix)
“Sometimes” (Alternate Mix)
“Rebel Without A Car” (Alternate Mix)
“When The Sun Come Up” (Single Remix)
“Horror Rock” (Steve’s Re-Mix)
“Tommy-Eminence” (Live)
“Young Man Blues” (Live)
“Real Me” (Live)
“Long Live Rock” (Live)
“Boris Blues-Extended Version” (Live)
“Whiskey Man” (Live)
“Had Enough” (Live)
“Heaven and Hell” (Live)

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Mike Campbell and his band The Dirty Knobs’ third album, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits, is out now, and Campbell tells ABC Audio the record shows them coming into their own sound.

He says the first two albums proved they were “a rock ‘n’ roll boogie band mostly,” but they’re evolving.  

“We’re expanding our songwriting as we go along and getting better,” he says, “and I’m finding my voice as a ‘stylist,’ not a singer.”

After so many years in the background as guitarist and songwriter for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Campbell says it hasn’t been hard for him to step into the frontman role, but it was certainly an adjustment.

“It’s mostly coming out of a little insecurity and getting used to the sound of my own voice,” he says, noting he made some adjustments to his voice because it had similar nuances to Petty’s.

“I wanted to filter those out so I didn’t sound like a clone,” he explains. “It was mostly confidence, just building up my confidence that, yeah, you can do this.” 

The album features guest appearances by Graham Nash and Chris Stapleton, with Campbell sharing that songs on the record were influenced by the music he grew up listening to in the ’60s, like The Beatles and The Stones.

“That’s the stuff I emulate,” he says.

As for the album’s title, Campbell says it’s inspired by the songs, which are filled with “desperate people” trying for a better life.  

“And I thought there’s a lot of desperate vagabonds, misfit-type people,” he says. “And I threw virgins just cause it sounded good.”  

Campbell and The Dirty Knobs hit the road starting June 21 in Skokie, Illinois. More info can be found at thedirtyknobs.com.

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