Classic Hits

The 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen‘s first U.K. tour will be celebrated with some special Springsteen programming on the BBC, including a new documentary.

When Bruce Springsteen Came To Britain is a one-hour doc that will feature a new interview with The Boss talking about his first U.K. show: a sold-out concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in November 1975 promoting his album Born to Run. In the interview he shares previously unheard stories about the tour, including how disappointed he was with his own performance at that first show.

“(After the show) … I went to a party that was supposed to celebrate my triumph, but I felt I’d been terrible and so I was embarrassed to even go in,” he says. “I had PTSD from the first Hammersmith show!”

The doc will also cover Springsteen’s 1985 Born in the USA tour, which was the first time he played huge outdoor venues, and continues on to his most recent U.K. tour in 2024. 

In addition to Springsteen, the doc will feature new interviews from E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce’s manager Jon Landau and others.

So far no exact date for the Springsteen programming has been announced.

The doc comes as Springsteen and the E Street Band are getting ready to launch a new U.K. and European tour. The trek kicks off with a three-night stand in Manchester, May 14, May 17 and May 20. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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The upcoming Apple TV+ documentary about Bono’s Stories of Surrender book tour will get its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, taking place May 13 to May 24.

Bono announced the news on social media with the caption, “From the intimacy of the Beacon Theater [sic] to the bright lights of the Croisette.”

Bono: Stories of Surrender will feature what’s described as a “reimagining” of the U2 frontman’s one-man stage show, Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief. That coincided with the release of his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, released in November 2022.

The doc will feature footage from one of his shows at New York’s Beacon Theatre, which had him sharing stories about his life, family, friends and more, along with performances of some U2 songs “that have shaped his life and legacy.”

Bono: Stories of Surrender is set to debut on Apple TV+ on May 30. For those with Apple Vision Pro, Bono: Stories of Surrender (Immersive) will also premiere on May 30, giving viewers an immersive experience of the film. It will be the first feature-length film available on Apple Vision Pro.

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The upcoming Bruce Springsteen film Deliver Me From Nowhere is based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Zanes discusses how the film came to be.

Zanes says when he was first approached, he knew they’d have to get Springsteen onboard, so he and the film’s director, Scott Cooper, sent Bruce and his manager, Jon Landau, a one-page description of the project. Then they waited for their response.

But Zanes initially didn’t hear back, because Springsteen was dealing with peptic ulcer disease.

“Later, I was driving, and got a call from Bruce, totally unexpected,” Zanes shares. “At the end, I said: ‘Hey, did you get a chance to look at that description?’ While I was on the phone, he pulled it up. We hung up. Five minutes later, he texted: ‘I’m into this.’”

Zanes spent time on the film’s New Jersey set when production began, as did Springsteen, and Zanes noticed the experience wasn’t an easy one for The Boss.

“There was no hiding the fact that he was there on a regular basis. And there are difficult passages. He was going through some hard stuff, and here he was, watching his life being enacted, reliving it,” Zanes says. “I asked him, ‘Is this as intense for you as it appears it might be?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’”

Zanes wants fans to know Deliver Me From Nowhere will be different from other biopics because “it doesn’t start before success — it starts in the middle.”

“It’s a story about family history, mental health, and an already-successful artist facing a crisis,” he says. “There’s nothing about him making it. No ‘Born to Run’ moment. None of that. We see what he’s haunted by.”

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David Bowie fans are apparently really into vinyl records.

The U.K.’s Official Charts recently came out with a list of the bestselling vinyl records of the past 10 years, and while Taylor Swift’s Midnights tops the list, Bowie lands two albums in the top 10.

Of the pair, Bowie’s 2016 greatest hits package Legacy lands in the highest spot at #5. His final album, Blackstar, lands at #8.

A post on Bowie’s official Instagram account notes, “Our man has fared well alongside the youngsters of today, and it’s all thanks to you.”

Bowie’s Blackstar was released in 2016, just two day before the rocker passed away at the age of 69. It was the bestselling vinyl album of that year in the U.K. and spent 38 weeks on the official U.K. album chart.

Legacy, which features such Bowie classics as “Let’s Dance,” “Changes,” “Modern Love” and “Fame,” has spent 437 weeks on the same chart.

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Sean Lennon has weighed in on the casting of Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles films, and he is putting his faith in the director.

The cast of The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event was recently announced, with Harris Dickinson playing Sean’s father, John Lennon. Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan has been cast as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will portray George Harrison.

And while some folks have had strong opinions about the casting, Sean tells Vanity Fair he’s not about to question Mendes’ choices.

“We are all in touch with Sam (the Beatles gang). I told him I am not interested in second-guessing his casting choices as a director. Would anyone have expected Christian Bale to be a good Dick Cheney?” he says, referring to the 2018 movie Vice.

“I think that’s the filmmaker’s choice,” Sean adds. “My interest has more to do with the scripts, and how they intertwine. I have every confidence in Sam and Harris and the rest of the team.”

Sean, who’s promoting the upcoming documentary One to One: John & Yoko, which opens in IMAX theaters on Friday, also talked about the importance of preserving the legacy of his parents and The Beatles.

“When I was growing up—and that was the ’80s and ’90s, even the early 2000s—you could argue people like Zeppelin and Hendrix and the Beatles and Stones were in the pantheon of these godlike figures. I don’t think it’s as true today, and I think that that’s unfortunate,” he shares. “I don’t think we can afford to forget them, especially in the case of John and Yoko, because in that case, we’re talking about peace and love. And I think that message is sadly as important, if not more important than it’s ever been.”

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Patti Smith has written another memoir.

The rocker shared a photo on Instagram Wednesday of her with her parents, writing, “This is with my mother and father who inspired much of my next book Bread of Angels. The memoir, a bright and dark dance of life, will be published on November 4th, by Random House.”

Bread of Angels comes 15 years after the release of Smith’s first memoir, Just Kids, which documented her time in Manhattan in the ’70s and her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. It won the National Book Award in 2010. 

“November 4 is especially meaningful to me,” Smith shared in a press release. “It’s the birthday of Robert Mapplethorpe and the anniversary of my late husband Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith’s passing. It took a decade to write this book, grappling with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime. I’m hoping that people will find something they need.”

According to the release, Bread of Angels is “the most intimate” of Smith’s memoirs, following the musician through her childhood in Philadelphia and South Jersey, her teenage years “when the first glimmers of art and romance take hold,” her marriage to Fred Smith and their family life, and more.

“As Smith suffers profound losses, she also returns to writing,” the release notes, “the one constant on a lifelong path driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination.”

In addition to Just Kids, Smith released the memoir M Train in 2015.

Smith is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of her debut album, Horses, this year with a tour that kicks off Oct. 6 in Dublin, Ireland, and hits the U.S. on Nov. 10 in Seattle. A complete list of dates can be found at PattiSmith.com.

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Van Morrison is turning 80 in August and he’s going to celebrate on the stage.

The “Brown Eyed Girl” singer announced that on his birthday, Aug. 31, he’ll headline a concert at Waterfront Hall in his hometown of Belfast, Ireland, which he’s dubbing his 80th Birthday Celebration.

Morrison is expected to be joined by “very special guests” at the concert, with the announcement boasting, “We’re celebrating in style.”

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday.

The concert news comes as Morrison is getting ready to release a brand-new album, Remember Now, on June 13, featuring 14 original tracks. The album, available for preorder now, is Morrison’s first album of all new material since 2022’s What’s It Gonna Take?

He’s also got several concert dates on his 2025 schedule, including a spot opening for Neil Young at his July 11 BST Hyde Park concert in London. A complete list of dates can be found at VanMorrison.com.

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On This Day, April 9, 1984…

R.E.M. released their second studio album, Reckoning, which like their 1983 debut, Murmur, was produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon.

The album, which was first released in the U.K. and then the U.S., was recorded at Reflection Sound in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the producers attempting to capture the energy and sound of the band’s live performances.

Reckoning was a hit with critics and peaked at #27 in the U.S., although it topped college radio airplay charts.

Its first single, “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry),” peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its second single, “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville,” did not chart. Both went on to become R.E.M. fan favorites.

The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

In February, the members of R.E.M. – Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry – reunited on stage at Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s Athens, Georgia, concert celebrating the band’s third studio album Fables of the Reconstruction. They performed the Reckoning track “Pretty Persuasion.”

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Recordings by Elton John, Chicago and Tracy Chapman been chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

In total 25 recordings have been chosen this year “based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”

Albums picked include Elton’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which features hits like the title track, “Bennie and the Jets” and “Candle in the Wind”; Chicago’s debut Chicago Transit Authority, with songs like “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “Questions 67 and 68”; Chapman’s self-titled debut, which features her classic “Fast Car”; and  Steve Miller Band’s Fly Like an Eagle, with hits like the title track, “Take the Money and Run” and “Rock’n Me.”

Songs chosen include Celine Dion’s Titanic hit “My Heart Will Go On,” and “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy, with the Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime, composed by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Brian Eno in 1995, also getting in.

“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said. “The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology.”

The public can nominate recordings to be considered; this year, the Library of Congress received 2,600 nominations, with Chicago Transit Authority being the top nominee. With the new additions, the National Recording Registry titles are now at 675, part of a recorded sound collection of close to 4 million items.

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Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is bringing back his Amazing Humans Doing Amazing Things variety show for a second year.

The one-night-only event will be held May 29 at New York’s Town Hall. It will be a benefit for Byrne’s solutions-based nonprofit magazine Reasons to be Cheerful, a project of his nonprofit, Arbutus.

Byrne will emcee the evening, which will feature a lineup that includes comedian and actor Ramy Youssef, musician Reggie Watts, gospel soul group Annie and the Caldwells, magician Steve Cuiffo, burlesque performer Julie Atlas Muz and Balkan musicians Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band, with more artists to be announced.

“Reasons to be Cheerful is all about finding signs of hope, even when it feels like it’s in short supply,” Byrne shares. “That’s what this show is all about: a joyful communal experience to buoy us in a tumultuous time.”

Tickets for the variety show are on sale now.

Byrne held the first Amazing Humans Doing Amazing Things variety show in October 2024, which celebrated the fifth anniversary of Reasons to be Cheerful.

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