Classic Hits

ABBA Voyage, the virtual concert production starring computer-generated “avatars” of the members of ABBA, backed by a live orchestra, has been playing exclusively in London since May 2022. But the show is reportedly heading to the U.S. for a run in — where else? — Las Vegas.

Sources tell The Las Vegas Review-Journal the show will be staged in a custom-built facility on the Strip, with Resorts World the leading contender to host it. It’ll start as a limited engagement, then be extended if the demand is there.

ABBA Voyage used motion-capture technology to create digital “avatars” of group members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad as they looked in 1979. In the London show, the avatars then “perform” the group’s biggest hits, while a live 10-piece orchestra accompanies them. The hit-packed set list includes “Mamma Mia,” “Does Your Mother Know,” “Waterloo,” “SOS,” “Fernando” and, of course, “Dancing Queen.”

The motion-capture technology is courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic, which also worked on U2‘s eye-popping, recently concluded residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

While Peter Frampton is a rock star in his own right, he’s had no problem stepping out of the spotlight and lending his guitar expertise to other artists, and in a new interview he reveals why he likes to do it.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing sessions for other people because everybody works differently,” he tells RockOn magazine. “Every artist has different material, and I enjoy bringing my creativity as a guitarist. I’m a guitar player first and foremost. Even if I’ve got a cold, I can still do a good solo.” 

But there are things that can slow him down. In 2019 Frampton was diagnosed with the progressive disease inclusion body myositis, which affects his hands, although for now he can still play. In fact, he’s currently on his Never Ever Say Never tour.

“I’ve got to have the wherewithal to be able to play, and I’m adapting, but I am losing strength in my hands,” he says. “But between the audience and the adrenaline and my love of playing music, especially guitar, somehow I pull it off every night.” 

Frampton is currently nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and he’s anticipating “a wonderful next couple of years” if he gets in. Those years will also include the 50th anniversary of his iconic live album Frampton Comes Alive in 2026, which is a milestone that won’t be forgotten.

“We’re going to have a big party,” he says. “I hope I’ll be able to do some playing then.” 

Frampton’s current tour hits Omaha, Nebraska, on April 3, with dates confirmed through April 14 in San Diego. A complete list of shows can be found at frampton.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foreigner is taking issue with anyone who doesn’t think they deserve to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

The band, who received their first Rock Hall nomination this year, shared a new video on social media responding to a February Axios article ranking this year’s potential inductees. In it, Foreigner was listed last, with the author writing they “had a string of hits over two decades that were fun but didn’t impact the course of music history in any substantial way.” 

Well, Foreigner decided to show Axios just how much they impacted musical history. The video points out that they sold over 80 million albums and have 19 Gold/Platinum records, three Grammy nominations and 22 songs in the Billboard Hot 100. Plus, they note that Mick Jones and Lou Gramm were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

They captioned the video, posted on April Fools’ Day, “Jokes on Axios.”

The Hall of Fame fan vote is open until April 26, and inductees will be announced later that month. The 2024 induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland in the fall. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Some previously lost Marvin Gaye recordings may soon see the light of day after being discovered in Belgium.

Over 40 years ago, Gaye lived in the home of Belgian musician Charles Dumolin, whose family recently uncovered a collection of items belonging to Gaye, the BBC reports. The collection includes costumes, notebooks and cassettes with what is believed to be music Gaye recorded while living in the city.

“They belong to [the family] because they were left in Belgium 42 years ago,” Belgian lawyer Alex Trappeniers, who’s a business partner of the family, tells the BBC. “Marvin gave it to them and said, ‘Do whatever you want with it’ and he never came back. That’s important.”

Of the 30 tapes in the collection, Trappeniers says there’s about 66 demos of new songs. “A few of them are complete and a few of them are as good as ‘Sexual Healing,’ because it was made in the same time,” he shares.

So far, there’s no word on if the music will be released, especially because there may be a question of who actually owns the material between the Dumolin family and Gaye’s heirs; the lawyer is hoping for a compromise. Even if the Dumolin family owns the material, intellectual property laws may keep them from releasing any of it.

“I think we both benefit, the family of Marvin and the collection in the hands of [Dumolin’s heirs],” Alex says. “If we put our hands together and find the right people in the world, the Mark Ronsons or the Bruno Mars…. I’m not here to make suggestions but to say OK, let’s listen to this and let’s make the next album.”

Marvin Gaye died April 1, 1984, at the age of 44. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sheryl Crow had the rare honor of having Prince record one of her songs, and she says she still thinks of him whenever she plays it.

While appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Sheryl told Kelly that when the late legend recorded her song “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” he changed to lyrics from “I’ve been living on coffee and nicotine” to “I’ve been living on chamomile tea.”  

“Every time I sing that song, I’m like, ‘Aww, chamomile tea, I miss you!'” Sheryl laughed.

Sheryl also shared that because of that musical connection, she got an invitation to Prince’s home, Paisley Park, where he had a “full basketball court.”

“Girl, he played basketball in his heels and, like, creamed me,” Sheryl remembers. “And I’m pretty good, OK? I’m not bad. But I mean, he was like, ‘Swoosh!’ A little Steph Curry action.” Sheryl said they then went into the studio together, then to a local club. 

“It was like, ‘Excuse me, y’all can get off the stage now,’ and he just, like, took over,” says Sheryl. “It was like a dream.”

It’s worth noting that despite what Sheryl remembers, Prince didn’t actually change the lyrics to “chamomile tea” — he changed them to “compliments and herbal tea.” You can hear his version on his album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

More than a year after they were first linked, Cher and her boyfriend, Alexander “A.E.” Edwards, are still going strong.

People reports the two hit the red carpet on March 29, attending the Equal Justice Now Awards in LA. There, Cher was honored with the Icon Award for her contributions to social justice over the years. Cher, 77, cozied up next to Edwards, 38, on the carpet, posing arm-in-arm for photos.  

Cher and Edwards, a music producer, first met in September of 2022 at Paris Fashion Week and have been romantically linked since that November. This past October, Cher told People, “No matter what happens, I love being with him. He makes me laugh, and we have fun. What I learned is that it’s never too late … I’ve had the best time.”

In addition to having a personal relationship, Cher and Edwards have a professional relationship: He worked on her hit holiday album, Christmas.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

[SPOILER ALERT] Bruce Springsteen made a guest appearance on TV this weekend, turning up on the penultimate episode of the Larry David comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In the Sunday, March 31, episode, titled “Ken/Kendra,” Larry dines with The Boss at Jeff Garlin’s home, where they debate about the ratings of restaurants, and Bruce admits that he’d eat at a B-rated restaurant, much to the group’s surprise.

In another part of the conversation, Springsteen reveals that he avoids calls from Eagles’ Don Henley because he once ignored a demo of a band that Henley gave him.

The meal ends with Bruce grabbing for a glass of water that Larry insists is his, prompting Bruce to drink from the one next to it. The next day, Larry wakes up with COVID and finds out that Springsteen has it as well, leading to the assumption that Larry gave it to The Boss. The illness forces Bruce to cancel the final show of his fictional sold-out Farewell tour, and the whole thing results in Springsteen fans getting angry at David and attacking his car as he leaves Springsteen’s home.

Bruce is currently on tour with the E Street Band, although there’s no indiction that it is his farewell trek. He’ll next play two nights at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on April 4 and 5. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

The final episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm airs Sunday, April 7. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Eric Clapton has announced his first U.S. tour dates for 2024. 

The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to play three shows in California this fall: October 8 in San Diego, October 10 in Palm Desert and October 12 in Los Angeles at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

All three shows will feature guitarist Jimmie Vaughan as special guest.

Tickets for all three shows go on sale Friday, April 5, at 10 a.m.

While these are Clapton’s only U.S. dates so far, he does have several shows booked for 2024. On May 9 in Newcastle, he’ll kick off a U.K. tour, including a four-night stand at London’s Royal Albert Hall. He’ll follow that with a European tour that launches May 26 and 27 in Paris. A complete list of dates can be found at ericclapton.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey recently stepped down as curator of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows after 24 years, and he’s now opening up about why he decided to retire from the position.

“I have to be realistic. I’m on my way out,” the 80-year-old rocker wrote in a backstage diary for U.K.’s The Times. “The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I’ll make that, but we need someone else to drive things.”

Daltrey isn’t stepping away from the charity completely but will stick to working behind the scenes.

For his final year, The Who headlined two of this year’s shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and Daltrey headlined a third show with a series of guests to celebrate his tenure as curator.

The rocker revealed that before taking the stage for those shows, he was actually worried “about how many words” he needed to remember for them.

“We haven’t done anything for seven months and this winter’s been brutal. I’ve been in hibernation. For the whole of January, I lost my voice completely,” he wrote. “I live like a monk and if I went on tour for a week I’d be fit as a butcher’s dog again, but tonight, for the first time in my career, I think, ‘Blimey, this is hard.’”

While Daltrey seems ready to hang it up, his bandmate Pete Townshend has indicated he was up for at least one more tour. In a recent interview with The New York Times, he shared, “It feels to me like there’s one thing the Who can do, and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, April 1, 2008…

The Rolling Stones released Shine A Light, the soundtrack to their Martin Scorsese-directed concert film of the same name.

The concert doc featured performances from the band’s two-night stand at the intimate Beacon Theatre in New York, which took place October 29 and November 1, 2006. The shows took place during their A Bigger Bang Tour.

The movie featured special guests Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera performing with the Stones; they also appeared on the soundtrack.

Performances on the release included “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Symphony for the Devil,” “Brown Sugar” and “Start Me Up.” 

The Rolling Stones are getting ready to hit the road once again later this month. They’ll kick off their Hackney Diamonds tour on April 28 in Houston, Texas.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.