Classic Hits

Queen’s Brian May has revealed that he actually wasn’t happy with “Under Pressure,” Queen’s hit collaboration with David Bowie.

In an interview with Total Guitar, May says when they first started working on the song it featured a “pretty heavy” guitar, which he thought sounded like The Who.

“And I was beaming because I liked The Who,” he says. “I remember saying to David, ‘Oh, it sounds like The Who, doesn’t it?’ He says, ‘Yeah, well it’s not going to sound like The Who by the time I’ve finished with it!’ You know, in a joking kind of way. But he didn’t want it to be that way.”

May says finishing the song was difficult because of all the different opinions being shared, and in the end the heavy guitar was removed.

“I think it’s probably the only time in my career I bowed out, because I knew it was going to be a fight,” he says. “So basically it was Freddie (Mercury) and David fighting it out in the studio with the mix. And what happened in the mix was that most of that heavy guitar was lost.”

As for the final product, May says, “I never liked it, to be honest, the way it was mixed.” He adds, “But I do recognize that it works. It’s a point of view, and it’s done very well. And people love it.”

“Under Pressure” was released in October 1981; it became Queen’s second #1 in the U.K. and Bowie’s third. It also charted in the top 10 in 10 countries.

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Billy Joel is hitting late night TV.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced he’s going to be a guest on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday, February 15.

Joel recently released the song “Turn the Lights Back On,” which is his first new single in 17 years. He performed it at the Grammy Awards, along with his classic “You May Be Right.”

The Colbert news follows CBS’ announcement that on April 14 they will be airing The 100th: Billy Joel At Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run Of All Time, a special highlighting Joel’s 100th MSG residency show, which is happening on March 28. 

Next up, Billy returns to the stage on February 24 for a show in Tampa, Florida, with Sting. A complete list of Billy dates can be found at billyjoel.com.

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Carlos Santana is hitting the road this summer for a co-headlining tour with Counting Crows.

The two acts are coming together for what they are calling the Oneness Tour, a 29-city trek that kicks off June 14 in Hollywood, Florida.

The tour features stops in Tampa, Milwaukee, Dallas, Austin, Cincinnati, Inglewood and more, including a two-night stand at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on July 29 and 30. The tour wraps September 2 in Phoenix.

A Citi ticket presale kicks off Wednesday, February 14, at 10 a.m. local time, with the general onsale beginning Friday, February 16, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at santana.com and countingcrows.com.

Ahead of the tour, Santana will return to Las Vegas for his An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Casino. His next show is happening May 10.

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse are hitting the road this spring, and they are releasing a new album, too.

Young and his longtime backing band just announced dates for the Love Earth Tour, and each ticket purchased will come with a physical CD of Young’s new album, FU##IN’ UP. 

The 15-city tour is set to kick off with two nights in San Diego, April 24 and 25, and will hit Arizona, Texas, New York, Georgia, Connecticut and more before wrapping May 23 in Chicago.

A Neil Young Archives ticket presale begins Tuesday, February 13, at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the general onsale on Friday, February 16, at 10 a.m. ET.

As for the album, few details about FU##IN’ UP have been revealed, although it is known to contain recordings of nine songs from Neil & Crazy Horse’s 50-year career. It will be released on limited-edition colored vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20, with a wider release in all formats set for April 26.

In addition to the Love Earth Tour, Young is set to headline the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond festival, taking place September 19-22 in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are reuniting for another tour this year.

The 30-date Can’t Let Go tour will kick off June 2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a centennial celebration for the historic venue Cain’s Ballroom. The tour will see the pair playing amphitheaters, pavilions, opera houses and other historic venues, with the trek including multiple nights in Vienna, Virginia; Missoula, Montana; and Seattle, Washington. It is set to wrap September 1 in Vail, Colorado. 

JD McPherson, who plays lead guitar for Plant and Krauss, will open all dates.

A presale for tickets begins Wednesday, February 14, at 10 a.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, February 16. A complete list of dates can be found at plantkrauss.com. 

Plant and Krauss released their first collaborative album, Raising Sand, in 2007 and toured together in support of the release. The album went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Record of the Year for “Please Read The Letter.”

In 2021 they released their follow-up, Raise The Roof, and hit the road in support of the album in 2022 and 2023.

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On Valentine’s Day, a few lucky fans will be able to feel the power of love in person — from Huey Lewis himself.

On February 14, the box office opens for Huey’s new Broadway musical, The Heart of Rock and Roll.  From 12:30 p.m. ET to 6 p.m., tickets to the show will be available for only $19.85 — in honor of the year Huey Lewis & The News‘ #1 hit “The Power of Love” first came out.

Even better, the first 50 ticket buyers will get to meet Huey in person at the James Earl Jones Theatre and have their photo taken with him. 

These special discount tickets are good for preview performances of The Heart of Rock and Roll, which begin March 29. Opening night is set for April 22.

The Heart of Rock and Roll is a romantic comedy based on Huey Lewis & the News’ catalog of hit songs, like “Hip to Be Square,” “Do You Believe in Love,” “Stuck With You,” “If This Is It” and more. It’s set in 1987 and follows Bobby, who’s traded music for the corporate world, and his boss Cassandra, who always puts work first.  But when the two get a chance to live their dreams, they have to decide what they both really want.

Speaking about the musical last year to ABC Audio, Huey said, “It’s smart and funny, and I think it’s really entertaining.”

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Peter Frampton is one of the artists who was been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year — his first nomination, even though he’s been eligible since 1997. And while many feel it’s been a long time coming, he tells Vulture the recognition was quite a surprise.

“Throughout my life, I never really expected anything,” he says. “I know a lot of other people have expected this on my behalf, and I appreciate them, but if it wasn’t going to happen, it wasn’t going to happen.” 

Frampton says he never expected a nomination “because I’m a realist,” explaining, “I’ve had a storied career. I’ve been up and down and up and down more times than a yo-yo. The Rock Hall has never been something where I’ve said to myself, I deserve this. I expect this. I’m not that kind of a person.”

He adds, “I have nothing to complain about. If you don’t expect it, it’s all the nicer when it happens.”

Frampton says in the past he has criticized the Rock Hall for who has been nominated and suggests Jann Wenner‘s ouster from the board should improve things. “It’s for the better. Things will be more realistic,” he says.

And Frampton feels his nomination may not have happened had Sheryl Crow not invited him to perform with her at the 2023 ceremony.

“I’ll continue to thank her for stirring the pot. She was saying, Look, this guy isn’t in, what do you think about that?” he says. “That was her goal, I think.”

The Hall of Fame fan vote is open until April 26; fans can vote for up to seven artists daily. Inductees will be announced in April, and the 2024 induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland in the fall.

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Billy Joel‘s new single, “Turn the Lights Back On,” has returned him to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since 1997. One of the people who may be most surprised at this turn of events is, well, Billy Joel.

Freddy Wexler, who spearheaded the new single and Billy’s return to music, tells ABC Audio, “Part of what we all love about Billy is his humility. So yes, I think he’s surprised that — which boggles my mind — that people are still so interested in another song from him.”

Of course, the first new Billy Joel single in 17 years may lead fans to hope that more music’s coming.

“We have talked about it. We overcame the biggest hurdle, which was Billy feeling done,” Wexler says. “Now that that door has been opened, I think anything could happen.”

“[Billy’s] not looking to chase hits and neither am I. If it can stay fun, then the possibilities are endless.”

In fact, Wexler says he and Billy are currently working on creating new songs from Billy’s unfinished music, noting, “I’m excited to see what happens.”

Although Billy wrote 99% of his catalog alone, “Turn the Lights Back On” was co-written by Billy, Wexler, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector, with the concept of the song and lyrics coming from Wexler.

“I wanted to write the words I wished my dad would have said to my mom at a certain moment in their relationship,” he tells ABC Audio. “But as I started writing … I fully tried to channel Billy Joel.”

“And that’s why when he heard the idea, he said to me, ‘I would have written these words,'” Wexler adds. “And I said, ‘Oh, cool, because as I was writing it I was trying to think, ‘What would you have said there?'” 

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Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is thanking fans for their support of his single “10,000 Volts,” the title track from his upcoming album.

The video for the song just reached 1 million views on YouTube. Frehley celebrated the milestone on Instagram with the message, “Thank you to all the fans who’ve been with me for 50 years and to the new faces joining the party!”

Meanwhile, Ace is giving folks a sneak peek at the video for his next 10,000 Volts track, “Cherry Medicine.” He’s shared behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the clip, in which he seems obsessed about getting the right amount of balloons in the video.

Frehley’s 10,000 Volts, his first solo release since 2020’s Origins Vol. 2, comes out February 23. He has several performances on the calendar for 2024, including an appearance on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which runs from May 2-6 out of Miami, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at acefrehley.com.

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Ringo Starr is giving fans of The Beatles a chance to own prints of classic photos he took of his bandmates over the years.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of The Beatles coming to America, Ringo has teamed with Genesis Publications to unveil 12 new prints, dubbed The Photograph Portfolio, which include black and white photos of John Lennon and Paul McCartney recording at Abbey Road Studios, the first photo of Ringo on drums at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, one of George Harrison smiling on a yacht in Cannes and more.

Each museum-quality print is reproduced from the original negative, and there are only 25 numbered copies available, each one signed by Ringo.

Prints are on sale now at ringostarrprints.com, with proceeds going to Ringo’s charity, The Lotus Foundation, which funds, supports and promotes charitable projects aimed at advancing social welfare in a variety of areas, including homelessness, cancer and substance abuse.

It looks like fans can look forward to a lot from Ringo in the coming year. He recently announced on Instagram that he’s working on a country album, noting it was originally going to be an EP but has now expanded to 10 or 12 tracks. He’s also set for more shows with his All-Starr Band, starting May 22 in Las Vegas. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

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