Classic Hits

Anyone who watched the Peter Jackson-directed docuseries The Beatles: Get Back will be familiar with Mal Evans, who was The Beatles’ road manager and personal assistant from the early ’60s to their breakup. Well, fans are about to learn even more about him, thanks to the new book Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans, dropping November 14.

The book was written by Beatles scholar Dr. Kenneth Womack, using the memoir Evans wrote before his tragic death in January 1976. It recalls his days working for The Beatles, along with his take on their split and his life after the band broke up. It also contains letters written by The Beatles giving Evans permission to write his story.  

“Sure, you can do your book,” reads Paul McCartney’s letter, “as long as you tell them how lovely I am.” John Lennon also offers up his approval, noting he’s “been dying to read your diary for the last thousand years.” He adds, “Make a buck, but don’t f*** it up.” 

And there’s even more Evans info to come. Womack is working on a second edition of Evans’ memoir, to be published in 2024, which will contain never-before-seen photos of The Beatles, one of which is believed to the last picture ever taken of McCartney and Lennon together.

People shares the first look at the photo, which Evans took in March 1974 during a recording session for Lennon’s album Rock ‘n’ Roll. People also has an excerpt from the book, recounting Lennon’s time in Los Angeles recording the album, as well as Evans’ decision to finally resign from The Beatles and the band’s reaction.

Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is available for preorder now.

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The Grateful Dead is getting into English football aka soccer for us American folks.

The band is sponsoring the Forest Green Rovers, a little-known club that plays in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, outside of London. The band’s green skull logo now appears on a new merch line of team T-shirts, hoodies, shorts and more, all made by the U.K. sustainable clothing line I Dress Myself.

While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, it seems the band and the team are very like-minded when it comes to saving the environment. The Dead has spent decades promoting environmental causes, and the Green Rovers have similar values. They have adapted several sustainable practices, so much so the United Nations and FIFA named them “the world’s greenest football club.”

“For us, it’s a perfect match,” Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux tells Billboard. “Forest Green Rovers is a team that really follows Grateful Dead values, which is to say that we’re both conscious of the world around us and we want to make sure that we leave it a better place than when we arrived.”

He adds, “We love to partner with cool people, cool companies and cool organizations who are trying to make a positive difference.”

The Grateful Dead/Forest Green Rovers merch is on sale now.

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Foreigner is set to headline Arizona’s first-ever Rock the Block concert, which will open collector car auction house Barrett-Jackson’s 2024 Scottsdale auction.

The concert will take place Friday, January 19, at Auction Arena at WestWorld of Scottsdale, with tickets on sale starting Wednesday, November 1.

“We are thrilled to introduce the inaugural Rock the Block as an exciting way to kick off our world-renowned Scottsdale Auction in January,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “This unique blend of live classic rock and automotive excellence underscores our commitment to providing an unparalleled experience at Barrett-Jackson. We look forward to welcoming fans and enthusiasts for this unforgettable occasion in the auction arena.” 

Barrett-Jackson’s 2024 Scottsdale Auction is happening January 20-28, featuring about 1,900 collectible cars, trucks and SUVs. More info on the auction and concert can be found at barrett-jackson.com.

In the meantime, Foreigner still has a few more dates left on the 2023 leg of their farewell tour. Their next show is happening Wednesday, November 1, in Johnson City, Tennessee. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

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The Black Crowes are headed to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend.

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson are booked to play two shows at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort on February 9 and 10, performing their hits and fan favorites.

A Citi ticket presale begins Tuesday, October 31, at 10 a.m. PT, with the general onsale happening Friday, November 3, at 10 a.m. PT. 

The Black Crowes currently don’t have any dates on the books for the remainder of 2023. They were supposed to be opening for Aerosmith on their Peace Out tour, but that tour was halted after frontman Steven Tyler injured his vocal cords. It is expected to be rescheduled for sometime next year.

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“Dreaming,” a new Sting, Pink and Marshmello collaboration that reworks Sting’s 1993 hit “Fields of Gold,” has landed the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer back on the pop and dance charts.

As Billboard notes, the song enters the publication’s Adult Pop Airplay chart at #34, which is the highest Sting has gotten on that ranking since 2006 when he teamed with Sheryl Crow for the #11 single “Always On Your Side.”

The song also enters Billboard‘s Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart at #1 and the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart at #12.

Marshmello came up with the idea for “Dreaming.” In an Instagram video documenting the collaboration, Sting says, “I always like it when [a] different mind takes one of my songs and adds something of their own to it. I never feel that possessive. I’m always interested to know where it can go. A song is just a template for something else.”

“Dreaming” is one of the new tracks on the Tour Deluxe Edition of Pink’s album Trustfall, which comes out December 1.

Notably, this isn’t the first time Sting has had a dance hit with a reworking of one of his classic songs. “Redlight,” a new version of his Police song “Roxanne” with Swedish House Mafia, peaked at #20 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in March of 2022.

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The Rolling Stones are the latest artists to be honored with a Brit Billion Award by the British Phonographic Industry.

The award is given to artists who achieve one billion career U.K. streams, based on calculations by the Official Charts Company. Some of their most streamed tunes include “Paint It, Black,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Start Me Up.”

“Few artists have crossed generational divides in quite the way the Rolling Stones have. Their iconic songs and albums are era-defining, but the band remain as contemporary as ever,” says Dr. Jo Twist OBE, BPI chief executive. “The BPI is thrilled to honor them with a BRIT Billion Award, which underscores both the timeless appeal of their music and the extent to which they are now also connecting with a new wave of fans thanks to streaming.”

The Stones are now the longest active artists to receive a Brit Billion honor. They are one of 25 artists who have earned the award, including ABBA, Queen, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.

In other Rolling Stones news, the band’s new album, Hackney Diamonds, has now reached #1 in 14 countries, including the U.K., Germany, Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand and more. In the U.S., it debuted at #3.

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Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has directed the music video for “Now and Then,” the final song from The Beatles. The song drops Thursday, November 2, at 10 a.m. ET,  with the video to follow on Friday, November 3, at 10 a.m. ET.

Jackson, who also directed the Emmy-winning docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, says he was at first reluctant to take on the project.

“I thought my next few months would be a hell of a lot more fun if that tricky task was somebody else’s problem, and I could be like any other Beatles fan, enjoying the night-before-Christmas anticipation as the release of a new Beatles song and music video approached,” he explains, noting the idea of making the clip “produced a collection of anxieties almost too overwhelming to deal with.” 

Jackson says his biggest worry was that there wasn’t enough authentic footage to use for the video, but his fears were unfounded. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr shot new footage of themselves performing, and Apple had video of Paul, Ringo and George Harrison working on “Now and Then” in 1995. Plus, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison sent him unseen home movies, and Pete Best provided some never-before-seen footage. 

“To be honest, while we hope we’ve given The Beatles a suitable final farewell, that’s something you’ll need to decide for yourselves when it’s finally released – only a few days from now,” Jackson says. “Having got to the end, I’m very happy I’m not waiting for the release of somebody else’s ‘Now And Then’ music video. I have genuine pride in what we made, and I’ll cherish that for years to come.”

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On This Day, October 31, 1961…

Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr., better known to rock fans as U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., was born in Dublin, Ireland. 

It was Mullen who in 1976 posted an advertisement on a bulletin board seeking musicians interested in forming a rock band, which led to the eventual creation of U2. Bono and friend David Evans, aka the Edge, responded to that ad, and they, along with bassist Adam Clayton, went on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

The Irish rockers have gone on to release 15 studio albums and win 22 Grammy Awards. They’ve sold between 150 million and 170 million records and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 in their first year of eligibility.

While the band is currently in Las Vegas headlining their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency, Mullen is sitting out the shows, as he recovers from surgery. He did, however, appear on the band’s new song, “Atomic City,” and was on hand to film the video on the streets of Sin City.

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Bruce Springsteen is heading overseas again next year. 

The rocker just announced a new set of European dates with the E Street Band, which will see them playing in Wales, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, London and more.

The trek kicks off May 5 in Cardiff, Wales, and features four dates across Ireland, including a May 19 concert at Croke Park in Dublin. The tour also includes multiple night stands in Milan, Madrid, and Stockholm, with the tour wrapping July 25 at Wembley Stadium in London. 

Ticket onsales begin Friday, November 3, and vary depending on the tour date.

The European tour will follow the 2024 North American leg, which consists of shows Springsteen had to reschedule after postponing his 2023 tour to recover from peptic ulcer disease. The tour is set to kick off March 19, in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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The Rolling Stones have reached a new milestone on the Billboard chart. 

With the band’s latest album, Hackney Diamonds, debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 this week, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are now the first act to have albums land in the top 10 in every decade from the 1960s to the 2020s.

Overall, The Stones have had 38 top 10 records, the most of any artist in the history of the list. They had their first top 10 in 1964 with 12 x 5; prior to Hackney Diamonds, their last was 2010’s Blue & Lonesome.

Since the ’60s, nine of The Stones’ 38 top 10s have gone to #1, although none since the ’80s. They include: 1965’s Out of Our Heads, 1971’s Sticky Fingers, 1972’s Exile on Main St., 1973’s Goats Head Soup, 1974’s It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll, 1976’s Black and Blue, 1978’s Some Girls, 1980’s Emotional Rescue and 1981’s Tattoo You.

Barbra Streisand is the only other artist to come close to The Stones’ feat. She has had a new top 10 in each decade from the 1960s to the 2010s.

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