Classic Hits

An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

(A previous version of this story published on 9/5/23 erroneously identified the winning bid as $15,000 in the headline. The headline has been updated to correct the error.) 

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Foreigner is currently on their Farewell Tour, but it looks like they aren’t saying goodbye to the road that quickly. In a new interview with Rock Show Critique, bassist Jeff Pilson confirmed the band will still be on the road next year.

Pilson told the show that the tour has been “going great,” adding, “the attendance has been really crazy. We’re freaking out at how many people are coming.” He then revealed that fans will have even more chances to see them.  

“I can’t give you all the details, but yes, we will be touring through 2024,” he said when pressed about their future plans. “And there is a major tour in mind, and we’ll be announcing it shortly so you’ll hear about it.” 

Foreigner’s Farewell tour hits Airway Heights, Washington, on September 22. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Madonna seems to have fully recovered from the illness that caused her to push back the start of her Celebration Tour.

A source tells People that the Queen of Pop “returned to rehearsals last Monday,” adding, “She’s so happy to be back onstage and is feeling strong.”

Noting that Madonna is working with longtime collaborators Jamie King and Stuart Price to create her “most ambitious tour ever,” the source adds, “This is where she thrives. She loves being back in a creative environment.”

The Celebration Tour will start in October with four shows in London followed by a run of European dates that are mapped out through December 6. Her first North American shows will start December 13 with three shows at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center, followed by two shows in Washington, D.C. She’ll resume the tour January 8, 2024, in Boston.

In June, Madonna developed what her manager called “a serious bacterial infection” which sent her to the ICU for several days. While celebrating her birthday in Lisbon, Portugal, in August, she announced, “It’s great to be alive.”

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Former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin is giving fans another preview of his upcoming solo album, Rio, dropping the new track “Push.” 

“For this song I was thinking of the horror of politics and politicians,” Rabin shares. “Once Vinnie Colaiuta played drums on this, it inspired me to redo some of the instrumentation. Vinnie‘s performance lifted this song beyond what I imagined.”

You can listen to “Push” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming on YouTube.

Rio is Rabin’s first album in 34 years on which he sings; his last album with vocals was 1989’s Can’t Look Away. “Push” is the second song he’s released from the album following “Big Mistakes.”

Rio is due out October 6 and is available for preorder now.

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Bruce Springsteen has been getting a lot of flack for not changing up his set lists during his current tour with the E Street Band, but he still drops in some surprises for fans, and that certainly was the case for the final night of his three-night stand at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. 

According to setlist.fm, the Sunday, September 3, show featured the tour debut of The River track “Two Hearts,” the first time he performed the song with the E Street Band since 2017. Other set list additions included “Something In The Night,” “Spirit in the Night” and “Atlantic City.” “Spirit in the Night” was also performed during the MetLife show on September 1, marking the tour debut of the track.

The encore also had The Boss veering from the normal show, with the inclusion of “Jungleland” and “Detroit Medley,” ending the night with “Jersey Girl” instead of the usual “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” 

Next up, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band bring their tour to Syracuse, New York, on September 7. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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Cher may be 77, but that doesn’t mean she has to change the way she dresses.

In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Cher said, “I remember when my friend Paulette and I were talking about when we were going to have to cut our hair and stop wearing jeans, because it seemed like in those days that’s what women did — and it hasn’t hit yet.”

“I just can’t believe I will be 80 at some point, sooner than I wish,” Cher added. “And I will still be wearing my jeans. And I will still be wearing long hair. And I will still be doing the same stuff I’ve always done.”

Noting that she’s missed multiple deadlines on her eagerly awaited memoir, Cher laughed, “The problem is, I’ve lived too long … and I’ve done too many things, and cramming it in, with my life’s experiences, it’s very difficult.”

As for her upcoming Christmas album, Cher said, “I’m really excited because there’s millions of people on it. I’ve never had duets, I’ve never had people on my any of my records, and this was just a last minute thing.” While she wouldn’t name any of those “million people,” Cher did say, “I’m in awe of all of them.”

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On This Day, September 5, 1998…

Aerosmith scored their first and only #1 hit with “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” which was written by Diane Warren. 

The song was the theme to the hit action flick Armageddon, which starred Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s daughter Liv.

Three other Aerosmith songs were included on the movie’s soundtrack, “What Kind of Love Are You On,” a cover of The Beatles‘ “Come Together” and a remix of “Sweet Emotion.” 

“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” spent four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and more.

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Songwriter Desmond Child had a hand in co-writing some of the biggest stadium anthems and sing-alongs of our time, including Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” and Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like A Lady.” But some of those may never have happened had it not been for KISS’ Paul Stanley. 

Child tells ABC Audio that Stanley was his “main mentor,” noting, “He taught me how to write stadium anthem songs the KISS way. … Songs had to be uplifting. The singer could never be a victim. They couldn’t be a loser. It was always about victory and success.” 

But while Stanley supported Child, KISS’ Gene Simmons didn’t feel the same way about him. Child co-wrote one of the band’s biggest hits, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” but he says Simmons was initially very resistant to the tune.

“I think that he appreciates my contribution to KISS now, but at that time that song was a kind of oddball,” Child says, noting Simmons thought the song sounded like dance music. And he wasn’t completely wrong.

“It was a dance beat with rock guitars, and it actually changed the course of pop music,” Child says, suggesting it paved the way for artists like Prince and Madonna to experiment with all types of sounds.  

“From that moment on, all things were possible,” he says. “I just think that that song was revolutionary.”   

You can read more tales of Child’s work with Bon Jovi, KISS, Aerosmith and more when his new memoir, Livin’ On A Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, comes out September 19. It is available for preorder now.

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Aerosmith has begun their goodbye to the road. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers launched their Peace Out farewell tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, September 1.

According to setlist.fm, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford treated the fans to an 18-song, hits-filled set, that also included a few deep cuts. Drummer Joey Kramer is sitting out this tour, with John Douglas filling in behind the drum kit.

The show kicked off with the appropriate choice of “Back in the Saddle,” with the set featuring such hits as “Love in an Elevator,” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” “Ragdoll,” “Dream On,” “Sweet Emotion” and more, with the band wrapping up the night with their classic “Walk This Way.”

The show also included some deep cuts for fans, including the Toys in the Attic track “Adam’s Apple” for the first time since 2018,  as well as “No More No More” and “Seasons of Wither.” 

The set also included a performance of “Movin Out,” from the band’s 1973 self-titled debut. According to USA Today, that performance was a tribute to the late guitarist Jeff Beck, with Perry telling the audience the white Fender Stratocaster he was playing was from Beck’s collection. Perry also sang lead vocals on the set’s only cover, Fleetwood Mac’s “Stop Messin’ Around.”

Aerosmith’s Peace Out tour is set to run until January 26 in Montreal, Canada. The tour also includes a very special New Year’s Eve show in the band’s home city of Boston, Massachusetts. A complete list of dates can be found at aerosmith.com.

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