Classic Hits

Rare images of The Beatles will be available to fans for the first time as a series of new of digital collectables.

The photos are from the vaults of Retna Pictures and London Features International; they include shots from the legendary rockers’ Help! and Hard Day’s Night promotional tours, as well as early performance photos, snaps from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed in,” and one from the Fab Four’s final photo shoot. 

The digital images, created by Pop Culture, Inc., will be sold on the digital marketplace Quidd and will be available starting September 26 at 5 p.m. ET.

“We are excited about these magical collections, showcasing many photos that have never before been seen,” says Hayden Michael, CEO of POP Culture, Inc. “Our curator, Chris Vranian, has spent countless hours searching in old filing cabinets, most of which had not seen the light of day in half a century.”

And there will be more images to come. Future collections will feature photos of other famous rockers, including an October drop of “Helloween” photos of David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne and KISS. Bowie will also be the subject of a November 17 drop with photos taken around the release of his 1967 self-titled debut album.

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Peter Gabriel, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Sheryl Crow are among the artists lending their voices to the fight against gun violence in America, joining the Artists for Action to Prevent Gun Violence coalition, Variety reports. The group is led by musician Mark Barden, whose son was one of the young victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The group, which also includes Billie Eilish, Bootsy Collins, Bush, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Halestorm, will be hosting a series of live events, with a goal toward getting folks to help end gun violence in the U.S. through volunteering, donating and voting.

“After my son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I put my career as a professional guitarist on hold to devote myself to preventing gun violence,” Barden said. “Please join me and hundreds of other artists, musicians, actors, athletes, and people like you to finally end this senseless violence.”

Gabriel adds, “This needs to stop. So many needless deaths. So much suffering. It just needs a little common sense.” 

Bush is headlining the first event, a concert at New York’s Irving Plaza on September 22. There will be others, including a December concert celebrating the release of the documentary A Father’s Promise, about Barden and the work of Sandy Hook Promise. There will also be a concert at the Central Park Summerstage in New York next summer coinciding with Gun Violence Awareness month.

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Sotheby’s auction of Freddie Mercury’s personal items, Freddie Mercury: A World of his Own, began on Wednesday, September 6, and it’s brought in huge money. In fact, the first set of items brought in $15.4 million, with 100% of the lots sold. 

The auction was curated by the late Queen frontman’s good friend Mary Austin. Fifty-nine lots went up for sale Wednesday, with Mercury’s baby grand Yamaha piano bringing in the highest bid, $2.2 million.

Meanwhile, a Victorian-style silver snake bangle bracelet sold for $881,000, 100 times more than its lowest estimated bid. The item actually set a record for the highest price paid for an item of jewelry once owned by a rock star, surpassing John Lennon’s leather and bead talisman, which sold for $368,000 in 2008.

Other hot items included handwritten lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which revealed an alternate title, selling for $1.7 million; lyrics to “We Are The Champions,” which sold for over $400,000; the signature crown and cloak Mercury wore during Queen’s last live show in 1968, which sold for over $800,000, 10 times more than the lowest estimate; and a still operational 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox, which sold for over $512,000, more than 20 times its estimate.

There was also a Cartier onyx and diamond ring that was a gift to Mercury from Elton John. It sold for over $344,000, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Elton John Aids Foundation. 

And this is only the first of six total Mercury auctions happening at Sotheby’s. The next one, “On Stage,” is happening Thursday, September 7. Sotheby’s says a record 2,000 people from 61 different countries registered to bid in the auction.

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The Rolling Stones’ new album, Hackney Diamonds, is set to drop October 20, and the track list has now been revealed by their producer, Andrew Watt.

Hackney Diamonds contains 12 songs, including the just-released single “Angry.” Lady Gaga is confirmed to appear on the song “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” while The Stones previously shared that the tunes “Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword” will feature their late drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in 2021.

Watt has plenty of experience working with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists like The Stones. He previously produced Eddie Vedder’s 2022 solo album, Earthling; Ozzy Osbourne’s Grammy-winning album Patient Number 9; and Iggy Pop’s recent release, Every Loser.

During The Stones’ special media launch event in London for Hackney Diamonds, Mick Jagger talked about working with Watt, noting he “kicked us up the a**.” 

Here is the track list for Hackney Diamonds. It is available for preorder now.

“Angry”
“Get Close”
“Depending on You”
“Bite My Head Off”
“Whole Wide World”
“Dreamy Skies”
“Mess It Up”
“Live by the Sword”
“Driving Me Too Hard”
“Tell Me Straight”
“Sweet Sounds of Heaven” (Ft. Lady Gaga)
“Rolling Stone Blues”

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John Mellencamp is one of several artists set to perform at the 17th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit, put on by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival.

The event will take place November 6 at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with the lineup also featuring Josh Groban, The War And Treaty and Rita Wilson as well as comedians Jon Stewart, Ronny Chieng, Tracy Morgan, Shane Gillis and others.

“I’m thrilled to announce the 17th annual Stand Up for Heroes, an amazing night of hope, healing, and laughter to honor our nation’s veterans and their families,” said Bob Woodruff, ABC correspondent and cofounder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “The evening will include a fantastic lineup of comedic and musical performances.”

In addition to the entertainment, Stand Up For Heroes spotlights the inspiring stories of our nation’s service men and women, raising awareness and funds for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, an organization whose goal is to insure the future of those who serve our nation and their families. 

Tickets are on sale now.

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Devo is celebrating their 50th anniversary with a new career-spanning box set, 50 Years of De-evolution (1973-2023), dropping October 20. 

The set will be released in a variety of formats, including a four-LP set pressed on clear vinyl, a 25-song, two-LP set on black vinyl and a two-LP blue and red vinyl, which will be sold exclusively at retail stores. There will also be a 50-song, two-CD set.

The four-LP deluxe edition will be limited to 3,000 copies and will come with a 28-page book, a Devo air freshener, a paper version of the band’s signature red energy domes and a lithograph of the album’s artwork.

“This box set represents a great cross section of early experiments and later creations,” Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh shares. “I was looking to create a new sound, a concept in art and music that represented a new way of thinking about life on planet earth. With Devo, I think we did just that. Farewell to the first 50, Let’s get the next 50 started!”

The band has also offered fans a preview of the set, with the release of the seven-inch version of “Disco Dancer,” which is making its streaming debut.

50 Years of De-evolution (1973-2023) is available for preorder now.

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Once Elton John finished his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, he said he’d never go on the road again, but he didn’t rule out the occasional one-off performance. Well, he’s got one coming up in a very unexpected place.

On October 6, Elton is going to perform solo, without his band, at the El Dorado Waterpark in the Dominican Republic. He’ll be playing the property’s new Legends Arena, and it’ll be his first scheduled show since he concluded the tour in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 8.

Elton’s performance is part of the grand opening celebration of the park, which bills itself as “the largest and most advanced waterpark in the Caribbean.”

Tickets are on sale now for the performance.

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Three new Bob Dylan rerecordings are up for sale, and they likely won’t come cheap.

Back in 2022, a one-of-a-kind rerecording of Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ In The Wind,” which he recorded with producer T Bone Burnett, was auctioned off for $1.8 million. Well, now, Variety reports that three more tracks are up for sale. 

The latest rerecordings include “Simple Twist of Fate,” “Masters of War” and “Gotta Serve Somebody,” which are all now available via a private sale at Christie’s. The trio was recorded during a session Dylan had with Burnett in 2021 and come on an aluminum disc developed by Burnett that’s like vinyl but more durable. All three songs will be autographed and come in a display case.

As for why they aren’t getting auctioned off this time, Burnett tells the mag, “I realized when we had an auction that we had no idea who was going to buy it. It could have been somebody just to hoard it or something.” 

And it sounds like there will be more to come. Variety notes there are still two more rerecordings that have not been put up for sale yet: “Not Dark Yet” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

More info on the sale can be found at christies.com.

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The late Greg Lake may be best known for his work with Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but he also had an extensive solo career. Now, that career is being celebrated with a brand new box set.

Greg Lake Magical, dropping November 10, is a limited edition, seven-CD box set featuring Lake’s two studio albums, Greg Lake and Manoeuvres, and two live albums. It includes collaborations with Clarence Clemons, Toto, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Keith Emerson, Carl Palmer, Gary Moore and others.

In addition to the music, the set includes a 64-page coffee table book with previously unseen archival photos and sleeve notes by Prog magazine editor Jerry Ewing, who talked to many of Lake’s collaborators.

Greg Lake Magical is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, September 6, 1968…

George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute a guitar solo to his new Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Clapton initially declined Harrison’s request saying, “nobody ever plays on Beatles records,” but Harrison eventually convinced him to participate, and Clapton recorded the solo that night.

The song appeared on the band’s album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, which was released in November of 1968. The track was one of Harrison’s songs on the album. It went on to be an iconic track for him and has often made it on lists of the greatest guitar songs of all time.

Harrison eventually paid Clapton back for his contribution by cowriting and playing guitar on Cream’s “Badge.”

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