Classic Hits

Billy Idol is celebrating the album that started it all for him. The rocker is releasing an expanded edition of his 1982 self-titled debut, with lots of new goodies for fans.

The new release, dropping July 28, will feature a previously unreleased 12-minute Clubland Extended Remix of his classic tune “White Wedding.” In addition, the two-CD set will feature a separate album with a previously unreleased concert, recorded August 12, 1982, at The Roxy in West Hollywood, California. It features performances of such tracks as “Hot in the City,” “Mony Mony,” “White Wedding” and more.

Billy Idol Expanded Edition is available for preorder now.

Idol is set to perform at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, June 24, as part of the new supergroup Generation Sex, featuring Idol and Tony James from Generation X, along with Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. He’ll also hit the road on a North American solo tour in late summer, kicking off August 27 in Vancouver, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at BillyIdol.net.

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Rod Stewart is shooting down reports of his retirement. In recent interviews, Rod suggested that his upcoming concerts in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 6 and 7 would be “the last” of the rock ‘n’ roll shows, but in a letter posted to Instagram, Stewart insists that’s not the case.

“I’d like to clear up any confusion that I may have caused my dear fans and the media,” he writes. “I shall never retire. I was put on this earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good Lord lets me.” He also assures fans he will be playing the hits at his upcoming U.K., U.S., South America and Vegas shows, which are set to run into 2024.

Stewart notes that he has said in interviews that his “newest passion is big bang/swing music,” and once he’s done touring the hits, he’s “eager to share” that with fans. But he’s not about to abandon his classics.

“I could never turn my back on the songs that I’ve written and sung over the last six decades,” he says. “They are like my children. I created them and I love them. I’ll always come back to them.” Finally he adds, “I look forward to seeing you on the road with all the hits and I can’t wait to introduce you to my new swing album next year.”

Rod is currently on a tour of the U.K. with Culture Club. His North American tour is set to kick off July 29 in Sparks, Nevada. A complete list of dates can be found at rodstewart.com.

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On This Day, June 21, 1944…

Raymond Douglas Davies, better known as Ray Davies, was born in Fortis Green, London. He and his brother Dave Davies, formed The Kinks in 1963, releasing their self-titled debut in 1964.

The band went on to release 24 albums, including 1966’s Face to Face, 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman and more, with hit songs like 1964’s “You Really Got Me,” which reached the Top 10 in the U.S, and 1970’s “Lola.” Their biggest chart hits included 1965’s “Tired of Waiting For You” and 1983’s “Come Dancing,” which both peaked at #6. 

In 1990, Ray Davies and the rest of The Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was knighted in 2017.

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There’s no doubt Pink Floyd fans would love to see the band members reunite and play the songs they love, but considering the strained relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour, drummer and founding member Nick Mason doesn’t suspect that’s going to happen anytime soon. In fact, he can think of only a few things that could possibly get everyone playing together again.

During an appearance on The Story Behind The Song podcast, Mason said “it’s highly unlikely” the band would reunite. But he does acknowledge, “I would’ve said that before Live 8 — 10 years ago or 12 years ago, whatever it was,” referring to their 2005 reunion at Live 8 in London’s Hyde Park.

“The one thing I could think would be possible would be if there was some … if by getting back together we could influence either saving the planet, world peace, or whatever,” Mason says. “Hopefully, we’d step up. But I don’t think otherwise. It would take a Nelson Mandela or someone like that to lead on it.”

Besides 2008, the only other time the three bandmates got back together since their split was in 2011, when Mason and Gilmour joined Waters at the London stop of his tour. 

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Aerosmith just announced a new 44-track Greatest Hits box set, but if fans are hoping for some new music from the band, they may not want to get their hopes up. 

In a new interview with Classic Rock, guitarist Joe Perry sounded pretty doubtful the band would be recording anything new, at least anytime soon.

Talking about whether he’d do another solo album, Perry says he doesn’t “see the time for it,” suggesting that if he did have the time, “I would put everything I have into doing another Aerosmith album,” but then adds, “if that’s even on the cards.”

The band hasn’t released a new studio album since 2012’s Music From Another Dimension, but Perry says right now the focus is to “tour as much as we can.”

“I want to get out and play to the fans,” he says. “That’s really the focus right now, to get out and play live.” 

He adds, “If we get time to work on some new music, that would be great, but knowing Steven [Tyler] and knowing our age and what it takes to do an album … I don’t know. I’m always playing, I’m always writing stuff, but at this stage, I can’t say. I just want to get through this next tour and play live and give something back to the fans.”

That next tour is the band’s Peace Out! tour, with special guests The Black Crowes, which they say will be their final trek. It kicks off September 2 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at aerosmith.com.

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Elton John is set to headline the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, June 25, and if fans are expecting him to put on the same show he does each night on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, they’re in for a treat.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Elton says he’s planning a “brand new show” for his set at the iconic festival.

“I’m starting with a song I haven’t played for about 10 years, so we’ll see how it goes,” he shares. “I’ve got the set list down, I’ve got rehearsal dates booked for the guest artists, so we just have to hope the weather will still be nice.”

Elton insists the set will be “a different show to what people have been seeing” on the tour, and it sounds like fans are in for quite a night. 

“When you put a set list together, I always say it’s a bit like having sex,” he says. “You start off really well, then you chill out a little bit, then towards the end of the show all hell breaks loose.”

Glastonbury runs from June 23 to June 25. A complete lineup and schedule can be found at glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.

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The U.K. Glastonbury Festival’s already huge lineup just got a little bigger. The Pretenders announced they will be performing at the fest, which takes place June 23-25. 

The band made the surprise announcement on Instagram, sharing video from the festival grounds, along with a program that shows they’ll be playing The Park Stage at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 24. They post says they’ll be bringing along some “special friends.”

“It’s always been there for most of our lifetimes,” frontwoman Chrissie Hynde shared about the concert. “There has never been a festival like it anywhere else.”

The surprise appearance comes ahead of Pretenders joining Guns N’ Roses’ U.K. tour as special guests. (GNR just happens to be headlining Glastonbury on June 24). The tour kicks off June 27 in Glasgow, Scotland. A complete list of dates can be found at thepretenders.com.

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The lineup for the inaugural Darker Waves Festival in Huntington Beach, California, has just been announced and it’s jam-packed with some of the most popular new wave artists of the ’80s.

The festival, happening on the beach November 18, features headliners Tears for Fears and New Order, with The B-52’s, OMD, Devo, Echo and the Bunnymen, Soft Cell, The Human League, Violent Femmes and more also on the bill.

Presale tickets go on sale Friday, June 23, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete lineup and more ticket information can be found at darkerwavesfest.com.

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KISS is currently on the European leg of their End of the Road Tour, and while you may think it’s hard for the band members to get around in their elaborate stage wear and platform boots, it looks like at least one member of the band has figured out a way to get around that.

The British band The Wild Things is currently opening for KISS on the trek and shared a hilarious video of bassist Gene Simmons, all made up in his outfit, having some fun backstage riding around in a motorized yellow cart. A second clip has Simmons in the same cart waving at those around him like he’s the queen.

The Wild Things captioned the videos, “He’s still very threatening in that tiny car,” with the voiceover adding, “Things we didn’t expect to see backstage whilst on tour with KISS.”

They then added another clip that combines the two videos, set to Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’.”

KISS’ End of the World tour hits Dresden, Germany, on June 21. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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The Zombies are returning to North America this fall for a brand new tour. The band just announced dates for their Different Game tour, named after their latest album, which dropped in March. 

The tour kicks off in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, on October 1, hitting such U.S. cities as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, Nashville, New York and more, before wrapping October 29 in Glenside Park, Pennsylvania. 

A fan club presale kicks off Wednesday, June 21, at 10 a.m. local time, with the general on-sale happening Friday, June 23, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at thezombiesmusic.com.

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