Classic Hits

Bob Dylan has plenty of his own songs he can play in concert, but at his show at Plaza de Toros Alicante in Spain Thursday, June 15, he broke out a surprise cover of someone else’s classic. Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows Dylan performing Van Morrison’s 1970 track “Into The Mystic.”

While this is the first time Dylan has performed the tune, it’s not the first time he’s covered one of Morrison’s songs, with Rolling Stone noting he’s covered tunes like “Crazy Love,” “Carrying A Torch” and more in the past.

Morrison has also been covering Dylan tracks for years, including “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” which appeared on his 1966 album, Them Again, as well as “Just Like A Woman” and “I Shall Be Released.” In 1998 the pair even toured together. 

Dylan is currently on the European leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. He plays a second night at the Plaza de Toros Alicante on Saturday, June 17. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.

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Bruce Springsteen has a reputation for playing three-hour concerts, and it sounds like Paul McCartney isn’t happy about it.

The Beatles legend sat down for a chat with Conan O’Brien at the Tribeca Festival in New York Thursday, June 15, and, according to USA Today, complained a bit about the trend of longer concerts. He joked, “I blame Bruce Springsteen. I told him so. I said, ‘It’s your fault!’”

When Conan noted, “He ruined it for everyone,” McCartney agreed.

“We used to do a half hour. That was like The Beatles’ thing – and we got paid for it. I tried to work out, ‘Why was it so short?’ Well, because there was a lot of people on the (lineup),” he said. “When you went to a thing, if you were a comedian, the promoter would say, ‘How long can you do? Four minutes?’ And the guy would say yes. So we thought, ‘Half an hour – that’s epic!’ But that was it.” 

He adds, “With a Beatles show, we were on and off like that, and it didn’t seem strange.”

Of course, McCartney concerts have gotten longer, with his last show at the U.K. Glastonbury Festival consisting of 38 songs.

McCartney was in New York promoting his new photography book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, which is out now.

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Pretenders have released the second single off their upcoming album, Relentless. 

The latest is the album’s closing track, “I Think About You Daily,” which features Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, who provided the string arrangement and conducted the 12 Ensemble on the song.

“I met Jonny a couple of times and we’re obviously big fans of him because he’s done some incredible music over the years,” Chrissie Hynde shares, noting she was “thrilled and very surprised” when he said he wanted to do something together.

Relentless, which is now dropping September 15 due to production delays, is the follow-up to 2020’s Hate for Sale. It’s the second consecutive album where Hynde and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne collaborated on all the songwriting. 

Relentless is available for preorder now.

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Fleetwood Mac’s classic tune “Don’t Stop” is featured in a new short film for Greenpeace, which was executive produced by 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen.

Variety reports the song’s writer, the late Fleetwood Mac keyboardist and singer Christine McVie, gave the organization the rights to use the song before she passed away in November 2022. The version in the clip was produced by Fraser T. Smith and is performed by Future Utopia. It features rapper Avelino, vocals from the House Gospel Choir and music from jazz talent development organization Tomorrow’s Warriors.

“This is no ordinary cover: ‘Don’t Stop’ is a contemporary fable about being young in the world today,” reads a description of the clip. “The song is a call to action for people worried about their future and the state of the planet, and a rallying cry for those who dream of a better tomorrow. Together we can stand up to the fossil fuel industry.” 

The video, directed by Samona Olanipekun, is set at an extravagant party where guests are celebrating to excess, although some, including Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s Will Poulter, start to wake up and realize the reality of the situation. 

Olanipekun shares, “My film is a metaphor for the climate crisis – things feel like they’re falling apart around us, while those in power continue with business as usual. The guests who snap out of the trance represent those brave enough to confront the truth. People everywhere are facing climate catastrophe – it’s time for us to wake up, and shake up, the fossil fuel industry. Together, we are stronger, and every voice makes us louder.”

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Queen is back with episode 21 of their weekly YouTube series, Queen The Greatest Live, and this week they are delving into what it takes to adapt their studio creations for the stage, turning them into live classics. 

“I think there’s various processes. Sometimes you’re in the middle of writing a song in the studio and you think, ‘How would that be live?’ And it actually informs your recording process because you’ve fashioned it towards being a sort of live-feeling kind of track,” Brian May shares. “Other songs not.”

For example, May discusses the process of rearranging the difficult piano ballad “Love Of My Life” into an acoustic number for the stage, which has become a highlight of Queen’s live show. He also reveals how the classic “We Will Rock You” transformed when performed live.

May notes that while the song doesn’t have any drums on the album, live it has “become a drum extravaganza.”

“The stamping and clapping thing has evolved into a completely incomprehensible situation because some people will go ‘bump bump punch,’ some people go ‘boom, boom, punch,’” he says. “But it doesn’t matter, because the physicality is there and they sing it, and obviously it’s a staple — it’s always going to be with us, same with ‘Champions.’”

He adds, “So yeah, it’s moments of discovery. I love waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, ‘Oh, we can do this. We could do this.’ And you go in, ‘Can we try this?’ And then you go, ‘Actually, yeah, that could work, that can pretty much work.’”

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On This Day, June 16, 1972 …

David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The album featured such future Bowie classics as “Starman” and “Suffragette City.”

The tale of a bisexual alien rock star sent to save mankind initially received mixed reviews, but was later hailed as one of the greatest, most influential albums of all time.

Bowie remained in character as Ziggy for his Ziggy Stardust Tour, with his final performance in character taking place July 3, 1973, at London’s Odeon Theater.

To mark the 50th anniversary of that final performance, a special world premiere screening of a restored version of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture is set to happen July 3 at London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith, which was formerly the Odeon. The event will be livestreamed in theaters in the U.K. and Europe, with worldwide screenings planned throughout July.

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The Songwriters Hall of Fame induction took place Thursday, June 15 in New York, with Gloria Estefan, and “Man in the Mirror” songwriter Glen Ballard among this year’s honorees.

Estefan was inducted by Valerie Simpson, who called her a “pop music force of nature, creating songs that touch fans of all backgrounds around the globe.” Gloria herself celebrated with a medley of some of her biggest hits, including “Words Get in the Way,” “Anything for You,” “Let’s Get Loud,” and more, ending the night with  “Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” featuring her husband Emilio Estefan and grandson Sasha.

“This is one of the most special awards that I have ever received because other people’s music, other writers’ music got me through my toughest moments,” Gloria told ABC Audio on the red carpet, noting “it’s a blessing to be able to reach other people’s hearts and minds through music and my words and be able to make a heart connection, which is what music does.” 

Ballard, who’s known for his work with Alanis Morrissette, Michael Jackson and more, was celebrated with a performance of “Man in the Mirror,” from Siedah Garrett and Tony winner Myles Frost, and later performed a medley of his hits including “Ironic,” “Hold On” and more. 

Ballard told ABC Audio he’s “grateful for the honor,” sharing, “It’s also encouraging to know I’ve been writing songs for 50 years and now they’re telling me it wasn’t a waste of time.” Ballard said he’s most proud of “Man in the Mirror,” noting, “that’s a pretty good one.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

The night’s other honorees included ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Liz Rose, best known for her work with Taylor Swift, and Teddy Riley, with Post Malone receiving the Hal David Starlight Award and Broadway songwriter Tim Rice receiving the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award.

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June 17 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of The Police’s fifth studio album, Synchronicity.

The band’s most successful record, Synchronicity went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, and topped the chart in the U.K. and several other countries, as well. It went on to be certified eight-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Synchronicity contained several hit singles, including “Every Breath You Take,” which spent eight weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It wound up being the biggest hit of 1983 in both the U.S. and Canada. The song also topped the U.K. singles chart for four weeks, making it their fifth U.K. #1.

Other hit singles on the record include “King of Pain,” which peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” which went to #8, and “Synchronicity II,” which peaked at #16.

The album turned out to be The Police’s final studio release, and frontman Sting tells ABC Audio he’s happy the band ended on a career high.

“I think that was a pretty good strategy because the legend still lives on, it hasn’t really been tarnished or diminished,” he says. “I’m very proud of the work we did. I think it was a fantastic seven-year adventure and we couldn’t have expected any better result.”

In 2009 Synchronicity was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2023 it was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” It’s also ranked on several greatest albums lists, including Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, where it ranked at 159 as of 2020.

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It sounds like we may be getting another Bruce Springsteen album soon.

In November, The Boss released Only The Strong Survive, an album of soul and R&B covers. Now David Sancious, an early member of The E Street Band, has revealed in a new interview with Mojo that Springsteen’s getting ready to release another one. 

“I’ve just worked on Bruce’s sequel to Only The Strong Survive. He’s got 18 more covers of Motown and classic R&B,” Sancious tells the mag. “And next year, I should be touring the album with Bruce.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a sequel to Only The Strong Survive. Not long after the original’s release he told Rolling Stone that Volume 2 was “probably three-quarters recorded.” This is the first report of a tour in support of those albums, though.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are currently on tour in Europe, playing Birmingham, England, on Friday, June 16. The tour returns to North America with a two-night stand at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on August 9 and 11. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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July will mark the 50th anniversary of David Bowie‘s final performance as Ziggy Stardust, and now fans will be able to relive the experience in theaters across the country.

A fully restored version of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture will screen in over 500 theaters across the U.S. throughout July, with tickets on sale now.

In addition, a 50th anniversary edition of the soundtrack is being released on August 11, with remastered audio and new mixes from Bowie producer Tony Visconti. It is available for preorder now.

As previously reported, the anniversary will also be marked with a special world premiere screening of the restored film on July 3 at London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith (formerly the Odeon), the actual site of Bowie’s last Ziggy show on July 3, 1973. The event will also include a live Q&A with some of Bowie’s famous friends. 

Bowie took on the fictional character of Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous alien rock star, throughout 1972 and 1973, performing as Ziggy for his concert tours of the U.K., Japan and North America.

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