Classic Hits

Billy Joel‘s historic monthly residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden will come to an end next year.

It was announced Thursday that Billy’s Garden show in July 2024, the 150th MSG show of his career, will be his final residency performance. Joel’s September show at MSG will be his 140th lifetime performance at the Garden; the first of the final 10 concerts is October 20, 2023. 

Since he started the residency 10 years ago, Billy has sold more than 1.6 million tickets.

Billy told reporters on Thursday, “It is an honor to be here. I’m kinda flabbergasted that it did last as long as it did.” He joked that his team told him he could keep on going if he wanted, but he said with 150 shows, “It’s ‘Alright, already!'” He also addressed the fact that he’s selling his home in Long Island, but noted, “I’m not leaving New York: I’m just spending a little more time in Florida like old Jewish guys from New York do.”

Variety reports that Citicard members can access tickets for the October 20 show in a presale June 5 at 10 a.m. ET. Verizon’s presale starts June 6 at 10 a.m. ET. The general on-sale begins June 9 at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster. Tickets will also be available at the Madison Square Garden box office on Saturday, June 10.

Billy hit 100 performances at the Garden in 2018; Bruce Springsteen joined him onstage for that show and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared it to be Billy Joel Day in New York State.

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On This Day, June 1, 1947 …

Guitarist Ronnie Wood was born in Hillingdon, England. 

The rocker is known for his work in several bands, including the Birds, Jeff Beck Group and Faces, before joining The Rolling Stones in 1975 after the departure of Mick Taylor. He became an official member of the group in 1976. 

In addition to his work with the Stones, Wood has released several solo records, his most recent being the 2010 release I Feel Like Playing.

Wood was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a member of the Stones and again in 2012 as a member of Faces.

In addition to music, Wood is an artist, and his paintings, drawings and prints have been shown in galleries.

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Bicyclists who love The Beatles can now show off their fandom thanks to a new capsule collection from State Bicycles.

State Bicycles X The Beatles, available now, features a host of Beatles-inspired bike gear, including jerseys, tech tees and even two limited edition bikes, with images from the band’s album covers and lyrics. 

The bikes include a limited edition Klunker with a “Yellow Submarine” theme, which sells for $450, and a 4130 Road Bike with Abbey Road-inspired paint, which sells for $649.

The jerseys feature “Yellow Submarine,” Abbey Road and Magical Mystery Tour-themed designs, which range in price from just under $60 to just under $80.

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June 1 marks the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads‘ fifth studio album, Speaking in Tongues, which went on to become a commercial breakthrough for band members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. 

The record featured the band’s one and only U.S. top 10 hit, “Burning Down The House” (it peaked at #9), along with future classics “Girlfriend Is Better,” “Swamp,” “Slippery People” and “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).” 

The album peaked at 15 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, which made it their highest charting record. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Talking Heads’ tour in support of the album was turned into the critically acclaimed concert documentary Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. Released in 1984, it was filmed over three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in December 1983.

Considered one of the best concert documentaries, in 2021 Stop Making Sense was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. 

The upcoming 40th anniversary of the documentary is being marked by a new theatrical release, with the studio A24 releasing a newly restored 4K version of the concert film to theaters later this year. In addition, on August 18 a deluxe edition of the soundtrack will be released, containing the complete Stop Making Sense concert, including previously unreleased songs “Cities” and “Big Business/I Zimbra.”

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Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are extending their The World Tour once again. The bands just announced they will be bringing the trek to Australia in November.

“After getting back on the road this past summer, we’re beyond thrilled to bring this massive tour to a global audience including some special dates in Australia!” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott shares.

The two bands will head Down Under for three shows: November 8 in Brisbane, November 11 in Sydney and November 14 in Melbourne. Tickets go on sale Thursday, June 8.

The Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe stadium tour is currently in Europe. It returns to the U.S. on August 8 in Columbus, Ohio. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com and motley.com.

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A new Queen photo exhibit is set to open in London this week.

Queen Will Rock You in 3D will open at London’s Proud Galleries on June 2 to coincide with the return of the band’s musical We Will Rock You, playing at the London Coliseum.

The exhibit, which runs through September 23, tells the band’s history using photos taken by guitarist Brian May with his own stereoscopic (3D) camera lenses.

The exhibit features photos taken onstage, on the road and more, some of which are being shared with the public for the first time. Many of them show the rarely seen private side of the band’s late frontman, Freddie Mercury, as viewed by his close friend and bandmate May. It also features fan-shot footage of the current Queen lineup with Adam Lambert, as well as the musical.

Tickets for the exhibit are on sale now. 

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Dire Straits fans are going to have a chance to enjoy their music live this fall.

DSL Dire Straits Legacy has announced a new tour that will kick off in September. DSL is made up of original Dire Straits band member Alan Clark; former Dire Straits musicians Danny Cummings, Mel Collins, Phil Palmer and Jack Sonni; and Italian musicians Marco Caviglia, Primiano Di Biase and Cristiano Micalizzi.

Clark shares, “We do this, we play the music of Dire Straits because we love it … and we made it!”

The tour is set to launch in Snoqualmie, Washington, on September 15, with dates confirmed through September 30 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at dslegacy.com.

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Bruce Springsteen has more energy than most 73-year-olds, but even he shows his age now and again.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is currently touring Europe with The E Street Band and, in case you missed it, a now viral video on TikTok shows him taking a stumble onstage at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam over the weekend.

The Boss was performing the Letters To You track “Ghosts” when he missed a step coming back from the audience, but he wasn’t down for long. While he laid on his back for a few seconds, guitarist Nils Lofgren took his guitar away while members of the crew helped him back on his feet.

Bruce was quick to joke “Good night, everybody,” although the show did go on. In fact, he treated the crowd to a 29-song set that featured such hits as “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Thunder Road” and more.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s tour continues in June, with the next show scheduled for June 11 in Landgraaf, Netherlands. A complete list of tour dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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Extreme is set to drop their sixth studio album, aptly titled Six, on June 9, and now they’ve just shared another track from the record.

The latest single is “Other Side of the Rainbow,” the fourth song they’ve released from the album, following “Rise,” “Banshee” and “#REBEL.”

“Every once in a while, we’ll harness some kind of magic, and I think we did on this one,” frontman Gary Cherone says. “It’s a universal theme. It’s about restoring someone’s faith in love…we feel that it’s the perfect marriage of lyrics and melody.”

Six is available for preorder now.

Extreme is set to launch a U.S. tour in support of Six beginning August 2 in Portland, Maine. Living Colour will also be on the bill. A complete list of dates can be found at extreme-band.com.

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An apology note The Beatles wrote to a schoolgirl back in 1963 has sold at auction in London. 

According to The Mail, the band wrote the letter to a young girl named Diana after canceling a visit to see her on the Isle of Wight.  

Diana’s aunt worked for Paul McCartney’s cousin Bette Robbins; the band had planned to visit Robbins after their April 1963 show in Southsea, Portsmouth, and Diana was supposed to get to meet them. Unfortunately, the band had to cancel to return to London for some TV and radio appearances.

But The Beatles made it up to her with an apology note signed by all four members on a Parlophone publicity card, with Paul adding, “To Diana, lots of love, from The Beatles. Sorry we couldn’t be there to see you!”

And that apology proved profitable. After holding onto it for almost 60 years, it was recently sold at auction at London’s Bonhams auction house, where it went for over $14,000.

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