Folks still can’t get enough of The Beatles. The legendary band just became the latest to join Spotify’s Billions Club, thanks to their classic single “Here Comes The Sun.”
The song is the first Beatles track to make Spotify’s list, which features 405 other tunes.
“Here Comes The Sun,” written by George Harrison, was featured on The Beatles’ 1969 album, Abbey Road. A remix of the song was released in 2019 to promote the Abbey Road 50th anniversary reissue.
Madonna‘s 1992 coffee table book SEX, which was out of print for years, was reissued last year, and a series of photos was displayed at the Art Basel Miami Beach art show. Now, 40 of its images are being auctioned off in October and a curated selection of them will be touring around the world.
In case you’re unaware, the release of SEX caused worldwide scandal. It was sealed in a Mylar bag so you couldn’t page through it in the bookstore because it contains photos shot by Steven Meisel that showed Madonna and various celebrities completely nude and simulating sex acts. Madonna also provided the racy text for the book, which she wrote as a character called Mistress Dita.
Among the celebs who frolicked with Madonna in the book were Naomi Campbell, actress Isabella Rossellini,and rappers Vanilla Ice and Big Daddy Kane. Despite the controversy, it sold more than 150,000 copies on its first day in the U.S. and went on to sell more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.
The exhibit, Madonna X Meisel — The SEX Photographs, arrives in London on May 23, Paris on June 27 and New York City on September 30. The New York exhibit, at Rockefeller Center, will culminate with a live Christie’s auction on October 6. Each photo is estimated to sell for $150,000 to $250,000.
The auction will benefit Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi. She shared a few of the images on Instagram and wrote, “It took us 4 Decades and several Provocative photo shoots to open people’s minds through ART! It took @stevenmeiselofficial almost as long to join Instagram – just in time to announce our Christie’s auction…Proof that great causes can move mountains!”
The Who has added a new show to their European and U.K. tour, bringing their music to a very special venue.
The band will bring their The Who Hits Back tour to the Eden Sessions at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, on July 25. The location is the home of the world-famous Biomes, which house thousands of plant species.
“We’re so thrilled to welcome legends The Who to Eden, in what will be a momentous moment in the Sessions history – and a great occasion for Cornwall,” Rita Broe, managing director of Eden Sessions Ltd, shares. “To see them grace our stage with a live orchestra will be one of the highlights of the summer: creating lasting memories. Don’t miss this!”
Tickets for the special show go on sale Monday, May 15, at 5:30 p.m. BST. More information can be found at edensessions.com.
The Who’s European and U.K. tour, which has them playing with an orchestra, is set to kick off June 14 in Barcelona, Spain. A complete list of dates can be found at thewho.com.
Duran Duran was honored by their home city earlier this week. The band received a Lord Mayor’s Award for their “outstanding achievement” and “exceptional service” to Birmingham, England.
“Birmingham is very proud of these Wild Boys, as am I, for putting Birmingham on the international stage,” Birmingham Lord Mayor Maureen Cornish said at their recent show in the city, according to the BBC.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers shared a picture of them receiving their award on Instagram, calling the whole thing “quite an honor.”
Duran Duran just wrapped the U.K. leg of their Future Past tour and will next bring the trek to North America. The tour, featuring special guests Nile Rodgers& Chic and Bastille, kicks off on May 28 in San Jose, California. A complete list of dates can be found at duranduran.com.
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for The National Lottery
It’s been a big month for ’80s band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. First, they reunited for the first time in 36 years to perform at the opening ceremonies of the Eurovision contest, and now comes word that their story is coming to the big screen.
Deadline reports that the U.K. studios Working Title and Independent Entertainment are working on a biopic of the band, based on frontman Holly Johnson’s memoir, A Bone In My Flute. The film, titled Relax, is expected to feature the band’s hit songs.
The movie is set to star Callum Scott Howells, best known for his work on the U.K. series It’s A Sin, about the beginnings of the AIDS crisis.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood is best known for hit songs “Relax,” “Two Tribes” and “The Power of Love,” which all appeared on their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome. The band broke up in 1987 and hadn’t performed together until the Eurovision ceremony in their home city of Liverpool, England.
Paul David Hewson, better known as U2 frontman Bono, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
U2 was formed in 1976 after Bono and friend David Evans aka the Edge responded to an advertisement posted on a bulletin board by Larry Mullen Jr. seeking musicians interested in forming a rock band.
U2 released their first album, Boy, in 1980. The follow-up, 1983’s War, propelled them to stardom thanks to hit singles “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Pride (In The Name of Love).”
The band has gone on to release 15 studio albums and won 22 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for 1987’s The Joshua Tree. They’ve sold between 150 million and 170 million records and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 in their first year of eligibility.
In addition to U2, Bono is known for his activism and philanthropy, and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the plight of the people of Africa. In 2004 he launched the One Campaign, with a goal of eliminating extreme poverty and disease in Africa.
In November 2022, Bono released his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. He just wrapped up a series of performances of his one-man show Stories of Surrender — based on that memoir — at New York’s Beacon Theatre.
After Lionel Richie performed at King Charles‘ coronation concert over the weekend, some fans took to social media to comment on how youthful the 73-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer looked. While some said he’d likely had some sort of plastic surgery, Lionel says he hasn’t — and he wouldn’t want to, either.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Lionel said having work done means you have to take time off to heal and then if you don’t like it, you’re kinda stuck.
“‘[It] locks you in for that year [while you recover] – and after that you can’t go [back] naturally, you’re staying right there … You try and go back to reset, and you can’t,” he said. He added, “And, that s*** goes wrong!”
And the other reason Lionel says plastic surgery isn’t for him? “God might not recognize me, so I want to make sure he knows me,” he joked.
So how does the American Idol judge maintain his youthful appearance? The Daily Mail quotes what Lionel said at the Hollywood Beauty Awards recently.
“Water, sleep, and sweat, not too much red meat. I know it’s real boring. [Sex] will work also and it’s good for your heart.”
And that’s advice he seemingly wants to share with his pal the king. Lionel told the BBC that he and Charles, who’s 74, “have a little joke between us.”
“He says, ‘How do you look the way you look and I look the way I look?’” Lionel revealed. “I said, ‘You come to Hollywood and I can help you.’”
Artistic expression seems to run in John Mellencamp’s family, and it’s the subject of a new exhibit now showing in Youngstown, Ohio.
BLOODLINE: The Art of John Mellencamp & Speck Mellencamp, at the Beecher Center’s Flad B Gallery, features 19 paintings, 10 done by Mellencamp and another nine from his son Speck. The showing is described as a “fascinating, two-person exhibition which celebrates figurative expressionism at a very high level.”
“What is clear about the art of John Mellencamp is that his works [extend] the rich tradition of American expressionistic art,” Executive Director Louis A. Zona shares. “Speck’s colors, muted but beautiful, add richness to his work, with impressionistic-like highlights contributing much to the overall effectiveness of the paintings.”
The exhibit opened earlier this week at The Butler Institute of American Art and runs until July 2.
Mellencamp is currently on the road with his Live and In Person tour. He’s in the middle of a three-night stand at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, with two more shows May 9 and 10. A complete list of dates can be found at mellencamp.com.
He’s also getting ready to release a new album, Orpheus Descending, on June 2. It is available for preorder now.
Bonnie Raitt has another chance at winning an award for her track “Just Like That.”
The tune has been nominated for Song of the Year at the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards. She’s up against Allison Russell’s “You’re Not Alone,” featuring Brandi Carlile; Zac Bryan’s “Something in the Orange”; MargoPrice’s “Change of Heart”; and Charley Crocket’s “I’m Just A Clown.”
“Just Like That,” the title track to Raitt’s 18th studio album, won Song of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards, beating out hit tunes by the likes of Lizzo, Adele, Harry Styles, Beyoncé and more.
The Americana Honors & Awards will take place September 20 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
Chicago is celebrating a huge touring milestone. The band is currently on the road, marking their 56th consecutive year of touring.
The 10-piece band, which includes founding members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane and James Pankow, returned to the road once pandemic restrictions lifted and have been touring nonstop ever since. Last summer they headlined a 25-date tour with the Beach Boys‘ Brian Wilson.
Chicago doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon and will be busy throughout 2023, with their next show scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have dates confirmed all the way through November 11 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
