Classic Hits

Queen guitarist Brian May is set to headline a special event in connection with the upcoming reissue of the band’s sophomore album, Queen II.

Queen II – Queen’s Masterstroke – More than Remastered! is taking place March 26 in London, although an exact location wasn’t revealed. Fans who preorder the album will be in the running to win a chance to attend, and the event will stream live on May’s Instagram account.

“I wish it were big place so we could invite you all … but this is very intimate,” May writes on Instagram, “except it will hopefully connect all around the world through my live and lovely Instagram channel.”

Queen II Collector’s Edition, dropping March 27, is a five-CD and two-LP box set, featuring the 2026 mix of the album, along with a whole host of bonus material.

Extras include previously unheard outtakes and demos, live tracks, radio sessions and what’s described as “intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the recording studio.” The set also features a 112-page book with previously unseen photos, handwritten lyrics and more.

In addition to Queen II Collector’s Edition, the reissue will be released as a two-CD deluxe edition and on one-LP vinyl. 

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Sting is set to release a new live album, which was recorded at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum as part of the ARTE Sounds Like Art initiative.

Sting – The Night Watch: Live at the Rijksmuseum captures the January Sting concert at the museum’s Gallery of Honour, which took place in front of Rembrandt’s painting The Night Watch.

There, Sting played a 17th century guitar crafted for Louis XIV’s court. His set included songs from his musical The Last Ship, solo tracks like “Fragile,” “Fields of Gold” and “Shape of My Heart,” and Police tunes including “Message in a Bottle,” “Roxanne,” “Every Breath You Take” and more.

Sting – The Night Watch: Live at the Rijksmuseum will be released June 26 on CD and vinyl, and is available for preorder now.

The concert, which was also filmed, will premiere Thursday on Arte’s YouTube channel and Arte.tv.

Sting is currently in the middle of an eight-show residency in Paris, with his next show taking place Thursday. He’ll launch the North American spring leg of his Sting 3.0 tour on May 6 in Hollywood, Florida.

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The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston is leaving the band.

The 83-year-old Johnston joined the group in 1965 as a fill-in for Brian Wilson during live performances. In a statement to Rolling Stone he says he’s leaving the group in order to spend more time in the studio.

“It’s time for Part Three of my lengthy musical career!” he tells the mag. “I can write songs forever and wait until you hear what’s coming!!! As my major talent beyond singing is songwriting, now is the time to get serious again.”

He adds that he’ll be embarking on a speaking engagement career, along with personal appearances and events. He also plans to join The Beach Boys for special performances, including their July 3 and 4 shows at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you soon,” he adds. “I am forever grateful to be a part of the Beach Boys musical legacy.”

Mike Love, who’s the only original Beach Boys member still in the band, tells the mag in a statement that Johnston “is one of the greatest songwriters, vocalist[s], and keyboardist[s] of our time.”

“We’ve had the honor of his performance and participation for many many years with The Beach Boys,” he adds. “Change is always promised in life, today we find ourselves in a chapter of change, but not an end.”

“I am very supportive of Bruce and I have every confidence that he will produce great music,” he notes. 

After joining The Beach Boys on tour in 1965, Johnston appeared on many of their albums, starting with 1965’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). He also wrote several Beach Boys songs. He left the group in 1972, but returned in 1978 and has been touring with them ever since.

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Billy Idol is subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, and during a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, he detailed a drug-filled night when he almost wound up that way.

He said it occurred when he returned to England after the success of 1983’s Rebel Yell and met up with some friends who had “a bunch of heroin on them.”

“So, of course, somehow everybody else in the room passed out, except for me and the other guy, you know, who was chopping the lines out,” he said, noting he was the last person to pass out.

“When people, other people in the room came to, I was going blue,” he said. “If you’re dying, you’re going to start turning blue.” The friends were able to revive him by putting him in a bath, with Idol simply stating, “I survived.”

Idol did eventually get off heroin, but not before dabbling with another drug first.

“Once you’re trying to get off heroin, what do you go to? You go to something else. I started smoking crack to get off heroin,” he said, adding with a laugh, “It worked. It worked.”

Billy Idol Should Be Dead is in theaters now.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol is subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, and during a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, he detailed a drug-filled night when he almost wound up that way.

He said it occurred when he returned to England after the success of 1983’s Rebel Yell and met up with some friends who had “a bunch of heroin on them.”

“So, of course, somehow everybody else in the room passed out, except for me and the other guy, you know, who was chopping the lines out,” he said, noting he was the last person to pass out.

“When people, other people in the room came to, I was going blue,” he said. “If you’re dying, you’re going to start turning blue.” The friends were able to revive him by putting him in a bath, with Idol simply stating, “I survived.”

Idol did eventually get off heroin, but not before dabbling with another drug first.

“Once you’re trying to get off heroin, what do you go to? You go to something else. I started smoking crack to get off heroin,” he said, adding with a laugh, “It worked. It worked.”

Billy Idol Should Be Dead is in theaters now.

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Mick Jagger is giving fans a little look at his latest Egyptian vacation.

The Rolling Stones frontman posted a carousel of vacation photos on Instagram, captioning the shots, “Wandering through Egypt.”

Photos include Jagger posing in the dessert; several of him in front of the pyramids and other archaeological sites; and one of him on a boat with an image of Bob Marley in the background.

This isn’t the first time Jagger has posted photos from his travels on Instagram. In November he posted photographs from “Somewhere on the Med,” and in August he shared photos from his “summer break in Portugal.”

In other Rolling Stones news … guitarist Keith Richards is going to be a great-grandfather. The rocker’s granddaughter Ella Richards, daughter of Marlon Richards, Keith’s son with Anita Pallenberg, announced on Instagram that she’s expecting. She posted a black-and-white photo showing off her baby bump, tagging the baby’s father, photographer Sascha von Bismarck, who, according to People, is her boyfriend.

Keith commented on the post, “Sending love and looking forward to welcoming my first great grandchild!”

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Bonnie Raitt, George Thorogood and Hot Tuna’s Jorma Kaukonen are among the artists paying tribute to blues singer and guitarist John Hammond, who passed away Feb. 28.

The Grammy-winning Hammond, who over the years played with such artists as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Levon Helm, Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughan, was the son of record producer and talent scout John H. Hammond Jr., who signed artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to Columbia Records.

In a post on Instagram, Raitt revealed that the younger Hammond “was the inspiration for teaching myself blues guitar and learning how to sing these songs we loved so much. He made it cool and all right.”

“Not only was he a virtuoso on guitar, harp, singing and choosing songs, to me it felt like he was totally possessed by the blues,” she added. “I’ve never witnessed anyone as swept up and away as John playing his music live.”

Thorogood called Hammond “an icon, a professional role model and, most importantly, a friend.” He added, “While we mourn his passing, we celebrate what the man and his music meant to us, and to so many.”

Kaukonen wrote a long tribute to Hammond on Instagram, describing their first meeting at Antioch College.

“As an artist, John seemed to have sprung full grown from the womb. He might have been inspired by tradition but he was never a replicator… he always did things his way,” he wrote. “As a blues singer, he was always nonpareil. You can recognize John’s voice anywhere, any time! I know a lot of great guitar players but no one, and I mean no one, played like John!”

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Bruce Hornsby has released the new single “Ecstatic,” which features backing vocals from Bonnie Raitt.

The track is the second song Hornsby has released from his upcoming album, Indigo Park, following the title track. It was inspired by chants he heard watching his son play basketball.

This isn’t the first time Hornsby and Raitt have worked together. In fact, their first collaboration was on Raitt’s iconic ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” which appeared on her 1991 album, Luck of the Draw.

Accompanying the release of “Ecstatic,” Hornsby has released a video for the song that features the Louisiana State University Tigers’ women’s basketball team. The clip was shot on campus, where Hornsby’s son Keith Hornsby played basketball and is currently a graduate assistant for the LSU Tigers men’s team.

“Ecstatic” is available now via digital outlets.

Indigo Park, dropping April 3, has Hornsby backed by his band The Noisemakers, along with guitarist Blake Mills, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Chris Dave. In addition to Raitt, it features guest appearances by the late Bob Weir and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. It also contains two songs co-written by the late Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

Hornsby and The Noisemakers are set to hit the road in support of Indigo Park. The tour kicks off April 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceHornsby.com.

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Sting is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his fifth studio album, Mercury Falling, with a just-released expanded edition of the album.

The digital-only Mercury Falling (Expanded Edition) includes the original album along with 19 tracks, several of which were previously unavailable on digital services. The bonus material includes various B-sides and remixes, the song “Moonlight” from the 1995 film Sabrina and three live recordings: “You Still Touch Me,” “Lithium Sunset” and The Police classic “Message in a Bottle.”

Mercury Falling (Expanded Edition) is now available via digital outlets.

Released March 4, 1996, Mercury Falling peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 and included such singles as “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” and “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying.”

The album went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA and was nominated for a Grammy for best pop vocal album. “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” also earned Sting a Grammy nod for best male pop vocal performance.

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Bret Michaels, Rick Springfield and Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini are among the acts booked for  The Mountain Music Festival, happening Aug. 21-23 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center in the Great Smokey Mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The three-day classic rock festival features over 25 artists on three stages, with the lineup that also includes 38 Special, Night Ranger, Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach, Warrant, John Waite, Lita Ford, Jackyl and more.

Three-day and two-day passes for the festival are on sale now, with single day general admission passes going on sale this spring/summer. A complete lineup can be found at TheMountainUSA.com.

The Mountain Music Festival debuted in October 2021 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

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