Classic Hits

Photographs taken by Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania will be the subject of a new exhibit at London’s National Portrait Gallery. 

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is set to run from June 28 to October 1 and feature never-before-seen photographs taken by the Beatle. The portraits on display are from McCartney’s own archive and were taken between December 1963 and February 1964. They give fans an insight into McCartney’s point of view as the band members were becoming international superstars.  

The BBC reports that gallery director Dr. Nicholas Cullinan says Sir Paul approached them in 2020 about the photos, “which he remembered taking but thought had been lost.” Cullinan notes, “We sat down with him and began going through the photographs and they are really extraordinary.”

Paul McCartney Photographs will be the National Portrait Gallery’s first major exhibition when it reopens June 22 after three years of renovation. Tickets to the McCartney exhibit are available for preorder now.

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In addition to fronting KISS, Paul Stanley has had a successful career as an artist for over 20 years. While he has made millions on his pieces, that’s not necessarily what he considers a success.

“If I love what I do. If it validates, and even surprises me,” he tells INC of how he measures success. “When I’ve done a piece and think, ‘If I saw this somewhere else, I would like it.'” He adds, “The key, and the basis to everything, is to love what you’re doing. If I don’t love what I’m doing, it’s not worth doing. It’s a waste of time, and time is precious.”

He also encourages others to not be intimidated by making art themselves. “I tend to tell people to enjoy themselves,” he says. “Create. Paint. Don’t be limited by other people’s definition of ‘good.’ When you live by other people’s definitions, you’ll sell yourself short.”

And those skills can certainly apply to more than just art. “If you’re drawn to doing something, do it. Don’t worry about what other people think,” he shares. “I’ve always found that if I do something I like, lots of other people will like it too, because people aren’t that different.”

He adds, “Whether it’s music, or theater, or painting … I’m not catering. I’ve only ever catered to myself. Please yourself, and other people will enjoy it too — and that’s the bonus.”

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Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony are celebrating the 28th anniversary of the Van Halen album Balance, and marked the occasion by sharing a performance of the song “Amsterdam” from The Jon Stewart Show, which aired on MTV in 1995.

“Happy anniversary to ‘Balance’! The ‘Balance’ record was such a great record, but it was during hard times for the band, and a very hard record to make,” Sammy shares. “A lot of painful dark images, bickering amongst the band, health issues, but this live performance of ‘Amsterdam’ on the Jon Stewart show shows how great this band was live.”

Anthony adds, “By the time the ‘Balance’ record came out, there was lots of tension within the band, personally, and professionally.” He noted, “One thing that was understood though was that the music was the important thing, and when we got together to play live we kicked a**, be it in concert or guesting on a TV show.” He adds, “This clip of us on Jon Stewart shows we were still delivering the goods!!!” 

Balance, Van Halen’s 10th studio album, was released January 24, 1995, and was the last to feature Sammy on vocals. It went to number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and in 2004 was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd has added a new show to their 2023 tour schedule. The band is set to headline the Lost Highway Motorcycle Show and Concert, taking place in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, May 19 to 21. 

The Southern rockers will headline the Friday night bill at the Amphitheater at Poconos Park, with The Marshall Tucker Band, Rick Monroe & the Hitmen, The Jess Zimmerman Band and Seth Enslow also on the bill. Saturday’s lineup will be announced at a future date. 

In addition to the concerts, the Lost Highway Motorcycle Show and Concert will feature charity rides, motorcycle giveaways, two motorcycle shows and more.

Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, January 27, at 10 a.m. ET. More information can be found at losthighwayshow.com.

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The Pet Shop Boys are getting ready to release their first new music in two years. The band announced they’re releasing a new EP, Lost, to accompany the latest edition of their book Annually, with both dropping April 15. 

Songs on the EP include “The lost room,” “I will fall, “Skeletons in the closet” and “Kaputnik,” which were written and recorded in 2015 for what became the album Super.

Neil Tennant explains in a social media post that the tunes were left off Super “not because we didn’t like them, but because they didn’t fit the album.” As for why they’re coming out now, he says “they all sit together quite well, production-wise, they’re all super-electronic.” He also noted that “some of them are sort of relevant to the world at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Annually will include a diary and behind-the-scenes photos from leg one of last year’s Dreamworld tour and more. Both the book and EP are available for preorder now.

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Madonna‘s biopic, which the Queen of Pop was planning to co-write, direct and produce herself, has been put on hold, Variety reports.

While insiders say that Madonna is “committed to making a film about her life one day,” she’s currently focused on her upcoming Celebration Tour, Variety notes. As of now, the project, which was going to star Ozark‘s Julia Garner, is “no longer in development” at Universal.

The film was announced in 2020, and Madonna has since worked on the script with Oscar winner Diablo Cody and The Girl on the Train screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson. Garner won the lead role after a casting call that required weeks of singing and dancing bootcamp, attended by actors who reportedly included Florence Pugh and Bebe Rexha.

In an exclusive interview published by the French, Spanish and Italian issues of Vanity Fair last week, Madonna said, “I’m very excited about the challenges that come my way. I’m about to create another [live] show, and I’ve been working for several years on the screenplay about my life.”

In 2021, she told Jimmy Fallon, “The reason I’m doing it is a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men … there’s nobody on this planet that can write or direct or make a movie about me better than me and that is just the truth.”

Madonna’s Celebration Tour, which is 98% sold out, starts July 15 in Vancouver and will feature the star performing songs from her entire 40-year career.

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Stevie Nicks was so touched by a youth choir that appeared on America’s Got Talent this week that she felt the need to let them know. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer posted a note to the Ndlovu Youth Choir on Instagram; the group appeared on the All-Stars edition of the NBC talent show and performed the original song “We Will Rise.” 

“I just wanted to congratulate you on your brilliant and moving performance last night on America’s Got Talent,” Stevie wrote. “It made me feel like maybe – someday with your help – the whole world will rise again. You Are The World!” 

She also asked them, “Can I be in your choir?”

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Bono appears on the latest episode of the Smartless podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, and dropped a little info about U2‘s rumored Las Vegas residency at the new high-tech arena MSG Sphere. 

Hayes shared that Edge told him the band was going on tour and showed him renderings of the Vegas theater, noting, “It’s going to be unbelievable.” Bono was hesitant to talk about it because it’s not official yet, but he eventually gave in … sort of.

“You are a news network now because that’s breaking news,” Bono joked, before getting serious and sharing, “We haven’t signed off on it but if we do, if we do sign off on this, I will say that if we can pull off what we’re talking about, it’s not like anything we’ve ever done before. It’s nothing like Las Vegas has ever seen before.”

He concluded, “If this happens it will be really extraordinary.”

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Elton John has made good on a promise to treat a group of students to one of his shows after they impressed him with their version of “I’m Still Standing.”

In March 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns, students from Telford Priory School in Telford, England, made a video of themselves singing and performing the track over Zoom, under the direction of their music teacher, Ben Millington. And it attracted Elton’s attention.

Elton was so impressed he sent a video to the students in which he shared that he watched the clip three times and was “completely blown away” by it, noting it cheered him up during lockdowns. He promised the students tickets to one of his shows once lockdowns were over and the tour hit England.

Millington tells the BBC that Elton reached out and told the students to “take their pick” of shows on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Many of them are now studying music at university, but they are all planning to see the show on June 10 in Birmingham. 

Millington notes, “I just knew he would come through.”

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As previously reported, Dolly Parton is making a rock album, and she’s lined up A-list artists like Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, ex-Journey frontman Steve Perry and Steven Tyler to join her. Well, now she’s revealed at least one song we can expect to hear on the album.

During an appearance on the Rachael Ray Show, Dolly shared that she has recorded a cover of The Beatles‘ “Let It Be” with McCartney for the record, which will be titled Rock Star.

“I’ve got a lot of wonderful, iconic songs that people love and wonderful, iconic singers joining me on them,” she shared. 

Dolly also revealed that she’s already recorded one of Elton John’s hits with him and finished recording a song with Stevie Nicks, noting that she is still hoping to get Cher to agree to be on the album

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