Classic Hits

Pink Floyd gave their fans an early Christmas present this weekend. Rolling Stone reports that without much fanfare, the band released 18 concert recordings from their Dark Side of the Moon era to streaming services, along with some alternative tracks from the album.

The newly released concerts took place between January and December 1972. The recordings include a four-night stand at London’s Rainbow Theater, which took place February 17 to 20, 1972. There are also three U.S. shows, in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

This isn’t the first time Pink Floyd has quietly released a set of live concerts to streaming services. Last year they uploaded 12 unreleased concerts, all recorded between 1970 and 1972, without any previous warning. In both that instance and this latest one, it appears the release is the band’s way of extending their copyright to the recordings.

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Debbie Gibson was still in her teens when she hit it big in the ’80s, and while some young stars ran into problems because of their early fame, that didn’t happen for Gibson — and she credits her parents for that. 

“I’m very lucky because I had my mom and my dad,” she tells the New York Post’s Page Six, noting that her mom was her manager at the beginning of her career and “literally threw her body in front of anybody that was out to cause me any kind of harm.” 

“It didn’t always get her brownie points but got her a lot of respect, and it protected me,” Gibson shares. “So, I’m really lucky that I had protective parents that didn’t want anything from me but for me to turn out sane and happy and healthy.” 

Of course, supportive parents weren’t necessarily something Britney Spears had, and Gibson says she can understand why Brit seems to be acting out now that she’s finally free of her conservatorship and her father’s control. 

Referring to Brit’s naked Instagram photos, Gibson says, “It’s very easy to kind of mock her social media posts. But I see somebody who is joyful and just dying to get out of that bubble.” She adds, “She’s a natural performer, so if she has to perform in her living room, on social media, that’s what she’s going to do. … But I hope she finds her stage again.”

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Looks like Billy Joel may have picked up a bug on his recent trip to Australia: He’s had to postpone his final concert of the year.

On Instagram, Billy, who’s 73, wrote, “I’m disappointed to share that I’m under doctor’s orders for vocal rest due to a viral infection so unfortunately, I must postpone my Monday, December 19th concert at Madison Square Garden to June.”

He added, “I’m so sorry to let you know so close to show day, but I was hoping to be closer to a full recovery by now. Sadly, that hasn’t happened. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.”

The show has been rescheduled for June 2, 2023 and all tickets for Monday’s show will be honored that night.

Billy’s next scheduled show is January 13 at Madison Square Garden, as part of his ongoing once-a-month residency there.

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The Rolling Stones are giving fans their first taste of their upcoming live album and DVD, GRRR Live! The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just released their live performance of the classic “It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)” to streaming services. 

GRRR Live!, recorded December 15, 2012, at Newark’s Prudential Center during the band’s 50 & Counting tour, features guest appearances by such big names as Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Mick Taylor and The Black Keys.

The album will be released February 10 on a variety of formats, including a two-CD set, a three-LP set (classic black, limited red and a white indie exclusive), digital, a DVD and two-CD combo set, and a Blu-Ray and two-CD combo set. All formats are available for preorder here.

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As previously reported, The Police guitarist Andy Summers has collaborated with Italian guitar quartet 40 Fingers on an instrumental take on The Police classic “Bring on the Night,” and now the song is here.

The new arrangement was recorded at Summers’ Harmonics of the Night photo exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, back in October, with the video showing him and the guys in 40 Guitars performing the track.

“Bring on the Night,” which was written by Police frontman Sting, was featured on the band’s sophomore album, 1979’s Reggatta de Blanc. It was also the title track to Sting’s 1986 live album, as well as the 1985 Michael Apted-directed documentary on Sting’s solo career.

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As previously reported, Dino Danelli, drummer for the ’60s group The Rascals, died Thursday at the age of 78. Upon hearing the news, plenty of artists took to social media to pay tribute to the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt, who produced and directed the concert/theatrical event about the band, The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream, tweeted, “RIP Dino Danelli. One of the greatest drummers of all time. Rascals 1965-1971. Disciples Of Soul 1982-1984. On Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theater in Once Upon A Dream 2013.”

Van Zandt’s wife, Maureen, who also produced and directed the show, called Danelli “a brilliant drummer and artist,” adding, “I’ll never forget all the happy moments we spent on Broadway during the run of our Rascals show. An original Disciple. An original, period.” 

Billy Joel also paid tribute, tweeting, “He was one of the greatest drummers in popular music. My deepest sympathy to his family,” while KISS’ Paul Stanley noted, “Dino was a drummer in a class of very few and a great guy. … What style. So great to watch and listen to.”

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Nile Rodgers has worked with a ton of artists throughout his career, and now he’s adding a new one — Coldplay.

In an interview with The Sun at the Nordoff Robbins Carol Service fundraiser for Music Therapy in London earlier this week, Rodgers revealed he just worked with the band for the first time.

“We had a blast,” he shares. “What was great working with Coldplay is that we’re all in the room together and it’s sort of like a spiritual thing. It’s, like, they walk in and they say, ‘Do you want to join the circle or not?’” He joked, “I’m an old hippie, you’re speaking my language. ‘Let’s go.’”

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It seems America isn’t the only country where Christmas music is taking over the charts. In the United Kingdom, Wham!’s classic “Last Christmas” has returned to number one on the Official Singles Chart, the pair’s fifth number-one song. 

This is the second week “Last Christmas” has held the top position. The last time it happened was on New Year’s Day 2021, at which point it held the record for the longest journey to number one. That record has since been broken by Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled to see ‘Last Christmas’ by WHAM! has once again hit the Number 1 spot on the UK @officialcharts!” read a post on the late George Michael’s official Twitter account. “Thank you for all the love and support you continue to show the song.”

“Last Christmas” was originally released in 1984 and spent five weeks at number two on the chart, never reaching number one that year because of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The tune has been covered by a variety of artists, including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Backstreet Boys, Carly Rae Jepsen and Ashley Tisdale.

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While Abbey Road Studios is most associated with the Beatles, plenty of other artists recorded there, and that was an important point director Mary McCartney wanted to get across in her new documentary, If These Walls Could Sing, which debuts Friday on Disney+.

Believe it or not, Mary says her first memory of the studio has nothing to do with her famous dad, Paul McCartney, but with another artist entirely.

“I think my first sort of memory [of Abbey Road] is walking into the reception area when I was a little kid, probably like 6 or 7,” Mary tells Yahoo Music. “The reception area there used to have photographs of all of the musicians that had been there before, this beautiful gallery of pictures. And there was Kate Bush. … I really remember seeing that picture.”

Because of that, Mary felt it was important to have Kate in the doc — and this was before the resurgence of her song “Running Up That Hill,” thanks to Stranger Things. Mary says when she first reached out for an interview, Kate turned her down because she doesn’t do them. But Mary didn’t give up and eventually got Kate to record an audio clip for the doc.

“I heard it, and I got chills. … I literally couldn’t believe my luck,” Mary says. “It is one of the highlights of my life, getting to know Kate and being able to speak to her about her history there.”

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Janet Jackson‘s upcoming tour is in high demand, so she’s added a few more dates to the trek.

Fans in New York, Atlanta and Hollywood, Florida, will have another opportunity to secure their seats for the Together Again tour, as an additional show will take place in each city. The singer will also make a stop in Allentown, Pennsylvania, while on the road; she’ll perform in 37 cities over the course of two months.

Produced by Live Nation, Janet’s outing is meant to bring people “together again,” this time in celebration of her 50th anniversary in entertainment, as well as the anniversaries of her albums The Velvet Rope (25 years) and janet (30 years).

Special guest Ludacris will join Janet on all dates. Tickets are currently on sale at LiveNation.com.

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