Classic Hits

The Human League is releasing a new limited-edition colored-vinyl box set featuring four LPs and an EP issued on the Virgin Records label from 1981 through 1990 on November 11.

The Human League: The Virgin Years is a five disc collection that features 1981’s Dare pressed on blue vinyl, the 1983 Fascination EP on green vinyl, 1984’s Hysteria on yellow vinyl, 1986’s Crash on red vinyl and 1990’s Romantic? on clear vinyl.

The box set can be preordered now at Amazon and uDiscoverMusic.

Dare was The Human League’s third studio album and marked the start of the group’s second, more pop-oriented incarnation, which was led by singer/keyboardist Philip Oakey and showcased female vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley.

The record, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200, featured the chart-topping “Don’t You Want Me Baby” as well as the top-10 U.K. hits “Love Action (I Believe in Love)” and “Open Your Heart.”

The Fascination EP included the hit singles “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” and “Mirror Man.”

Hysteria featured three tunes that reached the top-20 of the U.K. singles tally: “The Lebanon,” “Life on Your Own” and “Louise.”

Crash, a collaboration with the hit-making production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, featured the group’s second Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Human.”

Finally, Romantic? — which brought the band’s stint on Virgin to a close — featured the top-40 single “Heart Like a Wheel.”

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Deep Purple has welcomed guitarist Simon McBride as an official member of the band.

McBride began serving as Deep Purple’s touring guitarist earlier this year after longtime guitarist Steve Morse announced in March that he was taking a hiatus from the group to care for and spend time with his wife, Janine, as she battles cancer. In July, Morse, who joined Deep Purple in 1994, announced that he was officially leaving the group.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers said in a joint statement, “We are thrilled that Simon has agreed to join. Simon’s playing is up there with the greats. Of course, Steve can’t be replaced, the same as Ritchie [Blackmore], and Steve has a long legacy with Deep Purple. In Simon we have not found a replacement, but an extraordinarily talented and exciting guitarist in his own right.”

The group adds, “The reception from audiences over the Summer has already been great and we are looking forward to the forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe across the rest of the year. It is clear that Simon also holds great respect for those before him.  We are all excited for what the years to come hold for the band.”

McBride, meanwhile, says in his own statement, “I’m very happy to be asked to join the band, at the start of the pandemic if someone would have said to me that I was going to be the new guitarist in Deep Purple I would have just laughed, but here we are and it’s happening. Deep Purple has a history of great guitarists so I’m very honoured to be asked to be part of that.”

McBride previously toured with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan and keyboardist Don Airey, among many others.

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The Kinks‘ Dave Davies recently released a solo compilation called Living on a Thin Line, a musical companion to his new memoir of the same name.

The 13-track collection features previously released solo studio recordings and live performances, as well as new mixes of two of Dave’s songs created by his son Simon.

One of the new mixes is of a 1999 live version of the classic Dave-penned 1971 Kinks song “Strangers,” recorded at a concert at Wisconsin’s Marian College.

“I have always thought [that rendition] was my favorite … recorded version of [‘Strangers.’]” Davies tells ABC Audio. “So we messed around with that [recording] a bit. Simon Davies added some bits of keyboards. He added some little audio improvements … And I’m very happy with it.”

The other new mix is of “This Is the Time,” a tune that appeared on Davies’ 2007 album Fractured Mindz, the first record Dave released after suffering a debilitating stroke in 2004.

Dave explains that the song is about embracing a youthful attitude about looking toward the future.

“‘This Is the Time’ is my heartfelt optimism about what we’re capable of, and maybe where we’re going,” he says. “[M]aybe this is the time to really make things happen. You know, like they thought in the [days] … before the Vietnam War … All the youth were in uproar, and the ‘Flower Power’ thing.”

The compilation also features select songs from 1998’s Kinked; 2002’s Bug; the 2000 concert album Rock Bottom: Live from The Bottom Line; and 2018’s Decade, a collection of unreleased tracks Dave recorded during the 1970s.

The Living on a Thin Line compilation can be purchased now on CD now via Amazon. A two-LP version of the album will be released on January 13, 2023.

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UB40 has announced a surprise free livestream show that will air Wednesday, September 21, at 11 p.m. ET on their official YouTube channel.

The two-hour concert will be streamed live from the intimate Uptown Theater in Napa, California. The show is part of UB40’s current U.S. tour leg in support of the English pop-reggae band’s 2021 album, Bigga Baggariddim.

UB40 has just released its latest single, a new version of “Red Red Wine,” the Neil Diamond-penned song the band had a chart-topping hit with back in 1983. The tune, which is available now via digital formats, is the second single UB40 has debuted from its forthcoming studio effort, UB45.

UB45 is due out in early 2023 and will feature new original songs, as well as updated versions of some of the group’s classic hits and fan favorites.

The first advance track from the record was “Champion,” which was released in July and served as the official anthem for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. UB40 collaborated with rappers Dapz on the Map and Gilly G on the song, which marked the debut of the group’s new frontman, Matt Doyle. Gilly G also recently joined the band’s lineup.

“We’ve been looking to do this [livestream] for some time and now is the perfect opportunity to introduce our new members, lead singer Matt Doyle and rapper Gilly G, to our fans worldwide on YouTube — and it’s free!” says founding UB40 member Robin Campbell.

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Last November, ZZ Top debuted its own unique brand of whisky called Tres Hombres, named after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trio’s 1973 studio album. Now the Texas blues-rockers are introducing a second entry into the liquor line — Tres Hombres Bourbon.

The whisky will be available starting this week at select retailers in three Texas cities — Austin, Dallas and Houston.

Tres Hombres Bourbon is made from three grains, with three distinct mash bills — that is, grain mixes — that have been “baked in the Southern heat” for three years.

“The launch of our 2021 Texas Whisky was an overwhelming success,” says ZZ Top manager Carl Stubner. “We look forward to sharing this new sweeter expression with our fans and friends to enjoy raising a glass to followers of good whisky across the country.”

The arrival of Tres Hombres Bourbon coincides with ZZ Top’s trio of Texas shows this week featuring special guests Jeff Beck and Heart‘s Ann Wilson. The concerts are scheduled for this Friday in Del Valle, Saturday in Dallas and Sunday in The Woodlands. Visit ZZTop.com for the band’s full upcoming itinerary.

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Journey guitarist Neal Schon has posted a lengthy statement responding to ex-Journey singer Steve Perry‘s recent legal action alleging that Schon and bandmate Jonathan Cain falsely claimed full ownership of the trademarks on 20 of the group’s songs.

In the message, which was posted on Facebook, Schon calls Perry’s lawsuit “a bunch of total crap” while explaining that the conflict ties in with the dispute over control of the band’s name that led to the 2020 dismissal of longtime Journey bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith.

Schon write that, at that time, Perry, Valory, Smith and band manager Herbie Herbert, who were part of Journey’s board of directors along with him and Cain, voted Schon and Cain off the board.

“They all knew at this time I’d been investigating our [trademarks] for years trying to get to the bottom of all corruption as we (my wife and I) found that nothing had ever been [trademarked] besides our music,” Schon maintains, adding, “They all went for a take over and it didn’t work.”

Schon notes that his wife then “found a legitimate [trademark] attorney” who helped him attain the trademarks.

Schon says he questions why Perry’s attorney, who also was Journey’s lawyer at that time, didn’t help the band secure those trademarks.

“It was a giant corrupted ring of people that either [management] or accountants hired to work for us cashing in on all our merchandise till now,” Schon alleges, “all along knowing there was No [trademark] on our merch.”

Neal concludes, “You haven’t heard the last of this friends. We are going to peel back the onion.”

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As she’s been making her way through the festival circuit this month, Stevie Nicks has added a cover of a classic tune to her set list, and now she’s releasing it as a single.

The song is Stevie’s version of Buffalo Springfield‘s “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound).” The 1966 track was written by the band’s Stephen Stills in response to the demonstrations against Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip curfew laws, which turned violent as protestors clashed with police.

Now, Stevie writes on her socials, her version of the tune will be out on Friday. “It meant something to me then, and it means something to be now,” she notes of the song. “I always wanted to interpret it thru the eyes of a woman and it seems like today, in the times that we live in — that it has a lot to say. I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

Among the song’s lyrics which might resonate today: “There’s battle lines being drawn/Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong,” and “A thousand people in the street/Singing songs and they carrying signs/Mostly say, ‘Hooray for our side.'”

This will be Stevie’s first release of music since her 2020 single “Show Them the Way.”

“For What It’s Worth” isn’t the only cover Stevie’s been doing this month in concert: She’s also been performing her dear friend Tom Petty‘s “Free Fallin'” as well as her take on Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”

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An archival Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album and box set featuring highlights from the 20-show residency the band played at San Francisco’s famed Fillmore venue in 1997 will be released on November 25.

Put together by Tom Petty‘s estate in collaboration with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, Live at the Fillmore (1997) will be available in multiple formats and configurations, including a four-CD package, a six-LP vinyl collection, a two-CD set and a three-LP release.

The four-CD and six-LP versions will feature 58 tracks, including 35 cover tunes. Both packages will come with a booklet featuring rare photos, three custom guitar picks, a replica laminate pass and an embroidered patch.

Live at the Fillmore (1997) features performances recorded during the final six shows of the residency. The band changed the set list every night; in addition to playing plenty of classic Petty & the Heartbreakers originals, they performed renditions of songs by The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, The Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry and more.

Petty and company also welcomed some special guests during the residency, including Roger McGuinn, of The Byrds, and blues legend John Lee Hooker.

“Playing the Fillmore in 1997 for a month was one of my favorite experiences as a musician in my whole life,” Campbell says. “The band was on fire and we changed the set list every night. The room and the crowd was spiritual … AND … we got to play with some amazing guests. I will always remember those nights with joy and inspiration.”

A version of “Listen to Her Heart” has been released as an advance digital track from Live at the Fillmore and a companion music video has been posted on Petty’s official YouTube channel.

You can preorder Live at the Fillmore now.

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Ex-Journey frontman Steve Perry has launched legal action against his former bandmates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain seeking to block their claimed ownership of trademarks involving 20 of the band’s popular songs.

Billboard reports that Perry filed a petition at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 11, asking that 20 trademark registrations secured by the Freedom JN LLC company, which the singer says is controlled by Cain and Schon, be invalidated.

The trademarks, which include the rights to the names of such tunes as “Open Arms,” “Anyway You Want It,” “Wheel in the Sky” and others, cover the use of those titles on T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and other merch items.

Perry claims that Cain and Schon didn’t have the right to register trademarks for the song titles without his approval because the three musicians had signed a partnership agreement requiring all of them to consent unanimously to the use of the tunes for products or other purposes.

Perry charges that Cain and Schon committed “fraud on the trademark office” by applying to register the song names without informing the agency of the true status of the ownership of the songs.

The petition also maintains that using the song titles in products would falsely suggest that he endorsed or had a connection to those items.

In addition, the petition notes that Perry, who split with Journey in 1998, was lead singer on all 20 songs in question when they were originally released and became popular, adding, “Their respective titles have become uniquely and unmistakably associated with and point to petitioner Perry.”

Billboard reports that, as of Tuesday, a lawyer for the Freedom JN company had not returned the magazine’s request for a comment about the matter.

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A dozen new episodes of AXS TV’s popular music-themed countdown series Top Ten Revealed will premiere on the channel this fall, starting with a show dubbed “Bands on the Map” that will debut on Tuesday, October 4 at 8 p.m. ET.

The episode will profile 10 bands who named themselves after a geographical location, among them Chicago, Boston, Asia, Berlin, Miami Sound Machine, Nazareth, Europe and LA Guns.

The show will feature a variety of celebrities offering up humorous commentary about the groups, including Carnie Wilson, longtime John Fogerty drummer Kenny Aronoff, current Warrant singer Robert Mason, former Tina Turner sax player Tim Cappello and ex-MTV host Matt Pinfield.

ABC Audio is debuting an exclusive preview segment of the show focusing on Asia, which is #7 on the list.

In the clip, Pinfield declares, “Asia had a huge debut album, one of the biggest,” referring to the prog-rock supergroup’s 1982 self-titled record, which spent nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200.

Cappello, meanwhile, explains that the prog-rock supergroup featured members of Yes, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and adds, “They had a bunch of hits. You gotta give props to ‘Only Time Will Tell.'”

The segment also quips that the band’s name didn’t necessarily make sense since the four members were all from the U.K.

The 12 new episodes of Top Ten Revealed will all be part of the second half of the series’ fifth season.

Here’s a partial list of the show’s other upcoming episodes along with their premiere dates:

10/18 — “’80s Hair Bands”
10/25 — “Songs of the Occult”
11/15 — “Fallin’ Jams”
11/22 — “Songs with Fire”
12/6 — “Christmas Crooners”
12/13 — “Hip Hop Trios”

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