Classic Hits

Guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham, a founding member of The Yardbirds, passed away Monday after a battle with dementia. He was 75.

Topham, who adopted the name Sanderson Rasjid after joining the Subud spiritual movement, was the first guitarist for The Yardbirds, which he formed with his childhood friend Chris Dreja, singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and drummer Jim McCarty.

“Sanderson Rasjid, born Anthony ‘Top’ Topham, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 23 surrounded by his family,” read a statement from his rep, according to The Sun. “Born in London on July 3 1947, he was 75 years old and had been fighting dementia in his final years.” 

Topham left the group before they hit it big and was replaced by Eric Clapton. When Clapton left he was replaced by Jimmy Page, who was later replaced by Jeff Beck. Topham’s death comes just two weeks after Beck’s passing at age 78.

After leaving The Yardbirds, Topham went on to form bands with his friend Duster Bennett and worked as a session musician for such artists as Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, the band’s founder Peter Green and others.

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Billy F. Gibbons is hitting the road on his own this year. The ZZ Top guitarist just announced the Billy F Gibbons: The Big One – Part 1 – ’23 tour with his solo band, which features former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Austin Hanks.

So far Gibbons has only announced tour dates in England and Europe. The 12-country tour kicks off June 10 in Sölvesborg, Sweden, hitting Copenhagen, Denmark, Frankfurt, Germany, Vienna, Austria, London and more before wrapping July 11 in Bournemouth, England.

Tickets go on sale Friday. A complete list of tour dates and ticket information can be found at BillyGibbons.com.

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As previously reported, a new exhibit opening in June at London’s National Portrait Gallery will feature never-before-seen photos taken by Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania. Well, if you can’t get to London to see them, you’re in luck, because they’ve been compiled into a new book. 

McCartney’s 1964: Eyes of the Storm will be released June 13, featuring 275 photos taken in late 1963/early 1964 just as The Beatles were exploding across the world. These photos were all taken on a 35 mm camera and were rediscovered by McCartney in 2020.

The book includes a forward by McCartney, and focuses on photos of him and his bandmates, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, in six cities — Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami — with McCartney providing an introduction for each city. 

“Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time,” Sir Paul shares. “This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back.”

He adds, “Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America.”

The book sells for $75 and is available for preorder now.

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Metallica’s new album, 72 Seasons, is dropping April 14, but fans will now have a chance to hear the whole thing one day early, thanks to a just-announced global listening party. 

The one-night-only 72 Seasons global premiere, presented by Metallica and Trafalgar Releasing, is coming to movie theaters worldwide on April 13 and will feature the album played in full in surround sound, accompanied by a new music video for each track. The band will also talk fans through each track with exclusive commentary. The band promises “a few surprises” for attendees. 

“This is a monumental opportunity for Metallica fans to be the first to hear the new album,” Kymberli Frueh, of Trafalgar Releasing, shares. “We are thrilled to be a part of this historical global moment—connecting Metallica with their fans once again.”

Tickets for the listening party go on sale March 2 at metallica.film.

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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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