Classic Hits

After much speculation by fans — and some pretty blatant hints — it’s now official: Elton John’s final U.K. show of his Farewell tour will take place at Great Britain’s most prestigious music festival: Glastonbury.

“We are incredibly excited to announce that the one and only @eltonjohn will headline the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night at Glastonbury 2023,” the festival announced. The show will take place June 24. Unfortunately, all the Glastonbury tickets sold out in an hour last month, though resales of returned tickets will take place next spring.

On Instagram, Elton wrote, “I couldn’t be more excited to be headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023 and celebrate the greatest festival in the world!!”

He continued, “Every week I speak to new artists on my radio show and Glastonbury is often cited as a pivotal moment in launching their careers – the festival’s genuine, enthusiastic support for the best emerging talent is something I’ve long admired. Thank you for having me…for my final UK show – it’s going to be emotional.”

Elton has never played Glastonbury before.

Fans began speculating that Elton would headline the legendary event after he said he was going to announce one more show, and they noticed a gap in his schedule from June 21 to June 24, which coincides with the dates of the festival.

Then, the BBC’s Glastonbury Twitter feed seemed to confirm the speculation when it posted a link to a webcam shot of the festival’s Pyramid Stage with a rocket — as in Rocket Man — flying above it.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just when you thought The Rolling Stones had received every honor they possibly could, there’s a brand new one: “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” has been immortalized by the U.K.’s Royal Mint.

The Mint has struck a commemorative coin celebrating the Stones’ 60th anniversary. On one side, it shows a silhouette of the band performing live, along with their name in the font they used in 1973 and “’62-’22,” indicating the year they were founded through the present. On the other side is a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.

The coin’s designer said that in creating the image, she wanted to “use iconic shapes so you could tell from the silhouettes who the band members were and an energetic crowd so you could feel the excitement of being at a gig.”

The silhouettes depict Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, late drummer Charlie Watts and bass player Bill Wyman, who left the band in 1993 and was never officially replaced.

You can order the coins in a variety of formats, including a silver-colored five-pound coin for around 18 bucks and a limited-edition one in color that costs about 29 bucks. 

The prices only go up from there, all the way to a coin that contains five ounces of gold and costs more than $15,000. There are only 50 of those available, so order now.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Christine McVie‘s death at the age of 79 has been shocking for her Fleetwood Mac bandmates. Stevie Nicks posted a lengthy, handwritten tribute to the woman she called “my best friend in the whole world” on Wednesday. Now, former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham has, like Nicks, penned a handwritten tribute to the late singer, songwriter and keyboardist.

On Instagram, Buckingham, who teamed with McVie for a collaborative album and tour in 2017, wrote, “Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking. Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister.”

“For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today,” he adds. “I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.”

In April of 2018, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac and replaced by former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and ex-Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.  That fall, the band launched its An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour without Buckingham.  The tour, which ended in November of 2019, was McVie’s final one with the band before her death.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Personal items from the late Christine McVie will go up for auction as planned this weekend, with proceeds from the sale benefiting the Recording Academy charity MusiCares.

Following the news of McVie’s death at age 79 on Wednesday, Julien’s Auctions announced they will move forward with the auction on Saturday. “We worked with the legendary Christie McVie and her team for the past year in curating a world class auction set to take place on December 3 celebrating her amazing life and career and supporting her charity MusiCares,” they shared.

They add, “It was important to Christine that MusiCares, a charity close to her heart to help other musicians in need, would greatly benefit from her auction,” noting, “It is now our mission to make this auction a fitting tribute to the legacy of one of the greatest singers and musicians of our time.” 

The auction includes a variety of Fleetwood Mac items, but McVie-specific items include: a 1960s stage-played Hammond B-3 Organ, a stage-played Yamaha C3 Baby Grand Piano, a Rumours photo-matched album cover-worn dress and a pair of black, lace-up combat boots she wore to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2019 and throughout the 2018/2019 Fleetwood Mac Tour. 

Click here for info on the complete collection.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billboard is out with their annual year-end charts, and their list of the Top Rock Albums of 2022 certainly has a throwback feel.

Topping the list is Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album, Rumours, followed by Queen’s Greatest Hits at two, Elton John’s Diamonds at three and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Chronicle: The Greatest Hits at five. 

And those aren’t the only classic albums on the list: Nirvana’s Nevermind is at six, with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits at eight, Guns N ‘Roses‘ Greatest Hits at nine and AC/DC’s Back in Black at 10.

The only 2022 album to make the top five is Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak.

Several classic artists also make Billboard’s year-end list of the Top Rock Artists of 2022, including Kate Bush at five, Fleetwood Mac at seven, The Beatles at eight, Elton John at nine and Queen at 10.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The past year has been a good one for touring artists, especially for some heritage acts, who made big bucks on the road this year. 

While Bad Bunny tops Billboard’s year-end Top Tours chart for 2022, bringing in $373.5 million and selling 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows, acts like Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Mötley Crue and Def Leppard all make the top 10. 

Elton lands just under Bad Bunny at two, with over $334 million from 63 shows; The Rolling Stones comes in at six, with over $179 million from 20 shows. 

Others making the list include the Red Hot Chili Peppers at seven ($176.9 M), Def Leppard and Motley Crue at eight ($173.4 M), Paul McCartney at 15, Eagles at 16 ($105 M), Guns N’ Roses at 17 ($93.3 M) and Genesis at 25 ($81.9 M).

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Grateful Dead fans can now show off their love for the band while improving their health, thanks to a new line of Grateful Dead yoga mats, cork yoga blocks and cotton yoga straps that’s being released by JadeYoga. The natural rubber Grateful Dead Harmony mats will feature the band’s signature dancing bears, with the bears in Tree, Downward Dog, Warrior, Crow and Dancer yoga poses. 

“When I first saw the Grateful Dead inGlens Falls, NY over 40 years ago, I never would have thought I would someday have a chance to work with the band or just how fitting it would be,” JadeYoga founder Dean Jerrehian shares. “With the Grateful Dead’s history of environmental activism and support, the Dead is a perfect match for Jade’s mission of creating the best quality, most eco-friendly yoga products and giving back to the earth with each product sold.”

The mats will also help the environment because with every mat sold, Jade will plant a tree; over two million trees have been planted so far.

Fans can buy the yoga mats here.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie continues to be remembered on social media, with former President Bill Clinton among the famous names paying tribute to the star. 

“I’m saddened by the passing of Christine McVie,” he writes. ““Don’t Stop” was my ’92 campaign theme song – it perfectly captured the mood of a nation eager for better days.” He adds, “I’m grateful to Christine & Fleetwood Mac for entrusting us with such a meaningful song. I will miss her.” 

Also remembering McVie, who passed away Wednesday at age 79, are the Eagles, who shared, “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Christine McVie. Hers was a vibrant, soulful spirit, and her music was, and will remain, a gift to the world.” The statement adds, “We had the utmost admiration and respect for Christine.”

HAIM, whose song “Hallelujah” was quoted in Stevie Nicks’ tribute to McVie, shared on Instagram, “the sisterhood Stevie and Christine had was so vital to us growing up. seeing two strong women support each other in our favorite band has had such a huge impact on us throughout our lives.”

The sister group added that McVie “has been a constant inspiration.” Alana Haim, who wrote the “Hallelujah” verse that Stevie quoted, added that it was written “to help me heal” after the death of her friend Sammi Kane. 

She noted, “Seeing Stevie and Christine together changed my life forever and made me want to play music. I’m speechless. I love you so much Stevie, rip beautiful songbird.” “Songbird” was McVie’s signature song.

Other tributes include:

The Go-Go’s Belinda Carlisle –  “Oh no. The voice of an angel. RIP #christinemcvie Forever loved.”
The Kinks‘ Dave Davies – “I’m really upset about #ChristineMcVie a very underrated and talented woman. A great talent.”
Marc Maron – “Christine McVie died. One of the greatest rock voices ever. Both as a singer and songwriter. RIP.”
Drive-by Truckers – Christine McVie had the most hits of anyone in Fleetwood Mac, yet was somehow the most underrated member. Never flashy, alway great. She was the glue that held all those crazy wonderful elements together. Her songs had a soulfulness unhampered by pretense. RIP.”
Bryan Adams – “RIP Christine McVie. Thanks for the music.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Not long ago, Joni Mitchell told Elton John in an interview for his Apple Music show Rocket Hour that she felt her classic albums — like Blue, Ladies of the Canyon and Court and Spark— hadn’t gotten the recognition they deserved because they were “too intimate.” She said, “I think it upset the male singer-songwriters…I think it made people nervous.” But it sounds like that wasn’t an issue for one of those male singer-songwriters: David Crosby.

When asked if Mitchell’s work did indeed make people “nervous,” Crosby tells ABC Audio, “It might have, but for me, it was glorious.” He adds, “To me, it was absolutely shiny, wonderful, incredible work. I think it might have made people who were used to writing silly shallow pop, you know, very uncomfortable.”

Crosby has nothing but glowing things to say about Joni, noting she “was unquestionably the best of us, the best singer-songwriter alive.”

“I don’t think anybody touches her to this day. I don’t think there’s anybody as good as she was,” Crosby adds. “I think she was the most talented one.”  

In fact, Crosby’s upcoming live release David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre features a version of Mitchell’s classic composition “Woodstock,” which, of course, his former group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young scored a hit with in 1970.  The album arrives December 9.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Christine McVie’s death Wednesday at 79 certainly surprised many, and upon hearing the news, plenty of artists took to social media to pay tribute to the Fleetwood Mac star. 

“I am so sad to hear of Christine McVie going on to heaven. The world feels weird without her here. What a legend and an icon and an amazing human being. RIP,” Sheryl Crow said, while Heart’s Ann Wilson wrote on Instagram, “Christine was a gem. Soulful, classy and a beautiful songwriter. ’Over my head’ was always my sultry, angelic favorite. Bon Voyage sweet soul!”

Bette Midler also shared, “#ChristineMcVie has left us. What memories, what joy, and what a legacy…,” while the rock band Garbage wrote, “Gutted to learn about the passing of Christine McVie. Just gutted. Songbird forever.” 

Duran Duran’s John Taylor also remembered the star, writing, “So so sad to hear about Christine McVie, an artist I held dear and close to my heart. One of the greatest all time songwriters, singers, and band members, she radiated both purity and sass in equal measure, bringing light to the music of the 70s. RIP,” and Carole King simply wrote, “With love and respect. R.I.P. Christine McVie.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.