Classic Hits

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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If These Walls Could Sing, the new documentary about London’s Abbey Road Studios that was directed by Paul McCartney‘s daughter Mary, which got its world premiere at Colorado’ Telluride Film Festival in September 3, will soon make its TV debut on Disney+.

The news was revealed at Abbey Road’s official website and a preview clip from the doc was posted along with the announcement featuring Paul sharing recollections about working at the studio.

In the clip, McCartney recalls a time during the late 1970s when his late wife and Mary’s mom, Linda, walked a black pony they owned named Jet into Abbey Road from their nearby London residence. Paul’s memories are accompanied by photos of Linda walking with the pony across the famous zebra crossing outside of the studio.

The preview also features Paul explaining why he continued to work at Abbey Road with his solo band Wings after the breakup of The Beatles, who did most of their recording at the studio.

In London, we had used other studios, but we always liked this [Abbey Road] the best,” he notes. “So that when I was looking to record with Wings, I thought, ‘Well, this is the best studio. I know it. I know a lot of the people here … It’s just a great studio. You know, all of the microphones work … So it was great. It was great to come back home.”

As previously reported, the documentary looks at highlights of Abbey Road’s 91-year history. To make the movie, film crews were allowed to have intimate access to the studio’s premises for the first time ever.

The doc also features interviews with Elton John, Jimmy Page, members of Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Oasis‘ Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher, conductor John Williams, producer Giles Martin and more.

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Veteran New Zealand/Australian pop-rock band Crowded House has announced rescheduled dates for its recently postponed 2022 North American tour, which now will take place next spring.

The trek’s revamped itinerary, which features 18 shows, now kicks off on May 2 in Vancouver, Canada and is plotted out through a May 30 concert in Boston.

“Crowded House are delighted at long last to be able to play shows in North America,” says frontman Neil Finn in a statement. “We have been picking up the pace recently as the world opens up and can’t wait present the show with this band lineup in absolute top form to the good folk of North America, from sea to shining sea.”

Last month, the band announced that its 2022 tour, which had been slated to run from early September to early October, was being postponed because current Crowded House drummer Elroy Finn — Neil’s son — had injured his lower back and needed time to recuperate.

Previously purchased tickets for the 2022 dates will be honored for the rescheduled shows.

In addition to Neil and Elroy, Crowded House’s current lineup also features original bassist Nick Seymour, acclaimed producer Mitchell Froom on keyboards and Neil’s son Liam on guitar. The band is supporting its latest studio album, 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting.

Prior to the North American trek, Crowded House will launch a 2022 Australian tour running from late October to late November. Check out the band’s full schedule at CrowdedHouse.com.

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KISS member Gene Simmons may have millions of fans who adore his music, but in a new interview with Goldmine, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer admits that, besides one exception, he has no friends.

“Even today as I sit here, other than Paul [Stanley], and we only get together when we do stuff for the band … How do I say this without sounding inhuman? I don’t have friends,” Simmons tells the magazine.

He adds, “Yeah, if friends means, ‘Gee, I don’t know what I’m going to do this afternoon. Hey, you want to come over and hang out?’ I’m more interested in what I want to do, and I don’t want to pretend that I’m interested in what you want to do because I am not.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the 73-year-old rocker muses on what he might experience after he dies.

“I’m OK if there’s a heaven and a God. I’m OK with it. I’m also OK if there’s nothing,” Simmons maintains. “I lean towards nothing. My question is, if we get an afterlife, do mosquitoes? Maybe my mother’s sort of wise statement about every day above ground is a good day, and that’s it.”

In addition, Simmons reflects on something he wished he knew when he was younger that would have made his life easier.

“That it didn’t matter what I thought I knew, and it didn’t matter what I knew,” he notes. “You still have to wade through the jungle by yourself. All the knowledge in the world, or no knowledge at all, doesn’t prepare you for life because there’s no one journey, there’s no one road.”

The full interview is available in the latest issue of Goldmine.

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