Classic Hits

The Cars‘ Greg Hawkes and Squeeze‘s Chris Difford are among a variety of guest artists featured on an upcoming concept album called Circus of Wire Dolls by the prog rock-influenced collaborative group Rocking Horse Music Club.

Circus of Wire Dolls will be released as a two-CD set September 16, while a two-LP vinyl version is due out October 21.

The album is a rock opera that combines a wide range of musical genres, including prog rock, ’60-influenced baroque and symphonic pop, glam rock, ’80s new wave, gospel, jazz fusion, folk and musical theater.

“On the surface, the record tells the story of a man who creates a miniature circus out of wire, string, and cloth,” explains Rocking Horse Music Club producer/songwriter Brian Coombes, “but it’s really about a man looking back at his life, his work, the people who entered and exited his world, his successes, his failures, his regrets.”

Hawkes contributes alto sax to the album, while Difford sings on one of the tracks. Other guest singers and musicians featured include former Manfred Mann’s Earth Band vocalist Noel McCalla, ex-King Crimson violinist David Cross, current Squeeze pedal-steel guitarist Melvin Duffy and Dream Academy multi-instrumentalist Kate St. John.

The album can be preorderd in the U.S. at RockingHorseMusicClub.com and TheBandWagonUSA.com, and in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world at BurningShed.com.

Rocking Horse Music Club has plans to perform Circus of Wire Dolls live on March 17 and 18 in Fletching, England.

The album is a follow-up to 2019’s Which Way the Wind Blows, a tribute to original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips.

Here’s the full Circus of Wire Dolls track list:

“Prologue: Riverside”
“Circus of Wire Dolls”
“Packed Up” — featuring Noel McCalla
“Senseless Sky”
“Animate in 5/8” — featuring Noel McCalla & Caroline Carter
“To Reach the Other Side”
“Will You Be My Downfall?” — featuring Caroline Carter
“So Little Left” — featuring Tim Bowness
“It’s Not About You”
“Trapeze Waltz” — featuring Amy Birks
“Burn” — featuring Caroline Carter
“Cut from a Different Cloth” — featuring Chris Difford
“Face of Rain”
“0300”
“SY22”
“Lost a Piece of Me”
“House Party at Jack’s”
“Flowers in November”
“Every Show Must End” — featuring Noel McCalla
“All Shall Be Well” — featuring Evelyn Cormier
“Circus Waltz” — featuring David Cross
“Coda: Slide Down the Cellar Door”

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Following a protest from the Prince estate, a judge has ruled that an energy drink cannot trademark the name “Purple Rain.”

Billboard reports a judge said Bang Energy could not trademark their drink’s name because it is “uniquely and unmistakably” connected to the late singer.

Following the ruling, Bang Energy CEO Jack Owoc explained to Billboard that he was “a big fan” of the iconic artist and would not appeal.

“We greatly respect Prince and his estate and will not ‘rain’ on their parade. Maybe we can negotiate a deal in the future that is mutually beneficial to both parties,” he said.

Attorney Londell McMillan, who represents one group of Prince heirs, told Billboard he was pleased the trademark application was rejected.

“Prince’s music, art and trademarks hold a special place in our society and culture. Purple Rain is a Prince mark and brand known worldwide,” he continued. “Please respect these unique assets or suffer at your own peril.”

Purple Rain earned an Oscar in 1985 for Best Original Song Score plus Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

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A piece of wall from The Ed Sullivan Show‘s set, signed by all four Beatles members when they made their historic first appearance on the program on February 9, 1964, is going up for bid as part of a Fab Four memorabilia auction this month.

The auction, which will feature over 20 Beatles-related collectibles, will take place on September 24 at Heritage Auctions’ Dallas location and at HA.com.

The 16-inch-by-48-inch wall section features the autographs of Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison and “Uncle” Paul McCartney along with doodles drawn by each Beatle. 

“Put simply, no other autographed piece of Beatles memorabilia is as historic and well-documented as the wall from The Ed Sullivan Theater,” says Heritage Auctions executive Garry Shrum. “It’s … a treasure from the day music changed forever.'”

According to the 2016 publication The Beatles Book, a Sullivan Show stagehand named Jerry Gort asked the band to sign the wall before they played their second set. Then, in September of ’64, the wall section wound up in a bin that was set to be dumped, but Gort rescued the historic item. He later gifted it to a wheelchair-using Beatles fan named Lofton Sproles, and the wall section was eventually sold multiple times in the ensuing years.

Bidding for the historic item will start at $600,000.

Also going on the block as part of the auction is a pair of Beatle boots owned and worn by Harrison, who gifted them to Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom in 1985 when they both were working on the album Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session.

The boots, which feature an opening bid of $40,000, also feature Harrison’s humorously signed dedication “to Slim Jim with love from Fat George.”

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Jeff Beck recently announced dates for a fall U.S. headlining tour, and now comes word that the British guitar legend will perform most of his shows with actor/rocker Johnny Depp, whom he collaborated with on his latest studio album, 18.

After Beck kicks off the headlining trek with an October 1 concert in Atlanta, Depp will join Jeff for the remaining shows, beginning October 4 in Washington, D.C. and running through a November 12 performance in Reno, Nevada.

Beck and Depp, who also toured together in Europe earlier in the summer, will showcase songs from 18 at the concerts. The 13-track collection features two Depp originals alongside an eclectic selection of covers, including tunes by The Beach Boys, John Lennon, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Velvet Underground, The Everly Brothers and Killing Joke. 18 was released in July on CD and digital formats, while a 180-gram black vinyl version is due out on September 30.

As previously reported, Beck will play a series of six shows in late September with ZZ Top before launching his headlining tour; the first three will also feature Heart‘s Ann Wilson.

Jeff is accompanied at his shows by a backing that features bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Robert Stevenson.

Check out Beck’s full schedule at JeffBeck.com.

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Longtime Moody Blues singer/guitarist Justin Hayward has released his first new solo single in more than two years, a melodic, acoustic guitar-driven track called “Living for Love.”

The track is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while a lyric video for the tune has debuted on Hayward’s official YouTube channel.

The romantic song features Justin reflecting on the excitement of a burgeoning romance when he was young.

“I’m one of a generation that as teenagers, if we were lucky, were living just for love; with the most wonderful music, freedom and optimism,” the 75-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says. “We didn’t really understand at the time but I have to celebrate those days now, while we are still here, and we remember.”

Hayward recorded “Living for Love” in Italy earlier this year, and he and his studio collaborator Alberto Parodi are the only musicians featured on the track, with Hayward playing guitars and keyboards and Parodi also playing keyboards.

Meanwhile, Hayward has made some “Living for Love”-themed merchandise available for purchase at his online store.

Hayward wrapped up a U.S. solo tour in June and is now preparing to launch a 10-date United Kingdom trek that begins September 11. Visit JustinHayward.com to check out all the dates.

Hayward, of course, has written and sung many of The Moody Blues best-known songs, including “Nights in White Satin,” “Question,” “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere,” “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Your Wildest Dreams.”

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Dave Davies recently published a candid new memoir titled Living on a Thin Line, and now the founding Kinks lead guitarist is set to release a companion musical compilation with the same title.

Living on a Thin Line is a 13-track collection that will be released on CD on Friday, September 9, while a two-LP vinyl version is due out on January 13, 2023, four days before the physical version of his autobiography will be published in the U.S. The CD and vinyl editions can be preordered now at Amazon.

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

The new mixes are of “This Is the Time,” a track from Davies’ 2007 album Fractured Mindz, and of a live version of the Dave-penned 1971 Kinks tune “Strangers” that he performed at a 1999 concert in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Among the other songs on the compilation are “The Lie!,” “Displaced Person” and “Fortis Green” from 2002’s Bug; “This Precious Time (Long Lonely Road)” and “Cradle to the Grave” from 2018’s Decade, a collection of unreleased tracks Dave recorded during the 1970s; and rerecorded versions of The Kinks’ “Death of a Clown” and “Susannah’s Still Alive” that appeared on Dave’s 1998 Kinked album.

The new album also includes three performances from Dave’s 2000 concert album Rock Bottom: Live from The Bottom Line — versions of The Kinks’ “Look Through Any Doorway,” “Living on a Thin Line” and “You Really Got Me.”

Davies’ Living on a Thin Line book was released via physical formats in the U.K. — and digitally worldwide — in July.

Here’s the full track list of the Living on a Thin Line compilation:

“The Lie!”
“Displaced Person”
“Fortis Green”
“This Precious Time” (Long Lonely Road)”
“Cradle to the Grave”
“Strangers” (Live) (2022 Edit)
“Death of a Clown”
“Susannah’s Still Alive”
“Unfinished Business”
“Look Through Any Doorway” (Live)
“Living on a Thin Line” (Live)
“You Really Got Me” (Live)
“This Is the Time” (2022 Edit)

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A 1958 Gibson Les Paul guitar that George Harrison purchased specifically to help secure the return of his prized 1957 Les Paul guitar, known as “Lucy,” after it had been stolen, is going up for bid as part of an auction scheduled for September 24.

Harrison was gifted “Lucy” by his friend Eric Clapton in 1967 and used it frequently during the last years of The Beatles. The guitar was stolen from George’s Beverly Hills home in 1973 and eventually purchased by a Los Angeles guitar shop, which in turn sold it to a Mexican musician named Michael Ochoa.

After Ochoa returned home with “Lucy,” Harrison tracked down the instrument. After some negotiating, George agreed to trade a sought-after 1958 Les Paul with a sunburst finish and a Fender Precision bass for his beloved guitar. Harrison purchased the ’58 Les Paul, now nicknamed the “Ransom” guitar, from Norman Harris, of L.A.’s Norman’s Rare Guitars shop.

Ochoa later sold the ’58 Les Paul to Robert Truman, co-owner of Nadine’s Music guitar shop in Hollywood. Truman has now included the “Ransom” guitar in a collection of instruments being auctioned on September 24 by Heritage Auctions.

Bidding for the ’58 Les Paul is starting at $250,000.

“Vintage guitar collectors and Beatles collectors alike will have to fight over this guitar,” says Heritage executive Aaron Piscopo. “It’s beautiful, with action like butter: a real-deal ’58 ‘Burst with one of the more incredible stories in rock history.”

For more details about the auction, visit HA.com.

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Stevie Nicks is among the guest artists who have contributed to Cracker Island, the just-announced upcoming eighth studio album by Gorillaz, the virtual alternative rock band led by Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

Cracker Island, which will be the cartoon group’s first new studio effort since 2020’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, will be released on February 24, 2023.

Nicks is featured on a song called “Oil.” Other guests contributors on the record include Beck, Tame Impala and newly crowned MTV VMA Artist of the Year Bad Bunny.

The album’s title track, which features acclaimed bassist Thundercat, debuted in June. Another new song from Cracker Island, “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala and rapper Bootie Brown, has just been released as an advance digital track, while a companion music video has premiered on YouTube.

Various versions of Cracker Island can be preordered now at Gorillaz.com.

Gorillaz will launch a North American headlining tour on September 11 in Vancouver, Canada.

Here’s the full Cracker Island track list:

“Cracker Island” — featuring Thundercat
“Oil” — featuring Stevie Nicks
“The Tired Influencer”
“Tarantula”
“Silent Running” — featuring Adeleye Omotayo
“New Gold” — featuring Tame Impala & Bootie Brown
“Baby Queen”
“Tormenta” — featuring Bad Bunny
“Skinny Ape”
“Possession Island” — featuring Beck

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Mariah Carey is a guest on the latest episode of Archetypes, Meghan Markle’s podcast. The two women bond over being biracial, but also discuss a word that’s been used to describe both of them over the years: diva. Mariah says she doesn’t mind being called that, but she also doesn’t like its negative connotations.

The word originally meant a very talented women, usually in the arts, like an opera singer. Mariah tells Meghan, “People take it as a compliment now, some people, and then some people take it as, ‘Oh, she’s such a diva.'” When Meghan asks her if it’s a compliment or a criticism, Mariah says, “I think it’s both. For me, it’s both.”

Mariah says growing up, she used to hear her mom, who was an opera singer, describe friends as “very much the diva,” so she wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Of course, she now knows the origin of “diva,” but notes that it’s become an insult in the past 20 years or so.

“It became, like … they mean you’re a successful woman, usually,” she tells Meghan. “But also … a b***h. Like, it’s not O.K. for you to be a boss. It’s not O.K. for you to be a strong woman.” Mariah admits that most of the time, her super-extra diva behavior is “for laughs,” and her fans know it.

When asked by Meghan to describe herself in three words, Mariah doesn’t choose diva. Instead, she says, “Exhausted, angry…yet hopeful … But if I have to describe the whole thing, it’s faith, honestly.”

You can listen to the entire discussion now wherever you get your podcasts.

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Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson will receive a special honor at the 24th Annual Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic event, which will take place September 22 at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, New York.

The annual fundraiser, organized by veteran sports broadcaster and talk-show host Ann Liguori, benefits various cancer-related charities, including the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and East End Hospice.

Lifeson, who in addition to his well-known career as a rock musician is an avid golfer, will be presented with the 2022 ALF Music Honoree Award at the charity event’s Award’s Dinner following the golf tournament. The benefit will also feature a silent auction.

“[Cancer] is a disease we are all too familiar with,” says Liguori in a statement. “We are all directly or indirectly affected by this dreadful disease and anything we can do to fight cancer has been a mission of mine for decades since our family lost my Dad to cancer in 1981. We also lost my brother to leukemia when he was 22. My sister Jean, brother Dan and I, are committed to this cause forever.”

Lifeson, along with his Rush bandmate Geddy Lee, is also scheduled to take part in the two star-studded tribute concerts the Foo Fighters have organized in honor of their late drummer Taylor Hawkins. The shows will take place on September 3 at Wembley Stadium in London and on September 27 at the Kia Forum near Los Angeles.

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