Classic Hits

Earlier this year, Asia announced that it was organizing a new tour to mark the supergroup’s 40th anniversary that would kick off this summer, but now, plans for the trek have been revised.

The tour, a joint outing with The Alan Parsons Live Project, originally was supposed to have launched in August, but the trek has been delayed because of a medical procedure Alan Parsons underwent recently. The tour is now being rescheduled for early 2023, and new dates will be announced soon.

Asia’s current lineup features two original members, drummer Carl Palmer and keyboardist Geoff Downes, as well as bassist/singer Billy Sherwood and lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Bonilla.

Sherwood joined Asia in 2017 after original lead singer and bassist John Wetton‘s death, while Bonilla was recently welcomed into the band to replace singer/guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, who began playing with the group in 2019.

Bonilla is a former member of late Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson‘s solo band.

“We were hoping to be out this August, however moving the tour to early next year so we can remain on a co-bill with The Alan Parsons Project will be well worth it,” says Palmer. “I am so thrilled that ASIA has finally been able to return to performing after three years off the road due to the pandemic; we have much to celebrate.”

Adds Downes, “ASIA has been through a lot during these last four decades, but the music has always endured…This tour will be historic.”

In addition to celebrating its 40th anniversary, the band also will be promoting its recently released multi-disc box set, ASIA in Asia — Live at The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983, which focuses on a historic concert the band played in Japan that featured ELP’s Greg Lake stepping in for Wetton.

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Graham Nash‘s latest solo studio album, This Path Tonight, was released over six years ago, but the folk-rock legend says he’s finally almost finished with a follow-up record.

“I think I’m two songs from completing it,” Nash tells ABC Audio. “I’ve got 10. I want to add a couple more. I know what I’m gonna add. So it is almost done.”

Nash, who turned 80 in February, says “the most interesting thing” about the new album is that “it was done completely remotely.”

Explaining how the songs came together, Graham notes, “I have a small, tiny studio in my bathroom in Manhattan. I would put down a song on an acoustic guitar and a vocal track. I would send [the tracks] to [guitarist] Shane [Fontayne] in California. He’d put on the bass, his guitars and a harmony vocal. He would then send all those files to [keyboardist] Todd Caldwell in Brooklyn…who would put on all the keyboards and a harmony vocal. He would then send them…to his brother, [drummer] Toby [Caldwell,] in Lubbock, Texas, who would then put on all the drums.”

Nash adds that the audio files would then be sent back to him and Todd, who is producing the album, and Caldwell “would then make a thing of it.”

Graham reports that the new album is being mixed by Kevin Killen, who also mixed his recent concert album, Graham Nash: Live — Songs for Beginners/Wild Tales.

Meanwhile, Graham is preparing to launch a new U.S. summer tour on July 13 in Red Bank, New Jersey, and he says he plans to include some of the new material in his sets. The trek, which will visit various venue in the Northeast, is mapped out through an August 8 concert in Ocean City, New Jersey.

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The Who‘s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend have donated a signed electric guitar to a charity auction that will raise money for Music Support, an organization that helps people in the U.K. music industry who are dealing with mental health and addiction issues.

Daltrey and Townshend have signed a white Fender Stratocaster “Player” model that’s up for bid at CharityStars.com. As of Tuesday evening, the highest bid for the guitar was $1,220. Bidding will continue until July 5 at 3 p.m. ET.

Several other items are being auctioned at CharityStars.com to benefit Music Support, including a snare-drum head played and signed by The Clash‘s Topper Headon, a Fender Strotocaster guitar autographed by all six members of Iron Maiden and a Fender Squier guitar signed by each member of Coldplay.

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Whitesnake pulled out of their performance at the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena, Spain this past Saturday because drummer Tommy Aldridge was “under the weather.” Now, the band has canceled three more shows on the European leg of its Farewell Tour as frontman David Coverdale has taken ill.

The affected concerts were scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 in Milan, Italy; June 30 in Vienna, Austria; and July 2 in Zagreb, Croatia.

In a message posted Monday on Whitesnake’s official website, Coverdale explains, “I started feeling a bit under the weather two days ago, and was just diagnosed with an infection of the sinus & trachea. The doctor recommends 5 days of no singing and bed rest. Sadly, that means that we are not going to be able to do the upcoming shows in Milan, Vienna and Zagreb.”

The 70-year-old singer continues, “I’m very sorry to all the fans who had planned to come see our Farewell Tour in each of those cities — it’s my intention to get better as soon as possible and be able to pick up with the remaining shows of the European Farewell Tour. You are all in our hearts!!”

Coverdale also points out in the note that the Cartagena concert was the first show that Aldridge had ever missed in his career, adding, “The GOOD news is that he is feeling better and is anxious to get back out there to perform for all of you.”

Whitesnake’s next scheduled concert is now a June 4 show in Budapest, Hungary. The European trek winds down July 19 with a gig in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The band will launch a North American leg of its Farewell Tour on August 17 in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

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R.E.M. released its debut EP, Chronic Town, 40 years ago this August, and to mark the milestone, the band will be reissuing the five-song collection on August 19 in multiple formats.

The EP will be made available for the first-time ever as a standalone CD, and also will be released on cassette and as a vinyl picture disc. Chronic Town‘s co-producer, Mitch Easter, has written new liner notes for the reissue.

Released on August 24, 1982, Chronic Town arrived about a year after R.E.M.’s debut single, “Radio Free Europe,” and preceded the band’s classic 1983 debut studio album, Murmur.

“One might fancifully say that Chronic Town was the sound of an expedition, ready for anything, setting forth,” says Easter about the EP. “If R.E.M. ‘Radio Free Europe’ single was a signpost, the Chronic Town EP was the atlas.”

The EP included the early gems “Wolves, Lower,” “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)” and “1,000,000,” and features singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry coming together to create the jangly “College Rock” sound that has influenced so many other artists over the years.

You can preorder the Chronic Town reissue now. Here’s the full track list:

“Wolves, Lower”
“Gardening at Night”
“Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)”
“1,000,000”
“Stumble”

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Robert Plant opened the first chapter of his post-Led Zeppelin career 40 years ago today with the release of his debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven.

The eight-track collection peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200, while reaching #2 on the U.K. albums chart. Four of the tracks broke into the top 20 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock tally — “Burning Down One Side,” “Worse Than Detroit,” “Pledge Pin” and “Slow Dancer.”

“Burning Down One Side” was the most successful single released from the album, peaking at #3 on Mainstream Rock chart and at #64 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Phil Collins played drums on six of the album’s eight tracks, while journeyman rocker Cozy Powell was behind the kit for the other two songs. Other musicians featured on Pictures at Eleven included guitarist Robbie Blunt, keyboardist Jezz Woodroffe and bassist Paul Martinez. In addition, sax player Raphael Ravenscroft, best known for his memorable playing on Gerry Rafferty‘s “Baker Street,” lent his talents to the song “Pledge Pin.”

Plant co-wrote all of the tunes with Blunt, with Woodroffe also helping to write three songs — “Burning Down One Side,” “Fat Lip” and “Far Post.”

Plant produced the album, which was recorded in Wales at Rockfield Studios, a famous facility where Queen worked on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Pictures at Eleven has been certified Platinum for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Plant launched a European tour with his Raise the Roof collaborator Alison Krauss last Friday with a performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival. The trek runs through a July 20 gig in Berlin and will be followed by a second 2022 U.S. leg that begins August 15 in San Diego.

Here’s Pictures at Eleven‘s full track list:

“Burning Down One Side”
“Moonlight in Samosa”
“Pledge Pin”
“Slow Dancer”
“Worse Than Detroit”
“Fat Lip”
“Like I’ve Never Been Gone”
“Mystery Title”

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In celebration of Def Leppard‘s 45th anniversary, the band has partnered with Rock and Roll Beauty to launch a limited-edition line of themed beauty products.

The 19-piece collection includes a colorful eyeshadow palette designed to resemble Def Leppard’s famed diamond-shaped logo, as well as eyeshadow sticks, lipsticks, highlighters, scented candles, makeup brushes and sponges, nail decals and accessories.

Among the items are blush-and-highlighter packs designed to look like backstage passes, and cosmetic bags featuring the Hysteria album cover art and replicating an old audio cassette. The line also features eyeshadow sticks named after four Def Leppard songs — “Come Undone,” “Gravity,” “Let’s Go” and “Your Touch.”

The Def Leppard x Rock and Roll Beauty collection is available exclusively in Ulta Beauty stores across the U.S., and online at Ulta.com and RockandRollBeauty.com.

Def Leppard is currently co-headlining The Stadium Tour with Mötley Crüe. The next stop on the trek, which also features Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, takes place this Tuesday, June 28, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Def Leppard is promoting its recently released studio album, Diamond Star Halos.

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ZZ Top has released an updated live version of their 1975 gem “Heard It on the X” as the latest advance digital track from their upcoming album, Raw, which is due out July 22.

As previously reported, Raw was recorded in conjunction with the famed blues-rock trio’s 2019 documentary, That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. It’s being released as a tribute to longtime bassist Dusty Hill, who died in July 2021 at age 72.

For the movie, ZZ Top’s classic lineup of singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, Hill and drummer Frank Beard played an intimate set of songs from their back catalog at historic Gruene Hall, known as “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas,” which was filmed and recorded. That “raw” performance serves as the basis for the new album.

“Heard It on the X” originally appeared on ZZ Top’s fourth album, 1975’s Fandango!, which also included the classic hit “Tush.”

“Heard It on the X,” which featured Gibbons and Hill trading lead vocal lines, was an homage to the famous “border blaster” high-wattage AM radio stations that would broadcast from Mexico and that featured the call letters that started with “X.”

“Even though Dusty, Frank, and I grew up in different part of Texas we listened to the same stations, particularly the ‘X’ stations,” Gibbons notes, “and, as a result, we gained a lot of the same musical and cultural points of reference.”

You can check out a video of ZZ Top performing “Heard It on the X” at Gruene Hall at the band’s YouTube channel.

Raw, which was produced by Gibbons, can be preordered now and will be available as a 180-gram vinyl LP, on CD and via digital formats.

Here’s Raw‘s full track:

“Brown Sugar”
“Just Got Paid”
“Heard It on the X”
“La Grange”
“Tush”
“Thunderbird”
“I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”
“Legs”
“Gimme All Your Lovin'”
“Blue Jean Blues”
“Certified Blues”
“Tube Snake Boogie”

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Stevie Nicks has good news and bad news: She didn’t get COVID during her recent run of tour dates — but she is very upset about the Supreme Court’s ruling last week.

In a letter posted to Twitter, the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer writes, “Dear people, I got home from the tour late Wednesday night exhausted. It was great to be back in my world doing what I love for the first time in three years…AND I did not get COVID! We definitely proved that it can be done if you follow the rules. That is the good news.”

Stevie continues, “The bad news is that our women’s rights have been taken away.”

The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman then says that before she comments further, she wants everyone to watch a documentary called The Janes. “It’s a huge deja vu for me, as it is about my generation leading up to Roe v Wade,” she writes. “Please watch it. It will blow your mind.”

She signs off, “History is repeating itself…and it’s even more frightening this time.”

The Janes, available on HBO Max, tells the true story of seven women in Chicago in 1972 who were arrested for running an underground network for women who wanted to have safe, affordable abortions — which at the time were illegal. The film features firsthand accounts from those women, some speaking on the record for the first time.

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The cause of death of Depeche Mode member Andy Fletcher has been revealed.

In an Instagram post penned by DM vocalist Dave Gahan and multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore, the “Enjoy the Silence” outfit shares that Fletcher died of aortic dissection, which occurs when there’s a tear in the inner layer of the aorta artery.

“Even though it was far, far too soon, he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering,” Depeche Mode says of Fletcher.

Fletcher, often referred to as “Fletch” by his friends, bandmates and family, passed on May 26. He was 60 years old. At the time, a source close to the band shared that he passed away from natural causes.

In addition to sharing the cause of death news, Depeche Mode’s post also details a “celebration of Andy’s life” that took place in London last week.

“[It] was a beautiful ceremony and gathering with a few tears, but filled with the great memories of who Andy was, stories of all of our times together, and some good laughs,” the post reads. “Andy was celebrated in a room full of many of his friends and family, our immediate DM family, and so many people who have touched Andy’s and our lives throughout the years. All being together was a very special way to remember Andy and see him off.”

“Thank you for all of the love you’ve shown Andy and his family and friends over the last few weeks,” Gahan and Gore conclude. “It honestly means the world to all of us. Andy, you’ll be missed, but certainly not forgotten.”

Fletcher was a founding member of Depeche Mode and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2020.

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