EAGLE 969 - Classic Rock News

Classic Rock News

Former Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley has died of cancer.

The 60-year-old musician broke the news of his illness in February and pledged to spend the last months of his life saying goodbye to friends.

His illness came a month before the star was due to take to the stage again with a new band. He died at home last night after succumbing to cancer of the oesophagus.

Earlier this year, he said: “It happens, but I’ve had a fantastic life. I have been very lucky. I have seen some great bands, and played with many great musicians. I am thankful that I can say a proper goodbye to all the friends I have made, who are now rallying round me.”

Shortly after it was announced that rare footage of The Beatles filming Magical Mystery Tour was discovered comes word that a 1964 interview the Fab Four did for Roundup, an hour-long children's current affairs program on Scottish T-V, has been found. BBC Radio Four aired the nine-minute interview yesterday. Discovered in a London garage, it is said to be the earliest surviving long-form British studio interview with the band. It took place on April 30th, 1964. Among the things they discuss are songwriting; John Lennon and Paul McCartney's first meeting; and their screaming fans. The Lost Beatles Interview will be re-broadcast Saturday at 7:30 am our time here

Def Leppard will team up with country singer Taylor Swift for an installment of C-M-T Crossroads. Singing with a country singer is nothing new for the Sheffield, England band. The title track of their new album, Nine Lives, was co-written by and features Tim McGraw. For Taylor, singing with a rock band is a dream come true. She says, "I have been screaming the words to Def Leppard songs for years...so it's amazing that I'm going to get to share a stage with them this year!" The show, which will be taped in front of an invitation-only crowd, will air on November 8th. Def Leppard is in Albania tomorrow night.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are using the front row seats at their shows to help out flood victims in the Midwest. The band usually upgrades fans in the worst seats to the front row seats before each show but now they're auctioning off these tickets with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Auctions are already under way for shows happening this week, with more auctions starting next Monday for the band's non-festival dates the rest of the summer. Head to Petty's website for more details.

Last year's reissue of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same will be released on vinyl on July 22nd. Originally released in 1976, the four-album set documents Zeppelin's three-night stand at New York's MadisonSquareGarden in 1973. It has been remastered and contains six additional songs not featured on the original -- "Black Dog," "Over the Hills and Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You," "The Ocean" and "Heartbreaker."It also comes with a 12-page oversized full-color booklet with liner notes by Cameron Crowe and dozens of previously unpublished stills from the film. And on August 26th, Led Zeppelin's 2007 hits collection, Mothership, will make its vinyl debut as a four-album set.

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has been in the news for going back into rehab for pain killers and sleeping pills, but what about the other members of Aerosmith who've had their share of ailments and scares over the past few years? The most serious is bassist Tom Hamilton, who learned two years ago that he had throat cancer. He tells us he's doing "great and getting all good reports." Guitarist Joe Perry continues to recover from knee surgery, and drummer Joey Kramer is doing well following shoulder surgery a few years back. Guitarist Brad Whitford has no medical conditions to report.

Queen and Paul Rodgers were on the bill for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration concert Friday in London's Hyde Park. They turned in a six-song performance, but, despite working on a new album, there were no songs debuted. Their set, in order, was "One Vision," "Tie Your Mother Down," "The Show Must Go On," "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions" and "All Right Now," from Rodgers' days in Free. Writing about their performance on his website, guitarist Brian May says, "We all thought it went very well... Paul rocked, and I always feel honored to be behind him... We all contributed to a better understanding of AIDS, Africa, poverty and the state of the world. And we had a blast!" May also performed with Andrea Corr on "Is This the World We Live In." Queen also backed Amy Winehouse on The Specials' song "Free Nelson Mandela."

The making of the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour is the subject of a D-V-D coming out September 2nd. Magical Mystery Tour Memories features several people who participated in the production, including musician Spencer Davis, Paul McCartney's younger brother Mike McCartney and actor Victor Spinetti -- he also co-starred in A Hard Day's Night and Help. The hour-long documentary also contains previously unseen home movies taken during the filming of the movie.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith hits stores this Sunday, and now you can be one step closer to being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band. They were at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square today to unveil the game and give fans a chance to play it. Aerosmith were very involved with the creation of this latest edition of the hit game. The entire band wore motion-capture suits so developers could transfer the members' likenesses into the game. And they also re-recorded four tracks from their debut album, including "Dream On." Bassist Tom Hamilton says the band has always thought of re-recording those songs because their label can't find the original master tapes, and having the tracks used in the game inspired them to do it.

Eric Clapton will headline a show in London's Hyde Park tomorrow (Saturday) for the first time in 12 years. He tops the bill at the two-day Hard Rock Calling festival, which also features his ex-girlfriend Sheryl Crow and opening act on his last few tours, Robert Randolph. His last headlining show at Hyde Park was in 1996 when he shared the stage with The Who and Bob Dylan. Looking back on that show, Clapton says, "It was freezing cold...same time of year, June." The forecast for Saturday is 72 degrees and light rain. The Police will headline the bill Sunday.

The Hard Rock Calling festival is one of two big events in Hyde Park this weekend. The other is Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday concert tonight (Friday), which will feature Queen and Paul Rodgers.

Paul McCartney will perform in Israel in September and the final details are being worked out for the multi-million-dollar show, which would mark his first-ever appearance in the Holy Land. Government officials prevented The Beatles from playing there in 1965, saying the band "didn't stand on a high cultural and artistic level and had a bad influence over youth." Earlier this year, the Israeli ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, apologized to the Fab Four, saying, in part, "There is no doubt that it was a great missed opportunity to prevent people like you, who shaped the minds of the generation, to come to Israel and perform." If the show becomes a reality, it will be held in Tel Aviv on either the 18th or 25th of September. A spokesman for McCartney tells us he has no knowledge of plans for a concert there.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young will release a live album after three reunion tours this decade. The disc is the soundtrack to their upcoming documentary Deja Vu, and will be in stores July 22nd with the movie in theaters three days later. The film and soundtrack were recorded during CSNY's 2006 Freedom of Speech tour. Neil Young tells Billboard the album has "rough spots all the way through it, which I think is refreshing... It's not overdubbed. There's no fixes. It's straight from the board. Every once in a while, we make something a little louder, maybe a little bit of bass here and there. But the basic mixes are the mixes that people heard when we were playing it." Their last live album, Four Way Street, was released in 1971.

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Wall. As a run-up to the anniversary, Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe -- the artist who illustrated the album and did the animation for the movie -- have produced a limited-edition hand-signed and numbered box set of eight prints from the album. Scarfe on the Wall includes two newly commissioned artworks by Scarfe, who revisits The Wall imagery. The box also contains a 32-page booklet signed by Waters. This contains many early illustrations and working drawings for The Wall, as well as a rare interview with Scarfe on his work with Floyd. Limited to 299 copies (number-one is being auctioned off for charity), they cost 23-hundred dollars each. If interested send an E-mail to: orders@scarfeonthewall.com

Bruce Springsteen appears on the first of a new series of tribute singles to New York experimental synth duo Suicide. The singles, which feature a veteran act and a new artist covering a Suicide song as well as a rarity from the band, mark the upcoming 70th birthday of singer Alan Vega. Springsteen's contribution is a live version of "Dream Baby Dream," a song that closed many of the shows on his 2005 solo Devils and Dust tour. The single with Springsteen's track is due out in late July.

Styx are on the road, opening for Boston. On the band's website, singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw writes, "After all these years, we have joined forces with this classic rock treasure and it's truly heartwarming to see and hear the response from the fans. For us to hear these songs sung and performed so pristinely is a feel-good distraction from the weight of current events that seems to bombard us the rest of the day. The familiar sound of Tom Scholz's guitar with the searing rock-choir voices delivering those unmistakable choruses is simply mesmerizing." So it sounds like that's a thumbs-up for new Boston singer Tommy DeCarlo, the former Home Depot credit manager. The two bands are in Oklahoma City tonight.

John Fogerty returns to London's Royal Albert Hall tonight for the first time in 37 years. He first played there with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970, and their last show there was in September 1971. Fogerty tells us, "About the only way I can describe [tonight's show], it'd be like you won the Indianapolis 500 in 1971 and now you're going back there to race again, 37 years later." Tonight's show will be recorded and filmed for a CD and DVD to be released in the fall. Creedence released a live album in 1980 that they thought was recorded at the Albert Hall, only to discover later that it was from a show in Oakland, California.

The Beatles camp are in talks to develop their own video game. The Financial Times says the band's company Apple Corps is holding discussions with Acti-Vision and MTV Games to create a game that would have players strum along to the group's hits, similar to the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. If this comes to fruition, it could yield the band millions. The Beatles have yet to license their music for digital use.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood gave away his 29-year-old daughter Leah over the weekend as she married her boyfriend of 11 years, T-V producer Jack MacDonald in London. On hand for the reception were Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as Jagger's ex-wife, Jerry Hall, and model Kate Moss. A reception followed at Woody's suburban London home complete with five dwarfs hired by Woody to entertain guests.

Carlos Santana has created a creature for a new video game called Spore, which tracks a world of creatures along each step of their evolution, from primordial slime fights to hyper-civilized urban environments. Carlos's creature is called "Batuka," which means awakening in Swahili and is also a song on Santana Three. To celebrate the launch of the game in September, the game's makers want you to create a creature of your own. If your work is chosen, you'll get $15,000 donated to the charity of your choice.

Rush drummer Neil Peart has posted another long piece on his website about his travels during the band's current tour. He also talks about what's not in the band's future. He says, "When you're in the middle of a big job, you don't need to talk about another one. So, in the middle of a tour, we never talk about making another album, and in the middle of recording, we never talk about another tour. One job at a time." But guitarist Alex Lifeson tells us he and singer-bassist Geddy Lee have already discussed the next album and tour. But he adds that they need a break after this tour. "It's been a really busy six or seven years... How long of a break I don't know."

Rolling Stone has teamed up with Macy's to unveil a line of T-shirts featuring covers of the entertainment magazine. Among the covers from the magazine's 40 years that will be featured on people's chests are The Beatles from 1969, Jimi Hendrix (1999), Jerry Garcia (1996), Metallica (1991), Jim Morrison (1971), Ozzy Osbourne (2002) and Kurt Cobain (1994). The shirts will retail for 36 dollars and come with a certificate for a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone.

Bruce Springsteen, on tour in Europe, sent in a video tribute for yesterday's memorial service for NBC newsman Tim Russert in Washington DC. Strumming a guitar, Springsteen remembered Russert being in the front row when he performed on the Today show and said he "believed in the honesty of service -- the joyful duty of honesty of service. That's his legacy for politicians, journalists and rock musicians, too." He then did an acoustic version of "Thunder Road," which he also dedicated to Russert last weekend at his show in Wales. Russert died last Friday of a heart attack. He was 58.

ZZ Top's appearance Monday night at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston will be streamed live at WoozyFly from 8:00 to 11:00 eastern. The trio will be plugging their first-ever concert DVD, Live From Texas, in stores the next day. While at the Hard Rock, Z-Z will donate memorabilia, including the custom-made guitar and bass guitar they played on the DVD, to be added to Hard Rock's collection. The event will benefit Child Advocates, which is dedicated to breaking the vicious cycle of child abuse.

If you're wondering how Journey are fairing with their third singer in the last three years, Filipino Arnel Pineda, then let the Brits put those concerns to rest. Classic Rock magazine is reporting that their show Tuesday in London was "overwhelmingly positive and their new singer was a revelation. Pineda was terrific on stage... He is just what they are looking for... So infectious is his enthusiasm that even the band he joined as the new boy stand around grinning as he spins and punches the air." Journey are in Manchester, England tonight. Their North American tour, with special guest Cheap Trick and Heart, starts on July 9th in Englewood, Colorado.

Jimmy Page says he will not pressure Robert Plant into a Led Zeppelin reunion tour. In an interview with UK radio station XFM, Page says, "I'm not going to persuade anyone to do anything. It's just like the [show last December in London] -- you do it in the spirit of your heart, don't you? You either do it or you don't." Plant is currently on tour with Alison Krauss with a show in Highland Park, Illinois tonight.

Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer will tour the US for the first time since 1972. He has three dates scheduled for the Midwest next month -- July 10th in St. Louis; the 11th in Berwyn, Illinois; and the 12th in Belleville, Wisconsin at the American Music Festival. Spencer, a founding member of the Mac, disappeared during an American tour in 1971 and joined the Children of God, a cult that condoned orgies and sex between adults and children. He was replaced by Bob Welch, who was eventually replaced by Lindsey Buckingham.

Sharon Osbourne has quit her job as a judge on the U-K talent show The X Factor after four years. A statement released by the show says, "Sharon would like to thank the wonderful British public for their enormous support during what's been an exciting ride. She would also like to take this opportunity to thank Simon Cowell and I-T-V, while wishing them all the best for the next series. Sharon will be making no further comment." Sharon won't be saying goodbye to Cowell for long -- she's a judge on his summer reality competition America's Got Talent. That show airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p-m on NBC.

The Rolling Stones are denying a report that they're on the verge of leaving EMI and signing with Live Nation. Their rep says, "We are not in talks with Live Nation in connection with any record deal." E-M-I went private last year and as a result has lost some of its bigger artists, including Paul McCartney. The Observer report says Live Nation, whose chairman is Stones promoter Michael Cohl, would market the band's catalog. Over the last few years, Live Nation has struck wide-ranging deals with U2, Madonna and Jay-Z.

David Bowie has been busy compiling a CD of his older material, and working on a new album. He's selected 12 of his favorite recordings for I Select Bowie, a disc that will come with the June 29th edition of the U-K's Mail on Sunday. One of the tracks will be a brand-new re-recording of "Time Will Crawl," which was originally released in 1987. Bowie says, "There are a host of songs that I've recorded over the years that for one reason or another I've often wanted to re-record some time in the future. This track from Never Let Me Down is one of those. I've replaced the drum machine with true drums and added some crickety strings and remixed. I'm very fond of this new version with its Neil Young accents." Amongst the other 11 songs on the disc are "Life on Mars," "The Bewlay Brothers," "Lady Grinning Soul," "Win," "Some Are," "Teenage Wildlife" and "Hang on to Yourself" from Bowie's upcoming album, Live Santa Monica '72.

London's Mirror is reporting that Paul McCartney is close to releasing an official photograph of him and his new gal-pal, American Nancy Shevell, while ex-wife Heather Mills continues to stew. A source tells the paper, "Nancy is increasingly part of Paul's life. She's been welcomed into the family. He's getting more relaxed about being seen out with her. We're getting close to them posing for an official photograph." Meanwhile, Heather is reportedly furious that Nancy accompanied Paul and their daughter Beatrice on a recent trip to Morocco. The source tells the Mirror, "He did not spell out to Heather that Nancy would be there. He felt it was none of her business who he chooses to be with. Heather made it clear later that she was not happy that he had kept her in the dark." McCartney and Heather recently divorced after close to four years of marriage.