Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Classic Rock

Here’s one I didn’t see coming. I mean, I think we all kinda hoped that it might happen, but as time ticked on it was looking increasingly unlikely… But during the making of this issue we received the news that the original line-up of Black Sabbath are going to reunite for one final hurrah–for charity, too!–on their home turf of Birmingham in the summer. It seems the summer really is already shaping up to be a good one for rock, as this month also brought news of one further AC/DC date in the UK, this time in Scotland in July. On to more immediate matters, this issue we sat down with Robby Krieger and John Densmore to discuss six decades of The Doors. They tell us how a shy bookworm…

Marianne Faithfull’s high-profile arrival into the rock firmament, just in time to become one of the leading lights of the formative Swinging Sixties pop scene, was the stuff of dreams. But as the 70s dawned, her life descended into a drug-fuelled nightmare, leaving her homeless on the streets of London’s Soho. Yet adversity and hard-won experience fashioned Faithfull’s always extraordinary voice from the pure, angelic timbre of an innocent ingénue to a sultry, seductive caw that positively crackled with every last intoxicant imbibed, every loss suffered, every heartbreak endured. Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull was born in Hampstead, London on December 29, 1946 to Major Robert Glynn Faithfull, a British intelligence officer/professor of Italian literature and Eva von Sacher-Masoch, a former ballerina of noble Austro-Hungarian stock whose great uncle Leopold had…

For a 77-year-old who just a few years ago was told he was terminally ill, and on “a slippery slope to inevitable death”, Ian Anderson looks and sounds in remarkably fine fettle. And creatively, he and Jethro Tull, the band with which he will forever be synonymous, are on a prolifically productive roll the likes of which we haven’t seen since their 70s and early-80s prime. Released this month, Curious Ruminant is the band’s third album in just over three years since they were reanimated as a recording act with 2022’s The Zealot Gene, the first Tull album of new material in 23 years. So what has inspired this sudden late-career burst of activity? And is it really any dignified way for a man in his mid-seventies to behave? Anderson…

Katy Lied GEFFEN/UME The Dan have a sonic wingding in 1975. Before Steely Dan’s fourth album, Katy Lied, the core duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had retained control of the group and the live band members were mostly replaced by session guys. One of the fresh hirings was kid prodigy Jeff Porcaro on drums. On the previous record, Pretzel Logic, they had outed themselves as major jazz fans, so the new tunes had permission to experiment with wry chord changes, novel moods and Fagen’s twisted character studies. He was at his best with Black Friday, the confessions of a white-collar felon planning a financial heist and a hasty escape to Australia. There was a return to the landscapes of New York on Bad Sneakers, a moneyed freak on…

London Electric Ballroom British rock’s rising stars end UK headline tour on a high. The first song has just begun, and there are crowd surfers everywhere. It’s that kind of night. “This could be the last show you ever see!” frontman Bobby Bird declares as the multi-generational masses roar in approval, with pints, shirts and a lone shoe soaring towards the ceiling. “This could be the last show we ever play!” It’s not, but there is a level of breathless risk here that’s missing from so much rock today. Bad Nerves play every song from their two albums. They don’t do the usual ‘let’s do a photo for socials!’ shit. And you never want to leave to go to the bar or the bathroom. Openers Snayx set the vibe with…

EMMA JOHNSTON Emma has been writing about rock for more than 25 years, for magazines including Melody Maker, Select, Kerrang! and of course Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. This issue she interviews Ginger Wildheart about running away to the countryside and reclaiming The Wildhearts name (p50), and American punk legend Bob Mould about his splendid new album (p28). ROB HUGHES Rob has been writing for Classic Rock since 2008, and is a regular contributor to sister title, Prog. This month he was granted a rare audience with surviving Doors members Robby Krieger and John Densmore, who toast the band’s 60th anniversary by guiding him through its colourful, brilliant and troubled history (p30). Rob also co-hosts the Parallel Universe podcast with 6Music DJ Marc Riley: patreon.com/ JOEL BRODSKY The man…

“I am so saddened. Marianne was so much part of my life for so long. A wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress, she will always be remembered.” Mick Jagger “My heartfelt condolences to Marianne’s family. I am so sad andwill miss her.” Keith Richards “Marianne will be dearly missed. Bless her xx.” Ronnie Wood “Marianne Faithfull was not just afiercely unique talent–but the stored knowledge of a generation.” Nick Cave “Thank you, Marianne… For the good times, For your kindness, For the great stories, For your fearlessness … And the biggest Thank You… for your incredible and unique contribution to our music, and for always being so willing to join us in performing it… and partake in the ensuing shenanigans!” Lars Ulrich “She was a gemstone.” Iggy…

In 1999, Tobias Sammet stepped away from the German power-metal band Edguy to indulge his fantasy of an all-star metal opera project. Ten albums later, and with cameos from Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Dee Snider, Eric Singer and more, Avantasia have become one of Europe’s premiere touring and recording acts. Their latest record, Here Be Dragons, features Kenny Leckremo of H.e.a.t, and two singers from Kamelot: Roy Khan and Tommy Karevik. What is Avantasia? A band, a side project, a collective of recurring familiar names? Sammet: It’s hard to answer that. A band implies democracy, and this is a dictatorship. No, I’m not a dictator. I’m a good king. The past few albums and tours featured a core of Geoff Tate, Bob Catley, Michael Kiske and Ronnie Atkins. This time…

Aerosmith, who retired from touring last year, announced that they would perform live again, for one night only, at this year’s Jam For Janie Grammys Benefit, the annual show Steven Tyler puts together to raise money for the charity Jane’s Fund, founded by Tyler in 2015, which supports vulnerable girls who’ve suffered abuse and neglect. But it didn’t happen. Instead, Tyler was joined on stage by bandmate bassist Tom Hamilton, with Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt filling in for the absent Joe Perry. Tyler sang three Aerosmith classics: Dream On with country star Lainey Wilson, and Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way with Hamilton and Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson. Also joining Tyler on stage were Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Marcus King, Linda Perry, Matt Sorum and Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo.…

July 29, 1959–December 2024 The former guitarist with the Tygers Of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Although the 65-year-old, who also fronted his own band Blue Murder and made a series of solo albums, had been absent from the music scene for a long time, his playing style and songwriting remain hugely influential. Sykes had two spells with Thin Lizzy, and during the 90s he fronted a rebooted line-up long after the death of founding bassist/vocalist leader Phil Lynott. Sykes’s biggest commercial success was with Whitesnake. In late 1983 he added his guitar playing to a US remix of their album Slide It In. He and frontman David Coverdale then worked magic on the follow-up, 1987, which became a multimillion-seller…

Following the overtly political Blue Hearts and three years of solo touring, Bob Mould is back with Here We Go Crazy, a pop-flecked firecracker that flies as close to his work with Sugar as anything he’s released since that band ended. With the album embracing the simpler side of rock’n’roll, and Mould set to return to the live arena with a full band, the US punk legend is on a mission to bring a little light to 2025. How was 2024 for you? Pretty good. I got a little derailed at the beginning of the decade, and started getting back on the road in late 2021. Then I got to a point where this record started to make itself known. I followed the very simple signposts that led me to…

The first ever officially sanctioned film about the group, the just-released Becoming Led Zeppelin has got everybody talking. Awarded nine out of ten elsewhere this issue, in its two-hour duration it covers the early stories of all four band members and their coming together as Led Zeppelin, reflecting what became an instant success story with those now legendary first two albums. Do not hope for scandalous tales of black magic, groupies and mud sharks, but prepare to hear what happened from the mouths of the four band members, the words of drummer John Bonham (who died in 1980) coming from interviews sourced by director Bernard MacMahon and co-writer/producer Allison McGourty. As the movie was about to go public for the first time, following a Los Angeles premiere attended by the…

The Albums 1989-96 ATLANTIC Presto, Roll The Bones, Counterparts and Test For Echo reissued as six-LP box set. After their increasingly synthesiser-using period culminated in the MOR malaise of 1987’s Hold Your Fire, maybe Rush felt that something had to give. They duly parted company with their label (Mercury) and producer (Peter Collins) and made their most overtly guitar-oriented record of the best part of a decade: 1989’s Presto. Presto, now repackaged as a single vinyl LP in a six-disc set along with its follow-up Roll The Bones and 1993’s Counterparts (on three sides of two discs, with a new Hugh Syme sleeve art etching on side four) and 1996’s Test For Echo (ditto), has often been seen as something of a turning point for the band. Nonetheless, the shiny,…

Birmingham O2 Academy Country-rock scions get their groove on. John Osborne looks exactly how you’d picture a country rocker in your head. From his tight blue jeans to his shaggy beard and white hat–we won’t pretend to know our Stetsons from our Gus and Gamblers–everything about him shouts: “I know how to handle a lasso.” But there’s much more to Brothers Osborne than cowboys and whisky. While John’s twanging guitars and the honeyed vocals of brother TJ take pride of place in the spotlight, the Brothers bring along a full backing band complete with Hammond organ to capture a little bit of the blues, gospel, heartland rock and everything in between. Opener Might As Well Be Me kicks things off with ZZ Top-like boogie blues, and segues into more familiar…

Brighton Concorde 2 Never a dull moment. Within 10 seconds of the turbulent, acerbic Puss starting up, singer David Yow has leapt into the already heaving mosh pit, aiming straight for the burliest, tallest participants, shouting blue defiance in their faces, falling over, standing up, howling into his microphone some more, pushing deeper and deeper into the audience, oblivious. Grind, Mouth Breather–‘Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy, I like him just fine/But he’s a mouth breather,’ we yell–and Boilermaker tear and judder by, twisted into new demonic shapes by the mutilated, screaming guitars of Duane Denison and bassist David Wm Sims, before we’re treated to fucked-up shit from their new album Rack. It’s part Black Sabbath, part the tearing exorcism of Scratch Acid, part something else entirely, and…

London Highbury The Garage Swedish aeromantics make a flying visit to the capital. It’s freezing outside but the temperature inside the Garage is rising steadily, along with the sense of anticipation. This evening is an all too rare occurrence: the NFO are in the UK, playing asingle London stopover in their current European tour. The level of devotion among the faithful is something to behold as pilots mingle with cabin crew, awaiting the final call before take-off. And when air traffic control gives the nod, the flight turns out to be an utter joy. Captain Björn Strid is at the controls, rocking adapper fringed silver jacket incorporating a shimmering cape, as he pilots us to a comfortably stratospheric cruising altitude. New album Give Us The Moon gets much of the…

The iconic, original line-up of Black Sabbath–Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward–will sign off with a spectacular all-day charity event at Birmingham’s Villa Park football stadium on July 5. Sabbath’s perfomance will be the first time that all four original members have played together in 20 years. Proceeds will go to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice. Joining Sabbath on the bill will be a host of metal bands they inspired since they formed back in 1968, including Metallica, Slayer, Mastodon, Pantera, Anthrax, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Halestorm and Lamb Of God. There will also be a performance by a ‘supergroup’ comprised of musicians including Duff McKagan and Slash from Guns N’ Roses, Zakk Wylde, Sammy Hagar, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins,…

Musicians from across the broad spectrum of rock music have weighed in to support those affected by the Californian wildfires, which at the time of going to press had taken the lives of 29 people, razing more than 23,400 acres to the ground and forcing more than 200,000 to evacuate the area. The surviving members of Nirvana–Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear–reunited as part of a fund-raising benefit in Inglewood, California, billed as FireAid, which also included a four-song set from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a reunion of No Doubt, and performances from Stevie Nicks, Green Day, Sting, Lady Gaga, Pink and more. The ‘Nirvana’ set included vocals from Grohl’s daughter Violet, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Joan Jett and singer-guitarist St Vincent. In other fundraising efforts, Def…

Seventies rock runs the gamut, and while Sweden’s Spiders set out in 2010 evoking early-decade earth shakers like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, their new fourth album Sharp Objects finds them stirring in CBGB-era post-punk and new wave. Ann-Sofie (vocals) and John Hoyles (guitar), a musical partnership and married couple, told us more. What was your vision for Sharp Objects? John Hoyles: Our last album was quite produced, and I wanted this one to be more garage-y and lo-fi. What’s the significance of the title? I suppose it’s because the songs are sharp objects. What influences were you channelling this time around? JH: There’s more of a punk and new wave feel. A bit more inspiration from late-seventies New York, and also Stiff Records, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello. It’s a…

“So sad to hear about John’s passing. He and I played some sweet music together and he was a great musician.” Scott Gorham “No words can describe John’s guitar playing. He was absolutely a phenomenon. RIP Dear one. The angel is now in heaven.” Glenn Hughes “A one-of-a-kind guitarist. Rest in peace.” Joe Bonamassa “God bless John Sykes.” Zakk Wylde “I’m shocked to hear that John Sykes haspassed away. Too young to die and so much talent.” Michael Schenker “The first time I met him I told him I played Cold Sweat when I soundchecked. Hesmiled and said he played Bark At The Moon during his. Hanging with him was always fun.” Jake E Lee “Damn. I always hoped John would suddenly blast back on the music scene again with…

In a booth in a Wetherspoons pub on the border of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, the spirit of rock’n’roll is alive and well and three pints of Guinness in. “All this starving artist thing, it’s a load of bollocks,” says Pete ‘Spider’ Spiby, pocket dynamo singer with Black Spiders, between mouthfuls of cheese and onion crisps as Friday afternoon drinkers sup beer around us. “You have to buy food, you have to be able to afford somewhere to live. You have to have some kind of back-up behind all the inspiration.” Spiby knows what he talks about. Black Spiders are flag bearers for the kind of gasoline-fuelled noise The Man keeps trying and failing to squash under the heel of his expensive leather shoe. But the near-20-year career of these…

Go-Go Killers Beezlebubblebath SELF-RELEASED I spent New Year’s Eve in rehab, which is a little on the nose for a guy who calls himself Sleazegrinder. I can’t place the blame solely on all the drunk-punk and needle-nazi bands I review for this column, but, you know, they didn’t help. But I’m happy to report that after weeks of climbing the walls and thousands of bucks in medical debt (god bless America), I am firmly on the goddamn wagon again. So naturally the first record I review for 2025 is by Go-Go Killers, a band that ends up in the drunk tank so often they have their own wing. I feel like you need to know who Hasil Adkins is to ‘get’ this band, but if you don’t, imagine some greasy nutcase…

Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts SNAKEFARM From the negative to the positive: the Wildhearts’ triumphant new album. The Wildhearts were never backwards in coming forwards, and their latest album - arguably their most cohesive and complete yet–is, according to the band’s only real mainstay, Ginger, a journey through the troughs of pessimism and self-doubt to the sunny uplands of hope and optimism. That’s paraphrasing, but you get the picture: he’s looking up, not down. It might be a new Wildhearts–and they’re up there with The Fall when it comes to the number of members who’ve been through the door–but the vibrancy that made ’93 debut Earth Vs The Wildhearts such a welcome surprise or 2019’s Renaissance Men a latter-day delight remains: unrelenting bombast, pop notes, visceral rage. Although, as Ginger…

Museum Of Light Diviner SPARTAN Perfectly representative of the engaging brilliance of the rest of the Seattle’s trio’s second album, near instrumental lead single Blunt Force Drama’s appeal is largely dependent on the nose-bleed inducing hugeness of Scott Evans’s production. A titanic triumph. 8/10 Circu5 Clockwork Tulpa CIRCU5.COM There can be a tendency for the modern-prog-inclined to let intricacy and technique mask the intrinsic melodic magic of their core material. Not so with this succinct and cerebral, XTC-meets-Porcupine-Tree, Steve Tilling-centred, Brit trio. An assured second set. 8/10 All Seeing Dolls Parallel A RECORDINGS Wherein Dot Allison, ex-One Dove singer-songwriter/serial collaborator, hitches her pony to the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe for an album project that’s long on delicately gauzy, seductively shoegazey atmospherics, but short on whup-ass. 6/10 The Men Buyer…

The Complete Mercury Recordings FLOATING WORLD Box set chronicles overlooked Texan tornado. ‘You just can’t live in Texas, if you don’t have a lot of soul,’ Doug Sahm declared on At The Crossroads in early 1969. After Ian Hunter sang those words later that year on Mott The Hoople’s debut album, it led many into the wildly eclectic musical world captured on this exquisite five-CD box set highlighting one of the last century’s pioneering but criminally overlooked giants. With five SDQ LPs plus two discs of extras (including the Mexican EP), it’s the collection this Texan dynamo has long deserved. A multi-instrumentalist child prodigy, on the radio at six and on record by 14, Sahm formed his Quintet in 1965, adding the ‘Sir’ and moptop hairdos to pass as English…

“I would like for the tour to run on for many, many years but it’ll depend upon my fitness levels. I’m going on eighty so we’ll just have to see.” Elkie Brooks has been a rock, blues and jazz vocalist since the 1960s, and is best remembered alongside Robert Palmer in Vinegar Joe, the cult favourites who released three albums in the early 70s, and then as a successful solo artist. Salford-born Brooks is currently engaged in a ‘lap of honour’ tour billed as The Long Farewell. New dates have just been added to The Long Farewell. How much further will it run? I would like for the tour to run on for many, many years but it’ll depend upon my fitness levels. I’m all fine at the moment, but…

“Strangely enough, when we [10cc] recorded I’m Not In Love its commercial potential wasn’t even discussed by the band.” The veteran British hitmaker previews the latest run of a bi-annual solo tour titled Heart Full Of Songs, on which he revisits songs he wrote for 10cc (of whom he was a founder member), The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits, The Yardbirds and Wax, plus solo material. He also discusses the art of writing songs. Is Heart Full Of Songs purely an acoustic undertaking? No. We use a plugged-in keyboard and bass, but otherwise it’s completely acoustic. You’ve been doing this tour on and off for more than a decade. How do you keep the format fresh? I do change things up. There are some numbers I’d like to do, like [10cc’s] Rubber…

London Water Rats Alan McGee’s Laurel Canyon-inspired rockers burn brightly. Back in May 2024, Forgotten Pharaohs’ live make up was very much a work in progress. Flanked by Cast/Robert Plant guitarist Liam ‘Skin’ Tyson, frontman Christian Pattemore relied on his brother Sam on drums to back him while the duo strummed away while sitting on bar stools. Tonight Alan McGee’s latest signing look a lot more like the finished article with drummer Leon Harrison–son of Ocean Colour Scene’s Oscar Harrison–and bassist Indiana Díaz brought in in to bolster the band. Songs like the smoky Life To Burn and the blues-stomping Yes I Believe burn so much brighter live now as Tyson–who with his big white beard bears a striking resemblance to Gandalf–twangs magical guitar licks with professional precision. Harrison’s gentle…

London Kentish Town Forum A night of poignancy, sorrow and joy. Just over 12 months ago, Tony Clarkin passed away following a short illness. Although at the end of the previous year his band Magnum had cancelled all immediate touring plans, few outside of their inner circle knew how seriously ill he was. The outpouring of grief befitted an artist whose songs had enriched rock fans for more than half a century. Given that Clarkin was Magnum’s guitarist, producer and, most importantly, songwriter, there seemed little realistic possibility of the group continuing in any context. But that idea was swept away by last September’s announcement of five UK performances under the billing A Passage In Time: A Tribute To Tony Clarkin. With faithful guitar tech Brendon Riley ballsy enough to…

Birmingham Utilita Arena Two of metal’s class of 2005 graduate to the big leagues. In 2005, Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium were hailed as “the next Metallica.” Twenty years later, they’ve never looked closer to achieving that potential. It’s astonishing just how forward-thinking Trivium’s Ascendancy still sounds, signature song Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr expectedly earns a massive welcome, and even lesser-played songs such as Rain get a rapturous reception. With a Snakepit-style walkway and the inflation of a giant zombie during a drum solo, Trivium put on a master-class performance. Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison was built for arenas. Although only their debut album, venue-wide singalongs to songs like 4 Words, Tears Don’t Fall and All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) embody…

Islington London Assembly Hall Early contender for gig of the year. Her songs supplied by Crazy Lixx mastermind Danny Rexon, Chez Kane is the ‘honorary Swede’ appetiser of this Scandi hard rock banquet. Yours truly wasn’t entirely blown away by either of the Welsh wonder’s albums, but boy does she deliver on stage. With a fun-loving glint in her eye, Kane is a formidable singer, and songs such as Too Late For Love, Rocket On The Radio and Power Zone bring to mind classic-era Lee Aaron. While Chez Kane is impossible to dislike, Art Nation are a bit of a letdown. Their records are worthy of investigation, but it feels like cheating when a band whose sound is so reliant on keyboards doesn’t have a keyboard player. If the generally…

Wembley Arena Yacht enough for you? His records once consigned to charity-shop racks, Christopher Cross is currently enjoying something of a renaissance, thanks in no small part to his involvement in the recent Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary. And it can’t be just coincidence that most of Toto played on his first two albums, from which comes all of tonight’s set. Kicking off with the jaunty AOR of All Right everything is effortless–a key ingredient in the very best yacht rock. Big cheers greet Sailing and the Arthur theme, and set closer Ride Like The Wind gets an even bigger one. Toto have too much grit under their fingernails to be truly yacht rock, but they have also benefited from recent association. On this tour they’re playing to their biggest UK…

Uncompromising American rapper Tracy Marrow, aka Ice-T, grew up on soul and R&B. Orphaned at age 12 and adopted by his aunt, he was introduced to rock music by his cousin. Ice’s metal band Body Count have just released their blistering eighth album, Merciless, complete with an epic David Gilmour contribution to their reworking of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. THE FIRST MUSIC I REMEMBER HEARING Growing up in Summit, New Jersey, the very first music I heard was in my house with my father, listening to lots of James Brown and OG funk music. I got into dancing in high school–breaking, locking–but I wasn’t a singer or musician and I didn’t think that life would be for me. THE FIRST SONG I PERFORMED LIVE Before I had my own songs…