The Rolling Stones Are Working On New Music
If you're expecting the Rolling Stones to start slowing down, forget it. The band, who've been at it now for over 60 years, are reportedly in the studio making new music. Producer Andrew Watt recently told "Rolling Stone," "When the tongue is up in the air, you just go...I can say we did some recording together, but that's all I can say." Their last album was 2023's "Hackney Diamonds," and when that came out, Watt revealed that there was more than enough music for a full album at that time, though it was ultimately pared down to 12 tracks. Watt's keeping details to himself, so no word on whether the music will be singles, soundtrack cuts or another full album.
THE BEATLES: It's "Helter Skelter" Time Again
The Beatles have released "Helter Skelter" (Second Version, Take 17), a second track off their forthcoming Anthology 4 collection. Ringo Starr says it was "a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio.” And Paul McCartney adds, “We just tried to get it louder. Guitars: Can we have them sound louder? The drums: louder! We did it like that, because I like noise.”
Paul and George Harrison played guitar, with John Lennon on bass. And, as heard at the end of the original release, Ringo thrashed his drums so hard that he declared: “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” Even though Take 17 ends with Paul calling out “keep that one, mark it fab,” the master take is 21. "Helter Skelter" (Second Version, Take 17) is one of 36 alternate versions on Anthology 4, including 13 that are previously unreleased.
The 2025 Anthology Collection box set, which contains Anthology 4 alongside remasters of the original three volumes, will be out on November 21st. Anthology 4 will also be released separately that same day.
PAUL McCARTNEY: Reflecting on the Past
Paul McCartney is once again reminiscing about his past on a song he's written for the album he's been working on these past few years. Denny Seiwell [pr: SIGH-well], the original drummer in Wings, in an interview with the Hands Across the Water podcast, says he and his wife Monique recently paid a visit to McCartney at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where he was working on some songs. After catching up, McCartney played them some of the new songs and Seiwell says one really stood out. "It was one of those sentimental tracks that really touched back on the full history of all of our years together and everything. And he looked over at my wife, and she had tears in her eyes. And then he looks at me and he starts welling up, and I’m welling up, and all of a sudden, the three of us are having a big group hug. … It was truly amazing. The songs were beautiful. I can’t wait to hear this solo record when it comes out. I think it’s going to be one of his [best], if not his best effort.” McCartney has been working on the album since at least 2023 with producer Andrew Watt. No word yet on when it will be released. His last album was McCartney III in 2020.
Up next is the resumption of his Got Back tour, which starts with a warm-up show on Friday at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California followed by the official opener on then 29th in Palm Desert, California. Seiwell recently published his autobiography, The Best and Worst of Times, and McCartney is publishing his own book about Wings -- Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, on November 4th.
Fleetwood Mac To Reunite?
Fans have wondered what it would take to get the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup back together again. With Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks famously at each other’s throats (leading to Buckingham getting booted from the band), the passing of Christine McVie in 2022, and Mick Fleetwood saying that the band was effectively done, it looked like Fleetwood Mac was indeed finished. But recently there has been a thawing between Buckingham and Nicks, leading to the long-awaited re-release of their lone 1973 studio album, getting fans hopes up. Now comes word that J.K. Rowling's 60th birthday will have a high-profile band perform, and sources say she's chasing down the Mac! If that happens, it will be the first performance for the classic lineup since 2019. While reps for the band say no such reunion is coming, sources insist "Previously, she has had Blondie at one of her parties – so people are trying to work out who could be a step up even from that and they all think Fleetwood Mac." The 60th birthday celebration is due to take place later this year, but details - including when, where, and what legendary band will perform there - are being kept under very tight wraps.
BUCKINGHAM NICKS: 52 Years Later
The only album from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, 1973's Buckingham Nicks, has been reissued for the first time since its release 52 years ago -- September 5th, 1973.
It's out now on CD, four different color vinyl variants -- Custard (Amazon), Baby Pink (indie stores), Violet (Books A Million), and Baby Blue (general retail) -- and digitally. There's also a Rhino High Fidelity version available exclusively at Rhino.com that's limited to 5000 individually numbered copies. And there's a special version limited to 2000 copies that adds two replica 7-inch singles featuring the original single mixes of “Crying in the Night” backed with “Stephanie” and “Don’t Let Me Down Again” backed with “Races Are Run.”
Back in 2004, we asked Lindsey if he would be open to recording a follow-up to Buckingham Nicks. "Or would it be Nicks and Buckingham now? (LAUGHS) Well, you know, I'm at a point in my life now where I'm not gonna discount anything being unlikely. I don't see any reason why Stevie and I couldn't do a duet album. I think that would be fantastic. I think in her heart she'd like to do it. I think, again, the issues of just trust and what's it gonna ultimately mean, you know, is anyone gonna get hurt?, any of that kind of stuff. It all comes back around. And in many ways I think that those things are more of an issue for her than they are for me right now."
Unbeknownst to them at the time, the album paved their way into Fleetwood Mac as a year later, in the fall of 1974, Mick Fleetwood met Lindsey at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and engineer Keith Olsen played him a track off Buckingham Nicks. "Lindsey's guitar playing was very haunting and full of melody and completely musical sounding. And that is how a good guitar player that I've been used to playing with -- not the same style, but the same drive was there to me. He knows what he's doing. He understands what to do and when to it." Ironically, Fleetwood was only interested in Buckingham joining, but Lindsay said he would join only if Stevie were included.
DEF LEPPARD: Homecoming Show
Def Leppard will release a new concert collection. Diamond Star Heroes Live From Sheffield was captured in their hometown on May 22nd, 2023 at Bramall Lane stadium during The World Tour with Mötley Crüe. It contains 17 songs, including all the hits such as "Animal," "Foolin’," "Rocket," "Bringin’ on the Heartbreak," "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph." You can watch the trailer on YouTube. It will be released on November 21st in various formats including Blu-ray+2-CD, 4K UHD, 2-CD, and 2-LP pressed on red, white and black splatter, a nod to the home kit colors of Sheffield United FC, who play their home matches at Bramall Lane. The 4K UHD will be the band’s first 4K release and includes last year's release, One Night Only Live at the Leadmill, their intimate homecoming show held four days before the stadium date.
Heart Announce 2026 Royal Flush Tour Dates
Heart are announcing new dates for their "Royal Flush Tour."The band will begin the trek on February 15th in Duluth, Georgia, with stops in Little Rock, San Antonio, El Paso, Colorado Springs and more before wrapping up on March 15th in Fishers, Indiana.Heart's "Royal Flush Tour" 2026 will feature support from Lucinda Williams and more. Tickets are available now.
REO SPEEDWAGON: A Collegiate Reunion
UPDATE!!! Kevin Cronin will attend but won’t be performing. See his comment below.
REO Speedwagon will sprout their wings one more time when they reunite this week for an appearance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where they formed in 1967.
Bass player Bruce Hall writes on Facebook, "REO Speedwagon is coming back to campus, the place where it all began, to lead this year’s Illinois Homecoming Parade as grand marshals on Friday, September 26th. "The band members will also participate in game day as the pre-game Siren Sounders and will take the field with conductor Barry Houser and the Marching Illini to collaborate on a one-of-a-kind REO-themed halftime show that will feature a medley of the band’s hit songs." Illinois is hosting USC -- the University of Southern California. As for who will attend, Hall says he'll be joined by Kevin Cronin and original members Neal Doughty and Alan Gratzer who are both retired.
Commenting on the event, Cronin says, "I am honored to have been approached by representatives of the University of Illinois, and invited to appear on the field for the Homecoming Game halftime show on September 27th. The Marching Illini will be performing three REO Speedwagon songs, as Alan, Neal, and Bruce play along; it has been too many years to count since the four of us have all been together! "As a songwriter, there are few greater honors than to hear other artists and musicians perform my songs. I know I will be looking on in awe as the 400-plus Marching Illini pay tribute to the music of REO Speedwagon with an all-REO halftime presentation."
This will be REO's second appearance at the school since June when six of the band's 20 former members since forming in 1967 came together for a "retrospective" concert.
Back Where It All Began - Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon was held at the State Farm Arena on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and featured Hall,
Doughty and Gratzer along with guitarist Steve Scorfina, and singers Terry Luttrell and Mike Murphy, with an in memoriam segment for guitarist Gary Richrath and bassist Gregg Philbin.
Kevin Cronin couldn't attend as he was on tour with Styx and Don Felder. REO Speedwagon hung up their wings last year after Cronin wanted to continue without Hall, who was sidelined with a back injury that required surgery. Doughty and Hall voted against Cronin's continuing under the REO banner unless Hall was part of the lineup.
FRAMPTON & NASH: Cane & Able
Peter Frampton and Graham Nash showed off their canes last week when they met up at Findlay Galleries on West 57th Street in New York for the first solo art show by Nash's wife, Amy Grantham, An Eye Made Quiet. They posed for a photo, which Nash posted on his socials, captioning it with, "Look who I met up with for a bit today! I happen to think we look pretty cool with our canes. Great seeing you Peter. It’s lovely when it’s been ages since you’ve seen someone and they’re even nicer than you remember." Frampton uses a cane due to his diagnosis of Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) -- a progressive muscle disorder -- that requires him to perform sitting down and to walk with a cane. Nash has been using one after breaking his patella (kneecap) in a fall over the spring. Despite their limited mobility, both Frampton and Nash are still on the road. Frampton starts his Let's Do It Again run on October 17th in New Orleans, and Nash starts his European dates on Tuesday in Frankfurt, Germany.
IN OTHER NEWS
Four-fifths of Genesis -- Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford -- attended a playback of the Atmos mix of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Friday night in London. Phil Collins missed the event as he's recuperating from knee surgery at his home in Switzerland. The Atmos mix is featured on the 50th anniversary box set that's due out this Friday.
Although Twisted Sister guitarist and manager Jay Jay French said they will start their 50th anniversary reunion tour next May, the first announced date is between July 3rd and the 5th at the Barcelona Rock Fest in Barcelona, Spain.
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell tells the Fueled With Chris Cyr podcast that being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2013 made him “spend more money. 'Cause, as Jerry Seinfeld said, 'You can't drive money.' … Within a year of my diagnosis, I went and bought a very expensive Porsche… And mentally, I'm not afraid to die. I don't wanna die 'cause I've got kids and family. I've got a lot of people who depend on me, but I've never been afraid of it. And I just keep pushing at it and keep pushing back.” Campbell announced in June that he’s “completely in remission.”
Christmas songs by John Lennon (“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”), Paul McCartney (“Wonderful Christmastime”), The Beach Boys (“Little Saint Nick”), Elton John (“Step Into Christmas”) and many others are included on The Christmas Holiday Singles Box. It will be released on October 31st.
Stray Cats singer and guitarist Brian Setzer is selling a boatload of his guitars, gear and stage clothes on Reverb.com starting this Wednesday. Setzer and The Stray Cats start a tour on October 25th in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and are out through November 23rd in Wheatland, California.
38 Special released Milestone, their first album in 21 years, on Friday. They also released a video for the song “So Much So Right,” which their singer Don Barnes says is about “the moment of raw passion, but it is more than that. It also speaks to how a man feels when he’s found his partner for life. She can make so much so right!” You can watch it on YouTube.
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson’s band Envy of None released a three-track single, “The Thrill,” on Friday. The songs are the title track plus “The Chase (The Thrill of the Chase demo version),” and “Thrill of the Chase.” They’ve also released a video for “The Thrill,” which you can watch on YouTube. All proceeds from the sale of the limited-edition 12-inch vinyl disc will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fund for Ukraine Relief.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Sonny Curtis died Friday at age 88. He was a member of Buddy Holly's Crickets, but made an even bigger mark as a songwriter of such hits "I Fought the Law" (Bobby Fuller Four, The Clash), "Walk Right Back" (The Everly Brothers) and "More Than I Can Say" (Leo Sayer). Curtis also wrote and sang "Love Is All Around," the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show.