Rock News 2025-12-11

• “It was my first studio job. I wiped a Robert Fripp guitar section. He wasn’t happy”: A world-class producer recalls shaky start to his career
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• “He came in with Billy Bunter trousers, frock coat, euphonium and horrible glasses. And big rubber ears. I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll sign up to this’”: In 1962 a band decided to play as badly as possible until someone noticed. It worked.
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• Rainbow Albums Ranked Worst to Best
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• "He said, Would you shave my butt?" Oscar-winning English actress recalls her horror when one of America's most famous musicians requested intimate 'manscaping' before Saturday Night Live appearance
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• Stryper's Michael Sweet Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “Stranger Things is a phenomenon, right? But it’s ending. I hope I reach the point where, when the time comes, we step away gracefully”: Robb Flynn wants Machine Head’s retirement to be like a hit Netflix finale
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• King Crimson affiliates BEAT announce one-off London show for June
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• Robert Plant announces US tour with Saving Grace
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• John Lennon's Producer Had 'Terrible Guilt' After Beatle's Murder
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• Exclusive: How Triumph’s Reunion Tour Happened
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “Often too leaden to float – but it has spells where the more honeyed version of the band is visible”: Nektar’s deluxe edition of A Tab In The Ocean
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• Best Christmas gifts for Iron Maiden fans: Rock the festive season with our pick of perfect presents
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• Get Ready for Exciting New Music Coming in 2026
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• John Densmore Reflects on the Doors' Lasting Legacy
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• 2025's Top 15 Reissues
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• Extended Fragile Tour Sets Up a Huge 2026 Slate for Yes Fans
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• "I was wrong for using the words I used. I humbly apologise": Gene Simmons says sorry for controversial comments about the late Ace Frehley
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• Big Big Train announce new Woodcut – The Making And The Meaning book
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• "These guys are simply timeless": Triumph's Rik Emmett picks five essential guitar albums
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• 'Double Fantasy' Producer Recalls Wild Court Battle With Yoko Ono
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "He suggested doing the interview on jet-skis": Excess, eyebrows, and an extremely erratic encounter with Ozzy Osbourne
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• Triumph Announces 2026 Reunion Tour Dates
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• "It's not happening." Liam Gallagher shoots down rumours that Oasis will return for Knebworth mega-gigs next year, says the band "are not doing anything in 2026"
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• Pelagic Records have announced they are bringing together some of metal's most beautiful and boundless bands for the 2026 edition of Pelagic Fest
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• Toto, Christopher Cross and the Romantics Confirm 2026 Tour Dates
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Gene Simmons Apologizes for Comments About Ace Frehley's Death
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• "There is a huge misconception that this song is about 1969, but it's not": The surprisingly sexual story of the Bryan Adams song fans thought was about innocence and friendship
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• "He knew. He was ready" Sharon Osbourne has revealed the final words that her husband Ozzy said to her before he passed away
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• The Sons of Kiss' Stanley and Simmons Release Their Debut Single
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• "We knew there was still a chapter left to write": Triumph announce first tour in more than three decades
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• Twisted Sister Announces First 2026 US Reunion Tour Date
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• Tetsu Yamauchi, Bassist for Free and Faces, Dead at 79
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• Devo Announces 2026 Tour Dates
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• “These musicians had a rare empathy and sense of exploration. At one point it feels like they’re going to collectively take off”: Tangerine Dream’s Rubycon box set
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• "Now I'm walking through hell." The story behind tragic Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley's final recording, a movie soundtrack cover featuring some of the biggest names in '90s rock
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• What to Expect From Robert Plant's Upcoming Tour in 2026
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "Tonight is less about nostalgia than a reaffirmation of the importance of resistance, of protest, of a refusal to be silenced." Primal Scream revisit the politically-charged XTRMNTR, 25 years on
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• "It's a fantastic creature...the evil, the energy and the destruction." How one of the UK's most influential bands bounced back with their best song in a decade to redefine heavy metal all over again
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• Tom Scholz’s Secret Plan to Save Boston
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• Six Rockin' Covers of Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman'
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• "What a strange time we live in, when an imposter can write a tune, or have a toaster write it for him": People are pretending to be Alan Parsons and he's not happy about it
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• Toto, Christopher Cross and The Romantics announce mammoth North American tour
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• Gene Simmons: 'Bad Decisions' Contributed to Ace Frehley's Death
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• "To start with, we didn’t have an idea between us. There wasn’t a song, there wasn’t a tune." Pink Floyd's Nick Mason says that making Wish You Were Here was "like hitting a brick wall"
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• "His performance was so far out of time, out of tune": The shambolic story of The Rolling Stones' star-studded Rock And Roll Circus
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• From Sleep Token breaking records to Xenomorphs rocking out to Tool, these are the 11 metal songs that defined 2025
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• David Byrne Announces More 2026 'Who Is the Sky?' Tour Dates
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• ZZ Top Adds 19 US Dates to 2026 Tour Schedule
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• Bob Dylan Reveals 2026 US Tour Dates
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• "It's too indebted to US FM rock to find its own feet and the production is so polite it takes any edge off": Jimmy Barnes strives for solo success on For The Working Class Man
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• Elvis Costello Announces First 2026 Headlining Dates
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• Foreigner Confirms New Dates With Original Frontman Lou Gramm
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• Watch Kiss Get Awarded Kennedy Center Honors by President Trump
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• "I just wanted to apologise for selling your guitar." How an act of kindness in the darkest of hours bonded Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro forever
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• “I had this look of shock on my face. The whole audience got quiet: ‘Did somebody die?!’”: This is what it’s like finding out you’re Grammy-nominated halfway through your own concert, as explained by Halestorm
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• "You’re playing for 5 or 6,000 men and women who all have M16s on their shoulders. And they’re trying to pit, and it’s pretty crazy" How Avenged Sevenfold and Call Of Duty forged one of music and gaming's greatest relationships
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• Sharon Osbourne Shares the Last Words Ozzy Spoke to Her
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "It was weird just being in the same room as him": The story of the Ronnie James Dio classic assembled from other bands' spare parts
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• "This is worshipping Satan!" Country music superstar horrifies shocked fans with "demon ritual" at Las Vegas shows, amused metalheads suggest further listening for next steps into hell
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• How Online Impersonators Are Targeting Alan Parsons' Music
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• Sebastian Bach Announces 2026 North American Tour Dates
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• "They're this generation's Iron Maiden." Canons, gas masks, castles and hellfire: power metal's biggest band Sabaton just conquered the UK's biggest arena
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• "When Anthony and I were kids we were up to so much wild stuff." Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea on his "feral" teenage adventures with Anthony Kiedis, and his top tip for sneaking into shows without paying
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• "I wanted to make it a truly unforgettable, unmissable week, a run of shows to dream about." The Cure's Robert Smith lines up Wolf Alice, Garbage, Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine and more for Teenage Cancer Trust shows
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• Sleep Token’s Caramel has been named the best song of 2025 by The New York Times
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• Joe Satriani and Steve Vai Announce 2026 North American Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 earbuds review
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• "A diverse, daring and deeply emotional lineup!" Soen and The Ocean announced as headliners for next year's Be Prog! My Friend
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• "Some people think that the blues is 'my baby left me' and long guitar solos but it's a whole lot deeper than that": Blues prodigy Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram may channel the ghosts of the past but he's striving for something new
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• "Brian May of Queen was in tears watching the performance...I’d shed a few tears myself." The emotional reaction one rock legend had to one of Ozzy Osbourne's final performances - and why it was so emotional for Ozzy himself
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• “I thought we’d follow the Sex Pistols model – one album and out. We were this disgusting-sounding metal band, I never thought that it could last”: How Laid To Rest, against all odds, gave Lamb Of God an actual career
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• Gene Simmons Says Radio Treats Artists 'Worse Than Slaves'
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• "That video game opened us up to a whole new audience, like Top Of The Pops did to me when I was a little kid." The unlikely hit mixing reggae and heavy metal that a meddling producer wanted to delete from history
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• "Why on earth bands still sign multi-album contracts is beyond me": Neil Fallon on Clutch, corporations and Christmas
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• ’70s & ’80s Christmas: Relive Iconic Treats, Specials, Decor
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• On This Day in 2015: David Bowie Makes Last Public Appearance
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• "Christmas came early!" Queen's Brian May gifts best friend Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath a unique bespoke present, two years in the making
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• “We got back together after 25 years and people came from all around the world, saying how important that album had been”: The Dutch quartet inspired by just five minutes of Soft Machine music
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• Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 8, 2025
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• Iron Maiden, Ghost, Babymetal and more star in Metal Hammer’s blockbuster End Of Year issue, which comes with an exclusive Iron Maiden pin badge, Halestorm sticker and a 2026 heavy metal calendar
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• “I was trying to write something heavier than the bands I was listening to, and that felt like the first time that I’d done it”: How Metallica broke the thrash metal mould with biblical barnstormer Creeping Death
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• How the Bee Gees Got Jim Carrey Through 'The Grinch'
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• "I wasn't allowed to listen to AC/DC or hair metal growing up - my dad thought it was misogynistic": Die Spitz hate being touted as the next big thing. They hate interviews. They love rock
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• “There’s been a lot happening on Mars since I last visited. So there’s more than enough inspiration”: Rick Wakeman on his sequel to The Red Planet, and taking David Bowie along for the ride
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• Hear Aerosmith, Yungblud and Lainey Wilson's New Collaboration
  Ultimate Classic Rock