January 2020

Classic Rock

A turbo-charged, rock’n’rollathon of a magazine.

Classic Rock1 min read
Welcome
End of the year. End of the second decade of the latest millennium. How on earth did that happen? It seems like only yesterday that I was writing my editorial for last year’s End Of The Year issue (and, if I remember correctly, I was moaning about th
Classic Rock4 min read
That Was 2019
The spread of veganism; the messy spiral of Brexit, the even messier state of British politics as a whole; the arrival of the latest royal baby; Greta Thunberg sailing to the USA; the rise of Extinction Rebellion and numerous global protest movements
Classic Rock2 min read
Rip
October 28, 1958 – November 4, 2019 Former Mercyful Fate and King Diamond bassist Timi Hansen lost a long battle with cancer at the age of 61. “Timi was not just my roommate on the early Mercyful Fate tours, he was also my favourite bass player of al
Classic Rock1 min read
Terry O’Neill
THE PHOTOGRAPHER responsible for iconic images of the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Elton John has passed away, quietly at home after a battle with prostate cancer, at the age of 81. The Londoner had intended to become a jazz
Classic Rock1 min readMusic
Paul Barrere
THE MEMBERS OF Little Feat are mourning the loss of their long-serving guitar player, vocalist and songwriter, who joined the Californian group back in 1972. Barrere had previously announced a fight with liver cancer. He was 71. A statement read: “Pa
Classic Rock2 min read
Crüe And The Crowes Are Back!
MÖTLEY CRÜE AND The Black Crowes have both confirmed rumours of respective reunions. Despite famously signing a cessation of touring contract in 2014, the Crüe had been linked with a US stadium trek alongside Def Leppard and Poison – something that s
Classic Rock3 min read
WELCOME BACK Twin Atlantic
THE VOCALS STILL have that unmistakable Glaswegian twang – but on every other front, Twin Atlantic are a band transformed since we first met them on 2009’s alt.rock debut, Vivarium. Parting ways with their label, building a studio on home turf and em
Classic Rock2 min read
Wolf Jaw
CHANGE CAN FEEL uncomfortable, but it often signifies growth. After years of graft, last year Cannock trio Bad Flowers decided to change their name to Wolf Jaw. “It was absolutely horrible. It wasn’t a decision we took lightly at all,” remembers voca
Classic Rock2 min read
News
Robert Plant struggles to get his head around Stairway To Heaven these days. “I look at the song and I tip my hat to it – there are parts that are incredible,” the singer told UCR’s Nights Radio Show. “It’s a very beautiful piece, but lyrically, now,
Classic Rock18 min read
Albums Of The Year
Distance Over Time INSIDEOUT MUSIC When nu prog’s poster boys convened in upstate New York for their fourteenth album, the keywords, according to guitarist John Petrucci were’heavy’ and’proggy ’, perhaps a tacit response to the mixed reviews for DT’s
Classic Rock2 min read
‘Hu Are You?’
Back in June, these rising stars of Mongolian music performed a short, one-song set at their nation’s embassy in West London. They’re the kind of events diplomats specialise in, designed to introduce an aspect of a nation’s culture to the citizens of
Classic Rock7 min read
Grand Slam
There are many lost futures in the ever-twisting history of rock’n’roll, and Grand Slam is perhaps one of the most tantalizing. After the sudden and shocking dissolution of Thin Lizzy in 1983, Lizzy frontman and hero to us all Phil Lynott rebounded w
Classic Rock6 min read
DUFF McKAGAN
It has been a busy year for Duff McKagan, with the release of his solo album Tenderness, a few low-key gigs to promote it, and a return to being the bassist in Guns N’ Roses for the completion of the Not In This Lifetime tour, a marathon global trek,
Classic Rock4 min read
Toby Jepson
During a three-decade career, the singer and songwriter’s itchy feet have led him through a number of bands – from 90s contenders Little Angels to Fastway, Gun and more. He also has a slew of production credits, and a sideline as an actor in films in
Classic Rock3 min read
Slipknot
“Iam amazed I can stand up most of the time,” Slipknot guitarist Jim Root sighs. “Three of us have had neck or back surgery now. One day we will just be gone. That’s how I’d like it. No final tour, no announcement, no big drama. We’ll just vanish and
Classic Rock4 min read
Claypool Lennon Delirium
In 2015, Sean Lennon’s band the Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger were the openers on a tour co-headlined by Primus and Dinosaur Jr. Which is how Lennon ended up having an impromptu jam with Primus bassist and lead vocalist Les Claypool one night before a
Classic Rock2 min read
The Defiants
Legendary rock critic Nick Kent once described Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous as “an album made by heroes”. The same could be said of The Defiants’ Zokusho, the feelgood album of the year, from guys whose dreams went up in smoke in the grunge explos
Classic Rock7 min read
The Allman Betts Band
Devon Allman is extremely proud of the Allman Betts Band. Justifiably, given that the group’s introductory statement, Down To The River, ranks among the finest debut albums of 2019. What the 47-year-old guitarist doesn’t like too much is people compa
Classic Rock2 min read
Big Big Train
An ‘overnight success’ more than 25 years in the making, the seven-piece Big Big Train are now not only critical darlings – something they’ve got used to over the past few years – but also a band capable of making a commercial splash too. For those w
Classic Rock3 min read
1 The Wildhearts
The Wildhearts’ comeback album is not just impossibly good, by rights it should have been impossible. In reviving a sound that they first nailed nearly 30 years ago, Ginger, CJ, Ritch and Danny managed to defy nature’s laws, and certainly musical one
Classic Rock8 min read
All Hail The Renaissance Men!
As the first decade of the current millennium ended, so did The Wildhearts. This shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone who had followed the band for the first 20 years of their career. A group for whom volatility was as natural as breathing, they
Classic Rock11 min read
Jefflynne
“Iwas worried that there weren’t enough people who knew about us,” says Jeff Lynne, explaining his anxiety over reviving ELO to headline at an all-day festival in London’s Hyde Park in September 2014. “We took a big chance. The crowd could’ve gone ho
Classic Rock7 min read
“We Smell A Lot Better Than We Did Ten Years Ago”
Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday’s handlebar moustache – part Poirot, part Captain Hook – is impressive. It’s fair to say it’s made him one of rock’s more recognisable figures. The Ray Brown suits and striking Gibson Firebird guitars also help. Jay
Classic Rock7 min read
“The Band Is On Fire. There’s No Stopping Us”
In 2019, Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, headlined the Download festival, played a residency in Las Vegas and enjoyed the company of Brian May and Miley Cyrus. And to finish what frontman Joe Elliott describes as “a very
Classic Rock8 min read
“To Be A Pop Star You Have To Be A Narcissist. I’m Not Really”
In a large, sun-dappled living room in a leafy outpost of North-West London, Steven Wilson expounds the decade over peppermint tea and muffins. The latter were made by his Israeli wife Rotem, who he married four weeks previously. Two weeks before tha
Classic Rock4 min read
“We’re Anti-laptop. I Think It’s Important To Play Real Music”
Oblivious to clock and calendar, immune to fashion and technology, the Tedeschi Trucks Band are blissfully adrift in their own era. Released in February, fourth album Signs found vocalist/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, guitarist Derek Trucks and the coupl
Classic Rock5 min read
“As Long As The Label Keep Writing Cheques, We’ll Jump Off Buildings”
Luke Spiller doesn’t ‘do’ understated. When we meet The Struts’ frontman pre-gig, in their dressing room at London’s Forum, he’s wearing a sheepskin jacket, leather trousers and huge pink-and-black platforms, his black Noel Fielding crop shaggy from
Classic Rock6 min read
The Reissues Of The Year
The reissue market continued its lucrative surge this year. Great for the record companies and bands, not always so great for our wallets! In 2019, with many bands celebrating landmark anniversaries, this trend continued, bringing with it a wave of t
Classic Rock4 min read
“There’s No Wizard Of Oz Behind The Curtain With Me”
Ask Glenn Hughes if he’s clinically hyperactive, and the veteran foghorn gives a chuckle of admission. In the past 12 months alone, the 68-year-old has put in another shift that would give lesser road warriors cold sweats, with his Classic Deep Purpl
Classic Rock4 min read
“I Go On The Road For A Rest. Civilian Life Is Far More Challenging”
The 2010s saw a remarkable surge in the popularity and work rate of guitar great Steve Hackett. He made five acclaimed studio albums, bookending the decade with 2011’s Beyond The Shrouded Horizon and the current At The Edge Of Light, and also teamed
Classic Rock4 min read
“My Mind Kicked Up A Bit This Year”
It was a decade that encompassed the best of times and the worst of times, which is how it has always been for Beth Hart. At the start of it she was playing the Borderline, London (capacity 300) and by the end of it she had played the Royal Albert Ha
Classic Rock9 min read
“Life’s Full Of Curves And Swerves”
Honest Ron – Rolling Stone, ace Face, patron saint of smokers, artist, broadcaster, Jack the lad, all-round diamond geezer – bounces into the Presidential Suite of the hotel like a bright-eyed endless party in skintight black strides. Ebony thatch ti
Classic Rock4 min read
Cannibalism, Death, Rubber Fetishes…
On December 4, 2018, Rammstein’s Till Lindemann strode into a Moscow book signing accompanied by a gimp on a leash. As he sat down to sign copies of his poetry collection, Messer, his companion knelt dutifully on the floor beside him. It takes him a
Classic Rock20 min read
The Hard Stuff Albums
Pitfalls SONY/INSIDE OUT Stronger without metal. Eighteen years into their career, although only 10 since they released their first album, for their sixth studio album Norwegian prog-metallers Leprous have loosened the metallic ties that bind, and in
Classic Rock2 min read
Round-up: Sleaze
Murder Couture SELF-RELEASED After an amusingly over-the-top Sigue Sigue Sputnik-esque intro, Oslo’s suicide bombers launch into one of the most consistently rocking albums of the year. With the obvious exception of Mike Monroe, there isn’t another b
Classic Rock2 min read
Round-up: Blues
Moonshine Blue CROWS FEET Barefoot, shirtless, sprawled on an old sofa, blowing a plume of cigarette smoke – the Jack Broadbent of the Moonshine Blue album sleeve is enough to give any A&R man the horn. Scratch this Lincolnshire singersongwriter’s im
Classic Rock2 min read
Best Of The Rest
My War Is Your War XTRA MILE With a widescreen political vision and vast, spacious sound, vocalist/guitarist Ros Cairney and drummer Vas Antonaidou’s edgier, antsier second album boasts the direct ferocity of Dry-era PJ Harvey. Exceptional. 8/10 So R
Classic Rock16 min read
The Hard Stuff Reissue
Only After Dark: The Complete MainMan Recordings CHERRY RED The Collection RAVE ON Bowie’s star man’s 70s solo work collected, and a new wave album that Ronno guested on. It’s hard to believe that Only After Dark (9/10) is the first truly definitive
Classic Rock6 min read
THE HARD STUFF STUFF BOOKS & DVDs
The Royal Albert Hall EXPERIENCE HENDRIX Definitive audiovisual gig experience finally surfaces – premiered where it was filmed. Considering it will soon be an incredible half-century since Jimi left the planet, this ‘holy grail’ of Hendrix movies co
Classic Rock2 min read
Clutch
Clutch’s festive gigs in Britain are becoming an institution. What makes them so special? Well, we started doing them a few years ago in Europe, and it seems to be a good time for people to let their hair and their guard down. Maybe it’s something to
Classic Rock2 min read
New Model Army
Some groups record in the Bahamas or similar glamourous locations. Why did New Model Army visit the tiny Norwegian island of Giske to record their fifteenth record, From Here? We went there because it’s the most extraordinary studio in the world. I m
Classic Rock2 min read
Cockney Rejects
Guitarist Mick Greggus previews the veteran band’s 40th-anniversary show at which they will play their Greatest Hits 1 and 2 albums in full and in sequence. Did you achieve closure through the writing of the book Life After Lloyd, following the unexp
Classic Rock2 min read
Steeleye Span
We talk to frontwoman Maddy Prior as the folk-rock veterans wrap up a lengthy tour to celebrate a half-century as a band. Fifty almost completely uninterrupted years of Steeleye Span is quite an achievement. Is there a secret? No. We never thought it
Classic Rock3 min read
Gun / Dan Reed Network / FM
As the bands prepare to celebrate joint 30th anniversaries – of DRN’s Slam, Tough It Out by FM and Gun’s debut Taking On The World – with a bunch of UK dates, we set up a pow wow between the frontmen of each group. Whose idea was this tour? Dante Giz
Classic Rock7 min read
Live!
London Palladium Britain’s first punks pull out all the stops, dive into the dressing-up box, slap on the slap and deliver a truly spectacular show. Oh, and they play some great and classic songs too. There’s a horse-drawn funeral cortege slowly proc
Classic Rock10 min read
Live!
Birmingham Symphony Hall Proggers pull off the band-with-strings-and-brass trick with aplomb. If success is the best revenge, then Marillion’s enduring high profile as arena-filling Britprog figureheads feels like a bold two-fingered salute to their
Classic Rock4 min read
The Soundtrack Of My Life
It’s been thirty years since Steve ‘H’ Hogarth took over as the singer in Marillion. During this time the band have pioneered new ways of making the music industry work for them, and evolved into one of the most creative and complex (yet listenable)

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