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| News archive March 2011 - | ||
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Cambridge Rock Festival takes place 4-7 August at Haggis Farm Polo Club, Cambridge Road, Barton, Cambridge CB23 7PZ. Headliners include EDDIE & THE HOT RODS, JOHN OTWAY (Friday 5), THE QUIREBOYS, LARRY MILLER (Saturday 6) and THE ENID, CARAVAN (Sunday 7). The Festival also includes GRTR! Featured Artists Chantel McGregor, Panic Room.
IRON MAIDEN TOUR CONTINUES Rock legends IRON MAIDEN continue their UK tour this week. For the first time in many years, the band will be playing shows across the full length and breadth of the UK, including places they've not visited for up to three decades! The dates for The Final Frontier UK Tour 2011 are: JULY 2011 Wed 20 Scotland, Glasgow SECC AUGUST 2011 Mon 1 Wales, Cardiff CIA Arena Maiden founder member Steve Harris comments: "Everything in the Maiden camp has been so full on these last five years or so that we haven't travelled around the UK to play for our home fans for almost that long. These fans supported us by coming to Twickenham Stadium, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Download and, more recently Sonisphere, so we thought we should get off our backsides and do the travelling this time and get round the country to see them all. We very much look forward to playing all four home countries and a couple of places we haven't been for a very long time, Aberdeen and Belfast! And playing the O2 gets us as close to the East End of London where Maiden started off than we have been for many a year, probably since the Ruskin Arms! All in all l think this is going to be a very special series of shows and a wonderful way to end this whole world tour. The UK shows will be the culmination of The Final Frontier World Tour, which began in June 2010 with a hugely successful 25 date tour throughout North America, followed by selected European stadium and festival shows, including Knebworth, Sonisphere in the UK.
Iron Maiden announce the release of 'From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of
1990-2010'. A double-CD set spanning twenty years, this follows the huge success
of 2010's studio album 'The Final Frontier' which hit the number one spot in 28
countries around the world and became the band's highest-charting album in the
US. Iron Maiden have also just been awarded their first Grammy for Best Metal
Performance, for the song 'El Dorado' taken from 'The Final Frontier' album. Perennial favourites to be found on this album include songs also featured in Maiden's current 'The Final Frontier World Tour' set list; tracks such as 'Fear Of The Dark', 'The Wickerman', 'Blood Brothers' and 'Dance Of Death' sit alongside recent classics such as 'El Dorado' and the hauntingly evocative 'When The Wild Wind Blows'. It also
includes singles such as 'Holy Smoke' and 'Be Quick Or Be Dead' together with
more progressive thought-provoking album tracks like 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers'
and 'For The Greater Good Of God'. This new collection charts the musical
development of Britain's most successful metal band as they have evolved their
sound, producing longer, more complex songs, gaining huge critical acclaim in
the process. Featuring many of the epics for which the band has become renowned,
it is accordingly released as a double-CD, but will retail for the price of a
single album.
Album
review (The Best Of 1990-2010
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION TOUR THIS WEEK MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP SUPPORT
Black Country Communion play a series of four UK headline summer concerts in the North of England, following their appearance at London's High Voltage Festival at Victoria Park on Sunday July 24.
Support will be Michael Schenker Group who also play this year's High Voltage
event.
The four piece rock band comprised of Joe Bonamassa (guitar, vocals), Jason Bonham (drums), Glenn Hughes (vocals, bass) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards), play Leeds O2 Academy (Tuesday 26th July), Newcastle O2 Academy (Wednesday 27th July), Glasgow O2 Academy (Friday 29th July) and Manchester Academy (Saturday 30th July).
An additional date has now been added with the band's first-ever Welsh concert
at the Llandudno Cymru Arena on Saturday 23rd July.
A special ticket pre-sale will be available to O2 Academy Priority subscribers from Wednesday 2nd February at 9am. To become an O2 Academy Priority customer please register at www.o2blueroom.co.uk. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public from 9am GMT on Friday 4th February.
Black Country Communion's self-titled debut album was originally released during September 2010 to rave reviews. It entered the official UK album chart at #13 and shot straight to #1 in the official UK rock album chart. BCC's
debut also hit #3 in Classic Rock magazine's Critics Album of the Year poll,
while Planet Rock radio listeners voted them as the Best New Band of 2010.
SOS FESTIVAL RETURNS FOR 4th YEAR The fourth SOS Festival takes place Saturday July 16 and Sunday July 17 at Radcliffe Civic Centre, Manchester M26 2UH. Headliners on the Saturday are FURY UK who are joined by Esoterica, Bablyon Fire and Nightvision amongst others, whilst on Sunday headliners are the legendary GUN with Exit State, Attica Rage and Vega amongst the support. There is also an Acoustic Stage on both days.
GUILFEST 20th ANNIVERSARY ROGER DALTREY, JAMES BLUNT and RAZORLIGHT are amongst the artists appearing at the 20th anniversary GUILFEST, 15-17 July. Nominated twice as the 'Best Medium Sized Festival in the UK', the family-friendly event features 8 stages and is located close to the M25 in Stoke Park.
More
information
TOTO PLAY LONDON GIG JUNE 26
Internationally renowned rock band TOTO perform their only
UK concert this year at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday 26th June,
2011. Ticket Hotline: 0844 888 9991 or 0844 847 1642. Book Online:
www.ticketline.co.uk or
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
RINGO HITS THE ROAD Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band return to the road for
the 12th All Starr tour. Joining Ringo Starr will be Rick Derringer on guitar,
Richard Page on bass, Wally Palmar on guitar & harmonica, Edgar Winter on sax
and keyboards, Gary Wright on keyboards and Gregg Bissonette on drums.
Following their appearances at 2010's Download and Hard Rock Hell, FM have got the festival bug and the old campervan will see some mileage this year as the band travel across Europe to perform at some of the highest profile festivals around. There will also be a long overdue return to FM strongholds in Spain and Holland, dates with Journey and Foreigner in Germany, and just announced this week - FM are honoured to have been invited back to play Download again this year. Full list of dates:
WHITESNAKE 2011 TOUR STARTS THIS WEEK Whitesnake return to the UK stage as part of the 2011 Whitesnake World Tour, starting June 13.
Whitesnake will be introducing new Snakes, drummer Briian Tichy and bass player Michael Devin, alongside guitarists Doug Aldrich & Reb Beach.
The band will be touring in support of their as yet un-named new studio album on the Frontiers label, slated for release late March 2011.
"We've had an incredibly creative and productive year off writing and recording and also mixing several projects we plan to release over the next few years.
We're particularly excited about the new album and we look forward to presenting a mix of new and more familiar songs when we tour.
We have all missed the excitement of performing live and are very excited to introduce the new chaps to the Whitesnake Choir."
JUNE 2011
MONDAY 13 NEWCASTLE CITY HALL Tickets go onsale 9am on Friday 17th December 2010 priced at £38.50 regionally / £39.50 London (subject to booking fee) and are available from www.livenation.co.uk
WISHBONE UNPLUGGED Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash play a special gig on Tuesday 31
May at Jazz Cafe, London
TANGERINE DREAM PLAY RARE SHOW Tangerine Dream return to the UK on 28th May for an
exclusive one-off show at The Lowry in Manchester.
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR TOUR CONTINUES
Following her acclaimed performances supporting Black Country Communion at their debut UK concerts in December 2010, JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR returns to the UK in May 2011 to undertake a full-scale nationwide tour of her own.
Shaw Taylor will perform music from her debut album 'White Sugar', alongside tracks taken from her 2010 follow-up 'Diamonds in the Dirt', the exciting new album which has cemented her place as one of the most promising new artists on the international blues circuit.
Dates on the May 2011 UK tour include; Wolverhampton Robin (May 17), Buxton Opera House (May 18), Edinburgh Caves (May 20), Glasgow o2 Academy (May 21), Aberdeen Lemon Tree (May 22), York Opera House (May 23), Newcastle o2 Academy (May 25), Sheffield o2 Academy (May 27), Manchester Academy (May 28), Bristol Tunnels (May 29), London Islington o2 Academy (May 31); Tickets are on sale now and available from 0871 230 1101 and www.seetickets.com.
GLENN HUGHES TOUR Glenn Hughes UK tour continues until the end of the month. He's also recently launched his autobiography entitled 'Deep Purple & Beyond: Scenes From The Life Of A Rock Star'.
Wed. 18: Buxton
Opera House
Gig and book launch
review/interview plus video
STEVE VAI LAUNCHES GUITAR TV Grammy Award-winning musician Steve Vai is launching a 24-hour online streaming video channel on May 10th called GuitarTV.com The site will feature non-stop programming of the best guitar performances, interviews, lessons, live broadcasts and more.
GuitarTV then goes a step further by letting guitar lovers interact with videos through virtual guitar strings on the player. They can discover more about a performer, get the song tablature, and even purchase the artist's guitar model, amplifier, record, or upcoming concert tickets from within GuitarTV.
SAXON NEW ALBUM RELEASED JUNE 6 Hammer of the Gods, the first track from Saxon's new album Call To Arms (out in June) is available for free download from the Saxon website now: www.saxon747.com The album will be released through Militia Guard Music and UDR Records.
JOURNEY RETURN WITH ECLIPSE Frontiers Records have announced the release of JOURNEY's forthcoming studio album « Eclipse in UK on May 30th 2011. Eclipse is Journey's fifteenth studio album and shows the band at the peak of their creative juices, truly regenerated after the blistering success of their last studio album Revelation. "I'm in love with this record, which I haven't said about one of our albums for a long time," says founding member and lead guitarist, Neal Schon. "It's a rock record and it sounds amazing." Commenting on the upcoming tour, Schon continued, "We've got a lot of hits to play and there's plenty of time to do some new stuff too, so we're gonna mix it up. We haven't toured with Foreigner for over 10 years, so we're really looking forward to this run." In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, keyboardist Jonathan Cain recently described "Eclipse" as "a concept record with some spiritual themes to it…pretty tough, hard-hitting stuff." Jonathan continued, "We just felt like it was time to send a message to the world about how we feel about life in general." The new album release will be preceded by the digital release of the single "City of Hope" on April 4th. Journey toured the world for two years in support of their 2008 release, « Revelation ». More than a million fans attended the shows, and welcomed new lead singer Arnel Pineda.
Completing the Journey lineup is
Schon (guitars, backing vocals), Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Ross Valory
(bass, backing vocals) and Deen Castronovo (drums, percussion, backing vocals).
Revelation marked the band's biggest first week's sales in more than a decade,
debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 in June 2008 and with chart entries in the
UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. "Revelation" earned
the band their 11th Platinum album certification to date, leading The New York
Times to declare that "the band…feels alive." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMqsfozKMk
NEW JOURNEY BIO Using original interviews and a wealth of research, Don't Stop Believin' The Untold Story Of Journey follows Journey's career as they formed, matured and flourished, succeeded and failed. It is a story filled with heartache, bitterness and behind the scenes squabbles but also creativity, dedication, passion and drive. The book is published by Omnibus Press, May 3. The author Neil Daniels contributes to Get Ready to ROCK! and several other websites and publications.
ROGER WATERS THE WALL -
LIVE IN BERLIN (20th Anniversary Edition)
Staged on vacant terrain
between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate in the wake of the fall of the
Berlin Wall, it marks a momentous cultural and political landmark. Roger is
taking a new production of The Wall on tour across Europe from March and to
celebrate Universal Music are proud to present a repackaged, limited deluxe
combo edition of the DVD and 2-CD live album.
DEFINITIVE
EDITIONS OF OZZY OSBOURNE'S LANDMARK SOLO ALBUMS RESTORED & REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS SET FOR RELEASE MONDAY, MAY
30 ON SONY CMG
Long revered by rock fans around
the world, these two albums created a template for hard rock in the 1980's and
beyond as they were marked by the ground-breaking and historic union of Ozzy and
the late guitar hero Randy Rhoads.
These
definitive versions of 1980's Blizzard of Ozz (with previously unreleased bonus
tracks) and 1981's Diary of a Madman are available individually on vinyl or CD,
or together in a deluxe collector's box. All versions were restored and
re-mastered from the original analog sources by George Marino. The DVD also
contains over 70 minutes of additional rare live performances and interviews;
included is the premiere of more than 30 minutes of newly-discovered
never-bootlegged footage of Ozzy and Randy from the Blizzard of Ozz tour shot
from the front of the stage at New York's fabled Palladium on May 2, 1981. This
new feature is a must-see for aficionados of Ozzy's epic release, Blizzard of
Ozz and its pivotal effect on rock & roll history.
DEREK AND THE DOMINOS 'Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’ Hits 40!
Special 40th Anniversary Edition released March 29th Via Universal Music. URIAH HEEP BRAND NEW STUDIO ALBUM 'INTO THE WILD' RELEASED
APRIL 18th ON FRONTIERS RECORDS
Produced by Mike Paxman (Status Quo,
Asia), 'Into The Wild' contains twelve brand new, technically brilliant, heavy
organ and guitar driven sophisticated melodic hard rock songs, all packed with
the band's soaring, trademark multi-part harmony vocals.
JOE BONAMASSA NEW ALBUM RELEASED MARCH 21 Joe Bonamassa releases his 12th full-length solo album, DUST BOWL in the UK on Monday March 21st 2011 (US release is March 22nd) via Provogue Records. The album will coincide with Bonamassa's forthcoming 'Dust Bowl 2011 World Tour' that will take in cities across America, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. 'I think Dust Bowl is the best album we've ever done,' says Bonamassa. 'I'm finding more inspiration in storytelling in my 30s, in writing songs that are about something more profound than 'my baby left me.' I like albums that are made with the right intentions and sound organic and a little rough around the edges, like a great band playing live in the room.' Dust Bowl is Joe Bonamassa's sixth collaboration with producer Kevin 'The Caveman' Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Black Country Communion) and features collaborations with Nashville legends Vince Gill and John Hiatt, female vocalist Beth Hart, and Joe's Black Country Communion band-mate, Glenn Hughes. To celebrate the March 21st release of Joe Bonamassa's highly anticipated new album 'Dust Bowl', his official website is making the title track available as a free MP3 download. Click here to download the song - http://jbonamassa.com/dustbowl/.Provogue Records has also announced that they will also release a Limited Edition Digibook version of the Dust Bowl album, along with the standard CD and vinyl editions throughout the UK and Europe on March 21st. The limited edition print-run includes a comprehensive 8,000 word, 60-page digibook that chronicles Bonamassa's fascinating rise in popularity as one the most exciting blues guitarists of our time. Written with passion and authority by Henry Yates (guitar correspondent for Classic Rock, Total Guitar and Guitarist), the exclusive collector's edition book features never-before-seen personal photographs dating back to Joe's early childhood as a budding guitarist. NEW RON GEESIN ALBUM RonCycle1: The Journey Of A Melody, represents one of Ron Geesin's most ambitious projects to date. Perhaps best known for his seminal work with Pink Floyd (Atom Heart Mother) 'Roncycle 1...' is an integral suite composed of sixteen pieces - some of them a mere minute short. Geesin has himself, in fact, referred to his latest creation as "a monster from the deep". Elements and influences from his entire career are passing by the audience's ears, ranging from puristic folk and proto-funk to orchestral meditations and the complex metrics of progressive rock. Thanks to a clearly defined narrative, which Geesin readily expounds upon in the liner notes, the result has nonetheless turned out entirely coherent. Geesin began work on the album in 1986: "the reason that it has all taken so long is that, as it grew, it frightened me so much that I had to walk away for long periods". Technical issues meant parts of the work had to be transferred from their original tape to computer and, according to Geesin, "the whole digi-structure was becoming overwhelmingly complicated". Meeting Mark Ayres, known for his contribution to the BBC's Dr. Who, proved to be the solution. Ayres took care of final arrangements in his studio, bringing a twenty five year long epic journey to a satisfying end. RonCycle1: The Journey Of A Melody will be released on CD, and LP (with bonus CD) on March 7, 2011.
THUNDER RELEASE NEW LIVE ALBUM AND REUNITE FOR ONE-OFF FESTIVAL APPEARANCE Thunder, who split nearly 2 years ago, will release a live CD, THUNDER - LIVE - ROUGH & READY on 1st March 2011. The album will be released in a double gatefold 4 CD digipack and will be available exclusively online at www.thunderonline.com and www.thunderonline-shop.co.uk. Pre-order online now. Thunder will also reunite for a one-off appearance at High Voltage Festival at Victoria Park, London on Sunday 24th July.The 4 CD live release features Thunder recorded at 2 shows during the "The Magnificent Seventh" tour in 2005. It's called Rough & Ready, to contrast the difference in audio quality between the two shows (one was recorded straight off the mixing desk, the other is a proper multi-track recording).
Whilst the audio
quality varies, the band's performance does not. Several songs from The
Magnificent Seventh CD made their live debut on this tour, and two of them
(Monkey See Monkey Do & The Gods Of Love) were seldom played afterwards, though
listening to them on here, it's hard to understand why!
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