Latest news with #CindyWilson
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iconic ‘80s Band The B-52s Makes Surprise Announcement 3 Years After Farewell Tour
The B-52s are back. The iconic 1980s band best known for the songs 'Rock Lobster,' 'Planet Claire,' 'Roam,' and 'Love Shack' will join forces with fellow new wavers Devo for the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour, the band announced on Instagram on June 16. 'We are excited that the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour is landing in a city near you with @clubdevo and special guest @lene_lovich_band_official ! 🛸Tickets go on sale Friday, June 20th @ 10AM,' the band announced. The official announcement came hours after the B-52s teased big news was coming in a series of Instagram posts. The upcoming 11-city tour kicks off on Sept. 24 in Toronto and ends Nov. 2 in Houston, with Lene Lovich as the opening act. The B-52s features Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Ricky Wilson (vocals, guitar), Cindy Wilson (vocals, percussion), and Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion). In a statement to Rolling Stone, Cindy Wilson said the idea for the co-headlining tour was spawned when the B-52s and Devo performed at the SNL 50 concert at Radio City Music Hall in February. Schneider added, 'In 2022, I swore I'd never get on a tour bus again, but we were careful to say to our fans that we would still perform in special situations that don't require all of the awful tour travel. … When we were offered the chance to do a small run of shows with Devo, we all said this is an extraordinary opportunity we couldn't say no to.' The B-52s announced their North American Farewell tour in April 2022. It ran from Aug. 22 in Seattle to Nov. 11 in Atlanta and featured KC and the Sunshine Band and the Tubes, per Ultimate Classic Rock. The band has played a residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas since wrapping their final tour in '80s Band The B-52s Makes Surprise Announcement 3 Years After Farewell Tour first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 16, 2025
Bangkok Post
28-06-2025
- General
- Bangkok Post
The bombers that look like giant bats
Anyone who has observed those B-2 Stealth bombers used by the US in Iran last week will be aware of the unique futuristic design that some say makes them resemble giant bats. Opinion is divided on whether these planes are an inspired example of beautiful modern engineering and technology or just plain ugly. They certainly look a bit sinister, but then so do most planes designed for dropping bombs. Over the years the bombers have tended not to be as aesthetically pleasing as the fighter jets which are a lot more sleek, versatile and easier on the eye. Even back in World War II the British Spitfire fighter plane looked so graceful as it swooped around the skies it was sometimes likened to a swallow and much-loved by the pilots who appreciated its manoeuvrability. The B-52 bombers that preceded the B-2s are still in operation and were certainly not known for their beauty. These planes were very busy during the Vietnam War and many were based in U-Tapao. The Thai populace referred to them as "Bee Hasip-sawng" (B-52) but the Americans had a more colourful nickname, (BUFF) which stood for "Big Ugly Fat Fellow" although the last word was usually replaced by an expletive. In the early 1970s I recall standing on the Rayong roadside watching the B-52s taking off from U-Tapao on their daily missions to North Vietnam. It was both an awesome and scary experience. The noise was deafening and they were an intimidating sight. They carried such heavy payloads of bombs it made you wonder how they even managed to get off the ground. Down the hatch The B-52 also became the name for a particularly lethal cocktail. It had numerous variations but the basic ingredients involved three layers consisting of Kahlua (coffee liqueur), Baileys Irish Cream and Grande Marnier (French liqueur). The more adventurous could try "B-52 With Bomb Bay Doors" which added a fourth layer of Bombay Gin. For those who really wanted to punish themselves there was "B-52 with a Full Payload" which includes a fifth layer featuring Bacardi rum. I might just stick to beer. Beehive Rock There was also a successful American rock group named the B-52s. In fact they were originally known for many years as the B-52's featuring a stray apostrophe which was eventually dropped in 2011. The group which was formed in 1976 acquired their name from the popular B-52 beehive hairdo at that time which resembled the distinctive nose cone of the bomber. The two terrific female singers in the group, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson both wore beehives during their energetic concert performances. The group had a string of hits with the most successful being "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster". But it is one of their lesser-known songs that more recently caught my attention. It has a most intriguing title which will surface in the next item. From Ipanema to Greenland When Greenland gets back in the news, as it surely will, I reckon the B-52s song "Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland" released in 1986 could become a hit again. For a start, it's a great title for a song. Donald Trump might even like it. It would at least make a welcome change from him dancing to "YMCA". The B-52s song is a bouncy feel-good number although admittedly the lyrics don't make much sense. The song is a nod of the hat to the soothing 1963 Brazilian bossa nova hit "Girl From Ipanema" written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and performed by Astrud Gilberto, backed by saxophonist Stan Getz. The B-52s song released 21 years later is very different and definitely not bossa nova. It's a song to lift your spirits and can be heard on YouTube. So why on earth would the girl from sunny Ipanema suddenly decide to go to freezing Greenland? As far as I can make out from the lyrics the girl is fed up with Ipanema beach and opts to head off to somewhere completely different… and Greenland is certainly different. Her bikini wouldn't be much use though. On the beach Back to that relaxing 1963 song. It was Astrud Gilberto's first professional performance which was part of its charm. Her plaintive voice managed to sound innocent yet seductive. Like most teenage lads at the time I loved it. The song conjured up an irresistible image: "Tall and tan and young and lovely/The girl from Ipanema goes walking/And when she passes, each one she passes/Goes ah ..." I certainly went "ah" listening to it all those years ago and it still sounds pretty cool 60 years later. Coffee break The very mention of Brazil brings to mind the old Frank Sinatra song that begins: "Way down among Brazilians/Coffee beans grow by the billions …" It was called rather unimaginatively "The Coffee Song" and a big hit when I was a kid back in the Stone Age. In fact, that song just about summed up my knowledge of Brazil in those days. It includes the splendid lines: "You date a girl, and find out later/She smells just like a percolator …" All very romantic. It was hardly a surprise that as a kid I pictured Brazil as a country full of cheerful people who spent every day dancing the samba at never-ending carnivals and guzzling gallons of coffee.
