Latest news with #musicHistory
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Live Aid to Be Re-Broadcast for 40th Anniversary on U.K. Radio
One of the most iconic concerts in music history is getting a second airing. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, Greatest Hits Radio will re-broadcast the legendary 1985 benefit concert in a 10-hour special airing July 13, 2025. Hosted by British radio veteran Simon Mayo, the special, titled Live Aid Relived, will feature original performances by Queen, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Who, and more. More from Billboard Nicole Scherzinger Gives Surprise 'Buttons' Performance at Broadway Bares Lana Del Rey Taps Addison Rae, BANKS and London Grammar for U.K. Stadium Tour AC/DC Announce Long-Awaited 2025 Australian Stadium Tour The broadcast will run from noon local time, and include commentary from Live Aid performers like Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp and cast members from the upcoming Live Aid musical Just For One Day. The special will close with the final episode of Live Aid: 40 Years On, a documentary series featuring interviews with Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May, and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. 'I was there as a paying customer 40 years ago and I can't wait to relive that extraordinary day,' Mayo said in a statement. 'Apart from finding a place to park in Wembley, of course.' Queen's iconic 21-minute set, widely regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time, will air in full, alongside Bowie's emotional 'Heroes' dedication to children around the world. Originally broadcast to 1.9 billion people across 150 countries, Live Aid was a global benefit event staged at London's Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The concert raised over £114 million but has also since faced criticism regarding perceptions of African nations and aid distribution. Bob Geldof, co-founder of the Band Aid Charitable Trust and the man behind the original concert, said the re-broadcast serves as a reminder of music's enduring power. 'Thank you Greatest Hits Radio for hopefully letting people know that they are not powerless in the face of human monstrosity,' Geldof said. 'What better time than now to know and understand the power of music and what it can achieve.' Live Aid Relived airs July 13 via Greatest Hits Radio. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
New York Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Like His Music, Brian Wilson's Style Was Deceptively Complex
The band name was a fluke. Looking to cash in on the burgeoning surf culture in the United States, the record executive who first brought Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine together on the obscure Candix Records label in Southern California wanted to call the assembled musicians 'The Surfers.'' But another group, as it happened, had already claimed the name. And then there was an additional problem: only one of the band members, Dennis Wilson, actively surfed. And so, as Brian Wilson — the architect of the band's sound and image, whose death, at 82, was announced by his family on Wednesday — tweeted back in 2018, the promoter Russ Regan 'changed our name to the Beach Boys.' He added that the group members themselves found out only after they saw their first records pressed. Originally, the band had another name. It was one that speaks not only to the aural backdrop the Beach Boys provided for generations but also to their enduring influence on global style. As teenagers in the late 1950s and early '60s, the band had styled itself the Pendletones. It was a homage to what was then, and in some ways still is, an unofficial uniform of Southern California surfers: swim trunks or notch pocket khakis or white jeans, and a blazing white, ringspun cotton T-shirt worn under a sturdy woolen overshirt. The shirts the Pendletones wore were produced by the family-owned company, Pendleton Woolen Mills of Portland, Ore., and had been in production since 1924. The shirts were embraced by surfers for their over-the-top durability and the easy way they bridged the intersection between work and leisure wear. The blue and gray block plaid, which Pendleton would later rename as the 'Original Surf Plaid,'' was worn by every member of the Beach Boys on the cover of their debut album, 'Surfin' Safari.' It was a look that, novel then, has since been quoted in some form by men's wear designers from Hedi Slimane to Eli Russell Linnetz and Ralph Lauren. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Black Sabbath's first recording kit rediscovered and going on show in Birmingham
A microphone and equipment used to make Black Sabbath's first studio recordings have been rediscovered after laying unseen for more than 30 years. The kit, including part of a mixing desk and two Revox tape machines, will go on show to coincide with the band's sold-out final show at Birmingham's Villa Park in exhibition will reflect the birth of heavy metal in the city, said music industry professional John Mostyn, who is organising the display at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens, to run on days either side of the items are on loan from Johnny Haynes, who owned and ran Zella Studios in Birmingham, where the recordings were made. The first incarnation of Zella Studios was based at the rear of an old repair room of Ladbrooke Pianos on Bristol was here in 1968 four musicians, lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, from the band then named Earth, came to record their first music together. "We had an excellent demo session, organised by Big Bear Music, and the resultant recordings were well received," said Mr Haynes, 83. But, he added, after the first meeting the band relocated to London, which had "a monopoly on top recording studios".Sadly, for some reason, the feeling of the London recording was considered disappointing, he said, and the quartet returned to was during this time the band changed their name to Black Sabbath, and they went on to sign their first record deal, he explained. "The rest, I guess, is well known music biz history," Mr Haynes added. Mr Mostyn, who himself has managed bands such as The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals, said he had known the studio owner since the mid-1970s."I never visited that first studio he had, but it must have been an amazing spot," he said. "Not just because there were lots of pianos for sale, but Johnny was in the back recording the coolest bands in Birmingham at the time."Running the studios for 30 years, Mr Haynes said he was "extremely fortunate to be in the right place at the right time".He recorded demos for bands including The Move and Jeff Lynne plus The Locomotive with John Bonham on drums, and many more."The business, which eventually relocated to Walker Hall Studio, ran until 1995 when the equipment was put into storage. Mr Mostyn explained he had recently approached the studio owner to ask if he still had any of the kit from the period. "He said yes, but it's taken him six months of looking," he said. "And he actually only found it about 10 days ago, so it's been stored for more than 30 years".Urging fans to attend the exhibition he added: "The next time this mic appears in public it will probably be behind a glass screen in a museum so this is likely to be the only chance ever to be close to it in person." The exhibition will run on 4 July and 6 July, either side of the Villa Park concert. "And what's really exciting is Johnny is coming with it," Mr Mostyn added. "This is a very rare outing for a very popular gentleman, so I suspect there will be a lot of old musician friends and music industry people grabbing the chance to come and have a rare sighting of Mr Johnny Haynes."He was an "inspirational character" he added, "that in 1968 had the vision to set up this recording studio".
The Sun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Star of Arctic Monkey's famous album cover now – and his secret TV star pal
FANS of the Arctic Monkey will well remember their debut album, that launched the band to fame in the mid-noughties. The iconic album cover to Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not featured a young lad smoking - and we can reveal what he looks like now and who his VERY famous pal is. 5 5 The man on the front of the Arctic Monkey's first ever record was Chris McClure, who was just 16-years-old at the time. He landed the gig of posing as the poster boy for the album after he met Alex Turner, Matt Helders, Jamie Cook, Andy Nicholson, and Nick O'Malley in Sheffield before they were famous. However, he has now revealed just how much he was paid to be on the album that has since gone down in history. In an interview with Northern Chorus posted on Instagram, Chris said: "I was given about 700 quid." Chris has previously recalled the story of how he ended up on the Arctic Monkeys most famous album. Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, he recalled how he became friends with the band - who weren't famous at the time - when he was just a teenager. Chris said: "I frst met the Arctic Monkeys on the last bus home. We were 16. "We'd go to the same gigs in Sheffield, then see each other on the number 77 – so we became friends. "When they went on their first tour, I was their guitar tech: I couldn't tune a guitar to save my life, but I think they wanted someone who was part of the gang." Talking about being asked to be on the cover of their now very famous debut album, Chris recalled: "I was studying sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University when I got a call from Andy Nicholson, the bassist. "They were working on their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and wanted pictures of a guy on a night out for the artwork. "There was no suggestion it was for the cover. Andy asked if I'd do it, and I said why not? I'm not sure why me. I never asked. I think they just wanted someone normal." He then revealed he was given a "wad of cash" to get drunk and to come back at 2am to take the picture. Talking about becoming famous overnight, after the album was released in 2006, Chris said: "That Monday, my phone never stopped. It was bonkers; like being dipped into fame. Everyone in the world wanted to know who I was." 5 STAR PAL Along with the Arctic Monkeys, Chris also has another very famous star pal. He is also friends with Line of Duty star Vicky McClure - no relation. The pair have struck up a close friendship over the years, and she often helps him plug his daytime disco, Day Fever.
