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On this day...
Reviews Editor
Jason runs for charity
On
Sunday 13th May our Reviews and News Editor Jason Ritchie is running in
the Staines 10K for the Children with Cancer charity (formerly
Children with Leukaemia) and if you can either sponsor him or spread the
word it would be much appreciated.
MAGNUM will be the Get Ready to ROCK! ambassadors in 2012 coinciding with our
10th anniversary.
The band celebrate their own anniversary - it's
40 years since the formation of the original band.
The band released "Evolution", on Steamhammer / SPV,
on November 14th (Germany November 11th,USA/Canada November 22nd) which comes in
a high value ecol book.
‘Evolution’ contains eight songs from their previous
comeback albums which were partially re-recorded and fully remixed, two from
their much acclaimed "The Visitation" album (which cracked the Top 20 in Germany
and made it to #3 in the UK Rock Charts as well as high chart entries in Sweden
and Switzerland) and two totally new recorded songs.
The band have announced extensive dates in October/November.
Paul Rodgers has announced that he will be playing his only UK concert this year
on Thursday May 31st in Chichester at The Venue.
Joining Rodgers on the bill will be Deborah Bonham and her Band who will be
performing songs from their new album.
All of the proceeds from the concert will go to The Racehorse Sanctuary and
Rehoming Centre, a self funded Charity
Tickets are limited and available only by emailing info@deborahbonham.com for
booking information
Doors and Bar open 6-11.30pm, Showtime 7-10.30pm
Ticket Prices £30 standing and £50 seated
The Racehorse Sanctuary, Bridgehill Farm, Thakeham Road, Coolham, West Sussex
RH13 8QD
www.racehorsesanctuary.org
Registered Number 1117361
Following the news of their new studio
album Bag of Bones, released April 30th, Swedish rockers EUROPE have
announced a nationwide November 2012 UK tour.
The Bag of Bones tour follows 2011's hugely successful Balls 'N' Banners tour,
which included a sold-out concert at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire (where
Europe filmed their recent live DVD).
BAG OF BONES UK TOUR DATES
Birmingham 02 Academy - Wednesday 21 November
Glasgow 02 ABC - Thursday 22 November
Manchester HMV Ritz - Friday 23 November
Newcastle 02 Academy - Sunday 25 November
Leeds 02 Academy - Monday 26 November
Nottingham Rock City - Tuesday 27 November
Bristol 02 Academy - Thursday 29 November
Cardiff Coal Exchange - Friday 30 November
London 02 Shepherds Bush Empire - Saturday 1 December
Progressive Rock Giant Steve Hackett has recently announced a unique one-off show in London on Sunday 20th May
at the Islington Assembly Hall.
Called Past and Present, he will celebrate early Genesis, along with his first
solo album, and then jump forward to his most recent albums, Out of The Tunnel's
Mouth and Beyond The Shrouded Horizon
To coincide with the show, Hackett releases a double 'A' side single - Til These
Eyes coupled with Enter The Night on 21st May, part of the sales revenue from
the single will go to Childline Rocks - who raise money for Childline twinned
with the NSPCC.
The Acoustic Festival of Britain 2012 May Fest returns to
Uttoxeter Racecourse, Staffordshire on May 25 - 27 for its 3 day music event
with camping, which has developed into a prestigious and relaxed family friendly
occasion for all generations with an eclectic programme of Unplugged and
Acoustic music from the genres of Folk, Roots, Celtic, Blues, Pop, Rock, Ska,
Bluegrass and much more.
4 stages of entertainment and dozens of crafts and food tents
together with a huge real ale tent over 200ft long, with a stage powered by
bicycles.
Artists already confirmed include Joan Armatrading, John Cooper Clark, Quill, Glenn Tilbrook, Tir Na Nog, Gordon
Giltrap, The Animals, Stackridge, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of
Dreams, Robin & Bina Williamson, Wee Bag Band, Joe O'Donnells' Shkyla, Rodney
Branigan, The Re-Entrants, Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson , +many more T.B.A.
One major attraction to this event over the past years has
been the thought behind on site facilities, the provision of flushing loos, wash
hand basins and hot showers. A most refreshing change to what is usually
associated with festivals!
Such thoughts have encouraged generations who once
frequented festivals and carnivals in their earlier years back as attendees.
You're never too old!
A great family event, with Craft Stalls & Displays, Juggling
Schools, Drumming & Guitar Workshops,Soccer Workshops, Yoga Classes, Pixies,
Dragons, Story Telling, Comedy. Tribal Dancing, Belly Dancing, Morris Dancing,
Face Painting & Stilt Walkers
Tickets
Adult Weekend £60 Adult Camping £15
Child (10-15) £15 Child Camping £5
Children Under 10 Free
The Zombies featuring Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone are touring the UK
May/June.
The band will be playing tracks from their critically-acclaimed current album
'Breathe Out, Breathe In' along with classics such as 'She's Not There' and
songs from their personal back catalogue such as 'Hold Your Head Up'.
Throughout May, Rod Argent is Featured Artist at Get Ready to ROCK! Radio
Pop to Prog Rockers Stackridge start their UK tour on 31 March. The band
will be promoting a new compilation released in April on Angel Air Records.
The band are featured artist at Get Ready to ROCK! Radio in April when there
will be a two-part special, with the band's Andy Davis talking about the band's
history since the late sixties.
GRTR! photographer Andrew Lock
stages his third photo exhibition in May at The Royal Spa Centre, Leamington
Spa.
Sounds and Visions Vol. III (An
exhibition of live music photography mostly from 2011 shows) and a few shots
taken away from the stage
FREE ENTRY and artists will include
Larry Miller, Marillion and Mostly Autumn.
The Balcony Bar
The Royal Spa Centre
Leamington Spa
Open Evening Tuesday 1st May 6.30pm 8pm opened by Steve Walwyn (Dr feelgood/Chevy)
2nd May - 24th May - viewing on show days (see
Leamington Royal Spa Centre web site for details)
A brand new show for 2012 celebrating the amazing musical legacy of Pink Floyd.
Having performed to over a quarter of a million fans in Europe 2011, BRIT FLOYD
- The World's Greatest Pink Floyd Show, is proud to announce that it will return
to the UK for a second time in May, June and July in 2012 to perform their brand
new show, 'A Foot In The Door'.
Especially created by BRIT FLOYD musical director Damian Darlington, to
celebrate the release of the brand new official Pink Floyd 'Best Of' album 'A
Foot In the Door', the performance will include all of Pink Floyd's best work,
in its entirety - track by track - and as selected, personally, by the Pink
Floyd band members themselves.
As an extra bonus, and back by popular demand, BRIT FLOYD's new show will also
include a full, 23 minute show-stopping rendition of Echoes, taken from Pink
Floyd's classic 1971 album, Meddle.
The BRIT FLOYD 'A Foot In The Door' show will include; Hey You, See Emily Play,
The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Another Brick In The Wall pt2, Have A Cigar,
Wish You Were Here, Time, The Great Gig In The Sky, Money, Comfortably Numb,
Echoes, High Hopes, Learning To Fly, The Fletcher Memorial Home, Shine On You
Crazy Diamond, Brain Damage, Eclipse and Run Like Hell.
In less than one year the new BRIT FLOYD phenomena has been embraced by Pink
Floyd fans worldwide, and acclaimed for its note-for-note perfection, unique
Floydian animation and its state-of-the art sound & lights.
"Blindingly brilliant, jaw-droppingly authentic... at last Pink Floyd have the
tribute show they deserve."
Portsmouth News (from the Brit Floyd launch show in Portsmouth. The venue where
Pink Floyd first performed The Dark Side of the Moon)
If you wish to find out more about Brit Floyd please visit their website,
Facebook or You Tube Channel links below:
*As a special bonus, everyone who attends one of the shows on the tour will be
given a free live 2hr Brit Floyd promo DVD, featuring 2hrs of classic Pink
Floyd.
Wednesday 2 May Venue Cymru Llandudno
Friday 4 May O2 Arena Dublin Ireland
Saturday 5 May Waterfront Hall Belfast
Monday 7 May Royal Albert Hall London
Tuesday 8 May Hexagon Reading
Wednesday 9 May New Theatre Oxford
Thursday 10 May NIA Birmingham
Saturday 12 May Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Sunday 13 May Town Hall High Wycombe
Monday 14 May Bridgewater Hall Manchester
Wednesday 16 May De Montfort Hall Leicester
Thursday 17 May The Sage Gateshead
Friday 18 May Music Hall Aberdeen
Saturday 19 May Clyde Auditorium Glasgow
Monday 21 May Barbican Centre York
Tuesday 22 May Baths Hall Scunthorpe
Thursday 24 May City Hall Sheffield
Friday 25 May Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells
Saturday 26 May Centre Brighton
Sunday 27 May Theatre Royal Norwich
Tuesday 29 May Princess Theatre Torquay
Wednesday 30 May Hall for Cornwall Truro
Friday 1 Jun Guildhall Portsmouth
Saturday 2 Jun Corn Exchange Cambridge
Sunday 3 Jun Colston Hall Bristol
Tuesday 5 Jun The Lighthouse Poole
Wednesday 6 Jun Orchard Theatre Dartford
Thursday 7 Jun St George's Hall Bradford
Saturday 9 June Forum Theatre Malvern
Sunday 10 Jun Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes
Thursday 21 Jun Isle of Wight Festival Isle of Wight
Friday 22 June City Hall Salisbury
Saturday 23 June Theatre Hafren Newtown
Sunday 24 June Theatre Severn Shrewsbury
Tuesday 26 June Opera House Blackpool
Wednesday 27 June Civic Whitehaven
Thursday 28 June Eden Court Theatre Inverness
Friday 29 June Concert Hall Perth
Saturday 30 June Alhambra Theatre Dunfermline
Monday 2 July Philharmonic Hall Liverpool
Tuesday 3 July Wyvern Theatre Swindon
Wednesday 4 July The Anvil Basingstoke
Thursday 5 July Coronation Hall Ulverston
Saturday 7 July Hampton Pool Summer Picnic London
Saturday 17 August Clumber Park Classic Rock Worksop
..I remember
going down 5th Avenue in Manhattan in a stretch Lincoln limo - I mean the real
sort before Essex girls got hold of them - and there I was thinking, for a bunch
of guys from Canvey Island this is pretty good.
Rock Stars
GUS G
..the way you
sell a band in a particular territory has a big role in how well you do.
So yeah it's how
you sell yourself, plus of course for me there's also the fact that we get a
chance to widen our crowd because of the Ozzy thing.
Rock Stars
MICK BOX
I suppose the
closest I got to folding the band was round about the time of the 'Conquest'
album'. I really did feel we'd gone as far as we could go.
But even then I
was inspired by the letters sent to the office from long time fans and from
people who had only just caught on to us.
Rock Stars
BETH HART
I feel like I've
arrived at a place where I'm really comfortable and ready to go all the way. I'm
going to put my whole heart and soul into blowing European audiences away.
Rock Stars
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
...in
the States they nominated me for the Sean Costello Award for Rising Young Blues
Artist, and I've been doing this for ten years and sometimes you wonder just how
long I can be considered for that category before my star starts to descend !
Rock Stars
POPA CHUBBY
My inspiration comes from my own life impressions and experiences. I try and
take the good things from the changing circumstance of my life. Every year
brings different changes and I never end up where I think I'm gonna go.
Rock Stars
ANDY BOWN
I know more about me than anything else so it's a good subject matter. And
it's an extension of the fact that this is the first album I've done where I
haven't had to worry about what other people say or expect.
Rock Stars
PAUL COOK
...the
great thing about Manraze is that we explore all sorts of directions and some of
the styles and influences from when we were growing up.
Rock Stars
BUDDY WHITTINGTON
There's a lot been said about how hard John (Mayall)was to work for, but I
think that must have been a long time ago, as his strength when I was in the
band was simply to give everyone enough rope...
Rock Stars
JOHN PARR
In the past I
have been criticised for being too diverse and so by doing two separate records
in one box it frees me - to be balls to the wall rockin, or up close and
personal.
Rock Stars
DICKLEN (Mr Big)
'Romeo' is still really what we are about. It's the hit that made us and it still gets played on the radio...Back in the days when we toured with Queen Freddie always complimented us on the song, so it remains our calling card.
Rock Stars
ROD ARGENT
It was great fun to work with Argent again but I can't think of that as being a creative thing again at present. The Zombies is my creative source at present.
Rock Stars
WARREN HAYNES
...if I hadn't joined the Allman's in 1989 my solo career might
well have been different. I basically inherited their audience, but I always
loved the music and it has become a big part of me and of who I am.
Rock Stars
THE GRACIOUS FEW
No-one goes back to their ex-wife and if they do they're just a
shell of a man, and I don't want to be like that. I'm still making records with
Candlebox but this is my love and focus.
Rock Stars
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA
It's
by far the biggest, most complicated tour production ever.
Rock Stars
FIREWIND
You just got to be happy about playing your music and the fact that we still get the chance to travel around the world, make a living from it and have fans coming to see us in clubs or festivals wherever we play is amazing!
Rock Stars
GEOFF TATE
We love Metal but we wanted to expand it and bring it somewhere different. That has been our approach from the very beginning, not to define ourselves by what other people did but to define ourselves by our own criteria.
Rock Stars
MR BIG
...as a band, we've all matured and evolved, everybody's kind of at the top of their game.
Rock Stars
GINGER
I see making a record like taking a shit, it's like done and dusted and I like to move on.
Rock Stars
VINCE NEIL
I'm kinda like stuck in the old times, I listen to what I grew up with AC/DC, Van Halen, Deep Purple - bands like that.
Rock Stars
DWEEZIL ZAPPA
It's quite strange but really great to see some teenage girls singing the songs at the front.
Rock Stars
TARJA TURUNEN
I found Heavy Metal very difficult and it wasn't until about 2004 before I started to feel comfortable with my techniques. Then I started to enjoy the greater freedom the music offered me.
Rock Stars
BOBBY BLOTZER (Ratt)
I always felt that eventually we would get back together but at times it seemed like a monumental task to do that
Rock Stars
DAVID ELLEFSON
I think that ... you have to be able to write songs because songs are the thing that stand the test of time. Most bands don't even stand the test of time - most bands break up!
Rock Stars
JON OLIVA
Savatage was a very one dimensional band, you know? We did what we did and that's what we did. With this band there's a little bit more freedom for me.
Rock Stars
TONY MILLS
(Serpentine) is a totally different kettle of fish. They are much younger and I am old enough to be their Dad and it feels like it as well.
Rock Stars
KATATONIA
I wouldn't say that "Night Is The New Day" conveys a lot of optimism as an album, especially while looking into the lyrics on offer, but the music is breathing - it has got a life of its own and it moves on many different levels like life itself.
Rock Stars
FRANCIS ROSSI
'Foghat, hah, they copied us in many ways. But we were doing so well in the UK and Europe that we thought that America wasn't so important for us. Certainly our management thought that too.'
Rock Stars
STEVE VAI
'...Zappa was an inspiration especially a composer and also as a band leader. He was the person who showed me how an idea could be put on a blank sheet of paper and how it could then affect a 100 piece orchestra'
Rock Stars
DON AIREY
'...Some gigs I've done and I've thought "How's it come to this?" But if you're a musician that's what happens, you just have to keep on going. Playing's better than not playing, that's the thing.'
Rock Stars
JACK BRUCE
'...When I started out there was one choice of margarine! Now you have 57,000 different choices of reverb and it's too easy to get hung up on that...'
Rock Stars
BLAZE BAYLEY
'...The world is a better place with Iron Maiden in it, and it's given me an opportunity to do something on my own, and it's taken a while to get it off the ground but at last things seem to be working. '
10 Questions
RICK WAKEMAN
'...I don't believe really in big breaks or luck. The definition of a big break or luck is when preparation meets opportunity...'
Rock Stars
DORO
'...my music comes out as it does and sometimes it is far different from what anyone would expect'
Rock Stars
BIFF BYFORD (SAXON)
For me music is guitar riff, drum beat, melody. AC/DC, Motorhead, anything like that, if it's got two of those things it's alright...
Rock Stars
PAUL GILBERT
...I realised that much as I'd come to appreciate Joe Satriani for example, I didn't go to him for inspiration.
Rock Stars
NEAL SMITH
I wrote these songs because I think there is a massive void in the music industry at present. If old AC fans dig KillSmith that's cool and if I can capture a whole new generation getting into KillSmith that's cool too.
10 Questions
STEVE LUKATHER
There are NO plans after this next leg of the tour. I think we need to put it to rest for an indefinite amount of time. I am not saying NEVER but I do not see it in the near future and certainly not in this configuration.
Rock Stars
MICHAEL WEIKATH (Helloween)
... We can easily create songs with an average speed of 260bpm or even more, but these are not going to be feasible to perform live everyday - it would be madness!
Rock Stars
KAI HANSEN (Gamma Ray)
...There is a certain amount of naivety that we include in our music while composing our albums and all these are responsible for the connection that you can find between our last effort and "Land Of The Free". Lyrically speaking, the songs are based on the concept of freedom as seen by various different perspectives.
Rock Stars
ROYE ALBRIGHTON
...What happened in 1990 was that someone in Bellaphon picked up the wrong master tapes (which were the quad ones) and transferred them to CD.
This had the effect of only 2 of the 4 channels being used, and hence only half the instruments could be heard. How they managed to do this is beyond me.
Rock Stars
RUSSELL MAEL
...Ron worked out we have to play 4,825,623 notes during the performances of all the albums...
10 Questions
ANDY FRASER
I had in fact asked both Paul and Simon what about doing a concert at that time (on the release of 'Free Forever'), recording it for DVD, and putting our differences aside for a day, just for the fans. Simon was into it, Paul wasn't. I doubt if another opportunity will present itself.