Tom Petty and The
Heartbreakers will be getting their Mojo going, hopefully sometime this spring.
Mojo is the name of the group’s latest album, and fans have already had a chance to preview one of its tracks,
“Good Enough”, which has been streaming on the band’s website since February 24th . An actual release date for the album has not been given yet. Mojo is the band’s first album of original material in eight years since 2002’s
The Last DJ, although Tom Petty released a solo album a few years after–2006’s
Highway Companion.
The band will also
be following up with a tour starting May 6th in Raleigh, NC and finishing up in Sarasota
Springs, FL on August 27th, with several U.S. and Canadian dates in between. Fans
can buy tickets online through www.Livenation.com, and those that do so will be able to download the entire album
of Mojo after its release date.
Billboard magazine
just released their list of the Top 40 money makers for 2009, and not surprisingly, U2 topped that list.
U2 raked in more
that $108 million U.S. last year, most
of it from their 360 degree tour, which, by all indications, is likely to become the highest-grossing rock tour of all time.
The list was compiled
using numerous variables. In addition to touring revenues, money earned from
CD and digital sales, publishing royalties and all forms of streaming media were worked into the equation. U2 were followed in second place by Bruce Springsteen, who was reported to have earned $58 million U.S. last year, followed in third place by Madonna, with reported
earnings of $48 million. Rounding out the top 5 were Australian rockers AC/DC,
who earned $43 million dollars in the past year, putting them in fourth place, followed by Britney Spears, who earned $38
million, making her the fifth highest money maker for 2009.
Ray Davies is planning
on re-recording some classic Kinks tunes…and he’s recruiting an all-star cast of friends to help him out.
Davies has already
recorded tracks with Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Word has it that Davies
is also hoping to collaborate with The Killers, Lucinda Williams, as well as Metallica.
Part of the inspiration came from last year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts, where Davies shared the stage
with Metallica, performing renditions of “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night.” Metallica vocalist James Hetfield says that he and the band “got completely
schooled on early riff rock” by The Kinks, and also referred to Davies as “one of the original punks.”
According to the
website www.NJ.com, the album–which is yet untitled–is scheduled to be
released in late 2010.
Pete Townshend is
experiencing hearing problems again and says that if they continue, The Who will be calling it quits.
Townshend has been
suffering from a reoccurrence of tinnitus, which causes constant ringing in his ears.
Although there are several causes for tinnitus, the most common is repeated exposure to loud music.
Townshend recently
spoke with Rolling Stone magazine and said that if his hearing continues to be a problem, The Who will not be rescheduling
shows, but rather, he and Roger Daltrey would be “finished” for good as far as The Who is concerned.
The Who has already
had to cancel their spring tour and their appearances at the Coachella and New Orleans Jazz festivals. The band still has one concert remaining this year, which may or may not take place—a charity gig
at Royal Albert Hall in London, to benefit Daltrey’s
Teenage Cancer Trust.
The famous Abbey Road studios were reported to be up for sale last week,
but the owners are now saying that’s not the case.
According
the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, Terra
Firma, the company that owns Abbey Road’s parent
company, EMI, says they are in talks for a “revitalization” project in hopes of bringing new life to the studios. Terra Firma says they are looking for a third-party investor—not a buyer—to
help fuel more cash flow into the studio and to help cover its debt load.
The
company reported a loss of about $2.7 billion U.S.
for the year in March 2009.
When rumours had
started swirling that Abbey Road was up for sale,
it was reported that Paul McCartney and Andrew Lloyd Webber were among the potential suitors for the studios.
The company admitted
they rejected a bid in 2009 for about $49 million U.S.
from a potential buyer because they believe that “Abbey Road
should remain in EMI’s ownership.”
Cirque de Soleil
has had a great deal of success with its Beatles-based musical, Love. Now, the Montreal-based troupe is taking on the King of Rock & Roll with their latest musical presentation.
Viva Elvis debuted at Las Vegas’ Aria Resort
and Casino on February 19th. Creative director Armand Thomas just recently spoke
with CNN about the show, and described it as “a party” and “a euphoric trip to a timeless musical legend.” According to Thomas, the show uses Elvis’ music “as the foundation for
an acrobatic event.”
Many celebrities
were in attendance for the premiere. Elvis’ former wife Priscilla Beaulieu
Presley was there and approves of the production, but says she would like to see the show include more home movie footage
of The King during his “down time.”
Some of the other
celebrities in attendance included Gene Simmons of KISS, Andrew Dice Clay, Neil Patrick Harris, as well as Laurence Fishburne,
star of The Matrix and CSI, who called
it “a wonderful show.”
