A roundup of the latest news in Hard Rock including updates on Dee Snider joining Rocktopia and the ultimate 80’s rock party, Sammy Hagar to Headline Fifth Annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure Benefit, Def Leppard To Release First of Career-Spanning 4 Volume Box Set and TNT To Release New Studio Album ‘XIII’.
Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider will return to Broadway April 9-15 when he joins the cast of Rocktopia as a special guest artist.
Snider made his Broadway debut in 2010 in Rock of Ages. His one week special appearance in Rocktopia comes following the April 8 departure of Train’s Pat Monahan and prior to the April 23 arrival of Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander.
An explosive concert event that fuses the most iconic 20th-century rock with world-renowned classical masterpieces, Rocktopia features the works of musical innovators across centuries — including JOURNEY, Mozart, QUEEN, Beethoven, AEROSMITH, Handel, LED ZEPPELIN, Tchaikovsky, U2, HEART, Puccini, THE WHO and more — performed by an elite lineup of vocalists, a five-piece rock band, a thirty-person choir, and a twenty-piece orchestra.
Rocktopia is “inspired by the idea that if Beethoven or Mozart were alive today, they would be modern-day rock stars.”
In other news, Dee Snider will be the host for this year’s event, with Kenny Loggins and Sheila E also among the headlining performers announced for the 2019 voyage of The 80s Cruise. This will be the fourth sailing of the cruise, which charters an entire cruise ship for a week of concerts, meet-and-greets, Q&As and other 80s related entertainment.
Other performers include Berlin, OMD, The Fixx, The English Beat, Grandmaster Flash, Cutting Crew, Club Nouveau and comedian Alonzo Bodden. Tiffany and actress Claudia Wells from Back to the Future will be special event hosts this year along with several original MTV veejays.
Visit The 80s Cruise’s official website for booking information.
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Sammy Hagar will headline this year’s edition of the Acoustic-4-a-Cure benefit concert in San Francisco, Calif. this May, and he’s bringing some friends along. In addition to all the members of his band Chickenfoot, the ex-Van Halen and Montrose frontman will be co-headlining with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and joined by Eddie Money and REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin. The fifth annual benefit, taking place May 15 at The Fillmore, will also serve as a celebration of the 75th birthday of blues legend Taj Mahal.
“I was a fan of Taj Mahal long before I had a record deal in Montrose 1973,” Hagar says in a statement. “He’s become a dear friend over the years and without a doubt, is one of the few living blues legends left on this planet!!! Having Bob Weir, being on the same page, understanding how important and how much fun this will be much less with a bunch of great artists, for a good cause!!!! It doesn’t get any better than this annual event.”
While not specifically listed on the bill, don’t be surprised to see Chickenfoot knock out some tunes, as all the members will be in attendance; Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, bassist Michael Anthony and guitarist Joe Satriani.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, March 30 at 10:00am PDT via LiveNation.com. They will not be available at The Fillmore box office, charge by phone or outlets. Tickets will be $150 each for a general admission ticket which this year also include a commemorative poster.
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Def Leppard have announced a career-spanning box set series, with the first of four packages to be launched on June 1. Volume One contains the British band’s first four studio albums — On Through the Night (1980), High ’n’ Dry (1981), Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987) — to be presented in eight-LP and seven-CD editions.
Also included are early recordings, B-sides and the concert album Live at the LA Forum 1983, which was previously available only in a deluxe version of Pyromania.
The set is presented in a brand new sleeve, complete with a hardback book, a replica of the band’s self-titled 1979 EP and written introductions by singer Joe Elliott – who curated the collection – guitarist Phil Collen, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen.
“Volume One is an extraordinary early chronicle of a band whose global impact only continues to grow,” says a press release announcing the series. “Def Leppard have a cumulative sales tally of over 100 million albums worldwide, not to mention putting on consistently sold-out world tours. Def Leppard recently authorized their entire recorded catalog for access on streaming and download platforms, a move that resulted in a nearly 400 percent surge in catalog sales on the first day alone, as well as appearances in the iTunes Top 10 charts in over 30 countries worldwide.”
Looking back on the first box set, which contains everything the band recorded in the ‘80s, Elliott said, “The way we did our harmonies was based on the multitracking abilities of a band like Queen, but we took what they did to the next level. Queen maybe tripled or quadrupled their backing vocals – but we did it like 20 times! We wanted it to sound like the quality of Queen but have the size of Slade. The way we did it gave us a unique sound. And that’s the whole point of an album, really – capturing a band’s unique dynamics.”
“The American bands had beautiful vocals, with all those wonderful harmonies,” Collen added. “But we added a bit of a punk ethos in there with ours, where it became a bit more charming and anthemic with screaming and shouting. And that was a very British thing, I think, that made us different from a lot of the American bands.”
Def Leppard’s Volume One is now available for pre-order on vinyl and CD; details on the next three sets will be revealed later. The band tours the U.S. with Journey this summer.
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Norwegian rockers TNT will release their new album, XIII, on June 8th. Complete details and a first single will be revealed soon. Check out the album artwork and tracklisting below:
TNT’s new vocalist, Baol Bardot Bulsara, made his live debut with the band on November 22nd in Oslo, Norway where TNT opened up for the Scorpions.
XIII tracklisting:
“We’re Gonna Make It”
“Not Feeling Anything”
“Fair Warning”
“It’s Electric”
“Where You Belong”
“Can’t Breathe Anymore”
“Get Ready For Some Hard Rock”
“People, Come Together”
“Tears In My Eyes”
“17th Of May”
“Catch A Wave”
“Sunshine”
