Classic Rock

As if he needs any introduction to the readers of Classic Rock! Alex Van Halen is one of the co-founders of Van Halen, and this issue we have an exclusive extract from his brand new autobiography Brothers (HarperCollins) from page 30. Alex says of th

Eddie Van Halen. Truly a man who changed the way we think of guitar playing. And yet, back in 1984, it was a song that was driven by an iconic keyboard riff that would go on to become Van Halen’s biggest single. It also had a fantasic EVH solo as wel

Editor Siân Llewellyn Now playing: The Cure, Songs Of A Lost World Art Editor Darrell Mayhew Winterfylleth, The Imperious Horizon Deputy Editor Polly Glass The Von Hertzen Brothers, In Murmuration Production Editor Paul Henderson Eric Clapton, Meanw

December 28, 1947 – September 18, 2024 Born in Holland as Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs, Dick Diamonde immigrated to Sydney at the age of four to become a co-founding bassist of The Easybeats, who, despite the brevity of their existence, rank

Iron Maiden say there will be no dynamic pricing on tickets to their 2025 Run For Your Lives tour dates. Furthermore, any tickets for their UK and Ireland dates which are resold will have prices capped at face value, preventing fans from facing exorb

As a co-founding member of The Sisters Of Mercy – together with Asinger Andrew Eldritch – guitarist Gary Marx was a key architect of the postpunk sound that would later be dubbed ‘goth’. And now he’s back with Green Ginger Jive, a stomping glam rock

Artificial intelligence has been used to create a ‘new’ album from Thin Lizzy. Acoustic Sessions offers unplugged reworkings of nine early songs, pairing original vocals from the late, great bassist Phil Lynott and drums by Brian Downey with brand ne

When Xavier Dphrepaulezz was 12 years old, he was thrown out of the family home by his tyrannical father, and tumbled through the California foster care system into a life of crime. Music threw him a lifeline, and having formed Fantastic Negrito in 2

Joan Armatrading made waves with her orchestral-backed rock-soul single Love And Affection in October 1976. It catapulted the reserved and enigmatic St Kitts-born, Birmingham-raised singer-songwriter to stardom, where she’s remained for five decades.

George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four envisioned a dystopian future where totalitarian governments ruled the world and the average person’s attempts to enjoy even the slightest personal pleasure were patrolled and punished by the Thought Police

Once 5150 was up and running, we started working all hours of the day and, of course, night. It was fun there! The whole vibe was relaxed, we didn’t run a clock. Most nights I’d stay there till three in the morning, and Donn and Ed would often keep g

The Shape Of History SELF-RELEASED James’ tenacious career trajectory since Transvision Vamp has hardly been stratospheric. This charming 10th LP succeeds because she plays to her actual strengths. Sympathetic production reveals theservicable 60s cha

That old wax magic works for final lineup ‘best of’ spread over eight 45s. At a time when vinyl is getting sweet revenge after decades of compact disc domination, it’s something of a marketing masterstroke creating stripped down 45s from Motörhead’s

Art rock icons’ explosive “tightly wound” punk-era debut with juicy extras. How many other bands can you think of that emerged so fully formed, so focused, so tightly wound, so ready to explode… and then went on to even greater heights? Not a note is

Do It Dog Style CAPTAIN OI If you’re finessing the perfect UK punk vinyl collection, this debut from the Wayne Barrett/Mike Rossi-fronted, Dolls-indebted, Roxy LP-featured, Wythenshawe savages has got to be a shoo-in. Where Have All The Boot Boys Gon

Sepultura were formed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1984 by Calavera brothers Max (guitar, vocals) and Igor (drums). The early 90s saw them became one of the world’s foremost extreme metal bands, and although the Cavaleras both departed – Max to form

Visionary Britpop architects, back in harness, shine on. There’s something deliciously clandestine about the Temple Of Arts And Music. Walk past its anonymous portal three times and a shadowy figure will beckon you in, where the noise will lead you t

‘Superlungs’ at 74: still plenty of puff. Terry Reid’s vocal style is still very much ‘iron fist in velvet glove’, delivering chest-bursting bars that lay claim to the ‘superlungs’ sobriquet he first earned some 55 years ago, edged with a touch more

Stoner icons find themselves green around the gills during their jade anniversary. Nobody sells cosmic weirdness like Dave Wyndorf. But even Monster Magnet’s Space Lord seems bewildered as to how his band have made it to the 35 year mark, much less i

Grooves, rictus grins and NWOBHM theatre with Aussie freakniks. As the lights go down, and the sonorous Pie Jesu Domine chant (fresh out of Monty Python’s Holy Grail) starts up, you know it’s either going to be the best, or the worst thing you’ve eve

Ex-Queensrÿche singer’s stopped in histracks by sound issues. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. “You’re gonna get everything tonight,” says Geoff Tate at the start of tonight’s show. “And I mean everything.” An hour later, technical gremlins are si

The filth, the fury and the fuck-ups; London’s heavy metal OGs roll on. “This is what it’s all about!” Three songs into Orange Goblin’s set, and the Sabbathian riff of Saruman’s Wish becomes a strangled squelch as guitarist Joe Hoare tangles with a b