Check the Jetboy Myspacefor dates

Meanwhile in other news, here is the set list for the first Cruefest show in West Palm Beach, Florida. Not too great a set in my opinion.

Kickstart My Heart
Wild Side
Shout at the Devil
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Mutherfucker of the Year
Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
Same Ol’ Situation
Primal Scream
Looks that Kill
Girls, Girls, Girls
Dr. Feelgood
Home Sweet Home

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Do you have the new Billy Idol greatest hits CD/DVD Idolize Yourself (EMI)? A career-spanning retrospective, all the best songs are here including my favorites "Rebel Yell," White Wedding" and "Don't Need A Gun."

Idolize Yourself also includes two new tracks "John Wayne" and "New Future Weapon." Both are pretty cool and definitely have that signature Steve Stevens sound. That's no surprise considering Mr. Stevens wrote the songs!

I'm giving away a copy of Idolize Yourself along with a litho of the album artwork created by Frank Shepard Fairey. 

Want the prize? Simply send me an email explaining why you think Billy Idol and/or Steve Stevens are Glam. Keep your message limited to 50 words, and write "Billy Idol" in the subject line. Send the email to allyson@bringbackglam.com. The contest ends tonight (July 3, 2008) at 11:59 p.m. E.S.T.

Here's Billy Idol and Steve Stevens recently performing "John Wayne."

Crue Fest Set

Last night, Motley Crue kicked off Crue Fest in West Palm Beach, Florida. Here's the set (which I'm sure will be the same at each tour stop):

Kickstart My Heart
Wild Side
Shout at the Devil
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Mutherfucker of the Year
Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
Same Ol' Situation
Primal Scream
Looks that Kill
Girls, Girls, Girls
Dr. Feelgood
Home Sweet Home

This isn't an ideal set, but it's pretty standard and not surprising in the least. The set is also painfully short, but that's what you get with festival shows. I guess I'll never hear "Danger" live. Sigh.

Sitting on the couch, watching some music videos I had a bit of an epiphany: I miss my youth.

Disclaimer: I am 28. I am not old. I am not young. I am stuck.

During this moment of heightened lucidity, I realized I miss my youth so much right now because the last six months have been the most creatively frustrating time of my entire life. The soundtrack to my epiphany? Def Leppard's Hysteria of course. Yeah, I listen to all sorts of music - I own way too many albums. I am blessed to earn enough money to purchase plenty of music to engage my soul, but every time I miss my youth, I go right back to Hysteria.

Put on Hysteria and I'm eight again.  

Why eight and why Hysteria? Simple: Def Leppard were the soundtrack to my life when I was that young. Sure, I was big into Poison, but when I want to feel young...it's Hysteria or bust.

I'm been feeling like sleep won't hold me anymore. It's like whatever I do...there's a nagging feeling that I should be doing more. That more is writing. That I should be writing all the time. All the  damn time.

Here's a complex emotion that words probably can't describe, but if you're a writer, an artist, a musician then you'll know what I mean: at points in your life your body starts to ache because you need to create. You must become your art. The rest of the world stops because you need to create. Only problem is, real life and human emotion are rarely in sync. Sadly, real life wins out.

Let me explain further. I was "listening" to satellite radio yesterday while driving to work. I had zero recollection of the trip or the songs on the dial. I was terrified when I sat down at my desk and realized that I couldn't remember stopping at lights or even walking from my car to the building. The entire commute I was in a completely other world, creating. There's a recurring theme that keeps running through my mind. This tells me I have a story inside me - perhaps a novel - that needs written. Lately, my mind has been consumed with this story. I find myself obsessing about it everywhere: at work, in the car, at the store. Now here's the rub: when I sit at my computer to write, I can't. I'm rendered impotent by the fear. I'm not sure what I'm afraid of exactly...but the fear is real, palpable and very painful.

So why do I miss my youth? There was no other time in my life when I so free creatively. From the ages of eight to 18, I wrote freely. Sure, I didn't have to worry about working 40+ hours a week, but I don't think that's the issue here. There's something deeper going on...and I can't quite place it and at the end of the day, I'm freaked out. 

So I listen to Hysteria and flip through music videos and remember being a kid. There are all sorts of songs that take me to a different time in my life, and no, they are not all Glam. I guess Hysteria is the permanent in the ever-changing soundtrack of my life.

I suppose all roads lead back to Glam, don't they? The majority of us love Glam because the music makes us feel young, full of life, excitable. Yep, I went there.

Are King's X Glam?

Last night I found myself sitting in my office, staring at the pink walls. You see, I was near zombie state I was so tired...instead of writing and doing a ton of work that needs tackled, I just sort of randomly listened to music and enjoyed sitting in my own private space.

I (naturally) listened to the new Motley Crue, random Def Leppard, Sammy Hagar's The Essential Red Collection and King's X Ear Candy. Then it dawned on me that I didn't know how to classify King's X. Of course that doesn't matter as I listen to all sorts of music across many genres, but I've often heard people refer to King's X as a Glam band...and I'm not so sure that's an accurate distinction.

iTunes defines King's X as a Metal act, and I think that is fair. No matter what the classification, it's pretty clear that King's X rock. The band are often compared to Faith No More and Living Colour but I actually prefer King's X. 

Please believe, King's X have been around for a long time, yo. We're talking at least as long as Motley Crue in at least some form. Of course, the band didn't really get going until 1985 in Houston and they've been going strong every since. Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill are a true power trio and now I am obsessed with this band.

Obsessed.

I literally listened to King's X - both on CD, iTunes and YouTube for three solid hours last night. I'm always fascinated by bands that share vocal duties, not to mention switch instruments on occasion. 

When I went poking around the band's official website , I was happy to discover that King's X (with Extreme) are playing a free show in Cincinnati August 10.  I know I have a scheduling conflict that day and I don't care. I'm going to this show!

Here's King's X performing the Jimi Hendrix tune "Manic Depression" at Woodstock '94. Back then MTV still covered major music events. Go figure.

Here's the clip supporting the song "Over My Head."

So, what are your thoughts on King's X? Are they Glam, Metal or a combination of the two - or something totally different? Whatever the case, I'd define their sound as definitely special and nearly impossible to replicate.

To say Baghdad is a depressed city is a gross understatement. For those of us who have never visited the war torn region, it's hard to envision just how bad living conditions are these days for the Iraqi people. Over the weekend I watched Heavy Metal in Baghdad, a documentary directed by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi.

The film makers follow the band Acrassicauda (Faisal Talal ((vocals)), Tony Aziz ((guitar)), Firas Al-Lateef ((bass)) and Marwan Riyak ((drums))). The name is Latin for a deadly insect, so that's pretty Metal I suppose. From the documentary, it's hard to say if Acrassicauda possess above average talent or if the quartet is just comprised of men with big dreams. At any rate, Heavy Metal in Baghdad gives the rest of the world a glimpse into the other side of war. At some level, I think we all know it's incredibly dangerous to live in Baghdad, but this film shows that just practicing the guitar can put a giant target on your back. So many parts of this documentary are utterly tragic, but the silver lining is these four men are absurdly committed to Metal - and so are their fans!

At one point in the film, all the members of  Acrassicauda flee Iraq for a bigger shot at making a career in music. While it's not clear if Acrassicauda will gain musical success -- as none of us are ever guaranteed success -- the film does give the four men an admirable level of exposure. If you haven't watched the film, I won't ruin the ending for you -- but let's just say I was a little surprised with the initial outcome.

Brass tacks? If you are a true Metal fan - regardless of where you stand on American involvement in Iraq - you need to see this movie. A true documentary, Heavy Metal in Baghdad paints the bigger picture of a humanitarian crisis bestowed on the Iraqi people. The soundtrack just happens to have wailing guitars and heavy drum beats.  

Like every band on the planet, Acrassicauda has a Myspace page. The film documents the band professionally recording three tracks, which serve as a demo. Click the link to hear those tracks.

You can see the movie trailer below:

I found myself at the local mall last night. That naturally meant a trip to F.Y.E -- the only music store inside the mall. I actually didn't look at any music. Instead, I spent a lot of time in the poster section and then I couldn't help wonder: do people even still buy posters?

As I was flipping through the poster stacks, I looked at some classic Aerosmith and Pink Floyd prints and also looked at new shots of Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Hinder, Slash, and Nickelback. Needless to say, the band choices were pretty grim, but there was a poster of the Def Leppard Hysteria cover art. 

When I was a freshman in college, I took some posters to decorate my dorm room. I had pretty great living conditions during college, save that freshman year. During that first year of school I landed in an all-girls dorm with no air conditioning and concrete block walls - and this was the most coveted underclassman dorm on campus! Anyway, I took along an Aerosmith poster to make myself feel more at home. My roommate naturally (giant sigh) hated Aerosmith but I insisted on the poster, much to her chagrin. Back then (and we're talking about literally 10 years ago at most) you could still buy rock posters at Wal-Mart and Kmart. Now it's pretty hard to find posters, save for the odd music shop and prices are fairly high.

The posters I browsed today cost upward of 20 bucks each, thus proving inflation hits everything! I remember looking at all the awesome poster options you could mail-order through those rock stores that bought advertisements in Metal Edge in the 80s and 90s.

In addition to the higher price, the modern posters seemed to lack...cool.  There was no imagination, but maybe that had to do with the band options? Still, I sort of wish I'd purchased  that Hysteria print. I think it would look good in my office.

Do you still buy and display posters?

Since festivals are all the rage these days...I was wondering: what if a festival promised non-stop music for, say, three or four days?

I'm not quite certain how many bands that would be, but we're talking about 24 hours of music. That means nite owls could enjoy some Metal at 4 a.m. and early birds can rock out at 8 a.m. I highly doubt both groups were ever intersect because, well, humans need sleep.

The prospect of paying for a ticket and enjoying live music at any moment of the day is quite intoxicating. Still, there would be lots of questions: if the music is non-stop, when do the headliners play? Who plays at 3 a.m.? 9 a.m.? How do you have enough staff to support such an event?

My guess is that headliners could still play around 11 p.m. and smaller or more obscure bands could play in the true dead of night.

Here are some bands I think could, ahem, "set the night on fire."

Here's Stars from Mars

Here's Pretty Boy Floyd

Here's W.A.S.P.

So what do you think of my band choices to play in the "dead of night?" More importantly, do you think a 24/7 festival is possible? I think it sounds both fun and downright exhausting. I await your comments.
Rock the Bayou?

You probably already know about Rocklahoma and South Texas Rock Fest (both in just 13 days!) but what about Rock the Bayou?

The inaugural Rock the Bayou fest is slated for Labor Day weekend of this year in Houston, Texas. So far, some Internet searches reveal Sammy Hagar and Warrant are confirmed for the event. A little more sleuthing leads me to believe that Queensryche, Ratt, Skid Row, Y&T, Firehouse, Gilby Clarke, Jetboy, Dokken, Great White, Enuff Znuff, Bulletboys w/ Steve Adler, Britny Fox, Little Ceasar, Alice Cooper,  Yngwie Malmsteen, Slaughter, Pretty Boy Floyd, Lizzy Borden, Black N Blue, Broken Teeth, Bret Michaels, Twisted Sister, Dangerous Toys, Lynch Mob, Tora Tora and more.

Random postings on ticket broker sites seem to point that tickets will go on-sale July 5th. To me, that is incredibly risky because festival organizers are only giving patrons a little over six weeks to buy. This could also mean the line-up is incredibly strong and ticket prices very reasonable.

The official website is Rock the Bayou and that domain is registered to the president of Online Tickets. Also visit the official Myspace page.  

I'm really excited about this festival - even without an "official" lineup. I think fate intervened and kept me from booking another vacation (Cabo and Jamaica were the front runners) but now I have my heart set on Houston. Glam goodness I love festivals.

The other day I asked about your band tattoos. Well, BBG! reader Rich went the extra mile and sent me a photo of his Poison tat. As you can tell, this is the cover of the greatest hits album.

My girl Vicky just sent me her very cool Motley Crue tattoo. Check it out!

If you'd like to share your band tattoo photos, I'd be happy to post them here.  

I'll be the first to admit I do some really quirky things in the name of Glam. I'm sure some find these "quirks" endearing while others can't be bothered with my insanity.

A list of my biggest (and most recent) Glam quirks:

01. I had my toenails painted Poison green. It's hard to tell by the adjacent photo, but please believe, the green is definitely of the Poison variety. I'm pretty sure even the nail salon owners were impressed (amused?) by my color choice. Shock of shocks, the bottle of polish was completely full as if I was the first person to ever want Poison green toes...

02. Speaking of Poison green...I forced my husband to paint our newly renovated basement this color. Ok, so I cut the color with a tamer lime and used the Poison green as an accent, but still: I have a Poison green bar. In my basement. So Glam.

03. I spent 45 minutes the other day looking at vanity plates for my car. Glam was taken (damnit!) but I'm pretty sure I can come up with a suitable variation for my little car. It's the time of year when I have to renew a tag *and* get a new license, so I might as well get a vanity plate while I'm enjoying conversation with the pleasant people at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

04. My husband just built me a writer's office. When it came time to paint, he asked what I wanted and I said "Bring Back Glam!" pink. Guess what? That's the exact color I've got. Like Poison, I believe in sticking with your brand and boy am I dedicated to pink.

05. I wear rhinestone skull earrings to work. This tends to (still) confuse quite a lot of people. From far away it appears I'm wearing boring old earrings. A closer look reveals an angry skull and crossbones. The earrings say "Yeah, buddy in cubicle 4356, I'm looking at you and I don't mess around." On days when subtly alludes me I wear giant hoop skull earrings and some sort of rhinestone top.

06. I quote random Glam lyrics in normal work conversation. This humors me to no end. Naturally no one usually understands the joke, but that's alright. I am a fan of cheap entertainment and I'm easily amused. "No boss, the other team didn't get that report done and we're not gonna take it!" I giggle to myself and all is right with the world.

07. I try to play songs way out of my league on my bass because damnit, I'm a Glam musician! The practice sessions usually end with me completely frustrated and then returning to the homework assigned by my bass teacher. Is it so wrong that I want to play a little Megadeth at the end of a long day? The really quirky part is that I have a tendency to pick the hardest songs of a band's catalog to learn. I get frustrated, my husband gets frustrated, chaos ensues and I never learn the damn song. The next morning, I wake up and think "Today I'll play 'Primal Scream' on the first try."

08. Quirky is my middle name when it comes to sweets. You see, I am a junk food lover. Pass, I'm an addict. I'll admit it. My name is Allyson and I am addicted to junk food. Often, when I'm standing in front of the long freezers at the grocery, I stare blankly at the ice cream cartons and think "these flavors should have Glammer names." Like Quiet Nut Riot Sundae or Lynam Licorice or Stairway to Rocky Road Heaven. You get the idea.

09. I make up false words and phrases in the name of Glam. I did it above with "Glammer." Or at least I think I did. As in, which of these bands is Glammer? Or, "Glam gracious" or "Glam goodness."

10. At random times of the day I'll think "I wonder what David Coverdale is doing right now."

Yeah. I'm certifiable. Please tell me you also do quirky things in the name of Glam.  

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Features a track by track preview of Chinese Democracy by Guns n Roses.

Rolling Stones discussion.
Music by Zeke, The Donnas, The Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper
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Mel Galley
March 8, 1948 – July 1, 2008

Mel Galley, guitarist of Trapeze and Whitesnake, has lost his battle with cancer of the oesophagus. The Midlands-born musician was a member of Finders Seekers with bassist Glenn Hughes, and together they co-founded Trapeze in 1969. He had just turned 60 years old - the photo with Glenn Hughes (above) was taken at his 60th birthday party.
“Mel was my hero growing up as a kid in Cannock,” Hughes tells Classic Rock. “He was four years older than me and along with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton was one of my guitar gods. He taught me music, and more importantly, how to live. After Cream, Trapeze were the greatest English rock trio.”
When Hughes reluctantly accepted an offer to join Deep Purple, a far bigger band, in 1973, Trapeze continued with Pete Goalby (later of Uriah Heep) on vocals. Along with brother Tom, Galley helped to guide the Phenomena project, which featured the likes of Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Budgie’s John Thomas and current Deep Purple keyboard player Don Airey, before accepting an offer from David Coverdale to join Whitesnake. Though he toured with the band and played on 1984’s Slide It In album, a freak arm injury seemed to have curtailed Galley’s career. However, with the help of a specially developed spring and wire device that was fitted to his hand, affectionately called ‘The Claw’, he was able to bypass the problematic nerve endings.
In 1986 he formed MGM with fellow ex-Whitesnake alumni Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray, then worked on another Phenomena record.
However, after a 1991 Trapeze reunion that featured Hughes and drummer Dave Holland, by then a star in his own right with Judas Priest, plus Geoffrey Downes of Asia on keyboards, Galley elected to retire from performing.
After a well-publicised fracas with a stalker – curtailed when Galley confronted the individual on the latter’s doorstep – he had just begun playing music again when his illness was diagnosed.
In February, Galley announced that he was dying of cancer. Bravely, instead of wallowing in self-pity he made the most of the time he had left. “I have been very lucky,” he wrote at his MySpace site. “I have seen some great bands, played with many great musicians and enjoyed some tremendous experiences. I am thankful that I can say a proper goodbye to all the friends I have made, who are now rallying round me.”
Even as his condition worsened, Galley continued to post encouraging, amusing updates. When he was no longer able to go to the pub, “now the pub [comes] to me,” he joked. “Friends visit me each day, I have drugs in me 24/7, and I have a plentiful supply of gin and tonic by my bedside. I even have my own ice machine! In fact it’s just like my Whitesnake days.”
“What grace and dignity indeed, marvels Glenn Hughes.
During Whitesnake’s recently completed European tour, David Coverdale dedicated Love Ain’t No Stranger, a song he co-wrote with Mel for the Slide It In album, to Galley on a nightly basis.
“Melville, your legacy is in safe hands with me,” sums up Hughes, Galley’s childhood friend, adding: “I’ll see you in the Garden one day, and truly recognise you as my brother...”

Classic Rock sends its condolences to family and friends.

OK, now, we know how much you lovely chaps and chapesses enjoy lists and debates and stuff. So here's something for you to get your teeth into.

Over the last year or so we've been trying to ascertain what the finest rock songs of all time are. Needless to say this has involved screaming, shouting and nearly daily fistfights in the normally mellow CR HQ.

Here's the thing, we're trying to avoid a list that reads like Jeremy Clarkson's Best Dad Rock Album In The World… Ever! Or something that reads like the following link.

So, we've been asking rock stars/musicians/songwriters/colleagues to tell us what they consider the best rock songs ever written and why, giving them the following premise:

"If you had to recommend five rock songs to a budding songwriter as brilliant rock tracks to hear, which ones would you choose and why?", focussing upon the songs themselves and the songwriting craft involved. The "why" is the really important thing here. Is it the lyrics? The melody? *Why* is it so good? Etc etc. Eg, Stairway might be Zep's most famous song, but it could be that The Rain Song is actually a *better* song. Now's your chance to say so.

We'd like your Top 5 list of what you consider the greatest ROCK songs ever written - and the why if you feel so inclined. We know it's a tough one, but we're after The Connoisseur's Choice.

You're all connoisseurs of rock, tell us what you think in comments below.

Fan of the Floyd? If so, you may wanna make a pilgrimage to Cambridge later this year.

'The City Wakes' is the first official tribute to Syd Barrett.

Hosted in his hometown of Cambridge, it will "incorporate a series of multi-faceted events. Highlights will include an exhibition of Syd Barrett paintings including many never seen before, and memorabilia. Gigs featuring new interpretations of the man's music, a guided tour of Barrett and Pink Floyd-related sites in Cambridge, music workshops, a re-creation of a 60s style 'happening' and desginer Storm Thorgerson's first ever solo exhibition in Cambridge. For further info, go to www.thecitywakes.org.uk.

Fish is to hit the road in November. He plays the following dates:

Runcorn Brindley Theatre - November 11
South Shields Customs House - November 12
Penzance Acorn Arts Centre - November 14
Frome Cheese & Grain - November 15
London Shepherds Bush Empire - November 16
Bolton Albert Halls - November 18
Pontadarwe Arts Centre - November 19
Norwich Waterfont - November 20
Glasgow Academy - November 22
York Opera House - November 23
Telford Oakengates Theatre - November 25
Buxton Opera House - November 26

While space-rockers Hawkwind will be out and about in December:

Glasgow Academy - December 4
Newcastle Academy - December 5
Prestatyn Hard Rock Hell Festival - December 6
Cardiff The Point - December 7
Exeter University - December 8
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall - December 10
Nottingham Rock City - December 11
Manchester Academy - December 12
Falmouth Princes Pavilions - December 13
Frome Cheese & Grain - December 14
Southampton The Brook - December 15
London Astoria - December 16

But if blues is more your thing, you may wish to go see Walter Trout & The Radicals in October:

Glasgow The Ferry - October 3
Newcastle Academy - October 4
Kendall Brewery Arts Centre - October 5
Crewe M Club - October 6
Cardiff The Point - October 7
Sheffield Boardwalk - October 8
Holmfirth Picturedrome - October 9
Blackburn St George’s Hall - October 10
Frome Cheese & Grain - October 11
Wavendon The Stables - October 13
Derby Assembly Rooms - October 14
Southampton The Brook - October 15
Bilston Robin 2 - October 16
London Shepherds Bush Empire - October 17

Summat for everyone, see!

... we thought you'd want to know. Especially that Jacko fella.

THE VERVE OFFER FREE DOWNLOAD
The Verve, who are set to release new album 'Forth' on 18 Aug, have released a free track via their website. 'Mover', which does not appear on the new LP, can be downloaded from www.vervedownload.com..

But be quick, Jacko me old son, because it's only going to be there for a few days.

Manager Paul McGuinness says that U2 will not be following in Radiohead’s wake and allowing fans to download their new album for nothing. “We will obviously work with whatever technology is available,” he says, “but we still sell a lot of actual CDs.”

Still basking in the glow of their latest gigs, The Sex Pistols are considering a return to the studio. “There could be a new record. That would be nice,” comments singer John Lydon. “But I won’t do anything in a patronising way.”

Resurrected Bristol thrashers Onslaught have replaced guitarist Alan Jordan with an apparently “awesome new shredder” called Andy Rosser-Davies.

The Wrecking Crew, a group of Californian session musicians assembled by producer Phil Spector during the 60s, have been inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk. Their work can be heard on records by The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Sonny & Cher, The Monkees and many more.

GMT are writing material for their second album, to be called Evil Twin. In the meantime, they have released the Punko Rocco EP , a three-song collection that’s downloadable from iTunes.

Twisted Sister’s controversial festive album, A Twisted Christmas, is said to be making its way to Broadway in New York City in December.

The Verve’s much anticipated reunion album, as yet untitled, is due on August 19. Expect a single, Love Is Noise, in advance.

Brian ‘Head’ Welch, the guitarist that quit Korn after a sudden religious conversion, unveils his debut solo album on September 9. Titled Save Me From Myself, it’s due through the Driven Music Group.

US new wave loonies Devo are suing the McDonald’s after a promotional drive from hamburger chain gave away toys that allegedly resembled the band.

Original AC/DC singer Dave Evans has a new album called Judgement Day, his first since Sinner back in 2003.

This is not a joke… ex-Deep Purple/Rainbow/Black Sabbath alumni Joe Lynn Turner, Craig Goldy, Tony Carey and Bobby Rondinelli have formed a new band called – wait for it, folks – Purple Rainbow. Says Carey: “We’re staging a return to authentic music that comes from the heart and soul.”

Tommy Lee believes that giving up meat helped him to woo back his vegetarian ex-wife Pamela Anderson. Speaking of his latest return to the marital home, the Mötley Crüe drummer says: “We've only given it a try 800 times – 801, here we go.” Lee, 45, and Anderson, 40, have two sons – Brandon, 12, and Dylan, 10.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood makes a guest appearance on a track on Starsailor’s forthcoming fourth album, All The Plans. Meanwhile, the Stones – free agents after leaving EMI – are denying reports that they have signed a record contract with Live Nation.

Reunited veterans Curved Air, with vocalist Sonja Kristina among three original members, have released a new album called Reborn via their website. A tour is being lined up for October/November.

Dig Out Your Soul, the seventh album from Oasis, will be released through the band’s own label Big Brother on October 6, preceded by a single called The Shock Of The Lightning.

Voivod have returned to the stage for the first time since the 2005 death of guitarist Denis ‘Piggy’ d’Amour. With Jean-Yves ‘Blacky’ Theriault returning to the Long-running Canadians after an absence of 17 years (deputising for Jason Newsted), they played the Heavy MTL festival in Montreal with Dan Mongrain from Mongrain on guitar.

An unreleased Rose Tattoo album seems set for exhumation. Having lain in the vaults for 28 years after being rejected by the band’s label, it features Lobby Loyde and Billy Thorpe, now both deceased.

David Bowie has quashed rumours that he will appear alongside Madonna, Snoop Dogg and Mia Farrow in Maltazard, a new children’s’ book-themed movie that is being hailed as “the next Harry Potter”.

Poison are suing their record label for unpaid royalties. They claim that Capital still owes them $25,000 (approximately £13,000) over a deal for their 2006 greatest hits collection, The Best Of Poison: 20 Years Of Rock.

Well, on video at least.

We reckon Lemmy could have a career in the movies. What do you think?

The digital single of Running Wild is out now, and Airbourne have also announced a big UK tour for November.

Sat 1st Nov – Cardiff University
Sun 2nd Nov – Bristol Academy
Wed 5th Nov – Birmingham Academy
Thu 6th Nov – Sheffield Octagon
Fri 7th Nov – Liverpool Academy
Sat 8th Nov – Manchester Academy
Mon 10th Nov – Dublin Vicar Street
Tue 11th Nov – Belfast Limelight
Thu 13th Nov – Inverness Ironworks
Fri 14th Nov – Dundee Fat Sams
Sat 15th Nov – Glasgow Barrowlands
Mon 17th Nov – Newcastle Academy
Tue 18th Nov – Leeds Metropolitan University
Wed 19th Nov – Stoke Victoria Hall
Thu 20th Nov – Nottingham Rock City
Sat 22nd Nov – Oxford Academy
Sun 23rd Nov – Norwich UEA
Mon 24th Nov – Cambridge Junction
Wed 26th Nov – Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
Thu 27th Nov – London Astoria

See ya down the front!

Velvet Revolver are busy auditioning potential new singers by email. Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington has shot down rumours that he is among the frontrunners for the job. Guitarist Slash is also using downtime to work on his debut solo album, and has also been talking to ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach for an unrelated project (see yuesterday's Clog story for full details).

Heaven And Hell have begun recording their debut album for release via Rhino Records in early 2009. Starting in August, they tour America alongside Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament.

Ace Frehley and Ramones bassist CJ Ramone recently joined Pearl Jam onstage during the second of two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Frehley guitar played on the Kiss standard Black Diamond, which was sung drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist Mike McCready, while Ramone guested on his ex-band's I Believe in Miracles.

Long-lost recordings of a vintage Thin Lizzy gig are due to surface through MLP on September 8. Fully authorised by the band, UK Tour 75 contains 15 songs and was recorded at Derby College on 21st November 1975.

New York Dolls singer David Johansen says that the band will most likely record a new studio album later this year.

Van Halen’s recently-wrapped North America tour was the highest grossing in the group’s history. Over the course of 74 arena shows, nearly a million fans saw the return of vocalist David Lee Roth after 23 years away.

Newly out of a stint in rehab, where it’s claimed he was recovering from a foot injury, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was recently spotted enjoying a Boston Celtics basketball game.

Girlschool’s upcoming 30th anniversary album is set to feature a plethora of special guests, including Heaven And Hell’s Tony Iommi and Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy and Phil Campbell from Motörhead, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke from Fastway and a couple of members of Twisted Sister.

Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid issues a new album on August 29. Available through Rockville Music/Soulfood, The Common Thread features eight guest vocalists, including John Waite, Chris Thompson (of Manfred Mann fame), Terry Reid and Southside Johnny.

The University of Surrey proudly conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of the University to Jimmy Page (pictured) for services to the music industry.

The award was made on Friday, June 20 at Guildford Cathedral.

Jimmy generously signed a guitar (as you can see above) which will be given away in a competition at the upcoming GuilFest festival. Surrey’s involvement with GuilFest this year celebrates its innovative music programmes that reflect the diversity of contemporary musical practice. Huzzah!

The Clog is indebted (we think) to the Sleaze Roxx website for the following story:

FNC anchor Greta Van Susteren interviewed the original members of Motley Crue last night, just hours before their first CD release in 10 years.

The Crue were in good spirits, which led to some highlights (or, rather, lowlights).

While Nikki Sixx answered a question, bandmate Tommy Lee mouthed, "That's a really stupid question."

Then, at end of the interview, Lee asked, "Greta, what colour panties are you wearing?" to groans from the other members of the band.

Van Susteren ended the interview after the question from Lee, and it was edited out of future re-broadcasts and the Foxnews.com video.

Van Susteren tells TVNewser, "I confess to not having given it much thought, but, upon reflection today after several inquiries including yours, there is now one thing: I never thought I would feel sorry for Pamela Anderson."

Dozens of viewers took to Van Susteren's blog, Gretawire, to give their take on the "disgusting" comment.

"It's clear that Tommy Lee's remaining brain cells must be on life-support," one commenter writes, while another adds, "You handled it well."

You can watch the uncensored video, complete with Lee's tasteful quip, on the Sleaze Roxx website here.

Glenn Hughes is looking for a girlfriend. Not any old girlfriend, mind you. His VERY FIRST girlfriend.

The ex-Deep Purple bassist/vocalist writes:

"As you may know I'm writing my autobiography. I'm currently trying to locate my first girlfriend so she can be interviewed.

"Her name is Margaret Williams (maiden name), originally from Cannock, England, and she used to attend the same school as me, Calving Hill. She might possibly be living in Birmingham, England, today.

"If anyone knows of her whereabouts and has contact details, I would love to catch up with her for an interview for the book.

"Please contact me via the webmaster@glennhughes.com email address."

Are you out there, Margaret? Let the Clog know if you're reading this and decide to meet up with Glenn for the aforementioned, erm… 'interview'!

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has revealed to RollingStone.com that he nearly got former Guns N' Roses bandmates Axl Rose and Slash back together, to rock out with Sly Stone:

"I actually talked on the phone to Sly Stone because I always wanted to do obscure covers of Sly Stone songs," Bach said.

"I wanted to do them in the style of Back In The Saddle' from [Bach's new solo album] Angel Down. I had a whole session ready to go.

"Sly said: 'I'd love Axl and Slash to come play on this.' I texted Axl and said: 'Would you be interested in singing with Sly Stone on some music?' He goes: 'Yeah. If this is a real album that Sly's doing, I will come down there and sing with you guys.'

"I was footing the bill for this session on my own. I had everyone ready to go. [Slash apparently agreed to help out with the project, too.]

"At the very last minute my manager calls Sly and says: 'What's Sly going to need?' Sly wanted me to buy him a dog. He gave me this information on a specific kennel in northern California in Napa Valley and a specific breed for one puppy that he wanted me to buy for him for $8,500. That was the straw that broke the camel's back on the session."

In other news, Bach says Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash has contacted him "out of the blue" for a top-secret job, but not as the replacement for the group's fired frontman Scott Weiland.

Bach said the Slash project was "mind-blowing," but that he had been sworn to secrecy and nothing was happening right now.

Apparently Josh Homme called someone 'a faggot' – his letter of 'apology' is pretty good.

"I never have been nor intend to be politically correct," Homme fulminates. "That's your cross to bear. To me, that PC world would suck more shit than the porta-potty truck at Glastonbury."

Our only questions are: What the hell is the QOTSA man doing shopping at PC World, anyway? Doesn't he know that you can get Dell computers much cheaper by shopping direct and cutting out the middle-man?

Other than that, you can read the rest of Homme's endearingly bonkers rant here.

The FBI took a break from eating donuts and doing Geroge Bush's gardening to go after a blogger who leaked some songs from the allegedly forthcoming Guns N' Roses album.

Rolling Stone has the story:

Last week, the Internet was rocked when California blogger Kevin Skwerl posted nine newly leaked Chinese Democracy tracks, including three previously unheard songs allegedly from Guns n' Roses long-awaited album.

Skwerl — who used to work in the distribution department of Universal Music and is now a Web designer — runs the blog Antiquiet, and says he received the tracks from "an anonymous online source."

Yesterday Skwerl was surprised to find himself face to face with two FBI agents who paid a visit to his day job.

"It was kind of an ambush," Skwerl tells Rolling Stone. "When I came back from lunch they were waiting in the lobby for me. It's a little creepy they know where I work."

Two young FBI officers, who Skwerl describes as "Mulder and Scully types," questioned him for 15 minutes about where he got the tracks and made plans to visit his house at 7:00 a.m. this morning.

Read more here.

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A live soundseeing tour of the 2008 Masturbate-a-thon
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Mel Galley
March 8, 1948 – July 1, 2008

Mel Galley, guitarist of Trapeze and Whitesnake, has lost his battle with cancer of the oesophagus. The Midlands-born musician was a member of Finders Seekers with bassist Glenn Hughes, and together they co-founded Trapeze in 1969. He had just turned 60 years old - the photo with Glenn Hughes (above) was taken at his 60th birthday party.
“Mel