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Sam Fender has extended his 2025 U.K. summer tour with the addition of three new dates. The announcement arrives ahead of the North Shields songwriter’s third LP People Watching, due next Friday (Feb. 21) via Polydor. The record marks Fender’s first full-length release since 2021’s Mercury Prize-nominated Seventeen Going Under. The first of the new […]
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher has made his stance on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame crystal clear following the band’s latest nomination, calling the institution “for wankers” in a blunt social media post.
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The Britpop icon reacted to the news after Oasis was named among the 2025 nominees, joining a list that includes New Order, Cyndi Lauper, The White Stripes, Mariah Carey, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Outkast, Maná and the late Joe Cocker.
“RNR hall of fame is for WANKERS,” Gallagher posted on X under a flyer of the list of nominees on Feb. 12. He didn’t hold back when responding to a fan who asked what he’d do if Oasis were inducted, cheekily replying, “Obv go and say it’s the best thing EVER.”
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This isn’t the first time Gallagher has taken aim at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When Oasis was nominated last year, he dismissed it entirely, writing, “F*** the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS LG.” He also told fans not to “waste your time” voting, calling the whole process “a load of bollox.”
Gallagher doubled down in a 2024 interview, scoffing at the Hall of Fame’s inclusions. “As much as I love Mariah Carey and all that, I want to say: do me a favour and f*** off,” he told The Sunday Times. “It’s like putting me in the rap hall of fame, and I don’t want to be part of anything that mentally disturbed. Besides, I’ve done more for rock n’ roll than half of them clowns on that board.”
Like The White Stripes, Oasis seemed like a strong contender upon its first nomination in 2024 but didn’t make the cut. This time, their odds look better after announcing their highly anticipated reunion tour, which sparked near-Taylor/Beyoncé-level demand.
With the possibility of their first new music in over 15 years, Oasis stands out as one of the most likely inductees in the 2025 class—if Gallagher is willing to accept the honor.
Gallagher also recently found himself at the center of controversy surrounding Oasis’ reunion shows after Ticketmaster’s decision to cancel thousands of resold tickets.
On Monday (Feb. 10), Billboard reported that fans had indeed begun to see their tickets being cancelled, with Ticketmaster getting in touch with some ticket holders to inform them that their tickets have been refunded. Ticketmaster’s message to these ticket holders claimed that “it has been identified that bots were used to make this purchase,” meaning they “violate the tour’s terms and conditions.”
With some fans venting their anger on social media, one X user named Karen Kelly reached out to Gallagher, asking “Liam what do you think of the ticket situation? Thinking fans are bots and getting their money returned?”
The rocker was less than sympathetic when asked about the situation, writing, “I don’t make the rules. We’re trying to do the right thing. It is what it is, I’m the singer. Get off my case.”
Oasis’ Rock Hall nomination comes as anticipation builds for their reunion tour, which marks the first time Liam and Noel Gallagher will share a stage in over a decade.
Australian rock veterans INXS are taking a look back in time, celebrating 40 years of their international breakthrough record, Listen Like Thieves.
Originally released in October 1985, Listen Like Thieves was the Sydney sextet’s fifth album, and their first to make a sizable impact on a global scale. Their second consecutive chart-topper in their homeland, it would be their first to chart in markets such as the U.K. and Switzerland, and their highest peak to date in the U.S., with the record reaching No. 11 on the Billboard 200.
It also boasted a number of successful singles, including its title track, “Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)”, “This Time”, and “What You Need”. The latter was the record’s most successful, peaking at No. 2 in Australia and No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
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At the time of the record’s release, the band were already a success story in Australia thanks to their unique sound and relentless touring schedule, with Listen Like Thieves aiming to translate those aspects to the listener’s turntable. “We’ve done the album like a live show and what is there is there,” frontman Michael Hutchence told Rolling Stone in 1985. “We want to present this record as a band – the idea of six people playing together and using traditional sounds.”
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Ahead of the record’s 40th anniversary, the band’s surviving members have announced a new deluxe edition of the seminal album. Arriving on May 9, the 3CD/LP collection features a new remix of the album with Chris Thompson’s original production being overhauled by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks. It also boasts a number of unreleased outtakes and demos; a rare BBC Recording, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1986; and a new interview with the band by writer Paul Sexton. A 2CD edition pairs the new mix with a selection of B-sides, remixes and live recordings, while a single LP version contains the 2025 mix alone.
“Chris Thomas was one of the most talented and exciting producers we ever had the privilege to work with,” recalled keyboardist and guitarist Andrew Farriss. “From the moment we met, there was no doubt he would bring a new dynamic to our music, his drive and determination helped Michael and I deliver a smash hit in ‘What You Need’. 40 years on, Giles and Paul captured the original raw energy we felt when we first recorded the album and created a sonic depth to give the record an entirely new dimension that we couldn’t be prouder of.”
The BBC’s live recording of INXS’ June 1986 appearance at London’s Royal Albert Hall is also of note, with the band’s audience that evening comprising a number of notable artists such as Mick Jagger, The Cult, and the Psychedelic Furs. Described as a “poignant night” for the band, it wasn’t their first visit to the U.K., but arguably the turning point in their relationship with the region. Almost five years later to the day, INXS would headline London’s Wembley Stadium and perform before a sold-out crowd of 72,000.
INXS’ biggest commercial success would come two years after the release of Listen Like Thieves, with 1987’s Kick turning them into megastars. The album would top the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and give them a career-best of No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
Though the band would initially split following the untimely passing of Hutchence in 1997, a revolving door of vocalists would precede their eventual permanent retirement in 2012. Despite this, the band are consistently one of the best-selling Australian bands to this day, with the Australian Recording Industry Association’s end-of-year charts for 2024 seeing the band’s 2011 collection The Very Best listed at No. 81 on the album charts – one of only three local records to make the cut.
About four months ago, Billy Idol was in Cleveland to sing “No More Tears” as part of Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Asked backstage about Osbourne’s comment that Idol himself should be inducted, he noted that, “It was really lovely of him to say so. It would be really incredible.”
Now it may indeed be Idol’s turn.
The man born William Broad in England, made famous as part of Generation X and then a solo career that’s notched hits such as “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face” and “Dancing With Myself,” is one of eight first-timers out of 14 nominees on this year’s Rock Hall ballot, which was announced Wednesday morning (Feb. 12). Public voting is underway at vote.rockhall.com, and the inductees are expected to be announced during late April, with the ceremony held this fall in Los Angeles.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Idol told Billboard via phone from Los Angeles. “I’m really knocked out. It’s really fantastic, and what a great honor just to be included with those other fellow artists on that list. It caught me by surprise today, and I was completely bowled over.”
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Idol has been eligible since 2006 as a solo artist, but he said he’s never thought of himself as slighted or overlooked. “Well, there’s so many great people who have yet to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — someone like [fellow nominee] Joe Cocker, for instance,” he noted. “So of course you don’t tend to think about yourself.
“I think in some ways it’s a big thank-you to the fans, who really have stuck with you through thick and thin — sometimes more thin than thick. But they’ve really stuck with you. In some ways, if you’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they are [too].”
Idol began his career as a guitar player in the punk band Chelsea before forming Generation X with guitarist Tony James in 1976. The group released four albums and had British hits with “Your Generation,” “King Rocker” and “Valley of the Dolls” before breaking up in early 1981. Idol then moved to New York, working with former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. His first EP, Don’t Stop, featured a remake of Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself” and a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Mony Mony,” but his self-titled 1982 debut was the real breakthrough, going gold on the strength of “White Wedding” and “Hot in the City,” and a warm embrace from MTV.
That helped make Rebel Yell even bigger in 1983, a double-platinum, top 10 Billboard 200 smash that turned Idol into an arena-sized headliner.
“It’s just kind of incredible ’cause you never could have imagined this when you began,” said Idol, who’s released eight studio albums total and has another coming this year, with details expected to be announced soon. “When we started out in punk rock, we really were doing it for the love. We thought this might last six minutes, six months, maybe a year, maybe two years. We’re nearly talking about 50 years now.
“Look, if you do something for the right reasons, it can take you the whole way. Just to have lived this life, to have this musical life, at one point it was a dream. To get to live your dream, that’s pretty incredible.”
Idol has been in the Rock Hall already via one of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which is on display in the museum in Cleveland. He visited during October’s induction festivities and reports that “it’s beautiful seeing it there. They’ve done a good job of taking care of it.”
The Osbourne induction, Idol adds, was “really good fun. Playing with [producer] Andrew Watt and Wolfgang Van Halen and everybody, it was an incredible night. The vibe amongst everybody was fantastic, and to feel the sort of energy and excitement of the fans being there. Just getting to thank the fans is an incredible moment.”
While the Rock Hall voting is going on, Idol will be rolling out the new album and prepping for the It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! trek that kicks off April 30 in Phoenix and runs through late September. Idol will be joined by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, reconnecting with someone he met during a Generation X press tour back in 1978.
“We ended up in L.A., watching the Germs and Black Flag at the Whisky a Go Go with Joan and about 20 other girls [in] go-go boots and short mini-skirts,” Idol recalls. “It was great meeting her. It should be a really fantastic [tour], a good time.”
Rick Springfield has had a long enough career to accumulate a few stories. Ahead of the Feb. 14 release of Big Hits: Rick Springfield’s Greatest Hits, Volume 2, a collection of tracks from his 1999 album Karma to Automatic from 2023, Springfield told Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast about partnering with Sammy Hagar on Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum drinks (and writing the song “Party at the Beach Bar,” which appears on the new greatest hits album), his early musical influences (such as The Easybeats and guitarist Hank Marvin) and writing “The Man That Never Was,” a song from the Dave Grohl-led Sound City: Reel to Reel soundtrack, released in 2013, that also appears on the new collection.
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The hard-rocking “The Man That Never Was” started as a track recorded by Springfield and the members of Foo Fighters, he recalls. “Dave wanted everyone to kind of get together that was in the documentary and all write songs. So I got together with the Foo Fighters in the studio, and we put together this track that was a really good track. It was a riff that Dave originally came up with, and we kind of fleshed it out.” Grohl then handed Springfield a CD with the track they just recorded and said, “OK, now go write a song.”
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Springfield then continued working on the then-unnamed track with veteran bass player Matt Bissonette, most recently a member of Elton John’s band. Bissonette had the idea to write lyrics based on an actual story from World War II about an elaborate plan by British intelligence officers to trick the Germans about the Allied armies’ invasion of Sicily. (The operation was captured in 2010 book Operation Mincemeat, and made into a movie of the same name in 2021.) “We’re both great history buffs,” Springfield says.
Working with Grohl and company was tame compared to Springfield’s experience performing for U.S. troops during the Vietnam War in the late ‘60s. More than a decade before Springfield topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Jessie’s Girl” — one of 21 appearances on the tally — he was performing with his first professional band when an American promoter hired the group to perform in Vietnam. He had no idea what was in store.
“It was a war zone,” he recalls. “I’d never been to one. And we played for the troops in the on the back of trucks just before they went up. You know, we’d get [flown on helicopters] into fire bases, which is where the grunts would operate from, and go out into the jungle and just start fighting. We’d play in those places, and we get rocketed and mortared, and they’d have to shut the show.”
At one point, the base came under fire when the band’s bass player was lying unconscious in a dentist’s chair, ready to get some teeth pulled. “They started saying, ‘That’s incoming, gentlemen, better get to the bunkers.’ So we didn’t know what to do,” Springfield says. “He was all hooked up, so we left him and went into the bunkers. And when we came back, he was still there. So it was all good, but he didn’t know he’d he’d been left to the the wiles of the Viet Cong.”
During a visit to a Navy encampment at Marble Mountain outside De Nang, U.S. forces came under attack. “You see tracers going off through the sky,” says Springfield. “I was throwing mortars. You couldn’t do this stuff now. First of all, it’s insane to do it. And secondly, you wouldn’t be allowed. But back then, it was the Wild West.”
Listen to the entire interview with Rick Springfield using the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2025 nominees, and while every person and band on the list is more than deserving to be welcomed into the institution’s esteemed ranks, only a few can be.
As announced Wednesday (Feb. 12), the names on this year’s ballot include Mariah Carey, Oasis, Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. Eight of those acts — Bad Company, the Black Crowes, Checker, Cocker, Idol, Maná, Outkast and Phish — are first-time nominees, while the other six have been in RRHOF consideration in years past.
Those names will now be narrowed down by an international panel of more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry players, with a fan-voted element factored in. That group’s selected nominees will be revealed in April, as well as whether they’ll be entering in the musical influence or musical excellence categories. An induction ceremony in Los Angeles will follow in the fall, coming one year after the 2024 class comprised of Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest was inaugurated into the hallowed Rock Hall.
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But while the list of nominees chosen for immortalization in the coveted hall of fame is largely up to panelists, Billboard wants to know who you would select from this year’s shortlist. Tell us who you most want to see inducted into the RRHOF by casting your vote below.
In an increasingly expensive touring market, $50 has come to seem like a reasonable amount to pay for a night of live music. And when that ticket gets you into a 575-capacity venue in New York City to see Sir Paul McCartney? Well, it just might be the deal of a lifetime.
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Midday Tuesday (Feb. 11), it was revealed that the Beatle would perform a last-minute underplay at Manhattan’s peerless Bowery Ballroom that very evening – with tickets only available at the box office. Even with the in-person purchase requirement and a one-ticket-per-person limit, the show sold out in approximately 30 minutes.
Certainly more accustomed to playing to tens of thousands in stadiums than several hundred people in a dark Manhattan club, McCartney has been at this long enough (The Beatles first played America 61 years ago) that it’s hard to imagine any crowd fazing him. At this point, the same goes for his core backing band (Wix Wickens, keyboards/musical director; Abe Laboriel Jr., drums; Rusty Anderson, guitar; Brian Ray, guitar and bass), who have been providing unflappable support since the early ‘00s. Additionally, the Hot City Horns (who first joined McCartney during his Grand Central Station pop-up in 2018) rotated in and out to provide punchy backing on “Jet,” “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Lady Madonna” and other classics. McCartney warned the audience that his band hadn’t had much time to rehearse, but you wouldn’t have known – only during a quickie jam session on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” did the show sound anything short of meticulously timed, but there’s nothing wrong with flirting with a bit of chaos during that song anyway.
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Seeing Paul McCartney live remains a bit of a religious experience – tears were shed during “Let It Be,” couples were swaying during “Let Me Roll It” and inter-generational families were singing along during ripping opener “A Hard Day’s Night.” If you’ve been to a McCartney show before, you’re familiar with some of the stories he tells before each song, which he cheekily acknowledged during his mid-song banter: “Have you heard this story? Well, I’m gonna tell it anyway.”
A few of those anecdotes have a sense of newfound relevance. Prior to performing “Mrs. Vanderbilt” (which isn’t always in his setlists), McCartney talked about singing the Wings tune in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, back in 2008. With a note of sadness, McCartney recalled the concert had a sense of uplifting freedom. “Let’s hope we get back to that,” he said, tipping to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in the Ukraine.
Prior to his Civil Rights-inspired ode “Blackbird,” McCartney talked about how the Beatles encountered legal segregation in the American south during their first tour of America. “We thought it was just stupid,” he said plainly before sharing the story of how the Beatles forced a Jacksonville, Flor., venue to integrate for their show. It’s a story that he’s told before, but at this moment in American history, we could use a reminder that it makes a difference when artists stand up to governments and courts that stoke racial divisions.
Speaking of the Beatles, McCartney gave “Now and Then” – the Grammy-winning final Fab Four song which came out in 2023 – its American debut Tuesday night, paying tribute to John Lennon after wrapping up the ballad on an upright piano. For a song that started as a Lennon demo in 1977, it’s fitting its first U.S. performance should take place in his beloved adopted home base of New York City.
Macca is in NYC to help Saturday Night Live (a slightly younger pop culture mainstay) celebrate 50 years on Sunday (Feb. 16). Whether his Bowery Ballroom show was a warm-up for a potential SNL performance or simply a chance for him to rock out at a venue where he can enforce a no-phones policy (all cells were bagged at the door) remains to be seen, but on Tuesday evening, it was certainly the best 50-buck investment anyone could make in Manhattan.
The 2025 Love Rocks NYC benefit concert will feature sets from Alicia Keys, Beck, Cher, Kate Hudson, Mavis Staples, Michael McDonald, Peter Frampton, Phish’s Trey Anastasio and many more. The ninth annual benefit for God’s Love We Deliver — an organization that cooks and delivers medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves — will take place at New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 6.
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The show, executive produced by fashion designer John Varvatos, along with New York real estate broker Douglas Elliman and concert producers Greg Williamson and Nicole Rechter, will also include performances from Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart featuring Vanessa Amorosi, the Black Pumas’ Eric Burton, Grace Bowers, Jesse Malin, Struts singer Luke Spiller, The War and Treaty and more acts to be announced.
It will also have appearances by comedians Alex Edelman, Amy Schumer, Susie Essman and Tracy Morgan.
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God’s Love We Deliver was founded in 1985 as a response to the AIDS pandemic and now serves people living with more than 200 different diagnoses. The organization has served more than 40 million meals to date, with this year marking the group’s 40th anniversary.
“As we prepare for the 9th Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC concert, we’re reminded of the power of music and community to create change,” said God’s Love We Deliver CEO Terrence Meck in a statement. “This year is especially meaningful as God’s Love We Deliver celebrates having delivered more than 40 million meals since our founding in 1985. We are so proud of our work nourishing our neighbors affected by severe and chronic illness, and we are grateful to Love Rocks NYC for the visibility and funds it raises for God’s Love We Deliver.”
Since the annual show launched in 2017, it has raised $50 million and helped fund more than five million meals. This year’s show will support God’s Love as well as their Food Is Medicine Coalition peer organization Project Angel Food in Los Angeles as part of a response to January’s devastating wildfires.
Past performers at God’s Love shows have included: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos, Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews, Robert Plant, Norah Jones, The Black Crowes, Dave Grohl, Ziggy Marley, Cyndi Lauper, Hozier, St. Vincent, Marcus King, Nathaniel Rateliff and many more.
Pre-sale tickets for this year’s show will go on sale on Thursday (Feb. 13) at 10 a.m. ET, with a public onsale going live on Friday (Feb. 14) at 10 a.m. ET here and here.
02/12/2025
Here’s how we handicap this year’s class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees and their respective chances of induction.
02/12/2025
Milwaukee’s Summerfest announced its jam-packed 2025 lineup on Wednesday (Feb. 12), which includes headliners Megan Thee Stallion (with Flo Milli), The Killers, Benson Boone, The Lumineers (with Hippo Campus), Def Leppard (with Tesla), Hozier (with Gigi Perez) and James Taylor (with Jason Mraz and Tiny Habits).
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The three-weekend throwdown on the banks of Lake Michigan will take place on June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 across 12 stages in its 75-acre festival park. Among the other acts slated to perform are: BossMan DLow, The Avett Brothers, Japanese Breakfast, CAKE, The Head And The Heart, Riley Green, Gary Clark Jr., Young the Giant, Babymetal, Loud Luxury, OFFSET, Jack’s Mannequin, Lindsey Stirling, Whiskey Myers, Billy Corgan and the Machines of God, Ayra Starr, Richard Marx, Porter Robinson, Dirty Heads, The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, DEVO, Motion City Soundtrack, Betty Who, Snow Tha Product and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, among others.
“As an independent music festival, Summerfest delivers a one-of-a-kind experience, bringing fans together from all backgrounds to enjoy incredible performances and Milwaukee’s vibrant energy,” said Sarah Pancheri, President and CEO, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. in a statement. “Today is an exciting day as we unveil this year’s lineup with over 160 artists spanning all genres of music.”
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Tickets are on sale now, with details available here. For a limited time, fans can also purchase a UScellular Power Pass for only $57, which includes admission for all nine days of the fest; the Power Pass is only available now through Feb. 18 at 11:59 p.m.
See the full 2025 Summerfest lineup poster below.