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It’s been four years since a hard rock band topped the Billboard 200 albums chart — and far longer since such a band did so without having decades of hits already to its name. But this week, Ghost puts an end to both of those droughts.
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The Swedish rock band, with its anonymous lineup and masked on-stage appearance, has grown its devoted cult of fans for over 15 years now, coming ever closer to the top spot on the Billboard 200 with their first five album releases. Now, the group has finally captured its first No. 1, with sixth album Skeletá bowing at pole position, moving 86,000 first-week units, according to Luminate (with the majority coming in physical sales).
How did the group get over the top on the Billboard 200? And which band could be next? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.
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1. Ghost’s Skeletá becomes the band’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with 86,000 units moved. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are we by that first-week performance?
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: It’s around a 9 or 10 for me. 86,000 units for a ROCK record in 2025 is an unbelievable accomplishment, especially when the band is this gothic and relatively niche. Don’t get me wrong, Ghost’s following has been strong and steady for years now, but I don’t think anyone anticipated their supporters to be this die-hard this many years later. The group has been cranking out records consistently since 2010, so they’re by no means a buzzing new band, nor do they have any sort of obvious mainstream pop culture support. This album is kinda just business-as-usual for them, making the No. 1 debut that much more impressive.
Lyndsey Havens: 8. Ghost has been around for almost 20 years, having formed in 2006 and released its debut album in 2010. And Skeletá is its sixth album. That’s not to say the group hasn’t had incredible success across that timeline, but to debut atop the all-genre albums chart is indeed impressive — and yes, a bit of a shock. But it’s important to look at the circumstances, too; Skeletá is the only debut in the top 10 of this week’s Billboard 200 chart, meaning it wasn’t a particularly crowded week for new releases. Even so, 86,000 units moved isn’t nothing — and I think this No. 1 debut is an important reminder of the ironically quiet yet sturdy interest in hard rock.
Elias Leight: 7 — the band did hit No. 2 in the past, and it helped that Ghost released Skeletá during a quiet chart week. Still, it’s always surprising when a group with so few streams tops the Billboard 200.
Andrew Unterberger: Maybe a 6? I’d go higher if I didn’t already know anything about the band’s chart trajectory — and certainly 86,000 units is an eye-opening first-week number — but I can’t really deem it that shocking when a band goes to No. 8 with one album, then No. 3 with the album after that, then No. 2 with the album after that… then No. 1 with the album after that. Not that every band follows such a linear trajectory, but Ghost certainly has to this point.
Christine Werthman: I registered a 3 on the surprise scale, once I knew that their fans love vinyl and the band offered over a dozen vinyl variants of the new album, and that the last album went to No. 2. Traditional album sales accounted for 89 percent of Skeletá’s first-week numbers — and this tracks with the Billboard interview from 2022 after Impera’s big year, where the band’s marketing lead discussed how vinyl was a huge part of Ghost’s strategy. The surprise level is pretty low, considering the band just implemented a strategy it knew to be successful and was already on the right track with the last album. And the competition for the week wasn’t too stiff.
2. While Skeletá is the band’s first No. 1 album, they’d been getting closer with each successive album, and even scored a No. 2 album earlier this decade with 2022’s Impera. Is this album being the one to put them over the top more about the album itself or more a matter of the band’s overall momentum?
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: In a way, I think it’s both. Skeleta is definitely one of their better, more cohesive records in recent years, but let’s just address the elephant in the room here: There is clearly a growing, reinvigorated interest in masked and disguised rock bands. Sleep Token is arguably the biggest band in the world right now, and they’ve experienced a very similar upward trajectory this decade. Those guys have a very strong chance of debuting at No. 1 two weeks from now, following the release of new album Even in Arcadia this Friday (May 9), which even just five years ago would have been unheard of. Skeleta’s debut I think has to do more with cultural momentum. There’s a strong gravitational pull young music fans are having towards dark and enigmatic rockers. Not to mention they rock hard, too.
Lyndsey Havens: I think it’s both. I actually love to see a trajectory like this, where you can trace a steady incline year over year — across many years. But it does take those two ingredients to get there: great music and an equally great fanbase. Ghost has always had both, with the latter being a tight-knight community that plays into the band’s heavily costumed on-stage presence (with the members being known as a clergy of “Nameless Ghouls” led by frontman Tobias Forge). With this new milestone, I’m curious to see where the band goes from here.
Elias Leight: Ghost’s timing was key. In February and March, stars like Bad Bunny, the Weeknd, PartyNextDoor and Drake, Lady Gaga, and Playboi Carti stormed to No. 1 with new releases. In the three most recent tracking weeks, however, the top album has not earned more than 65,000 album-equivalent units: Ken Carson, who hit No. 1 with More Chaos, managed to summit the chart with the smallest weekly total in three years (a number then lowered by SZA’s SOS in its return to the top spot the following week).
At the same time, Ghost’s audience has grown with each recent album. The band jumped from a No. 8 debut in 2015 to No. 3 in 2018, more than doubling its first-week total in the process. Four years later, when Ghost reached No. 2 with Impera, the group’s first-week numbers didn’t move much. The band found a strategy to boost numbers again with Skeletá. Combined with a week when no stars were releasing new albums, this put Ghost over the top.
Andrew Unterberger: It’s the momentum. Skeletá is a fine album but hardly a game-changer; if you know Ghost already you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. It’s more that a whole lot more people know who Ghost are now than did five or 10 years ago.
Christine Werthman: Ghost didn’t reinvent the wheel on this one compared to the others, so I’d chalk it up to the momentum. A loyal following led the Swedish hard rockers to the top.
3. While Ghost has scored a handful of Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1s and even a minor crossover success with the belatedly viral “Mary on a Cross” in 2022, this new set has yet to spawn a big hit, with “Satanized” its only advance song to even crack an airplay top 10. Do you think a hit single will emerge from Skeletá – and does it particularly matter for the band at this point?
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: I don’t think it matters. The evidence of their growing popularity album-wise proves that point. Even at their earlier peaks, it felt that Ghost scored hit singles almost accidentally. They’ve never catered to radio or any sort of mainstream acceptance, that’s what makes ‘em so epic and cool. So if a hit song does emerge, it’ll just be out of fan-wide love of the song, not because of any major push from them.
Lyndsey Havens: No, I don’t think it matters. And honestly, I think for a band like Ghost — and this deep into a career — having a full LP hit No. 1 versus a single would mean more to me. That’s not to say it’s too late for a hit from the album to emerge, but is it necessary? I think not.
Elias Leight: This band has excelled at getting fans to buy albums — 61,000 copies of Prequelle, 62,500 of Impera, and now 77,000 of Skeletá — which makes it less dependent on U.S. hits. The success of “Mary on a Cross” presumably helped Ghost reach some new listeners. But even so, the band’s first-week stream count didn’t budge much: 9.11 million on-demand streams of Impera songs compared to 12.45 million of Skeletá songs.
Andrew Unterberger: Never hurts to have a breakout hit, certainly — and this set could have one, but if it does, it will probably pop off unpredictably, like “Mary” did three years ago. But obviously a consistent sales-drawing power means that you’re not dependent on them from album to album, which is the point that all popular performing artists — not just rock bands — should hope to get to in their careers.
Christine Werthman: “Lachryma” has some higher streaming numbers in its favor right now, but I also feel like “Umbra” might be a sleeper hit. It really builds, has a righteous instrumental break, and it could stir some controversy, with its seemingly religious references to “the chosen one” and “the shadow of the Nazarene.” All hail the blasphemers? Maybe, though it’s not as spicy as “Mary on a Cross.” It doesn’t totally matter though, as it seems like Ghost’s fanbase is in it for the long haul already.
4. Given that it’s one of the few hard rock bands of a relatively recent vintage to accumulate a devoted enough audience to top the Billboard 200, what lessons do you think other bands might be able to learn from Ghost’s recent chart success?
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: Being authentic, unique and weird will always be cool. There will always be an appetite for it, and that appetite will translate to success if you just give it time. A lot of young bands cater to the algorithm right off the bat, you can hear it in the way they record and promote their albums. Ghost has always been Ghost, they’ve never swayed from that, which is why their fans have stuck by them. Do what creatively liberates you, don’t cater to the data!
Lyndsey Havens: To keep doing what you’re doing. You make music that you love and believe in? Great. You built a fanbase that’s willing to dress up for you at shows? Amazing. You’ve slowly over time played to bigger audiences across the world? Wow! All of these measurements of success, I believe, are what got Ghost to this point — and I haven’t even gotten to their Grammy win (best metal performance for “Cirice” in 2016). Over time, Ghost has created a world for itself and its fans to live in, and a No. 1 album is just proof of concept.
Elias Leight: Ghost employed a strategy initially popularized by K-Pop groups, releasing more than 20 variants of Skeletá across vinyl — including a limited run of 6,000 LPs with three different sets of “mystery” artwork — CD, and cassette. If a band already has an audience that likes to collect physical copies, releasing multiple variants has proven to be a reliable way to increase sales. Ghost fans snapped up 44,000 LPs across the various iterations of Skeletá, giving the band the third-largest vinyl sales week for any rock album in the modern era.
Andrew Unterberger: Embrace theatrics and spectacle! Over the past 30-plus years in rock music, it’s became increasingly normalized for rock bands to be no-frills in nature — but the pool of music fans who default to rock bands is pretty shallow these days, and it’s hard to draw in modern pop audiences while presenting yourselves so statically. If you want to reach Ghost’s commercial strata, you gotta give ’em a little more flair, a little more drama.
Christine Werthman: Don’t worry too much about chasing crossover hits, and find a marketing plan that works and follow it. Ghost didn’t revamp its style to get to No. 1 for the first time. The band just doubled down and gave its fanbase what it wanted — more ripping hard rock and more vinyl for the collection. Sticking to the script doesn’t work for every band, but Ghost identified its strengths and stuck with it. And remember: This is the group’s sixth studio album. Stick with it!
5. What’s another rock band that you could see topping the Billboard 200 for the first time in the near future?
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: Mark my words: Sleep Token will go number one next week.
Lyndsey Havens: Our colleague Jason Lipshutz put me on to Spiritbox, and I think they are well on their way to a Billboard 200 No. 1. It would be a much quicker rise than Ghost, but I think the groundwork has been laid — and with Ghost delivering the first hard rock album to top the tally in over four years, I wouldn’t be surprised if the wait for it to happen again is significantly shorter.
Elias Leight: Falling in Reverse hit No. 12 — their highest position ever — with Popular Monster in 2024. Five Finger Death Punch have eight top 10 albums and have peaked at No. 2 on three separate occasions.
Andrew Unterberger: It’s Sleep Token, and it’s this month. But keep an eye out for The Marías, too — that group’s time might be coming sooner than you think, too.
Christine Werthman: Turnstile!
Linkin Park is gearing up to release the deluxe edition of From Zero, and the band members share how they created “Up From the Bottom” while touring, the success of “The Emptiness Machine,” how fans have embraced Emily Armstrong in the band and more!
Are you going to Linkin Park’s From Zero World Tour? Let us know in the comments!
Jason Lipshutz:What’s up, guys? This is Jason from Billboard. I’m here with the one and only Linkin Park. Thank you guys for for coming and hanging out.
Linkin Park: Thanks for having us.
You guys just put out “Up From the Bottom,” new single. It’s been a couple months since the album. What has it been like having the song out in the world, seeing the fan reaction, you know, it’s being picked up by radio, hitting the charts. What has it been like?
Emily Armstrong:Day in the life.
Mike Shinoda:Emily’s super, super jaded now. She’s just so used to it.
Dave Farrell:A couple months later.
Mike Shinoda:She used to be–
Emily Armstrong:Feels like years.
Mike Shinoda:She was so down to earth in the beginning.
Dave Farrell:You poisoned her. I blame me and Mike, I think for us, like in this whole process, even going back to the record coming out, like, I don’t ever want to take it for granted that people are going to be interested in what we’re doing or or automatically on board. “Up From the Bottom” coming out, and people being interested and excited about it. I think it’s like, it’s exciting, it’s special, it’s new, and to be releasing new music at this stage of our career is something I didn’t know 100% for sure that we able to do. So feels great.
How did this one come together?
Mike Shinoda:It’s unusual for us to be like writing and putting out new songs while we’re touring. Yeah, we usually don’t do that. Did you guys never do that in Dead Sara?
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Linkin Park have been on such a roll over the past year that they recently did something they’ve rarely done in the past: write new music on the road. Fans will get to hear the fruits of that labor on May 16 with the release of a deluxe edition of last year’s surprise comeback album, From Zero.
Two of the three new bonus tracks on that special edition, “Up From the Bottom and “Let You Fade,” were finished after the initial sessions for the long-running rock band’s first effort with new singer Emily Armstrong; the former was written in between tour dates and the latter was started during the album sessions and finished after its release.
With “Up From the Bottom” just out, Billboard asked what it feels like to keep the chart momentum of the 2.0 lineup rolling after the group announced their revival in 2024, seven years after the 2017 death of original singer Chester Bennington. “A day in the life,” Armstrong laughed, as singer/guitarist Mike Shinoda teased that his newest bandmate is already “super jaded” at this point. “She’s just so used to it,” he said in the video you can watch in full above. “She was so down to earth in the beginning.”
Shinoda said LP wrote “Up From the Bottom” at the end of last year and though it was the last new song they laid down for the deluxe, it was the quickest one to wrap. “It’s kind of fun having that shorter momentum,” he said, noting that typically the band is “so meticulous” that it was a breath of fresh air to turn something so quickly.
He also said that “Let You Fade” started off as a not-as-loud song on a demo that just didn’t make the cut before the group pivoted to a piano-and-vocals only arrangement that was transformed into a song that starts off really loud and goes quiet on the bridge. “That piano and vocal thing was the second demo [we recorded during the initial sessions],” Shinoda said. “Of the three it’s probably my favorite.”
The expanded album will also feature the new song “Unshatter,” a track Shinoda said LP began working on when they were first just getting to know Armstrong.
In fact, she was so new that Shinoda said when he began playing back Armstrong’s wailing vocal on the song new drummer Colin Brittain heard the screaming on the bridge from the control room and said, “‘oh you know who she sounds like? The singer from Dead Sara,’” which, of course is exactly who she is. “He said, ‘dude, really? She’s soooo good!’”
And while Armstrong said they’re thinking about putting a small recording studio on their tour bus, Shinoda cautioned fans not to expect more new music this year since LP will be on the road for much of 2025. Speaking of which, with a 27-song, two-hour running time straining their ability to get all the fan favorites and deep tracks into the mix, Armstrong joked, “I think we should play four hours.”
Perhaps it’s that adrenalin, or maybe her take-no-prisoners performance style, but Shinoda said having Armstrong front the band has earned him some serious cool dad points at home. “I have daughters and having them see Emily and be like, ‘Whoa! She is so cool!’,” is a huge boost. “They say this all the time… they’re like, ‘Emily’s so cool,’” he said as Armstrong soaked up the kind words. “They think she’s the coolest human on Earth. They’re like, ‘dad, you’re not that cool. She’s very cool.’”
The band will be on stage on Tuesday night (May 6) at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
British rocker Yungblud announced on Tuesday (May 6) that his new album, Idols, will be released on June 20, and confirmed that it is the first part of an upcoming double LP; the second part of the collection is yet to be announced.
The release is the artist born Dominic Harrison’s fourth album under the Yungblud moniker, and is described by the Doncaster-born musician as “a love letter to self-reclamation … to rock music … [and] to life in all it’s f–king madness.”
In an accompanying statement, Yungblud said that the record explores the theme of hero-worship. “We turn to others for an identity before turning to ourselves. Self-belief, self-reclamation, self-evolution and change. As we grow up, we lose our belief in magic and mystery. We begin to rationalize everything; our cage walls build up.”
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The LP was recorded in Leeds, England, near his hometown of Doncaster in Yorkshire, and he said in the press release that he “wanted to make a project that didn’t focus on singles or anything else except feeling and world-building,” and described the project as having “no limitations.”
That much was obvious with its lead single and album opener “Hello Heaven, Hello,” a nine-minute mini-rock opera and latest single “Lovesick Lullaby.” The record was produced by close collaborator Matt Schwartz, Bob Bradley and touring guitarist Adam Warrington.
Yungblud’s past two records — Weird! (2020) and Yungblud (2022) — both hit No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, with the latter giving him a career high of No. 45 on the Billboard 200. Idols is his first record on Island Records (U.K.) and Capitol Records (U.S.) following his previous home of Geffen/Interscope.
Speaking to Billboard U.K. in August, he shared details on the label move. “It’s a new phase in my life and these labels are so classic, and this new album feels like it belongs on prestigious labels like that,” he said. “The last few months have been a lot more creatively fruitful and inspiring. I really had a choice about staying in the comfort zone or do I want to go to different places and experiment.”
Following its inaugural edition in 2024, his Bludfest event will return on June 21 in Milton Keynes, England, and features appearances from Yungblud, Chase Atlantic, Rachel Chinouriri and more.
See the Idols tracklist and his album announcement on Instagram below:
“Hello Heaven, Hello”
“Idols Pt I”
“Lovesick Lullaby”
“Zombie”
“The Greatest Parade”
“Change”
“Monday Murder”
“Ghosts”
“Fire”
“War”
“Idols Pt II”
“Supermoon”
He’s here to answer all your questions about how the Rock Hall works.
Chappell Roan is no piker when it comes to belting out a tune. But on the latest episode of Heart singer Ann Wilson‘s After Dinner Thinks podcast, the “Pink Pony Club” singer made a bold statement about the number one voice in rock. “You’re rockin’ mama! I’m rockin’ because you rockin’, really, truly,” Roan told the singer of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band.
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“I think you have the best voice in rock,” Roan said to Wilson, noting that “nothing” has ever made her feel as powerful as when she sang Heart’s iconic hit “Barracuda” onstage at the Austin City Limits festival in 2024, introducing it as her “favorite song.”
“I was like, ‘actually, this is the coolest song ever. And I feel like a rock star!,” Roan said. Fellow guest Lucy Dacus recalled the pair talking about the cover, with Roan telling her at the time, “I remember when you were like, ‘I’m gonna cover this because I want to feel what it feels like in my body to be a rocker like that.’”
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Wilson agreed that it’s a whole different thing to rock out on stage, with Roan saying that pop is fine, but rock, well, it’s a different beast. “A song like that… you can’t hold it in like that. It has to be an independence of the soul where you just let it go and you go, ‘what the f–k? This is a physical event,” Wilson said.
After watching a Heart show before the pod recording, Dacus opined on how most self-described rockers are wannabes who are just pretending, or trying to be a “rock character or avatar. Y’all are just ‘bees,’ you’re not wannabes… they’re trying to be you.”
That comment got Roan going, with the “Hot To Go” singer slamming “b–ches who will never come out on stage. They’re just like, ‘oh! I can’t. My arm hurts!’ Like you are… that is punk!”
Elsewhere in the chat, the three women talked about how style plays into their identity, Dacus asked Wilson is she’d ever considered retiring from music and Roan wondered how the singer handled the huge success and pressure to follow-up Heart’s smash 1975 debut album, Dreamboat Annie, when the group went in to record the follow-up. Dacus also talked about attending a Heart show with her birth mother, with Wilson sharing her moving journey adopting two children.
Definitely stick around until the end, because Wilson opened up about her record label once sending Paula Abdul to teach Heart some choreography, a move that did not go well.
Chappell Roan, Lucy Dacus and Ann Wilson
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Oasis’ reunion tour kicks off in just under two months, but there’s still plenty of questions around the shows, including: what will be played and who will be joining Noel and Liam Gallagher on stage when it all kicks off in Cardiff, Wales on July 4?
While a number of U.K. tabloids have been doing their best to get the scoop on the brothers’ reconciliation, frontman Liam has been using his X (formerly Twitter) profile to plant nuggets of information and strike down any inaccurate reports.
Over the weekend The Sun shared a pair of reports about the upcoming tour. One claimed that Noel and Liam were planning to have separate dressing rooms, and that friends of both brothers were restricted in where they could spend the after parties. It reported that “if you’re on Noel’s list but fancy going across to say hello to Liam, it’s going to be a case of trying to blag entry. It seems like they are totally separate events.” The report claimed: “It’s gutting for people who want to hang out with both of them but it seems they’re keeping it all at a distance.”
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Liam responded to the story and said that “After party’s are for w–––s,” throwing cold water on the idea that they were being kept separated. “I’m getting straight of after the gigs get my beauty sleep this level of sexiness doesn’t happen by staying up talking bollox to bellends.”
After party’s are for wankers I’m getting straight of after the gigs get my beauty sleep this level of sexiness doesn’t happen by staying up talking bollox to bellends— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) May 3, 2025
A second article in the The Sun on Sunday said that Oasis were set to drop the song “Hello” from its setlist due to its connection to convicted pedophile Gary Glitter. The 1995 song, which opened their sophomore album (Whats The Story) Morning Glory?, features the lines “Hello, hello, it’s good to be back, it’s good to be back.” The lyrics and melody mirror Glitter’s 1973 song “Hello, Hello, I’m Back Again,” and Glitter was credited as a writer on the Oasis song alongside writing partner Mike Leadner.
The story added, “The lyrics of the song would obviously have been a good fit for the reunion tour but the band have decided to leave it in the past. It would be inappropriate to play it given its connotations to Glitter and his convictions.” Glam rock star Glitter was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006 and has faced a number of court cases since; he is currently being held in a U.K. prison for breaching his release conditions.
The Sun’s reporting was once again slapped down by Liam on his X account on Monday (May 5), confirming that the song will appear on the setlist. “We’ll be playing HELLO trust me,” he responded to one fan. He also debunked a rumoured leaked setlist and confirmed that none of his solo songs would appear in the shows.
“Hello” featured prominently in the band’s setlist following its release and appeared at their 1996 appearances at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire. The song fell out of rotation around 2002, but was played a number of times during Liam’s solo tours from 2020 onwards.
The band are set to open their tour on July 4 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, before a further run of shows in the U.K. and Ireland, before heading to North America, Latin America, Asia and Australasia.
We’ll be playing HELLO trust me— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) May 5, 2025
Australian indie-rock duo Royel Otis have announced another run of U.S. tour dates, with the group detailing their latest round of shows while in the country.
Announced on Monday (May 5), news of the group’s Meet Me in the Car tour coincides with the first of two sold-out shows at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Monday and Tuesday. The 12-date run of shows launches in Philadelphia at the Franklin Music Hall on Sept. 12 before wrapping up in New York City at The Rooftop at Pier 17 on Oct. 11.
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Following their current Los Angeles shows, the Sydney duo will perform at both New York City’s Governors Ball Music Festival and Tennessee’s Bonnaroo festival ahead of a run of festival dates throughout Europe, the U.K., and North America before launching their own headline shows in September.
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Royel Otis first formed in 2019, releasing a series of EPs between 2021 and 2023 before issuing their debut album, Pratts & Pain in 2024. Though their “Sofa King” track reached No. 12 on the Alternative Airplay chart in 2023, the band found widespread fame last year following their cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” for Australian radio station triple j’s Like a Version series.
The cover topped the Alternative Airplay charts and also peaked at No. 41 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The group’s penchant for covers was again felt when their SiriusXM session rendition of The Cranberries‘ “Linger” was released, giving them their first appearance on the Hot 100 when it reached No. 94.
In late 2024, Royel Otis won four ARIA Awards from eight nominations, including best group and best rock album, while producer Chris Collins won best produced release and best engineered release for Pratts & Pain.
Currently, Royal Otis are ostensibly preparing the launch of their latest era, having recently overhauled their socials with a largely minimalist approach. Alongside noting that “there will be singing. and dancing. and new music” alongside their latest tour announcement, the group have been teasing a song which “may or may not be called ‘Moody’” for a May 9 release.
Royal Otis – 2025 Meet Me in the Car Tour Dates
Sept. 12 – Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PASept. 14 – The Anthem, Washington, DCSept. 16 – The Ritz, Raleigh, NCSept. 19 – The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TXSept. 20 – Stubb’s, Austin, TXSept. 28 – Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZSept. 30 – Mission Ballroom, Denver, COOct. 2 – Palace Theatre, St. Paul, MNOct. 3 – Grinders KC, Kansas City, MOOct. 4 – The Factory, Chesterfield, MOOct. 10 – MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MAOct. 11 – The Rooftop at Pier 17, New York, NY
James Baker, the prolific Australian drummer best known for his work as a member of The Scientists, the Hoodoo Gurus, and the Beasts of Bourbon has passed away at the age of 71.
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Baker’s passing was confirmed by a statement issued to the press on Tuesday (May 6), noting that the rocker had passed away at his home the night prior. “It is with heavy heart that we say that James Baker, the King of the Perth Big Beat, the godfather of Perth Punk and Australia’s Garage Guru passed away around 7:30 last night at home in Perth,” it read.
“It was no secret that James had been suffering from terminal cancer for some time, but he did his best to hold it at bay which enabled a final go round from the Victims – the band he formed with fellow Hoodoo Guru Dave Faulkner in ’77 – and a couple of last tours as well as a new album from the Beasts, the band he co-founded in ’83.
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“He also joined the Gurus on stage in Perth in December,” it continued. “He released his first solo 12” record Born to Rock – his first solo release since 1985’s legendary “Born to Be Punched”/”I Can’t Control Myself” single – in May last year, and a newly recorded single with Dom Mariani as recently as January of this year.”
Baker was born in the Western Australian city of Perth in 1954, purchasing his first drum kit at the age of 16 following a love of The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr. The following year, Baker would launch his own musical career behind the kit of a Beatles cover band before performing with groups such as the hard rock outfit Black Sun and the glam-rock Slick City Boys.
In the mid-’70s, Baker would spend time in the U.S. and U.K., even going so far as to consider auditioning for The Clash after a chance meeting with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones following a show from the Damned. “I had a Ramones T-shirt on and they came up to me and talked to me about that,” he recalled in 2003. “They said they needed a drummer. But I hadn’t played for a year.”
It was in 1977 that Baker first let his presence be felt fully as the co-founder The Victims with bassist Rudolph V (aka Dave Cardwell). The band had its roots in an earlier group called The Geeks, which took influence from the Ramones and their blend of burgeoning punk music. Following the addition of Dave Flick (aka Dave Faulkner), the group would rename and issue their debut single, “Television Addict.” The track remains a pioneering cut from the Australian punk scene, with copies of the ferocious tune selling for small fortunes amidst collectors.
While still a member of The Victims, Baker would join The Scientists in 1978, replacing drummer John Rowlings. Emerging from the punk scene, The Scientists would later become one of the most notable independent groups to emerge from Australia, with their influence on grunge being felt by later groups in the genre such as Mudhoney and Nirvana.
Following the release of their 1981 self-titled album, the band would briefly split, and Baker would embark on new ventures. This included the formation of the Hoodoo Gurus with former Victims bandmate Faulkner, former Scientists bandmate Roddy Radalj, and Kimble Rendall, who would pass away in April 2025.
Baker would depart the band in 1984 following the release of their debut album, Stoneage Romeos, which would be the first of four consecutive records to top the US College Radio charts.
While still a member of the Hoodoo Gurus, Baker would also co-found the Beasts of Bourbon, a rock supergroup of sorts fronted by former vocalist of the Dum-Dums, Tex Perkins. The initial lineup would be complemented by Baker, guitarist Spencer P. Jones of The Johnnys, and former members of The Scientists Kim Salmon and Boris Sujdovic.
Baker would remain most active in the Beasts of Bourbon, performing with most versions of the band until 2024. Additionally, he was a prolific songwriter and performer, going on to serve as a member of myriad bands, including the James Baker Experience and The Dubrovniks.
In 2006, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the West Australian Music Industry Awards, while The Scientists would follow in 2019. The Hoodoo Gurus, meanwhile, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007.
In 2014, Baker was diagnosed with liver cancer, which he battled for the remainder of his life. Fundraising campaigns were launched to aid his medical journey, and Baker continued to perform live in spite of his health issues, even releasing his debut solo EP, Born to Rock, in 2024.
“James is survived by his wife Cathy, daughters Lorna and Faye and sister Barbara, and his unborn grandson who will be arriving on the scene in the next week or so,” the statement issued to media concluded.
The death of Baker is another loss experienced by the extended Hoodoo Gurus family over the past year. In April 2024, longtime manager Michael McMartin passed away, just one month after handing the reins over to Mick Mazzone. In April 2025, Mazzone himself would pass away, with founding member Kimble Rendall following just days later.
More than five years since his last show, David Lee Roth has not only made a triumphant return, but reversed his decision to retire from the touring circuit.
Roth announced his 2025 tour plans on Monday (May 6), with a series of 21 live appearances set to take place over the summer.
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Launching at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles on July 22, Roth will traverse the country until wrapping up his series of shows on Sept. 14 back in California at Napa’s Blue Note Summer Sessions.
Roth’s tour announcement comes just days after he made his first appearance on the live stage in five years on Saturday (May 3) at the M3 Rock Festival at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. The 16-song set featured Roth leaning entirely on his tenure as frontman for Van Halen, save for a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” which was issued as Van Halen’s debut single in 1978.
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The show was his first since March 2020 when he appeared as the opening act for KISS in Lubbock, Texas as part of their End of the Road Tour.
In early 2021, Roth announced that he would be officially retiring following a residency at Las Vegas’ House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in 2022. “I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth said. “This is the first, and only, official announcement. You’ve got the news. Share it with the world.”
“I’m not going to explain the statement,” he added. “The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.” Ultimately, Roth’s Las Vegas residency would be cancelled, ostensibly leaving him with unfinished business until his return to the stage this month.
Roth first rose to fame as the vocalist for Van Halen from 1974 until 1985, appearing on their first six records before embarking on a solo career. Roth would be replaced by Sammy Hagar, though would return for a one-off appearance in 1996 before Gary Cherone took over vocal duties.
Following another brief stint from Hagar up the front from 2003 until 2005, Roth resumed his role in the band from 2007 until the band’s dissolution in 2020 following the death of Eddie Van Halen.
David Lee Roth – 2025 Tour Dates
July 22 – California Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles, CAJuly 31 – Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FLAug. 3 – Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center, Tampa, FLAug. 6 – Hard Rock Live Bristol, Bristol, VAAug. 8 – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJAug. 10 – The Paramount, Huntington, NYAug. 13 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NHAug. 15 – Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NYAug. 17 – The Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PAAug. 19 – Hard Rock Live Northern India, Gary, INAug. 21 – Hard Rock Outdoor Arena, Cincinnati, OHAug. 23 – Doquoin State Fairgrounds, Doquoin, ILAug. 25 – The Factory, Chesterfield, MOAug. 27 – Grinders KC, Kansas City, MOAug. 29 – Lucas Oil Live at Winstar, Thackerville, OKAug. 31 – Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, Catoosa, OKSept. 4 – Gila River Resorts & Casinos, Chandler, AZSept. 8 – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, San Diego, CASept. 10 – Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, CASept. 12 – Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CASept. 14 – Blue Note Summer Sessions, Napa, CA
