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A wide-ranging group of more than 400 musicians, actors, agents and managers and studio executives signed an open letter to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest rejecting attempts by some participating countries to bar Israel from participating in this year’s event. Among those lending their names to the letter from the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace were: Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, KISS’ Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Boy George, Sharon Osbourne, Emmy Rossum, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Diane Warren and Selma Blair, among many others.
The letter supports the European Broadcasting Union’s commitment to including Israel in this year’s contest amid calls last month from Swedish and Finnish artists demanding Israel’s exclusion from the contest over their belief that including the country “undermines” the spirit of the competition. The letters cited Israel’s ongoing response to the deadly Oct. 7 surprise assault on the nation from Hamas militants in which more than 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — were murdered, sexually assaulted and attacked and more than 250 were taken hostage.
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“We have been shocked and disappointed to see some members of the entertainment community calling for Israel to be banished from the Contest for responding to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the letter reads. “Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into civilian populations, Hamas murdered and kidnapped innocent men, women, and children.”
Artist manager Braun added, “Music is a place for unity not division. It is a language that should always bring us together. Artists should never be discriminated against for who they are, who they love, or where they’re born. These boycott efforts do nothing but distract from the uplifting and unifying power of music – something we need now more than ever.”
KISS’ Simmons, who was born in Israel to a Holocaust survivor mother, wrote, “Music unites people from all backgrounds. It’s the one language that everyone can understand. It’s a beautiful thing and a great way to bring people together. Those advocating to exclude an Israeli singer from Eurovision don’t move the needle towards peace, but only further divide the world.”
Last month’s letter from a group of more than 1,000 Swedish artists — this year’s Eurovision will be held in the the Swedish city of Malmö from May 7-11 — requested that Israel be barred from participating over it’s “brutal” response to the Hamas attack, citing the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.
“We who sign this are 1,000 artists who believe in music as a unifying force. The Eurovision song contest began as a peace project with the ambition to unite countries and citizens through music,” read the Swedish letter, whose signers included Robyn, First Aid Kit and Fever Ray. “Allowing Israel’s participation undermines not only the spirit of the competition but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without consequences. Therefore, we appeal to the EBU: Exclude Israel from the Eurovision song contest 2024.”
To date, the 130-day war has reportedly led to the deaths of more than 28,000 Palestinians, the destruction of much of the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure and the displacement of more than one million Gazans. The Swedish letter joined earlier, similar requests to exclude Israel from more than 1,400 artists in Finland and Iceland.
The open letter from Creative Community for Peace — the first public call of its kind from the entertainment industry voicing unequivocal support of Israel’s inclusion in the contest — highlights Eurovision’s ability to unify people from diverse backgrounds and music’s power to effect positive change in the world.
Other signatories to the open letter include: Julianna Marguiles, Ginnifer Goodwin, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., Skylar Astin, Atlantic Records Group CEO Julie Greenwald, Universal Music Publishing Group CEO Jody Gerson, Warner Records CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck, Patricia Heaton, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Disturbed’s David Draiman, Tom Arnold, Columbia Pictures chairman Tom Rothman and MRC co-founder/co-CEO Modi Wiczyk.
The letter notes that Israel has a long and storied Eurovision history — including hosting in 1979, 1999 and 2019 and winning in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018 — while offering up a diverse group of contestants representing the Palestinian, Ethiopian and LGBTQIA+ communities. “Furthermore, we believe that unifying events such as singing competitions are crucial to help bridge our cultural divides and unite people of all backgrounds through their shared love of music,” it reads.
“The annual Eurovision Song Contest embodies this unifying spirit. Every year, millions of people across Europe and around the world join in a massive display of cultural exchange and celebration of music. Those who are calling for Israel’s exclusion are subverting the spirit of the Contest and turning it from a celebration of unity into a tool of politics.” Click here to see the full letter.
Fresh off his mesmerizing performance of “America the Beautiful” at Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII, Post Malone is bloodied but unbound in a new teaser poster for the upcoming Road House remake. Amazon’s Prime Video released images from the upcoming film on Tuesday (Feb. 13), including one in which Posty gives a menacing “come at me” […]
Pearl Jam is proving the band’s still alive — and not with an evenflow of news, but a gigaton of it. The grunge pioneers announced on Tuesday (Feb. 13), that they will soon drop a twelfth studio album titled Dark Matter, and to celebrate the news, released its title track. Hours later, the Seattle band […]
Michael Marcagi is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker. The singer-songwriter and Cincinnati native scores his first career entry on the Feb. 17-dated survey, as “Scared to Start” opens at No. 98. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Released Jan. 12 on Warner Records, the song debuts […]
Count former Oasis singer, solo star and proprietor of one of rock‘s most legendary bored-to-death stares Liam Gallagher as someone unimpressed by his band’s inclusion on the 2024 short list for nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The notoriously tetchy singer who went solo after older brother and chief Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher split the band in 2009 summed up his dyspeptic feelings about the nod in a short, sharp tweet in which he wrote, “F–ck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS.” The latter is a Jamaican slang term frequently employed by Gallagher on his socials when peeved to express his disdain in no uncertain terms.
At press time a spokesperson for the RRHOF had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional comment on Gallagher’s tweet.
When someone commented with a reminder to Oasis fans to choose the group in the RRHOF fan vote since, at the moment, Oasis was “losing stratospherically” to this year’s other nominees, Gallagher responded, “Don’t waste your time Rkid as much as it’s appreciated it’s all a load of bollox.” He later wrote a comment on another post suggesting the Britpop superstars really do deserve the award. “I appreciate that you do but I honestly feel there’s something very fishy about those awards,” Gallagher wrote in one of dozens of snarky, humorous replies.
To be fair, someone else resurfaced a 2021 response Gallagher posted to someone asking his thoughts on Oasis’ possible induction into the Rock Hall, to which the singer said, “Not interested in any of that.”
At press time Oasis had just over 23,500 votes from fans, with Ozzy Osbourne leading all vote-getters (39,848), followed by Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey and Kool & the Gang. The only acts below Oasis currently are Sinéad O’Connor, Sade and Jane’s Addiction. This year’s roster of nominees also includes Mary J. Blige, Eric B. & Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest.
Gallagher’s pointed response was quite different from one of his fellow irascible British rock peers, metal god Ozzy Osbourne, who said he was “deeply honored” to be considered as a solo act after already being enshrined with Black Sabbath. Foreigner singer Mick Jones also said it was an honor, calling the nomination an “incredible endorsement” of the band’s achievements over the past 45+ years and guitar great Frampton said he “screamed” when he found out. In the past, the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon and Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose have thrown cold water on their bands’ induction and a number of key band members have been conspicuously absent at inductions of Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane and Van Halen.
Gallagher would certainly not be the first potential inductee to say they’d prefer not being enshrined in Cleveland. Back in 2022, country superstar Dolly Parton initially “respectfully” declined the Hall’s nomination, later reversing course and accepting the honor, as well as releasing her first rock album, Rockstar.
The 2024 nominees will be decided by a voting body of 1,000+ “artists, historians and members of the music industry,” per a press release. The Rock Hall’s Class of 2024 will be announced in late April.
Check out Gallagher’s tweet below.
Fuck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS LG x— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) February 12, 2024
AC/DC are gearing up for their first European tour in eight years. The veteran hard rockers announced on Monday morning (Feb. 12) that they are gearing up for the European Power Up tour with a line-up featuring singer Brian Johnson, guitarist Angus Young, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams. Williams retired from the band after the conclusion of the 2016 Rock or Bust tour, returning to the fold briefly for the 2020 Power Up album.
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The 21-show swing in 10 countries is slated to kick off with the first of two dates at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 17, followed by shows in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before hitting London’s Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows (July 3, 7), Germany, Slovakia and Paris and then winding down with a gig at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland on August 17.
Tickets for tour will go on sale to the general public on Friday (Feb. 16) between 9-10 a.m. local time; click here for more ticketing information.
The European swing follows AC/DC’s long-awaited return to the stage last year at the all-star hard rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California. The band began teasing their 2024 return on socials last week, posting images of a lightning bolt and a countdown cued to a snippet of “Are You Ready” from 1990’s The Razors Edge.
Power Up marked the return of singer Johnson, who had stepped aside while touring in 2016 due to hearing-loss issues, with Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses filling in for 22 shows; the tour also saw the band reunited with drummer Phil Rudd after a stint in rehab. The band did not tour in support of Power Up after the seven-leg, 17-month-long stadium outing in support of Rock or Bust.
See the band’s announcement and the tour dates below.
We are thrilled to finally announce the ‘POWER UP’ European Tour. Angus, Brian, Stevie, and Matt will be joined by Chris Chaney to carry the torch for Cliff. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/VTVMKdweNX— AC/DC (@acdc) February 12, 2024
AC/DC 2024 European summer tour dates:
May 17 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena
May 21 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena
May 25 – Reggio Emilia, Italy @ RCF Arena
May 29 – Seville, Spain @ La Cartuja Stadium
June 5 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Johan Cruyff Arena
June 9 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium
June 12 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium
June 16 – Dresden, Germany @ Messe
June 23 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium
June 26 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium
June 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund Stadium
July 3 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium
July 7 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium
July 13 – Hockenheim, Germany @ Ring
July 17 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Wasen
July 21 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Old Airport
July 27 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Zeppelinfeld
July 31 – Hannover, Germany @ Messe
August 9 – Dessel, Belgium @ Festivalpark Stenehei
August 13 – Paris, France @ Hippodrome ParisLongchamp
August 17 – Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park
Jimmy Barnes is back.
The legendary Australian rocker will make another comeback for the ages when he performs at Byron Bay Bluesfest on March 31, a warm-up for a full-scale tour of Australia.
This is no ordinary return to the stage. The 67-year-old singer is back from a life-threatening condition. Less than two months ago, Barnes was in ICU, after undergoing open-heart surgery, following an illness that refused to budge.
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Last November, after opening the Mushroom 50 Live concert at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, where he powered his way through “No Second Prize” and his signature song, “Working Class Man,” Barnes contracted bacterial pneumonia.
He was admitted to hospital on Nov. 27, 2023 and became “very unwell” while in hospital with the development of staphylococcal bacteraemia a few days after admission, explains a statement from reps.
Medics discovered he had an abscess at an old operation site due to the infection which required surgical intervention. The staph infection undermined Barnes’ health, causing endocarditis, a life-threatening condition that without urgent treatment may well have been fatal, reps say. Surgeons immediately checked-in Barnes for cardiac surgery on Dec. 13 to replace the aortic valve. The valve itself was replaced some years ago due to a “congenital defect,” he has said.
A year earlier, Barnes revealed he would go under the surgeon’s knife to correct “constant and severe pain” in his back and hip, the result of “jumping off PAs and stomping around stages” for more than 50 years. He also underwent back surgery in 2014, which kept him in hospital on Fathers Days (Sept. 7).
Those health problems, it would seem, are in the past.
“Every day I’m getting stronger. Every day I’m pushing myself a little bit further,” Barnes explains. “I’m excited about getting back on stage, in front of the band and playing for you all. And what better way is there to kick it off than the legendary Bluesfest Byron Bay with a really special celebration of Flesh and Wood. I really want to thank everyone for their support and good wishes while I was ill. The family were passing on your messages of care and it really lifted my spirits.”
Barnes will mark his return to the stage at Bluesfest over the Easter Long Weekend, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his Flesh and Wood LP. Then, two-time ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted artist and his band will headline a run of rescheduled Red Hot Summer Tour dates in April.
Later, Barnes will lead a stretch of stripped back, intimate theater shows on the Hell of a Time tour, running through June, July and coming to a halt Aug. 18 at the Sydney Opera House.
Barnesy, as he’s affectionately known in these parts, is a living legend, with 15 leaders on the ARIA Chart — an all-time record. Counting his five leaders with Cold Chisel, Barnes boasts an unprecedented 20 No. 1s, comfortably eclipsing the Beatles (with 14), Madonna (12), Eminem and U2 (11).
The Scotland-born singer was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame with Cold Chisel in 1993, and again as a solo artist in 2005, and is the first Australian solo act to have a No. 1 album in every decade since the 1980s.
In the lead-up to Christmas 2023, Mushroom Labels issued an expanded version of Blue Christmas, his 20th studio album and most recent No. 1.
Paramore has been named ambassador for Record Store Day 2024.
The trio of Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro took to social media on Saturday (Feb. 10) to announce the exciting news and note that the group is now “freshly independent” and ready to “continue to have a long career in the music industry.”
“After a long career in the music industry we have decided to announce that… we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience),” Paramore wrote on Instagram. “Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores — a vital part of our journey from music obsessed school friends to professional music makers. With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.”
Earlier this year, Paramore game some fans a scare after unexpectedly pulling out of numerous live performances, wiping their website and social media accounts, and teasing their “next era.” As previously reported, the band’s 20-year contract with Atlantic Records expired in December 2023 with This Is Why, allowing the act to become a free agent.
The group added on Saturday, “The discovery of music was always meant to be romantic. Indie record shops are some of the only spaces we’ve got that offer a tangible, tactile experience of music discovery. In this world that feels more disconnected and hostile than ever, it feels important to remain in touch (literally) with what inspires us, empowers us, or simply brings us joy. Thankfully, for all our sakes, there still survives among the chaos, the purity and radical simplicity of a great record store.”
This year’s Record Store Day is scheduled for April 20. Past ambassadors have included Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, Metallica, Pearl Jam and Jack White, among others.
Paramore won their first two Grammys at this year’s ceremony on Feb. 4. The group took home best rock album and best alternative music performance for This Is Why and its title track, respectively.
“First off, infinite thanks to our fans, our team and the voting academy for making This Is Why such a moment for us, 20 years into our career. Our band won two Grammys last night, sitting together in Zac’s living room, dressed in our regular clothes (yes, we saw the empty red carpet meme),” the trio wrote on Instagram. “Turns out, our win for best rock album was a historic feat as we are the first female-fronted band to every take home a trophy for this category. Ridiculous yet true! It’s an honor for Paramore to be a small but constant reminder for people to keep pushing these rock and alternative spaces to be more inclusive.”
They added, “Some of you will know that This Is Why was our last album for our deal with Atlantic Records. To finish anything well is something to be proud of. Thank you to anyone who supported the ethos of Paramore as much as the music.”
Paramore released their sixth studio album, This Is Why, in February of last year, scoring their highest-charting album in nearly a decade with a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200. The album was the band’s first since After Laughter was released in May 2017; it debuted and peaked at No. 6. The band’s last album to go higher was its self-titled 2013 release, which debuted at No. 1 on the April 27, 2013-dated list.
See Paramore’s Record Store Day 2024 announcement on Instagram below.
Damo Suzuki, the Japanese-born singer for legendary German experimental group Can, has died. He was 74.
Suzuki’s passing was confirmed on Saturday (Feb. 10) through the pioneering krautrock band’s Instagram account. A cause of death was not provided, but the Cologne-based musician had been battling colon cancer for a decade, as revealed in a 2022 documentary, according to Rolling Stone.
“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of our wonderful friend Damo Suzuki, yesterday, Friday 9th February 2024,” Can wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of Suzuki. “His boundless creative energy has touched so many over the whole world, not just with Can, but also with his all continent spanning Network Tour. Damo’s kind soul and cheeky smile will be forever missed.”
The group added, “He will be joining Michael, Jaki and Holger for a fantastic jam!,” referencing late Can members Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay. “Lots of love to his family and children.”
Born Kenji Suzuki near Tokyo, the budding artist left his native Japan as a teenager to travel around Europe, where he coincidentally met Liebezeit and Czukay while performing on the streets of Munich, Germany. The pair invited Suzuki to join Can onstage that evening and he later took over for the band’s original singer Malcolm Mooney, who appeared on the act’s 1969 debut album, Monster Movie.
Suzuki officially joined Can in 1970 and appeared on the band’s classic run of albums, including Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973). He was known for his improvisational singing style, mixing words in English and Japanese, which helped define the group’s sound.
“I don’t like to play the same piece again and again,” Suzuki told the Guardian in 2022. “Repetition is boring. Every performance should be a unique experience.”
Suzuki left Can in 1973 after marrying a German woman and converting to Jehovah’s Witness. He returned with several new musical projects in the 1980s, including Damo Suzuki’s Network and Damo Suzuki Band.
With a rotation of vocalists, Can continued on a path of unabated experimentation for 20 years, releasing its swansong, Rite Time, in 1989. The group has proven amongst the most influential in rock history, particularly for subsequent generations of experimental acts such as the Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, and Tortoise.
See Can’s post about Suzuki’s death here.
J.M. “Jimmy” Van Eaton, a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll drummer who played behind the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Lee Riley at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, died Friday (Feb. 9) at age 86, a family member said.
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Van Eaton, a Memphis native who came to the famous record label as a teenager, died at his home in Alabama after dealing with health issues over the last year, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported, with his wife, Deborah, confirming his death.
Van Eaton was known for his bluesy playing style that the newspaper said powered classic early-rock hits at Sun like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Lewis and “Red Hot” by Riley. He also played with Bill Justis and Charlie Rich.
James Mack Van Eaton initially began playing trumpet in a school band, but he soon moved to drums, saying in a 2015 interview that “it was an instrument that intrigued me.”
Van Eaton had his own rock ‘n’ roll band called The Echoes that would record a demo at the recording studio operated by Sam Phillips. His work there led him to connect with Riley and later Lewis.
“The hardest man to play with in the world was Jerry Lee. I told every musician to stay out of this man’s way,” Phillips told The Commercial Appeal in 2000. “The one exception was JM Van Eaton.”
Van Eaton became part of a core of musicians that performed at Sun through the 1950s, the newspaper reported.
Van Eaton drifted away from the music business in the 1960s, but he resumed performing by the 1970s, particularly as interest in rockabilly grew following the death of Elvis Presley.
By the early 1980s, Van Eaton began four decades of working in the municipal bond business. But he also was part of the team that played the music for the film Great Balls of Fire, about Lewis, and he put out a solo album in the late 1990s. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He moved from Tennessee to Alabama a few years ago.
In addition to his wife, Van Eaton is survived by a son and daughter.