ROLLING STONES: Jagger Lends an "Arm" and a "Hand"
Mick Jagger made his second appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Wednesday, and, like his first time on the show in 2023, he took part in a skit, "Real People Fake Arms." Fallon set it up by explaining that he had a role on a British soap opera in the '90s called Jacob's Patience in which his co-star wouldn't use his arms, opting instead to hold mannequin arms. As a result, the director had everyone on the show do the same thing. Fallon then showed a "clip" in which "Jacob" went shopping for a Mother's Day gift for his wife in a jewelry store named Hackney Diamonds, which is the title of The Rolling Stones last album in 2023. Inside he was met by the clerk "Tony" played by Jagger who said, "Please to meet you, I hope you guess my name,” which of course is a line from the Stones’ song “Sympathy for the Devil.” With Jagger fumbling with his mannequin arms, he showed and assisted Fallon in trying to pick out a bracelet, which included a third Stones reference when Fallon reacted to the price by saying, “You can’t always get what you want.” When the skit was over Jagger went over to the desk with the fake arms while Fallon held the Stones new album, Foreign Tongues, and saying it will be out on July 10th. Jagger then proceeded to whack the vinyl album with the arms.
PAUL & RINGO: Sing About Their Hometown
Paul McCartney has released the second single off his forthcoming album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which was produced by Andrew Watt. "Home to Us" not only features his Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr on drums, but also on vocals.
McCartney says, "Ringo went round to the studio and drummed a bit. I said to Andrew, we should make a track and send it to him. So this song is done totally with Ringo in mind.
"In writing the song I’m talking about where we came from [in Liverpool]. In common with a lot of people, you come from nothing and you build yourself up. Ringo was from the Dingle [section], and that was well hard. He said he used to get mugged coming home, because he worked. Even though it was crazy, it was home to us. "I made the song around that idea and sent it to Ringo. He sent me back a version where he just added some lines to the chorus, so I thought, maybe he doesn’t like it. I rang him and he said he thought I only wanted him to sing one or two lines, and I said I’d love to hear him sing the whole thing. So we took my first line, Ringo’s second line, and then we had a duet. We’d never done that before. Then we wanted some backing vocals, and I had the idea it would be nice to hear girls. Chrissie Hynde [from The Pretenders] said she’d do it, and Sharleen Spiteri [from Texas], they’re mates. So they did it.”
And Ringo recently discussed the song on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! "Underneath the duo that Paul and I do, the song… it started with my drums from that day two years ago, and then Paul put everything else on it. So, it was like it was in reverse -- the drums are on first. It's amusing and it's very real because that's where we come from." This marks Ringo's first appearance on a McCartney album since 1997's Flaming Pie where he played drums on two songs -- "Really Love You," which he co-wrote with McCartney, and "Beautiful Night," which he also did background vocals on. The Boys of Dungeon Lane will be released on May 29th.
CLAPTON, MAY, GIBBONS & WOODY: Lend Their Hands
Eric Clapton, Queen's Brian May, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood are featured on Watching the Tide, the posthumous album from Steve Cropper who passed last December 3rd at 84. May and Gibbons, who were on Cropper’s last album, 2024’s
Friendlytown, play together on “My Angels Are Calling.” Clapton lends his “Slowhand” to “Ticket First,” which is out now on YouTube, and Wood is featured in “Until Now.” Gibbons also plays on “Stand Right Here.” The album was produced by Jon Tiven who finished the mixes just before Cropper died. He says, "We brought a CD to him at the medical facility, and he called me the night before he passed to tell me how much he loved it. He was playing it for everyone who came to visit him, telling them it was the best record he’d ever made."
Watching the Tide will be released on August 28th.
DEF LEPPARD: 13 in Early '27
Joe Elliott says Def Leppard are hoping to release their new album early next year.
Appearing on France 24, he said that the way they started recording during the pandemic -- separately in their own homes -- continues, albeit not necessarily at home, as was the case in February during their residency in Las Vegas. "On days off, we had the drums set up in the basement of the theater, and Rick [Allen] played loads of drums on his days off, and they'd do guitars in the hotel rooms, stuff like that. And I sing when I get home. So, we've got about 17 or 18 songs written. So we've actually almost got two albums recorded. So, we're still deciding which songs are gonna go on album one, if you like." Def Leppard's last album was Diamond Star Halos in 2022. They start a European tour on June 13th in Sweden.
Billy Joel's Last Play At Shea Set For Special Outdoor Tribeca Festival Screening
Billy Joel’s 2010 concert documentary, The Last Play at Shea, will be screened outdoors at Hudson Yards in New York City on June 4th at 7pm ET as part of the Tribeca Festival. The film focuses on his two shows at New York’s Shea Stadium in 2008 — the last shows before the stadium was demolished. Joining him over the two nights were Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Don Henley, Roger Daltrey, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler, John Mayer and John Mellencamp.
Neil Young Gives Update On New Album With The Chrome Hearts
Neil Young is giving fans an update on his upcoming album with his band The Chrome Hearts. In a post on his Archives website, the musician said he recently played the album, "Second Song," for his label Reprise Records and it "was a celebration." Young says the album is made up of seven songs, "five written recently in 2026 and two unheard ones from 1964." He has yet to reveal the release date for "Second Song."
KISS: New Song and More
Gene Simmons says KISS recently recorded a new song written by Paul Stanley. While Simmons can't provide further details, Stanley said last year that it would be for their avatar show that they're hoping to launch in 2028 in Las Vegas. This will be their first new song since their last album, 2012's Monster. And speaking of Vegas, the line-up for Simmons's Legends of Rock Expo on September 25th, 26th and 27th at the Westgate Resort & Casino continues to grow. In addition to the previously announced appearances of former KISS and Grand Funk Railroad guitarist Bruce Kulick, Dave Davies of The Kinks, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, you'll also be able to meet KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer and KISS drummer Eric Singer,
Ted Nugent, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Stephen Pearcy from RATT, drumming brothers Carmine and Vinny Appice, Lita Ford and many others yet to be announced.
Simmons also says production continues on the KISS bio-pic and documentary, and there are plans for a KISS amusement park.
IN OTHER NEWS
Metallica have announced a series of special events around the London stop of their M72 tour the weekend of July 3rd. Kirk Hammett will do a Q&A at EarTH in London July 4th. There will also be a Metallica film festival all weekend at the Prince Charles Cinema and a blood drive done in conjunction with the UK's NHS.
Sammy Hagar has posted a video on Instagram of himself struggling to plant a palm tree on the grounds of his home on Maui.
Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has posted a video on Instagram celebrating the 45th anniversary of their fourth album, 1981’s Fair Warning -- April 29th, 1981. He says it’s “definitely one of my favorite records.” Among the songs on the album are “Unchained” and “So This Is Love?”
Motley Crue will be joined by country singer Carrie Underwood for their performance
Monday on the season finale of American Idol on ABC and the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Patti Smith will take part in Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment on June 14th at Town Hall in New York City.