TOP 5 PROG ALBUMS

CLASSIC ROCK

Established 1998 Editor Siân Llewellyn Album of 2024:

WELCOME

E very single year I lament that I

This month’s contributors

MERLIN ALDERSLADE Former Metal Hammer Editor

OZZY AND FRIENDS UNITE FOR HALL OF FAME

2024 induction features Ozzy, Foreigner (finally!), Peter Frampton and more.

PAUL DI'ANNO May 17, 1958 – October 21, 2024

CR’s Dave Ling looks back at the life, times and music of the former Iron Maiden singer.

RIP Thank you… and good night.

Inger Lorre August 2, 1963 – October 16,

Phil Lesh March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024

PHIL LESH: ED PERLSTEIN/REDFERNS The bassist with the

Quincy Jones March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024

A true giant of American music and film,

New Queen Music Coming?

“We can still play. We can still sing. I don’t see why not.”

The Who To Reunite In 2025

Townshend and Daltrey are “in good form. We love each other,” says Pete.

NEWS

Jake E Lee is recovering well after

“You’ll think I’m out of my mind”

Alex Van Halen on Ozzy or Robert Plant singing for Van Halen.

350 Grassroots Music Venues Could Close

Music Venue Trust paints bleak picture of the future.

Grace Bowers

Meet the teenage guitar sensation who’s getting the attention of some music A-listers.

Ice-T

The Body Count frontman on rap, acting, WWIII, and getting David Gilmour on his cover of Comfortably Numb.

ALBUMS OF 2024

From the past 12 months’ album releases by A-listers, established artists, up-and-comers and previously unknowns, here are the 50 that Classic Rock reckons you should hear.

PETER PERRETT

A late-career starburst in his drugs-hastened twilight years, the former Only Ones frontman’s latest solo album is the best he’s ever made.

THE VIRGINMARYS

Like most bands, they’ve had to clear a few hurdles and fight a few battles. Now down to a duo, driven and doing things their own way, the road ahead looks a little smoother.

TOP 5 BLUES ALBUMS

BYWATER CALL 1 Shepherd BCR The blues isn’t

HAWKWIND

Constantly applying their quality-control nose to what they were working on, the space-rock veterans ended up with “a totally different album from what we started”.

SLASH

The hard-rock guitar hero released an album of blues and soul standards that no one was expecting. Then he took to the road for his S.E.R.P.E.N.T tour with a multitude of guests, including Samantha Fish and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

TOP 5 COUNTRY ALBUMS

1 ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO Echo Dancing YEP ROC Nearly

THE QUIREBOYS

With Thunder’s Luke Morley on board playing guitar and producing, Wardour Street might be their best album since their debut of 1990

MASSIVE WAGONS

The Lancaster bombers on surviving the metal festival circuit, the size of Bruce Dickinson’s gob and the great sprout debate.

TOP 5 PROG ALBUMS

1 MARJANA SEMKINA Sirin DEAD VICTORIAN GIRL The

BRUCE DICKINSON

The singer says his latest solo album felt like it was going to be “something really special” while they were making it, and that it didn’t turn out the way he had expected.

DAVID GILMOUR

Leading a rock group and being a solo artist were “not what I asked for”, David Gilmour says. For his latest album, Luck And Strange, he assembled a team that shared the weight of his creative efforts, and the result is “the best album I’ve made since The Dark Side Of The Moon”.

2 JUDASPRIEST2 JUDASPRIEST

Invincible Shield COLUMBIA/SONY

1THE BLACK CROWES

Happiness Bastards SILVER ARROW

JUKEBOX HERO

Like a hit-making machine, Mick Jones steered Foreigner to instant and huge success. But with this self-confessed “bit of a control freak” at the helm it was often far from plain sailing.

TEN REASONS WHY AC/DC PLAYED THE BEST GIGS OF 2024

To take a line from another entertainment institution: nobody does it better. Here’s how Angus and Brian got the gang back together, took to the road and totally rocked our world.

CLASSIC ROCKS'S ULTIMATE PLAYIST OF 2024

Some rocked, some rolled, some got down and bluesy, some went up country… From the plethora of top tracks that came out in the past 12 months, these are the ones you need to hear.

SHEER ART ATTACK

ThIs year’s return of Jane’s Addiction’s original line-up was floored not by musical differences, but a punch thrown by their singer.

RE-LOADED

When the Sex Pistols re-formed, with three original members plus singer Frank Carter, to play some London gigs, they hadn’t sounded so vital in years. And there’s likely more to come.

THE BEST REISSUES OF 2024

Some albums are just so good that they deserve to come at us again, hopefully loaded with extra tracks and other goodies to give the original an extra bang for your buy-it-again buck.

THE FEELGOOD FACTOR

Drugged up, boozed up and almost washed up, Mötley Crüe went into rehab and cleaned up, came out and recorded a classic of the late-80s LA metal scene: Dr. Feelgood. Nikki Sixx takes us back.

POWER OFF/RESTART

One spring day last year, Jesse Malin suddenly fell to the floor, and his life effectively fell apart. Still walking the road to recovery, he’s gradually finding his way back to making music again

THE RITE STUFF

Ghost’s concert-film-and-much-more Rite Here Rite Now fully immerses fans in what has helped turn the Swedish band into arguably the greatest theatrical rockers around today.

IN MEMORIAM

Here’s to the rock’n’rollers, among them musicians, producers, songwriters and others in the music industry, who sadly left us in 2024. Thank you, and goodnight…

Linkin Park

Nu-metal giants return after tragedy, rebooted and reborn.

ROUND-UP: SLEAZE

Bambies: garage punk with slap-happy hooks. Bambies Snotty

KOYO

Onism KICKSTARTER

ROUND-UP: MELODIC ROCK

Sunstorm Restless Fight FRONTIERS Three albums ago, their

SKAM

From The Depths INDEPENDENT

ROUND-UP: BLUES

Marcus Trummer: a soul man worth tapping

UFO

Obsession Deluxe CHRYSALIS

George Harrison

Living In The Material World DARK HORSE/BMG

Porcupine Tree

Fear Of A Blank Planet Deluxe TRANSMISSION

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Still Barking MADFISH

MC5: An Oral History Of America’s Most Revolutionary Band

Brad Tolinski, Jaan Uhelszki, Ben Edmonds

Bonamassa Plays Rory

Joe plays music of the late, great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher at three special shows in Cork.

Those Damn Crows

The former too-rock-for-goth family affair play eight UK shows.

Cats In Space & Willie Dowling

The pop-leaning rock band and the much-travelled solo artist play a pawful of shows in December.

Tour Dates

Dream Theater

London O2 Arena

Fu Manchu

London Electric Ballroom

Paul Weller

Glasgow Barrowland

Pretenders

London Palladium

Bob Dylan

Bournemouth International Centre

Alice Cooper

London Hammersmith Apollo

Peter Perrett

London Hackney Moth Club

Goat

London The Troxy

Booker T.

London Ronnie Scott’s

Blues Pills

London Lafayette

The Cult

London Royal Albert Hall

Y&T

London Islington Academy

Big Star Quintet: Radio City 50th Anniversary

London Hackney Church

Royal Republic

London Electric Ballroom

The Soundtrack Of My Life

Canadian maverick Devin Townsend on the records, artists and gigs that are of lasting significance to him

GREAT MUSIC

GIG SAND TOURS

GIGSANDTOURS.COM

KING MAKER

AEG PRESENTS

AEGPRESENTS.CO.UK

CLASSIC ROCK

AMPED

CLASSIC ROCK

INSIDE OUT MUSIC

www.insideoutmusic.com

CLASSIC ROCK

www.escape-music.com

CLASSIC ROCK

www.magazinesdirect.com/CRK/DH27S

NONESUCH

NONESUCH.COM

CLASSIC ROCK

LIVE WIRE

THE GIG CARTEL PRESENTS

THEGIGCARTEL.COM

MAGNUM

www.magnumonline.co.uk

ROBIN TROWER

Fleetwood Bac

THE SOUND MACHINE

thesoundmachine.uk.com

JOE BONAMASSA

JBONAMASS.COM