Classic Rock

This one threw all of us at Classic Rock for a loop. I’m referring, of course, to the sudden, unexpected loss of Jeff Beck. I still don’t quite believe it. Many of my favourite memories of Jeff revolve around the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour. We managed to tempt him into attending one of our bashes in the early days, and from then on he became something of a stalwart of the occasion, whether he was winning or presenting an award or not. He just simply enjoyed coming along and spending an evening in the company of his friends and peers. And, of course, we absolutely loved having him there. One year he played a blinding set at the Roundhouse for us (with guests Chrissie Hynde and Joss Stone), another…

IRON MAIDEN ARE the subject of a new set of postage stamps from the Royal Mail. On sale now, the dozen images of the band members come from the 1980s until 2018. Four of the new stamps are gathered in a miniature sheet featuring their mascot Eddie The ’Ead, one of which sees him portrayed as a samurai warrior from Maiden’s latest album, Senjutsu. Maiden become just the fifth band to receive the honour, following The Beatles in 2007, Pink Floyd in 2016, Queen in 2020 and the Rolling Stones in 2022. Royal Mail collaborated closely with the group and their management company Phantom Music. The stamps feature the head of the late regent, Queen Elizabeth II, rather than King Charles. The band’s manager Rod Smallwood says: “It’s incredible to…

The lead singer with The Specials and former frontman with Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield, Terry Hall, has died aged 63. Coventry-born Hall found an outlet in the punk scene, joining the Coventry Automatics, the band that became known as The Specials in 1979. They blended Jamaican ska with punk rock to create a multi-cultural sound that was riotously entertaining, fiercely political and anti-racist. The Specials notched seven consecutive Top 10 singles in the UK, including the chart-topping Ghost Town in 1981. That same year Hall formed Fun Boy Three who had seven UK Top 20 hits. By 1984 he’d formed The Colourfield, whose wry lounge-pop failed to capture the public’s imagination in quite the same way as The Specials and Fun Boy Three. Post-Colourfield, Hall had a solo…

Jim Stuart July 29, 1930 – December 5, 2022 Tennessee-born Jim Stuart was a co-founder of Stax Records, the iconic soul and R&B label with a roster that included Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Isaac Hayes and Sam & Dave. In 2002 Stuart was inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a “producer, engineer, businessman and mentor”. He was 92. Cause of death has not been announced. Harvey Jett February 17, 1949 – December 21, 2022 Harvey ‘Burley’ Jett was a lead guitarist, singer, pianist and banjo player with proto-southern rockers Black Oak Arkansas, and played on their first seven albums from 1965 until the middle of the following decade when, following a concert in St Louis, Missouri, and tiring of the rock-star treadmill, he…

The bassist and co-founder of The Tubes, Rick Anderson, has died at the age of 75. A social media statement from The Tubes said: “Rick brought a steady and kind presence to the band for 50 years. His love came through his bass. RIP.” The Tubes were formed in the Bay Area in 1972, pulling together members of the Phoenix-based bands The Beans and the Red White And Blues Band, drawn to the area three years earlier. Anderson had been in The Beans. The foundations of the Tubes were laid when former roadie John ‘Fee’ Waybill was added to a prototype line-up. After the band opened for Led Zeppelin, and Rick Wakeman helped them get signed to A&M Records, Anderson played on all eight of The Tubes’ classic-era studio albums,…

Welsh singer, guitarist and songwriter Kim Simmonds was the leader of blues-rock band Savoy Brown from their formation in 1965 until his death, and they released more than 40 albums. The 75-year-old had been receiving chemotherapy for stagefour colon cancer. Over the decades, Simmonds hired and fired more than 50 members of the band, including Stan Webb, Jackie Lynton, Bill Bruford and UFO’s Paul Raymond. During a bout of writer’s block in the 80s, his self-doubt prompted him to re-learn the guitar. “I had no idea why I was no longer any good,” he told Classic Rock in 2019. “I didn’t even know what a pentatonic scale was, so I was forced to analyse how I’d done it before and start over. I’ve been right to the bottom and dragged…