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Wolfgang Van Halen does his family name proud on new Mammoth single “The End,” an up-tempo rocker featuring a healthy dose of the guitar heroics his late father Eddie Van Halen made famous.

You can watch the action-packed, star-studded video below.

“The End” explodes out of the gate with a furious tapped guitar lick that’s evidently embedded in the Van Halen DNA. After a brisk secondary lick that evokes “Mean Street,” the song shifts into a driving verse propelled by Van Halen’s energetic drumming. “The End” climaxes with a soaring, anthemic chorus and fiery guitar solo.

READ MORE: Mammoth WVH, ‘Mammoth II’: Album Review

“I’ve had the tapping idea on the intro for ‘The End’ since before Mammoth,” Van Halen explained in a statement. “I was able to fit it into this world. It’s still over-the-top and shreddy, but it’s also melodic and controlled. Overall, I was doing some different things on the record, and I knew this was going to be a big step. Once we finished ‘The End,’ it felt really special to me.”

Wolfgang Van Halen Enlists Famous Friends for Epic ‘The End’ Video

Van Halen also recruited director Robert Rodriguez for the epic “The End” video, a modern-day interpretation of Rodriguez’s 1996 action-horror hit From Dusk Till Dawn. It stars Danny Trejo as a seedy nightclub owner who allows Mammoth to perform at the venue under the condition that they play quietly.

Naturally, the band doesn’t comply, and calamity ensues, featuring a horde of zombies, werewolves and vampires. Several Van Halen friends and family members also make cameos in the video, including Slash, Myles Kennedy, his mother Valerie Bertinelli and his wife Andraia Allsop.

In addition to the new song and video, Mammoth has announced a fall U.S. headlining tour with support from Kennedy. You can see the dates below.

Mammoth, ‘The End’ Fall 2025 U.S. Tour Dates
Oct 31 – Show information to come soon
Nov 1 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
Nov 4 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Nov 5 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Nov 7 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Nov 8 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Nov 9 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Nov 11 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
Nov 12 – Show information to come soon
Nov 14 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
Nov 15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre
Nov 18 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora
Nov 19 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
Nov 20 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!
Nov 22 – Onamia, MN – Grand Casino Mille Lacs Event Center
Nov 23 – Green Bay, WI – EPIC Event Center
Nov 25 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory at The District
Nov 26 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Nov 28 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
Nov 29 – Show information to come soon
Dec 2 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
Dec 3 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Dec 6 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
Dec 7 – Show information to come soon

Bruce Springsteen has released the third song from his upcoming set, Tracks II: The Lost Albums.

The song “Faithless” comes from the unreleased album of the same name that was recorded between the end of the Devils & Dust tour in November 2005 and the arrival of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions in April 2006.

You can listen to “Faithless” below.

The song was slated for a soundtrack to a movie of the same name that was never released. The film is called a “spiritual Western” in a press release announcing the song. In addition to the title track, Faithless includes four instrumental pieces written for the movie.

READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen Live Albums Ranked

The album was recorded before the film was even shot. “This was a really unusual collection of songs,” Springsteen notes. “You could recognize details and maybe a character or two. But for the most part, I just wrote atmospheric music that I thought would fit.”

While the album is mostly a solo LP recorded over two weeks in Florida — “Faithless” the song is a slow, acoustic number — E Street Band touring members Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Curtis King, Jr., Michelle Moore and Ada Dyer, plus Patti Scialfa and producer Ron Aniello make appearances.

What’s on Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’?

“Faithless” is the third song to be released from Tracks II: The Lost Albums, which comes out on June 27.

The set includes seven unreleased LPs and over 80 songs recorded between 1983 and 2018. “Faithless” follows “Rain in the River” from Perfect World and “Blind Spot” from the Streets of Philadelphia Sessions.

You can see the track listing for The Lost Albums below.

Bruce Springsteen, ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’ Track Listing
LA Garage Sessions ’83
1. Follow That Dream
2. Don’t Back Down On Our Love
3. Little Girl Like You
4. Johnny Bye Bye
5. Sugarland
6. Seven Tears
7. Fugitive’s Dream
8. Black Mountain Ballad
9. Jim Deer
10. County Fair
11. My Hometown
12. One Love
13. Don’t Back Down
14. Richfield Whistle
15. The Klansman
16. Unsatisfied Heart
17. Shut Out The Light
18. Fugitive’s Dream (Ballad)

Streets of Philadelphia Sessions
1. Blind Spot
2. Maybe I Don’t Know You
3. Something In The Well
4. Waiting On The End Of The World
5. The Little Things
6. We Fell Down
7. One Beautiful Morning
8. Between Heaven and Earth
9. Secret Garden
10. The Farewell Party

Faithless
1. The Desert (Instrumental)
2. Where You Goin’, Where You From
3. Faithless
4. All God’s Children
5. A Prayer By The River (Instrumental)
6. God Sent You
7. Goin’ To California
8. The Western Sea (Instrumental)
9. My Master’s Hand
10. Let Me Ride
11. My Master’s Hand (Theme)

Somewhere North of Nashville
1. Repo Man
2. Tiger Rose
3. Poor Side of Town
4. Delivery Man
5. Under A Big Sky
6. Detail Man
7. Silver Mountain
8. Janey Don’t You Lose Heart
9. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
10. Stand On It
11. Blue Highway
12. Somewhere North of Nashville

Inyo
1. Inyo
2. Indian Town
3. Adelita
4. The Aztec Dance
5. The Lost Charro
6. Our Lady of Monroe
7. El Jardinero (Upon the Death of Ramona)
8. One False Move
9. Ciudad Juarez
10. When I Build My Beautiful House

Twilight Hours
1. Sunday Love
2. Late in the Evening
3. Two of Us
4. Lonely Town
5. September Kisses
6. Twilight Hours
7. I’ll Stand By You
8. High Sierra
9. Sunliner
10. Another You
11. Dinner at Eight
12. Follow The Sun

Perfect World
1. I’m Not Sleeping
2. Idiot’s Delight
3. Another Thin Line
4. The Great Depression
5. Blind Man
6. Rain In The River
7. If I Could Only Be Your Lover
8. Cutting Knife
9. You Lifted Me Up
10. Perfect World

Guns N’ Roses kicked off their 2025 world tour on Thursday at Incheon, South Korea’s Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, delivering a 22-song set that closely resembled their recent outings.

You can watch video from the performance and see the set list below.

The first date of the tour — which sports the verbose title Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things — marked the debut of new Guns N’ Roses drummer Isaac Carpenter, who replaced longtime drummer Frank Ferrer in March. Carpenter had previous GN’R affiliations, having played with Duff McKagan‘s Loaded from 2009 to 2011 and appearing on their 2011 album The Taking.

What Did Guns N’ Roses Play at Their 2025 Tour Kickoff?

Otherwise, the biggest change-up during the band’s performance came from the set list order. Guns opened with “Welcome to the Jungle” for the first time since 2012, according to setlist.fm. Their stalwart reunion-era opener, “It’s So Easy,” appeared later in the evening.

As usual, the band drew most heavily from their epochal debut album Appetite for Destruction, playing seven of its 12 songs, including “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Nightrain” and faithful set closer “Paradise City.” Use Your Illusion epics “November Rain,” “Coma” and “Estranged” returned, as did the relative deep cut “Bad Obsession.” The band also represented Chinese Democracy with “Better,” “Sorry” and the title track.

READ MORE: The 30 Wildest Moments From Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion Tour

Interestingly, of the four post-reunion songs Guns N’ Roses have released since 2021, only “Perhaps” appeared in the set. The show was also relatively light on covers by GN’R standards, with just four — Bob Dylan‘s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” Wings‘ “Live and Let Die,” Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” and Velvet Revolver‘s “Slither” — making the cut.

Guns N’ Roses’ current tour will continue through the rest of the spring and early summer, scheduled to conclude on July 31 at Wacken Open Air. The band has not yet announced any North American dates.

Watch Guns N’ Roses Play ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ at 2025 World Tour Kickoff

Watch Guns N’ Roses Play ‘It’s So Easy’ at 2025 World Tour Kickoff

Watch Guns N’ Roses Play ‘Perhaps’ at 2025 World Tour Kickoff

Watch Guns N’ Roses Play ‘Rocket Queen’ at 2025 World Tour Kickoff

Guns N’ Roses, 5/1/25, Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, Incheon Set List
1. “Welcome to the Jungle”
2. “Bad Obsession”
3. “Mr. Brownstone”
4. “Chinese Democracy”
5. “Live and Let Die”
6. “Slither”
7. “Perhaps”
8. “Estranged”
9. “Double Talkin’ Jive”
10. “Coma”
11. “Sorry”
12. “Better”
13. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
14. “It’s So Easy”
15. “Rocket Queen”
16. Slash guitar solo
17. “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
18. “November Rain”
19. “Wichita Lineman”
20. “Patience”
21. “Nightrain”
22. “Paradise City”

From pretty much the very beginning, Guns N’ Roses were an instantly recognizable band in terms of their outer image.

“I try to express myself through my clothes,” Axl Rose told Rolling Stone in 1989. “It’s another form of the art. I’m not afraid of what people think about different ways I look. I’m gonna do what I want to.”

And Rose was not the only one showing his identity through his clothing.

“Steven [Adler] enjoys the hell out of the clothes he wears,” Rose said, “whereas Slash and I wouldn’t be caught dead in them; then again, there’s things Slash and I wear that Steven wouldn’t be caught dead in either. It’s just different personalities.”

Several of those personalities will be on full display in 2025 when Guns N’ Roses launches their Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things world tour on May 1 in Incheon, Korea. If you’ve got tickets and you’re pondering your own outfit choices, we have some suggestions for you below with links included.

We’re going to start with perhaps the most obvious fashion accessory: a black top hat like Slash’s. Fortunately, Amazon has what appears to be hundreds of variations on this item depending on your exact style and budget. Slash usually dons a sort of belt buckle-looking band around his like this one, but you can get creative with yours.

And in case you were wondering, no, Slash never meant for his hat to become as iconic as it has. He stole it from a Los Angeles store way back in the day before GNR became superstars. “It just spoke to me,” he explained to Conan O’Brien in 2022. “[It] just became a thing where I just really identified with it. Like I wore it all the time. There was a way you pull it over your eyes; you could hide behind it if you were really high. It was great for bad hair days. I had no intention of it being this long-term show thing.”

Here’s the thing about accessories, particularly in rock ‘n’ roll: they can be both a fashion statement and a practical tool. Such is the case with Rose’s famous bandana headband. “If we’re going to do a show,” he explained in the aforementioned 1989 Rolling Stone interview, “I wear a headband because my hair gets in my face.” Rose’s bandana was often red, but he sometimes sported other colors like blue or purple. Amazon carries basically every color of the rainbow so feel free to branch out.

If you thought temporary tattoos were just for kids at birthday parties, think again. When you look at the musicians on stage during a Guns N’ Roses concert, you’ll notice they pretty much all have visible tattoos. (Followers of Duff McKagan, for example, know that the bassist has occasionally shared photos on Instagram of whatever fresh ink he’s gotten.) Why not match the band a bit? Sure, you could go out and literally get some tattoos, but it’s probably best to stick with the temporary ones for one-night-only.

We have no idea why Rose chose to wear a jersey with the number 22 on it during GNR’s Use Your Illusion tour in the early ’90s. He wore another black jersey, this time with the number 80, when the band performed at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 29, 2002. That one appeared to be an Oakland Raiders football jersey — 80 was wide receiver Jerry Rice’s number. In any case, you can find either of these numbers (22, 80) in classic black jersey form on Amazon.

If you’re going to wear a flannel shirt to a Guns N’ Roses concert, you better make sure it’s not on your shoulders but tied around your waist a la Rose. He’s worn several different color variations of this over the years — red and black, navy and white, etc. — but Amazon has plenty of other color options so you can choose your own favorite.

Slash sure does enjoy a sleeveless number from time to time, especially the denim cutoff kind. (To be fair, some of his bandmates have also sported them.) You could get a plain one, or you could go the extra mile and grab an official Guns N’ Roses sleeveless denim vest from their website, complete with “bullet seal on the back and GN’F’NR across the top back and front panels.”

Rose and Slash are by no means the only rockstars to don aviator sunglasses, but you sort of can’t complete an outfit inspired by either one of them without throwing on a pair. You can, of course, switch things up with the hardware and/or lens color.

Again, Slash picked up the habit of wearing this accessory because it worked as a sort of shield from people. “Now wherever you go, because everybody’s got camera phones, people take your picture, and you just end up never taking the shades off,” he told The New Zealand Herald in 2015. “And I rarely look out at the crowd. It makes me very uncomfortable to look directly into the face of the crowd.”

This one won’t work for everyone, but if you’re someone with long enough locks, you could really get the Slash look by curling your hair with a small-barreled curling iron like this one. (Of course, you could also wear a wig.) Weirdly, Slash’s hair on the cover of GNR’s debut album Appetite for Destruction is….straight? But we all know the real signature look is those voluminous curls.

We saved the most daring for last. Though he doesn’t anymore, there was a time when Rose often wore tiny white shorts, and we really cannot emphasize the word “tiny” enough. So if you’re feeling brave — and the weather is warm enough — Amazon has you covered….well, at least in the figurative sense.

Billy Idol and Joan Jett kicked off their 2025 tour Wednesday night in Phoenix with a huge serving of ’80s hits and trips to their respective punk rock pasts.

You can see the complete set lists for both Idol and Jett below, as well as fan-shot video from their performances.

Jett kicked things off at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre with a 15-song set that wrapped up with a powerful foursome of her biggest hits: “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Crimson and Clover,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.”

It was the first show of the It’s a Nice Day to.. Tour Again! tour, timed to promote Idol’s new Dream Into It album. His 17-song set featured five songs from the new album, mixed in with Rebel Yell hits such as “Flesh for Fantasy” and “Eyes Without a Face.”

His longtime guitarist Steve Stevens was given plenty of time to shine with two extended solo segments, one of which found him covering Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway to Heaven” and Eddie Van Halen‘s “Eruption.”

In a better world, the tour would have also served as a victory lap for the “Rebel Yell” singer’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. But despite coming in third in the fan vote, Idol wasn’t chosen for induction this year.

Both singers revisited the catalogs of their pre-solo career punk rock bands, with Idol covering Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself” and “Night of the Cadillacs,” while Jett performed “Cherry Bomb” and “You Drive Me Wild” by the Runaways.

Read More: Here’s What to Wear to the Billy Idol / Joan Jett Tour

Idol and Jett will return to the stage in Houston on Saturday night. The tour’s first leg will conclude May 23 in Toronto. They’ll return to the road Aug. 16 in Philadelphia, with the fun scheduled to wrap up Sept. 25 in Los Angeles. You can get complete show and ticket information at Idol’s official website.

Watch Billy Idol Perform ‘Rebel Yell’

Watch Billy Idol Perform ‘Eyes Without a Face’

Watch Joan Jett Perform ‘Cherry Bomb’

Billy Idol, April 30, 2025 Phoenix Talking Stick Amphitheatre Set List

1. “Still Dancing”
2. “Cradle of Love”
3. “Flesh for Fantasy”
4. “77”
5. “Too Much Fun”
6. “Eyes Without a Face”
7. Steve Stevens Guitar Solo
8. “Mony Mony”
9. “Dream Into It”
10. “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”
11. “Night of the Cadillacs”
12. “Blue Highway”
13. “Rebel Yell”
14. “Dancing With Myself”
15. “Hot in the City”
16. “People I Love”
17. “White Wedding”

via SetList.fm

Joan Jett, April 30, 2025 Phoenix Talking Stick Amphitheatre Set List

1. “Change the World”
2. “Cherry Bomb”
3. “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”
4. “You Drive Me Wild”
5. “If You’re Blue”
6. “Different”
7. “Fake Friends”
8. “Lie to Me”
9. “Androgynous”
10. “Everyday People”
11. “Love is Pain”
12. “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”
13. “Crimson & Clover”
14. “I Hate Myself for Loving You”
15. “Bad Reputation”

via SetList.fm

Chubby Checker has finally been elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but the pioneering musician still isn’t content.

In a recent interview with Variety, Checker – who has been Hall eligible since 1986 – explained why he believes his career belongs among the greats.

“I was thinking that if I was chosen [for the Hall of Fame], or that if I wasn’t chosen, I’m still Chubby. What we did then, what we do now, is still there,” the singer explained. “It’s just a great thing that it’s happening. And if they finally put my statue up, well, I might not be alive to see that happen, but people will enjoy it.”

The statue he’s alluding to goes back to an incident in 2002, when Checker protested the Hall insisting he deserved credit for helping blaze a trail for rock and roll.

READ MORE: 28 Rock Stars Inducted Into the Hall of Fame More Than Once

“I told them that, because of what we’ve done in the music industry, the Hall should erect a statue of Chubby Checker in its courtyard inviting everyone in to rock ‘n’ roll,” he recalled. “Everyone got so angry about that. Everybody’s made a whole lotta money off of Chubby. Give the man some credit!”

What Chubby Checker Wants From the Music Industry

Checker has remained remarkably active over his six decade career. While he’ll always be associated with his timeless hit “The Twist,” the singer accumulated 16 Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, proof of his impressive longevity. While the Hall honor is nice, he has an even bigger hope for his legacy.

“You know what I do want from the music industry – or maybe I don’t care anymore, I don’t know – is to hear my music in the same way people can hear Billy Joel, the Beatles, Elton John or Fleetwood Mac: everywhere,” Checker explained. “On the radio. In supermarkets. I want to hear my music liked like them.”

READ MORE: Rock Hall Class of 2025: Snubs, Surprises and More

“The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says I’m in, and I appreciate that,” Checker continued. “But I want to hear my music, and get it heard like [those other legends] do. Billboard gave me the first No. 1 song of all time for ‘The Twist’ in 2008, because it was on top longer than any other song. I want people to hear it. I want to hear it. They don’t have the No. 1 song on the planet; I do. And by the way: the dancefloor that so many of these artists enjoy and make millions of dollars on – I put it there. And it’s still there.”

Sammy Hagar and his Best of All Worlds band kicked off their 2025 Las Vegas residency Wednesday night with an 18-song set peppered with Van Halen songs he hadn’t played in decades.

You can see the complete set list and fan-shot videos from the show below.

It was the first of nine shows Hagar’s performing at Dolby Live at Park MGM, using the same band he assembled last summer to celebrate his time in Van Halen: bassist and fellow Van Halen alumni Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Kenny Aronoff and keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte. 

Read More: Why Sammy Hagar’s Trading Touring for Residencies

Hagar made good on his promise to dig deeper into the Van Halen catalog, performing the Balance track “Amsterdam” for the first time since 2007 and the 5150 ballad “Love Walks In” for the first time since 1993. He also performed “Humans Being” from the Twister soundtrack, which the Best of All Worlds band played for the first time last weekend at the Stagecoach festival.

The night began with the debut of his new single “Encore Thank You Goodnight,” a tribute to Eddie Van Halen that Hagar said features a riff his former bandmate taught him in a dream. Pop star Kesha turned up mid-set to help Anthony sing the David Lee Roth-era classic “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.”

Earlier this week the 77-year-old Hagar explained that the residency was part of a plan to extend his performing career. “I would never ever announce retirement. I would just go away,” he told Rolling Stone. “But if I had 50 more shows left in me … I believe if I went to Vegas and did residences without all the travel, the packing and the unpacking, the bad food, the bad beds, the bad hotel rooms, all the crap that beats the shit out of you on tour, I might be able to do 75 shows instead of 50.”

Sammy Hagar’s Best of All Worlds Las Vegas residency will play Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays until May 17. You can get complete show and ticket information at his official website.

Watch Sammy Hagar Perform in Las Vegas

Sammy Hagar April 30, 2025 Las Vegas Set List

1. “Encore Thank You Goodnight”
2. “Top of the World”
3. “Panama”
4. “Runaround”
5. “There’s Only One Way to Rock”
6. “Humans Being”
7. “Right Now”
8. “5150”
9. “Summer Nights”
10. “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love”
11. “Satch Boogie”
12. “Amsterdam”
13. “Why Can’t This Be Love”
14. “Good Enough”
15. “Heavy Metal”
16. “Best of Both Worlds”
17. “I Can’t Drive 55”
18. “Love Walks In”

via SetList.fm

The Best Song From Every Sammy Hagar Album

Solo or in a group, he proves there’s more than one way to rock.

Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening

More From Ultimate Classic Rock

The ’80s had main-character energy. Say what you will about the music but everyone looked the part. Well, for a while, anyway.

Despite its reputation for over-the-top production values, over-the-top album sales and even more over-the-top fashion, the ’80s produced their fair share of also-ran bands. The decade was defined in part by one-hit or two-hit wonders who found a quick burst of fame through the new medium of MTV.

Then there were the members of our list of Five ’80s Bands That Should’ve Been Bigger. Their fates were altered by a variety of forces – and only some of them were beyond their own control. There were a few scattered hits, but most aspired to even one.

READ MORE: Yes, They Actually Wore This in the ’80s

They couldn’t control their own vociferous appetite for drink and drugs. Or they were changed forever when a key songwriting partner left for a solo career. One simply couldn’t get along. One became something of a shooting-star band because their biggest singles all arrived in a matter of months. Another seemed to do everything they could to push back against impending fame – and they ultimately succeeded.

Yet their influence on the music of the following eras is undeniable. They opened the door for indie bands to join the ranks of major-label signings. They forged a path from the nervy underground vibe of the early ’80s to the mainstream alt-rock stadium tours of the early ’90s. Nirvana traced their attitude and musical roots back to one of these acts. The Killers do, too.

Just as intriguing: While two combustible acts completely fell apart, the others continued well past this defining era, building on their original sound and successes well into the new century. That forms its own cornerstone in the argument that they should have bigger.

No. 5. The dB’s

The dB’s set an alt-rock and power pop standard with their first two albums that the North Carolina-rooted group struggled to match again. That’s because they lost Chris Stamey, the quirkier half of a songwriting duo with smart rocker Peter Holsapple. The dB’s gamely carried on, finally charting (though only at No. 171) with 1987’s The Sound of Music. By then, they’d signed to a label that promptly folded then the lineup had shifted again. The dB’s fell silent until roaring back with 2012’s very welcome reunion, Falling Off the Sky.

No. 4. Husker Du

Husker Du broke up after notching their highest-selling LP, 1987’s Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Unfortunately, they’d only made it to No. 117 – and that was the least of their problems. Husker Du never had a charting U.S. single, and No. 96 was the best they’d do in the U.K. Their manager died by suicide as tensions boiled over between songwriters Bob Mould and Grant Hart. They flamed out on tour, but not before providing a key support in the bridge from punk to alternative rock. Without Husker Du, there’s no Nirvana.

No. 3. The Church

The Church scored a bona fide hit with 1988’s “Under the Milky Way.” They just didn’t seem all that interested in success. The group was dropped by their U.S. label after delivering a sophomore release that quickly veered from new wave. Later, their manager secured an opening spot on a 1982 U.K. tour with Duran Duran – but the Church quit before the showcase could provide any commercial momentum. The No. 22 single “Under the Milky Way,” a fever dream of psychedelia and gloss, underscored the distinctive musical evolution that followed. But then they fired their label’s chosen producer and never returned to the Billboard Top 40.

No. 2. The Replacements

The Replacements made the Church seem like fame-hungry sycophants. They met every opportunity with a lit match. There were drunken onstage antics, and disastrous appearance on Saturday Night Live. Then they fired Bob Stinson from the band he started. All of it obscured Paul Westerberg‘s canny knack for articulating teen angst. Their musical arc began with the trashiest of hardcore punk before slowly transforming into a template-setting blend of attitude and power chords soon dubbed alternative. They were also among the first wave of indie signings by major labels, opening the door for the mainstreaming of college rock in the ’90s.

No. 1. The Fixx

The Fixx were easily the most commercially successful on our list of Five ’80s Bands That Should’ve Been Bigger – but that’s a relative description. They still only a handful Top 40 songs, with “One Things Leads to Another” leading the way at No. 4. The main burst of attention was also confined to 1983: Three of those hits were plucked from Reach the Beach. It all began to feel very much like a moment in time even as the Fixx continued to release layered, resonant albums with all of the same emotion and urgency – right up through 2022’s triumphant Every Five Seconds. Somewhere, the Killers were clearly listening.

Billy Corgan has always had strong opinions about what Smashing Pumpkins should sound like, and he’s never shied away from conflict – even with his own label.

During a recent episode of his podcast, the Magnificent Others, Corgan recalled bristling with Smashing Pumpkins’ label over the band’s 1993 single “Cherub Rock.”

“The intro was one minute long,” Corgan explained while chatting with his guests, Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean and Robert DeLeo. “Of course the record company comes and goes, ‘Hey, ‘Cherub Rock’’s five minutes long. Can you guys cut that intro?’”

As you’d expect, Corgan fired back against the label’s suggestion. “I said, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ And you know where we got that intro from? We stole it from ‘By-Tor and the Snow Dog’ from Rush.”

READ MORE: Smashing Pumpkins Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Record executives tried persuading Corgan to reconsider, but the rocker was steadfast in his decision.

“No fucking way. That intro is fucking great. Fuck yourself,” he recalled declaring. “And they say, ‘Well, MTV…’ I said, ‘I don’t give a shit.’”

In the end, Corgan got the last laugh. Released as the lead single from Siamese Dream, “Cherub Rock” became the band’s first hit, peaking at No. 7 on Billboard’s Alternative chart.

Billy Corgan’s 2025 Tour

Corgan will be hitting the road without Smashing Pumpkins this summer, but he’ll still be playing plenty of the band’s material. The singer will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the 25th anniversaries of both of Machina/The Machine of God and Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music.

Corgan will be backed by his new solo band, the Machines of God, on the trek, which kicks off June 7 in Baltimore.

Top 100 ’90s Rock Albums

Any discussion of the Top 100 ’90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different.

Gallery Credit: UCR Staff

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