wamdines – Page 9

Biff Byford on Lemmy, inspiring thrash metal and the greatest heavy metal riff ever written

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

(Image credit: Ned Wakeman)

Saxon frontman Biff Byford has been belting his heart out over heavy metal thunder since Jim Callaghan was prime minister in the 1970s, and has overseen the Barnsley metal legends’ ascent from smoky taprooms to the world’s biggest stages.

He’s been there, done that, and used the t-shirt to staunch a tour van’s oil leak, so there was a lot of ground to cover when we sat him down with a hatful of your probing questions. Despite turning 74 in January, Biff was bristling with enthusiasm for the task – especially when we asked about tea…

Denim OR leather?
Matthew Haley, Facebook

“Ooh, I don’t know, I like ’em both! But I think probably denim. I should say leather, being a biker, but I like a nice pair of denim jeans, definitely. Also, if you wear leather onstage it doesn’t last two minutes, it becomes unwearable with the sweat. So denim’s much better, actually!”

Back in the lean years of the 90s, did the band ever come close to calling it quits?
Nigel Taylor, Facebook

“No, we didn’t. We were very lucky – around 1990 we signed with Virgin in Germany. We were in that no-man’s land between record deals after EMI, and Virgin came to my house to offer us a deal. Solid Ball Of Rock was our first album for Virgin, and that was a big album for us. We went through the 90s on the strength of that, really. Our organisation was based out of Germany back then, so we didn’t do a lot of touring in the UK. We were a bit out of favour at that time, so we went to where we were able to keep going.”

What’s the greatest riff in metal?
Ben Saunders, Facebook

“I don’t think there’s a single one – there were so many great riffs just in the 60s and 70s – but for metal I’d probably say Iron Man. Iron Man has a lingering impact, and sounds just as good today as it did originally. Obviously Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love is a great one too… Ask me in an hour, I’ll probably say something else!”

What’s the worst gig you have ever played? Adam_Boon, Instagram

“It was in Temple, Texas. It wasn’t that bad a gig, but no one was there! We were touring the US with [former Accept and current U.D.O. lead singer] Udo Dirkschneider, and we got this gig offer in Temple – it was in a big barn made out of cardboard, not far from Waco. We asked if there’d been any advertising, and the guy said, ‘We had a line-dancing concert a couple of weeks ago, and we flyered everybody there.’ We were like, ‘You do know we’re not a country and western band, don’t you?’ So nobody came, because nobody knew we were playing. But it was funny, us and Udo just had a big jam onstage together, which was great fun!’”

Former TV/radio presenter Justin Lee Collins once said he would run into a burning building to save Saxon. Who would you brave the flames to save? Alice Wilkes, email

“There isn’t a band I wouldn’t save. I wouldn’t stand outside and say, ‘I’m not saving them!’ Obviously if Priest or Maiden were on fire I’d save them, but a better question is, if 12 bands are in a burning building, which ones do you save first? Hmm!’”

Is there a Saxon song you regret?
Dunipace83, Instagram

“Some of our songs have had some bad press, but I don’t regret any – I probably regret who produced them. With Sailing To America [in 1984] we got hammered by the British press about selling out. It was misconstrued as us trying to break America, but it was about the Pilgrim Fathers setting out on the Mayflower. It was a historical song, but it got a bit misrepresented. It was produced quite lightweight, so it doesn’t have the power that it would if we recorded it today. Swings and roundabouts!”

Which artists, dead or living, would you love to collaborate with?
Vlad Magnifico, Facebook

“So I could choose Beethoven?! Actually, I’d have liked to have collaborated with Gary Moore. I knew Gary quite well in his heavy rock and metal days, and we never really worked together, so it would have been nice to write some riffs with him.”

Saxon – 1066 (Official Video) – YouTube Saxon - 1066 (Official Video) - YouTube

Watch On

How did the Amon Amarth collab come to be? Freek742617000027, Instagram

“We met them a few times when they first came onto the scene. The thing is, they’re from Sweden, and in the 80s we were absolutely humongous in Sweden. So a lot of those young Swedish musicians, who were learning in that period, were really into Saxon – we were one of their favourite bands at that time. And we got on really well with them. Obviously they drink, and Nibbs [Carter, Saxon bassist] is their big drinking buddy, so we had a drink and a chat, and I asked Johan [Hegg, Amon Amarth vocalist] if he’d sing on the song Predator. They’re a good band, their riffs are great, and Johan’s voice is not so brutal that you can’t hear what he’s singing, which is always good for us older guys!”

HAMMER: Who would win – Saxons or Vikings?

“Actually, the Saxons did win at Stamford Bridge! Obviously [a few weeks later] they lost to the Normans, but yeah, we beat the Vikings. I tell that to Amon Amarth all the time! The video we did with them for Saxons And Vikings was a bit Stamford Bridgey, and I was like, ‘You do realise we won this battle?’ ‘Ja, we realise, ja.’ ‘Well don’t forget mate, and I won’t keep mentioning the war!’ So yeah, we would win!”

How are you still making a killer album every two years?
Numpty’s Dusty Ruts, email

“I think it’s just a matter of focus. There’s a lot of time choosing riffs and working on stuff. After a couple of hours a day for a month, we’ll have 10 or 12 songs that will be good. So by the time we’re in the studio, we’ve done the hard work, we just need to play great. I mean, the next album might be the last album, we don’t know, we haven’t decided yet. We know we’ve got to try and make it as good as Hell, Fire And Damnation, which is going to be hard actually. That was a great album!”

What’s your personal favourite Saxon album? Daniel Armstrong, Facebook

“I think Denim And Leather is my favourite from the 80s. It really summed up that era. With the title song, other bands might think it’s cheesy, but it’s a song from the heart to our fans, that’s why people like it so much. It gets thousands and thousands of streams in America – I don’t think half of them even know whose song it is, they just love the song! There have been three periods of Saxon. From a later one, I think [1991’s] Solid Ball Of Rock was a great album, I really enjoyed doing that, and then Doug [Scarratt, guitars]’s first album, [1997’s] Unleash The Beast, is a great album, it really is.”

How do you make the perfect cup of tea?
Dale Watts, Facebook

“Ah, this is it, see. Obviously it has to be Yorkshire Tea, the only brand we use! The secret used to be… when I was a lad it was all loose tea, so it was a teaspoon for each person and one for the pot, but nowadays it’s a bag per person. So you need a warm teapot, pour the boiling water straight onto the teabag, and let it brew. We always drink out of mugs, not cups – and we don’t do the little finger in the air thing! The colour of the tea is important; you can make it stronger or weaker if you put milk in last.”

How did you feel about thrash – and the bands you inspired – in the 80s?
TrueNorthBeardCo, Instagram

“I think ourselves and Motörhead helped start it, didn’t we? That style of fast and furious playing, with aggressive lyrics and a ‘Fuck ’em all’ attitude. We liked thrash, it excited us. We were a bit fed up with the slow, melodic plods that some of the bands were doing at that time. I think that’s one of the reasons why Lemmy liked us and took us on tour in ’79 – we weren’t like the usual bands, we were pushing the envelope a bit.”

What’s your all-time favourite Lemmy memory? Jaritheone, Instagram

“There’s a few! We met them tons of times, and me and Lem spent a lot of time together talking about things – private things really, that you wouldn’t mention to anyone else. He had a quick wit. We were playing Newcastle’s City Hall, there must have been 800 people outside the venue when we arrived. He was getting off the bus and someone shouted, ‘Lemmy, you’re God!’ And Lemmy said, ‘Nah, I’m not. God’s taller.’ To me, that really sums up Lemmy!”

Hell, Fire And Damnation is out now via Silver Lining Music. Saxon tour the UK in November.

Chris has been writing about heavy metal since 2000, specialising in true/cult/epic/power/trad/NWOBHM and doom metal at now-defunct extreme music magazine Terrorizer. Since joining the Metal Hammer famileh in 2010 he developed a parallel career in kids’ TV, winning a Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award for BBC1 series Little Howard’s Big Question as well as writing episodes of Danger Mouse, Horrible Histories, Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed and The Furchester Hotel. His hobbies include drumming (slowly), exploring ancient woodland and watching ancient sitcoms.

“I hated everybody. I had no friends.” The wild, unapologetic life of punk rock’s forgotten hellraiser, Casey Chaos

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

(Image credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns via Getty)

On December 20, 2024, Amen’s iconic frontman, Casey Chaos, passed away at his home in LA, from a massive heart attack. Among the first to find out was Casey’s close friend, drummer Roy Mayorga. He was, he says, “shocked but not shocked”.

Casey had long suffered from poor health, heart problems and a lung disorder that saw him never without an inhaler. But beyond that, he was a man who lived his entire life in the fast lane, driving like he stole it. Like a punk rock Evel Knievel, he’d broken numerous bones, both on and off stage, his arms a maze of scars from self-harm. But for all its brevity, just 59 years, Casey lived an extraordinary life. Chaos by name and chaos by nature.

Born in Trenton, New York, in 1965, Casey moved to Florida as a child. “I hated everybody,” he told Metal Hammer in 2004. “I had no friends, so I started skateboarding.”

Such was his fearlessness, by the age of 10 he was touring as a semi-professional. By 15, he’d made enough money that his parents could buy their home. He also discovered drugs and punk rock, and dived headlong into both, fast becoming friends with legends such as Minor Threat/Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye and Black Flag’s Henry Rollins. There’s even a photo of a teenage Casey down the front at a Black Flag show around 1982. “Black Flag changed my life,” he said.

It was only a matter of time before Casey started his own band, the aptly named Disorderly Conduct, which self-released an album – Amen – and a six-track EP called Atrocity. But Casey hated Florida, and grew increasingly tired of being called “a freak and a faggot”.

“[People would] be like, ‘Go to LA, that’s where all the freaks and homos live!’,” he said. “So that’s what I did.”

Around the same time that Disorderly Conduct became Amen, Casey met Rikk Agnew of Christian Death, who invited him to sing on his 1992 solo album, Turtle, and play bass on Christian Death’s new album, Iconologia, for which Casey also wrote/co-wrote three songs. Meanwhile, Casey was busy recruiting a band of like-minded lunatics for Amen’s live performances, while writing and recording all the music for 1994’s debut album, Slave, himself.

But it was the pair of albums produced by legendary Slipknot/Korn producer Ross Robinson, 1999’s self-titled record and 2000’s We Have Come For Your Parents, that saw Amen suddenly splashed across the covers of UK music magazines.

The former’s lead single, Coma America, was about the aftermath of 9/11, Casey’s lyrical rage becoming increasingly political, while the latter’s The Price Of Reality pushed boundaries with its brutal video, directed by Dean Karr, which depicted everything from schoolkids dancing with axes and guns to fetish gimps and a lot of blood. But Casey Chaos and Amen were never just about music. It was an attitude, the furious spirit of chaos!

“This isn’t a band, it’s a lifestyle!” Casey told Metal Hammer. At one of their first UK shows, at London’s Garage in August 2000, Casey slashed his arms onstage. Following another show at the LA2, he was rushed to hospital after taking a broken bottle to his arm during the set. At 2002’s Reading Festival, he smashed his face against the stage until it bled. Despite Amen’s popularity in the UK, they were never going to be commercially viable, never going to be everyone’s favourite band – but to a select few, they were everything.

“Amen was dangerous!” says Snot bassist John Fahnestock, a former Amen member who played in various line-ups. “Anything could happen at any time, and Casey always brought the unexpected. We always asked everyone, ‘Please don’t stand on the side of the stage when we play, you may get hurt.’ Casey was a fearless force, like a wrecking ball in motion at all times. We played a show in Barcelona where the ceiling was so low, Casey knocked himself out cold. We all stopped playing to see if he was OK, but once Casey came to his senses it was all back to the stage, and we were all back firing on all cylinders in a matter of seconds!”

“I don’t know how he did it, and I watched him do it,” echoes Roy, currently drumming for Jerry Cantrell, via Ministry and many more, and a longtime session player for Amen. “It’s just crazy, some of the shit he did onstage, like diving off a 30-foot PA! I see him jump off the stack and hit the ground, and then seconds later he’s back up jumping around. I would hear that microphone just rock against the stage, like, ‘Crash!’, and the band’s still playing.”

Offstage, Casey’s vision was just as intense. “Creatively, he was such a blast to work with,” says Dean Carr, who directed the video for The Price Of Reality. “He was extremely trusting in ideas I’d put forth, he was genuinely interested in every part of our production, whether still photoshoots or music videos! He loved dropping by the editing and colour grading sessions on our music videos. Casey was always ahead of the pack when it came to his visual arts.”

“There’s a lot of good memories,” agrees Roy, “It was always fun, like the way we used to write together. He would throw references at me, like, “Let’s try and do something like the Germs’ Manimal!” So I would play it with similar drumming to that, and then he would take whatever we recorded away somewhere else, and then make this crazy music over it.”

“Casey’s passion for music and his vision for Amen was relentless and 100% from the heart,” says John. “Offstage, Casey was kind, caring and soft spoken. I never remember him raising his voice or showing anger.”

But while Casey was a gentle soul at heart, he also had a wild side. Having known him for more than 20 years, I know he wouldn’t want me to whitewash his image and pretend he was a saint. Many were the crazy nights we spent together raising hell, like the night diving through VIP tables at The Roxy on Sunset to liven the place up and piss off self-important people.

Or the night in 2012, when he was arrested for driving into 15 parked cars. Once in a while, he’d disappear long enough for friends to worry, but then he’d pop up in Norway with the brilliant hardcore punk/death metal supergroup Scum, or provide guest vocals for This Is Menace and Christian Death. Casey also checked himself into rehab more than once, aware he was living too close to the edge.

Amen’s last record, Death Before Musick, was released in 2004, and they stopped touring three years later. In 2014, they reunited at Knotfest in California, with Roy Mayorga on drums, and performed a new song – Casey was working on another album. However, that would be their final show.

“He just kind of hid away,” says Roy, who has ‘Amen’ tattooed on his forearm. “Just writing music for Amen, and working with different guys like Dave Lombardo and myself. I think that’s where his heart was at the time, but he started getting more health issues with his back, so I think that definitely put a hold on a lot of things.”

Before his death, Casey was working on an unnamed new project with Roy alongside Stig from Amebix, one of his favourite UK punk bands.

“It sounded great,” says Roy. “It’s like Amebix meets Amen, exactly right down the middle. Casey was really into British punk. It’s funny, ’cause I’ve seen that Amen seem to get lumped in with the nu metal thing, and I was like, ‘No, they’re a punk rock band!’ I mean, there’s a lot of great bands in that genre, but Amen were not that! They were in a league of their own!”

Dean and Roy are working to recover and complete Casey’s best unreleased tracks.

“I want to get all his music, the last things he’d written that were supposed to be a new Amen record, and break it down to at least 13 songs, and get different singers or people Casey looked up to,” says Roy.

“I want to get a song with Henry Rollins and [Poison Idea’s] Jerry A and [Black Flag’s] Keith Morris, even [Dead Kennedys’] Jello Biafra, like iconic punk bands. I think that would be great. It’d be a good way to raise some funds for his mom.”

Invited to play live on US chat programme The Henry Rollins Show in 2007, Casey called for the deaths of political leaders, a move that would doubtless have seen Amen dropped by their label, if they hadn’t already been dropped by three majors. That says as much about Casey and Amen as any of their music. In a world of often vapid, say-nothing shit, they were absolutely vital, spewing rage and complete annihilation. And while Casey may have had his demons, he beat the living hell out of them onstage.

“I will always remember my friend for his sense of humour, fearlessness, love of animals, and of course his, ‘I don’t give two fucks’ attitude!” adds Dean. “I am eternally grateful to Casey Chaos for being a guiding force to get my drunk ass into recovery on July 24, 2022! Sadly, I now have his empty chair next to me at our weekly Sunday AA meeting. He is with me forever, and I vow to preserve his legacy.”

There are plans to honour Casey at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, alongside the likes of the Germs’ Darby Crash and Dead Boys/The Lords Of The New Church’s Stiv Bators – some of punk rock’s most iconic frontmen, and some of Casey’s heroes. And perhaps years from now, some angry kid will discover Amen and it will change their life.

“I think his legacy is to be more in obscurity,” says Roy. “Which is cool, and I think that’s what you want to be, really. Not totally above ground, not totally underground, somewhere in the middle.”

“Anyone that witnessed Amen and Casey will always know there will never be another frontman like him ever,” concludes John. “He was a legendary punk rock icon.” Rest in chaos.

A veteran of rock, punk and metal journalism for almost three decades, across his career Mörat has interviewed countless music legends for the likes of Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Kerrang! and more. He’s also an accomplished photographer and author whose first novel, The Road To Ferocity, was published in 2014. Famously, it was none other than Motörhead icon and dear friend Lemmy who christened Mörat with his moniker.

“No A.I. was involved. This is the best we can do.” Pulp announce More, their first new album in 24 years. Listen to opening track Spike Island

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

(Image credit: Rough Trade)

Pulp have announced their first new album in 24 years.

Jarvis Cocker’s band will release More, dedicated to late bassist Steve Mackey, and the follow-up to 2001’s We Love Life, on June 6 via Rough Trade. And as a taste of what’s to come, the Sheffield band have shared the album’s first single, and opening track, Spike Island.

In a post on Instagram, Cocker explains how the album came about.

“Well, when we started touring again in 2023, we practiced a new song called Hymn of the North during soundchecks & eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena,” he writes. “This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024.

“A couple are revivals of ideas from last century,” he continues. “The music for one song was written by Richard Hawley. The music for another was written by Jason Buckle. The Eno family sing backing vocals on a song. There are string arrangements written by Richard Jones & played by the Elysian Collective.⁠⁠

“The album was recorded over three weeks by James Ford in Walthamstow, London, starting on November 18th, 2024. This is the shortest amount of time a Pulp album has ever taken to record in the modern era. It was obviously ready to happen. ⁠⁠

⁠⁠We hope you enjoy the music. It was written & performed by four human beings from the North of England, aided & abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process. ⁠⁠

This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey.⁠⁠

This is the best that we can do.⁠⁠Thanks for listening.”

Spike Island was premiered live last year, on September 8, at Chicago’s legendary Aragon Ballroom, on the opening date of the band’s North American tour.

Watch the video for the single below:

Pulp – Spike Island (Official Video) – YouTube Pulp - Spike Island (Official Video) - YouTube

Watch On

Cocker teased the arrival of More on Valentine’s Day, when announcing Pulp’s UK touring plans for the summer, writing, “You deserve more & we have more. In fact, we have More – (but that’s a whole other story… you’ll have to wait a little more time to hear that one). In the meantime: see you this Summer!”

The album tracklist is:

1. Spike Island
2. Tina
3. Grown Ups
4. Slow Jam
5. Farmers Market
6. My Sex
7. Got To Have Love
8. Background Noise
9. Partial Eclipse
10. A Hymn Of The North
11. A Sunset’

The band kick off a UK arena tour on the day after their new album’s release.

The latest news, features and interviews direct to your inbox, from the global home of alternative music.

They will play:

Jun 07: Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Jun 10: Dublin 3Arena, Ireland
Jun 13: London The O2
Jun 14: London The O2
Jun 19: Birmingham Utilita Arena
Jun 21: Manchester Co-op Live

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.

How to Hear and Watch Every US AC/DC Tour: 1977-2023

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

For nearly 50 years, AC/DC has been bringing their no-frills brand of hard rock to America.

Starting with their first U.S. show in 1977, Angus Young and company quickly developed a reputation as a must-see opening act. As with the rest of the world, it wasn’t long before they were headlining stateside arenas and eventually, stadiums.

After decades of ignoring musical trends and enduring tragedy and lineup changes, the band remains one of the most popular touring attractions in the country. Here’s a quick rundown of each of AC/DC’s 16 American visits, as well as the best way to travel back in time to see and hear each tour via live albums, home videos or bootlegs.

1977: ‘Let There Be Rock’ Tour

AC/DC had been together for nearly four years before they first visited America on the tour in support of their fourth studio album, 1977’s Let There Be Rock. Cliff Williams took over for Mark Evans on bass after the recording of that album, joining singer Bon Scott, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young and drummer Phil Rudd. The band played their first U.S. date on July 27, 1977 and went on to serve as an opening act for bands such as Foreigner and UFO.

However, an early success story made it clear that stardom was in the cards. A Jacksonville, Florida radio station was among the first to add AC/DC’s music to their playlists, and as a result the band headlined and drew 8,000 fans to their first show in that city.

You can see fan-shot video of the band’s Aug. 5, 1977 show in West Palm Beach below. On Dec. 7, AC/DC played a live set in front of a small audience at the Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City. It was released as a promotional-only album in 1978, then released to the public in 1997 as part of the Bonfire box set.

1978: ‘Powerage’ Tour

AC/DC’s reputation and live following continued its rapid stateside growth after the May 1978 release of Powerage. The group spent nearly three months on the road in America, supporting Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult and others.

The group’s first and only live album of the Bon Scott era, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, was recorded at the Glasgow, Scotland stop on the tour, and released in October 1978. Video of three songs from that same show were later released on 2007’s Plug Me In box set. (Naturally, sometimes the best way to revisit each tour is from an overseas show.)

1978-79: ‘If You Want Blood You Got It’ Tour

The live album gave AC/DC an excuse to get right back on the road, for a tour that included three months in America. The band co-headlined dates with UFO and opened for Journey and Cheap Trick. Three songs from their appearance on BBC2’s Rock Goes to College show can be found on Plug Me In.

1979-80: ‘Highway to Hell’ Tour

AC/DC officially cracked open America with the July 1979 release of the Mutt Lange-produced Highway to Hell, which reached No. 17 on the album charts, They were also certified stateside headliners now, spending six weeks in America as part of a 99-show world tour.

The Dec. 9, 1979 show in Paris was filmed and released in theaters and on home video in 1980 as the Let There Be Rock concert movie. An expanded soundtrack of the show was included in the 1997 Bonfire box set. Unknown to all, the Jan. 27 show in Southampton, England would be the last before Bon Scott’s Feb. 1980 death, causing the cancellation of the tour’s planned dates in Japan and Australia.

1980-81: ‘Back in Black’ Tour

Unsure if they could go on after the tragic loss of Scott, AC/DC were reassured by the singer’s mother that he would have wanted them to continue. So they recruited Brian Johnson, recorded the career-defining Back in Black and hit the road once again in June of 1980.

The stage show featured a custom one-ton bell that descended from the ceiling as the band launched into “Hell’s Bells.” Johnson would strike the final blows before tackling a set that included a handful of Back in Black songs along with favorites from Scott’s era.

Four songs from the February 5th, 1981 show in Tokyo can be seen on the band’s 2007 video collection Plug Me In.

1981-82: ‘For Those About to Rock’ Tour

After releasing the final album in their Mutt Lange-produced trilogy, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) in November, 1981, AC/DC hit the road with an impressive new stage prop. A pair of cannons, just like the ones on the album cover, would appear at the end of the show and “fire” into the audience. Although some venues refused to let the band do this at first, it’s gone on to become a beloved show-ending tradition.

A pair of songs from the tour’s Dec. 20, 1981 stop in Landover, Maryland can be found on Plug Me In.

1983-84: ‘Flick of the Switch’ Tour

Attempting to get back to the rougher sound of the earlier days, AC/DC went perhaps a bit too far on 1983’s somewhat stiff Flick of the Switch, resulting in the beginning of a (relative) commercial downturn for the group. Substance abuse issues and personality conflicts led to Phil Rudd being fired before the band toured in support of the album. He was replaced by Simon Wright.

Four songs from the tour’s Nov. 17, 1983 show at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena can be found on Plug Me In.

1985-86: ‘Fly on the Wall’ Tour

Although 1985’s Fly on the Wall was punchier and catchier overall than its predecessor it didn’t catch on any better than Flick of the Switch did, even with the band openly courting MTV with some bigger-budget videos. Still, faithful fans flocked to their three month fall US tour, which featured support from Yngwie Malmsteem’s Rising Force.

This tour has yet to be documented on any official albums or home video releases, but their Oct. 11, 1985 show at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center was broadcast over the radio and has been widely bootlegged.

1986: ‘Who Made Who’ Tour

For the first time in their career, AC/DC took what could be considered a bit of a shortcut in 1986, releasing a soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive that was really just a compilation with one “proper” new song and two kick-ass instrumentals alongside some old classics. But the title track to Who Made Who was a big hit, and the band capitalized with a two-month, 43-date North American tour that kicked off July 30, 1986 in New Orleans and concluded Sept. 20 in Long Island. No audio or video from this tour has been officially released.

1988: ‘Blow Up Your Video’ Tour

AC/DC’s 11th studio album, 1988’s Blow Up Your Video, built on the momentum of “Who Made Who,” with the lead single “Heatseeker” improving upon its predecessor’s chart performance in most parts of the world. The 164-date, nearly year-long world tour in support of the album began with Angus Young emerging from a giant missile that came out of the bottom of the stage, the first of a series of increasingly large-scale show-opening set pieces the band would employ in the coming years.

Malcolm Young sat out the North American leg of this tour in order to treat his substance abuse issues. He was replaced by his nephew, Stevie Young, but returned in time for the band’s next album. No audio or video from this tour has been officially released.

1990-1991: ‘The Razor’s Edge’ Tour

In 1989 AC/DC dealt with their first lineup change in six years, as drummer Simon Wright left to join Dio. He was replaced by Chris Slade, who joined the band in the studio for what turned out to be a massive comeback album, 1990’s The Razor’s Edge. Powered by the hits “Thunderstruck” and “Moneytalks” – the latter their highest-charting US single ever – the album sold six million copies and put the band back on top of the rock world.

The year long, 160-date world tour that followed kicked off in Worcester, Massachusetts on Nov. 2, 1990. The tour was commemorated with the 1992 live album AC/DC Live, and the home video Live at Donington. These were the first official live releases to feature Brian Johnson on vocals.

1996: ‘Ballbreaker’ Tour

After 12 years away, AC/DC reunited with drummer Paul Rudd prior to the recording of 1995’s Ballbreaker. The Rick Rubin-produced album didn’t click quite as well as The Razor’s Edge but still went double platinum in America. The 11-month world tour in support of the record kicked off January 12 in Greensboro, and the July 10th show in Madrid, Spain was captured on the No Bull home video.

The tour featured what might be the most impressive stage show of the band’s career, as every night began with a giant wrecking ball knocking down the facade of a giant building, with Angus Young emerging triumphantly from the rubble.

2000-01: ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ Tour

The stage for AC/DC’s 143-date Stiff Upper Lip tour was dominated by a 40-foot bronze statue of Angus Young, resembling the cover of their 2000 album of the same name. The giant Angus breathed smoke and shot fire out of its guitar. (Can we bring back the days of massive practical stage effects? I get that it’s expensive but how many more times can we just look at the same video screens?)

This was the third straight AC/DC tour to be documented on home video, this time under the no-fuss name Stiff Upper Lip Live.

2003: Club Shows

To celebrate the 2003 re-release of their back catalog and their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, AC/DC performed a handful of special shows at theaters much smaller than the stadiums and arenas they’d been playing for the last two decades. These concerts also found the band digging further into their Bon Scott-era catalog, for gems such as “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” and “What’s Next to the Moon.” Their June 17, 2003 show at the Circus Krone in Munchen, Germany was filmed and released as part of the 2009 Backtracks deluxe edition box set.

2008-10: ‘Black Ice’ Tour

After an unusually long eight year break, AC/DC returned with the 2008 album Black Ice, and another massive stage show, this time featuring an oversized train – tied to the album’s hit single “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” – dominating the proceedings.

The band’s three-night December 2009 stand in Buenos Aires was captured on the 2011 live album and home video Live at River Plate. Sadly, this would be Malcom Young’s last tour with the band – and that was just the start of the difficulties they’d endure the next time out.

2015-16: ‘Rock or Bust’ Tour

After another long break, AC/DC returned in late 2014 with the album Rock or Bust. It was the first album they recorded without Malcolm Young, who was forced to step away from the group to battle dementia and other health issues. His nephew Stevie took his place on the album and the ensuing tour, which turned out to be quite chaotic.

After his arrest and well-documented legal issues, Phil Rudd was forced to sit out the tour and was replaced by a returning Chris Slade. Near the end of the tour, singer Brian Johnson was ordered off the road by his doctors, who said he risked permanent hearing loss. Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose stepped in to help, filling in for Johnson for the last 23 dates of the tour. As the tour neared its completion, bassist Cliff Williams announced that he would retire from the band, leaving Angus Young as the last man standing from the llneup the band had maintained for nearly two decades.

Neither a Johnson or Rose-fronted show from this tour has been released to date, but some enterprising and talented fans have done a great job chronicling the tour on YouTube.

2023: Power Trip

Malcolm Young died in November 2017, about a year after the conclusion of the troubled Rock or Bust tour. The following year Johnson, Rudd and Williams returned from their respective hearing problems, legal troubles and retirement to join Angus and Stevie Young for the recording of the excellent 2020 album Power Up. The record was assembled from tracks Angus and Malcolm had previously written together, and was dedicated to Malcolm.

The pandemic kept AC/DC off the road for several years, but in 2023 the band took the stage for the first time in seven years, at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California. Johnson and Williams joined them, but Rudd was replaced by Matt Laug, formerly of Alice Cooper and Slash’s Snakepit.

In 2024 the group mounted a full-scale European tour, with Laug still on drums, and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney taking over for an apparently re-retired Williams. That same lineup will tour North America in 2025.

AC/DC Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best

These Aussies are nothing if not consistent.

Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli

That Time Tom Waits Sued Doritos Chips

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

Celebrities do deals with companies all the time.

Lemmy did a commercial for KitKat candy bars in 2001, Bob Dylan did one for Victoria’s Secret in 2004, David Bowie did one way back in 1980 for a Japanese liquor brand called Crystal Jun Rock. Famous faces, rock musicians included, can help sell products.

Normally, the brand and the celebrity work together such that both parties are satisfied with the result — contracts are signed, payment is agreed on, etc. Needless to say, problems arise when companies decide to create adverts that don’t properly credit their inspirations and allusions.

This happened to Tom Waits in 1990. In 1988, a commercial for a new product made by the Frito-Lay snack food company hit the market. It was for something called Salsa Rio Doritos, a take on their classic corn chip that, as far as we can tell at the time of this writing, are no longer made. (There are Reddit threads calling for their return.) The commercial included music that sounded an awful lot like Waits’ 1976 song “Step Right Up.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Tracy-Locke, the ad agency in charge of making the commercial, also hired a Dallas musician named Stephen Carter to sing in the gravelly style of Waits. Conveniently, Carter had a background in literally performing covers of Waits’ songs, and according to court documents, sounded so much like him that the ad team “did a double take” thinking perhaps Waits himself had slipped into the audition room as some kind of joke.

Listen to Tom Waits’ ‘Step Right Up’

Because of this, David Brenner, Tracy-Locke’s executive producer, became concerned of the possible legal implications, and as a precaution, a separate commercial was made without Carter. These concerns were brought all the way up to Tracy-Locke’s managing vice president, who discussed the matter with an attorney. Ultimately, it was decided that because a singer’s style of music is not protected under copyright law, it was fine to proceed with Carter’s commercial. Frito-Lay approved the ad and it first went live in September of 1988.

Tom Waits’ Reaction

By then, Waits was well-known for refusing to license his music and having an aversion to doing deals with brands. In 1981, he did a commercial with Purina dog food and would later say he regretted it. “I was down on my luck,” he said for Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. “And I’ve always liked dogs.”

So when he learned of the Doritos ad, he was appalled and in November of 1988, two months after the ad was first released, he sued Frito-Lay and Tracy-Locke for misappropriation of his voice and false endorsement. (He could not sue for copyright infringement given that he did not own the copyright to “Step Right Up.”) It took over a year for the case to finally get its day in court, where Waits did not hold back in his testimony, calling the ad a “corn chip sermon.”

“It embarrassed me,” he said. “I had to call all my friends, that if they hear this thing, please be informed this is not me. I was on the phone for days. I also had people calling me saying, ‘Gee, Tom, I heard the new Doritos ad.’ …[P]art of my character and personality and image that I have cultivated is that I do not endorse products.”

He did not stop there.

“I get it all the time, and they offer people a whole lot of money. Unfortunately I don’t want to get on the bandwagon. You know, when a guy is singing to me about toilet paper — you may need the money but, I mean, rob a 7/11! Do something with dignity and save us all the trouble of peeing on your grave. I don’t want to rail at length here, but it’s like a fistula for me. If you subscribe to your personal mythology, to the point where you do your own work, and then somebody puts decals over it, it no longer carries the same weight. I have been offered money and all that, and then there’s the people that imitate me too. I really am against people who allow their music to be nothing more than a jingle for jeans or Bud. … The advertisers are banking on your credibility, but the problem is it’s no longer yours. … And it’s funny, but they’re banking on the fact that people won’t really notice. So they should be exposed. They should be fined! [bangs his fist on the table] I hate all of the people that do it! All of you guys! You’re sissies!”

Waits Wins

The defense argued that although they had consciously copied Waits’ artistic style, they did not purposefully try to recreate his voice. But two years prior to this case appearing in court, Bette Midler had sued Ford Motor Company over a series of ’80s commercials that used a Midler impersonator, a case that eventually made history by determining that a famous person’s voice, which is a distinct part of their identity, cannot be imitated for commercial purposes without their lawful consent.

Thus, the jury swung in Waits’ favor, deciding that Frito-Lay and Tracy-Locke had intentionally imitated Waits’ voice. He was awarded approximately $2.5 million in damages in May of 1990 – admittedly a drop in the bucket considering Frito-Lay was then the largest snack food company in the country and making several billion dollars a year.

What About Stephen Carter?

Waits may have been upset by the actions of Frito-Lay and Track-Locke, but he withheld any hard feelings for Carter, who actually served as a witness in the case.

“He felt so bad that he did this,” Waits explained to Vox in 1992. “He knew when he did it he was doing a bad thing. But he vindicated himself by helping us win the case.”

In that same 1992 interview, Waits noted that he had yet to be paid any of the suit money.

“I haven’t seen a dime,” he said. “These things go on forever and forever. Never get involved in litigation. Your hair will fall out, your bones will turn to sand. And it will still be going on. … But when you have to, you have to. If somebody burned your house down, you’d have to do something about it.”

As Waits saw it, the principle of artistic ownership outweighed the stress of the legal battle.

“I have a moral right to my voice. It’s like property — there’s a fence around it, in a way,” he told The New York Times in 2006. “I make a distinction between people who use the voice as a creative item and people who are selling cigarettes and underwear. It’s a big difference. We all know the difference. And it’s stealing. They get a lot out of standing next to me, and I just get big legal bills.”

19 Times Artists Took a Stand Against the Music Industry

This is not a business for the faint of heart.

Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp

55 Years Ago: Paul McCartney Makes the Beatles Break Up Official

Posted on April 10, 2025 by wamdines

The Beatles broke up slowly – and then all at once.

Cracks began spreading in the group’s foundation when original manager Brian Epstein died in 1967. Fractious sessions for 1968’s White Album, as both George Harrison and Ringo Starr briefly quit, certainly marked the beginning of the end. Some blamed arguments over hiring Allen Klein as a business manager, others the failing Get Back sessions. Everyone else blamed Yoko Ono.

John Lennon quit next – but unlike Starr and Harrison before him, he meant it: By February 1970, he’d already released three solo singles (“Give Peace a Chance,” “Cold Turkey” and “Instant Karma“). He played a concert with his new ad-hoc group, too.

READ MORE: Top 40 Paul McCartney ‘70s Songs

“After the Plastic Ono Band’s debut in Toronto, we had a meeting in Savile Row where John finally brought it to its head,” Starr remembered in Anthology. “He said: ‘Well, that’s it, lads. Let’s end it.'”

Still, Lennon was convinced to keep the split quiet as the Beatles continued negotiations on a new contract. The Get Back project was also morphing into the career-closing Let It Be, after Phil Spector was handed the old tapes.

Paul McCartney had also been quietly working on his solo debut. To the surprise of many, promotional material for the LP, simply titled McCartney, arrived on April 10, 1970, with a confirmation of the Beatles split. He attributed the break up to “personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Temporary or permanent? I don’t really know.”

But other questions in the blind Q&A format produced conflicting responses.

Asked if McCartney represented “a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career,” McCartney said: “Time will tell. Being a solo album means it’s the start of a solo career … and not being done with the Beatles means it’s just a rest. So it’s both.” Later, however, when asked if he could “foresee a time when Lennon-McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again,” McCartney simply said: “No.”

Was It All Just a PR Stunt?

Lennon was incredulous. “We were all hurt that he didn’t tell us that was what he was going to do,” Lennon later told Rolling Stone. “I was a fool not to do it, not to do what Paul did, which was use it to sell a record.”

For McCartney, the Q&A was simply confirming what everyone in the Beatles camp already knew. “I didn’t instigate the split. That was our Johnny coming in one day and saying, ‘I’m leaving the group,'” McCartney told the BBC. “This was my band, this was my job, this was my life – so I wanted it to continue.”

By December, McCartney had filed suit against the others and the Beatles’ parent company Apple Corps., to make it all official. The process would take years to untangle. In the meantime, Starr had released Sentimental Journey, a collection of standards produced by George Martin that quickly disappeared among the break-up headlines. Let It Be arrived in May, then Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band followed.

As Lennon sang in his new song “God,” the dream was over. In time, Klein’s shady business practices would be revealed. Perspectives changed about Ono’s role in all of this, too.

“When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant-garde side, her view of things,” McCartney later told David Frost. “She showed [Lennon] another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave. He was definitely going to go. She certainly didn’t break the group up – the group was breaking up. … I don’t think you can blame her for anything.”

The Best Song From Every Beatles Album

Consensus can be difficult to reach on which Beatles album is best – much less which song.

Gallery Credit: UCR Staff

See the Beatles in Rock’s Craziest Conspiracy Theories

“It is the commission of my life!” Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman announces new choral work based on the teachings of The Wickedest Man in the World

Posted on April 9, 2025 by wamdines

(Image credit: Press)

Killing Joke frontman Jaz Coleman has announced that he is working upon a new choral work based upon the teachings of the so-called ‘Wickedest Man In The World’, legendary British occultist Aleister Crowley.

Crowley, arguably best known to rock fans as a) an endless source of fascination to Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page and b) as the inspiration behind Ozzy Osbourne‘s 1981 single Mr. Crowley, challenged conventional spiritual doctrines with his teachings in the Thelema philosophy, and famously declared “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”, in his most famous work, Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law), upon which Coleman’s forthcoming work will be based.

“Few have influenced the post-war bubble of counterculture quite like Crowley,” Coleman states. “Regardless of one’s opinion of this controversial character, he is ranked among the top 100 most influential individuals of the United Kingdom. And as everyone knows, his face graces the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles’ most iconic masterpiece. It is therefore a great honour to compose Liber AL as a ritualistic choral work, to commemorate his great magnum opus. It is the commission of my life!”

Coleman’s choral work will merge classical and modern elements to reflect “the complexity of Liber AL vel Legis and Crowley’s enigmatic philosophy” a press release informs us. Details of performances and shows will be announced soon, offering audiences “a chance to experience this unique fusion of music and mysticism live.”

Killing Joke’s status remains undefined in the wake of the 2023 death of the band’s co-founding guitarist Kevin ‘Geordie’ Walker, one of the most influential and respected guitarists of the post-punk era.

When Coleman embarked upon a spoken word tour last year, he requested that fans in attendance refrain from asking about the future of the band, as he was “still in mourning”.

Meanwhile, Killing Joke drummer Big Paul Ferguson is busy with two side projects, Light Of Eternity, who are playing shows with Ministry this summer, and Sevendials, a new alt.rock supergroup featuring vocalist Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Murder, Inc) and guitarist/keyboardist Mark Gemini Thwaite (The Mission, Tricky, Peter Murphy), who will release their debut album, A Crash Course In Catastrophe on April 11.

The latest news, features and interviews direct to your inbox, from the global home of alternative music.

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z

Posted on April 9, 2025 by wamdines

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z

Feature Photo: Brandon Nagy / Shutterstock.com

Demi Lovato, an American singer, songwriter, and actress, began her rise to fame as a child actor on the television series Barney & Friends. Born on August 20, 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lovato gained mainstream attention through their role as Mitchie Torres in the Disney Channel film Camp Rock (2008) and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). The success of the film’s soundtrack, particularly the single “This Is Me” featuring Joe Jonas, showcased Lovato’s vocal talent and set the stage for their music career.

In 2008, Lovato released their debut studio album Don’t Forget, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. The album’s pop rock sound and hits like “La La Land” established Lovato as a young pop sensation. The following year, they released Here We Go Again (2009), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, driven by the successful title track.

Lovato continued to evolve as an artist with the release of Unbroken (2011), which featured the hit single “Skyscraper.” The album marked a departure into more R&B and pop influences. In 2013, Lovato’s fourth album, Demi, included the chart-topping single “Heart Attack,” further cementing their place in the pop music landscape. Their fifth studio album, Confident (2015), earned critical praise, highlighted by the Grammy-nominated track “Cool for the Summer.”

Lovato’s sixth album, Tell Me You Love Me (2017), included the hit single “Sorry Not Sorry,” which became one of their most successful songs. In 2021, Lovato released Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over, exploring themes of addiction and recovery. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was praised for its honesty and vulnerability.

Throughout their career, Lovato has received numerous accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, multiple Teen Choice Awards, and a Guinness World Record. Known for their powerful vocals and advocacy for mental health, Lovato has also been recognized for raising awareness about addiction, eating disorders, and LGBTQ+ rights.

In addition to their music, Lovato has been involved in charitable causes, including mental health advocacy and campaigns to raise awareness about addiction recovery. They have worked with organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and supported initiatives to reduce stigma around mental health challenges.

Demi Lovato’s impact on pop culture goes beyond their chart-topping hits, as they continue to inspire fans through both their music and personal journey. Their willingness to address personal struggles publicly has made them a relatable and resilient figure in modern pop music.

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z

15 Minutes – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
29 – Holy Fvck – 2022
4 Ever 4 Me – Holy Fvck – 2022
Aftershock – Unbroken (Japanese deluxe edition) – 2011
All Night Long (featuring Missy Elliott and Timbaland) – Unbroken – 2011
Anyone – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Anyone (live acoustic) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Digital deluxe edition) – 2021
Back Around – Don’t Forget (International digital edition) – 2008
Behind Enemy Lines – Don’t Forget (Deluxe edition) – 2008
Believe in Me – Don’t Forget – 2008
Body Say – Non-album single – 2016
Bones – Holy Fvck – 2022
Bounce (with Jonas Brothers featuring Big Rob) – Non-album promotional single – 2009
Breakdown (G-Eazy featuring Demi Lovato) – These Things Happen Too – 2021
Butterfly – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
California Sober – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Can’t Back Down (with cast of Camp Rock 2) – Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam – 2010
Carefully – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Catch Me – Here We Go Again – 2009
Change You – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Target and international deluxe edition) – 2021
Chula (with Grupo Firme) – Non-album single – 2024
City of Angels – Holy Fvck – 2022
Come Together – Holy Fvck – 2022
Commander in Chief – Non-album single – 2020
Concentrate – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Confident – Confident – 2015
Confident (Rock Version) – Revamped – 2023
Cool for the Summer – Confident – 2015
Cool for the Summer (Rock Version) – Revamped – 2023
Cry Baby – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Daddy Issues – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Dancing with the Devil – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Dancing with the Devil (live acoustic) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Digital deluxe edition) – 2021
Dead Friends – Holy Fvck – 2022
Don’t Forget – Don’t Forget – 2008
Don’t Forget – Here We Go Again (International bonus track) – 2009
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Q-Tip featuring Demi Lovato) – Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin – 2018
Easy (with Noah Cyrus) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Eat Me (featuring Royal & the Serpent) – Holy Fvck – 2022
Échame la Culpa (with Luis Fonsi) – Vida – 2017
Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife (Le Sserafim featuring Demi Lovato) – Non-album single – 2023
Every Time You Lie – Here We Go Again – 2009
Everything You’re Not – Here We Go Again – 2009
Fall in Line (Christina Aguilera featuring Demi Lovato) – Liberation – 2018
Falling Over Me – Here We Go Again – 2009
Father – Confident – 2015
Feed – Holy Fvck – 2022
FIIMY (Fuck It, I Miss You) (Winnetka Bowling League featuring Demi Lovato) – Pulp – 2022
Fire Starter – Demi – 2013
Fix a Heart – Unbroken – 2011
For the Love of a Daughter – Unbroken – 2011
For You – Confident – 2015
Freak (featuring Yungblud) – Holy Fvck – 2022
Games – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Get Back – Don’t Forget – 2008
Gift of a Friend – Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and Here We Go Again – 2009
Give Your Heart a Break – Unbroken – 2011
Gonna Get Caught – Don’t Forget – 2008
Good Place – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Got Dynamite – Here We Go Again – 2009
Gray – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (DTC edition and United Kingdom bonus track) – 2021
Happy Ending – Holy Fvck – 2022
Heart Attack – Demi – 2013
Heart Attack (Rock Version) – Revamped – 2023
Heart by Heart – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – 2013
Heaven – Holy Fvck – 2022
Help Me (with Dead Sara) – Holy Fvck – 2022
Here We Go Again – Here We Go Again – 2009
Here We Go Again (Sunset in Ibiza Remix) – Here We Go Again (Japanese bonus track) – 2009
Hitchhiker – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Hold Up – Unbroken – 2011
Holy Fvck – Holy Fvck – 2022
I Believe (DJ Khaled featuring Demi Lovato) – A Wrinkle in Time – 2018
I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me – Demi – 2014
I Love Me – Non-album single – 2020
I’m Ready (with Sam Smith) – Non-album single – 2020
I’m Sorry – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Target and international deluxe edition) – 2021
ICU (Madison’s Lullabye) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
ICU (Madison’s Lullabye) (live acoustic) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Digital deluxe edition) – 2021
In Case – Demi – 2013
In Real Life – Unbroken – 2011
Instruction (Jax Jones featuring Demi Lovato and Stefflon Don) – Snacks and Snacks (Supersize) – 2017
Intro – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Irresistible (remix) (Fall Out Boy featuring Demi Lovato) – Make America Psycho Again – 2015
It’s On (with cast of Camp Rock 2) – Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam – 2010
Kingdom Come (featuring Iggy Azalea) – Confident – 2015
La La Land – Don’t Forget – 2008
La La Land – Here We Go Again (International bonus track) – 2009
La La Land (Caramel Pod D Remix) – Don’t Forget (Japanese edition) – 2008
Let It Go – Frozen – 2013
Let Me Down Easy (with Daisy Jones & The Six) – Aurora (Super Deluxe) – 2023
Lightweight – Unbroken – 2011
Lionheart – Confident – 2015
Lo Que Soy – Don’t Forget (Deluxe edition) – 2008
Lonely People – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Lonely (featuring Lil Wayne) – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Mad World – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Made in the USA – Demi – 2013
Make a Wave (with Joe Jonas) – Non-album promotional single – 2010
Me, Myself and Time – Sonny with a Chance – 2010
Melon Cake – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Met Him Last Night (featuring Ariana Grande) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
Mistake – Unbroken – 2011
Monsters (remix) (All Time Low featuring Demi Lovato and Blackbear) – Non-album single – 2020
Moves Me – Non-album promotional single – 2008
Mr. Hughes – Confident (Deluxe edition) – 2015
My Girlfriends Are My Boyfriend (featuring Saweetie) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
My Love Is Like a Star – Unbroken – 2011
Neon Lights – Demi – 2013
Never Been Hurt – Demi – 2013
Nightingale – Demi – 2013
No Promises (Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato) – Non-album single – 2017
No Promises (acoustic; Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato) – Tell Me You Love Me (Deluxe edition) – 2017
OK Not to Be OK (with Marshmello) – Non-album single – 2020
Old Ways – Confident – 2015
On the Line (featuring Jonas Brothers) – Don’t Forget – 2008
One and the Same (with Selena Gomez) – Disney Channel Playlist – 2009
Only Forever – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Party – Don’t Forget – 2008
Penhasco2 (with Luísa Sonza) – Escândalo Íntimo – 2023
Quiet – Here We Go Again – 2009
Rascacielo – Unbroken (Latin American bonus track) – 2011
Ready for Ya – Tell Me You Love Me (Target and 2021 digital deluxe edition) – 2017
Really Don’t Care (featuring Cher Lloyd) – Demi – 2013
Remember December – Here We Go Again – 2009
Ruin the Friendship – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Send It On (with Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez) – Non-album promotional single – 2009
Sexy Dirty Love – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Shouldn’t Come Back – Demi – 2013
Skin of My Teeth – Holy Fvck – 2022
Skyscraper – Unbroken – 2011
Skyscraper (Wizz Dumb Remix) – Unbroken – 2011
Smoke & Mirrors – Tell Me You Love Me (Target and 2021 digital deluxe edition) – 2017
So Far So Great – Here We Go Again – 2009
Sober – Non-album single – 2018
Solo (Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato) – What Is Love? – 2018
Solo – Here We Go Again – 2009
Somebody to You (The Vamps featuring Demi Lovato) – Somebody to You and Meet the Vamps – 2014
Something That We’re Not – Demi – 2013
Sorry Not Sorry – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
Sorry Not Sorry (acoustic) – Tell Me You Love Me (Deluxe edition) – 2017
Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version) (featuring Slash) – Revamped – 2023
Stars – Confident (Deluxe edition) – 2015
Still Alive – Scream VI – 2023
Still Have Me – Non-album single – 2020
Stone Cold – Confident – 2015
Stop the World – Here We Go Again – 2009
Substance – Holy Fvck – 2022
Sunset – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (Digital deluxe edition) – 2021
Swine – Non-album single – 2023
Tell Me You Love Me – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
The Art of Starting Over – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
The Kind of Lover I Am – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
The Middle – Don’t Forget – 2008
The Way You Don’t Look at Me – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over – 2021
This Is Me (with Joe Jonas) – Camp Rock – 2008
Together (featuring Jason Derulo) – Unbroken – 2011
Trainwreck – Don’t Forget – 2008
Two Pieces – Demi – 2013
Two Worlds Collide – Don’t Forget – 2008
U Got Nothin’ on Me – Here We Go Again – 2009
Unbroken – Unbroken – 2011
Unforgettable (Tommy’s Song) – Non-album promotional single – 2021
Until You’re Mine – Don’t Forget – 2008
Up (Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato) – Never Been Better – 2014
Waitin for You (featuring Sirah) – Confident – 2015
Warrior – Demi – 2013
Wasted – Holy Fvck – 2022
We Rock (with cast of Camp Rock) – Camp Rock – 2008
We’ll Be a Dream (We the Kings featuring Demi Lovato) – Smile Kid – 2010
What Other People Say (with Sam Fischer) – Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over and I Love You, Please Don’t Hate Me – 2021
Who Will I Be – Camp Rock – 2008
Who’s That Boy (featuring Dev) – Unbroken – 2011
Wildfire – Confident – 2015
Without a Fight (Brad Paisley featuring Demi Lovato) – Non-album single – 2016
Without the Love – Demi – 2013
World of Chances – Here We Go Again – 2009
Wouldn’t Change a Thing (with Joe Jonas or Stanfour) – Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam – 2010
Yes – Confident – 2015
Yes I Am – Unbroken (Japanese deluxe edition) – 2011
You Don’t Do It for Me Anymore – Tell Me You Love Me – 2017
You’ll Be OK, Kid – Non-album promotional single – 2024
You’re My Only Shorty (featuring Iyaz) – Unbroken – 2011

Albums

Don’t Forget (2008): 15 songs

Here We Go Again (2009): 17 songs

Unbroken (2011): 18 songs

Demi (2013): 13 songs

Confident (2015): 13 songs

Tell Me You Love Me (2017): 17 songs

Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (2021): 29 songs

Holy Fvck (2022): 16 songs

Revamped (2023): 4 songs

Check out our fantastic and entertaining Demi Lovato articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Albums And Songs

Top 10 Demi Lovato Songs

DMCA.com Protection Status

About The Author

Brian Kachejian

“We’d all seen The Wall; we knew there were good rock movies out there”: Inspired by Pink Floyd, Marillion made a film out of their 1994 concept album Brave. It didn’t go well

Posted on April 9, 2025 by wamdines

Marillion’s 1994 concept album Brave was to become a landmark in the band’s career. Amid the challenges of pulling together a story inspired by an unidentified girl on a bridge, the band themselves at odds with their record label, each other – and ultimately many of their fans.

In the end, their seventh studio record set them on the course they’re still on today. But out of the many problems they encountered, one of the most notable is the ambition and complete failure of their Brave movie, from which the videos for The Great Escape, Hollow Man and Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury were taken.

The result was so disappointing that its director later disassociated himself from it. Marillion looked back with Prog in 2018.

If spending several months recording an album in a French chateau wasn’t grand enough, Marillion decided to push the boat out even further by producing a full-length film to accompany Brave.

“We’d made three videos for the singles from Holidays In Eden, all of which cost 30 or 40 grand each,” says keyboardist Mark Kelly. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we just take that money to make a movie?’ We had a story we thought would be good to tell. We’d all seen The Wall, so we knew there were examples of good rock movies out there.”

Armed with around £120,000 – “Not a lot, really,” Kelly admits – the band began scouting for potential directors. They sounded out a few, but decided to go with cult filmmaker Richard Stanley.

Marillion – The Great Escape – Official Music Promo Video – YouTube Marillion - The Great Escape - Official Music Promo Video - YouTube

Watch On

The South African had made his name directing videos for the likes of Public Image Ltd and flour-encrusted goths Fields Of The Nephilim. But it was his two full-length films, the 1990 sci-fi movie Hardware and 1992 horror Dust Devil, that impressed Marillion.

“He had a dark streak that suited the subject matter of Brave,” says bassist Pete Trewavas. Kelly describes Stanley as “unusual – he used to go around saying things like ‘Hot diggity dog’. Actually, he was a bit fucking weird.”

A lot of it works really well, and there’s some very interesting and disturbing imagery
Steve Rothery

The band remained hands-off during the filming process. “He had a plan in his head and we knew bits of it, and other bits we didn’t,” says Trewavas. “I think he would tell us what we thought we needed to know to get the job done. It was pretty similar to how we were treating the record company at the time, actually!”

The film starred actress Josie Ayers as the girl on the bridge. Following the broad arc of the album, it told her stories as a series of flashbacks, related as part of a psychiatry session. Marillion appeared as themselves.

Marillion – The Hollow Man – Official Music Promo Video – YouTube Marillion - The Hollow Man - Official Music Promo Video - YouTube

Watch On

But the band’s plan to use the movie as a lavish promotional tool for the album was scuppered when it got held up by the censors at the British Board Of Film Classification. “There was a lot of stuff about children being influenced by films at the time, and because it was a music video, they were particularly strict,” says Kelly.

“They weren’t even going to give it a certificate to start with – they were just going to shitcan the whole thing and not allow us to release it. In the end, they removed quite a few scenes.”

I’m not blaming Richard Stanley – the budget he had to work with was minuscule
Mark Kelly

The band have mixed feelings about it today. “A lot of it works really well, and there’s some very interesting and disturbing imagery,” says guitarist Steve Rothery. “But ultimately it was never going to have the full cinematic appeal for that budget.”

“It wasn’t a very good film, to be honest,” says Kelly. “I’m not blaming Richard Stanley, because the budget he had to work with was minuscule. It could have worked really well with him making that movie. It just didn’t.”

Marillion – Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury – Official Music Promo Video – YouTube Marillion - Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury - Official Music Promo Video - YouTube

Watch On

“This band has always been out of sync with whatever is going on”: The Black Crowes albums you should definitely listen to, and one to avoid

Posted on April 9, 2025 by wamdines

The Black Crowes, standing in front of Paradiso venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 5th June 1990

The Black Crowes, standing in front of Paradiso venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 5 1990 (Image credit: Rob Verhorst/Redferns)

If ever there was a band that was born too late, it’s The Black Crowes. Frontman Chris Robinson recently stated: “We like the way records sounded from 1968 to 1972.” Which is hardly surprising coming from a dude who views the modern world through a haze of marijuana smoke and looks like he’s just got back from Woodstock. But as he proudly declares: “This band has always been out of sync with whatever is going on, because we couldn’t care less what’s going on, ever!”

When The Black Crowes released their debut album Shake Your Money Maker in 1990 a new form of alternative rock, led by Jane’s Addiction and Faith No More, was mapping out the future. But the Crowes – from Atlanta, Georgia, led by Chris and his guitar-playing kid brother Rich – played rock’n’roll the old-fashioned way. They wore bell-bottoms; they liked to jam; they dug the Grateful Dead. They existed in a world of their own. And, more than 30 years on, they still do.

At their commercial peak in the early 90s The Black Crowes were one of the biggest bands in America. But they had a stubborn independent streak. They made the records they wanted to make, and they rarely played their biggest hit songs live. They didn’t give a fuck about playing by anybody else’s rules. Subsequently, they were dubbed The Most Rock ’N’ Roll Rock ’N’ Roll Band In The World. When the Crowes became marginalised in the late 90s it was their own doing. As Chris Robinson said back in 1992: “You gotta put your foot down – and sometimes it’s in a big pile of shit.”

Over four decades, The Black Crowes have been through good times and bad. In particular, the relationship between the Robinson brothers has always been a battle, and in 2001 led to the band splitting for four years, with further discord prompting breaks in 2010 and 2015. But as Chris explains: “The bond between us is so strong in a musical sense that it brings us together.”

Today the Crowes are still very much outsiders. Their 2024 album Happiness Bastards was released via their independent label Silver Arrow and received widespread critical acclaim – including Classic Rock‘s album of the year – but only scraped into the US Top 100 for a single week.

“Forty years since I got my guitar, and we started playing in our basement, seems crazy to me,” Rich told us. “To think of the arc and the scope of the thing is pretty far out, but it’s really all I know. Chris sings like Chris. He doesn’t sound like anyone else. I play like me, and I don’t sound like anyone else. We’re both of us still curious and in love with music.”

…and one to avoid

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath – of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”

Author: wamdines

Biff Byford on Lemmy, inspiring thrash metal and the greatest heavy metal riff ever written

“I hated everybody. I had no friends.” The wild, unapologetic life of punk rock’s forgotten hellraiser, Casey Chaos

“No A.I. was involved. This is the best we can do.” Pulp announce More, their first new album in 24 years. Listen to opening track Spike Island

How to Hear and Watch Every US AC/DC Tour: 1977-2023

AC/DC Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best

That Time Tom Waits Sued Doritos Chips

Tom Waits’ Reaction

Waits Wins

What About Stephen Carter?

19 Times Artists Took a Stand Against the Music Industry

55 Years Ago: Paul McCartney Makes the Beatles Break Up Official

Was It All Just a PR Stunt?

The Best Song From Every Beatles Album

“It is the commission of my life!” Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman announces new choral work based on the teachings of The Wickedest Man in the World

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z

Albums

Don’t Forget (2008): 15 songs

Here We Go Again (2009): 17 songs

Unbroken (2011): 18 songs

Demi (2013): 13 songs

Confident (2015): 13 songs

Tell Me You Love Me (2017): 17 songs

Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over (2021): 29 songs

Holy Fvck (2022): 16 songs

Revamped (2023): 4 songs

Check out our fantastic and entertaining Demi Lovato articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Albums And Songs

Top 10 Demi Lovato Songs

Read More: Artists’ Interviews Directory At ClassicRockHistory.com

Complete List Of Demi Lovato Songs From A to Z article published on ClassicRockHistory.com© 2025

About The Author

Brian Kachejian

“We’d all seen The Wall; we knew there were good rock movies out there”: Inspired by Pink Floyd, Marillion made a film out of their 1994 concept album Brave. It didn’t go well

“This band has always been out of sync with whatever is going on”: The Black Crowes albums you should definitely listen to, and one to avoid

…and one to avoid