Pamela Anderson, who is currently promoting her new film, The Last Showgirl, stopped by SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. In the clip below, Pamela and Andy Cohen discuss where things stand between her and ex-husband, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Pamela and Tommy divorced in 1998 following three years of marriage and share two sons, Brandon Thomas Lee, 28, and Dylan Jagger Lee, 27.
“We used to talk a lot more, not recently, unfortunately,” says Pamela. “I wish we did have a better rapport right now. My youngest son is engaged, and we’re gonna have grandkids together. It’ll be okay, eventually. It’s just kind of a moment right now.”
The Last Showgirl, in theatres today, is a poignant film of resilience, rhinestones and feathers, staring Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly’s best friend, who brings her own unique interpretation and brilliance to the story, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd.
Ron Thal, guitar maestro famously known as Bumblefoot, pointed out some of the biggest challenges that musicians are facing today, revealing that things can be tough on all levels. It’s far from a secret that today’s music industry, or pretty much any creative industry, isn’t making it easier on the artists. Nonetheless, the love for music and artistic expression prevails, and we still have an abundance of new music with artists constantly pushing the boundaries.
As for Bumblefoot, he’s set to release a new album titled Bumblefoot …Returns! featuring an impressive list of guests, including Brian May, Guthrie Govan, and Steve Vai. We recently caught up with the renowned guitarist and asked him about the state of things and how the industry affects him and all the other hard-working artists.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: What is your take on the current state of the music industry, and also, how do professional musicians survive these days if they’re not huge?
Bumblefoot: “The state of the music industry these days is an ever-evolving thing. And as technology evolves even quicker, so does the music industry. It has to – we have to keep up. And with that comes good and bad. I could look back on 25 years, just when Derek Sivers wrote me an email and said, ‘Hey, I’m starting this thing where you can sell your own music online, sell your CDs. I’m calling it CD Baby. Would you be interested?’ And starting with that.
“I mean, of course, there’s issues with companies like Spotify that make billions off of content and the artists. It’s pretty fair to say that most artists feel like there’s not a fair division of assets. But it is what it is. And if you’re going to be creative with your music, you have to be creative with the current state of the music business, and say, ‘How can I make this work for me?'”
Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, is back with a brand-new instrumental album, Bumblefoot …Returns!, set for release on January 24. Thirty years after his debut solo instrumental album, Bumblefoot revisits his roots with a 14-track masterpiece that spans genres from metal to orchestral to blues.
The album’s opening track, “Simon In Space,” serves as its first single, delivering an electrifying ride through chaos and intensity. The single is available for streaming here. In addition to the single, an animated music video created by Bumblefoot and animator Radek Grabinski is also available, as well as a retro-inspired video game, which is coming soon. Watch the video below.
Reflecting on the single, Bumblefoot shared: “From an early age, my passions were guitar and astrophysics, cosmology – the song ‘Simon in Space’ merges the two. Simon is my cat haha, that’s him featured in the artwork.”
Soon fans will be able to immerse themselves in a retro-inspired video game based on the single. More details will be announced soon.
Bumblefoot …Returns! features collaborations with iconic musicians, including Brian May, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Derek Sherinian, Jerry Gaskill, and others, showcasing Bumblefoot’s innovative guitar techniques, such as his signature fretless guitar and “thimble technique.”
On the album, Bumblefoot shared: “It’s been 30 years since releasing the debut Adventures Of Bumblefoot on Shrapnel Records, and I haven’t done a fully instrumental album since. Working on Whom Gods Destroy’s album inspired growling heavy fretless parts like ‘Simon In Space’. Watching a blues documentary inspired ‘Moonshine Hootenanny.’ Losing loved ones led to writing ‘Funeral March.’ Songs become a soundtrack to our lives.”
The album is available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD, and cassette, with exclusive merch bundles at Bumblefoot.com. Highlights of the physical editions include:
– Vinyl: Double-disc gatefold with UV art pressing on Side 4. – CD: Includes an 8-panel foldout square poster. – Cassette: Features 10 panels of artwork.
“Simon In Space” “Planetary Lockdown” “Moonshine Hootenanny” “Chopin Waltz Op64 No2” “Monstruoso” (ft. Steve Vai) “Monstruoso II – Departure” “Cintaku” “Once in Forever” (ft. Brian May) “Andalusia” “Anveshana” (ft. Guthrie Govan) “Funeral March” (ft. Ben Karas) “Griggstown Crossing” “The Thread” “Liftoff”
“Simon In Space” video:
About Bumblefoot:
Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal is a celebrated guitarist, producer, composer, and educator with a career spanning over 30 years. Known for his groundbreaking techniques, Bumblefoot has performed with Guns N’ Roses, Asia, Sons of Apollo, Whom Gods Destroy, and more.
Bumblefoot is an adjunct professor, international cultural ambassador, philanthropist, and hot sauce entrepreneur, whose work has been featured in TV, film, and video games, including VH1’s That Metal Show.
For more information, exclusive merch, and album pre-orders, visit Bumblefoot.com.
Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine have announced pop-up shops for each stop on the UK leg of their Poisoned Ascendancy tour.
When the metalcore favourites trek across Blighty from January 26 to February 1, they’ll host bespoke stores in each city they visit. Exclusive merch will be on sale, and tattoos can also be booked!
European and North American legs have been confirmed and the full list of dates can be seen below. Further shows are expected to be added to the run at a later date.
Support in Europe will come from Orbit Culture, while the North American shows will be opened by August Burns Red plus Bleed From Within or Sylosis.
Trivium x Bullet For My Valentine 2025 tour dates:
Jan 26: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK Jan 27: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK Jan 28: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK Jan 30: Manchester Co-op Live, UK Jan 31: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK Feb 01: London The O2, UK
Feb 02: Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Germany Feb 04: Stuttgart Scheleyer-Hall, Germany Feb 05: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland Feb 07: Paris Le Zenith, France Feb 09: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium Feb 10: Hannover Swiss Life Hall, Germany Feb 11: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany Feb 14: Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle, Germany Feb 15: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany Feb 17: Milan Alcatraz, Italy Feb 18: Munich Zenith, Germany Feb 19: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria Feb 21: Gliwice Arena, Poland Feb 22: Prague Forum Karlin, Czechia Feb 23: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg Feb 26: Lisbon Campo Pequeno, Portugal Feb 27: Madrid Vistalegre, Spain
Mar 30: Vancouver PNE Forum, Canada Apr 01: Seattle Paramount Theatre, WA Apr 03: San Francisco The Masonic, CA Apr 04: Wheatland Hard Rock Live, CA Apr 05: Reno Grand Sierra Resort Grand Theatre, NV Apr 08: Denver Fillmore Auditorium, CO Apr 10: Las Vegas The Pearl Concert Theater, NV Apr 11: Inglewood YouTube Theater, CA Apr 12: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ Apr 15: Dallas Gilley’s South Side Ballroom, TX Apr 16: San Antonio Boeing Center At Tech Port, TX Apr 17: Houston Bayou Music Center, TX Apr 19: Chesterfield The Factory, MO Apr 20: Omaha Steelhouse Omaha, NE Apr 22: Green Bay Epic Event Center, WI Apr 23: Grand Rapids GLC Live at 20 Monroe, MI Apr 26: Chicago Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, IL Apr 27: Detroit The Fillmore Detroit, MI Apr 29: Pittsburgh Stage AE Outdoors, PA Apr 30: Philadelphia The Fillmore Philadelphia, PA May 02: Boston MGM Music Hall at Fenway, MA May 03: Laval Place Bell, Canada May 04: Toronto Great Canadian Resort, Canada May 06: Washington DC The Anthem May 07: New York The Rooftop at Pier 17, NY May 09: Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center, PA May 11: Nashville The Pinnacle, TN May 13: Corbin The Corbin Arena, KY May 14: Atlanta Coca-Cola Roxy, GA May 17: Charlotte Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, NC May 18: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.
In November 1973, the New York Dolls came to the UK to play headline shows in Warwick, Leeds, York and London, and to appear on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test show.
The Dolls’ first visit to the UK one year earlier had ended in tragedy, when drummer Billy Murcia, aged just 21, died in a bath-tub at a west London party, after falling asleep under the influence of Mandrax and champagne. Their return to the UK would change another young life, and play a major part in kickstarting a punk rock revolution in the UK.
In London, the New York quintet were booked to play on consecutive nights at Biba, a huge department store on Kensington High Street. Tickets for the gigs – including a meal in the glamorous West London shop – were priced at £2.50, and teenager David Lett, later better known to the world as Dave Vanian, frontman of The Damned, snapped up two for the first night, November 26, one for himself, and one for his girlfriend.
“Biba was a strange place – a shop with five floors of 1930s glamour that felt like a timewarp,” Vanian recalls in a new interview with The Guardian. “The gig was full of all sorts of glittering people – a very dressed-up gig. Lots of cross-dressers wandering around.”
“I had a girlfriend who came to see the Dolls with me,” the singer remembered in a 2018 interview with MOJO‘s Pat Gilbert. “She was wearing a see-through top with no bra, pretty risqué for the time. She looked stunning.”
In The Guardian, Vanian describes the gig as “a pivotal point in history”.
“They weren’t great virtuoso players, but they were as good as any band around,” he tells writer Michael Hann. “That night they played most of that first album and it sounded really good: if it had sounded like a shambles I don’t think I would have liked it as much. They had one foot firmly in those early rock’n’roll songs: you might only know a few notes, but if you play with passion, it works.”
“At that time I wasn’t thinking of being a singer,” Vanian adds, “but they made me think I could do it. There was a moment where I thought: I’m not going to be in the audience, I’m going to be on that stage.”
On the day following their first Biba gig, the Dolls performed on the Old Grey Whistle Test. You can watch that performance below:
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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.
Myles Kennedy contains multitudes. Between his myriad projects – including Alter Bridge, Slash Feat. The Conspirators and a solo career – he also has time to be one of rock’s nicest men and nurse a passion for British TV.
So, when the polymath recently flew into London as part of his Art Of Letting Go solo tour, Metal Hammer’s Liz Scarlett sat him down and indulged his passion for what’s been beamed over Blighty’s airwaves. From Doctor Who to Escape To The Country, prepare for a lovely stroll through programmes from the eastern side of the pond, guided by an American rock star.
Doctor Who (1963–)
“My first memory of UK television was Doctor Who as a child. They would show it on our Public Broadcasting System and the most compelling thing about it was the intro. The soundtrack was awesome! It was this futuristic thing with the keyboards and the synthesisers, which was kinda groundbreaking really, when it first came about. Mad props to whoever composed that soundtrack.” [The original theme song was written by Ron Grainer and performed by Delia Derbyshire. Geniuses both. –sci-fi geekery ed.]
Black Mirror (2011–)
“It just has very groundbreaking themes. It’s all over the map, obviously, but they’re always something special. One of my favourite episodes is Fifteen Million Merits, when they’re riding the stationary bikes. It’s been a while since I watched that particular episode but it left a lasting impression.”
A Place In The Sun (2000–)
“Very comforting. Both Selena, my wife, and I – when we come over here – there’s something about A Place In The Sun that makes it easy to power down. Just watch and relax.”
Escape To The Country (2002–)
“Escape To The Country, it’s the same exact thing. It’s genius! We come to London and Manchester and the major cities all the time, but going out and seeing how beautiful it is out there [in the UK countryside], it’s so idyllic.”
“[Presenter] Kevin McCloud is incredible. I love his commentary, so much insight. I’m kind of an architecture nerd and I think what’s fascinating is when you see these people who have these dreams – some of these episodes, they’re shooting for the moon and they may not have the things they need, but they still have that perseverance to see it through. To me, it’s inspiring. It highlights the human spirit and what you can really do when you want to achieve something.
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Myles’ new solo album The Art Of Letting Go is out now. Watch our full video interview with him below.
Myles Kennedy picks the 5 best British TV shows ever | Metal Hammer – YouTube
Caligula’s Horse singer Jim Grey guests on Trust, the new single from Montreal and Stockholm-based prog heavyweights Voidchaser, for which the quartet have just shared a brand new video.
Trust is the title track of the band’s upcoming EP, is out now and completes the conceptual voyage the band have undertaken with debut EP Odyssey (released February 2024), and continued with the recent single Solace.
“Trust, the single, represents the hopes of being accepted by surrendering your sense of self-identity and blindly trusting the judgment of the person you are trying to gain acceptance from,” says vocalist and guitarist Chad Bernatchez of the band’s new single.
“While working on the pre-production of this single, we came up with the idea of creating a vocal duo dynamic that would weave into a beautiful harmony,” adds bassist Jici LG. “Being influenced by Caligula’s Horse, Jim Grey naturally came to mind, and we reached out to him right after his Charcoal Grace World Tour. Collaborating with someone of his extraordinary talent and experience feels like a huge milestone for us. It’s also a sign that Voidchaser is stepping into something bigger, and we couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”
The new EP also sees Voidchaser work with fellow Canadian proggers The Anchoret and Universe Effects. You can see the new artwork and tracklisting below.
Marking the 30th anniversary of the single’s release, he remembered it as a challenge to perform, and added that he’d encountered disagreements with his bandmates over its tone.
“Singing this song was always difficult,” Hagar said via social media. “I wrote the lyrics about Kurt Cobain’s death. I wanted the chorus to say, ‘I wanna tell you what love can do,’ but [producer] Bruce Fairbank, Ed and Al [Van Halen] wanted to make it more dark and negative.”
He continued: “Technically it’s a brutal song to sing. I painted myself in a corner.” Regardless, he insisted: “[W]e will be doing it at the residency in Vegas. I’m going to add it to the show.”
“Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)” was one of four singles from Balance – Hagar’s last album with Van Halen. It reached the top spot of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart following its launch on Jan. 9, 1995, remaining there for three weeks. The band performed it 58 times during that year’s tour.
Van Halen Song is Loaded with Negativity, Pain for Sammy Hagar
In 2020, when Hagar’s band The Circle released a lockdown cover of the song, Hagar commented: “When I heard that Kurt Cobain had taken his own life, the first thing I thought of was, ‘I wish I were there and could have tried to save him.’”
Recalling that the song was assembled as his relationship with the Van Halen brothers was beginning to disintegrate, he said: “It added a lot of emotion, negativity and pain in the original vocal performance, which surfaced the second I started singing this song for the first time since 1995.”
Watch Van Halen Perform ‘Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)’
Rockers Whose Bands Tried to Erase Them
Their names never made it onto album covers and bands’ official websites – or, worse, they got deleted after some falling out.
As the ’80s came to a close and a new decade dawned, it was obvious that the heavy music landscape needed — and had begun to undergo — a radical shift.
It was a unique moment in hard rock and metal history where just about anything went: The old had not completely dissipated, and the new had not fully established its dominance. So, for the time being, they all had to play nice with one another, and fans reaped the benefits.
Glam metal bands had ruled the charts for nearly a full decade with few obstacles or interruptions. But their time was almost up, and you’ll see precious few examples of the genre on our list of the Top 20 Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 1990.
In its place, a slew of heavier, darker and altogether weirder bands burst forth, foreshadowing the alternative revolution of the ’90s. That included grunge, of course, but it also encompassed alt-rock, funk-metal and retro rock that, ironically, sounded fresh again on the heels of so much bloated, overproduced pop-metal.
Heavy metal — particularly thrash — was also enjoying its moment in the sun after bubbling underground for years. The genre’s preeminent bands were making leaps and strides, hitting new creative and commercial peaks. Meanwhile, some of hard rock and metal’s biggest names from years past made thunderous comebacks, reminding the new generation why they were such a force to be reckoned with in the first place.
Read on to see the Top 20 Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 1990.
Top 20 Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 1990
Glam was on its way out, grunge was on its way in, and things were getting weird all around.
A roadie working with Michael Anthony for 43 years said his boss didn’t understand why he was considering retirement.
Kevin Dugan, the former Van Halen bassist’s right-hand man, is now 70 and considering the end of his career.
But when he first mentioned it to Anthony, Dugan had to explain the thinking behind the potential move, since the musician didn’t appear to have thought of it himself.
“When I first told Michael that I wanted to get off the road, he said, ‘I’m not going to do that, why should you? I’m still going to be out there,’” Dugan – whose working day is often 14 hours long – told The New York Times.
“And I said, ‘Michael, are you trying to compare your day to my day? You come out and do the show. You leave in a limo, go back to the five-star hotel or go back to a private jet … and fly home. Your day and my day are worlds apart.’”
Dugan said that the long hours had enforced lifestyle changes on him. “I’ve pulled way back on drinking on the road,” he said. “I cannot fathom working with a hangover. I did that for a lot of years. And when you’re middle-aged, you can bounce back from a hangover. But now it takes too long.”
Anthony accepted he gained an advantage from such a long relationship with Dugan. “With that kind of experience, I can go up onstage every night and feel totally relaxed and confident that he has everything handled,” he said.
Veteran U2 Roadie Prayed Every Night During Sphere Residency
Meanwhile, 71-year-old Dallas Schoo said he was beginning to feel the strain of having worked with U2 guitarist The Edge for four decades – especially during the band’s Las Vegas Sphere residency.
“There are 17 steps from the floor … up to that stage,” he recalled. “I was 70 years old at the time, and I’m running up and down and up and down those steps with an eight-pound guitar, for 40 shows.
“I get paid handsomely for that. But I’m always thinking, ‘When will I trip? Is tonight the night I fall down those stairs?’ I say a prayer every night, I really do. I ask, Please help all these machines. Please let my command of them work; not for me and not even for the Edge, but for these 30,000 fans. Let it work for them. They deserve that; they want to hear this great act and these great songs.”
U2 Albums Ranked
U2 don’t inspire weak reactions in people. There are passionate U2 fans, and passionate U2 haters, and very little in between.
Jethro Tull will release a new studio album entitled Curious Ruminant on March 7.
It will be the Ian Anderson-led group’s third album in four years and their first since 2023’s RokFlote. You can hear the title track and see the complete track list below.
The nine-song album features a nearly 17 minute long epic named “Drink From the Same Well.” Anderson is joined by bassist David Goodier, keyboardist John O’Hara, drummer Scott Hammond and guitarist Jack Clark. Jethro Tull alumni James Duncan and Andrew Giddings also make guest appearances.
According to the press release announcing the album, some of the songs on Curious Ruminant were developed from unfinished instrumental demos made “some years ago.” The record is also said to feature “a more personal level of lyric content” than fans might be used to hearing, although the band promises not to delve into “the topics more often paraded by the usual I-me lyric merchants of pop and rock.” (Related: the “weirdest press release of 2025” race is off to a strong start.)
Hear Jethro Tull’s ‘Curious Ruminant’
Jethro Tull, Curious Ruminant Track List 1. “Puppet and the Puppet Master” 2. “Curious Ruminant” 3. “Dunsinane Hill” 4. “The Tipu House” 5. “Savannah of Paddington Green” 6. “Stygian Hand” 7. “Over Jerusalem” 8. “Drink From the Same Well” 9. “Interim Sleep”
