Snippets
High Voltage Saxon
NWOBHM heroes Saxon have been added to the bill of this year’s High Voltage Festival.
The band are amongst a trio of bands that have been added to the bill following last week’s stage split announcement.
Saxon, Hammerfall and Cathedral have been added to the Metal Hammer Stage on Saturday 24 July, the day which is topped by Black Label Society.
You can see the full line-up below: Saturday, 24 July 2010:
Main Stage: ZZ Top, Heaven & Hell, Foreigner, Gary Moore, The Answer, The Union.
Metal Hammer Stage: Black Label Society, Saxon, Cathedral, Hammerfall, Orange Goblin, Black Spiders, New Device.
Prog Stage: Transatlantic, Opeth, Asia, Dweezil Zappa, Focus, Pendragon, Touchstone.
Sunday, 25 July 2010:
Main Stage: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Joe Bonamassa, Bachman & Turner, UFO, Quireboys.
Metal Hammer Stage: Down, Venom, Clutch, High On Fire, Audrey Horne, Lethargy.
Prog Stage: Marillion, Argent, Uriah Heep, Magnum, Steve Hackett, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, The Reasoning.
Leppard no split
Def Leppard have denied that they are on the verge of splitting after rumours started circulating late last year that their number was up.
After calling a halt to a US tour late in 2009 for “personal reasons” there were mutterings that end was nigh for the band. However, frontman Joe Elliot has finally revealed the reason for their tour cancellation.
Elliott insists the trek was only cancelled so he could tend to his wife Kristine, who was expecting their first child. He tells TheStar.co.uk, "There wasn't any mystery to it really. My wife was pregnant and needed a bit of attention from me, which she wasn't getting. There was a lot of things (sic) in our private lives that needed attending to. We're not splitting. Not at all. We often joke, what else would we do? You just can't imagine doing anything else."
Miller time!
The Steve Miller Band are to play two shows in the UK this winter – their first shows in Europe in 25 years.
Miller and his band are to play a show at the Royal Albert Hall on 7 October and a show in Manchester on 8 October.
The dates will be in support of the band’s brand new studio album, Bingo!, which is released on 21 June. It’s their first album since 1993 and will be the first of two records released in the next year.
Beach has a pop at Hammett
Winger/Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach has, for some reason, laid into Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, claiming that he has never played a good solo in his life.
Speaking to Classic Rock Revisited, Beach revealed that he doesn’t much like the metal guitarist’s work.
“Back in the 80s, he was always voted best guitar player, and I’m like, ‘What?! That guy is terrible.’ I hate to say that because I might meet him one day.
“What’s he play in? Megadeth? Metallica? Is he in Metallica? Oh, then I have no problem doing that because in their biggest video, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, when they threw darts at a poster of Kip Winger, and then they showed it live — 20,000 people every night laughing at Winger — I don’t mind saying that Kirk Hammett sucks.”
In the interview, Beach also reveals how Beavis & Butthead bankrupted him.
Steel back on vinyl
There’s to be a special vinyl reissue of the classic Judas Priest album British Steel.
Priest’s iconic 1980 record is to be released by the Back On Black label on 180g vinyl on April 19.
As Classic Rock magazine has previously reported there’s also to be an expanded edition of British Steel put out to celebrate its 30th anniversary. This is due on May 10.
Not only will this have the original remastered record, but a live CD recorded at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida on August 17, 2009. The deluxe edition also has a DVD of the same show, when Priest played the whole of British Steel.
