Articles by Dave Ling, News/Lives Editor, Classic Rock

Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.

Articles by: Dave Ling

"Jimi Hendrix lived a block from me in New York. We jammed together a lot": Al Kooper's stories of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and more

By Dave Ling published 19 April 24

He freaked out Lynyrd Skynyrd, produced The Tubes and more, hung out at Keith Moon’s house and had George Harrison hang out at his. He's the legendary Al Kooper

The Judas Priest album title that became heavy metal's definitive statement of intent

By Dave Ling published 7 April 24

Where do you go once you’ve crafted one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time?

"Our contract with EMI allowed us complete control. When we signed, they had to make a donation to the Miners' Strike": Fired up by frustration, New Model Army's Vengeance is as relevant now as it was 40 years ago

By Dave Ling published 6 April 24

New Model Army's debut was fired up by the frustrations of growing up in Smalltown England, the Falklands War and, in the case of its powerful title track, World War II criminals

“It’s been a blessing to have been underdogs for so long. It’s kept us hungry. I’m ravenous”: the late ’80s fall and early ’90s rise of Motorhead

By Dave Ling published 6 April 24

Motörhead struggled through the second half of the 1980s - but there was no way that Lemmy was going to give up

"I play the drums like I drive - crazy": The epic life and tragic death of Cozy Powell

By Dave Ling published 5 April 24

Drum legend Cozy Powell passed away on April 5 1998 at the age of 50. This is his story, by the people who knew him best

A line-up photograph of Queensryche in 2006

“Anyone with an alternate viewpoint is liable to get burned at the stake”: Queensryche made an 80s metal classic with Operation: Mindcrime. Nearly 20 years later, they tried to match it with a sequel

By Dave Ling published 4 April 24

The sequel to Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime was released in the US on April 4, 2006. This is how they made a follow up to a landmark album

“Basically I’d been set up. I woke up the following morning and wondered, ‘Did I just rejoin?’” How Pallas repaired the angry split with Alan Reed to deliver their eighth album in 48 years

By Dave Ling published 4 April 24

Despite the acrimony of 2010, the glacial-speed band realised they’d all changed – and latest release The Messenger proves no one really ever leaves their family

"It was the only place that Satan wouldn’t be hanging out": Twisted Sister were a long way from home, but Jimmy Page's bathroom was a songwriting refuge

By Dave Ling published 3 April 24

How Twisted Sister convinced their record company they weren't the worst band in the world and made Stay Hungry

"Things were gloriously easy back in 1969 because we only had two albums. Things are now much more tortuous": Ian Anderson on touring, bedbugs and Martin Barre

By Dave Ling published 3 April 24

Jethro Tull are about to play 10 UK shows, and band leader Ian Anderson is hitting the rails rather than the road

“Others’ expectations kept me from taking it seriously for a long time… Some will say, ‘What is this old prat on about?’ but I don’t give a damn”: Why Ian Anderson took the risk of making Thick As A Brick 2

By Dave Ling published 2 April 24

In exploring what could have happened to Gerald Bostock – the child prodigy of the 1972 Jethro Tull album – he explored where else his own life might have taken him

New Model Album loitering on a cobbled street

"We have all been robbed, and it's still going on. It's bringing the country to disaster": 40 years down the road, New Model Army are as uncompromising as ever

By Dave Ling published 1 April 24

Northern powerhouse New Model Army play shows in April and May, taking new album Unbroken to the people

“There were no egos: It was just about the music. There was an incredible flow… a magical, organic experience”: How supergroup Flying Colors made their debut album in just 9 days

By Dave Ling published 26 March 24

When Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson went to work, they hoped they were creating something that would last. As it turned out, they were

"I heard it for the first time at a dope dealer’s house one night": My 10 favourite British albums ever, by Status Quo's Francis Rossi

By Dave Ling published 25 March 24

Francis Rossi reveals why the Rolling Stones annoy him, names the guitarist whose onstage farewell he copied, and reveals the band "who should have been drowned at birth"

"We're only here to play fantastic rock music": The Hives promise that their upcoming live shows will be like "a regular rock show but there's more of everything"

By Dave Ling published 22 March 24

Steel yourselves: The Hives are going on tour

"It was starting to feel like the band had run its course": Whitesnake entered 1984 on a high, but everything was about to change

By Dave Ling published 20 March 24

Whitesnake's last album before MTV propelled them towards US superstardom, Slide It In marked the end of an era for the band

John Kalodner with Aerosmith, holding sales awards for their Get A Grip album

"My man management skills are very poor, but the music that gets made is usually worth it": The story of John Kalodner, the man who made rock stars

By Dave Ling published 13 March 24

He signed Foreigner. He helped Whitesnake go global. Aerosmith owe him. He is music biz A&R legend-cum-rockstarmaker John Kalodner

“I still buy a new album and flick through it trying to find the weepy ballad – but for God’s sake, I was in Mostly Autumn for 13 years!” Heather Findlay’s affection for melancholy

By Dave Ling published 7 March 24

Singer songwriter Heather Findlay discusses her album Wild White Horses

"We're probably at the point that we can get away with it": Feeder are thirty years old in 2024, and they're finally ready to release a double album

By Dave Ling published 6 March 24

Feeder's 12th album Black/Red is out next month, and founder Grant Nicholas is prepared to go big

"We'd started playing small dance halls for a few hundred people, now suddenly we were opening for the Stones and The Who": A celebration of the life and music of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington

By Dave Ling published 5 March 24

Gary Rossington was the last surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd's founding lineup: He died a year ago

"The doubters have all gone now": Steve Diggle on continuing Buzzcocks without Pete Shelley

By Dave Ling published 4 March 24

Now fronted by Steve Diggle, Buzzcocks play North American shows this month, with UK and European shows to follow

"We're singing about hot girls and cool stuff. It's what people really need right now": Now that Van Halen are no more, BulletBoys want to revive their party spirit

By Dave Ling published 3 March 24

After a long time away, Californian hard rock stalwarts BulletBoys return for UK dates in March

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine in close up in 2007

“Vultures were on the bedpost. It was a dark road and I was losing my lust for life”: Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine is metal’s great survivor

By Dave Ling published 2 March 24

Drugs, feuds, bitter ex-bandmates – Dave Mustaine has weathered everything life threw at him. And in this classic interview from the Metal Hammer archives, he wasn’t about to roll over yet

"Things have gone further than we envisaged, but that’s life": Saxon's Biff Byford on their new guitarist, extraterrestrial life and the future

By Dave Ling published 14 February 24

As Saxon prepare to tour The UK with Judas Priest and Uriah Heep, we catch up with frontman Biff Byford to hear about new album Hell, Fire And Damnation

“I didn’t want the job with Robert Plant, I wasn’t after it and there were 5,000 guys that were - but they called me. When things come into your life, embrace them; when they leave, let them go”: Francis Dunnery’s lessons in life

By Dave Ling published 14 February 24

It Bites co-founder shares his experiences of Steve Hackett, Genesis, Yes and the music industry - and why he thinks it’s no bad thing that most of prog is a “caricature”

"That was real food for thought": Rick Wakeman on the surprise lesson he learned from a 16-year-old Brazilian fan

By Dave Ling published 5 February 24

Rick Wakeman's Return Of The Caped Crusader dates resume this month, and the keyboard maestro knows it's not about nostalgia for everyone

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