Classic Rock 213 is on sale now. On the cover you’ll find highlights from our Class of 2015 - rising stars in rock’n’roll, from Halestorm to Purson. There’s also Jimmy Page, Motley Crue, Genesis and Spooky Tooth, and a tribute to the late Yes man Chris Squire. Additionally you’ll find our Autumn Preview, looking at upcoming releases from Def Leppard, Clutch, Iron Maiden, Michael Monroe… Plus a free 14-track CD.
1. One of Jimmy Page’s guitars was a gift from ABBA. Led Zeppelin went to the pop Swedes’ Stockholm studio in 1978, when Bjorn Ulvaeus gave Jimmy a guitar. Later they all went out to a club together. “I was rather hoping we were going to meet Agnetha,” Jimmy adds, of this Zep-meets-ABBA encounter, “but that wasn’t part of the deal!”
2. Genesis man Tony Banks once wore a snorkel onstage. Despite being a modest “writer who’s onstage because he can play what he writes” the keyboardist did actually don sub-aqua kit at a gig in 1981. No Wakeman-esque wizard cape though. In our Q&A he also talks about writing music for Michael Winner, Genesis reunion thoughts and table tennis.
3. “Ikea, H&M, the best pop music in the world…somewhere there’s always a Swedish person involved.” So said Mikko Von Hertzen – proud Finn and part of the Scandinavian contingent of our Class Of 2015 – as the Von Hertzen Brothers browsed records in Stockholm with (Sweden-based) Blues Pills.
4. Foreigner, Humble Pie and The Only Ones – all stemmed from Spooky Tooth. Yep, members of all these bands, and others, hailed from the Spooky camp. With his old band The V.I.Ps, ST’s Mike Harrison also gave (the then unknown) Jimi Hendrix his first London break. Spooky Tooth went on to carve brilliant psych-pop, and get invited by Marlon Brando to his Champs-Elysees after-shows. Not bad for a bunch of 60s “spiritual animals” who sometimes “needed a good slap.”
**5. Muddy Waters called one of his own albums “dogshit”. **Hard to believe, given his formidable electric blues legacy. Can you guess which one? Get the lowdown on his back catalogue with our Buyer’s Guide.
6. Playing a big show is better than sex, according to Black Stone Cherry. “My wife might kick my ass if I say that,” says frontman Chris Robertson cautiously. “But in its own right, yes it is.”
7. Festivals are like military operations: forward plan. To be fair, it’s the sort of advice you’d expect from an ex-SAS sergeant. Andy McNab (acclaimed action author by day, rock fan by night) is full of festival survival tips in our Ramblin’ Man Fair preview, as well as disdain for shoes. “I fucking hate shoes,” he told us. Here’s hoping it’s a sunny one…
8. All members of Def Leppard have a go at lead vocals on their new album. Well, on one track anyway. According to frontman/chattiest-man-in-Yorkshire Joe Elliott, everyone sings lines that are “poignant to parts of their lives.”
**9. Vintage Trouble’s Ty Taylor first found fame as a Pampers model. **When he was 14 months old, we hasten to add. From there, however, it was all soul and rock’n’roll – with stints in Grease and We Will Rock You along the way.
10. Unlike his Motley Crue peers, Mick Mars would never make a sex tape. “I’d look like a monkey on a beach ball,” he reasons. Fair enough.
If your newsagent isn’t selling issue 213 of Classic Rock, you can order it online.
Alternatively, you can download the Classic Rock magazine app from iTunes.
