Britannia Row, the former recording studio used by Pink Floyd when recording Animals (1977), The Division Bell (1994) and portions of the monumental double album The Wall (1979) was once owned in equal shares by band members. Nick Mason eventually ended up as the sole owner and relocated the studio equipment when he sold the the former Victorian era warehouse to a building management firm in the 1990's. Some recording was still done in the studio, including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's Walking To Clarksdale album in 1998. The local council has now approved a proposal that allows for the conversion of the studio into a mixed luxury residential/commercial space.
NME.com
Ozzy Osbourne wants to see the Black Sabbath farewell tour extended. The run is scheduled to end with February 2 and 4 concerts on the veteran Hard Rocker's home turf in Birmingham, England. Although he thinks it's unlikely he can convince everyone in Sabbath to sign-on to do more dates, it sounds as though he'll give it a go. Speaking with Billboard, Osbourne said that doing this tour is '....great. I'm having a blast with it', and added, 'I'm sure as it starts counting down to five shows left or something, it's going to be kind of emotional.' For all his bravado and bluster, Ozzy, at heart, is actually a gentle and sentimental sort.
Drummer Ian Paice has revealed that he suffered a mild stroke on June 14 while Deep Purple was touring in Europe. Paice says he awoke in Stockholm to numbness on the right half of his body and noticed difficulty moving his hands and coordinating his fingers. Hospital tests confirmed that he'd had what's known as a TSI, a Transient Ischemic Attack, also referred to as a mini-stroke. Scans indicated no permanent impairment was likely, but Paice says there is still a slight numbness on his right side and tingling in one hand. He reports he's regaining dexterity quickly and expects to be ready to resume playing in July. Doctors prescribed medication to reduce the risk of a future episode.
Artimus Powell is in the middle of writing and preparing to produce a biopic about his life and years as a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The former drummer for the Southern Rock institution called the project a '...much deserved movie for fans of Skynyrd' while taliking with Deadline about the project, which is tentatively titled Free Bird. Powell plans to closely chronicle the last hours of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve & Cassie Gaines, the band members killed in a 1977 plane crash. Pyle says Van Zant was someone he '...loved like a brother and still miss to this day.' It is uncertain whether Pyle will be granted rights to use recordings of the band he played in from 1974-1991 for the film. He hopes to because he wants the film to convey '...my band members the way they were: real, funny people who loved the music, loved the success that allowed us to be able to travel the world and play for kings and queens all over this planet.' He added that the story of the band is '...incredibly personal and passionate to me and I want the movie going public to be able to share the laughs and the tears.'
A Los Angeles jury has returned a verdict worth millions in saved royalties to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The unanimous decision by jurors found the pair not guilty in a suit cllaiming that they had lifted a key part of the melody in Stairway To Heaven from an instrumental on the debut album by Spirit, a band they performed with during Zeppelin's first US tour. The similarities of portions of the two songs were striking, but the jury struck down the contention that Page & Plant had violated copyright law after the pair insisted they had no recollection of having heard the song until the similarity was brough to their attention more than 4 decades after Stariway was written and released on the group's 4th album. Michael Skidmore, a trustee of the estate of the Spirit musician that wrote Taurus, brough the suit in an effort to gain a share as high as $40 million in past royalties and a writing credit that would secure a share of the song's future royalties.
The dilemma of Axl Rose not being able to be in two places at once could be solved by putting AC/DC and Guns N' Roses on the same bill. GNR's former manager reportedly said on the Let There Be Talk podcast that it's going to happen after the two groups finish up their respective summer tours.
Leave it to Steven Tyler to phrase an apparent announcement that Aerosmith will call it quits in terms that are totally ambiguous. Speaking with SiriusXM's Howard Stern, Tyler said he wants to '...squash every thought that anybody might have that the band is over', but then added, 'We're doing a farewell tour but it's only because it's time.' Making the statement even more ridiculous and impossible to decipher, Tyler then said the farewell tour would probably last 'forever'. When the host jokingly mentioned that it sounds like Aerosmith is approaching the farewell tour the way the Who have, Tyler responded, 'What about KISS? They did 19 farewell tours!' 
Claiming that the palintiff has failed to establish the basis of the case of copyright infringment filed against Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the legal team representing the Led Zeppelin members Monday
Farm Aid officials announced Tuesday
The 5 apartment building Jim Morrison last resided in before moving to Paris is being put up for sale. The Doors lead singer shared unit 8216 1/2 Norton Ave. in West Hollywood with his girlfriend Pamela Courson in 1970 & '71. The Spanish-style stucco building will be marketed as a B&B or business rental building. Ben Fong-Torres interviewed Morrison in his apartment in February of '71 for Rolling Stone. A small statue of a lizard adorns an exterior wall of the building and a bust of the singer is displayed in a brick courtyard. Owned since 2003 by Cheri Woods, the building's interior has changed little since Morrison was a resident. She has opened his s top floor apartment to those wanting to see it for $10 and it is listed as available for daily, weekly and longer term rentals, with month long stays advertised as $3,000. The building is located within minutes by foot of Morrison's Sunset Strip haunts.
Phil Collins has been writing an autobiography he describes as being embarrassingly honest. The book chronicles his early years as a child actor right through his time with Genesis and emergence as a solo artist. Speaking of the book and his life, Collins says, 'In many respects I've had a dream life. I've been incredibly lucky, but I've also worked extremely hard. I've collaborated with some of my heroes, written songs that people have liked, and wildly surpassed my initial hope to make a living as a drummer.' In addition to covering all of the phases of his musical career, Not Dead Yet will delve into his fascination with the Alamo, his three marriages and his struggle to overcome a drinking problem. The book is due on October 20 and will also be available in an audio edition read by Collins.
Jimmy Page testified on day two of the trial over the contention that he and Robert Plant based an important part of the melody in Stairway To Heaven on a song that appeared on the debut album by the band Spirit. While the guitarist acknowledged that the 1968 album that includes the instrumental Taurus is in his collection of nearly 10,000 records, he says he has no recollection of having listened to it and wan't even sure when it became part of his music library. He also claims to have no memory of seeing Spirit play on the night his band was paired with them for Zeppelin's first US concert in 1968 in Denver. He did say that Zeppelin had often used a Spirit riff from the song Fresh Garbage duing live performances on their opening tour, but denies having heard Taurus before he heard about the similarity the portion of Stairway has to the notes in the Spirit instrumental.
The trial to determine whether Led Zeppelin lifted a key segment of the melody of Stairway To Heaven from an instrumental title Taurus by the band Spirit opened in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday 
In an effort to make sure fans know he's no fan of Donald Trump, Neil Young issued a release headlined "Young continues to deny Trump permission to use his music". Apparently the Canadian born Rocker found some followers believe he'd endorsed the Republican candidate for President because he referenced Trump when performing Rockin' In The Free World, a song Trump has repeatedly used at campaign appearances despite Young's objections. The singer's statement reads, "After we asked him to stop using my music he began hurling insults and then immediately released a photo of us together to the media (again without my permission) to further mislead the public." He puctuated the statement with a video clip of him yelling "F*** you, Donald Trump" as his band launched into the song at a recent concert.
Rod Stewart joined the ranks of knighted Rockers on Friday.jpg)
The final US date for Black Sabbath's farewell tour is no longer at Ozzfest. The group has added three additional dates after the September 24th festival appearance in San Bernadino, California. Those shows will take place November 8 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, the 10th at Toyota Center in Houston and the 12th at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The band then heads to South America for a series of 7 shows, ending December 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Who are branding a sequel to the 1979 Quadrophenia movie "a blatant attempt to cash in" and want it known that they have no desire for fans to consider it something they endorse. The original film waas co-written by Pete Townshend and included music from the group's landmark double album of 1973 as well as music from Sting. While the next version features Phil Daniels again in the lead role of Jimmy Cooper, there will be no Who music in it. The group's manager lashed out against the project, calling it a 'karaoke sequel".
A March, 2015 drive David Crosby took in his Tesla proved costly. The singer has settled a lawsuit filed by a jogger that he clipped on a road in Santa Ynez, California 
Bob Weir has always embraced technical innovation. The Grateful Dead guitarist has himself been an eager participant in improving the quality of live and recorded music throughout his career. That has earned him an award named in honor of one of the music industry's greatest innovators. The first Les Paul Spirit Award will be presented to Weir at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. Michael Braunstein, the executive director of the Les Paul Foundation, credits the award's first recipient for being, "...an extraordinary talent who has given us an amazing array of legendary music", and, "an innovator who understands music, technologies and the spirit of Les Paul", adding, "If Les were still alive today, I have absolutely no doubt that he and Bob would be experimenting together at TRI Studios or at Les' house and the results would be extraordinary."
Shunned by Black Sabbath after reportedly taking exception to the pay-scale being offered for him to participate in the final album and tour 
Asius Technologies Stephen Ambrose offered to let Brian Johnson try out his company's newly developed in-ear monitors to see whether they could alleviate the hearing problems that forced the AC/DC front man to give up touring. Johnson, who says his hearing was damaged by high decibel AC/DC concerts and repeated exposure to loud engines during car races, emerged from the try-out thinking he just might be able to resume live performances after all. A statement released by the the company quoted Johnson, stating, "'I was really moved and amazed to be able to hear music again like I haven't heard it for several years now. I can't wait for it to be miniaturized so I can use it in every situation from normal communication, going out to noisy restaurants, to performing live music on stage." According to the Asius Technologies web site, Ambrose created an in-ear monitor that became so popular amoung touring musiicians by modifying swimming ear plugs in 1965. A musician himself, he became interested in coming up with a device that would address hearing loss among people exposed to loud music. His solution was a so-called 'second eardrum' for the company's ADEL (Ambrose Diaphonic Ear Lens) that intercepts and reduces the harm causing pressure assoicated with loud sound before it can do damage to the wearer's own ear drums.
Recent Rock Hall of Fame inductees Deep Purple have a new album just about ready for release. Don Airey, the group's keyboard player, reports that all of the instrumental tracks are done and all that's needed are the vocals. Bob Ezerin was at the controls for the recording sessions which went at a brisk pace. Roger Glover says the group spent 13 days in the studio working out the arrangements and got the actual recording of 13 songs done in the same number of days.
Drummer Glenn Symmonds last week amended a suit he filed against Eddie Money last fall over his dismissal from Money's band. The claim maintains that the termination was based on his age and disabilities related to a back injury and bladder cancer treatment. The Symmonds suit also contends that the singer sexually harassed the drummer's fiancee, Tami Landrum. The case has been shifted from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Among the contentions Symmonds sites are repeated occasions when Money made sexual references to his fiancee and attempted to kiss her. He also claims that Money dedicated Think I'm In Love to Landrum during a 2013 performance at a private party and unzipped his pants during the song and wiggled his thumb through the opening in the pants while gyrating his hips. He also says the singer ridiculed him on stage over bladder control issues due to chemotherapy, once announcing to an audience that Depends, the adult diaper company, was a tour sponsor.
