Latest news with #BlackCrowes
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Liam had been drinking all night. Noel was not in a great mood': photographers pick their best Oasis shot
I didn't really know the Gallaghers then. I had only shot Oasis at the Q awards and live shows. In 2001, I was commissioned by a US publication for a feature about The US tour of Brotherly Love, with Oasis, the Black Crowes and Spacehog. All the bands had two brothers in them, and I had been asked to photograph the Gallaghers and the Robinsons from the Black Crowes together. The shoot was at the Scala in King's Cross, London. It was peak Oasis, but there was no entourage, nobody watching over my shoulder. There was also literally nowhere to shoot in the venue. I ended up finding a corridor with a white wall and I thought: 'I'll try and make this look as much like a studio as possible.' I think Liam was holding a can of Red Stripe and they were smoking. I started taking shots of them all together and then, being a savvy photographer, made sure I did lots of the Gallaghers on their own. It is very rare that you see pictures of them laughing: Noel's almost rolling his eyes. I wasn't really tuned into what they were saying – and I might not have even been able to hear. I certainly wasn't the one making them laugh. I was chuffed to get the chance to shoot them, but I felt like Liam had quite a front, and I couldn't really connect with him. I remember thinking: 'The shots are OK.' Now they feel a lot more classic – black and white, very contrasty – but that's something that only happens with the passing of time. Back at the very start of my career, when I was 25, I knew an art director who was working on a new magazine called Loaded. In May 1994, he rang and said: 'I've got a job for you.' He gave me the address of a hotel somewhere in Manchester and told me to meet a guy called Noel Gallagher. I thought he was a tour manager, at first. Nobody said he was actually in the band. The hotel was like an Edwardian house: the place was so depressing. The receptionist had that Mancunian ambivalence, very downbeat. I said I'm here to see Noel Gallagher and she gesticulated with her thumb. So I go down this corridor, knock on the door. He answers and just goes: 'All right?' That's it, devoid of any warmth. He'd split up with his girlfriend and they'd shared a flat, so the record company were paying for him to live at the hotel. He had this little pocket address book and was making phone calls. Each one was the same: 'All right, seen our kid? OK, bye.' I was sitting there like a lemon thinking: 'What is 'our kid'?' So I thought: 'I'll just take some pictures.' Then he got up and said: 'Let's go.' As we were leaving, he stopped and said: 'What do you think of Blur?' And I went: 'I quite like them.' 'Second-best band in Britain,' he said. We walked to this street corner and then four guys came from the opposite direction. You could identify the leader from 200 yards away, because he had this unbelievable walk. It was mad experiencing that walk. I quickly gathered Noel and Liam were brothers. They spoke to each other in such a relentlessly passive aggressive way. Noel would tut and roll his eyes at everything Liam said. Liam asked me what football team I supported. I said Arsenal. He put his hand up to my face and went: 'I can't even look at you.' For the actual shoot, we went to Maine Road [then Manchester City's home]. I got on the ground and he made as if he was kicking a football at the camera. Before that day, I had been living a very precarious existence. Afterwards, I started to get a lot of well-paid work. My wife's best friend knows Noel and a couple of years ago we both went to a birthday dinner at her house. I said to Noel: 'I often think of that photo as the day my career started.' He goes: 'I'll tell you why that's the day your career began – because that's the day you met Oasis.' Bands – especially ones with a pretty boy singer or a female singer – can get really nervous that the singer gets all the attention. Noel was never like that. He said: 'You've got to use the assets you've got.' Liam was a really attractive young boy at the time. You put that on the cover of a paper, you're going to sell a lot. Early on, I was asked by Creation Records to get Oasis used to being photographed and work out what kind of image suited them – whether we wanted a modern look or a 1960s vibe. I was from Manchester originally and Noel, Liam and I supported Manchester City, so the label thought I was the person to ease them into it. Bands are normally a little bit cocky when they first start, but Oasis weren't. They were like: 'Oh, I love those pictures you did of Joy Division.' So they were kind of in awe of me initially. In July 1994, we went to Manchester to do a big session for the NME. A couple of people at the NME were obsessed with the Beatles and wanted Oasis to be a bit like that, but I didn't really see that in them. They weren't yobby – they were quite sensitive, I felt – but by the same token, they were lads who went to watch football. And those were the people who liked the band. We went to Maine Road to do some photographs. This picture was taken from the steps of the entrance to the stadium. I like it because it's very monotone. Liam's shirt is pretty much reflected in the painted brickwork around the ground. At the time, City were sponsored by Brother, a Japanese electronics company, and to have 'Brother' on the shirts was an absolute gift. We did a lot of pictures of the band in the Manchester City shirts that day. That was meant to be the cover of the NME, but my editor said: 'I don't want them to be associated with losers' – because City were about to get relegated. Even now, people associate that shirt with the band. It was interesting because football wasn't fashionable in the way it is now – and it wasn't glamorous at all. It was very difficult for people outside the UK to get football shirts from English clubs but in Tokyo, fans in the front four rows of their shows were wearing Man City shirts. They must have written to the club and had them imported. In 1994, I was chief photographer for Melody Maker and that July I flew to New York for the Maker's first Oasis cover. We were booked on the same flight, but the band were in club class and me and the hack were in goats-and-chickens. Liam came back to say hello. He was a garrulous guy, even pre-fame. He was standing at the back of the plane having a beer and this woman came by huffing and puffing with some kids and Liam offered to look after one of them. He pulled down one of those seats the flight attendants sit on and had the girl on his lap and chatted to her. After the tales I'd heard, I'd thought I was about to spend a few days with a nutcase. But he was sweet as a nut. We were out there for four days. They were shooting a video and doing a gig. This shoot was on the third day and we'd over-grooved the night before. It was punishingly hot. We got on the subway, we walked here, walked there, looking for a location, then this woman from the label said: 'I know this place.' She took us to a disused bridge. It was amazing: you can see one of the greatest cities in the world behind the band. I think Liam bought the top in homage to John Lennon. There's a picture that Bob Gruen took of Lennon wearing a similar shirt. They're really good people. They had a tremendous professionalism, but they always had a cheekiness, too – and such a bloody great sense of humour. Especially Liam. He's a good laugh, a tremendous piss-taker. I first met Oasis when I was finishing a book called The Moment. The book started with a picture of Paul McCartney taken on an Instamatic and I was looking for an up-and-coming band to end on. I sent Oasis all the live shots I'd taken of them at their gig at the Cambridge Corn Exchange and they really liked them. From then on, I started documenting them with their blessing. This was taken in Paris the first year I was working with them, at the end of 1995. We were supposed to meet them in Noel's room but my assistant found Liam in the bar. It appeared he'd been up all night and was still drinking. Obviously, Noel was not in the greatest mood, having been kept waiting and then seeing that Liam was somewhat inebriated. I had done several shoots with them already, but never experienced the tension between the brothers that other photographers had recorded. I used to say to them: 'How come you never fight when I'm around?' This wasn't a fight, but it was a chance to document in a subtle way the dynamics. The brothers, who are looking in opposite directions, somehow they're touching but they're also so separate from each other. We were pursued by paparazzi, probably British, as we were walking along the banks of the Seine, which is where this was taken. Liam was a bit merry and was saying hello to French people. He is an unpredictable soul. He's a joy to photograph, but a challenging person all round. I was very experienced – I'd worked with the punks – so wasn't particularly fazed. I was quite a bit older than them, like a mother figure. That was useful because all of them were more or less brought up by their mums, so they were perhaps more likely to be cooperative with an older female. My brief from Noel was to just record stuff. They knew already that they couldn't spend hours posing for shoots with fashion accessories and so on, but Noel had the intuition that whatever was happening to them should be documented. If it had been a band that were very protective of their public image, I think the shoot would have been cancelled that day. But Oasis weren't like that. They permitted that closeness. I felt like part of the crew. That was the great joy of photographing them. Oasis: The Masterplan by Kevin Cummins is published by Cassell. Roll With it by Tom Sheehan is published by Welbeck. Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere by Jill Furmanovsky and Noel Gallagher is published by Thames & Hudson on 23 September and available to pre-order.
Perth Now
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bad Company and Mott The Hoople star Mick Ralphs dead at 81
Bad Company and Mott The Hoople founding member Mick Ralphs has died aged 81. The guitarist, vocalist and songwriter had been in bad health since suffering a stroke in 2016. However, no cause of death has been given at this time. Mick's Bad Company bandmates Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke have led tributes to the late musician, writing on social media: 'Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground. He has left us with exceptional songs and memories. He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humor. Our last conversation a few days ago we shared a laugh but it won't be our last. There are many memories of Mick that will create laughter. Condolences to everyone who loved him especially his one true love, Susie. I will see you in heaven.' Kirke added: 'He was a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter, and an exceptional guitarist. We will miss him deeply.' He is survived by "the love of his life", Susie Chavasse, his two children and three step-children. In 2016, Bad Company announced a US tour with Joe Walsh. Despite initially not planning to join the tour, with Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes announced to be standing in for him, Mick rejoined the band to finish the tour. However, after the trek wrapped in London, reports emerged that he had been hospitalised after a stroke. His bandmates Howard Leese and Paul Rodgers continued to perform his parts in the band. Prior to Bad Company, after several name changes, he formed Mott the Hoople in 1969. The group had a commercial breakthrough with the David Bowie-produced All the Young Dudes in 1972. Bowie had initially offered the group his hit Suffragette City but they rejected it and stated they had split up. By 1973, Mick departed the band following their Top 10 LP Mott. Bad Company's debut album was released a year later, in 1974, and featured the hit Can't Get Enough, penned by Mick. In the '80s, Mick toured with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour on his About Face tour. He would release his debut solo album in 1985, Take This, which included Free's and Bad Company's drummer Simon Kirke. Bad Company reformed with varying lineups between 1986 and 1998. The original lineup toured in 1999, but after the jaunt, Mick announced he would no longer tour due to a fear of flying. He would go on to release his second solo album, It's All Good, in 2001, and a third, That's Life, in 2003. A year later, he reunited with his former Bad Company bandmate, Ian Hunter, to play guitar on his UK tour. In 2013 and 2014, Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd embarked on a joint tour of North America.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kate Hudson's first Bottlerock performance is harshly SLAMMED: 'That's screaming, not singing'
Kate Hudson performed at the Bottlerock Music Festival in Napa, California over the weekend. The How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days star, 46, looked very comfortable on stage as she rocked out to her own songs as well as cover songs. The daughter of Goldie Hawn, 79, wore an off-the-shoulder white lace dress featuring bat wing sleeves. She belted the dress at her waist with a black belt and wore black over-the-knee boots. At certain times in her set, Kate wore a pair of blue lensed glasses. Fans were mixed in their reviews of her set, with one person derisively writing, 'Righteous nepo of Goldie And Kurt.' A large majority of fans comments on People's Instagram video with hearts, bravo, clamoring for her to come to their country and other positive vibes. 'It's a NO for me. That's screaming, not singing,' a fan wrote, while others said, 'ouch' and 'yuck.' Someone else aptly wrote, 'Waiting the biopic of Stevie Nicks with Kate playing Stevie.' 'Who asked for this,' one person wrote and another countered that negativity by commenting, 'Beautiful voice.' One fan brought up her ex-husband, Chris Robinson, who is a member of the Black Crowes. 'And I think she absorbed a lot from her ex-husband Chris Robinson; they were a beautiful couple.' The Press Democrat, Napa and Sonoma County's newspaper, reviewed Kate's performance. 'Actress-turned-singer Kate Hudson took a victory lap on the Verizon stage following the May release of her debut album, Glorious,' the newspaper wrote. 'Mixing original songs with covers like Bittersweet Symphony, Hudson thanked the crowd for embracing her musical leap. 'This is my first festival,' she said, beaming. 'I'm so happy.' San Francisco's Riff also reviewed Kate's performance, saying, 'Who would have thought that Penny Lane would end up fronting Stillwater?,' referring to her character in Only Famous. Kate sang her own songs as well as covers including 'Til Tuesday's Voices Carry, The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony and Filter's Take a Picture. The Bride Wars star was supported by a six-member band whose deep grooves showed off her rich, gravelly-toned voice. 'We're whippin' through this set; I'm on a timer and everything! It's so exciting,' Hudson said. Kate performed at LA's The Roxy and San Diego's The Belly Up before her Bottlerock appearance. One of the cover songs that Kate loves to do is Aerosmith's Cryin'. She played the song in her set at The Roxy and the band noticed. Aerosmith shared a clip of the actress-turned-singer covering their 1993 hit along with the words, 'We love this cover of Cryin', in their Instagram Story and tagged Kate. At the Roxy, Kate played several songs from her 2024 album Glorious as well as some covers. She sang the same covers she did at Bottlerock plus Benson Boone's Mystical Magical, Fleetwood Mac's Gypsy and the Cure's Just Like Heaven.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Snoop Dogg, Sheryl Crow and more: Full lineup for the 2025 Illinois State Fair
Music fans can now see the full lineup of artists who will be performing at the state fair in August. Nine recognizable musicians and bands are coming to Springfield. Here's who will be performing at the fair that runs from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17. Country star Jake Owen can boast 10 No. 1 singles and more than 2.5 billion U.S. on-demand streams. He will take the stage in Springfield on Friday, Aug. 8. Owen is the most recent performer to be announced. Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. 'August 8 is Agriculture Day at the Illinois State Fair, and this is the perfect way to celebrate,' stated Jerry Costello II, Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. 'Country artists are a crowd favorite in central Illinois," he added. Owen released his first studio album in 2006. More: Part of the fabric of the Midwest: Central Illinois county fairs kick off in late May The Black Crowes debuted in 1990 and have sold over 30 million albums worldwide. The blues-rock band will perform on Saturday, Aug. 9. 'The Black Crowes represent the kind of powerhouse talent that makes the Illinois State Fair's Grandstand lineup stand out year after year,' Costello II stated. The group formed in Atlanta, Georgia. People Magazine called Moroney "Country's New Darling" and the Illinois State Fair billed her as bringing "emo cowgirl charm" to the fair. The Georgia-native claims nearly two billion global streams. "The Illinois State Fair has a long tradition of showcasing artists early in their careers," Costello II stated. "She has a bright future in Country music." Moroney will perform on Sunday, Aug. 10. Sheryl Crow is a nine-time Grammy winner with a soft rock or alternative rock-style. She will perform on Tuesday, Aug. 12. Crow last performed at the state fair in 1996 in a performance with John Hiatt. 'Her music lifts people up, brings them together, and we can't wait for that to happen at the Illinois State Fair,' Costello II stated. More: Farmers markets will soon open in the Springfield area. Here's what to know. Snoop Dogg, the American rapper who has sold over 37 million albums worldwide and released 20 studio albums since 1993, will perform in Springfield on Wednesday, Aug. 13. He previously performed at the fair in 2019. Clark said the rapper reaches music fans of multiple generations. Country star Brad Paisley has won three GRAMMYs, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards. He will perform in Springfield on Thursday, Aug. 14. Paisley performed at the fair in 2017 and 2013. 'Brad Paisley's music celebrates family, tradition, and good times — values that align perfectly with what the Fair is all about,' Clark stated. "Known for their boundary-defying fusion of pop, indie, electronic, alternative, and rock, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall have consistently shaped the landscape of popular music," the fair said in a news release. The Chainsmokers will perform on Friday, Aug. 15. The group's debut album in 2017 reached the #1 spot on the Billboard 200, followed by critically acclaimed releases Sick Boy, World War Joy, and 2022's So Far So Good, which marked their fourth #1 debut on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. 'We are always looking to bring the best entertainment to Springfield, and The Chainsmokers are one of the biggest names in music today,' Clark stated. 'Their ability to blend genres and engage audiences of all ages makes them the perfect addition to our Grandstand lineup.' Def Leppard, an English rock or heavy metal group that became popular in the 1980s, has sold over 110 million albums. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Def Leppard will perform on Saturday, Aug. 16. 'Def Leppard has a catalog that's spans so many years, and it has so many cross generational appeals,' said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. Turnpike Troubadours is an American country music band from Oklahoma that started making music in 2005. They will perform Sunday, Aug. 17. The Turnpike Troubadours has achieved 1.5 billion streams globally. 'Turnpike Troubadours perform a unique kind of music that we are happy to have at the Illinois State Fair,' Costello II stated. 'This band will feel right at home here in central Illinois.' Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@ This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: 2025 Illinois State Fair: Full lineup announced for this year's fair
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Black Crowes and Jimmy Page revisit a pivotal but mangled 26-year-old live set
NEW YORK (AP) — One of the more puzzling live albums of all time came out in 2000. It featured songs from a two-night stand with The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page. But fans hoping to hear 'Hard to Handle' or 'She Talks to Angels' were out of luck. Bizarrely, not a single Black Crowes song was on it. Twenty-six years later, that misstep has been fixed. The 36-track 'Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek,' restores 16 previously unreleased songs and offers a better window into a unique trans-Atlantic rock combination. 'The whole project was special, very electric for us, very something very alive,' says singer-songwriter Chris Robinson. 'I think we were all — for lack of a better word — just abuzz with what we were doing as a band, as an outfit together.' The live tracks were recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles over two nights in October 1999. It captured musicians who were cooking after previous stops at New York City's Roseland Ballroom; the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts; and The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. 'I think we really felt like it wasn't the Black Crowes with Jimmy Page. It was one thing, it was one group,' says Chris Robinson. 'We really felt connected and tied. I just think we just had a really high energy level, and we knew we were onto something that was powerful.' An album missing something The album that came out had Zeppelin tunes like 'Celebration Day,' 'In My Time of Dying' and 'Whole Lotta Love,' as well as old blues and R&B standards like 'Woke Up This Morning,' 'Sloppy Drunk,' 'Mellow Down Easy' and 'Shake Your Money Maker,' plus the Yardbirds′ 'Shape of Things to Come' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well.' But no Black Crowes songs were included due to contractual reasons: The band had just left their label and weren't allowed to use anything from their catalog. 'We were happy with what came out. We were bummed that we weren't able legally to put our songs on the record,' says songwriter and guitarist Rich Robinson. Adds his brother Chris: 'I wasn't surprised by how inept that decision was.' 'I felt really bad about that because they extended this hand of friendship that I could come and join the band,' says Page. 'I felt really sad because I knew the versions that we did were really good of their songs.' The anniversary edition of 'Live at the Greek' includes the once-dropped Black Crowes' tunes 'No Speak No Slave,' 'Hard to Handle," 'Wiser Time," 'Remedy' and a version of 'She Talks to Angels,' which Rich Robinson says Page took "to a totally different direction and a new level.' Zeppelin tunes like 'Misty Mountain Hop' and 'Bring It on Home' are also included. In addition to Page and the brothers, the band on stage included Sven Pipien on bass, Eddie Harsch on keyboards, Audley Freed on guitar and Steve Gorman on drums. Page says he felt loose and connected with the guys. 'In the past, whenever I knew it was going to be recorded, say in the Zeppelin days, I'd always get really nervous,' he says. 'But with this, I didn't have any of that anxiety or anything. We were on a wave.' Hits and some soundchecks Fans will delight in the restored songs but also in some outtakes, including five songs at soundcheck and the never-before-released song Rich Robinson and Page wrote while jamming, called simply 'Jams.' 'I think the surprises are the things that really excite us as well,' says Chris Robinson. 'We didn't even know that we had this extra material or the other things that we hadn't really thought about until this project came around.' The concerts at The Greek capture a partnership that would endure. Page and the Crowes would go on a full-length American tour in the summer of 2000 and are friends today. 'We were all then joined in the hip when we were playing, and it was just such a joyful event to for me to be playing with these guys, and I guess them to be playing with me, too,' says Page. The album re-release comes as The Black Crowes are enjoying a creative patch, earning their second career Grammy nod last year for 'Happiness Bastards,' nominated for best rock album alongside the Rolling Stones. Chris Robinson is philosophical about the timing of the anniversary release. Despite the songs sitting in a vault for a quarter of a century, he's just happy they can now be heard. 'I do have a firm belief that things happen when they're supposed to happen because they're supposed to happen," he says. "And if you play around with that too much, it might not have the same resonance, you know?'
