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CBC
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
50 years ago, rocker Kim Mitchell's guitar was stolen in Hamilton. Now his biographer wants to get it back
If you've got an orange 1963 Gretsch guitar kicking around, Bob Wegner would like to know. It may just be the cherished instrument stolen from Canadian rock icon Kim Mitchell during a trip to Hamilton in 1975. Wegner, a professional musician and music historian, learned about the stolen guitar while writing a book on Mitchell's 1970s hard rock band, Max Webster. "No guitar will ever replace the guitar you cut your teeth on," he said. "Just a part of you goes missing." Inspired by successful efforts to return lost or stolen guitars to the likes of Paul McCartney, Randy Bachman and Jimmy Page, Wegner said he wanted to do the same for Mitchell. In the spring, Wegner launched Kim's Lost Guitar Project, a website with photos of and information about Mitchell's guitar, and an email for people to contact if they think they've found it. Wegner, who's based in Montreal and was born in Hamilton, said only about 30 Gretsch Nashville 6120 guitars were ever made. The instrument has double cutaways, red felt around the mute switch, painted F-holes and a horseshoe on the headstock. Mitchell's had a scratch on the back of the body and a cigarette burn on the headstock by the low E tuning peg. Mitchell's dad bought the guitar for him at a time when money was tight, Wegner said. "'His house was $11,000 at the time. The guitar $700. Do the math today and know that he really spent huge bucks for me,'" Wegner quotes Mitchell as saying on his website. Did the bright orange guitar clash with Mitchell's outfits? Maybe, Wegner said. "But it doesn't matter. He could rock anything and just he looked great with it." Wegner said Mitchell also told him that playing the guitar out of a Marshall amp was the best guitar sound he'd ever heard. "To have him plug that into a Marshall again would be so completely worth it." CBC Hamilton reached out to Mitchell for comment but did not receive a response before publication time. Wegner said he hasn't yet received any tips about the guitar, so he's trying to raise awareness about his efforts. Guitar stolen from van after Duffy's Tavern gig Max Webster was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2023, noting that with Mitchell as its frontman, the band released seven albums from 1976 to 1981 — six of which received gold status certification and one platinum certification in Canada. Born in Sarnia, Ont., Mitchell went on to have a successful solo career, with tunes including Go For Soda and Patio Lanterns. He's now 73 and still performing. Wegner wasn't yet born when Max Webster broke up, but he said he grew up listening to the band and loved it. As he got interested in music history, he realized nobody had done a book on the band, so he decided to write one. The result was Max Webster: High Class, for which he interviewed band members, including Mitchell. Through that process, Wegner learned about the stolen guitar. He said Mitchell's bandmates recalled how devastated Mitchell was when it was taken from the band's van before they left town after a string of shows at Duffy's Tavern. Earl Johnson, the Hamilton-born guitarist of hard rock band Moxy, came up playing in the same area as Mitchell and Max Webster, though he said he didn't get to know Mitchell until decades later. Johnson told CBC Hamilton that Duffy's was "a great rock club" and the place to see new music in the city. It was a basement club near King and John streets and open six nights a week, Johnson recalled. At the time, he said, musicians would often play six nights a week, living out of hotels and travelling between cities and towns. It's "hard to fathom" how many clubs there were in Ontario, he said, adding there were so many venues, you could have probably toured for a month on Yonge Street in Toronto alone. Now, Johnson said, live music is far less profitable and young musicians he knows say they risk losing money playing live. As for Mitchell's stolen guitar, Johnson said he's heard of that sort of thing happening to musicians before. He said he once had a guitar fall off his vehicle, but luckily he noticed and was able to find it. Wegner said guitar likely has gone through many hands since it was stolen. The person who stole it probably "sold to someone [who] sold to somebody else, and gave it to their friend's dog, and their dog gives it to the squirrel down the street, and the squirrel dies and some guy inherits it, and now it's just sitting in this basement and he has no idea whose guitar this is. That's how these things go." Wegner hopes anyone who thinks they know where the guitar is will "do the right thing" and get in touch via his website. He said he's not looking to get anyone in trouble and police aren't involved. "We do not care about who stole it. There's no retribution. There's no anger, no anything. It's just getting the guitar back into the right hands."
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I found my Live Aid flag in my dad's shed'
David Hancock said his "heart stopped" when he discovered a cherished memento he made for Live Aid in his father's Hancock, from Ollerton in Nottinghamshire, was just 18 when he attended the concert on 13 July had made a U2 flag for the fundraising event, but it got lost after he gave it to his father, Maurice, for homemade banner was found after he went into the shed to find a water bowl for a dog at a family barbecue. Mr Hancock recalled it was a mad dash down to Wembley to make the gig in time."The event I think had been put together pretty hastily," he said."I got interested when it was announced U2 were playing."I'd seen [them] about two weeks before at another gig in Milton Keynes, so I was really quite excited about it."All of my mates who were not going to Live Aid with me were like 'oh, why are you doing that? You've already seen them, they will only be on for two or three songs'."But it turned out that it was actually music history."Having travelled down to London with two friends, Mr Hancock said they went without "any real expectations of what it would be", but he still had time to make a new flag."I worked in a double glazing factory, so we had lots of cleaning cloth for the glass, and I found the largest piece," he said."I took it home, and with a big felt pen I put that U2 design on it, which was from an album cover." After enjoying being one of the thousands in the stadium, Mr Hancock returned home with his friends and the flag, which was taken in by his father."Dad was really excited because he had seen the flag waving," he said."My recollection is that he said he was going to put it in the garage in the loft space, then it disappeared, and I didn't really give it a lot more thought for a long time."He died a long time after that, in 1999, and then at some point after I thought I'd go and find that flag, and it wasn't there - I looked and looked and looked, moved everything around, it just wasn't there."After assuming the artefact was lost to history, Mr Hancock stumbled across it in 2016 when searching for a dog bowl in the shed at the family home, where his mother still lived."For some reason I was drawn to something that was in the loft space of the shed, and I could see the end of this pole - I knew exactly what it was," he said."My heart stopped for a second - I couldn't believe it."It felt very strange, because the first thing that occurred to me was the last person to have touched it would have been dad, and I just felt like I was touching him, touching his hand."It was quite a moving thing."After sharing his story on social media for the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, Mr Hancock said the response had been "completely overwhelming"."I was 18 at the time of Live Aid, as were many other people of that generation."Hearing my story 40 years on, a lot of those people will have lost parents, and that's the connection," he said."I'm delighted it's warmed somebody's heart."
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iconic '70s Bands Unite With Elvis' Ex, Last Surviving Monkee For 'Incredible' Performance
Iconic '70s Bands Unite With Elvis' Ex, Last Surviving Monkee For 'Incredible' Performance originally appeared on Parade. A concert of epic proportions is scheduled for an iconic Chicago venue in August. , the last surviving member of the 1960s group , took to Instagram on Tuesday, July 15, to announce that he is performing in Chicago in August with none other than Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, iconic '70s band The Ides of March and Danny Seraphine, founding member of fellow iconic '70s band Chicago. "Come celebrate 100 years of music & memories at the Des Plaines Theatre Through the Decades show on Saturday, August 9!" writes Dolenz. "I'll be there alongside some incredible folks... Priscilla Presley, The Ides of March, and Danny Seraphine from Chicago... as we take a trip through the sounds of the 20s to the 80s. It's going to be one unforgettable night in one legendary venue. Hope to see you there!" The website for tickets reads, "This special show will showcase music from the past 100 years, with magnificent performances from every era! The Des Plaines Theatre Through the Decades show will begin with the 'Bourbon 'N Brass Prohibition Band' performing music from the 1920s and 1930s. Then, a short Andrews Sisters/Glenn Miller Orchestra-style salute to the 1940s will take place. The 1950s will be represented by a 30-minute rock-and roll retrospective by Priscilla Presley and Ron Onesti (Tickets for an after-show meet and greet and Q&A can be purchased separately)."The 1960s will be discussed by The Monkees founding vocalist and drummer, Micky Dolenz. The 1970s and 1980s will be remembered by the Ides of March and Jim Peterik. The band's 1970 hit, 'Vehicle,' along with the Peterick-penned Survivor smash from 1983, 'Eye of the Tiger,' will be performed by the band. Performing a few hit songs from the timeless rock band Chicago will be founding drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Danny Seraphine." Tickets range from $39 to $49. Dolenz is currently in the midst of his Songs and Stories tour. The next stop is the aforementioned epic night with Presley, Seraphine and the Ides of March, then it continues on, criss-crossing the country from Rhode Island to Arizona, running through February 2026. After that, he embarks on a 7-day Flower Power Cruise where fans can enjoy Dolenz all week long as they sail from Florida to St. Thomas, St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Fans are super excited, with several on Facebook lamenting that they are unable to go. And one fan credits Dolenz for why he plays the drums, writing, "In 1966, I was 8 years old. I LOVED watching The Monkees on TV. I was taking guitar lessons, but that just didn't seem to be what I wanted to do. I laughed at how funny you were on the show and told my mom that I wanted to play drums. On my birthday, there was a big box with the words Red Sparkle on it. I thought my parents bought me fireworks. I was so wrong. It was a 4-piece red sparkle Pearl set of drums. I started taking lessons immediately, and I still play today. Thanks, Mickey!" 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Iconic '70s Bands Unite With Elvis' Ex, Last Surviving Monkee For 'Incredible' Performance first appeared on Parade on Jul 15, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Judas Priest, Rick Springfield, John Oates and Bob Geldof reflect on 40 years of Live Aid
NEW YORK (AP) — Forty years ago, the legendary Live Aid concerts aimed to do a lot of good — helping to raise over $100 million for famine relief in Ethiopia and inspiring worldwide awareness for a cause it might otherwise have ignored. Simulcast from Philadelphia and London on July 13, 1985, Live Aid was the most ambitious global television event of its time: 16 hours of live music in two different continents featuring Queen, The Who, a Led Zeppelin reunion and more. A lot has changed in the years since. 'Live Aid, '85 to now, is the same distance as the Second World War from Live Aid,' notes Rick Springfield, laughingly. 'That's how long ago it was.' Artists who performed at Live Aid — Springfield, organizer Bob Geldof, Hall and Oates' John Oates and Judas Priest's Rob Halford — reflected on the event and its impact in interviews with The Associated Press ahead of the 40th anniversary on Sunday. Here's what they had to say: Reflections on an unprecedented event At John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Springfield performed between Run-DMC and REO Speedwagon — just a taste of the diversity of performers featured on the transnational lineup. 'Run-DMC, I remember thinking, 'What is this? Three guys talking over a record player. What is that? Little did I know that it was about to change the whole game,' he says, laughing. He remembers playing an electric set — no 'Jessie's Girl,' because 'back then, it was just my first hit. ... It hadn't gone on to become this cultural thing.' Hall and Oates' John Oates had a different experience. His band also played in Philly — their hometown — and in 1985, his band was one of the biggest on the planet. They played near the end of the night, joined by the Temptations' Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin and remained on stage to back the Rolling Stones' dynamic frontman Mick Jagger. The British rockstar had a trick up his sleeve. 'He didn't tell us that he was bringing Tina Turner out,' Oates says. 'We had rehearsed a certain amount of songs with him. But then when he brought her out, it just jacked up the level of energy like you can't believe.' Judas Priest singer Rob Halford counts 'Mike and Tina, of course,' as one of his Philly Live Aid highlights. 'Led Zeppelin, too.' But most exciting of all for the heavy metal frontman? Meeting folk hero Joan Baez. The band had previously covered her classic 'Diamonds and Rust.' 'I thought, 'Oh my God, she's gonna come and kick me in the ass for wrecking her beautiful song,'' he recalls. 'She gives me a quick hug and goes, 'The reason I'm here is because my son said to me, if you see Rob Halford from Judas Priest at the Live Aid Show in Philadelphia, will you tell him from me that I prefer Judas Priest's version to my mom's version?' ... It was a display of such kindness.' From Live Aid to Live 8 and beyond Twenty years after Live Aid, Geldof organized Live 8 — an even larger undertaking in the new internet era, with 10 concerts happening simultaneously and across the globe. If the trend were to continue, there should be another event taking place this year. Notably, there isn't. Geldof says that's because there couldn't be a Live Aid-type event in 2025. He cites social media as a cause. In his view, algorithmic fracturing has made it impossible to create monolithic musical and activistic moments. Instead, he views the current media landscape as bolstering 'an echo chamber of your own prejudices.' For something like Live Aid to work, 'You need rock 'n' roll as a creature of a social, economic and technological movement,' he says. 'And I think the rock 'n' roll age is over. ... It did determine how young people articulated change and the desire for it. ... That isn't the case anymore.' Springfield agrees. 'I think we are too divided,' he says. He believes the world wouldn't be able to agree on a single cause to support, or even which musicians to back. 'You could never do a thing with the size of Live Aid unless it was some kind of universal thing of, 'Let's bring everybody together.'' 'Never say never, but I highly doubt it,' says Oates. 'The landscape of music and entertainment in general has changed so drastically.' He points to 'We Are The World,' the 1985 charity single for African famine relief that included the voices of Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon and many more, as an example. 'The idea of that happening with the stars of today all in one place, I can't even imagine that. And plus, who would they be? ... How many songs are released every day?' Hope for he Live Aid's legacy to continue Halford echoes the other's sentiments. There's an undeniable 'extremism in the world right now,' he says, that would make a Live Aid event challenging to pull off in 2025. But he doesn't think it's impossible. He uses January's Fire Aid — the LA wildfire benefit concert featuring Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder and a Nirvana reunion — as a recent example. 'There will always be empathy from people,' and in the right hands, maybe another event like Live Aid could take place. 'It was a tremendously beautiful, humanitarian example ... that provided us opportunity to do something ourselves to help.'
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne says 'Birmingham forever' as he reflects 'my dad went into debt for my microphone'
Ozzy Osbourne has reflected on his humble beginnings growing up in Aston as Black Sabbath were awarded their latest honour. The Prince of Darkness opened up on how the heavy metal band first began here in Birmingham - before the bandmates became pioneers of the genre. A young Ozzy had placed an advert in a music store in town, searching for help in finding a gig. Little did anyone know, it would be this small note that brought together one of the greatest bands in history. Read more: Huge celebrities spotted near Birmingham New Street as fans say 'welcome home bab' Ozzy also revealed how his dad had gone into debt to buy him a microphone as he started out on his career. He spoke out with Birmingham city council as the founding members of Black Sabbath were awarded the Freedom of The City of Birmingham this weekend, Saturday, June 28. 'I first put an advert in a music store in town. If these guys hadn't come to my door, I wouldn't be sitting here now," he said, reflecting on the new accolade. "It seems to have flown by so quickly. It's amazing. I think about my dad, who went into debt to buy me a microphone. If only he could be here now. "I think he would be very proud. I'm a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham Forever!' Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward now each have the title of an Honorary Freeman, along with Freedom of the City scrolls and medals. Terence 'Geezer' Butler added: 'This is a great working class city, and we're all working class, from Aston. "We weren't given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us. People used to make fun of our accents, but we're all proud Birmingham people and we love this city. It's one of the greatest cities ever, it's given the world so much and we're proud to be here.' The Freedom of the City honour is the one of the oldest traditional ceremonies in the country, which recognises people's exceptional service to the city. Birmingham city council says the honour recognises Black Sabbath's "significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham", along with their strong association with the city and "continued influence as pioneers of heavy metal." Tony Iommi said: 'It's a great thing to receive. Birmingham is our home, and we love what Birmingham has done for us. We've got the bridge and the bench, things like that. We're very grateful.' As part of the ceremony at the City Council House, their names were engraved on the Freedom of the City marble board. Bill Ward added: 'It's completely overwhelming. I'm so proud to be an Astonian. That's where I got my attitude. It was a blessed – and cursed! – to meet Tony when I was 15, and I'm so proud that I got to know Geezer and Ozzy. They're my brothers. I love them very much and we love our city very much.' The engravings in the Council House building joins Black Sabbath bridge on Broad Street as a permanent tribute to the band and their accomplishments. Cllr Sharon Thompson, Deputy Leader of the city council said: 'From the streets of Aston to global success, the ceremony has been a fitting celebration of their achievements and connection to our city, showcasing the band's incredible career as pioneers of heavy metal and recognising their continued legacy as part of Birmingham's rich musical identity. "Black Sabbath are global ambassadors of our city, and their music continues to inspire musicians across the world, so it has been wonderful to recognise the band with this honour.' They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
