Page 11 - Classic Rock (January 2020)

That Was 2019
Great music, films, new arrivals, farewells, celebrations… We’ve got
all this and more in Classic Rock’s rundown of this year’s key goings-on.
The spread of veganism; the
messy spiral of Brexit, the even
messier state of British politics as
a whole; the arrival of the latest
royal baby; Greta Thunberg sailing
to the USA; the rise of Extinction
Rebellion and numerous global
protest movements… A lot has
happened in 2019. But what are
some of the things that went on in
the world of rock’n’roll?
Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt
finally sees the light of day – and
it’s not the only rock’n’roll film to
make headlines.
The film had been in the making
for what seemed like an eternity
(talks actually began in 2006), and
this year it was released through
Netflix. Based on the band’s 2001
book of the same name, it was an
unflinching account of the Crüe at their high-flying best and
Some of those depraved worst. Unsurprisingly, this invoked a lot of critical
making a big
splash in 2019: sneers, although the film earned a lot of
(clockwise love for its slick, fast-paced execution and
from left) entertaining nostalgia. Machine Gun Kelly
Mötley Crüe, in particular made an uncannily spot-on ‘2019 was a game-
Rammstein,
Bruce Tommy Lee, while Game Of Thrones star raising year for
Springsteen, Iwan Rheon as Mick Mars stole many of
Elton John. the best lines. numerous charismatic
More widely acclaimed was the musical, young faces.’
semi-fantastical Elton John biopic
Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton, while the rise of Norwegian
MÖTLEY CRÜE: GETTY; RAMMSTEIN: JENS KOSH/PRESS Bohemian Rhapsody continued to take Queen from strength to
black metal (and the shocking, bloody story of pioneers Mayhem)
was compellingly depicted in Lords Of Chaos. And last year’s
strength when the biopic saw the light of day on DVD and Blu-ray
in the first quarter of 2019.
Def Leppard are one of this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of
Fame inductees.
Joe Elliott and co. were inducted into the Hall Of Fame by Brian
May. Speaking at the ceremony in New
York (during which Stevie Nicks, Roxy
Music, The Cure, The Zombies, Radiohead
and Janet Jackson were also inducted),
the Queen guitarist said: “The fact that
they wrote real songs that people can sing
and carry in their heads is the reason that
Def Leppard will be remembered in [the]
hearts and minds long after all of us have
left this earth.”
The nominees for 2020 include Judas
Priest, Todd Rundgren, Thin Lizzy,
Motörhead, MC5 and Soundgarden.
Bruce Springsteen goes to the movies.
As well as turning 70 and releasing his
chart-topping nineteenth album, this
year The Boss made his first foray into
This month The Dirt was compiled by Polly Glass, Dannii Leivers, Dave Ling, Henry Yates
filmmaking. co-directing Western Stars (essentially a cinematic
version of the album of the same name), which centres on
a fictional fading B-list western star looking back on his life
and the choices he’d made. The overall effect is part fictional
narrative, part live documentary, with gorgeous shots and
philosophical musings to boot. All 13 songs from the album
are performed in it, with Bruce backed by band and orchestra. It
premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival to critical acclaim,
and festival director Cameron Bailey commented: “I think he’s
got a big future ahead of him. It’s largely performance, but there is
a framing to it. It’s very filmic, which is what attracted me.”
We say goodbye to Ginger Baker, Keith Flint and more…
A full tribute to those who passed this year can be found on pages
80-81, but here we’re giving a shout-out to drumming legend
Ginger Baker (who passed away on October 6) and Prodigy
frontman Keith Flint (March 4).
Rammstein set a new (very high) bar for stadium shows.
Short of literally burning the house down, the Germans took
their pyro-tastic live set to a new level on this year’s run of XXL
bonfire-night-on-steroids stadium gigs. Rather than relying on
screens showing run-of-the-mill on-stage action, these were
all about the actual spectacle itself, tailored masterfully for
enormous spaces. And what a flaming,
bonkers but brilliant thing it was to
behold: jets of fire blasted overhead,
fireworks zoomed around the perimeter,
a giant pram was set alight… We can only
begin to imagine how many eyebrows in
the front rows were singed.
Bob Seger plays his last ever gigs.
Well, we say ‘final’; Seger has hinted that it’s only the North
in 1980). Still, officially the final show of his 50-year career took
American part of his tour that’s over, although he hasn’t played
outside the continent for nearly 40 years (his last UK show was
place at the 20,000-capacity Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Tool finally release their first album in thirteen years.
Maynard James Keenan and co. had been teasing this for ages, and
sounds like the kind of intense, layered, full-fat version of the alt.
rock/metal enigmas you’d expect after more than a decade of
in 2019 it finally arrived. Clocking in at 80 minutes, Fear Inoculum
gestation. None of the tracks drop below the 10-minute mark
(apart from the instrumental interludes). Keenan’s voice is at its
best. Everyone’s at their best. All of which was on display prior to
the record’s release at their all-visuals-blazing Download slot.
We watch the rise of the next generation of rock showpeople.
If you thought rock stars didn’t exist any more, 2019 provided
serious evidence to the contrary. Since The Struts and Greta
Van Fleet gave 21st-century rock’n’roll a head-turning kick up
the arse, a new wave of stand-out performers – with proper
tunes and killer shows – have followed in their footsteps. Many
of these bubbled to the surface over the past 12 months. This
was a game-raising year for numerous charismatic young faces
in bands such as Bishop Gunn, Starcrawler, Joyous Wolf, Bones
UK, The Glorious Sons, Dirty Honey, White Reaper, Sweet Crisis,
Goodbye June, Lovehoney and many more. We look forward to
seeing what they do next. PG
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 11