Classic Rock

Every month Classic Rock is packed with exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes features on rock’s biggest names, from Led Zeppelin to Deep Purple, from Guns N’ Roses to the Rolling Stones, from the Sex Pistols to AC/DC and beyond. Each issue plays host to the heftiest rock reviews section on the planet. In an average issue, you’ll find over 150 albums reviewed, all from the ever-varied, multi-faceted world of rock - whether it’s hard rock or heavy metal, prog or punk, goth rock or southern rock, we’ve got it covered.

WELCOME

This month’s contributors

Classic Rock

BOB WEIR October 16, 1947 – January 10, 2026 • Best remembered as a longtime guitarist/vocalist with enduring US rock institution the Grateful Dead, he said that band “didn’t change the world, but we were doing stuff that mattered”.

A SAGE HAS LEFT THE STAGE • STARS PAY TRIBUTE…

Tetsu Yamauchi • October 21, 1946 – December 4, 2025

Chris Rea • March 4, 1951 – December 22, 2025

Mick Abrahams • April 7, 1943 - December 19, 2025

Perry Bamonte • September 3, 1960 – December 24, 2025

RIP • Thank you… and good night.

Rob Reiner • March 6, 1947 – December 14, 2025

Joe Ely • February 9, 1947 – December 15, 2025

New Crowes LP • The Robinsons return with some Feathers in March.

Nazareth Replace Singer • Carl Sentance out, ex-Victory man Gianni Pontillo in.

WELCOME BACK Gluecifer • Having said new music was unlikely, the Norwegians return with their first album in two decades.

NEWS

Kashus Culpepper • Meet the singer-songwriter who’s shot from small cog in the navy to a big wheel in Nashville.

“o\i o\i!” • New Peter Gabriel album on the way.

“Kiss me. Hug me tight.” • Sharon Osbourne reveals Ozzy’s last words.

WELCOM BACK Marmozets • The weird and wonderful alt.rock Brits fizz back with a new album after a seven-year absence.

James Bruner • He was drawn into rock by the greats, but rock’s not the only string on his guitar.

The Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays • A controversial song inspired by a tragic school shooting in the US in 1979 (and not, as many thought, about getting back to work after the weekend), it was a UK No.1 the same year.

Jay Buchanan • Rival Sons’ frontman on his solo album, songwriting, the call of the wild, storytellers, falling in love, destroying his past…

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH • Magic hexes, hotel robberies and cut-throat deals: band members and associates chronicle the heady days of 1972/73, when Led Zeppelin seized control of the industry and became the biggest rock band on the planet.

Whatever Will Be, Will Be • Joan Armatrading refused to change her name, refused to sing covers and baffled session pros with her unique timing. Here, she tells the story of her uncompromising debut album.

MICHAEL MONROE • From Black Sabbath awakening to jam band to Hanoi Rocks to decades-straddling solo artist, via Finland, London, NYC and beyond, he’s been up, down and up again, through thrills, spills, triumph and tragedy. You could say he’s really lived the rock’n’roll life, but that would be an understatement.

THE A-Z OF B.B. KING • With Joe Bonamassa having gathered the cream of the scene for the B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 tribute album – and written the intro to this feature – we take an alphabetised look back at the blues legend’s classic tracks, hotel bombings, car crashes, conspiracy theories, towering infernos and more…

"I COULD USE A GUY LIKE YOU" • So Paul McCartney said to Danny Francis in 1974. Francis, who passed away last year, spent the best part of 40 years putting himself between rock stars and trouble – and keeping them out of trouble. But, working with some of...