frontman | Common News Update

May152020 by adminNo Comments

Pretty Things frontman Phil May dies aged 75

Entertainment

Phil May, the frontman of The Pretty Things, has died aged 75 after suffering complications from emergency hip surgery.A representative of the rock 'n' roll band confirmed he died on Friday morning at a Kings Lynn hospital.May had fallen off his bicycle earlier in the week."Very sad news, he was a very talented guy and he will be sorely missed. I'm shocked," tweeted Kinks guitarist Dave Davies. The Pretty Things' 1968 album SF Sorrow is credited as one of the first real rock opera concept albums.They were cited as an influence by a wide range of artists from David Bowie to Jimi Hendrix to Kasabian. Originally from Dartford, Kent, May formed the band in 1963 with guitaris...

Feb122020 by adminNo Comments

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy makes festival gender balance pledge

Entertainment

The 1975 will no longer play festivals that have too few female artists on the bill, singer Matty Healy has pledged.The musician made the promise after this year's Reading and Leeds festivals were criticised for a gender imbalance.Only 20 of the 91 acts on the initial line-up are women, leading a journalist to challenge Healy to insist on greater equality at festivals where he plays. "Take this as me signing this contract," said the singer, whose band headlined Reading and Leeds in 2019.The 1975 won best British group and best British album at last year's Brit Awards.'Act not chat'Guardian writer Laura Snapes asked the frontman to "only play festivals that commit to X% (ideally 50%!) acts that include women and non binary perfor...

Sep162019 by adminNo Comments

Frontman of 1980s rock band The Cars found dead

Entertainment

Ric Ocasek, the frontman of US band The Cars, best known for their 1980s hit single Drive, has died aged 75. Ocasek was found dead in his apartment in Manhattan on Sunday afternoon, when police responded to a 911 call. There were no signs of foul play and a post-mortem is to take place, the NYPD said.Ocasek sang, played guitar and wrote most of the band's songs. His death comes a year after The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Image: Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek in 1990 The Cars formed in Boston in 1976 by Ocasek and Benjamin Orr, who played bass. Despite being a decade older than other rock compatriots, they led the new wave movement in the US into the 1980s. ...

May92018 by adminNo Comments

Jeff Gutt has 'zero trepidation' about first tour as STP front-man

Entertainment

May 9 (UPI) -- Jeff Gutt said he feels prepared and confident about touring for the first time this summer as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots."Zero trepidation. For me, it's been a lifetime of almost getting there," the 41-year-old Michigan native told reporters in New York recently. "So, now, it's using all those things I've learned through all those processes."Stone Temple Pilots -- which was founded in 1989 -- fired its original front-manScott Weiland in 2013 due to his erratic behavior and drug use. Weiland died of an overdose on a tour bus in 2015 at the age of 48.Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington sat in with STP from Weiland's departure until 2015. He hanged himself in his home in July. He was 41.The Grammy winners hired Gutt in November, but this will be the...