Axl Rose is AC/DC’s new singer frontman will follow the footsteps of Brian Johnson
Hell hath frozen over: Axl Rose is the new singer of AC/DC.
After weeks and weeks for rumors, the legendary Australian outfit made the news official, and only moments before Guns N’ Roses hit the stage for their headlining set at Coachella.Here’s the official statement:“AC/DC band members would like to thank Brian Johnson for his contributions and dedication to the band throughout the years. We wish him all the best with his hearing issues and future ventures. As much as we want this tour to end as it started, we understand, respect and support Brian’s decision to stop touring and save his hearing. We are dedicated to fulfilling the remainder of our touring commitments to everyone that has supported us over the years, and are fortunate that Axl Rose has kindly offered his support to help us fulfill this commitment.”As previously reported, frontman and vocalist Brian Johnson was recently forced to stop touring for risk of losing all hearing. Although there was rampant speculation that he was “kicked to the curb.”Regardless, Rose has quite a busy few months ahead of him, quite possibly the busiest days of his post-millennium career thus far. Consult his full itinerary below and get ready for a whole lotta Axl.
AC/DC 2016 Tour Dates:
05/07 – Lisbon, PT @ Passeio Maritmo de Alges
05/10 – Seville, ES @ Estadio de la Cartuja
05/13 – Marseille, FR @ Stade Velodrome
05/16 – Werchter, BE @ Werchter Festival Grounds
05/19 – Vienna, AT @ Ernst-Happel Stadium
05/22 – Prague, CZ @ Letnany Airport
05/26 – Hamburg, DE @ Volksparkstadion
05/29 – Berne, CH @ Stade de Suisse
06/01 – Leipzig, DE @ Red Bull Arena
06/04 – London, UK @ Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
06/09 – Manchester, UK @ Etihad Stadium
06/12 – Aarhus, DK @ Ceres Park
Guns N’ Roses 2016 Tour Dates:04/19 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
04/20 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
04/23 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
06/23 – Detroit, MI @ Ford Field
06/26 – Washington, DC @ Fedex Field
06/29 – Kansas City, MO @ Arrowhead Stadium
07/01 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
07/06 – Cincinnati, OH @ Paul Brown Stadium
07/09 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
07/12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Field
07/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field
07/16 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
07/19 – Foxboro, MA @ Gilette Stadium
07/23 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
07/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
07/29 – Orlando, FL @ Orlando Citrus Bowl
07/31 – New Orleans, LA @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome
08/03 – Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium
08/05 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium
08/09 – San Francisco, CA @ AT&T Park
08/12 – Seattle, WA @ CenturyLink Field
08/15 – Glendale, AZ @ University of Phoenix Stadium
08/22 – San Diego, CA @ Qualcomm Stadium
The Ramones of the ’70s are iconic. They were at the vanguard of punk, and arguably pop punk, and created songs that are still considered classics of the genre today. You go to a sporting event, you hear “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Their look was easily recognizable, and influential. They appeared in Rock ‘N’ Roll High School. Then came 1980’s End of the Century which was, in its own way, the end of an era for the band. By 1995, when they released their final studio album Adios Amigos!, they were no longer part of the zeitgeist. They were an afterthought, and they weren’t even the same band.
The change from Tommy to Marky on the drums had happened a while back, with a brief stay from Richie in there as well, and, in truth, changing the drummer isn’t really going to rile up many people. However, by the time of Adios Amigos!, Dee Dee was also all but gone, although his presence is still felt on the album, as he is credited as the writer on many of the songs, including a handful from other projects of his. He had been replaced with C.J. Ramone, who was given a lot of credit by his bandmates for bringing some much-needed youthful energy to the band. C.J. could only do so much, though. This was a band that had been releasing music for 20 years. Nobody could blame them for being burnt out.
Adios Amigos! begins with the iconic “1, 2, 3, 4!” count off that was synonymous with the band, but after that it feels decidedly like warmed-over Ramones. Now, this could be where one would break out the old chestnut about how even bad pizza is pretty good, and how the same can be said for the Ramones. The Ramones were still making the music they’ve made for years. Charging guitars. Simple drumbeats. Although, they do slow it down a bit more than they did in the past, in part to ease the strain on Joey’s vocals. He gets to croon a bit, and he’s not half-bad at it.
The album is hit-or-miss. In addition to the songs from Dee Dee, there is a cover of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” and Johnny Thunders’ “I Love You.” They are both fine. “Fine” is about the highest level this album achieves. “Life’s a Gas” is pretty good, but also goes on a bit too long. In the end, the songs that Joey sings on are reminiscent of the glory days of the Ramones. The issue is that on four of the tracks, C.J. takes the lead vocals. One of the song, “Scattergun,” is OK, but the others are abysmal. Of course, one of those songs is “The Crusher” from Dee Dee’s brief time as a rapper, so C.J. can’t take all of the blame. Nevertheless, it’s one of the worst things ever recorded for posterity.
Dee Dee’s impact on the album is felt in his songwriting, but his only tangible appearance is on the final song “Born to Die in Berlin,” wherein he (literally) phones it in from Germany. None of the original Ramones (Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy) would die in Berlin, but they have all now passed away. Three of them have been dead for over a decade now. However, those Ramones weren’t the Ramones by the time the band was winding it all down. Adios Amigos! isn’t a stain on their legacy by any means. It has its moments, and it sounds like the Ramones, which has merit. Based on their album title, obviously, they knew this was the end. They didn’t go down in a blaze of glory, but at least they said goodbye without embarrassing themselves.
Foo Fighters star Dave Grohl 'breaks leg' in stage fall
Foo Fighters star Dave Grohl is thought to have broken his leg after falling off the stage during a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The band were two songs into their set at the Ullevi stadium when the singer went to jump on a ramp but missed and fell into the security area.
"I think I just broke my leg," Grohl told the crowd as he lay on the ground.
"I'm going to go to hospital. I'm going to fix my leg. And then I'm going to come back."
He added: "You have my promise right now that the Foo Fighters - we're going to come back and finish the show."
Surreal
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the band continued the concert, playing cover versions whilst Grohl sought medical attention.
Keiron Brennan 43, from London, filmed the moments just after the 46-year-old frontman toppled from the stage.
He said: "We were only around 200 yards away and at first we thought it was a prank but then it became apparent that it was quite serious. The drummer went ashen and jumped down to see where he was. Everyone was worried as we were only two songs into the gig and we couldn't see what had happened to him.
"He reappeared after an hour to continue the concert, sitting in a chair with his leg bandaged.
"It was surreal to see him perform on stage with a medic holding his leg. The crowd was just amazed that he was carrying on. He was just phenomenal. I can't see how he will make the next gig in Holland but then he's more of a man than I am so I wouldn't put it past him," he added.
Grohl fell at 21:00 local time (20:00 BST) and went on to perform for another two-and-a-half hours.
His band later tweeted a picture of what appears to be an x-ray of his leg.
The Foo Fighters are due to play their next concert on Sunday at the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands, followed by Wembley Stadium in London next weekend and then a headline set at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK on 26 June.
This year has seen several musicians injured on stage.
Madonna also fell off stage during a live performance at the Brit Awards. The pop star continued her performance, but said she suffered "a little bit of whiplash".
Whether you’re in the group that loves or in the group that hates the Hobbitmovies, there’s no denying that these were pretty big films that made A LOT of money! Even though the movie was called The Hobbit, most of the attention was focused on the dwarves and their epic quest to retake the Lonely Mountain from the dragon, Smaug. We spent three movies watching these dwarves fight for what was rightfully theirs, so it’s hard not to get attached to some of them.
But have you ever wondered what happened to the dwarves after all was said and done? Dwarves live for a while, so where were these characters during The Lord of the Rings trilogy? The answers for some of them might not be exactly what you wanted to hear!
Let’s dig in!
The Fate Of The Dwarves
Oin
Forty-eight years after being settled in the Lonely Mountain, Oin made his way back to Moria to reclaim the realm for the Dwarves. It was five years later that the orcs attacked, and when he could not escape over the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, Oin tried to exit through the Hollin Gate. It was there he was killed by the Watcher in the Water, a creature that Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship would later encounter.
Gloin
Ah yes! Gimli’s father. His life was much longer and more peaceful than his brother’s. He remained at the kingdom under the mountain and was also sent at the Council of Elrond when the Fellowship was formed. He would later die naturally at the age of 253.
Dwalin
Dwalin was a smart one. He decided to stay at the Lonely Mountain where he lived out the rest of his life, dying at the ripe, old age of 340. He lived through the war of the ring, but it was never revealed if he or Gloin ever took part in it.
Balin
Good ol' Balin. In the Hobbitmovies he was always one of the most liked Dwarves. In fact, he ended up leading an expedition to Moria where he later became The Lord of Moria for some time – until the orcs attacked and he was killed by one of their archers. Remember that Tomb in Fellowship of the Ring? Yup. That was Balin’s tomb.
Bifur & Bofur
Bifur has an axe in his skull, I think he’s had to deal with enough stuff in his life to be bothered with anymore violence. He also stayed back in the Lonely Mountain and lived out his life. His age at death is unknown. Ditto for Bofur. He also lived out his life in the mountain.
You know, for a place called the Lonely Mountain, it doesn’t seem quite so lonely there, does it?
Bombur
Bombur, like many of the others stay behind in the Lonely Mountain and enjoyed the rest of his life…a little too much. Bombur had grown SO FAT that it eventually took the strength of six dwarves to lift him to the dinner table.
Dori & Nori
Dori and Nori also stayed in the mountain where they grew their wealth and lived rich, and happy, for the rest of their lives.
Ori
Like Dori and Nori, Ori – the lovable idiot – also stayed in the mountain where he lived out his life peacefully with a wife and children.
EXCEPT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN!
Ori actually joined the expedition to Moria and after burying Balin he was killed by the onslaught of orcs that attacked. Remember that morbid diary entry Gandalf read in the Fellowship of the ring? That was Ori’s diary.
BONUS ROUND
Bard Bowman
Bard rebuilt his ancestral town of Dale at the foot of the Lonely Mountain. He eventually became its king, establishing and maintaining good relations with the dwarves, where he lived peacefully and his son Bain succeeded him after his death.
Tauriel
I should save this for when I do my Hobbit 'Based On' video eventually, but I need to vent it here. Kili never fell in love with an Elf, much less meet Tauriel because she wasn’t even a character in the book. Peter Jackson created her just for the movie so he could force in an awful dwarf/elf forbidden relationship to emotionally manipulate the audience (it didn't work). Evangeline Lily was great in her role, but her character felt unnecessary and only weakened the story in my opinion.
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So there you have it, the fate of the dwarves! The adventures that happened inThe Hobbit definitely impacted what would eventually take place in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, mainly due to it being how Bilbo found the ring of power. While, at times, there were unnecessary moments in the films, there were also moments that captured the magic of Middle-Earth and made you want to be part of it!