Quick Takes: Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Page, Van Halen, Rob Lowe & Steven Tyler

While performing in Sydney on Tuesday night (September 7th), Elton John revealed he was donating $1 million to the fundraising effort for the Australian bushfire disaster. Elton told the crowd: “We should all be in the awe of the work the firefighters are doing. There are people out there who have lost their lives trying to save homes. And lastly, there's the plight of the animals, a loss of their habitat that frankly is on a biblical scale and it's heartbreaking. Therefore tonight, I will be pledging $1 million dollars to support the bushfire relief fund.” (CNN)
Sharon Osbourne revealed Elton John is among the guests featured on husband Ozzy Osbourne's upcoming album. During her syndicated show, The Talk, Sharon shed light on what 2020 holds for Ozzy: “A lot of good things. Wellness. And to get back with his band, to get doing what he loves, which is touring and being out there with his fans. And yes, there’s new music, and it’s great. He’s got all his friends playing on it. He’s doing a song with Elton. There’s so much good stuff.” (Rolling Stone)
Bob Dylan will serve as an executive producer on an upcoming musical biopic based on his life. Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold will helm the project with Timothee Chalamet starring in the still-untitled movie. The Hollywood Reporter posted, “The Fox Searchlight feature, based on the book Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald, will track the legendary singer-songwriter's switch from folk to rock music. Jay Cocks penned the screenplay. Dylan, who will executive produce, is working on the film with Mangold and Fox Searchlight, which has secured music rights.” Among the producers on the film will be Dylan's longtime manger Jeff Rosen. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Jimmy Page just realized that Led Zeppelin had been banned in Boston in the 1970's. Yesterday, (January 7th), Page, who supposedly is working on new music for 2020, posted on Facebook: “On this day in 1975, I planned to play Boston Garden. On researching for my website, I discovered that on Jan. 6, 1975, there had been an incident at the box office at Boston Garden in Boston, Mass., that had involved a sale/non-sale of tickets to thousands of fans. Police were called and it all ended with the scheduled Led Zeppelin show being canceled by Mayor Kevin H. White (who saw red) and, even more, there was apparently a five-year ban put on the band playing the venue. I was blissfully unaware of any of these shenanigans, but the mayor was, by all accounts, a Rolling Stones fan!”
Van Halen fans are reveling in the previously unissued alternate mix of 1978's “Runnin' With The Devil,” which has just been posted on YouTube. Groovefunkel Second Helping wrote in the description of the studio quality track: “Van Halen Fans rejoice! As a huge Van Halen fan, it gives me great pleasure to share this remix which features an alternate 'Diamond Dave' vocal AND an extended guitar solo. Made from the original 24-track session masters.” This isn't Groovefunkel's first time blowing fans' minds — back in 2017 he uploaded an unreleased outtake of 1979's “Dance The Night Away.”
Rob Lowe gave a shout out to Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler for helping him in his sobriety. On Tuesday (January 7th) Lowe was on hand with co-star — and Tyler's daughter– Liv Tyler during Television Critics Association press tour to present their upcoming Fox series, 9-1-1: Lone Star, when he recalled, “I have been sober 20, going on 30 years. When I first got sober, my thought was, 'My life is over. The fun is done. And I’m not going to be cool anymore.' I came home, I was maybe sober two or three weeks, maybe, and I got a phone call from Steven Tyler, who I did not know. He called me and he said, 'I heard you’re in recovery and just want to say, hey, it’s going to be great.' And I thought, dude, if it’s good enough for f***ing Steven Tyler, it’s good enough for me. So he’s a big part of who I’ve become.” (Yahoo)