News Blog Archive January 2023
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Monday 30th January, 2023
David Bowie
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One of the greatest stars of the rock & roll era, David Bowie evaded categorization throughout his career, operating as the artiest rocker within the mainstream and the most accessible musician on the fringe. Bowie may have trafficked in ideas cultivated in the underground, but he was never quite an outsider as far as rock & roll was concerned.
From the outset of his career in the 1960s, he attempted to break into the Top 40, playing British blues, mod rock & roll, and ornate pop.
"Space Oddity" gave Bowie his breakthrough in the U.K., reaching the Top Ten in the summer of 1969 Bowie was a multi-platinum selling artist, known for his distinctive voice, unique style and the intellectual depth of his work. He won over 15 awards and nominated for 45. These include Grammy, Brit Awards, Ivor Novello, MTV Video Music, Q Award and GQ Award.
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Friday 27th January, 2023
Oasis
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Oasis shot to stardom in 1994, becoming one of Britain's most popular and critically acclaimed bands of the decade in the process. The band, originally called The Rain, renamed to Oasis after Liam Gallagher read 'Oasis Leisure Centre' listed on an Inspiral Carpets poster in the bedroom he shared with Noel. Noel was roadie for Inspiral Carpets and had visited the Swindon venue with the band in 1991.
Led by guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher, the Manchester quintet adopted the rough, thuggish image of the Stones and the Who, crossed it with "Beatlesque" melodies and hooks, injected distinctly British lyrical themes and song structures like the Jam and the Kinks, and tied it all together with a massive guitar roar, as well as a defiant sneer that drew equally from the Sex Pistols' rebelliousness and the Stone Roses' cocksure arrogance.
In 2009, after a typically heated, backstage sibling altercation, Noel left the group for good, prompting Liam (and the rest of the band) to change the name to Beady Eye.
There is a persistent 'will they, won't they' question regarding the band reforming. All seems dependent on a long term rift between the brothers being healed. In January 2023, reports say that the brothers are now on good terms.
Wednesday 25th January, 2023
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Guns N' Roses
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Guns N' Roses, aka GNR, is a hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. Rock Off is is a distributor of official licensed Guns N' Roses merchandise, which we sell on a wholesale only basis.
With guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin cranking out mean riffs that matched the dark fantasies of Axl Rose, vocal. Rose countered his nasty tendencies with a romantic side, one that flourished on "Sweet Child O' Mine," the soaring ballad that went to number one in 1988, turning the band into superstars in the process.
Over the next few years, GNR's 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, sold in huge numbers, with "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" featuring.
Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Released simultaneously in September 1991, we heard "November Rain," a ballad that became their last Top Ten hit in 1992.
The rise of alternative rock coincided with the erosion of the original GNR lineup, a slow attrition that left Axl Rose as the lone remaining founding member by the end of the '90s. He spent much of the 2000s working on his magnum opus Chinese Democracy, which he delivered in 2008, by which point the group were so out of the mainstream thar they weren't even considered retro-hip. The situation would eventually change. By 2015, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan rejoined Guns N Roses, providing the band with a core of original members that would help this be a stable lineup into the 2020s, when the group showed signs of returning to active recording status via the 2022 EP Hard Skool.
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Monday 23rd January, 2023
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Friday 20th January, 2023
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New & Replenished
Loads of New & Replenished landed this week. Too many to show you. So to cop what you want or check them all out, please click to VIEW ALL
Red Hot Chili Peppers
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Not many Rock bands of the 80s broke down as many musical barriers and were as original as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. From fun-loving party boys to alternative-rock bosses.
Combining funk and punk rock, the Chili Peppers made noise on the Los Angeles scene with early albums such as 1985's 'Freaky Styley' and 1989's Mother's Milk, they made a huge breakthrough with 1991's landmark 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik', a multi-platinum smash hit that spawned some of their most recognized songs, including "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge." That album's success was then beaten in terms of sales and commercial success, in 1999 with the chart-topping Californication, which found the band now playing a more reflective and melodic rock music.
Wednesday 18th January, 2023
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Def Leppard
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Def Leppard are a rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Emerging in the late '70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard gained a following outside of that scene by toning down their heavy riffs and emphasizing melody. After a couple of strong albums, they were poised for crossover success by the time of 1983's Pyromania, and skilfully used the MTV network to their advantage.
Pyromania celebrates 40 years since its release this month.
They reached the top of their career with 1987's Hysteria, then had another huge hit, 1992's Adrenalize, that defied the mainstream turn toward grunge.After that, the band settled into a pattern of touring constantly and releasing an album every few years, maintaining a steady audience and occasionally surprising fans with a new album.
This was the case with 2008's Yeah!, that went back to the sound of their glory days, or the 2022 record Diamond Star Halos.
Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are playing four huge co-headline UK shows in 2023.
The Tour is then going global during 2023 with their co-headline 'The World Tour' along with special guest Alice Cooper.
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Motley Crue
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Mötley Crüe are a heavy metal band founded, in 1981, by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead singer Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars. Mötley Crüe has sold 100 million albums worldwide.
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Monday 16th January, 2023
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January Activity
Megadeth
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Formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, Megadeth became one of the most acclaimed and successful thrash metal outfits of their era and beyond. Part of the "big four" of the genre along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, the group expanded on the typical metal blueprint by speeding up the tempos and putting an emphasis on lightning-fast technical guitar skills. Mustaine's nihilistic lyrics and the band's unrelenting musical attack resulted in a series of early thrash classics. 1986's Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? and 1992's Countdown to Extinction sold in the millions and influenced the next generation of speed metal bands, while later efforts like 2007's United Abominations, 2016's Grammy-winning Dystopia, and 2022 album The Sick, The Dying... And the Dead! revealed a band with plenty of gas left in the tank.
A new line-up debuted on So Far, So Good...So What!, released early in 1988. So Far, So Good and also eventually went platinum, it also featured a notorious cover of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" with incorrect lyrics.
The album - So Far, So Good...So What!
Celebrates its 30th Anniversary January 19th 2023.
Friday 13th January, 2023
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Prince
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Prince's reign continued into the early '90s, a time which found him swapping the Revolution for the jazz-funk New Power Generation, but by the middle of the decade, he'd entered a cold war with his record company that contributed to a slow slide down the charts. Once he received emancipation from his contract, he seized the opportunity to release as much music as he could record, occasionally taking the time to focus his aim at the mainstream, scoring such hits as 2004's Musicology in the process. Prince produced new music at a furious pace throughout the last decade of his life, which is what made his death in 2016 such a shock: his music was ceaselessly, endlessly alive and full of possibility.
Prince has 4 album anniversaries in January 23
Prince - Crystal Ball - 25 Year Anniversary
Prince - The Truth - 25 Year Anniversary
Prince - Xpectation - 20 Year Anniversary
Prince - N·E·W·S - 20 Year Anniversary
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Wednesday 11th January, 2022
RIP JEFF BECK 1944 - 2023
A master of his art.'
The 1975
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Britain's ever-evolving The 1975 balance hooky dance-rock and adult contemporary sophistication with arty forays into electronica and Auto-Tuned pop.
It was a sound they first debuted on 2013's The 1975, which brought them international stardom, topping the charts in the U.K. and reaching the Top 30 on the Billboard 200. They fared even better with 2016's I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It, which reached number one in both England and the United States.
While they have remained chart regulars, hitting the Top Five with 2018's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships and 2020's Notes on a Conditional Form, they have continued to experiment with their sound, embracing an ever more genre-bending pop aesthetic. It's an unpredictable artistic evolution they sustained with 2022's Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
The 1975 are currently on an International tour and after their recent gig in Brighton UK, Rolling Stone Magazine said
"We’re a mere nine days into 2023, but Healy and co. have set an extremely high bar for other gigs this year. Part performance art, part rock show, all bolstered by some of the best pop songs to have emerged in the last decade. It should be considered a defining blueprint on how to do arena shows."
The 1975 tour is all over the music press and social media right now. They have a huge international fan base.
- The 1975 have an Instagram following of 3.3 million.
- 2299103 likes on Facebook with 2.6 million followers.
- THE 1975 sold over 2,628,150 albums, including 1,500,000 in the United States and 1,060,000 in the United Kingdom.
- The best-selling album, to date, by THE 1975 is THE 1975, which sold over 1,666,000 copies
Monday 9th January, 2023
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Johnny Cash
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Part rockabilly rebel, part campfire storyteller, part outlaw in black, his hearty baritone has remained the essence of country music.
Johnny Cash was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound.
Cash didn't sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world-weariness of country.
However, there was a deep sense of history -- as he would later illustrate with his series of historical albums -- that kept him forever tied with country. And he was one of country music's biggest stars of the '50s and '60s, scoring well over 100 hit singles.
JOHNNY CASH
HAS 3 ALBUMS WITH ANNIVERSARIES THIS JANUARY 2023
- Johnny Cash Blood, Sweat and Tears 60 Year Anniversary
- Johnny Cash From Sea to Shining Sea 55 Year Anniversary
- Johnny Cash Any Old Wind That Blows 50 Year Anniversary
Friday 6th January, 2023
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K-pop superstars BlackPink became a global phenomenon following their mainstream breakthrough in the late 2010s. With their brand of hip-hop and trap-influenced dance-pop, they scored a string of Korean and International chart-topping singles, expanding their audience In 2020, they earned the distinction of highest-charting female Korean act to date on the Billboard Hot 100.
That same year, they released their first Korean-language studio full-length, The Album, which was a massive global success.
Their sophomore set, Born Pink, arrived two years later.
ACTIVITY JANUARY 2023
- Anthrax North American Tour
- Elton John UK & Europe Tour
- The 1975's UK Tour
- Megadeth So Far So Good 30 Year Anniversary
- Prince Crystal Ball 25 Year Anniversary
- Prince The Truth 25 Year Anniversary
- Prince Xpectation 20 Year Anniversary
- Prince N·E·W·S 20 Year Anniversary
- Johnny Cash Blood, Sweat and Tears 60 Year Anniversary
- Johnny Cash From Sea to Shining Sea 55 Year Anniversary
- Johnny Cash Any Old Wind That Blows 50 Year Anniversary
- Def Leppard Pyromania 40 Year Anniversary
- Bruce Springsteen Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. 50 Year Anniversary
- Elvis Presley Birthday January 8th, 1935
- AC/DC Blow Up Your Video 35 Year Anniversary
- David Bowie Birthday January 8th, 1947
- Mac Miller Birthday January 19, 1992
- Smashing Pumpkins - New Album - Act Two
Tuesday 3rd January, 2023
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! From Everyone At Rock Off
Happy New Year to you all. We hope 2023 will be your best ever!
We are now back open, normal business has resumed and we are ready to Rock Off & Roll our way through 2023!!
TOURING 2023
Coldplay. Ed Sheeran. The Weeknd. Metallica. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Guns 'n' Roses. Kiss. Rod Stewart. Iron Maiden. Def Leppard. Imagine Dragons. Slipknot. System Of A Down. Ozzy Osbourne. The Killers. YES. Disturbed. Lynyrd Skynyrd. ZZ Top. Depeche Mode. Willie Nelson. Backstreet Boys. Duran Duran. Judas Priest. Muse. Bring Me The Horizon. The Who. Blink 182. Alice Cooper. Motley Crue. Bruce Springsteen. Green Day. Machine Gun Kelly. Megadeth. Fall Out Boy. Avril Lavigne. Foo Fighters. Queen. Lewis Capaldi. Eagles. Deep Purple.
....To be continued
ANNIVERSARIES
PINK FLOYD - DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY PINK FLOYD - THE FINAL CUT - 40TH ANNIVERSARY FLEETWOOD MAC - PENGUIN - 50TH ANNIVERSARY FLEETWOOD MAC - MYSTERY TO ME - 50TH ANNIVERSARY DEPECHE MODE - SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION - 30TH ANNIVERSARY DAVID BOWIE - THE NEXT DAY - 10TH ANNIVERSARY DAVID BOWIE - ALADDIN SANE - 50TH ANNIVERSARY DAVID BOWIE - BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE - 30TH ANNIVERSARY DAVID BOWIE - REALITY - 20TH ANNIVERSARY RAMONES - SUBTERRANEAN JUNGLE - 40TH ANNIVERSARY AC/DC - POWERAGE - 50TH ANNIVERSARY AC/DC - FLICK OF THE SWITCH - 40TH ANNIVERSARY METALLICA - KILL 'EM ALL - 40TH ANNIVERSARY SMASHING PUMPKINS - SIAMESE DREAM - 30TH ANNIVERSARY NIRVANA - IN UTERO - 30TH ANNIVERSARY OUTKAST - SPEAKERBOXX/THE LOVE BELOW - 20TH ANNIVERSARY THE STROKES - ROOM ON FIRE - 20TH ANNIVERSARY WU TANG CLAN - ENTER THE WU-TANG - 30TH ANNIVERSARY RUSH - COUNTERPARTS - 30TH ANNIVERSARY
....To be continued.
ALBUMS
Iggy Pop. The Smashing Pumpkins. Paramore. Gorillaz. Lewis Capaldi. Metallica.
.... To be continued.
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