According to Classic Rock Magazine, Mel Galley (left pictured), guitarist of TRAPEZE and WHITESNAKE, has lost his battle with cancer of the oesophagus. The Midlands-born musician was a member of FINDERS SEEKERS with bassist GLENN HUGHES (ex-DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH), and together they co-founded Trapeze in 1969. He had just turned 60 years old - the photo with Glenn Hughes (left) was taken at his 60th birthday party.
“Mel was my hero growing up as a kid in Cannock,” Hughes tells Classic Rock. “He was four years older than me and along with JIMI HENDRIX and ERIC CLAPTON was one of my guitar gods. He taught me music, and more importantly, how to live. After CREAM, Trapeze were the greatest English rock trio.”

When Hughes reluctantly accepted an offer to join Deep Purple, a far bigger band, in 1973, Trapeze continued with Pete Goalby (later of Uriah Heep) on vocals. Along with brother Tom, Galley helped to guide the PHENOMENA project, which featured the likes of Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Budgie’s John Thomas and current Deep Purple keyboard player Don Airey, before accepting an offer from David Coverdale to join Whitesnake. Though he toured with the band and played on 1984’s Slide It In album, a freak arm injury seemed to have curtailed Galley’s career. However, with the help of a specially developed spring and wire device that was fitted to his hand, affectionately called ‘The Claw’, he was able to bypass the problematic nerve endings.

In 1986 he formed MGM with fellow ex-Whitesnake alumni Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray, then worked on another Phenomena record.

However, after a 1991 Trapeze reunion that featured Hughes and drummer Dave Holland, by then a star in his own right with JUDAS PRIEST, plus Geoffrey Downes of ASIA on keyboards, Galley elected to retire from performing.

After a well-publicised fracas with a stalker – curtailed when Galley confronted the individual on the latter’s doorstep – he had just begun playing music again when his illness was diagnosed.

In February, Galley announced that he was dying of cancer. Bravely, instead of wallowing in self-pity he made the most of the time he had left. “I have been very lucky,” he wrote at his MySpace site. “I have seen some great bands, played with many great musicians and enjoyed some tremendous experiences. I am thankful that I can say a proper goodbye to all the friends I have made, who are now rallying round me.”

Even as his condition worsened, Galley continued to post encouraging, amusing updates. When he was no longer able to go to the pub, “now the pub [comes] to me,” he joked. “Friends visit me each day, I have drugs in me 24/7, and I have a plentiful supply of gin and tonic by my bedside. I even have my own ice machine! In fact it’s just like my Whitesnake days.”

“What grace and dignity indeed, marvels Glenn Hughes.

During Whitesnake’s recently completed European tour, David Coverdale dedicated Love Ain’t No Stranger, a song he co-wrote with Mel for the Slide It In album, to Galley on a nightly basis.

“Melville, your legacy is in safe hands with me,” sums up Hughes, Galley’s childhood friend, adding: “I’ll see you in the Garden one day, and truly recognise you as my brother...”

Read more: Classicrockmagazine.com.


In related news, GLENN HUGHES Issues Statement On Passing Of "Oldest Friend"


GLENN HUGHES (ex-DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH) has issued the following update:


"I am so very sad to report the passing of my oldest friend Mel (Galley, guitarist of TRAPEZE and WHITESNAKE). He drifted into his Golden sleep at 10 PM last night. He is now with his higher power... he has come home.

I will cherish his memory and all the things that Mel shared with me in his full and rich life... but most of all, he showed me to live like a man. He took my hand as a boy and walked me thru my earliest chapters as a young musician....he alone is responsible for my career as a working musician/singer-songwriter.

Let's all remember Mel with love in our hearts and he wanted you all to know how overcome he was with the Global outpouring of love for him... he said to me, 'I had no idea, how many people cared and loved me'..... he was the man, he was my childhood idol along with Jimi and Eric.

You are the Music.

I'll see you in the Garden one day and I will recognise you as my brother....."

(BW & BK)

JUDAS PRIEST manager Jayne Andrews checks in with the following:

"Unfortunately, we have had to cancel two shows - tonight in Belgrade and tomorrow in Zagreb - this is due to Glenn Tipton (left pictured) being ill - he has been pretty sick for about a week now but has struggled on regardless - he has been in a lot of pain and has been told be a doctor that he is suffering from a very painful appendix inflammation and needs to come back to the UK to see a specialist which he is doing today - he has been instructed by the doctor not to perform for a couple of days - this is the first time in the history of Judas Priest that we have had to cancel any shows and we are very sorry to all those disappointed fans - however Glenn's health must come first!

Many thanks for understanding!"

Judas Priest's new double-disc concept album, Nostradamus, has hit the following charts around the world:

#3 - Croatia; #3 - Czech Rep; #3 - Finland; #4 - Hungary International Chart (#12 overall); #5 - Germany; #5 - Sweden; #6 - Europe; #9 - Canada; #11 - USA; #12 - Norway; #12 - Switzerland; #13 - Austria; #17 - Australia; #17 - Denmark; #26 - Italy; #26 - Spain; #30 - UK; #31 - New Zealand; #38 - France; #50 - Netherlands

ALICE COOPER is releasing Along Came A Spider, via SPV Records, on July 29th. Click here to pre-order the new album and 12" vinyl. You can see a new promo shot at Cooper's MySpace page.
Co-produced by Danny Saber, Greg Hampton and Alice himself, Along Came A Spider manages to marry both vintage and modern day Alice. As theatrical as ever, the album is a sonic combination of familiar Alice musical elements from albums as diverse as Billion Dollar Babies and Brutal Planet, with the storytelling of Welcome To My Nightmare, capturing the historic dark side of Alice in peak form, an instantly recognizable presence that will be welcomed by his fans. Joining Alice on the album are members of his touring band - longtime Alice drummer Eric Singer (KISS), bassist Chuck Garric, and guitarists Keri Kelli and Jason Hook, with additional contributions from others, including Saber, Hampton, and renowned backing vocalist Bernard Fowler. Slash also lends some guitar style to 'Vengeance Is Mine'.

Saber and Hampton co-wrote several of the album's songs with Alice, while others were collaborations with Alice's band members. Danny Saber, best known for his role as member and producer of BLACK GRAPE, has also worked with many other artists, including THE ROLLING STONES, OZZY OSBOURNE, and DAVID BOWIE, while Greg Hampton's been working on a new album project teaming up Buckethead and Bootsy Collins.

Along Came A Spider tracklisting: 'Prologue/I Know Where You Live', 'Vengeance Is Mine', 'Wake The Dead', 'Catch Me If You Can', '(In Touch With) Your Feminine Side', 'Wrapped In Silk', 'Killed By Love', 'I’m Hungry', 'The One That Got Away', 'Salvation', 'I Am The Spider/Epilogue'.

According to Sony/BMG, AC/DC's as-yet-untitled forthcoming album will be released in August.

In related news, AC/DC will sell its new album only through Wal-Mart Stores Inc in the United States. It is still unclear if the same distribution deal has been negotiated in Canada.

According to Wikipedia, singer Brian Johnson revealed that for the first time since the 1988 album Blow Up Your Video, he would be handling lyrics. He also said that Angus Young has written harder riffs than those on their last album, Stiff Upper Lip (2000).

The band recently finished the album in Vancouver, BC with producer Brendan O'Brien (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN) and engineer Mike Fraser (METALLICA, AEROSMITH, VAN HALEN).

Rhapsody's Jen Guyre reports:

MÖTLEY CRÜE has thrived for two and half decades of pure, uncut decadence. Now, Vince Neil (left pictured), Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee have returned with Saints Of Los Angeles, their first album of new material in 11 years, and a namesake summer tour Crüefest.

Rhapsody caught up with Vince Neil, while at home in L.A., to find out about the inaugural fest, their autobiographical album, and what's on the horizon for "the world's most notorious rock band."

On the new album: "All the songs are based on our lives -based on stories in (band autobiography) The Dirt. And it’s in chronological order. If you listen to the first song, which is 'Face Down In The Dirt', where we’re just a bunch of punks and we’re playing The Whiskey (there’s a song called 'Down At The Whiskey'). Then we get signed and it’s called 'Welcome To The Machine' - The Machine is the record business.

Then 'Chicks = Trouble', that’s self-explanatory.

The last song’s 'Goin' Out Swingin' and it’s actually cool for the fans who read the book. They can go, “Oh yeah, I remember this story. I know that.” So, it’s kind of a neat thing that we’ve done what we have never done before.

We haven’t put out an album in 11 years... so it was about time to put out a record and it just kind of happened that way. It wasn’t a planned out thing... and it worked out great."

Read the full story: Rhapsody.com.

MOTÖRHEAD (see tour dates) have revealed the tracklisting for their upcoming Motörizer album, which is as follows: '(Teach You How To) Sing The Blues', 'Time Is Right', 'Heroes', 'Runaround Man', 'English Rose', 'Rock Out', '1000 Names', 'When The Eagle Screams', 'Don't Die Ashamed', 'Back On The Chain', 'Buried Alive'.
Motörizer will be released on August 26th in North America, August 29th in Germany and September 1st in the rest of Europe. It was recorded at 606 Studios in Los Angeles, which is owned by Dave Ghrol (NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS).

RollingStone.com reports:

In light of the GUNS N' ROSES leak last week - nine tracks that may or may not be the near-final version of Chinese Democracy - Rolling Stone dialed up Axl Rose pal and collaborator SEBASTIAN BACH (left pictured) to gain some insight into where Rose now stands with the extremely delayed LP. For the full story, see the next issue (out later this week). For now, here’s Bach recalling what happened the time he suggested Rose just put out Democracy:
“There’s only a couple of times he’s ever gotten mad at me. One of them was when I let Ron Jeremy in his dressing room. He didn’t like that at all. ‘Why the fuck did you let Ron Jeremy in my dressing room?’ I was like, dude, he was begging. That wasn’t a good time for me. Axl goes from zero to 60 faster than any hemi engine, I’ll tell you that. When we were first hanging out in 2006, we were just standing around a bunch of people. I go, ‘Axl, do you think you might get the record out? It would be a great time, now that we’re on tour and everything.’ He goes, ‘Oh. Great! Everybody! Sebastian has a great idea here, man. Guess what? Sebastian, should I put out a record? Maybe it would be a good idea for me to put out a fucking record! Hey everybody, listen to this! I never thought of that! That never came to me! Oh, great idea dude.’ I felt like Fred Flintstone in Mr. Slate’s office."

Read the full story: RollingStone.com.

Guitarist/vocalist Lita Ford (left pictured) recently stopped by Eddie Trunk's Q104.3 syndicated radio show "to break a 15 year silence from the music business." According to reports she talked about where she has been, where she is headed, her new band, upcoming gigs and more. Exclusive audio and video will be available soon.

Pictures from her visit are available here.

Amazon.co.uk (here) is now listing the release date of GUNS N' ROSES' Chinese Democracy as August 25th.
It is worth noting that they have previously listed its availability as September 2007, February 2008, and December 2008. Because of this, it is hard to put any faith in these dates. Amazon only knows what they are told by the record companies.

Perhaps more promising though, is the fact that Amazon.com finally, for the first time ever, has a page for Chinese Democracy. Again, Amazon only knows what they are told by the record companies, but this one is worth putting stock in! Why? Never before has Amazon.com put up a Chinese Democracy page.
(Gnrdaily.com)

RockFoto.nu has posted several pictures from JUDAS PRIEST's June 5th show at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. Click here for the direct link to the gallery.

The setlist on th enight was as follows: 'Intro: Dawn of Creation', 'Prophecy', 'Metal Gods', 'Eat Me Alive', 'Between the Hammer And The Anvil', 'Devil's Child', 'Breaking The Law', 'Hell Patrol', 'Death', 'Dissident Aggressor', 'Angel', 'The Hellion / Electric Eye', 'Rock Hard, Ride Free', 'Sinner', 'Painkiller', 'Hell Bent For Leather', 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)', 'You've Got Another Thing Coming'.
Judas Priest recently confirmed a St. Paul, MN live date at The Myth has moved to August 2nd. No word if it's part of the Metal Masters Tour with HEAVEN AND HELL and openers MOTÖRHEAD and TESTAMENT. The venue size is only 4,400 so a one-off show seems more likely.

Judas Priest mainman Rob Halford commented: “As ever, we look forward to screaming out loud with our metal maniac fans when we hit the road. Thank you once again for your devotion and support. The Priest is back!”


As previously reported, JUDAS PRIEST's UK fans will have the chance to grab three official ringbacks and mastertones from the band's forthcoming album Nostradamus (left pictured). Songs included are: 'Nostradamus', 'Visions' and 'War'.
Nostradamus, is a metal opera based on the life and predictions of Nostradamus. Long in the works, Nostradamus takes epic storytelling to a whole new level, as it recounts the life of this mysterious, world known 16th Century French prophet. The album will be released via Columbia Records on Monday, June 16th in the UK/Europe, and a day later in North America on Epic Records.

In addition to the regular jewel case double CD version of Nostradamus, collectors will undoubtedly be interested in hunting down a copy of a Deluxe Double CD housed in a 48 page hard-bound book package. But that’s not all - a Super Deluxe Boxset version will also be available with triple vinyl, the double CD, an expanded booklet and a poster.