
Dave Ling
Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.
Latest articles by Dave Ling

Johnny Van Zant on Lynyrd Skynyrd's new live album, life without Gary Rossington and new music
By Dave Ling published
Iconic southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd play four UK shows in July. Will they play Free Bird? Good chance

It's been 18 years since the last King Diamond album and he's getting impatient
By Dave Ling published
Danish shrieker King Diamond has returned to the road with "a horror show set to music"

Billy Sherwood’s journey to Yes started with the wayward World Trade
By Dave Ling published
By the time he reunited his 80s group for third album Unify, he’d replaced Chris Squire and started fronting Asia. None of it would have happened without Toto and Gentle Giant

"It's been a mission statement from day one": Why Sparks continue to do things other bands don't
By Dave Ling published
With 28 albums’ worth of songs to choose from, there'll be some surprises as Sparks tour their MAD! album

“I said, ‘I owe you for being an influence.’ He said, ‘Pay up!’” Ricky Phillips on Chris Squire
By Dave Ling published
American bassist recalls being captivated at an early age by the Yes icon’s approach, and how it felt to tour together many years later

A Beginner's Guide to 70s AOR in 10 essential albums
By Dave Ling published
AOR might have come truly blossoming into platinum-tinged life in the 1980s, but the genre had been holding lighters aloft and weeping in its beer in the 1970s. These are the best albums

How Skid Row and Sebastian Bach Went To War
By Dave Ling published
Skid Row were once blood brothers, but infighting and a split with their singer turned it all into an ‘abyss of hatred’

Bonnie Raitt on winning Grammys, working with Prince, and why we need to work together
By Dave Ling published
An update from Bonnie Raitt as she prepares for her upcoming tour of Europe

Chantel McGregor may have been welcomed by the blues scene, but her next step may surprise them
By Dave Ling published
With elements of prog on her new album, guitarist/singer Chantel McGregor is hopeful people will see her in a different light

Michael Schenker and the appetite for self-destruction
By Dave Ling published
Confronting Michael Schenker with the truth about Michael Schenker

The epic story of Sweet, the 70s glam icons who burned bright and refused to fade away
By Dave Ling published
Sweet were one of the original 70s glam bands – and more than 50 years later, guitarist Andy Scott is keeping the flag flying

The turbulent story of Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, the 80s metal classic that tore the band apart
By Dave Ling published
1984’s Stay Hungry should have turned Twisted Sister into megastars - but it was the beginning of the end for them

The epic story of the Scorpions, the German band who smashed through the barriers to conquer America
By Dave Ling published
The Scorpions proved that Britain and the US didn’t have the monopoly on hard rock and heavy metal

Social media vs talent: Rosalie Cunningham on breaking through in a shallow scene
By Dave Ling published
Genre-blending psychedelic rocker Rosalie Cunningham is on tour throughout 2025, including festival appearances

The Leslie West and Mountain albums you should listen to... and one to avoid
By Dave Ling last updated
With Mountain, West Bruce & Laing and solo, Leslie West proved he was a class act - and these are his best albums

Twisted Sister start their own party on You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll
By Classic Rock Magazine published
Hated by their US record company, Twisted Sister's You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll was a mission statement and a launchpad

Daryl Hall on life without former "business partner" John Oates
By Dave Ling published
The former half of hugely successful duo Hall & Oates plays five solo UK shows in May, with US dates to follow

"He threw me in the lake and I had to learn to swim": Remembering Dickey Betts, southern rock pioneer
By Dave Ling published
A celebration of the life and music of Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts

An interview with the makers of Becoming Led Zeppelin
By Dave Ling published
As Becoming Led Zeppelin continues to take the world by storm, we talk to the duo who put it all together

The life and death of Jimmy Bain, the bassist who brought the rock’n’roll to Rainbow and Dio
By Dave Ling published
They don’t make them like the late, great Jimmy Bain any more

Tobias Sammet on the democracy of Avantasia, the late Tony Clarkin, and whispering Bruce Dickinson
By Dave Ling published
With some big names in the studio and on the tour bus, Here Be Dragons continues Avantasia's all-star journey

A beginner's guide to Sweet in 10 brilliant songs, from chart hits to deep cuts
By Dave Ling published
The Sweet are best known for their pop hits, but their back catalogue is a varied treasure trove of glam and hard rock. Here are their 10 finest moments

Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills on mass psychosis and the best way to solve writer's block
By Dave Ling published
Kula Shaker's current tour ends in May, and you might hear some brand-new songs from the next album

Dee Snider on the Twisted Sister song that transcended its era
By Dave Ling published
We're Not Gonna Take It had a long and difficult birth, but the song Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider predicted would become a “monster” is reportedly now the most licensed song in heavy metal history
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