Articles by Dave Ling, News/Lives Editor, Classic Rock

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’.

Articles by: Dave Ling

"My father had an extramarital affair with a woman from another planet": The gospel according to Arthur Brown

By Dave Ling published 23 May 24

The future looks bleak. Money isn’t everything. Embrace getting older. Simple pleasures are the best. These things and more shape the real God Of Hellfire’s world view

"Lots of careers have been made from regurgitating the same record. If I'd made millions, I'd be making jazz records": A spiky interview with Gary Moore

By Dave Ling published 21 May 24

After three spells with Thin Lizzy', the late Gary Moore turned solo artist, ditching hard rock for the music of his childhood, the blues

"I'm picking this one just to annoy Ian Paice, who doesn’t like it": Ian Gillan's five favourite Deep Purple deep cuts

By Dave Ling published 20 May 24

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan picks some personal favourites from the band's bulging catalogue

"The five of us wrote that song together in the castle’s crypt… it felt magical": Glenn Hughes' six favourite Deep Purple songs

By Dave Ling published 16 May 24

Six personal favourites from Deep Purple's other bass player

"I'd never been able to see what other people liked about us. Suddenly I understood": Roger Glover's seven favourite Deep Purple songs

By Dave Ling published 13 May 24

Roger Glover's seven favourite Purple patches, including the one that was "like rap before rap"

"There's no better catharsis than being at a thrash-metal show, screaming along with the band and banging your head": Scott Ian on why you should still go and watch Anthrax

By Dave Ling published 9 May 24

One of thrash metal’s Big Four bring the noise – plus Kreator and Testament – to Europe in November

"It's almost like a template of how a hard rock band playing a rock'n'roll tune should be": Ian Paice's eight favourite Deep Purple songs

By Dave Ling published 8 May 24

Eight personal favourites from Deep Purple's only ever-present member, drummer Ian Paice

“Fast Eddie was a great example of what this business can do to you, good and bad”: Toby Jepson has some stories to tell

By Dave Ling published 30 April 24

A word with former Little Angels and Fastway frontman Toby Jepson as he prepares to go on the road alone

They share the same influences as Jimmy Page, but one of them is a New Orleans vampire: Meet Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse

By Dave Ling published 24 April 24

If "a modern-day vaudeville circus act creating music" sounds like your thing, catch Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse live

"Jimi Hendrix lived a block from me in New York. We jammed together a lot": Al Kooper's stories of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and more

By Dave Ling published 19 April 24

He freaked out Lynyrd Skynyrd, produced The Tubes and more, hung out at Keith Moon’s house and had George Harrison hang out at his. He's the legendary Al Kooper

The Judas Priest album title that became heavy metal's definitive statement of intent

By Dave Ling published 7 April 24

Where do you go once you’ve crafted one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time?

"Our contract with EMI allowed us complete control. When we signed, they had to make a donation to the Miners' Strike": Fired up by frustration, New Model Army's Vengeance is as relevant now as it was 40 years ago

By Dave Ling published 6 April 24

New Model Army's debut was fired up by the frustrations of growing up in Smalltown England, the Falklands War and, in the case of its powerful title track, World War II criminals

“It’s been a blessing to have been underdogs for so long. It’s kept us hungry. I’m ravenous”: the late ’80s fall and early ’90s rise of Motorhead

By Dave Ling published 6 April 24

Motörhead struggled through the second half of the 1980s - but there was no way that Lemmy was going to give up

"I play the drums like I drive - crazy": The epic life and tragic death of Cozy Powell

By Dave Ling published 5 April 24

Drum legend Cozy Powell passed away on April 5 1998 at the age of 50. This is his story, by the people who knew him best

A line-up photograph of Queensryche in 2006

“Anyone with an alternate viewpoint is liable to get burned at the stake”: Queensryche made an 80s metal classic with Operation: Mindcrime. Nearly 20 years later, they tried to match it with a sequel

By Dave Ling published 4 April 24

The sequel to Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime was released in the US on April 4, 2006. This is how they made a follow up to a landmark album

“Basically I’d been set up. I woke up the following morning and wondered, ‘Did I just rejoin?’” How Pallas repaired the angry split with Alan Reed to deliver their eighth album in 48 years

By Dave Ling published 4 April 24

Despite the acrimony of 2010, the glacial-speed band realised they’d all changed – and latest release The Messenger proves no one really ever leaves their family

"It was the only place that Satan wouldn’t be hanging out": Twisted Sister were a long way from home, but Jimmy Page's bathroom was a songwriting refuge

By Dave Ling published 3 April 24

How Twisted Sister convinced their record company they weren't the worst band in the world and made Stay Hungry

"Things were gloriously easy back in 1969 because we only had two albums. Things are now much more tortuous": Ian Anderson on touring, bedbugs and Martin Barre

By Dave Ling published 3 April 24

Jethro Tull are about to play 10 UK shows, and band leader Ian Anderson is hitting the rails rather than the road

“Others’ expectations kept me from taking it seriously for a long time… Some will say, ‘What is this old prat on about?’ but I don’t give a damn”: Why Ian Anderson took the risk of making Thick As A Brick 2

By Dave Ling published 2 April 24

In exploring what could have happened to Gerald Bostock – the child prodigy of the 1972 Jethro Tull album – he explored where else his own life might have taken him

New Model Album loitering on a cobbled street

"We have all been robbed, and it's still going on. It's bringing the country to disaster": 40 years down the road, New Model Army are as uncompromising as ever

By Dave Ling published 1 April 24

Northern powerhouse New Model Army play shows in April and May, taking new album Unbroken to the people

“There were no egos: It was just about the music. There was an incredible flow… a magical, organic experience”: How supergroup Flying Colors made their debut album in just 9 days

By Dave Ling published 26 March 24

When Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson went to work, they hoped they were creating something that would last. As it turned out, they were

"I heard it for the first time at a dope dealer’s house one night": My 10 favourite British albums ever, by Status Quo's Francis Rossi

By Dave Ling published 25 March 24

Francis Rossi reveals why the Rolling Stones annoy him, names the guitarist whose onstage farewell he copied, and reveals the band "who should have been drowned at birth"

"We're only here to play fantastic rock music": The Hives promise that their upcoming live shows will be like "a regular rock show but there's more of everything"

By Dave Ling published 22 March 24

Steel yourselves: The Hives are going on tour

"It was starting to feel like the band had run its course": Whitesnake entered 1984 on a high, but everything was about to change

By Dave Ling published 20 March 24

Whitesnake's last album before MTV propelled them towards US superstardom, Slide It In marked the end of an era for the band

John Kalodner with Aerosmith, holding sales awards for their Get A Grip album

"My man management skills are very poor, but the music that gets made is usually worth it": The story of John Kalodner, the man who made rock stars

By Dave Ling published 13 March 24

He signed Foreigner. He helped Whitesnake go global. Aerosmith owe him. He is music biz A&R legend-cum-rockstarmaker John Kalodner

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