
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

Roger Glover's seven favourite Deep Purple songs
By Dave Ling published
Roger Glover's seven favourite Purple patches, including the one that was "like rap before rap"

Scott Ian on why you should still go and watch Anthrax
By Dave Ling published
One of thrash metal’s Big Four bring the noise – plus Kreator and Testament – to Europe in November

Ian Paice's eight favourite Deep Purple songs
By Dave Ling published
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
A word with former Little Angels and Fastway frontman Toby Jepson as he prepares to go on the road alone

Meet Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse: where Jimmy Page and New Orleans vampirism meet
By Dave Ling published
If "a modern-day vaudeville circus act creating music" sounds like your thing, catch Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse live

Al Kooper: My stories of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and more
By Dave Ling published
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
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
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
Motörhead struggled through the second half of the 1980s - but there was no way that Lemmy was going to give up

The epic life and tragic death of Cozy Powell
By Dave Ling published
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

“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
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
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
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
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
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

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

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

“I still buy a new album and flick through it trying to find the weepy ballad – but for God’s sake, I was in Mostly Autumn for 13 years!” Heather Findlay’s affection for melancholy
By Dave Ling published
Singer songwriter Heather Findlay discusses her album Wild White Horses

"We're probably at the point that we can get away with it": Feeder are thirty years old in 2024, and they're finally ready to release a double album
By Dave Ling published
Feeder's 12th album Black/Red is out next month, and founder Grant Nicholas is prepared to go big

"We'd started playing small dance halls for a few hundred people, now suddenly we were opening for the Stones and The Who": A celebration of the life and music of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington
By Dave Ling published
Gary Rossington was the last surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd's founding lineup: He died a year ago
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