Classic Rock 203: On Sale Now

The Led Zeppelin reissues campaign is about to step up a gear with the almighty one-two of IV and Houses Of The Holy. In an exclusive interview the man behind it all finally reveals the secrets of his twin masterpieces – and explains why as a band Zeppelin is finally a thing of the past. Also in this issue...

Taj Mahal He headlined over Led Zeppelin and taught Keith Richards how to play guitar. Fifty years after he first began rewiring the blues, it’s finally time to give him the respect he’s due.

Prince Thirty years on from the release of his landmark Purple Rain, we look back at how the self-contained, reclusive genius who learned to play nice with others, and in the process found his world-conquering groove.

Rainbow As the 1970s came to a close, Ritchie Blackmore was plotting his band’s rebirth: Dio and his dragons were out, Graham Bonnet and Hawaiian shirts were in. And Rainbow were about to become accidental pop stars.

The Tea Party Pitched as ‘The Doors meet Zeppelin’, they were the textbook 90s cult band – until one of them took to a stronger brew.

Suzi Quatro She toured with Slade, Kiss and Alice Cooper, and set the singles chart on fire. But above all Suzi Quatro blazed a trail for female rockers everywhere.

Troubadours – Lucinda Williams, Cory Branan & more Four singers, four sounds, one spiritual home. From the ex-punk to the scion of country royalty, this is what American roots music looks like in 2014.

Jellyfish The power-pop princelings were the new Beatles, ELO and Queen all in one – until bad vibes and psychic turmoil snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Billy Idol He was MTV royalty, a rebel for a new generation. And away from the box the singer’s life really was all sex, Viagra and punk rock’n’roll – and it very nearly killed him.

**Your Free CD: When The Levee Breaks **15 tracks of Zepplinesque power from the best new bands around, including Sugar Wolves, Desert Suns, Jupiter’s Carnival and more…

Regular features

The Dirt: The Classic Rock Roll Of Honour welcomes Gregg Allman as 2014’s Living Legend; Kinks reunion is on (we think); say hello to Red Racer and Black State Highway; welcome back Mr. Big, The Pineapple Thief and Sixx A.M.; goodnight John Gustafson, Glenn Cornick, Jimi Jamison, Throb…

The Stories Behind The Songs — The Police: A semi-ballad out of sync with the punk zeitgeist, banned by the BBC, Roxanne should have died on its arse. Instead it put The Police on the road to superstardom.

Q&A — Dave Grohl: The Foo Fighters frontman on uncovering American music history, studios as “churches” and meeting Obama.

Reviews: New albums from Status Quo, Billy Idol, Bush, Stevie Nicks, Mr. Big, Audrey Horne, The Datsuns, Ace Frehley, Crobot, Keith Emerson & Greg Lake… Reissues from Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, Ian Hunter, Richie Kotzen, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull… DVDs, films and books on Jimmy Page, The Who, Queen, David Bowie… Live reviews of ELO, Foo Fighters, Kate Bush, Airbourne…

Buyer’s Guide — Elvis Costello: Over five decades the singer-songwriter has amassed a jewel-box catalogue of music unbounded by genres.

Letters: Got something to say? Let us hear it – shout it out loud!

Lives previews: Gig previews from Blackberry Smoke, Theory Of A Deadman, Paul Rodgers, Living Colour and Purson, plus gig listings – who’s playing where and when.

Heavy Load — Chris Robertson: The Black Stone Cherry frontman on depression, drugs – and pulling back from the brink with the help of his family.

**If your newsagent isn’t selling issue 203 of Classic Rock, you can order it online from MyFavouriteMagazines. **

**Alternatively, you can download the Classic Rock magazine app from iTunes. **

**Also: for this month only, customers buying copies of Classic Rock in branches of Asda will save £1 off the normal retail price. **

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.