Los Angeles/London, Apr 21 (UNI) English rock band The Who drummer Zak Starkey shared an unreleased cover of glam rock pioneers T. Rex song ‘Children of the Revolution’, featuring Starkey’s father - The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, rock legend Elton John, and American hard rock icons Guns ‘N Roses.
The recording, which features Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan alongside Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Elton John, is the first completely new studio material to emerge from the Guns N' Roses camp since their reformation in early 2016 (the four songs officially released since the reformation all originated during the sessions for 2008 album ‘Chinese Democracy’), according to Louder Sound.
"C’mon amazing people," The Who drummer wrote. "Let’s get this record out and helping these teenagers who as musicians we rely on so much. If we wait much longer, some of these brave young people may not have enough time to hear it. This is the first half then it gets wild!
“Everything generated by this record (other artists tagged) goes to teenage cancer – if it gets released – which depends totally on the amazing participants giving us the green light."
Starkey shared the background to the recording a year ago, revealing that the recording process kicked off when GNR and The Who both appeared at 2017's Rock In Rio festival in Brazil.
"Duff and I went to a local studio and cut bass for a cover of T. Rex's Children Of The Revolution... My dad played drums in LA (while I fudged the bass) then in Rio Duff cut bass. A couple of weeks after the tour we cut guitars in NYC with Slash and sent the track with Sshh (Starkey's wife, musician Sshh Liguz) guide vocal to Elton who played amazing piano.
"Sshh went to hang with Axl who said he’d like to sing it – wow! Axl killed it – amazing vocals – he’s mixing the track now. I believe (hope) and we will auction the record for teen cancer without greedy bean counting majors wanting 75% (I won’t say which label but f*** me this is for sick kids)."
He also revealed that the recording was from a charity album that also included contributions from punk icon Iggy Pop, psychedelic rock band The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, members of The Smiths and The Pretenders, and "more than one Beatle."
Starkey (59) was apparently fired from The Who over the group’s disappointment with his performance during their gig at Royal Albert Hall, though guitarist Pete Townshend confirmed that Starkey was still a part of the group, attributing the news to “communication issues” which led to confusion and misunderstanding.
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