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Classic Rock News And Views
December 14, 2009
Ron Wood: The ‘Evil Goblin King’
Now who could have ever seen this coming? A 20-year-old Russian beauty hooks up with a 61-year-old rock star who has serious alcohol abuse issues and had just come off a stint in rehab. If that doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven, I don’t know what does!
Late word is that the romance has run its course, and Wood’s former lover, Ekaterina Ivanova, is now dishing up the dirt on the rock star, and probably collecting a nice chunk of change for her version of the story.
Despite the claims of “true love,” and other proclamations from the couple during their time together, it’s more likely to have been a case of a star-struck 20-year-old and a world-famous celebrity reliving that part of his past that involved bedding attractive young females.
Obviously young Ekaterina did not have the experience that’s required to deal with an alcohol-fueled rock star, unlike his ex-wife Jo, who somehow managed to stick with Wood for more than two decades.
Ivanova tells Hello! magazine that living with Wood was something her friends jokingly described as “the princess trapped in the tower.” The couple was living in a gothic Ruxley Tower at the time; something that may sound quite romantic, but apparently wasn’t the blissful existence that one might imagine under such circumstances.
“He went all Jekyl and Hyde. I’d be trapped there with an evil goblin king,” Ivanova said. Not terribly surprising to hear knowing how some alcoholics behave while under the influence. Alcohol tends to bring out the worst in some people, and if Ivanova’s tales are to be believed, Ron Wood may be one of them.
His recent arrest following allegations of domestic assault further raises those suspicions.
Ivanova will move on with her youth, good looks, a bigger bank account and a good many years ahead of her, while Wood, on the other hand, must be wondering what he was thinking when he hooked up with a 20-year-old. Is he pining for former wife Jo, as a friend of Wood recently reported?
Jo says she has happily moved on, and reports that she got over the break-up in a couple of months. Even so, the former model is offering her ex the opportunity to spend Christmas with her and the rest of the family for a holiday celebration, although the invite comes with one condition. No drinking.
That’s a restriction that the young Ivanova was either unable or unwilling to impose.
May 14, 2009
Queen + Paul Rodgers Part Company
This one isn’t much like the typical rock star departure we so often hear about where a group breaks up or loses a member over “creative differences” or some kind of personality clash. This one appears to be strictly business.
Paul Rodgers, who teamed with Queen back in 2004 will be hitting the road with his old group, Bad Company, for a summer reunion tour.
Rodgers and the remaining members of Queen remain on good terms, and Rodgers does not rule out working with them again some day, mentioning that he would be open to the idea of joining them on stage once again for a charity event or something similar, saying he would be “very much into doing that, for sure.”
After nearly five years, two world tours and an album, Rodgers feels good about what he was able to accomplish with 
Queen and seems especially glad that he was instrumental in providing fans with an experience that was as close to a live Queen event as possible.
Having seen one of their shows on television some time back, it was clear that it was not Rodgers’ intention to bill himself as “the new Freddie Mercury.” Part of the show was a dedication to the late singer, including video footage of him performing with the group before his untimely death in 1991.
The upcoming Bad Company tour, although a bit brief with only ten dates lined up, seems to be a reversal of the comments made by Rodgers last summer when he joined up with Bad Company for a one-night gig at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. A show that was put together to ensure that the group would be able to retain the legal right to be the exclusive owners of the name Bad Company.
At that time, Rodgers indicated that he had no further plans to work with Bad Company and sounded more interested in continuing to work with Queen as well as dedicate some of his efforts to his solo career. Perhaps the guys got along better than they anticipated when they reunited on stage and decided that it felt good enough to do again.
The live DVD of the show from last year at the Hard Rock will be released on August 8, exactly one year after the performance took place.
June 17th marks the start of this summer’s Bad Company tour, which will begin with a show at a familiar venue: The Seminole Hard Rock & Casino. It has been reported that the group will be joined by the Doobie Brothers for select dates.
For more details, visit Billboard.
December 5, 2008
Brian May: No Queen Breakup
The rumor seems to have originated on an Austrian website that reported Queen and Paul Rodgers performed together for the last time when they played in Rio de Janeiro on November 29.
The site in question, www.oe24.at reported that a “cryptic message” on Brian May’s personal web site was an indication that the group was planning to split up. The reason for the split was reported to be due to dismal sales of the group’s recent album The Cosmos Rocks.
The Cosmos Rocks sold only 12,000 copies during the first week of its release and debuted at position number 47 on 
The Billboard 200 Chart.
According to Brian May, who recently posted a response to the report on his website said there are no plans for the group to part company, and he insists that they are just taking a break following their tour.
Replying to a fan from Finland who inquired about the reported breakup, May responded by saying, “Well, I don’t know where anyone got that idea – Roger and Paul and myself haven’t made any decisions whatsoever about the future … We just need a rest!”
