Category: Reunions

Mike Joyce joins Andy Rourke in pulling out of just-announced Classically Smiths gigs

Mike Joyce joins Andy Rourke in pulling out of just-announced Classically Smiths gigs

In a trainwreck that just keeps getting worse, Mike Joyce today announced that he, too, will not take part in the Classically Smiths live shows he began teasing last week, saying he’d been barred from revealing Andy Rourke wouldn’t be taking part when the project was announced Monday.

Ex-members announce Classically Smiths concerts, but Andy Rourke denies involvement

Ex-members announce Classically Smiths concerts, but Andy Rourke denies involvement

After cryptic hints Friday, the cat’s now out of the bag: The Smiths’ Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, plus “fifth member” Craig Gannon, will perform the band’s beloved songs backed by a full orchestra in the U.K. this summer, the Manchester Evening News reported today. No dates have yet been announced.

The Smiths' Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke up to something with 5th member Craig Gannon

The Smiths’ Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke up to something with 5th member Craig Gannon

It appears that Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, the rhythm section of The Smiths, are planning something — a concert? a full tour? — this year with Craig Gannon, the onetime Aztec Camera member who toured with The Smiths as a second guitarist toward the end of the band’s life.

Watch: R.E.M.'s Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills reunite to benefit Scott McCaughey

Watch: R.E.M.’s Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills reunite to benefit Scott McCaughey

Three-quarters of R.E.M. — Peter Buck, Mike Mills and drummer-turned-farmer Bill Berry — reunited onstage tonight in Portland, Ore., at the second of two benefit concerts for Scott McCaughey, the longtime R.E.M. sideman who suffered a stroke in November. See video from the reunion performances here.

The Stray Cats to reunite for first performance since 2009 at Las Vegas rockabilly festival

The Stray Cats to reunite for first performance since 2009 at Las Vegas rockabilly festival

The Stray Cats, the high-octane rockabilly trio that became an unlikely New Wave-era breakout in the early 1980s, will reunite for the first time in nine years this April to perform at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, guitarist/frontman Brian Setzer announced this week. The band will play on April 21.

Watch: Kendra Smith reunites with The Dream Syndicate onstage in Los Angeles

Watch: Kendra Smith reunites with The Dream Syndicate onstage in Los Angeles

As promised, Paisley Underground-era rockers The Dream Syndicate last night reunited onstage in Los Angeles with former bandmate Kendra Smith, who left the group after playing bass and singing on its acclaimed 1982 debut The Days of Wine and Roses. Watch the decades-in-the-making performance here.