Lynyrd Skynyrd canceled a string of concerts after learning guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19.

“Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment,” the band wrote Saturday on Facebook. “We will continue to update you on his condition.”
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The four affected dates are Canton, Ohio (Aug. 9); Jackson, Miss. (Aug. 10); Atlanta (Aug. 13) and Cullman, Ala. (Aug. 14). The Atlanta date is “being rescheduled” for Oct. 23, and the group’s next show is currently booked for Aug. 19 in Canandaigua, N.Y.

Brian May teased that Queen are “looking at ideas” for a possible Bohemian Rhapsody sequel, but he admitted “it’s going to be hard to follow” the Oscar-winning 2018 movie.

The guitarist revealed that news during an Instagram Live chat (via NME), noting that the original’s massive success has only added to the challenge of making a follow-up.

“None of us could have predicted how massive that was going to be,” he said. “We put a lot of heart and soul into making it, and no one could have predicted [its success], as it was bigger than Gone With the Wind. But yes, we are thinking maybe it could happen, but it would have to be a great script. It’s going to take a while to figure that out.”

This somewhat optimistic tone marks a shift in May’s thinking compared to May 2020, when he told Rolling Stone, “We don’t really think there’s another movie there. That’s the long and the short of it. … There are other ideas that we had, but I don’t think a sequel will happen. But we have looked at it pretty seriously.”

May added that Queen weren’t interested in a film focused on Freddie Mercury’s final years, when he battled HIV/AIDS. “I don’t think that would be an uplifting thing to do,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, because there is a great story there, but we don’t feel that’s the story we want to tell at the moment.”
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Exploring a possible sequel is understandable: Despite its mixed critical reception, Bohemian Rhapsody earned more than $900 million worldwide and received four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Rami Malek as Mercury.

Producer Giles Martin has recently overseen the release of a series of newly remixed and expanded box sets devoted to some of the Beatles' most beloved later albums. But don't expect him to dig further back into four track-era gems like 1965's Rubber Soul or 1966's Revolver anytime soon.

The technology, he says, isn't there yet.

​"That's a good example of, 'How do we do that?'" Martin told Rolling Stone. "How do I make sure that John [Lennon] or Paul [McCartney]'s vocal isn't just in the right-hand speaker, but also make sure that his guitar doesn't follow him if I put it in the center?"

Martin began experimenting with new software at Abbey Road Studios that might help while completing 2016's remix of The Beatles: Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The original tapes, which Giles' late father George Martin oversaw for release in 1977, had guitars and voices on the same track. Crowd noise was also mixed at distractingly high levels.

The younger Martin used this emerging technology to basically reverse engineer a new stereo mix by decoupling the individual elements on the old audio tracks with multiple participants. Unfortunately, the process is not yet to the point where Martin would feel comfortable trying to make similar separations in the quieter, more controlled setting of a studio recording.

"I took the crowd [noise] off and and then I sort of put the crowd back on again," Martin said. "With the source-separation software, I need to make absolutely sure that it does no harm to the audio whatsoever. With things like Hollywood Bowl, to be honest, the audio is pretty cruddy anyway. So it was actually making the audio sound better, because I was reducing the screaming. I think if you compare it to the Hollywood Bowl release my dad had to work through in the '70s, it's far better."

The earliest Beatles sessions were recorded the same way, with studio performances blended onto a single track in order to take advantage of the limited tape space provided back then. On George Harrison's "Taxman," for instance, "the guitar, the bass and drums are all on one track," Martin noted. "That's why the record is basically on the left-hand side, and then there’s a shaker on the right-hand side of the center."

Top-down remixes of Rubber Soul and Revolver will have to wait, he said, until each of those things can be given its own individual platform.

"Despite the constant requests I get on Twitter or whatever to do these albums," Martin added, "I want to make sure that we can do a good job and do a beneficial job. You've got to make sure that you're doing things at the right time for the technology."

In the meantime, Martin is updating the Dolby Atmos version of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which debuted in June on Apple Music. That particular mix was done as part of a theatrical presentation, and Martin wants to adapt it for home and headphone listening.

Following the death of his bandmate Dusty Hill, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons has opened up about his friend's health struggles in the last years of his life, saying that it was "no secret" that Hill was dealing with some issues, including a dislocated shoulder, broken hip and ulcers.

"He’s been kind of tiptoeing through keeping himself ship-shape, best he could," Gibbons told Variety. "But I think that this was a real challenge. And by throwing in the towel, it might’ve caught up with him. Who knows? I’m just glad he’s in a good spot."
The news of Hill's death came just a few days after the recent launch of a ZZ Top tour — the band had played two shows when Hill requested a dismissal, citing health reasons.

"Of course I said, 'Hey, man, health is number one. Go do your thing,'" Gibbons recalled telling him. "And I could tell through those first two valiant attempts, if he’s not giving it 110%, he was the first one to kind of say, 'Gee whiz. Let’s go take care of this.'"
In 2016 and 2017, ZZ Top had to postpone or cancel tour dates due to Hill's health issues, but this time, according to Gibbons, Hill insisted that the band continue touring during his absence. "He was adamant," Gibbons remembered, noting that Hill himself appointed ZZ Top guitar technician Elwood Francis to play in his place. "He said, 'I’m going to go down and see what’s up. In the meantime,' he said, 'the show must go on. Don’t forget it.' And he was pointing his finger and shaking it."

At the moment, the exact cause of Hill's death remains undetermined, though it's been reported the bassist passed in his sleep. "Let’s face it, you don’t necessarily pass away from a broken shoulder or broken hip," Gibbons said. "Although the attending physician had earlier warned him that bursitis was not uncommon, even arthritis, and they said it’s not a very comfortable place to be. And I could tell that he was moving a little slow. He said, 'Boy, this shoulder and hip are really starting to become a problem.' But, as of this juncture, yeah, it was off to dreamland and beyond."

Moving forward, Francis will continue to serve as Hill's replacement as the band resumes its rescheduled tour, which will go into 2022. The band performed its first show last night since Hill's death, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "Got a new guy up here, as you know," Gibbons said from the stage. "Dusty gave me the directive. My friend, your pal, Elwood Francis is gonna hold it down behind me.