Classic Rock is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, and Van Halen amongst its most prominent cover stars. As well as veteran rock artists, Classic Rock also covers modern rock bands and releases, with Alter Bridge, Rival Sons, Halestorm, Ghost, Blackberry Smoke and the Struts amongst the younger artists to have appeared on its cover in recent years.[1][2]
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 Cover of the December 2024 issue, featuring Van Halen | |
| Editor | Editor: Siân Llewellyn Reviews editor: Ian Fortnam Deputy editor: Polly Glass Online editor: Fraser Lewry |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music magazine |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Future |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1464-7834 |
Publication history
editClassic Rock was launched by Dennis Publishing in 1998. It was sold to Future in 2000, then sold again to start-up publishing company Team Rock in April 2013.[3] Following the collapse of Team Rock in December 2016, Future bought back the magazine and its website in January 2017.[4]
On 27 March 2018, Future re-launched Classic Rock and its sister magazines Metal Hammer and Prog under the umbrella title of Louder.[5]
Brand extensions
editSpecial editions
editClassic Rock has published numerous special editions, including magazines dedicated solely to Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses and others.[6] Classic Rock's sister publication, Prog, was originally issued as a Classic Rock Presents one-shot magazine in 2009 before being launched as a separate, full-time title soon after. Other off-shoots of the publication included The Blues magazine, which ran from 2012 to 2016, while Classic Rock Presents AOR ran for 13 issues between 2010 and 2014.[7]
Fan packs
editIn 2010, Classic Rock partnered with Roadrunner Records to publish Classic Rock Presents: Slash, featuring a special edition magazine dedicated to then-former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and packaged with a copy of his debut solo album. The partnership marked the first time a major album was released exclusively with a magazine publisher ahead of general release. Classic Rock subsequently released official 'fan packs' with Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, Def Leppard and Rush amongst others. The magazine released a second fan pack with Slash in 2012 for his album Apocalyptic Love.[8]
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards
editBetween 2005 and 2016, Classic Rock hosted the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour - an annual awards ceremony celebrating the achievements of some of rock music's biggest icons. Held in London annually, winners at the Roll Of Honour Awards over the years included Lemmy Kilmister, Alice Cooper, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, ZZ Top, Gregg Allman, Queen and more.[9][10][11]
The 20 Million Club
editIn July 2020, Classic Rock launched The 20 Million Club podcast.[12] Hosted by British broadcaster Nicky Horne with guests from the Classic Rock team, the podcast analyses the biggest-selling albums of all time, with two seasons produced as of November 2022[update].
Notable contributors
editReferences
edit- ^ "Blackberry Smoke - Check out the new issue of Classic Rock Magazine! They did a special feature on us and other rockin' artists for 'The Class of 2015'". Facebook. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Alter Bridge: The rise and rise of rock's reluctant superstars - only in Classic Rock". Louder. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ McCabe, Maisie (2 April 2013). "Former GMG execs buy Classic Rock and Metal Hammer for £10.2m". Campaign UK. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Future acquires Team Rock's Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog brands". InPublishing. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "About Louder". Louder. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Classic Rock Bookazines 1506 (Sampler) by Future PLC". 24 July 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2022 – via Issuu.com.
- ^ "Classic Rock celebrates AOR with special issue". InPublishing. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ Parker, Matthew (3 May 2012). "See inside the Classic Rock Presents: Slash Apocalyptic Love Fan Pack". MusicRadar. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ Vinnicombe, Chris; published, Tom Porter (11 November 2010). "Classic Rock Roll Of Honour award winners - the full list". MusicRadar. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Brian May - Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards 2015". brianmay.com. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ Lach, Stef (11 November 2016). "Jeff Beck, Joe Perry and All-Star Band triumph at Classic Rock Awards in Tokyo". Louder. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "The 20 Million Club". Spotify. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
External links
edit- Official website
- Welcome to the Classic Rock Archive (archived 17 July 2011)