Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Billy Idol and many others are joining a supergroup to play Sex Pistols and Lou Reed albums live for the ‘Above Ground’ gig.
Above Ground is a charity concert organised by Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and Billy Morrison. The latter is part of Idol’s live band. The duo have officially announced the third installment of their ‘Above Ground’ gigs.
Among the others, the line-up includes Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Billy Idol, Jane’s Addiction Perry Farrell and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
The albums honoured on the night
The artists are going to revisit and perform albums Never Mind The B*******, Here’s The Sex Pistols and Transformer.
Navarro and Morrison have also explained the reasons why they chose these two albums for the “Above Ground” concert series.
They claimed that Never Mind The B*******, Here’s The Sex Pistols is “the one that changed everything.” “Something shifted forever inside us” when they first heard Sex Pistols’ 1977 album.
Lou Reed’s 1972 solo LP Transformer introduced many to transgendered people through the hit song Walk on the Wild Side. The duo said that this is a “groundbreaking album that tore some barriers down. It’s an unnecessarily tough subject now, so imagine Lou Reed in the 70’s addressing sexuality and gender.” They affirmed that the record influenced “the realization and education of gender and fluidity, and all the imagery that went along with that in the ’70’s.” Moreover, they declared that this is what they are trying to do with the subject of mental health and Above Ground.
The history of the ‘Above Ground’ Benefit
This isn’t the first time Navarro and Morrison collaborate for a good cause. Their collaboration for the project ‘Above Ground’ Benefit began in 2018 and continued in 2019. In fact, in 2018 they recreated Adam and the Ants’ Kings of the Wild Frontier and Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico. In 2019 they performed David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars; they also played the Stooges self-titled album.
Unfortunately, the project had to stop in 2020 due to Covid pandemic. Now, the duo is ready to come back!
The gig is going to take place on December 20th at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California. Corey Taylor, Perry Farrell, Etty Lau Farrell, Billy Idol, Tayor Hawkins, Mark McGrath, Steve Stevens, Franky Perez and other guests still to be announced are the stars that are going to perform on stage with the duo. The supergroup will donate the money raised to MusiCares. In fact, this is a non-profit organization that is part of the Grammy ‘s working to help to raise awareness for mental health and other issues.
