From Planet Rock.
Journey have announced three new additions to their line-up following the firing of long serving bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith in March.
Neal Schon took to Twitter over the weekend to confirm that former bassist Randy Jackson has returned to the Journey fold and Narada Michael Walden drafted in as the new drummer, and Jason Derlatka joining as an additional keyboardist and vocalist.
“Ok Friends word is out! @randyjackson RJ the Big Dawg is our new Bass player again,” Neal Schon wrote.
“Narada Michael Walden is our new drummer. Multi-talented songwriter/producer, Mahavishnu Orchestra. The J Boyz will have a new strut.”
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Journey’s Randy Jackson
He added: “Journey is an ever-changing unstoppable force. This is a completely new chapter for us and can’t wait to get to it!”
A prolific musician and producer who has worked with a vast array of artists, Randy Jackson played bass with Journey from 1985 to 1987 and he contributed to one studio album – April 1986’s ‘Raised On Radio.’
He has also worked in music production and as A&R at Columbia Records and MCA Records, but is perhaps best known for being a longterm judge on US talent show American Idol.
The new six-strong incarnation of Journey made their debut with a socially distanced rendition of their signature tune ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ on Saturday night for the UNICEF Won’t Stop fundraiser concert.
Neal Schon wrote on Instagram afterwards: “We were so happy to be involved with @unicef with all the amazing artists, for such a great cause thank you @merck_mercuriadis
welcome to our Journey family @randyjackson @officialnarada and @jason_derlatka.”
Ross Valery and Steve Smith were booted out of Journey in highly acrimonious circumstances in March for allegedly a instigating a “malicious and very ill-conceived” coup attempt to take control of the Journey name and one of their businesses Nightmare Productions.
Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain’s representatives told Rolling Stone at the time: “The Journeya name is controlled by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. And for very good cause, they don’t want to perform with Smith or Valory anymore, they don’t want to have anything to do with them, and that’s their right.
“They’re going to go on with Journey, continue with the great success of the past and these two guys are going to get replaced.”
Valory countersued Schon and Cain last month, calling the allegations “baseless.”
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- Journey - Captured + Inners, Poster & Obi - Japanese - 2-LP vinyl set - £75.00, $94.50, €90.75 (New Item) (arrived 20-Feb-2025 17:00)on February 22, 2025 at 10:43 pm
JOURNEY Captured (1981 Japanese 17-track double album 2-LP, housed in a deluxe gatefold picture sleeve with picture inners, lyric insert, sleevenotes insert, picture obi-strip & bonus fold-out colour poster. The packaging shows very little of its age and the vinyl discs appear near mint 40AP2001~2)
- Journey - Captured + Inners, Poster & Obi - Japanese - 2-LP vinyl set - £75.00, $94.50, €90.75 (New Item) (arrived 20-Feb-2025 13:54)on February 22, 2025 at 10:43 pm
JOURNEY Captured (1981 Japanese 17-track double album 2-LP, housed in a deluxe gatefold picture sleeve with picture inners, lyric insert, sleevenotes insert, picture obi-strip & bonus fold-out colour poster. The packaging shows very little of its age and the vinyl discs appear near mint 40AP2001~2)
- Journey - Next - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.90, €18.15 (New Item) (arrived 07-Dec-2024 18:00)on February 22, 2025 at 10:43 pm
JOURNEY Next (Original 1977 UK sunburst CBS label 8-track LP, picture sleeve. The sleeve is Excellent with just the odd minor paper mark & the vinyl still looks barely played)
- Journey - Next - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.90, €18.15 (New Item) (arrived 07-Dec-2024 14:35)on February 22, 2025 at 10:43 pm
JOURNEY Next (Original 1977 UK sunburst CBS label 8-track LP, picture sleeve. The sleeve is Excellent with just the odd minor paper mark & the vinyl still looks barely played)
- Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) + P/S - UK - 12" vinyl - £25.00, $31.50, €30.25 (New Item) (arrived 30-Oct-2024 18:00)on February 22, 2025 at 10:43 pm
JOURNEY Separate Ways [Worlds Apart] (1983 UK limited edition 3-track 12" vinyl single, also featuring 'Only Solutions (Extended)' & 'Frontiers'. The picture sleeve [with 'Seperate' misspelling on the front] shows a little corner wear & the vinyl is Excellent with light signs of play. Now tricky to find A13-3077)
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