Last week, Mike Campbell, the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man, released a second single from his forthcoming Wreckless Abandon album. Campbell debuted “Fuck That Guy” at a show in California earlier this year, saying that he co-wrote it with current country icon Chris Stapleton.
“He said, ‘I got an idea for a song but I don’t have any words yet. I just got one phrase,’” Campbell said at the show. Needless to say, that phrase was the profane title. Mike went on to admit that he could totally relate to that phrase. “At least three times during my day, I have to go, you know, ‘Fuck that guy!’”
The song is very heavy on Lance Morrison’s bass and lyrics about the types of people Campbell can’t stand, like people who dress similarly to Charles Dickens, and that creepy, possible pedophile “lurking around the high school.”
The rest of the album releases Nov. 20, and if you enjoy it enough, or simply want to support the legacy of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Campbell’s new band, The Dirty Knobs, are their tour at Tampa’s Orpheum on Sept. 9, 2021, nearly a year and a half after the originally announced date of April 28 of this year. This is the third time the band’s rescheduled this show—hopefully this time’s the charm.
This isn’t the first time a Heartbreaker—or Mike, for that matter, has been in Tampa since Petty’s death. Drummer Steve Ferrone made a 2018 appearance with the Dire Straits Legacy in St. Petersburg, and Campbell jammed with most of Fleetwood Mac last year.
Tickets to see Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs at Tampa Orpheum in Ybor City, Florida on Sept. 9, 2020 are on sale now and cost $29 via eventbrite.com. All attendees under the age of 18 must be with a guardian.
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