Music Features, Spotlights
by Andrew Burgess
According to a statement on her website, Poly Styrene, front woman for the archetypal punk band X-Ray Spex, passed away on the evening of 25th April, after battling cancer. A post to Styrene’s Twitter account…
by Jude Clarke
The journey taken by Green Gartside and his band Scritti Politti over the last five decades has been quite a remarkable one. From a genuine, bona fide squat-dwelling political post-punk anarchist at the tail end...
by Dan Marner
With the announcement of John Barry’sdeath on 31st January 2011, the door has closed not only on one of the most accomplished and illustrious careers in cinema history, but on an entire world of musical...
by Ben Hogwood
The announcement of the death of Gary Moore was received with widespread shock and sadness when it was made public on Sunday 6th February. The keen sense of loss was perhaps summed up by Bob...
by Dan Marner
Disbelief, shock and immense sadness greeted the news that broke last Friday morning, 14 January 2011. Trish Keenan, lead singer and primary creative force in the band Broadcast, had died from complications with pneumonia, contracted...
by Daniel Paton
Whilst Solomon Burke will justly be remembered for his committed, powerful soul voice, singing was not necessarily his prime vocation. He described himself as “a Preacher first and an entertainer second”. Burke’s grandmother Eleanor belonged...
by Nic Oliver
In common with other great British institutions, Robbie Williams has been hovering around our media-saturated lives for a lot longer than many of us realise. As the man himself nears his 40s there are a...
by Andrew Burgess
When discussing the post-punk musical landscape of the early ’80s, it’s impossible to overlook Orange Juice. Fronted by Edwyn Collins and his somehow confident and self-deprecating creeping croon, this group of Glasgow misfits laid the...
by Darren Harvey
There are many well-known tales of events which changed the course of musical history: Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads; Bob Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival; and so on. But...
by Neil Dowden
2010 is proving to be a year of resurrection for the Rolling Stones. May saw the expanded reissue of their masterpiece Exile On Main Street. Now comes restored and remastered DVD/Blu-ray versions of the notoriously...
by Tom Jowett
Giant Sand, or more precisely Howe Gelb, is one of those artists who should have delivered more than what was initially promised. Twenty-five years ago, Valley Of Rain was released to critical acclaim, with many...
by Andrew Burgess
1979 signalled the beginning of three dark and tumultuous years for Birmingham’s Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne had been fired, drummer Bill Ward battled constantly with nearly crippling alcoholism and was eventually let go, and replacement...
by MusicOMH
Another year, another Morrissey album. Years Of Refusal is his 30th in an extraordinary 25-year career, if you include all The Smiths‘ releases, his solo output and live albums and compilations. Len Brown, a former...
by Nic Oliver
As the first four Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds albums get the remastering treatment, what do these works tell us about their chief creator a quarter of a century on?
by Shawn Fitzgerald
It’s hard to believe, though true, that the entire Beatles catalogue has only seen one previous CD release, and that was back in 1987. But that’s all changing, and in the biggest possible way. Given...
by Ben Hogwood
Approximately 240 albums were submitted as entrants for this year’s Mercury Prize, an indication perhaps of the effect a nomination can have on sales and kudos for the act involved. Yet the awards are never...
by Michael Hubbard
Bella Union is a special record label. If you’re a music fan, chances are you already know this. It is an independent, headed by former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde. His firm is 10 years old....
by James Buckley
Shoegaze, says Wikipedia, “is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s, peaking circa 1990 to 1991.” Maps‘ Mercury nomination this year...
by Jenni Cole
Arthur Lee, lead singer of the band Love, died peacefully in his sleep in Memphis on the afternoon of 3rd August, 2006 from complications arising from leukaemia. He was 61. He leaves a wife of...
by Steve Malins
As their first biography is published ahead of a huge tour and DVD release, Duran Duran’s biographer Steve Malins charts the lavishly bumpy life of the Notorious Wild Boys… When Duran Duran had withered down...
by Helen Wright
Richard Hawley is finally coming into his own. With a move to Mute and a showcase gig for an invited audience, it’s surely (finally) possible to talk about Hawley other than by referring to his...
JW Francis – Dream House
