June 2003. As I was carried above the heads and outstretched hands of an ecstatic Brixton Academy audience, (hoping no-one would a) grab me in a delicate place b) drop me or c) pick my pocket) crowd-surfing for the first… Read More ›
Hard Rock
A Look At The Haunting And Sensitive Poetry of… Whitesnake
Whitesnake. Fronted by David Coverdale, and best known for their eighties videos featuring Coverdale’s then-girlfriend, the actress Tawny Kitaen who fetchingly writhed on Coverdale’s car whilst risking catching her death of cold by not wearing very much. All shaggy flowing… Read More ›
Kings X – This Band Was Once The Future Of Rock
Twenty five years ago – on March 28 1988, Kings X released their debut album Out Of The Silent Planet out into a very noisy world. The majority of the planet was busy making lots of noise, and has still… Read More ›
Steven Tyler: “Like An Au Pair Girl Doing The Hoovering”
When Aerosmith had toured the UK in 1976 they hadn’t gone down well. The gigs were promoted with the slogan “Hey Britain, wake up! This is America’s greatest rock n roll band!” Britain, of course loves to be told that… Read More ›
Aerosmith: That “Difficult Eighth Album”
The re-birth of Aerosmith in the late eighties appeared to happen overnight. However, Done With Mirrors was the comeback album that didn’t quite get them where they wanted to be. It took a couple of attempts before the nation was… Read More ›
When Rock Star Wives Fight: How Aerosmith Broke Up Over Spilled Milk And Room Service Bills
Aerosmith‘s 2012 “comeback” album Music From Another Dimension! received very mixed reviews. (When I say “mixed”, that’s a euphemism for “it was widely dismissed by the critics”). Perry and Tyler appeared on the Jonathan Ross chat show in the UK… Read More ›
An Alternative Best of Aerosmith Playlist
With 2013 now a month old, it feels were are overdue a new Aerosmith Best Of / Compilation album. Aerosmith Greatest Hits CDs are almost as numerous as Iron Maiden live albums, Mariah Carey tantrums or former members of The… Read More ›
Sorry, Frampton Comes Alive, But The Best Album of 1976 Was Aerosmith’s Rocks
As expected, Aerosmith‘s ‘Rocks’ did not feature heavily in the BBC’s The Great Album Showdown – a show that sought to identify the Finest Rock Album of All Time. Yet in my estimation it was certainly worthy of a second… Read More ›
Band Origins Told In Song: Aerosmith’s No Surprize
One of Aerosmith‘s most under-rated songs is No Surprize, from the 1979 Night In The Ruts album. It brilliantly tells the story of how the band got together and became successful. For that reason – and given this blog is… Read More ›
David Lee Roth’s Just Like Paradise is 25 Years Old Today. How Old Does That Make You Feel?
The 21st January 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Skyscraper – David Lee Roth‘s second solo album following his acrimonious split from Van Halen. I mention this just in case you weren’t feeling old enough already. Given… Read More ›
Was This The Most Disastrous Magazine Photo Shoot Ever?
Seattle… What a scene that was. Those bands. Brings back memories of wall-of sound guitars played by long haired sensitive rockers who wore embarrassing make up in photos. Eh? Did I lose you on the make up thing? Sorry. Nirvana?… Read More ›
Are Blue Öyster Cult Rock’s Most Barking Mad Band (Or Just The Shortest?)
In my last article, I introduced you to some of Rock’s Greatest Song Titles – all by Blue Oyster Cult. 1988’s Imaginos was my first full BÖC album – an entirely bonkers concept album about… I have no idea –… Read More ›
The Top Ten Best Song Titles – Blue Öyster Cult Special
2012 was the 40th anniversary of the release of the first album by Blue Öyster Cult. Blue Öyster Cult: a band who (importantly) pioneered the use of superfluous umlauts above rock bands’ names (see Mötorhead, Mötley Crüe, Queensryche) – hold… Read More ›
Albums of the Year! From 25 Years Ago! What Were They Thinking?!
Did you used to look forward to magazine end of year best-of lists? The magazine I bought every week when I was a teenager was Kerrang! magazine – and (true to form for someone of the highest geekery such as myself)… Read More ›
The Top Ten Records of 2012
The Ten Best records of 2012? Growing up in the eighties, you didn’t hear much about end of year best-of lists, but now, like reality TV shows featuring people I have never heard of, they appear to be everywhere. It… Read More ›
