Category: Hard Rock
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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 a prominent and much loved place (not that they know it) in my Beginner’s Guide…
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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) I read every issue from cover to cover. And I would look forward to the…
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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 almost seems rude not to nail my colours to the mast and tell you what…
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Movember: Rock’s Top Ten Greatest Moustaches of the Eighties
What are the Greatest Moustaches in Rock? November has become a slightly frightening time of year for men everywhere. A very worthy campaign has swept the nation in the last few years encouraging people to grow hair on the upper slopes of their faces during the month to help raise awareness and highlight the fight…
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Ratt v Crüe: Who’s best?
I like Motley Crue. I like Ratt. But which is best? There’s only one way to find out….. Actually, it’s a pretty easy question isn’t it? (no – it’s not “neither”). Not only have Motley Crue sold millions, they have had at least two books in the best-seller lists and have had far more cultural…
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Hysteria – A Look Back on the 25th Anniversary of Def Leppard’s Second Best Album…
It seems incredible that Def Leppard’s Hysteria album is twenty-five years old. I might have yoghurt in my fridge that is older than that. I bought it on the day of release. It was the first album (lead singer Joe Elliott told us at the time) that was made for CD rather than vinyl, clocking…
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Led Zeppelin: What’s The Most Famous Song You’ve Never Heard?
The trouble with writing about Led Zeppelin is that maybe it has all been said. Mud sharks and groupies? Read Hammer of the Gods. Alastair Crowley? Read When Giants Walked The Earth by Mick Wall. The insidious influence of their music on your children? Read Raising PG Kids in an X Rated Society by Tipper…
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Bret Michaels: Every Rose Has It’s….
Former Poison frontman, 2010 Celebrity Apprentice winner and standard bearer for international women’s rights Bret Michaels has announced he is releasing a star-studded new album in September. Having apparently tired of being reality TV‘s most compelling spokesperson for feminism in his show Bret Michael’s Lick My Love Pump Rock of Love it’s good to see him…
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Magnum Overlooked by Glee Again..
Magnum are one of Britain’s finest AOR rock bands. I saw them many times in the eighties. And the Magnum name popped up recently when I least expected it. “My uncle is in a band”. Usually when friends or work colleagues say that sort of thing they go on to describe a trumpet player in…
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R.I.P Jon Lord
When we were young, my friends and I would talk for hours about who would be in The Greatest Ever Band. The Best Drummer discussion would often be between And The position of Best Guitarist was always hotly contested… But when it came to Keyboards, there was never any argument. Because Jon Lord…
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Hard Rock Calling: Soundgarden, Iggy and Rain…
Soundgarden – live at Hyde Park’s Hard Rock Calling Festival Without a doubt, the best thing to have come out of the dreadful weather that the UK has nearly drowned in during this ridiculous excuse for a summer (or as it will become known, the Great Hosepipe Ban of 2012) is the cancellation of Wednesday’s…
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What’s The Best Souvenir You Have Taken From A Gig?
Grabbing a souvenir from a gig is one of life’s rare pleasures. Oh sure – you can go to the merchandise stall at the back of the hall and pick up a Black Sabbath tea towel or Iron Maiden cutlery set or whatever they sell nowadays, but getting something for nothing is where it’s at.…
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In and Out of Love with Bon Jovi
So where do you stand on Bon Jovi? It’s always pretty cool to be first amongst your friends to be into a new band. Bloggers love new stuff – there are thousands of new music sites out there ensuring no stone is left unturned in our constant quest for something new, something different and original.…
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Rock of Ages: Here We Go Again
So where do you stand on Rock of Ages? A bunch of ‘80s rock tunes crow-barred into an unfeasible story, with way too much hairspray and make up? Hmmm. But then it worked with Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime… What could possibly go wrong? With Def Leppard having re-recorded their classic song Rock of Ages (from Pyromania)…
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Rush – Why Moving Pictures is one of Rock’s Greatest Albums
Moving Pictures is Rush’s finest album. With the Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary fresh in our minds and a great (it really is – their best since Hold Your Fire to my ears) new album, Chocolate Orange Clockwork Angels just released, there has never been a better time to delve into Rush’s past. There’s certainly…
Every record tells a story 