Every Record Tells A Story
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Band of Horses: Live at The Troxy
In the midst of Storm Doris last night, Band of Horses braved the wild winds of East London and The Troxy in support of their latest album “Why Are You OK”. Band of Horses are five albums in to their career, so it’s probable you will know all about them, but for those who are…
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The Brit Awards 2017: Chris Martin Pays Tribute To George Michael.
It’s the biggest night of the year for British Music… There’s something about The Brits that can bring out the worst in people. Some watch The Brit Awards the way paparazzi watch for wardrobe malfunctions. They wait with bated breath for the moment that Madonna is pulled off stage by her cape, for Sam Fox…
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The Grammys 2017: Adele Apologises and CeeLo does Doctor Who
The 59th Grammy Awards lit up our world once again on Sunday. Didn’t it? Known in recent years as a breeding ground for a myriad of controversies, including celebrity disses (e.g. Taylor Swift v Kanye), stage-storming (Kanye, 50 Cent) boycotts (Kanye again, Will Smith, Public Enemy), domestic violence (Rihanna / Chris Brown), forgiveness of homophobia…
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Rory Gallagher’s Music Lives On: Michael Katon’s New Tribute
It has been nearly 22 years since Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher last plugged a Stratocaster into a Fender amp and made it sing. But this week, an American bluesman with Irish roots will release a tribute to Rory Gallagher. Michael Katon hails from Hell, Michigan, and has had a colourful career, from being a Kerrang!…
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The Night Rory Gallagher Broke Belfast’s Musical Drought
Jimi Hendrix was once asked how it felt to be the world’s greatest guitarist. He replied: ‘I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher’.” Belfast, New Year’s Day 1972. Forty five years ago. There hadn’t been a rock concert played in Belfast for six months. Bands had stopped playing dates in Belfast. In July 1971 3,000…
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A Brief History of The Beatles
Last week we published a Beatles Playlist of songs compiled by Every Record Tells A Story readers which we hope will persuade my friend, a Sceptical Swede that The Beatles are actually a half-decent band. In case you missed it, my friend, code-named Agaton, finds Lennon and McCartney’s singing as annoying as he does the…
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Five Years….
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Every Record Tells A Story. I know. When you read some of the jokes it seems like so much longer doesn’t it? Much has happened since those first baby steps, so if you will indulge me, I thought I would have a brief wallow in the past, look at…
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The Ultimate Beatles Playlist (For People Who Don’t Like The Beatles)
In the last blog post, I introduced you to a friend from Sweden named Agaton who told me he had always found The Beatles’ music irritating. He asked me to come up with a playlist of Beatles tunes he would like – or at least that wouldn’t set his teeth on edge – in return…
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Please Please Help! Build A Beatles Playlist For Someone Who “Doesn’t Like The Beatles”
I was catching up with a friend recently when he delivered something of a bolt from the blue. With a voice that appeared as nonchalant as that of a serial killer’s he confessed, without apparent shame, that he didn’t like The Beatles. You can imagine my consternation. My friend grew up in Sweden, not that…
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A Look Back At Pink Floyd’s First Gig At Pompeii…in 70BC
Today is the 2,087th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s first show, when they played the opening ceremony of the Amphitheatre at Pompeii. Seeing Floyd play the inaugural gig there (they opened the set with the Latin-named “Astronomy Domine”) must have been fascinating back in 70 BC. Although, of course, they were known back then as…
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2016 Be Damned! Let’s Celebrate The Life of Rick Parfitt
The best Rick Parfitt and Status Quo tale (or tail) I have heard is about the time Status Quo were touring Australia in the mid eighties, and their tour bus hit a kangaroo. They stopped the bus to check on the hapless creature, only to find it had hopped it’s last hop. It isn’t recorded…
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Bowie, Bublé and Bieber: The Legends of Music in 2016 – A Review of the Year
In any review of 2016 it is going to be a challenge to avoid mention of the mounting number of musicians who decided to shuffle off this mortal coil and, as Shakespeare or someone of that ilk put it, took a Stairway to Heaven, or indeed a Highway to Hell. At times the year rather…
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The Every Record Tells A Story Albums of 2016
2016 may have been one of the most abysmal years in recent memory, beginning with David Bowie’s passing, continuing with the rise of nationalism and fascism across the world, and ending with my sitting down with the family to watch David Attenborough’s Planet Earth on BBC1 and traumatising my kids as the cameras followed a…
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Teenage Fanclub: Live at The Electric Ballroom
It is something of a mystery, akin to that of why men have nipples, as to quite why Teenage Fanclub have not set the world alight in quite the same way as some lesser bands. From the moment Raymond McGinley sold his fridge to pay for the recording costs of their debut single, surely great…
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A Visit To Abbey Road Studios
Wednesday 6th June 1962. 6pm. The first visit of The Beatles to the EMI Studios in Abbey Road. John, Paul, George and Pete were still unsigned, and their equipment was shabby: wooden unpainted amplifiers, generating as much noise – according to the studio employees – as the instruments themselves. The Beatles recorded four songs: Besame…
Every record tells a story 