Every Record Tells A Story
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The Strange Journey of Richard Hawley: All Saints, Morrissey and Robbie Williams
It has all been pretty much plain sailing for Richard Hawley, hasn’t it? Two Mercury Prize nominations, a string of gorgeous albums, cameo appearances with Arctic Monkeys, Elbow and Soul Savers…a life free of turbulence and incident? If only. That’s what you might think if you just heard the likes of “I Still Want…
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An Alternative best of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Has it really been twenty five years since Stevie Ray Vaughan died? Sadly yes. One of the greatest guitar players of any generation died on 27 August 1990 after the helicopter that was carrying him went down in fog, killing all on board. In the UK the newspaper headlines told me “Eric Clapton Helicopter Crash”…
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Sweet Billy Pilgrim At 93 Feet East: Review
It’s a crazy world we live in. For example, egotistical celebrities known for the craziest rants and most bizarre behaviour are filling our TV screens announcing they are running for President of the USA. Crazy. But that’s enough about Donald Trump. More baffling and crazy even than the behaviour of the likes of Trump, Kanye…
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What If Bowie Had Written Novels Instead of Songs?
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if your favourite singers and bands had become writers rather than musicians? At first glance, the idea of a Harley-in-a-hotel-riding-hell-raising rock star even reading a good book, never mind writing one, is a bit like expecting Joey Essex to know what would happen if he put his…
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Reading Festival, Bad News and Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts…
As one of the UK’s most established festivals, The Reading Festival is not, as some overseas observers may assume, a place where noted authors gather with their literary chums to swap notes on the trickier passages of Ulysses and enjoy a bookish shindig.* Indeed, some observers note that the only bookish types present are the…
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The Search For Authenticity in Rock: Here’s A Cinderella Story…
One band’s quest for authenticity in the unlikliest place – the genre of glam metal: The Story of Tom Keifer’s Cinderella
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Half Year Report: The Best Albums of 2015 So Far part 2
…and another release from 2014 that I missed first time around. Whilst I know that many regular readers of Every Record Tells A Story are inexplicably somehow content to suffer through the odd turgid story of trawling record fairs, or hearing about bands that recorded their last meaningful record four decades ago, there is still…
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Half Year Report: The Best Albums of 2015 So Far Part 1
…and a couple of releases from 2014 that I missed first time around. Do you remember how you felt when you had to take your school report home to your parents? Would they pick up on Mrs McHugh’s scathing sarcasm about your general inattentiveness, or Mr Hepworth’s comment around feeling there was “more to come”…
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Thirty Years Ago Today: Live Aid
They were stricken, desperate and no one could save them. We had never before seen such desperation on our TV screens. But that’s enough about Led Zeppelin’s performance at Live Aid, let’s talk about the day itself. It was the day that a scruffy, sweary Irishman entered our homes and demanded money, something that many…
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Stop The World: It’s #NewMusicFriday
Today, Friday, July 10 marks the start of a major “paradigm shift” in the global release schedule for new albums. Probably. That’s right, the music world has been rocked on its axis by the Earth-shattering news that records, CDs and downloads will now be released on a Friday instead of a Monday in the UK.…
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The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson: A New Film By Julien Temple
“We were on the up and up…. …and then…. ….Cancer. “ Wilko Johnson, at last night’s premiere of “The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson” “The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson” is a new documentary, directed by Julien Temple, which tells the extraordinary story of the last three years in the life of former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko…
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The Jam: A New London Exhibition
All About The Young Idea: A Somerset House Exhibition All About The Jam If you are walking down the Strand over the next month and see a number of men of a certain age looking misty eyed and wistful, you may be forgiven for thinking the spirit of romance must be in the air. What…
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How To Recreate That Glastonbury Feeling Without Actually Going To Glastonbury:
Stretched out over acres, and often difficult to navigate your way across, the Media Coverage of Glastonbury is one of a handful of man-made objects that can be seen from space, alongside The Great Wall of China and the mass graves of Mariah Carey’s former personal assistants.* It’s great that we can share the experience…
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Fashion Special: How To Dress Like A Seventies Rock Star.
As we have seen recently, a lot of bad things happened in the seventies, and all too often people say “it’s just how it was then”. They try to excuse some appalling behaviour. “Don’t judge people by today’s standards” they say. I am of course talking about the fashion sense of the world’s rock stars.…
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Chess Records’ Forgotten Duo: Maurice & Mac
As we have seen over the last couple of weeks, “You Left The Water Running” is a damn fine tune. Versions by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Fire Dept all sound fab and groovy – and other artists that have covered the song include Sam & Dave, (“Hold On! I’m Comin’”) and Barbara Lynn (The Rolling…
Every record tells a story 