Every Record Tells A Story
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Record Shops Facing Tipping Point in 2019…
The Vinyl Revival may have seen an increase in record shop numbers, but record buyers can ill-afford to take their local record shops for granted… In case you have been distracted by other, less important political issues such as Brexit and volatile US presidents, it won’t have escaped your notice there has been a miraculous…
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Every Record Tells A Story Hits The Airwaves!
A mile and a half from the Kentish coast and five miles from Southend in Essex lies the wreck of SS Richard Montgomery, an American Liberty ship built during World War II. The ship ran adrift onto sandbanks while carrying around 1,400 tonnes of TNT which remain on board. The wreck remains such a threat…
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“He got stabbed and didn’t know it!” – The Making Of Primal Scream’s Give Out But Don’t Give Up
“We recorded a couple of demos, but most of the time we got wasted, you know…” Primal Scream lead singer Bobby Gillespie on the initial recording sessions of “Give Out But Don’t Give Up” To understand just how hard drinking Primal Scream were, let’s ask ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, who happened to be in…
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The Moment Adam Clayton’s Wedding Tackle Became The Cover Star of U2’s Achtung Baby
In which we discover why a naked picture of Adam Clayton nearly became the cover art of U2’s Achtung Baby…
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Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets Showcase A Different Side of Pink Floyd
It says much about the popularity of Pink Floyd that remaining solo members can tour to packed houses around the world decades after their commercial peak. While Roger Waters and David Gilmour have played Floyd’s best known songs from The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon to sold out arenas, the band’s genial drummer,…
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A Spotify Playlist That Isn’t Trying To Sell You Something: Guaranteed!
In a world where Spotify algorithms are finding ever more devious ways to enter our consciousness it seems almost old-fashioned having an actual human recommend you some music. U2’s ill-fated attempt to load their new album automatically on the world’s iPods now seems almost quaint. Spotify added Drake tracks to hundreds of their playlists upon…
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Arctic Monkeys Gallery Exhibition Shows Substance Behind The Style
This week The Arctic Monkeys sold out four consecutive nights at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena. They now move out of town to sold out shows in Birmingham, Sheffield, Dublin and Newcastle. Such is the clamour for all things Arctic Monkey, they even sold out of tickets for a gallery exhibition in fashionable Fitzrovia, which…
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Meet Your IDLES…
If pithy song titles and smart lyrics were all the five-piece Bristol punk band IDLES had, they would still be a very good band indeed. You have to love an album with a song title as good as “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”, or one that boasts a song (“Gram Rock”) with a…
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Sweet Billy Pilgrim’s New Album Wapentak Is A Five Star Success
These are troubling times. Russian bots influencing elections on both sides of the Atlantic. An American president surrounded by criminals. And an unprecedented polarisation of the political spectrum. And what’s trending on Twitter? Pete Doherty eating breakfast in a greasy spoon cafe… Good to know we are focusing on what’s important. There are some that…
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Stone The Crowes!: It’s The Magpie Salute
The Black Crowes are long gone. It has been three years since they split, ten years since their last album Warpaint and more than twenty years since their commercial peak when despite everyone else playing grunge or Britpop The Black Crowes sold thirty million albums and hit the number one album spot in America with…
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Five Things I Saw & Heard This Week
For the kids who Snapchat photos of themselves with a dog’s nose and ears superimposed, or who Instagram their every (doubtless avocado-based) meal, blogging about music may feel about as unfashionable as, well, Facebook. * Although very much the best way to keep on top of new music ten or fifteen years ago with all…
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The Best Music of 2018 So Far…
Ah, it’s mid summer. A time of hazy, sunny evenings. As the organisers of Wimbledon erect their “Sale! Punnet of Strawberry’s: only £50” signs (complete with grocer’s comma) it’s the time of year that allows me to drag out the only Wimbledon-related joke I know: Q. What time does Sean Connery arrive at Wimbledon? A.…
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How To Buy Elton John On Vinyl (and an Alternative Best-of Spotify Playlist)
Although we might all have a stab at naming Elton John’s best albums, in these times of Spotify, there sometimes needs to be a reason why a particular record should be bought on vinyl. Happily in Elton’s case there are several reasons. Firstly, his records are often beautifully packaged, with posters and lyrics sheets. Second,…
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Yes Overcome Sparse Crowd at Stone Free Festival, O2 Arena
It was the climax of the Stone Free Festival at the O2 Arena, and the 20,000 seater was less than a third full. Perhaps a reflection of the bill which veered from Supertramp to Megadeth but stuck to a “classic rock” brief, but perhaps just a reflection of the popularity of Fathers Day and a…
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The Origins of Elton John: From The Archives of Jackie Magazine
In which we discover how Bernie Taupin’s mum brought Reg and Bernie together by cleaning her front room, how the cost of storing vinyl in Chelsea is ruinously expensive, why Elton has only the second-worst real life name of any pop star, and why you shouldn’t kick a piano stool at work.
Every record tells a story 