The rock n roll memorabilia market has discovered how to turn old tat into cold hard cash. As Craig Brown’s “One Two Three Four” explains, one of John Lennon’s teeth, given to his housekeeper, sold in 2011 for £19,000. A… Read More ›
Bob Dylan
A true story about Bob Dylan and Dave Stewart in a Crouch End Pub
I heard a story today from a friend who lived in Crouch End in the ’80s and ’90s and played for a local rugby team. He swears it is true. Like most rugby teams they liked a beer and each… Read More ›
Why Neil Young Once Tried to Drive To Belgium, and How He Nearly Killed Dylan…
The final article (of three) on Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy… Tonight’s The Night was due to be released in January 1974, but Neil Young continued to work on mixing the rough recordings, and by May 1974 he was playing a… Read More ›
Buying Beatles, Dylan, Cash and Beach Boys on Vinyl
Instead of buying the Oasis (What’s The Story) Morning Glory box set, I have decided to spend the same amount of money building as good a record collection as is humanly possible. It isn’t clear quite why I am doing… Read More ›
What Is The Greatest “Not Officially Released” Album?
There’s something about unreleased songs and albums which is wholly intriguing. An unreleased record taunts us whilst unheard, causing divine despair for the days that are no more, or whatever the poet said. Never mind the fact that the artist… Read More ›
In Praise of Muddy Waters – Live At Newport
I’m going to start a piece about Muddy Waters and the history of the blues by talking about The Sex Pistols, so bear with me. The Sex Pistols 1976 gig at the Manchester Free Trade Hall was one of the… Read More ›
Beelzebub Had A Devil For A Sideboard and Other Misheard Lyrics
With the possible exception of deciphering the lyrics to 2Unlimited’s “No Limits” (it really loses its sparkle when listening to the 12″ extended remix. By Pete Waterman) it’s quite fun to decipher lyrics, mainly because there’s quite a lot of… Read More ›
Tom Hickox, Jake Bugg, Tom McRae: It’s Singer-Songwriter Time!
I have found a most beautiful song. It’s by a singer songwriter called Tom Hickox. The song is called The Pretty Pride of Russia, and you can hear the song and watch a most affecting and sweet (and at the… Read More ›
A new use for all those old vinyl albums…
I stumbled upon an interesting idea this evening on Q Magazine’s pinterest site: entire portraits and worlds made out gatefold vinyl artwork.. A childishly simple idea that makes you wonder why no-one thought of it before. It transpires that the… Read More ›
Every record tells a story 