They were four lads from a tough industrial British city. They formed a band, and went to Hamburg in Germany to The Star Club on the Reeperbahn for a residency. Up to seven sets a day. They lived together in… Read More ›
Ozzy Osbourne
The MTV European Music Awards: Minaj Out-Swears Glaswegians Shocker
Great to see the return of the MTV European Music Awards tonight, live from Glasgow. Frosty, threatening to turn violent at any moment and barely intelligible, Nicki Minaj was the perfect host for the City. Previously the award show that… Read More ›
Heavy Rock On Trial: Why Is That Man Screaming So Much?
I’m putting heavy rock on trial! Have your say! Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll Part 7 Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer… Read More ›
Call The Fashion Police: Why Do Rockers All Dress So Badly?
I’m Putting Rock On Trial! Have Your Say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock‘s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that… Read More ›
London’s Rock Venues: Now And Then…
Let me set the scene: 1987. As yuppies carrying brick-sized mobile phones drank Champagne, wearing garish pin-striped suits and highlights in their hair, London enjoyed the benefits of a booming economy as well as its unfortunate side effects. These included… Read More ›
Black Sabbath: 13 Review and The Post-It Note-gate Controversy
With Black Sabbath’s album out tomorrow, it is time to dust off your black cloak, wizard’s hat and faded copy of Alistair Crowley‘s Big Book of Magic (Vol. 1: Card Tricks), throw them in the bin, and make some space… Read More ›
Things You Don’t See Anymore #4: The Flexi Disc
Many hundreds of years ago (well, in the 1960’s and ’70s) and in the days before the Internet, if you can imagine such a thing, record companies tried many ways to get music heard. They tried bribing DJs. This was… Read More ›
Rock Star Quotes Quiz
Rock Star Quotes can be fun to look back on… OK, so Christmas is over, but perhaps you have some time off, and there’s a quiet morning stretching ahead of you. Or maybe you are sitting through the Christmas special… Read More ›
Remember The First Time You Heard…Black Sabbath?
Black Sabbath’s Seventh Star is not the most obvious starting point for a rock fan to be introduced to heavy metal’s most iconic band. Growing up in a religious household presented the odd challenge for a young heavy metal fan… Read More ›
Rock Stars And Their Old Jobs…(Pt 2)
I set a quiz a few days ago asking you to match up rock stars with the old jobs they used to do before they were famous. Some were easier than others, but I enjoyed the comment hoping that Lemmy… Read More ›
Donington ’86 – Monsters of Rock: Ozzy, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Motorhead and More Bad News…
My first Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington (that’s Download for the youngsters) was headlined by Ozzy Osbourne in 1986. Although a Winged Chariot would have been a more appropriate vehicle to take us to this most holy of heavy metal… Read More ›
