I have to confess I didn’t know the name Beverley Martyn until I read of her death at the age of 79. More fool me.

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Here’s another playlist for the transitional month of April, when wintry weather began to give way to longer days and occasional bursts of sunshine. There’s vintage reggae and soul, funk and swamp rock, old-skool hip-hop, new post-punk and country-rock, some unfamiliar versions of familiar tunes, and tributes to those we lost, including the last living Ronette.

The death of Nedra Talley Ross, the last living Ronette, brings an end to that golden era of Sixties girl groups. She was just 14 years old when she formed the group with her cousins Ronnie and Estelle back in 1957.

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I’ve been a big fan of M.I.A. ever since she made her debut with Galang back in 2024. Even though she’s as mad as a box of frogs.

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Tena Stelin is a UK singer who was a pioneer of the roots revival that began in reggae music at the end of the 1980s. This was his first release.

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Nathan Bartell never found fame and fortune and had become a church minister when his funky soul tune was rediscovered half a century later.

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Nick Drake teamed up with African percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah on sessions for his classic album Five Leaves Left.

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Traffic are one of those bands who somehow fell through the cracks of my musical journey. Consequently, Dave Mason was not a name that meant a great deal to me.

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The Bee Gees’ disco classic Stayin’ Alive interwoven with Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl turns out to make the perfect mash-up marriage.

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Gregg Foreman, who looked and sounded every inch the rock star, was the founder of The Delta 72 and musical director for Cat Power.

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