Mambo Sun is the first track on the first side of the first proper T. Rex album Electric Warrior, released in 1971.

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This little-known Christmas single by T.Rex may not be a classic, but it’s not bad enough to merit being left on the shelf until long after Marc Bolan’s death.

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Mud took a sideways turn from Glam stompers to celebrate the Christmas of 1974 with an hommage to Elvis Presley – and a bizarre TOTP appearance.

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Last night I went to see these guys, Dead Writers, at a goth-filled Camden pub with the apt name The Black Heart, on my way back from cricket at Lord’s. And I had a very good time.

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Happy Beltane to all the old hippies, from the most famous pop idol to come from my neighbourhood, Stoke Newington.

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Is there a Glam revival? If there is – and this would seem to suggest as much – then it’s crept up on me unawares. Rather like that cat Mud sang about. Apparently this video has gone viral, and I can see why: it’s like a pastiche of something from an early 70s Top of the Pops.

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As punk was mutating and evolving in 1978, a new band called Japan surfed in on the New Wave. I went to see them at the Music Machine, attracted mainly by their image.

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Punk before punk was invented, The New York Dolls made a sensational debut on British television’s Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 – much to the disgust of host Bob Harris. (more…)

Watch this! Alice Low unveils new song and video Sodomizer

In the mid-Seventies, away from the pop charts but working hard at the coal face of the live music scene, one of the more entertaining bands on the London circuit was The Heavy Metal Kids. (more…)