Everybody knows Aretha Franklin. Few apart from hardcore soul fans remember the Queen of Soul’s big sister Erma. (more…)

Ace Frehley, aka Space Ace, aka The Spaceman, was the creator of countless heavy rock riffs – and solos – in his role as lead guitarist of Kiss.

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Jazz-funk was never my thing, conjuring nightmarish visions of George Benson and Level 42, but it did provide a moment of Pleasure in 1979.

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This is one big funk party from the moment Tom Browne blows his trumpet, voices start to chatter and Marcus Miller’s thunderous bass begins to rumble.

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I have to confess I never really paid much attention to the rise of D’Angelo, wrongly filing him away as a smooth R&B crooner of bedroom ballads.

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This was always one of my favourite Stones songs, and this is the moment it was kicked into life – at Ronnie Wood’s house.

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Czech singer Marie Rottrová performs Hodina H (Zero Hour) – her 1981 cover version of Stayin’ Alive.

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I’ve never been a big fan of House music outside its natural habitat of a club in Ibiza with a massive sound system. Especially when there are vocals.

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As much as I firmly believe you should never mess with perfection, I’ll make allowances for Motörhead taking on The Damned’s song Neat Neat Neat because they had the good grace to team up with them.

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Here’s a song from 1971 that I’ve never heard before by an artist I’ve never heard of before – Christopher Blue.

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