Joni Mitchell’s extraordinary gift for images and phrases first caught my ear, as much as her voice, with the jazz-textured 1975 album The Hissing Of Summer Lawns. (more…)

Hello were strictly second-division Glam. They had the second – and last – of their hits when they got back together with Russ Ballard of Argent, who had first discovered them when they were a covers band. (more…)

I’ve got to be honest: I find Glen Campbell’s life story much more interesting than his music, which I always found bland and middle-of-the-road. (more…)

After the pleasures of Pyjamarama and Virginia Plain the last thing I expected was for Roxy to turn their hands to funk. Love Is The Drug is nothing if not funky. It’s also archetypal Bryan Ferry: louche, sophisticated, sexy, urbane, expensive, nocturnal… and a little bit pretentious. (more…)

I was still riding around on my Raleigh Chopper bike, thinking I was cool, when Tina Charles (nee Hoskins) burst into the charts with what may be our first home-grown disco hit, I’m On Fire.

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Disco was everywhere in 1975, a new wave of soul and funk for the dancefloor. This song shows why. (more…)

The Stylistics dominated the early Seventies with their smooth soul ballads, defining the smooth soul sound synonymous with producer Thom Bell. (more…)

This wasn’t a hit for Labi Siffre in 1975 but it’s got a place in pop history, spawning the sample that brought Eminem to the world. (more…)

It’s easy to forget that The Bee Gees had pretty much disappeared from view by the mid-Seventies. So much so that this comeback single was sent to DJs in a plain white sleeve with no band name. (more…)