I’m not sure what happened to Chicago in the first half of the Seventies. They got slower, and more middle-of-the-road and, as they lost sight of their roots, increasingly popular. (more…)

The first time I ever saw Joan Armatrading was this spellbinding performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976. (more…)

I know I shouldn’t but I love this cheesy country music pastiche by Pussycat – perhaps the only country-and-western chart topper by a Dutch group.

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We’ve all got a least favourite musical instrument haven’t we? Mine may be the flute, though the twittering of the piccolo might win if it were not such a rarity. Then there’s the universal horror of the pan pipes. (more…)

Kristine Sparkle (Christine Holmes to her mum) seems to have been a serial underachiever on the fringes of fame- popular for her blonde Sixties dolly-bird looks but not talented enough to be a star. (more…)

There are two reasons why this was a big hit single in 1976. It’s an undeniably catchy song, with its mix of acoustic and electric guitars and a tuneful melody. But the big reason is the arresting sight and sound of a bloke piping his electric guitar through his own mouth. (more…)

Here is another lazy, hazy number with a laid-back summery vibe from a folk-flavoured Scottish duo with roots in the blues and country. (more…)

This is one of those bands whose biggest success came after another artist, Rod Stewart, covered one of their songs called Sailing.
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By 1976 I was losing interest in the singles chart, beyond getting my weekly fix of Top of the Pops. So I missed this at the time. (more…)

I love country music, especially old-time roots music with one foot in folk and one foot in the blues, and one hand dangling loosely in the waters of jazz. Now… 

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