The Human League’s debut EP Being Boiled marked the transition of punk’s DIY ethic into new areas like electronic music. (more…)

Here’s the only known recording by the strangely named Sag War Fare… which is apparently meant to be a pun on “Savoir Faire.” (more…)

The opening chant of Vivian Jackson’s debut single in 1972 is what gave him his nickname of Yabby You (or sometimes Yabby U). (more…)

I just couldn’t make up my mind which version of this sweet soul song to post. It was recorded and released by two Texans named Bobby only a few months apart in 1973. (more…)

He’s not exactly a household name but Popcorn Wylie is one of the key figures in Detroit soul music. A producer, songwriter, singer, bandleader, pianist and record label boss, he discovered some of the biggest names and played on some of the biggest Motown hits. (more…)

This is what used to be called a “Negro Spiritual” dating back to slavery days in the USA. It was first published in 1867 and I think the first recording was by Marian Anderson in 1925. (more…)

It’s not often in the internet age that you can’t find out a single thing about a record, or the people who made it. Until now. (more…)

Let’s celebrate the Commonwealth Games like they did – with some miusic from Birmingham. Not Sabbath or The Streets, and not the organisers’ choice of Duran bloody Duran. Not even UB40 or my preference, Steel Pulse. (more…)

When I was 14, before Bowie and Bolan, Slade and Sweet, I was a big fan of an English group called The Strawbs. I haven’t listened to them in years. (more…)

Be-Bop Deluxe filled a Bowie-shaped hole in my musical education after Aladdin Sane. I loved them despite – no, because of – the obvious similarity. (more…)