Rave duo Altern 8 took Acid House and Rave culture into the charts in the early ’90s with their blend of outrageous outfits and infectious dance tunes.

(more…)

West Coast rappers Luniz had a moment in 1995 with this playful weed-smoking anthem, I Got 5 On It, a million-seller in America that also reached No.3 in the UK singles chart.

(more…)

All Saints were the cool rivals of The Spice Girls and topped the charts for the first time with their debut single Never Ever in 1997.

(more…)

RIP Val Kilmer (1959-2025)

The night I met Val Kilmer was, weirdly enough, at a Mazzy Star gig at the Union Chapel in London. OK, it wasn’t actually at the gig, and I didn’t actually meet him, but we were both there at the same time that night in 1996.

(more…)

Air came to fame with Sexy Boy in 1998 but made their debut three years earlier with this inventive piece of electronica on a compilation album for Source.

(more…)

Retro soul duo Charles & Eddie followed up their chart-topping hit Would I Lie To You with this story of how they first met on the New York subway.

(more…)

Abbey Lincoln was an actor, a civil rights activist and a jazz singer in the mould of her idol Billie Holiday.

(more…)

Tori Amos was such a unique voice when she came into our musical lives with Cornflake Girl, arguably the progenitor of the confessional female singer-songwriter genre.

(more…)

Counting Crows came from San Francisco and immediately struck gold with their debut single, Mr Jones, in early 1994.

(more…)

Garbage burst out of nowhere in 1995 with Supervixen – the powerful opening tune on the self-titled album that introduced us to the band formed by Nirvana producer Butch Vig and led by Shirley Manson.

(more…)