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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This Stones performance had passed me by completely, perhaps because I had long ago mentally dismissed the past half a century of their work. (more…)

This may well be my least favourite song of all time. It’s certainly up there (or down there) with Hey Jude, Son Of My Father and Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.
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In the mid-Seventies I didn’t like The Bee Gees. In fact I thought they were awful: a bunch of buck-toothed bouffant-haired bearded brothers with ridiculous clothes and silly high voices singing disco. (more…)