Late-seventies Liverpool again… and one of my favourite singles of all time. Pete Wylie might not have had the public acclaim of his erstwhile bandmates Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope but he was arguably the most talented of a supremely talented trio. He certainly thought so. (more…)

Liverpool had never loomed large in my musical education. I was never sold on Cilla or Gerry & The Pacemakers or even the big names like, er, The Swinging Blue Jeans. Merseybeat left me cold. Until I heard the Teardops. (more…)

Punk before punk was invented, The New York Dolls made a sensational debut on British television’s Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 – much to the disgust of host Bob Harris. (more…)

I was lucky enough to get to see Queen Ida and her Bon Temps Zydeco Band about 40 years ago when she was just a stripling in her early 50s. She’s now 93 and still going strong, incredibly. In fact she’s about to go out on tour. (more…)

A long time ago I took my folk-fan brother-in-law, visiting from Ireland, to the Hackney Empire to see Bert Jansch. This was not the rather more celebrated affair with Pete Doherty, which came later; it was just Bert and his acoustic guitar.

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Queen Of Glory – film review

Soul music comes in many guises but I think the one I love best is slow-burning deep soul from the Deep South. This is a prime example by Mable John, who died on 25 August at the ripe old age of 91. (more…)

Novelty records. They’re nearly always awful, aren’t they – Grandad, Ernie, Shadap Your Face. Agadoo, Gimme Dat Ding. Jilted John was different. (more…)

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 a slice of rare soul from Betty Moorer, finally finding some success in the Sixties, a decade after starting her first group. (more…)