In 1977 I was listening to a solid diet of one-chord wonders, varied only with a weekly dose of Top of the Pops to find out what the rest of the country was listening to while I pogoed.

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Everybody knows Aretha Franklin. Few apart from hardcore soul fans remember the Queen of Soul’s big sister Erma. (more…)

Ace Frehley, aka Space Ace, aka The Spaceman, was the creator of countless heavy rock riffs – and solos – in his role as lead guitarist of Kiss.

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This nine-minute extravaganza is essentially an extended guitar solo, much like Funkadelic’s extraordinary Maggot Brain. And just as good.

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Jazz-funk was never my thing, conjuring nightmarish visions of George Benson and Level 42, but it did provide a moment of Pleasure in 1979.

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This is one big funk party from the moment Tom Browne blows his trumpet, voices start to chatter and Marcus Miller’s thunderous bass begins to rumble.

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I have to confess I never really paid much attention to the rise of D’Angelo, wrongly filing him away as a smooth R&B crooner of bedroom ballads.

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Dublin trio JJ72 were going to be the Next Big Thing after two successful singles and a lot of hype around the turn of the millennium.

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This was always one of my favourite Stones songs, and this is the moment it was kicked into life – at Ronnie Wood’s house.

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The Geraldine Fibbers blended experimental noise and rock guitars with gentle country-tinged melodies on their 1995 debut.

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