Category ACROSS THE DECADES
STARMAN
When The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars was released on 16 June 1972 Bowie’s small but loyal London fan base were immediately enthusiastic. The colourful theatricality, the fizzing energy, the entire glam “look” of the band were simply transporting. Soon ever-expanding concert audiences in the UK and the USA […]
LISTENING ROOM
I’ve been dabbling in Bluesky (as mentioned previously). Thought it would be fun to share a selection of recent posts as they give an insight into what my ears have been seduced by in the listening room. As always, love to hear responses to any of these. * When some Matthew Sweet vinyl re-issues appeared […]
STARS IN MY BEARD
The gateway single for the success of T Rex and their most acclaimed album Electric Warrior was “Hot Love”. It topped the UK charts and gave Marc Bolan the formula he’d been seeking. Simple boogie rhythms, some cheeky teenage poetry and an infectious chorus you could sing along to. In fact, you were compelled to […]
UP ON THE ROOF
Despite rock and roll having been around for half-a-dozen decades, inter-generational collaborations have been far from common. Sure, a young gun will be invited onto the stage at a celebration for some venerable rocker, or an odd couple (say, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett) will put out an LP, but generally the invisible borders between […]
KEEPING TIME
It is easy to forget how many great songs R.E.M. wrote. Forty years on from their formation and a full decade after the band called it a day, the band’s legacy as one of the most successful indie bands of all time is assured. That legacy is in full view on In Time 1988-2003: The […]
OINK, WOOF, BAA
Released in 1977, Animals remains one of Pink Floyd’s most politically charged and emotionally potent albums—a snarling, dystopian masterpiece that channels the disillusionment of a generation into a five-track conceptual epic. Loosely inspired by George Orwell’s allegorical story Animal Farm, the album trades the surreal psychedelia of early work The Piper at the Gates of […]
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE | PART TWO
An Interview with Fiona McQuarrie Vinyl Connection: Firstly, congratulations on the recent publication of your book on Fountains of Wayne (J-Card Press, March 2025). It’s great to have something more substantial than a magazine article to dive into. Fiona McQuarrie: Thank you! When this project first came my way, I was very surprised that there […]
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE | PART ONE
Scrolling Bluesky in search of vinyl thrills, a post caught my eye. It was a book, its rectangular profile standing out amongst square LP covers and rotating records. Nothing flashy about the cover, but an instant spark of interest in the name: Fountains of Wayne. Such a hip little band, one that should have been […]
LOW: A CREATIVE HIGH
Born in Brixton, South London, David Robert Jones—known to the world as David Bowie—was a creative child who formed his first band in 1952 at the age of fifteen. After his unsuccessful self-titled debut LP in 1967, Bowie stepped back from pop music for a while and studied mime and drama with Lindsay Kemp. When […]
MOMENTARY PINK
After The Final Cut (1983), Pink Floyd were no more. So decreed Roger Waters, key lyricist and driving creative force in the band. But guitarist David Gilmour had other ideas and in 1986 he began working with drummer Nick Mason in the floating studio he had created on the magnificent houseboat Astoria, moored along the […]
GRANT HIM A LISTEN
Early in the twenty-first century it seemed that, finally, the jazz loving world was starting to pick up on guitarist Grant Green. Hallelujah! His rhythmic playing being neither complicated nor particularly flashy, Green stayed off the radar of casual jazz fans for far too long. Yet he was all over bebop and worked with many […]
GOOD LUCK
Rock behemoths Pink Floyd cast a long shadow across popular music, from the 60s to the 80s and beyond. Perhaps that is why Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has produced just five studio albums in a six decade career; the band that bought him fame, fortune and friction has tended to dominate his creative life. Luck […]
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