Category Archives: Music
Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush
Is this what a “Pop icon” is? Kate Bush burst onto the scene in 1978 with Wuthering Heights, a wildly unlikely and ethereal single. The record industry and radio DJs were bemused, but the record-listening public were instantly smitten. I … Continue reading
Peter Doggett – Surf’s Up – Brian Wilson And The Beach Boys
“There are dozens of Beach Boys!” Jack Reiley (Beach Boys manager 1970 to 1973) said: “The Beatles were focussed, strategic, professionally and well-led during the years of their mounting ascendency. During that period, the Beach Boys were divided, unprofessional and … Continue reading
Tom Doyle – Ringo: A Fab Life
In the 70’s, he was a happy drunk … by the 80’s, he was just miserable! It is 1962. Ritchie Starkey – better known by his stage name of Ringo Starr – is widely acknowledged as the best drummer in … Continue reading
Mark Blake – Shine On – The Definitive Oral History Of Pink Floyd
Syd Barrett was probably not really an acid casualty! Peter Jenner (Floyd’s first manager): “Syd’s behaviour was avant-garde and I thought avant-garde was good. Of course in hindsight, we should have taken a break, but none of us knew what … Continue reading
Ian Leslie – John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs
They created each other Does the world actually need another Beatles book? There are Mongolian peasants in one-yak villages far outside Ulan Bator who could tell you how John and Paul met at the Woolton Church fete in July 1957, … Continue reading
Philip Norman: George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle
Was George Harrison really the “Economy Beatle”? Philip Norman wrote Shout!, the first grown-up biography of The Beatles, shortly before John Lennon was murdered. People told him he was crazy, that The Fabs were yesterday’s news, that everybody already knew … Continue reading
Cathi Unsworth – Season Of The Witch: The Book Of Goth
Margaret Thatcher and Goth Culture It was the Age of Thatcher, and beyond the playgrounds of the red-braces wide boys and the Sloane Square privileged, it was grim. Unemployment was a weapon in the class war. The Yorkshire Ripper ran … Continue reading
David Hepworth – Abbey Road: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Famous Recording Studio
David Hepworth – Bantam Press – £25 The world has many holy places – Mecca, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the Wetherspoons on King St in Hammersmith – but for some of us these are … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural History, History, Music
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Philip Norman – Wild Thing: The short, spellbinding life of Jimi Hendrix
Philip Norman – Weidenfeld and Nicolson – £20 It is generally accepted that Jimi Hendrix is the most important guitarist in the history of rock music. In just four years he revolutionised everybody’s idea of what an electric guitar was … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Cultural History, Music
Tagged Guitar, Hero, Jimi Hendrix, Megastar
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Stephen Tow – London, Reign Over Me: How England’s Capital Built Classic Rock
Stephen Tow – Rowman and Littlefield £15.99 To have been young in London in the 1960’s must have been very heaven. At least if you had a yen to see live music in clubs and pubs and a dilapidated hotel … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural History, History, Music
Tagged Beatles, Cream, Eel Pie Island, London, Me, Over, Pink Floyd, Rign, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Yardbirds
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Ray Connolly – Sorry, Boys, You Failed The Audition
Ray Connolly – Malignon £7.95 “I’d like to say Thank You on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition.” John Lennon on the roof of the Apple Building on January 30th 1969 at the … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural History, Fiction, Humour, Music
Tagged Beatles, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ray Connolly, Ringo Star
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Ray Connolly – Being John Lennon
“Many people ask what are Beatles? Why Beatles? We will tell you. It came in a vision – a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them ‘From this day on you are Beatles with an ‘A’. Thank … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Cultural History, Music
Tagged John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ray Connolly, The Beatles, Yoko Ono
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Tom Kirkham – Pop Life
2016 was a bad year. Globally, it was the year of Brexit and was rounded off with a Trump! It was bad for pop music too: David Bowie had died in January. And then it seemed the heroes were rushing … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, Cultural History, Humour, Music
Tagged bipolar, David Bowie, depression, George Martin, gig, gigs, Lemmy, Leonard Cohen, Mental health, music
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Philip Norman – Paul McCartney: The Biography
When Philip Norman published “Shout” in 1980, it quickly became and long remained the standard Beatles biography. It was noted at the time that there was a marked preference for Lennon over McCartney in that book and Philip was pretty … Continue reading
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Alwyn W turner – The Last Post
No Man’s Land is already littered with books on the Great War, and there will be many more hurled into the fray, but not many of them will be as original as this thoughtful and engaging treatment by the historian … Continue reading
Philip Norman – Mick Jagger
Fifty years a star. Gracefulness incarnate. Irresistable to women. Vain and arrogant, perhaps, but with so much to boast of. But enough about Tim. Mick Jagger is by contrast an accountant. You think you know him. The drugs. Marianne Faithfull … Continue reading
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