Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
John Martyn – Bless the Weather (or Solid Air)
The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Echo and the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
Scott Walker – Scott 4

I’m not a massive U2 fan in general, but Achtung Baby is, in my opinion, a fab album.

Pet Sounds. It might be a case of hearing it after reading too many reviews saying it’s amazing, but I just find it ‘quite’ good. Lyrically bland and musically nice, but that’s it.

I’m always intrigued by its […]

I’m absolutely intrigued by the idea there is someone out there who genuinely believes Mariah Carey has produced one of the greatest albums ever made…

I jest. In fairness, it’s a pretty diverse list. They […]

Yes, it’s odd: I’m good friends with a married couple who are both nurses. Both presented with symptoms back in April; he tested positive, whilst she was negative. They have had the antibody test recently, and it […]

The ‘I’ll-wear-it-over-my-mouth-but not-my-nose’ look is gaining popularity at roughly the same rate as infections.

There are so many people who don’t wear face coverings; I’d go as far as to say approximately a third of shoppers don’t bother in my local supermarket. I know some people are exempt, but I regularly see whole […]

Top fella. That show on Dave, where he toured the north with Ralph Little, was a good watch.

He also donated a million quid to a kids’ charity, which is both admirable and slightly confusing – how is he rich […]

Every generation has its new Tony Slattery – i.e. the guy who suddenly appears on everything. It’s very much Alexander Armstrong at the moment. A few months’ back, I spied a documentary on BBC4 about recreating […]

You quite rightly don’t understand it: nobody does. Football clubs – even the biggest clubs – pay fees and wages they simply can’t sustain. It’s utter, utter madness, as most clubs don’t turn a profit. They im […]

Ant McPartlin (he’s ITV, in fairness) recently gave his ex-wife £31 million in a divorce settlement. He seems like a vaguely competent tv presenter; a nice-ish man of limited talent who is popular in an id […]

Yes, I’m nearly fully recovered – thank you for asking. A lot of residual tiredness, but I was fortunate not to have had severe symptoms.

Thanks for the review, young Bargepole. I’ve heard good things about this.

I understand that ‘celebrities’ can be divisive, but I always think Osman comes across as a decent chap: witty, intelligent and understated.

The initial period of working from home was rather invigorating. I was able to get up at 8.30, as opposed to 6 am. I didn’t have to spend an hour and a half each way on a packed, sweaty train/mobile sauna, which […]

Matthew Kelly is a fantastic – and I mean fantastic – actor. I saw him in a play; the transformation was amazing.

I always think it’s interesting to hear from not-so-famous actors who’ve worked with big names. The little-known Bronson Pinchot (he was in Beverly Hills Cop) doesn’t hold back on Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington, […]

Ha, touche, young Black Type.

I know it’s part of his appeal, but I never massively got into Bod Dylan because of his sneery manner. I’m sure there are a thousand songs where he’s lovely/tender/romantic, but he always sounds like a rather […]

Drunk Again by Rab Noakes is one of the great ‘drunk’ songs. He’s also done a fantastic version of Gerry Rafferty’s Moonlight and Gold – it’s somewhere on YouTube.

That Bob Dylan song, Make you Feel my Love, is melodically very similar to a classical piece, although I can’t bloody remember which one! It’s a pretty neat trick, as they can’t sue – a tactic Lord Admiral Andy […]