It very much depends on what direction a leader proposes to take his/ her party.
Anybody advocating anything remotely resembling ‘socialism’ is going to be savaged like Corbyn was. The softer the treatment, the […]

Blair got an easy ride because he had a ‘summit’ with Murdoch, & once it was clear there was going to be no rocking of the boat, that remained the case for a honeymoon period that ran for around 2 years. Wit […]

Spot on.
Without doubt the most maligned party leader this country has had, certainly in any kind of modern context.
Every single national newspaper ( bar the lukewarm Mirror) the ‘neutral & balanced ‘ BBC , & […]

As others have outlined, the AA, BB, CC etc. was part of the byzantine half time & full time scores, that were of a piece with monkey nuts, inaudible tinny Tannoys & Gents loos literally ankle deep in […]

Went round to his house in Hackney in the early/mid 80s, tagging along with a couple of pals. They were very in with an extremely grebo hardcore punk squat nearby to him, & just suggested knocking him up.
Once […]

…embrace the margins!

Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie books are just superb.
I’ve just finished the latest ‘Big Sky’, which was so enjoyable it felt like putting on a comfy pair of shoes.
Oddly, I have really struggled with everything […]

I’ve read most of Ellroy’s output & have to say Perfidia is where I felt he was perhaps losing his mojo – the setting is fascinating – the treatment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor – but I struggled to […]

Have yet to read anything by Don Winslow that wasn’t totally absorbing.
I read the 2nd in the Border trilogy last year , which was brilliant, if gruelling & am saving the last part for some point later this […]

Thanks so much for the Gossipmongers recommendation- I just listened to their 2019 Xmas Special as a sampler, with ‘Spaceworm’ – nearly choked laughing!

Chicken nuggests, blue drinks and Alsatians in prams- what’s not to like?
Oh, and dog dirt.

Warhammer!

My staples are the Slate Culture Gabfest, Wittertainment & Battleship Pretension (superb film podcast).
Shout outs also for Adam Buxton, Decipher Sci Fi, 99% Invisible, The Dollop ( superb US history) & for a […]

Herring’s lunacy is inspired & inspiring IMO.
My personal fave is ‘Stone Clearing With Richard Herring’ , which I actually prefer to RHLSTP ( rhlstp).
Teenage daughter is addicted to ‘Me One versus Me Two […]

Have a big ‘up’ for Dan Carlin’s ‘ Hardcore History’ – the recent 4 hours plus episode Supernova in The East was absolutely superb. He deserves great credit for the volume of research he does, plus his complete […]

It’s been said on AW before, but Mary Costelloe ( sp?) was great on GLR on a Saturday night in the 90s – great sessions from touring artists & a superb selection of soul & country – & that great musical place […]

Good call, ducool.
I’m sure he also co-hosted a reggae hour with Tony Williams on BBC Radio London (the station that became the beloved GLR). I learned a lot from that show & got my first pointers to nights at […]

Seconded. I also enjoy following his Reggae / Rocksteady/ Ska recommendations on Twitter these days.
He also should be up for some kind of special accolade for being the only DJ I’ve ever heard play ‘Raw Power’ […]

I have very fond memories of Lindisfarne. I saw them several times in London from the late 70s after the ‘relaunch’ album ‘Back and Fourth’ & they were terrific. The gigs were like a Geordie nation in exile, & I […]

Sad news, but he did have a good old innings & a splendid musical life for decades after the great quartet era.
I think he’s the piainist I’m most in awe of, based mostly on hearing him play live with Coltrane, […]