By spooky coincidence I was listening to the TX box-set from a few years back this very morning before I read this news… for genuine pop contenders, they were an incredibly strange band, the (fantastic) singles b […]

He did cancel a big gig in Valencia back in March, quoting an inability to sleep the night before due to constant fireworks… for which I would blame the promoter, who should have known full well that was likely t […]

Sidebar: After WO produced Madonna’s Ray Of Light album and reinvigorated her career, she instantly and permanently ghosted him for not giving this song to her first…

Genuine answer: like it or not, he’s still hugely popular in the US, and this would have been a decent payday for a promoter, though it’s arguable whether 4 nights in Vegas was a suitable choice for the Moz aud […]

It’s always worth checking ok.ru, effectively the Russian YouTube, though without those pesky copyright restrictions… “The Outsiders” is probably elusive because of rights issues surrounding most of Francis […]

This would be a better story if I knew the name of the band member, but anyway, one night his phone rings, and it’s Donald Fagen, who says (something like) “Hey, you’re a football fan, aren’t you? I’m writing a […]

IIRC it got a lot of play on Terry Wogan’s radio 2 breakfast show, back in the days when a single radio DJ’s patronage could get a record into the charts (see also The Floral Dance, Captain Beaky, Birdhouse In You […]

I have a story about “Killer”… I was working with ZTT at the time (Seal’s record label, though at that time he was yet to release anything) and negotiations were ongoing between Adamski’s management (who were refu […]

Oh totally, but I can’t help thinking a less well-established band would have been told by their producer to go away and bring the song back when it’s finished…

Especially strange bearing in mind he had little to do with “Ca Plane Pour Moi” (it’s not even 100% certain they’re his vocals), and of course there was the simultaneous (but non-hit) English version “Jet Bo […]

I’d also nominate Roxy Music’s “Over You”, a top 5 single which it took me far too long to realise has no chorus…

“Ghosts” by Japan must surely be on this list, a top 5 hit during their short imperial phase… … and I humbly submit that both “Kiss” and “Sign O’ The Times” by Prince are objectively weird megahits if you t […]

You can’t nuke the Hardwick, where would all the bunnies go?!

I think local word of mouth killed these Sandringham events. My parents live in the area, and of all their friends who’ve been to them in recent years, they all say virtually the same thing; the concert itself w […]

As a reasonably big PSB fan I have to say their Stuart Price trilogy is without any doubt (for me) the low point of the Boys’ output – the best 12 tracks from all three albums would barely muster a 7/10 c […]

Quick answer is yes, the racists have, as ever, ruined it for everyone. As an aside, I’ve been doing quite a lot of driving around the place in the past few weeks, and noticed that all the flags which were so p […]

Excellent interview, I’d already booked tickets to see him in September, now I’m looking forward to it even more… PS Are there any other “old lags” here who saw RH perform at the pre-Word “Yo! Vicar” nigh […]

The first time I paid a pound for a pint (it still makes me shudder… “a pound?!”) was 1986 in Coventry… I sense an Afterword Inflation Index brewing…

Years ago (obvs) Smash Hits had a music biz accountant analyse the then-current tours by Wham! (big production, artic lorries, hundreds of staff etc.) and Half Man Half Biscuit (transit van, sleeping on fan’s’ flo […]

It’s all very sad, especially from a group of people who have collectively produced much of my absolute favourite music of the last 50 years… Received wisdom is that since the publishing rights reverted back to […]