This Alan-Partridge-no-shit-it-happened has just appeared on YouTube. I remember watching it slack jawed in horror at my Gran’s. There are so many toe curling details, but what made me spit my tea out was the b […]

It did!

I’ve been reading Running With The Devil, Noel Monk’s book about managing Van Halen from 1978-1985, ie the David Lee Roth years. As you’d guess, it’s self-aggrandising stuff, but he touches on ‘necessary evil’ stu […]

Reading last night about Mike Jefferey, Hendrix’s co-manager. Allegedly sacked Noel Redding when he asked where MJ was taking large suitcases of money. ‘Invested’ large amounts of Jimi’s money in dodgy offshor […]

There were rumblings about me-too type allegations re Jefferson Holt before he was cast out, all are on a cease and desist thing now, so it may never be known. Before his court case (and possibly after) Peter Buck […]

It’s called “Red”, Freddy. Lots of dirt on past band mates and very eventful, but by the end, post-VH it gets quite tedious where Hagar lists his many achievements, successful businesses, car collection, his lates […]

I knew it was coming, but it’s still a shock. Like Clapton, Hendrix and Page, he was responsible for a million terrible imitators, but it doesn’t mean his playing, especially on that first Van Halen album, did […]

This takes me back to my student days when my housemates were all music students, mainly studying jazz. Tower of Power albums pushed all their buttons because it was funky but also incredibly chops-heavy. Though […]

Like an idiot, I assumed they’d come to somewhere Forum-sized in London soon after and waited. Then they stopped playing live. Bah!

Thanks for that. I was at the X-StatiC and Fossil Fools gigs mentioned and can attest how great they were. For a band that stopped playing live when I was 10, that was the closest I was going to get to see them. I […]

All the indignation of the right-wing press makes me chuckle. The Telegraph’s pocket cartoonist ‘Matt’ – who is admittedly the best in his business by a long way – is paid absurd amounts for what he does, […]

I always find this enormously uplifting.

I’ve been listening to a great podcast with Mr Lowe:

Where he talks about the windfall from the Bodyguard OST. He reckons it gave him the freedom to continue making the slower, more grown-up records he wanted – […]

The vid features XTC’s Dave Gregory miming the solo – he was in Aimee’s touring band for a while and, I believe, was briefly in a relationship with her.

The only album by Thorns (Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins do CSN-style music) is really lush and overproduced, but a special 2CD edition came out with a set of the same track listing, done live and […]

Both live albums, but if that counts John Cale’s Fragments of a Rainy Season (just him, a piano and acoustic guitar) and 10,000 Maniacs’ Unplugged are my favourite collections by both.

I haven’t heard it, but […]

Same gig as you! A great night. I remember the band playfully kicking Michael Penn up the arse as he tried to sing the extremely lyric-heavy ‘Brave New World’ and guitarist Buddy Judge’s Elvis Costello impersonation.

This Christmas sketch has never stopped making me laugh, especially for her ‘Bah a-fuckin’ humbug’ at 1:05 and Michael Penn’s performance.

Pretty sure it was 4th of July on that Q CD, as I was one of those punters! I’m a completist, love the first two albums which made me search out other production by Jon Brion too. Lost in Space is a mid-period c […]

Just the chorus (especially the bassline) of these two.