New Year, New Almanac. Our last effort got a bit buried in the end-of-year lists and general Bowie anniversary activity. So a rebooted Almanac is picking up its run of mix-sixties years. For those new to this series it’s an opportunity to muse on gigs you’ve seen, favourite or otherwise tracks, films, sport – just about anything and everything postable from the year in question. We kick off as ever with a selection of stories from NME: The Rock and Roll Years, a truly fantastic tome that reprints excerpts.

NME : Hang The Jury! In a rare venture into serious newspaper editorial, the NME has been prompted into the following statement on the drugs-in-pop-lyrics issue. Last Saturday, seven minutes were cut from the BBC JUKE BOX Jury. The show – pre-recorded the pervious weekend – had including a lengthy discussion on The Game’s recording ‘The Addicted Man’ which the Corporation decided was unsuitable for transmission. The Game’s disc is concerned with drug taking, and the panel had criticised it mercilessly. Rightly so! BUT IF THE BBC IS GOING TO TURN A COLD HSOULDER TO ALL DRUG-TAKING IMPLICATIONS IN POP MUSIC, IT MIGHT AS WELL SCRUB JBJ IMMEDIATELY. Directly or indirectly, » Continue Reading.