Yellow Submarine (1968), the animated feature film based around the music of the Beatles, was a fixture on British TV when I was growing up in the 70s. I must have seen it half a dozen times before I became … Continue reading Nothing is Real: One More Trip in the Yellow Submarine
I’ve been a fan of sibling art-rockers Sparks for many years, from seeing them on Top of the Pops in the 1970s (John Lennon, Hitler on the telly, blah) to seeing them many times live at various locations with my … Continue reading Oy, the Mael Boys Already!
If you speak to anyone born in the early 70s, they’ll always have a soft spot for Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds. That’s because there was a copy in almost every house in Great Britain; … Continue reading Love & Terror: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds
It’s a sobering thought, but rock gods Queen have now existed far longer without their flamboyant front man Freddie Mercury than they did with him. His tragic death from AIDS in 1991 changed everything for the band, back at the … Continue reading Queen + Adam Lambert: Live Around the World
SCANDAL IN THE HOUSE… AGAIN! The Japanese all-female rock band who’ve now been around for 14 years (but somehow don’t look a day over 22) return for their ninth studio album Kiss from the Darkness. I discovered Scandal about 5 … Continue reading Scandal – Kiss from the Darkness
1994’s Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins marks the point at which I really got into Sparks. Sure, I was aware of them from my childhood in the 70s, when they were frequent visitors to Top of the Pops (I’m sure … Continue reading Sparks – Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins (Special Edition)
While some bands loudly extol their own virtues through splits, reformations and 47th farewell tours, there are other bands that just tick along in the cultish shadows being quietly magnificent. Sparks are the epitome of such a band. Formed in … Continue reading Past Tense: The Best of Sparks
The original version of the Electric Light Orchestra released their final album Balance of Power in 1986; it was a contractual obligation album, Jeff Lynne was desperate to get out of his contract with Epic Records and concentrate on producing. … Continue reading Jeff Lynne’s ELO – From Out of Nowhere
Famously, upon hearing the final cut of Blondie’s AutoAmerican, the A&R man at Chrysalis Records hated it and said, “I don’t hear a single.” The band had risen from their punk roots in New York’s Bowery to conquer the world … Continue reading I Don’t Hear a Single: Blondie’s AutoAmerican
I’m a curious sort of fellow. By that I mean that whenever something grabs my interest, I want to find out more about it. If I become interested in a TV show, I want to find out more about its … Continue reading A Know-Nothing Westerner’s Guide to SCANDAL
