There are two types of cult following for bands: the Cool Cult, that most people won’t have heard of but the wearing of whose t-shirt will get you an appreciative nod from the girl behind the counter in the record … Continue reading The Sparks Brothers: Review
Piroshka were formed in 2018 by former Lush frontwoman Miki Berenyi, her partner K.J. ‘Moose’ McKillop, Justin Welsh from Elastica and Michael Conroy from Modern English and this is their second studio album after 2018’s Brickbat. Staunchly refuting the label … Continue reading Piroshka – Love Drips and Gathers: Review
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
This review was intended for Strange Skins Digital issue #6, but I’m publishing it here as a tribute to Peter Tork, who passed away today. Peter was an important part of The Monkees, sometimes overlooked but always essential. He might … Continue reading The Monkees Christmas Party
Matt Berry is best known as a comedian in the UK, his bullish persona and booming voice familiar to a whole nation of TV viewers from shows like The I.T, Crowd, House of Fools and Toast of London; but he has another life as a successful musician, producing prog and jazz albums. Television Themes is his sixth album and most likely to grab public attention, for it features a whole host of nostalgic theme tunes familiar to anyone who grew up in the UK during the seventies and eighties. In these days when writing a TV theme seems to mostly … Continue reading Matt Berry – Television Themes
