83 posts
Classic Album
With Screamadelica, Primal Scream led their generation towards the new era of dance by combining celebratory beats with rock swagger. Tactical and perfectly timed, it succeeded brilliantly. but there was…
Making Electronic by Electronic
With Electronic, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner shook off the shackles of being at the forefront of two of the most significant bands of the 80s and aimed straight for…
Making Madness – The Rise & Fall
Buoyed by having their first No.1 hit, the fourth studio album by Madness, The Rise & Fall, marked the transition between knockabout Nutty Boys and reflective men who’d become hard-bitten…
Making The Blue Nile: A Walk Across The Rooftops
They only made four albums in 20 years, so The Blue Nile’s every record is precious. but the Scottish trio’s debut, A Walk Across The Rooftops, offered an as yet…
Making ABBA: The Album
What ABBA: The Album lacked in an imaginative title, it made up for with great songwriting, ambitious musicianship and record-breaking sales By the time of this, their fifth studio album,…
Making Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
In 1980 Dexys Midnight Runners arrived with their debut LP, Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, an album that reinvented American soul through a gritty British lens… By Gary Tipp…
Making Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour
With Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe created a melancholy classic informed by death and infidelity… Neil Tennant remembers the moment clearly: it was September 1988 when…
Making Pet Shop Boys: Electric
What started out as a possible electronic side-project soon became Pet Shops Boys: Electric… By John Earls According to Neil Tennant, Pet Shop Boys have twice written the perfect pop…
Making Pet Shop Boys: Very
Vibrant, Computeresque and chockablock with potential singles, 1993’s Pet Shop Boys: Very was built upon purest hyperpop and buoyed by a technicolour promo campaign, with Pet Shop Boys sharing responsibility…
Making Duran Duran: Notorious
Returning from their hiatus diminished in size and stature, the three-man Duran Duran recruited two new members and turned to Nile Rodgers to help them get their groove back, resulting…