240 posts
In the early 1990s, The Brand New Heavies were at the forefront of the burgeoning Acid Jazz scene. A quarter of a century on, Founder member Andrew Levy talks to…
Q+A: Cat Glover
The choreographer, dancer and singer talks to Calum Waddell about working with Prince during his most purple of purple periods… Cat Glover was at the side of Prince as a…
Thursday Night Fever: Top Of The Pops
Top Of The Pops transformed itself into a non-stop party showcase for the 1980s pop explosion. Those who were there, including Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware and DJ Janice Long, look…
Sawmills Studio Interview: They came, they Saw, they conquered
It’s an idyllic recording space in the middle of nowhere that can only be reached by boat or foot, yet the Sawmills Studio in Cornwall has attracted everyone from XTC…
Kid Creole Interview: ‘I travel around, because it’s hard to catch a moving target’
The tropical gangster Kid Creole? Travelling showman August Darnell? Native New Yorker and former english teacher Tom Browder? The leader of Kid Creole and the Coconuts has more identities than…
INXS Interview: ‘We were all part of a brotherhood’
They were the Aussie gang who could have ended up as petrol pump attendants. Instead, INXS conquered the world and became embroiled in a saga of drugs, ghosts, undiagnosed mental…
Rise Of The Machines: Pioneering music devices of the 80s
Introducing the pioneering devices that shaped 80s pop. Members of The Human League and Landscape reveal the true story behind the electro revolution, from blowing up drum machines to prank-calling…
Classic Album: Parallel Lines – Blondie
Forsaking their punk sound but not their attitude, Blondie teamed up with hitmaker Mike Chapman for their third album which earned them global success thanks to a string of hits…
Denise Pearson Interview: ‘The music in the 80s is an era to be reckoned with’
Family conflict is nothing new in pop music. When The Everly Brothers imploded in the mid-70s, brothers Don and Phil didn’t speak to each other for a decade, and only…
Martin and Shirlie Kemp Interview: ‘For us, the words actually mean something’
Eighties pop royalty Martin and Shirlie Kemp have joined forces for an unexpected album of jazz covers. The couple talk to John Earls about their feelgood record, dinners with George…