In 4AD’s halcyon years as the keepers of indie-pop’s most ethereal flames, no artists were more closely associated with the label’s ethos than the Cocteau Twins. Indeed, some of their…
Review: Bananarama – Live At The London Eventim Hammersmith Apollo
As Bananarama return to life as a duo, it seems they’ll be as good as their word that the recent reunion with Siobhan Fahey will be the first and last…
Review: Jess Glynne – Always In Between
Jess Glynne sounds like fun. Check out the video for the Bee Gees-flavoured All I Am, which – contrived though it may be – finds her larking around backstage at…
One Hit Wonder: The Dazz Band – Let It All Blow
‘Danceable jazz’ was the raison d’être of the group that singer and saxophonist Bobby Harris wanted to form when he left jazz-fusion band Bell Telefunk in 1976 to start afresh…
Review: This Mortal Coil – It’ll End In Tears/Filigree & Shadow/Blood
Ivo Watts-Russell is one of the great under-celebrated pathfinders for UK 80s indie music. His 4AD label incubated a sharp, profound, melancholic musical aesthetic whose influence has reverberated ever since.…
Review: Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Look Now
Costello again proves he’s a master of disguise, adopting various personalities – and employing celebrity guests judiciously – on this late-period high points. At the risk of sounding like someone…
The Godfathers of Pop: Martin Stephenson interview
David Burke meets Martin Stephenson, who started his pop career with The Dainties before going on to find solo success. As The Dainties reunite, Stephenson looks back on his life…
Daryl Hall & John Oates announce first UK tour in five years
The biggest music-selling duo in history have announced a UK arena tour in April and May of 2019, their first headline tour in five years. Daryl Hall & John Oates…
Review: Yazoo – Four Pieces/Three Pieces
A new boxset – on either four vinyl discs or three CDs – remasters Yazoo’s two classic studio albums and adds BBC radio sessions and remixes Yazoo’s genesis was rooted…
The Godfathers of Pop: 2-D interview
Ian Peel chats to Gorillaz lead-vocalist 2-D about life in the world’s biggest cartoon band. In a bizarre encounter that takes in drawer slamming, popcorn chicken, virtual pop luminaries the…