In 1976 one of the best pieces of music journalism of all time appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine. Gordon Burn’s A Hard Week’s Night, with photographs by Red Saunders, documented a night at Wigan Casino. Burn is a bit of a hero of mine, although describing him as a music journalist doesn’t really do … Read more
Northern Ireland has three UNESCO World Heritage inscriptions. The Giant’s Causeway is one of Europe’s great natural wonders. Gracehill’s Moravian Settlement is an exceptionally well-preserved eighteenth-century village. The third surprises almost everyone. UNESCO has recognised the late-1970s Northern Ireland punk scene as part of the UK’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Not because of the records it … Read more
“The English are not gifted artistically. They are not as musical as the Germans or Italians.” — George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, 1940 Twenty-four years later British music dominated the world. The Beatles, the Stones, The Who, The Kinks and dozens of others became the soundtrack to a generation. By the late twentieth … Read more
We Are the Mods: Youth Culture, Class and the Economy in 1960s Britain We often think of the 1960s as a violent decade: the Kray twins, mods and rockers clashing on Brighton beach. Yet despite a doubling of violent crime during the decade, overall crime levels remained lower than in the 1980s or 1990s. There … Read more
Embarrassment, Madness The greatest pop record of the 80s. Madness were never the coolest band of their era—at least not compared to their former 2 Tone label mates like The Specials, The Selecter, or The Beat. While those bands carried an air of glamour and rebellion, Madness leaned into cheeky grins and mainstream appeal. They … Read more
There are a few moments in pop music that once seen will never be forgotten. For me most of them were on Top of the Pops. The Jam in their suits, ties and shiny shoes, looking like they had just come from a job interview. The druggy swagger of Happy Mondays or the Smiths waving … Read more
(Originally published February 2025) Down in the Tube Station at Midnight: The Best Song The Jam Never Recorded Rick Buckler, drummer for The Jam, passed away this week. His contributions to the band’s sound were immense, and rarely better than on Down in the Tube Station at Midnight—one of The Jam’s most distinctive singles. The lyrics, … Read more
Nice Enough To Eat (how a £1 compilation changed everything) When I was at secondary school, the punk wars were in full swing. Punk had declared that all music before 1977 was invalid, and listening to anything that pre-dated it was a crime punishable by playground exile. That might sound extreme now, but it was … Read more
Graham Bond Organisation: Holy Magik This story begins on a drunken night at the Colpitts Hotel in Durham. I was sitting by the fire in the back bar with a friend when we were approached by an even drunker character named Lig. Among his many slurred stories was a conspiratorial claim: Graham Bond didn’t kill … Read more
Cosmic Dancer The crucial question for all of us still belonging to music fandoms. Are we still cool? Does it matter? My dad spent years playing Working Men’s Clubs around the North East. He played the organ, and his mate Bill played the drums. At their peak, there were hundreds of clubs across the region, … Read more
Is It All Over My Face – Loose Joints (1980) My favourite dance record of all time isn’t some cool cut of 60s R’n’B, or even a Northern Soul floor scorcher. It’s an 80s New York disco record, written in E minor, and made by a classical cellist. The name on the label says Loose … Read more
How Immigration gave Postwar Britain Its Voice in Pop In The Lion and the Unicorn, George Orwell claimed the British, as a people, weren’t much good at music or art. We never produced a Mozart or a Michelangelo. Ask a mid-century Englishman whether he’d rather hear Handel conducted by a maestro or join a ropey amateur … Read more
Born To Run: The Myth of the American Rebel The image of the rebel is deeply embedded in American culture. A particular version of American manhood looms large — rule-breaking, free-spirited, untameable. This mythic figure fights for liberty against a backdrop of authority and conformity. He’s the outlaw hero, the lone wolf, the cowboy. And, … Read more
The Yugoslav Punk and New Wave Scene A few weeks ago, I discussed the flourishing youth culture and pop music scene in Yugoslavia during the ’60s, particularly the mod scene. I want to finish the story with the ’70s and ’80s, and a look at Yugoslavian punk and new wave. The Rise of Yugoslavian Music … Read more
This is the most recent song I have written about so far, but it’s roots stretch way back, not just to the late 60s but beyond. To me, this is the last protest song, the end of an era in popular music. For those unfamiliar with Richard Thompson, he was the guitarist for Fairport Convention … Read more
Biddu Appiah | The Greatest Pop Star You Never Heard of I realise that normally when I write about pop it is the esoteric end of things, but this one is solid pop gold. One of the biggest hits of the 70s. If you don’t mind I want to go back to a record I … Read more
I love Brian Eno, or at least I love his series of solo albums he recorded after leaving Roxy Music right through to his ambient phase in the early 80s. Eno continues to make music today, but I must confess I have mostly lost tough with his output. The last album I really liked was Another … Read more
VE Day: Daphne Oram, the BBC, and the First Turntablist Under Fire In the 1930s and ’40s, jobs in sound engineering were off-limits to women. But when World War II broke out, and the BBC’s top technicians were called up to serve, Daphne Oram stepped in to fill the gap. She brought with her one … Read more
Cleo Laine, SCIF, and a Forgotten Anti-Racist Moment in British Music (originally published July 2025) Cleo Laine died this week, aged 98. I’ll admit it — I was never much of a Cleo Laine fan. Her smooth, polished brand of jazz was always a bit too tame for me. But Laine was more than a … Read more
I was a teenage Marxist. Okay, maybe not a theoretical Marxist, but I certainly claimed a deep belief in far-left politics. It’s not hard to see why. I grew up in a former mining village in East Durham and was a teenager during the miners’ strike. It’s difficult for anyone who didn’t live through that … Read more