Village Green Preservation Society is the Kinks greatest album. Not only is it musically and lyrically brilliant, but it does something unique – it makes a long term leftie like me feel sympathetic towards conservatives. There are two tracks that draw on the album’s title. The first, Village Green, is a beautiful evocation of Ray Davies’ … Read more
Motor Cities Burning People. Most who know this song are more familiar with the heavy cover version by the MC5, released 2 years after the original. For me, this is loads better. The song depicts the 1967 riots, which left urban neighbourhoods in flames, and 43 dead. The MC5 version in particular glorifies the role of … Read more
Originally published June 2025 Sly Stone died this week. Sly and the Family Stone were America’s happiest pop group. A mixed-race, gender-integrated funk-soul band, their early albums were euphoric—the most primal expression of what it felt like to be young, horny and alive in late ’60s America. They embodied the ecstatic, rainbow-tinted vision of the … Read more
Warning: This Blog Contains Hazy and Unreliable Memories of My Teenage Years, and some Jimmy Savile We might be in for another hot summer. Two years ago, riots erupted across the UK following the deaths of school children in Southport. Sunderland was a particular flashpoint. Clashes over asylum seekers in Epping — a sleepy London … Read more
I’m in Ireland, reading Kevin Rowland’s autobiography. Predictably, it’s brilliant — one of the best music autobiographies in years, and much more than a story about pop and pop stars. I can’t tell you exactly what Rowland says his music means to him — you’ll have to buy the book for that — but I can … Read more
I was brought up CofE. My dad was the Church organist, by Grandad the Church Warden, and we went to Church every Sunday. We were a bit high church, and I was an altar boy as well as singing in the choir. This is my local parish Church back in the day when both the BBC and … Read more
We all know the story of Syd Barrett. The psychedelic Icarus. Too much LSD. Too much too soon. A brilliant mind that burned itself out. It’s neat. It’s tragic. It’s also not quite true. Barrett’s story is usually told as a warning. But look at it properly and something else emerges—something less convenient, and a … Read more
Back in the 1980s, before the internet and YouTube, it was hard to dig up information about forgotten 1960s bands. Knowledge was at a premium. In 1980, Edsel Records released a compilation called The Ultimate Action by the English mod band The Action. I bought it because the sleeve notes were written by Paul Weller, … Read more
Two massive mid 70s reggae cuts about the greatest sportsman of all time. OK — I know this sounds about as likely as Arnold Schwarzenegger living down my street, but both stories are true, I promise you. Ali wasn’t just a boxer. In the ring, he was graceful, dynamic, and powerful — he truly did … Read more
Before Amazon — before the internet even existed — there was the catalogue. For anyone who never had the pleasure, this was a vast slab of glossy paper, thumped through your letterbox like an oversized Bible of consumer desire. It sold everything: ladies’ underwear (always the most dog-eared pages), lawnmowers, jewellery, children’s toys, and garden … Read more
How Cool is Cool?: Why the Mod Revival Matters Post-punk is cool. Everyone agrees. Gang of Four, The Au Pairs—anything with jagged guitars and art-school angst gets the thumbs-up. The more obscure, the better. Even the unlistenable stuff Jon Savage digs up for his compilations has cultural cachet. But one part of the post-punk era … Read more
Or, more specifically, why is there a cohort of fans who love The Jam and Paul Weller’s solo albums, yet struggle with the bits in between? There’s a curious overlap between people who went bald and right-wing as they got older and people who can’t get on with The Style Council. I saw The Style … Read more
Most fashions of the 1980s have been endlessly recycled. Nostalgia has long since replaced creativity. But one style code still remains largely forbidden territory: the casuals. Pringle jumpers. Sergio Tacchini and Fila tracksuits. Lacoste polo shirts and deerstalker hats. Kickers, trainers. Burberry, Fred Perry, Ellesse, Lyle & Scott. Cords with the seams split so they … Read more
In the 1960s, Yugoslavia stood apart from the rest of the Communist world. While it remained a socialist state, it followed its own independent path, maintaining a delicate balance between Moscow and Washington. Under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, the country became the most economically successful and progressive Communist regime, playing a key role … Read more
Arnold Schwarzenegger lived down my street when I was a child. This isn’t a joke, so don’t wait for a punchline. I grew up on Garden Farm Estate in Chester-le-Street, a relatively new housing estate and like many in the North East at the time it had a mix of people —not too posh, not … Read more
Village Green Preservation Society is the Kinks greatest album. Not only is it musically and lyrically brilliant, but it does something unique – it makes a long term leftie like me feel sympathetic towards conservatives. There are two tracks that draw on the album’s title. The first, Village Green, is a beautiful evocation of Ray … Read more