David Bowie: Low and behold
IT IS often the case that a personal life in crisis can result in some of a musician’s finest work; Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks and Joni Mitchell’s Blue … Continue readingDavid Bowie: Low and behold
Author: Alan Ashworth
Square
Randy Newman, master craftsman
THIS week, a long-overdue salute to that most enduring of songwriters, Randy Newman. For more than half a century he has been making us smile and sob, sometimes simultaneously, with … Continue readingRandy Newman, master craftsman
Bill the conqueror
IF HE had listened to his music teacher’s advice, we wouldn’t be listening to Bill Dalton now. At 16 his school report read: ‘William is musically incompetent.’ Discouraged, he went … Continue readingBill the conqueror
Blue: The confessions of Joni Mitchell
MY choice this week has frequently been described as one of the greatest albums of all time, and the best by a female artist (how long before records by males … Continue readingBlue: The confessions of Joni Mitchell
Don’t let’s be beastly to the vermin
NEWS to gladden the hearts of animal lovers comes from Germany, where a nine-strong team of rescuers was deployed to save a sewer rat which was so fat that it … Continue readingDon’t let’s be beastly to the vermin
Will the real John Martyn please stand up?
THERE were many embarrassing moments in my journalistic career, and some still have the capacity to make me cringe. One such came on a Sunday in 1976, at the July … Continue readingWill the real John Martyn please stand up?
Put down the toaster and come out with your hands up
WHAT a comfort it is to know that highly paid scientists are beavering away at the frontiers of research to find new ways of scaring the living daylights out of … Continue readingPut down the toaster and come out with your hands up
The age of Innocence (Mission)
WITH gloom all around, politically and weatherwise, and spring seeming a long way off, here’s a ray of aural sunshine to brighten up your day. The Innocence Mission represent love, … Continue readingThe age of Innocence (Mission)
Jimi wrecks the Lulu show
DURING the 1960s, there were few cosier corners in the world of television than BBC Light Entertainment. Middle-of-the-road singers such as Val Doonican, Petula Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Bobbie Gentry and … Continue readingJimi wrecks the Lulu show
Where Beatlemania began – and I slept through it
A FEW weeks ago I looked back fondly to the late sixties and early seventies, when every decent-sized town had at least one record shop. Most places also had a … Continue readingWhere Beatlemania began – and I slept through it