Pop music

Big names and broken souls: storm clouds gather over Woodstock’s summer of love

26 March 2016 9:00 am

In 1963, when the bloom was still on the rose, Bob Dylan described Woodstock as a place where ‘we stop…

Vinyl, Sky Atlantic

Verging on the corny: Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl reviewed

20 February 2016 9:00 am

Vinyl (Sky Atlantic) — the much-anticipated series, co-produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, about the 1970s New York record…

The Heckler: those who doubt the brilliance of Phil Collins are snobs

12 December 2015 9:00 am

Three boos for those rotten spoilsports who started an online petition against Phil Collins coming out of retirement (there’s already…

Dusty Springfield at the Royal Variety Performance in 1965 (Getty).

Everything you always wanted to know about Sixties pop —and more

28 November 2015 9:00 am

It might seem an odd choice, but after reading Jon Savage’s new book, I think if I had a time…

James Delingpole discovers the fons et origo of indie music

3 October 2015 8:00 am

I really hadn’t meant to write a postscript to last week’s column on my dark Supertramp past. But then along…

Just what Tom Watson needs: a Bananarama tribute band

26 September 2015 8:00 am

Available for parties Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said that leaving his party to join the Liberal Democrats would be…

Oh no: On the Road’s a masterpiece. So what else have I missed?

29 August 2015 9:00 am

This week’s column is dedicated to all those of you who have never read Catcher in the Rye and who,…

Jazz soloist Charlie Parker with his saxophone c. 1946

From ragtime to the X Factor: the epic story of popular music

22 August 2015 9:00 am

As pop music drifts away from many people’s lives, so its literature grows ever more serious and weighty, as though…

Compiling my greatest hits (and my Twitter trolls')

25 July 2015 9:00 am

Compilation schompilation. Having been in music for as long as I have you would think I had a good idea…

How can Stevie Nicks be 67? Is this possible or has Wikipedia made a mistake?

Unutterably thrilling: Fleetwood Mac at the O2 reviewed

6 June 2015 9:00 am

‘I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to get this chance in life,’ said Christine McVie, as the…

A singer’s joys and woes: like her heroine Dusty Springfield, Tracey Thorn has trouble coming to terms with her beautiful voice

16 May 2015 9:00 am

Look up Tracey Thorn’s live performances with Everything But The Girl or Massive Attack on You Tube and you’ll find…

If One Direction lost one more member, would they be quorate?

9 May 2015 9:00 am

Where were you when you heard that Zayn Malik had left One Direction? No, me neither, but as my teenage…

Russell Brand’s heart is in the right place – but it’s not the place he talks out of

2 May 2015 9:00 am

I write at a difficult time. The balls are in the air, but we know not where they will land.…

W1A reviewed: so pitch-perfect as to be profoundly depressing

25 April 2015 9:00 am

Ever since the days of Tony Hancock, many of the best British sitcoms — from Dad’s Army to Fawlty Towers,…

The golden age of pop has been replaced by the golden age of pop obituaries

11 April 2015 9:00 am

The golden age of pop music may be long gone, but the golden age of pop musicians’ obituaries is definitely…

The Kinks in their Sixties heyday— Ray Davies is far right, next to his brother Dave

Ray Davies: part of Swinging Sixties London — and apart from it too

21 March 2015 9:00 am

As Johnny Rogan notes in this new biography of Ray Davies and the Kinks, it is almost 50 years since…

James Blunt’s sense of entitlement is so palpable you could wear it as a hat

7 February 2015 9:00 am

Only a fool would mess with James Blunt. As his Twitter followers know, he has a sharp wit, and, as…

His lyrics are hopeless, his covers are catastrophic, yet I still love Bryan Ferry

10 January 2015 9:00 am

There were two new albums I wanted for Christmas — the Bryan Ferry and the Pink Floyd — and to…

Why we love hating the music we hate as much as we love loving the music we love

13 December 2014 9:00 am

It’s all gone now, of course. Not just the magazines themselves, but the legendary bile of old-school rock criticism

The People’s Songs, by Stuart Maconie - a review

20 July 2013 9:00 am

For Stuart Maconie fans, this book might sound as if it’ll be his masterpiece. In his earlier memoirs and travelogues,…