Wish you were here? The Pink Floyd reunion that never was
And yet, after all that, their relationship still ran aground. The catalyst was Waters’s decision in 1983 to leave Pink Floyd. It wasn’t the first time the…
The Coral’s wild ride: ‘We were treated like kings – but we were cretins’
He also wanted their music to break away from the mid-paced mainstream indie played by the likes of Radiohead, Travis and Starsailor. “We wanted ours to be…
How The Coral blew it: ‘We were treated like kings – but we were cretins’
He also wanted their music to break away from the mid-paced mainstream indie played by the likes of Radiohead, Travis and Starsailor. “We wanted ours to be…
Louder, faster, funnier: how the New Wave of British Heavy Metal saved rock
In the spring of 1983, Venom arrived in the United States with enough explosives to start a war. According to the music promoter Jonny Zazula, the Geordie…
Farewell to Betty Davis, the thrilling, sexy and criminally overlooked first lady of funk
Betty Davis has died, aged 77, and the world just got a little less funky. By rights, she should be a legend. Davis was a funk powerhouse…
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young hadn’t agreed on anything in years – then came Joe Rogan
In recent years there has been speculation that they’ll reform again. In 2017 Nash, speaking in the context of the Trump presidency, said that the issues keeping…
Why Morrissey and Johnny Marr hate each other
Morrissey and Marr – the band’s singer and guitar player respectively – have been on different trajectories since the band split. Morrissey is the cantankerous solo artist…
‘Ozzy bites head off bat’: the bitter truth about rock’s wildest myth
Far from being a gross act of rebellion, then, the bat ended up in Osbourne’s mouth due to a series of schoolboy dares and misunderstandings. And despite…
‘Everyone hated Bat Out of Hell’: how Meat Loaf made a misunderstood masterpiece
The tour finished and the album kept selling. There was immediately record company pressure for a follow-up. But Loaf wasn’t in a position to record. So Steinman…
How David Bowie kicked cocaine, fell under Eno’s spell and reached the heights of Low
In the early summer of 1976, David Bowie was relaxing in his recently-acquired home in Blonay, Switzerland, following a gruelling world tour. Frazzled, and at a creative…
Led Zeppelin’s demon manager: the best – and worst – of Richard Cole
A party started in one of the Zeppelin rooms, and Jackie was asked to remove her clothes, writes Spitz. Cole and Batman started “hitting her with the…
Led Zeppelin’s demon manager: the best – and worst – of Richard Cole
A party started in one of the Zeppelin rooms, and Jackie was asked to remove her clothes, writes Spitz. Cole and Batman started “hitting her with the…
John Lennon, Charles Manson and UFOs — what The Beatles: Get Back left out
Indeed, Lennon was largely responsible for The Beatles’ flirtation with the more far-out elements of the counterculture. As their renown grew, he increasingly took a performative, Warhol-esque…
The blazing talent – and heartbreaking decline – of ‘fifth Beatle’ Billy Preston
For The Beatles, a slot on the same bill as Little Richard at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton on October 12 1962 was a dream made…
The stories behind Mick Rock’s five greatest shots
This classic image of the four members of Queen in a diamond formation is probably best known from the music video for Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975. But…
Drugs, diets and coercive control: the sad story of Brian Wilson’s conservatorship
Brian Wilson’s mental health problems began back in the mid-Sixties. He recalled first hearing voices after taking psychedelic drugs. The voices plagued him forever after (“All day every…
The Velvet Underground owe so much to Doug Yule – why was he written out of history?
Yule has been largely written out of Velvets history too. And that despite the fact he was a key member for a significantly longer period than John…
How deadly crowd crushes happen – and how to stop them
Characterising a crowd surge as a “stampede” or “panic” is misleading he says in that it implies the audience is in some way to blame. “People don’t…
‘Loads of illicit substances’: the night Led Zeppelin invaded an Indian dive-bar
And the whereabouts of the recording? Dhas has been trying to track it down for years, without success. Keith Kanga, the bass player of Atomic Forest who…
Drugs, diets and coercive control: the sad story of Brian Wilson’s conservativeship
Brian Wilson’s mental health problems began back in the mid-Sixties. He recalled first hearing voices after taking psychedelic drugs. The voices plagued him forever after (“All day every…