Author archive: Johnny Black

          This pic, sent to me by my good friend Jonathan Morrish [third from right in pic], was taken in the mid-70s when I worked as a press officer at Epic Records in Soho Square, London. … Continue reading →

Despite my deeply felt reservations about Twitter – some of you may recall a rant I published here some months ago about Twitter – I am now twittering. Feel free to snigger. You can see what I’m doing by going … Continue reading →

Been a while since I added a Johnny’s Diary entry to the RBP blog so here’s a little something I scribbled on April 30, 1978. What interests me most about it is the lack of anti-racist content in the entry. … Continue reading →

My gast was unutterably flabbered earlier this week when record producer Bangladesh ‘revealed’ that Beyonce does not write her own songs. Actually, no, it wasn’t. I’m lying, just as the record business has lied to us about this matter of … Continue reading →

Just a quickie. I’m finding myself increasingly irritated by the ineptness of todays music biz press officers. Does nobody check anything before they send it out any more? I just got this jewel today … “Previously compared to great divas … Continue reading →

I haven’t posted much here in recent weeks but I can’t stop myself passing this along. http://www.backroadsofamericanmusic.com/archive/2009/05/04/charley-nelson-piney-woods-piano-man.aspx It’s an obit of someone who sounds like he must have been one of the last musicians to exist untainted by the music … Continue reading →

Willy De Ville’s death (and Pete Makowski’s RBP blog entry thereon) sent me scuttling back to my diary to see if i could find my tickets and/or diary entry about seeing Mink De Ville gig at The Venue. I couldn’t. … Continue reading →

Sorry for not having posted for some time but I can’t resist illuminating your worlds with a little item that had my wife, Carol, and myself in stitches this morning when I tried to read it without cracking up over … Continue reading →

Michael Jackson is dead. Before we start ungraciously quibbling about whether or not he invented the Moonwalk, let’s not forget that this was a man who never stood a chance. Stuck on the stage at five years old, with not … Continue reading →

Back in 1983 I was given the opportunity to interview a long-time hero of mine, the parched-dry Scottish humourist, poet and songwriter Ivor Cutler, so I jumped at it. If you’ve suffered the severe deprivation of not knowing who Ivor … Continue reading →

I spent most of Saturday in a field in Bath, seriously outnumbered by women. They were there to take part in the Race For Life, a nationwide event which raises money for cancer research. I was there to support my … Continue reading →

Apart from collecting rockstar autographs and doodles, one of the joys of my diary has been that I use it as a store for ephemera of all sorts – tickets, passes, snapshots, credit cards, membership cards etc etc. In 1977 … Continue reading →

I’m up to here (for those who still don’t have Blogivision I’m raising my right hand high over the top of my cranium and swivelling it like a demented ostritch) with anniversaries. Watching Breakfast TV the other day I was … Continue reading →

Can rock or pop  ever ever be a democratic process? That thought popped into my mind recently while interviewing Ian Broudie of Lightning Seeds for a piece in Mojo. It’s not a new thought, but it’s one that’s certainly worth … Continue reading →

One of the more memorable assignments that came my way while I was writing for Blitz magazine was the opportunity to helm a three-way interview with Ian Dury, Peter Blake and Humphrey Ocean on June 6, 1983, partly in Mike … Continue reading →

In 1983, one of the publications I wrote for was the UK edition of Penthouse, then under the editorship of Jonathan Bouquet.  Despite having some reservations about the magazine, I have to confess it gave me the opportunity to interview … Continue reading →

We hear a lot of famous last words, but rarely are the first words of the great and good recorded. Most of us ordinary mortals, presumably, start off with mama or dada but I’ve heard of a few who didn’t. … Continue reading →

Since about 1974 I’ve been keeping diaries. They’ve become a much-loved and thumbed source of family history and I’m rather chuffed that some of the earlier ones are now available in photocopy form for researchers at the Mass Observation unit … Continue reading →

There’s a bit of a thing going on in the Guardian Music Blog about what might be the best alien encounter song. I thought I’d throw it open to the giant bulging brains here at RBP. As far as I’m … Continue reading →

I just signed up to Twitter and I’ve no idea why, other than intellectual curiousity. I received a message from someone i don’t know claiming that they’d like to ‘keep up with’ me on Twitter, so I should sign up. … Continue reading →