“It’s great just being part of a band again,” announced Mick Ralphs with a beaming smile, just one of the many components that make him officially the nicest man in rock. We are sitting backstage in the shabby chic … Continue reading
First of all in order to gain your respect and attention I have to be honest and tell you that seeing Red Box was not my primary reason for going to the show tonight. I primarily went to see my … Continue reading
FANCY SOME COUNTRY,DOOM-ROCK,SPEED METAL WESTERN…..LOOK NO FURTHER! Shelton Hank Williams aka Hank 3 is what the Americans would describe as a ‘Ornery Muthafukah’.The grandson of C&W Yoda-Hank ‘Cold,Cold Heart’ Williams- Hank 3 is a made guy.He’s the John Gotti jnr … Continue reading
Just come off the phone after having a lovely chat with Tony TS McPhee and his wonderful partner Joanne.I’m currently working on a piece about The Groundhogs mindmelting classic Split and have been getting in touch with the eclectic cast … Continue reading
Just finished transcribing an interview with Syl Sylvain where he describes himself as a ‘broke legend’. “Basically the New York Dolls were a hit because they sold more influence than anybody else,”he told me, “if you could deposit influence into … Continue reading
Last night I sent off my Top 20 albums of the Noughties list to RBP.This morning I woke up in a pool of sweat wanting to rewrite the whole thing.I turned on my computer,had a quick look and decided ‘this … Continue reading
Went to the Classic Rock awards last night and it confirmed to me that at last the music that I loved since childhood is getting the respect it deserves. It was great seeing rock titans like Billy Gibbons,Jeff Beck,Jimmy Page,Tony … Continue reading
Still recovering from my trip to Los Angeles to spend a week with the congenial and extremely cool Mr Joe ‘Feckin’Perry of Aerosmith. I used hate going to LA in the 70′s and early eighties mainly because it is a … Continue reading
I’ve been house sitting in Cheam this week,which means I’ve been able to visit and connect with people in London(I am presently a resident of Southampton). Met up with Steve Hackett on Thursday and was pleasantly surprised.I was expecting a … Continue reading
Really sad to hear about the death of Willy Deville. I only recently got a DVD of his on Amazon and was delighted to see that he was still on form musically and a spiky character offstage.I got into some … Continue reading
Must mention Alabama 3 who I saw at The Brook,one of my favourite haunts,last Thursday.A true Underground band,they seem to be self sufficient and have a die hard following.They are also treated with suspicion by the press,which ensures them a long … Continue reading
Just watched that vomit inducing documentary about Michael Jackson and that spoon bending huckster Uri Geller.It’s sickening to see how the many money grabbing media types are queueing up to dredge up some connection with the kiddy fiddling freakshow.If you … Continue reading
Is it just me or are 99% of PR’s nowadays a waste of space and total hindrance when it comes to getting work done? Back in the day the press officer used to be this convivial chum ,usually based at … Continue reading
July 21 2009 As I walked into my local BetFred for my daily adrenaline booster John the Bookie greeted me with the immortal words ;”You know who Chip Monk is don’t you?” Now John has a vague idea that I … Continue reading
Meanwhile in the real world.It’s taken me three days to recover from my sojourn in the Netherlands.I don’t know if it’s old age,lack of stimulants or the fact that anyone would find travelling for 36 hours with only three hours … Continue reading
15 July 2009 After an exciting few weeks travelling around various festivals interviewing an array of interesting people comes the bit I hate which involves transcribing loads of tapes and hitting various deadlines which start with yesterday(seriously). I feel a … Continue reading
13 July 2009 Got back from Amsterdam at 7.30 am feeling very fragile after only a couple of hours sleep in twenty four hours I was confronted by the surreal yet familiar sight wearing a bowler hat,stick insect thin,staggering precariously … Continue reading
It’s five to midnight and I’m sitting here processing the day while listening to Cries from the Midnight Circus(an anthology providing a soundtrack to Ladbroke Grove when it was ‘happening’-an equal amount of hits and misses)on Spotify.I tried to find a … Continue reading
Just been doing the rounds of European festivals after quite a scary writing drought.It seems that all the major rock bands released their albums in the last two years and things were quiet until now. Two weeks ago I went … Continue reading
Finally got round to listening to the Kings of Leon’s latest album and it reminded of the time I saw them last year at the Sunset Marquis in Hollywood.They were parading their newly shorn look,wearing skinny jeans and clutching tiny … Continue reading
While the music industry bemoans the lack of record sales,piracy etc and hacks whine on about the death of the printed word,I can happily report that live music is in a rude state of health. I relocated to Southampton about … Continue reading
Had a great night Monday at Hix’s Chop and Oyster House where the contributers of RPB gathererd round to hear about an interesting new venture called Freekly.It was also great seeing some familar and beautifully ravaged faces. I am quite happy … Continue reading
Saw Golden Earring at the weekend and they were bloody fantastic.The audience was a healthy mixture of old and new fans.It was their first show in the UK in thirty years and a triumphant return. Can anyone think of other … Continue reading
First of all Barney,thanks for turning me on to Spotify.Being a complete luddite I’ve just got into the joys of downloading music(legal and illegal-but that’s another debate).Any other sites and suggestion would be gratefully accepted. Onto Football.It’s a bit like … Continue reading
I got a lovely phone call from Mike Kellie from The Only Ones thanking me for a live review I wrote in this months Classic Rock.I must admit that I was rather taken aback.It’s only happened once before in over … Continue reading
