Category Archives: Reviews

In the early days of the Manic Street Preachers, the band was isolated, not many liked them, they were against the grain, outsiders. For a select few though, they were game changers, for people like me writing about them in the music press invited lots of flak for Joe Rebel in Exeter they nearly saved rock n roll….here’s a collection of his memories of the band and interviews and reviews from his manics fanzine charting the rise of the band… from outsiders to national treasures? Continue reading →

Keith TOTP and his Minor International Indie Celebrity Allstar Backing Band Captains Rest, Glasgow 14 October, 2011. We always knew it would happen: pop has eaten itself. Worse, it has semi-revived, crawled half-dead from its own anus, and is now making a potload of cash while belching its revolting green breath into our faces Continue reading →

WE’RE A GARAGE BAND diary of a Clash fan-part 2 of Joe Rebel's punk rock memoirs Part 2 of Joe Rebel’s punk rock memoirs in which he joins a band and then gets to meet and become good friends with the late and great Joe Strummer … (Part 1 is here) In early ‘78, I was on the return train journey home from Minehead, following an Exeter City FA Cup-tie, when I was introduced to a group of drunken Exeter punks, seeking a drummer for a punk band, that went by the dubious name of Spew X. They were enthusiastic – and as I could find my way around a drum kit, I agreed to audition. Spew X’s chief mouthpiece was fast-talking punk, Shaun Pym Continue reading →

Here are just a few vital recent releases from Ace, probably one of the best reissue labels in the world. The Damned The Chiswick Singles And Another Thing the Damned The Damned, the original punk outcasts, have never really been accorded the respect they deserve for helping kick start the upheaval rendered by the British ‘punk movement’ in the mid 70’s. Continue reading →

“It’s the sound of 4 puppies in a pet store, all competing for your attention to be the one who gets taken home.” -Iggy Pop 2010 [Raw Power LIVE - In the Hands of the Fans] “1970 rollin’ in sight…” … Continue reading →

The Stone Roses ‘Second Coming’ Re-evaluated It seems like yesterday. It was early December 1994 and I was interviewing baggied up youth outside the now closed Virgin shop in Manchester city centre, waiting for the midnight opening of the doors so they could buy the Roses about to be released second album. Continue reading →

Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (BFI Flipside) Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs ( Developed from its popular monthly screening slot at the BFI Southbank, the BFI’s Flipside series is conceived to revisit and reappraise British films that have slipped through the cracks of cinema history – films that were overlooked, marginalised, or undervalued at the original time of release, or which sit outside the established canon of recognised classics. Continue reading →

Ron Johnson Records: the first 11. When I was 19 I was in a band. I was the “singer” and I was into punk – which covered everything from the Pistols to Cabaret Voltaire, as far as I was concerned. Continue reading →

For me ‘Two and a Half Men’ has lost its Sheen and the show is lost without him. Ten minutes into season nine of Two and a Half Men and Jon Cryer – in the guise of bumbling loser Alan Harper – sums up my sentiments exactly Continue reading →

Section 25 “Invicta” EP Hacienda Records (HAC 010) DL only Released Monday 3rd October 2011 via Hacienda Records General release 17th October 2011 Section 25 return with the first new material since the tragic death of vocalist and co-founder Larry Cassidy in January 2010 – vocal duties are now being deftly handled by Cassidy’s daughter Bethany. Why can’t all pop music sound this good? Continue reading →

Emerson Lake & Palmer 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert, High Voltage Festival – July 25, 2010 It has been a long and interesting journey for ELP. Formed in 1970, the UK music press dubbed them the first supergroup. They were a … Continue reading →

Liz Is Evil History! We started out in 2008, a kind of culmination of two other Dublin bands. Continue reading →

How I named Britpop How John Robb made up the word 'Britpop'! There are so many claimants on the word ‘Britpop’ that you would actually think it was one of the great terms for a musical genre! Over the years the other claimers have made me smile. They are genuine in their belief that they came up with the term and that’s cool. Afterall if the NME came up with it in 1995 then it must have been first! but a bit like Columbus ‘discovering’ America despite the fact that millions of people were already there is a bit more to this story Continue reading →

Boyd Rice ‘Iconoclast’ DVD DVD – Limited availability via www.iconoclastmovie.com Iconoclast – Dictionary definition; noun 1. A person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition. 2. Continue reading →

As British institutions go, few have the character and soul of Mott The Hoople. Theirs is a convoluted and uncommon history, and one that is well worth re-discovering. Continue reading →

Steve jobs resigns from Apple Steve Jobs, the chief of Apple has resigned. Jobs was the man who came up with the innovations at Apple like imac, ipod and the iphone- arguably the key pop culture moments of the last decade, moments that marked the decade like the Beatles singles did in the sixties. His innovations dwarfed pop culture more than any mainstream band of the last decade Continue reading →

Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘I’m With You’ album review August 2011 Red Hot Chili Pepperfly Well where do you go after all this time? Continue reading →

V festival- live review V Festival Weston Park, Stafford live review August 20/21 2011 It’s all about the money honey… No kiddin’!!! After numbing the pain of the V line-up two years ago with more cider than a Wurzel could handle – I vowed to leave this long term friend to the people who it was gearing itself toward in latter years. But when I was offered cheap last minute tickets I thought we could spend the weekend hunting out new life and new civilisations in Weston Park. A tall order now for a festival with the sole purpose of bleeding you dry, pumping you with safe music and says bollocks to anything like a ‘fringe tent’ for up and coming bands. Continue reading →

JANICE GRAHAM BAND SINGLE LAUNCH NEWS AND GIGS Janice Graham Band myspace The Janice Graham Band were one of the first new bands tipped when LTW started towards the end of last year. There was already quite a buzz about them; they were about to self-release their first single “No Money Honey” while those in the know waited for the world to catch up Continue reading →