Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins and writer Dave Schulps under the name Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press. It initially focused on British bands, but expanded to cover punk, new wave and alternative rock. After 95 issues, it ceased publication in 1984.
272 articles
List of articles in the library
Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1976
By Dave Schulps with A. Mindswallow *All puns unintentional ...
Gentle Giant: Acquiring the Giant Taste
Retrospective by Jim Green, Trouser Press, April 1976
Following in the footsteps of GENTLE GIANT ...
Rory Gallagher: TOTP meets Mr. Gallagher: The Story on Rory
Interview by Dave Schulps, Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1976
LET'S START AT the beginning. Your first band was the Fontana Showband. What exactly is a showband? ...
Retrospective and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1976
AFTER DISCOVERING the group Patto on late-night FM radio several years ago, it was depressing to learn a few months later that the group had ...
Report by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, October 1976
THE OBVIOUS ASSUMPTION when writers (and people) approach the subject of Blondie (granted, up to now not many have, but with a single and an ...
Gong, Steve Hillage: Steve Hillage: Hillage Rising
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1976
A former Gongster spills the karmic beans ...
AC/DC: High Voltage (Atco SD 36-1420)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1976
I WOULD GUESS that you have to be Australian to really understand this band. Or maybe Scottish. All I know is that not too many ...
The Jam: In The City (Polydor 2382 447)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, 1977
ANYONE WHO has paid any attention at all the last three years knows that I (and almost everyone else around this tiny office) rate the ...
Blondie: Blondie (Private Stock PS 2023)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1977
ONE OF THE great maxims of life is that one should ask for more than one expects and expect more than one deserves. I have ...
Cheap Trick: Cheap Trick (Epic PE 34400)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1977
WHEN A group has a guitarist with Donald Sutherland's face and Huntz Hall's wardrobe, a drummer named Bun E. Carlos who looks like Rod Steiger ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1977
Sessionman asserts himself ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1977
A Three-Part Series — Part One: Pre-Yardbirds ...
Kevin Ayers, Soft Machine: Kevin Ayers
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1977
BACK IN TP 16 Myron Bretholz wrote a lengthy run-down of the life and times of Kevin Ayers, English eccentric, banana artiste and wine connoisseur ...
The Clash: The Clash (CBS 82000)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1977
TO PARAPHRASE (and soft-peddle) the kind of language that greeted Patti Smith's Horses, this Clash album is a tremendous debut. Of all the new wave bands ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1977
BACK IN nineteen-sixty-something, when an earlier new wave was proudly unfurling, several Live at the Star Club LPs appeared, scooping up some of the bands ...
Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True (Stiff SEEZ 3)
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977
WHO IS THIS little fella striking a defiant Presleyesque pose on the cover of My Aim Is True? Why, it's Elvis, of course. Not the ...
Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, The Yardbirds: Jimmy Page: Paging the Yardbirds
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977
JIMMY PAGE gives his version Part 2 of a three-part interview by Dave Schulps ...
Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane: Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane: Rough Mix
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977
WHATEVER THE reasons may be for Pete Townshend's self-imposed exile from both recording and commenting on the current music scene, it's a relief to have ...
Link Wray, Robert Gordon: Robert Gordon and Link Wray: Robert Gordon with Link Wray
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1977
ROBERT GORDON with Link Wray recaptures the one elusive quality so often missing from music of the '70s: feeling. This is trickier than it seems ...
Overview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, October 1977
After A Glorious Year, British Punks Are Now Absorbed Into The Music Biz Money-go-round ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977
"ASK US WHY we called the album Max, c'mon, ask us." ...
The Sex Pistols: Not So Rotten After All
Profile and Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Trouser Press, October 1977
RIGHT NOW in London, late August 1977, there's not a single sliver of doubt about it: this is the year of ...the Sex Pistols. They ...
Retrospective by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, October 1977
IT'S 1968, ALRIGHT. Me and a mate are lounging around in his garden. His parents are out for the day. School's out for the summer. ...
Comment by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, October 1977
EXTREME REACTIONS to the Stranglers are not unusual. Take the case of a mate (well, acquaintance) of mine, Dick O'Dell, tour/road manager for Alex Harvey. ...
Essay by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, October 1977
IT MAY COME as a bit of a shock, especially if you were just getting used to the idea, but Britain's new wave movement is ...
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1977
They like to think of themselves as "pop punks." In America most of the attention paid Blondie is focused on namesake Debbie Harry, whose blonde ...
Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page: The Final Page
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, November 1977
JIMMY P. on LED Z. The Conclusion of a three-part interview ...
Thin Lizzy: Bad Reputation (Mercury SRM-1-1186)
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, November 1977
WELL, IT'S happened. I thought Thin Lizzy would be established in the front lines of hard-rock's elite, and hoped this would be the album to ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Be Seeing You
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977
FINALLY THE DEBUT of a Wilkoless Feelgoods is upon us. Even more than that, it's the Nick Lowe-produced debut of a Wilkoless Feelgoods. ...
Elvis Costello: I Fought the Law!
Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1977
RARELY HAS MYSTERY surrounded the arrival of a new rock performer the way it has Elvis Costello. Totally unknown a year ago, courtesy of Stiff ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977
I'VE FELT A LOT of things about a lot of bands over the years, but pity isn't one of the most common. ...
The Small Faces: Small Faces: Rock Roots: The Singles Album
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977
NOW THAT STEVE Marriot has put a version of the Small Faces back together, there's been a bit of resurgence (perhaps as a result of ...
Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1977
SO YOU THINK Stiff are the only one allowed to go slightly batty with their advertising, eh? Well guess again. These Motors boys got 'em ...
The Stranglers: No More Heroes
Comment by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977
IT'S SO HARD to decode the Stranglers. After you've gone through the easy observations about Dave Greenfield's keyboard sound and its relationship to Ray Manzarek, ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Cruising with Eddie & the Hot Rods
Report by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1978
THE NEW Eddie and the Hot Rods album cover is black and white. It's got this geezer, lead singer Barrie Masters if you must know, ...
Horslips On (Almost Everyone But) Horslips
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978
THE FOLLOWING HORSLIPS interview was done in New York in mid-October. It has very little to do with the group or its music, but consists ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978
I AM sitting here this rainy Saturday afternoon, pretending to review this, presumably the last, Roxy Music album; an obligatory collection of those tracks which ...
Steve Hillage: Motivation Radio
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1978
EARTH CALLING Steve Hillage! Earth calling Steve Hillage! Gee, it's too late. Steve is lost in space. ...
The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978
HO HUM, ANOTHER album from the Pistols. No, seriously, this is it. After all the controversy, bannings, bullshit and speculation, the Pistols finally have something ...
Brian Eno: Before and after Science (Polydor 2302 071)
Review by Paul Rambali, Trouser Press, February 1978
IT APPEARS the grandiosely titled Before and After Science did not come easy to the erudite Mr. Eno. It was first scheduled some 10 months ...
Cheap Trick: Smart, Sleek and Debonair
Profile and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1978
AMERICA'S A FUNNY place for rock music. Just when you assume that the well of talent that unleashed classic outfits like the Velvet Underground, Doors ...
Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd: Syd Barrett: Careening Through Life...
Retrospective by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, February 1978
THE COLOR black is not a solitary real color. Nor is it the total absence of color. A black hole in space, in fact, is ...
The 101'ers, The Clash: The Clash: Greatness from Garageland
Report and Interview by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, February 1978
UNANNOUNCED, TO SAY the least, a kid in boots, suspenders and short-cropped hair clambers through the photographers' pit and up onto the stage of London's ...
Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Happy The Way He Is
Profile by Paul Rambali, Trouser Press, February 1978
SOME PEOPLE are worried that the next few years in Britain will see the rise of extreme right wing sentiments turning the country into an ...
Guide by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978
If one may hazard an absurd guess based on no real information, it will probably be around November of this year when some smart punk ...
Be-Bop Deluxe: Be Bop Deluxe: Drastic Plastic (Harvest)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978
For a while there, Be Bop was one of the great post-glitter hopes from Britain. The first trio of albums displayed Bill Nelson as a ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978
It would be a laughable understatement to say that lots has happened to Blondie (the group) since their previous album appeared slightly over 12 months ...
Jonathan Richman: Modern Lovers: Modern Lovers Live
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978
AS A RESULT of a fairly ridiculous chain of events, the ‘Home of the Hits’ has relocated (at least for the time being) from Berkeley, ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1978
KAREN TOWNSHEND answers the door wearing a puzzled look. "Hello. I'm here to see Pete. We've got an interview scheduled for ten o'clock." The puzzled ...
Radio Stars: Songs for Swinging Lovers (Chiswick)
Review by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, April 1978
DESPITE STIFF’S CLAIMS, Chiswick Records has been the most adventurous of the new British storefront labels. While Stiff has relied for the most part on ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978
AS THE FALLOUT from new wave continues to turn up on plastic, a few gangs of rockers have chosen (wisely I suppose) to see how ...
Elvis Costello: This Year's Model
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1978
I WAS SOMEWHAT HESITANT about falling in love with My Aim Is True. It didn't make my 1977 Top Ten LP list because the songs ...
Pete Townshend, The Who: In Which Pete Townshend Gets Personal
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1978
"SHADDUP," YELLS Pete Townshend. Then he slaps his leg and Towser the dog comes running over. "Do you want to go out?" Pete asks, getting ...
Essay by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, May 1978
Pink Floyd.(pink floid), n., a highly-developed rock band with no mind-body split; played rock'n'roll in the 60s writing from a "psychedelic" viewpoint; still playing rock'n'roll ...
Television: Tom Verlaine: In Search of Adventure
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1978
IT HAS BEEN over a year since Television's debut album, Marquee Moon, and for the band's American fans most of that time has been a ...
XTC: White Music (Virgin V 2095)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1978
GALLOPING OUT of the remains of the new wave, as we tried to explain last issue, is Britain's new answer to tedium, Power Pop. ...
Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1978
ONE OF THE most interesting personalities of the first decade of British rock was the Rolling Stones' sharp-tongued, red-headed manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978
FOR ANYONE COUNTING, this is the third Trick LP to be released in a smidge under fourteen months. In that time, the band has played ...
Dave Davies, The Kinks: Dave Davies: He Ain't Heavy, He's Ray's Brother
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1978
HORNSEY IS a sleepy working class neighborhood in the northeast of London, far removed from the teeming heart of the city. Not as far away ...
Elvis Costello: Close Encounters of the Irish Kind – Belvis in Elfast
Report by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1978
THESE DAYS it's a big deal for me to take a train down to CBGB and a major odyssey to get into a record company ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978
FROM THE VERY start of their recording career, it was obvious that Generation X had some rather unparochial ideas about their role as a punk ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978
I DISCOVERED A GREAT pastime the other day that you've gotta hear about. It's called headbanging. Not exactly what Suzy does in that cute li'l ...
Rainbow: Long Live Rock'n'Roll
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978
MENTION GUITARIST Ritchie Blackmore around so-called "intelligent" rockers and you'll just get a bunch of barf noises in response. ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978
THERE HAVE BEEN quite a few new wave bands who have a strong relationship with their audience, but not a one can compete with Sham ...
The Dictators Look For The Perfect Wave
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978
The Record Plant, one of New York's top pro recording studios, is located in a fairly anonymous office building just west of Eighth Avenue in ...
Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Right On, Mister!
Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1978
THE ABILITY TO walk into a room and make someone you've never met feel like they've known you for years is called 'charm.' The ability ...
The Flamin' Groovies: Flamin' Groovies' Cyril Jordan Isn't Angry
Interview by Michael Goldberg, Trouser Press, July 1978
LIKE THE CITRÖEN, the Groovies have always been interesting, but never popular. Born amid the psychedelic rush of Haight Ashbury in 1965, the Groovies from ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1978
GRAHAM PARKER'S a nice guy, writes great songs. He leads a tight, exciting band full of talented players, and his stage presence looms larger than ...
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978
ALL OF A sudden Kate Bush was at the very top of the UK singles charts. 'Wuthering Heights', her first 45, was number one and ...
Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore: Ritchie Blackmore: I Want To Tell You What I've Been Doing
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978
AS DAVE SCHULPS and I rolled along in the darkness to our impending interview, we were filled with apprehension. After all, Ritchie Blackmore has never ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1978
YOU CAN: tie up your plastic garbage bag with a wire, send a message on a wire, connect broken bones with a wire, strangle your ...
The Stranglers: Stranglers: Black & White
Review by Gary Sperrazza!, Trouser Press, July 1978
THERE'S A STORY floating around the A&M offices concerning the Stranglers that will probably never see print in the English pop weeklies. ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1978
THE VIBRATORS' first album, over a year ago, was a great disposable album of lasting significance. The short songs contained all the elements of great ...
Cheap Trick: Presenting Cheap Trick: A Musical In Eleven Years
Profile and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1978
Without a doubt, Cheap Trick has definite shortcomings as a band. They're certainly not perfect. However, they've now got three albums in their catalogue and ...
Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Rockpile: Rockpile: Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Face Off
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, August 1978
Rockpile's Alternate Leaders Reveal Differing Strategies for (Riviera) Global Domination ...
Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1978
TELL A LONDONER you're going to Swindon on the weekend and you get the same reaction as if you told a New Yorker you were ...
Squeeze: Putting On The (UK) Squeeze
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1978
"HEY, YOU guys are great! Now which one of you is Bill Bruford?" That's the kind of reception UK Squeeze got on their American tour. ...
Aerosmith: Joe Perry Meets The Press
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1978
"I don't care if we never make another album as long as we can play live." "I've never tried to be a guitar hero." ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978
NEVER SAY DIE! Black Sabbath didn't never say it, and that's why the heaviest damn band ever is back. Forget all those other bands, because ...
Graham Parker WANTS YOU…To Get Stuck!
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978
GRAHAM PARKER had reason to be happy. And he was. ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1978
WINTER 1974: When I saw the cover of the first Kiss album, I laughed. I mean, here were these four geeks looking like rejects from ...
The Jam: Rickenbacker Rock: The Jam
Profile by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1978
Try calling Paul Weller of the Jam a punk rocker, and finds out how icy a cold stare can be. The intense young man who ...
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: The Great White Hope
Interview by Gary Sperrazza!, Trouser Press, December 1978
Tom Petty Takes On Disco Menace ...
Roxy Music: Manifesto Destiny: The Return Of Roxy Music
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, 1979
"We Never Really Broke Up" I distinctly remember being more than a bit skeptical the first time I heard Roxy Music. ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1979
AT LAST, THE third chapter of the Big Star story comes to light. In fact, it comes in two editions, US and UK, but for ...
Comment by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979
AS BILLY MARTIN once put it, "I feel very strongly both ways." Although Devo's cosmic significance may truly compare with that of yesterday's toast, they ...
Lou Reed: Live – Take No Prisoners
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979
"I DO LOU REED better than anybody else, so I thought I'd get in on it." ...
Penetration: Moving Targets (Virgin V 2109)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979
IT'S ONLY slightly difficult to take a record pressed on glow-in-the-dark plastic seriously, but such is the level of total foolishness that the British record ...
The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979
THE CLASH HAVE been through a lot since they last released an album, almost 19 months ago, and so has the scene that they emerged ...
King Crimson, UK: UK: John Wetton
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979
"IT'S NOT insecurity, but I always like to I work with other people in groups. I think that's the strongest thing. When you take a ...
Wire: Chairs Missing (Harvest SHSP 4093)
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1979
WIRE ARE disconcerting, laconic yet eloquent in fragmented visions, jarring even at their most accessible. They disdain cliché, pushing out the limits of rock; the ...
Godley & Creme: Godley and Crème: L
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
GIVE BOTH SIDES in the 10cc split a few LPs to get their feet back on the ground. It took Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
K-SCOPE FINDS a retiring Phil Manzanera sitting uneasily in the driver's seat, unwilling to take a dominant role but not really collaborating either. ...
The Police: Police Lean To America...
Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1979
IT'S SMOKY and crowded in that dusty old shoebox they call CBGB, and there's a band called the Police onstage – so what else is ...
The Clashmen Meet The Pearlman
Report and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1979
"It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever I done, that's for sure." I had Sandy Pearlman, Record Producer, on the phone from some unnamed restaurant ...
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1979
IT HAS TAKEN the Jam merely three albums to go from a young band with a lot of energy and a love for mod-era rock'n'roll ...
Todd Rundgren: Back to the Bars
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
PROOF OF THE evils of peer-group pressure is found in the phenomenon of the double live album. A more useless trend would be hard to ...
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1979
XTC'S FIRST ALBUM, White Music, released earlier this year, was a stunning debut from a band that defies easy labeling. ...
Elvis Costello: Armed Forces (Columbia)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1979
When Bob Dylan broke up with his wife, Sara, a few years ago, the world was treated to the introspective and bitter Blood on the ...
Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1979
Probing reporter Dave Schulps sees the show, talks to the Records' Will Birch, and delves into the acidic past of Wreckless Eric. ...
Peter Hammill: The Two Sides of Peter Hammill
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1979
FOR OVER 10 years Peter Hammill has been the object of a particularly intense cult following. As the leader of Van der Graaf Generator and ...
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1979
Kids Are Allright Director Jeff Stein Tells TP All About It ...
Retrospective by Dan Matovina, Trouser Press, May 1979
WHAT WOULD eventually become Badfinger started out as a part time local band in Swansea, Wales during the post-Mersey beat boom of 1964-66. Back then ...
Generation X: Valley of the Dolls (Chrysalis CHR 1193)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1979
THIS, GEN X's second outing, is not very good compared to their first, but it does serve a useful function by pointing out two phenomena ...
Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1979
Jam's Paul Weller knows where he's going ...
The Only Ones: Only the Lonely
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1979
ONCE UPON a time, there were four individuals who felt out of synch with the Great Rock'n'Roll Circus. Amid varying degrees of alienation from it, ...
999: Feelin' Alright With the Crew
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979
ANYONE WHO SEES more than one rock show a year knows that a lot of the glitter wears off after the first few times. Which ...
Elvis Costello: Accidents Won't Happen: The Premeditated Rise Of Elvis Costello
Essay by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, June 1979
A COUPLE OF days before Christmas, trying to make it home on the London tube before I dropped the bottle of tequila and the Times ...
The Clash: Clash City Talkers: New York Meets Jones And Co.
Report and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1979
There's nothing quite as frustrating to watch as the hypocrisy of press, radio, and record companies rushing to get behind some new band that has ...
Ian Hunter's Love-Hate Relationship With Rock'n'roll
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979
IAN HUNTER'S been staying at his Manhattan hotel so long (two months) that the staff treat him like a member of the family. Between desperate ...
John Cooper Clarke: Disguise in Love (CBS 83132)
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1979
NB: To be briskly recited aloud in a thick Mancunian (due east of Liverpudlian) singsong: ...
Jonathan Richman: Back In Your Life
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1979
THE OSCAR BRAND of the now generation returns with his first studio LP in quite a while. Amid the ceaseless confusion that is Beserkley Records, ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1979
AFTER 16 YEARS IN the public eye, growing and developing, quick-cutting and dodging, Bob Dylan carries his catalogue of songs behind him like a bevy ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1979
HORSLIPS AND the new wave? An unlikely topic on the face of it, but Horslips, recently touring here in support of their latest album, The ...
No Dice: No Dice Are a Good Bet
Profile and Interview by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, July 1979
IT'S JUST the luck of No Dice that they first surfaced during the punk-to-new wave transition. Judging from the tacky photos that keep appearing, you'd ...
The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood: Ronnie Wood: New Stone Tries a Solo
Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1979
WHEN TP FIRST interviewed Ron Wood, back in the fall of 1974, the Faces' guitarist and ex-Beckite was more than happy to answer questions about ...
Ronnie Wood: New Stone Tries a Solo
Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1979
WHEN TP FIRST interviewed Ron Wood, back in the fall of 1974, the Faces' guitarist and exBeckite was more than happy to answer questions about ...
Stiff Little Fingers: (F)Ireland Rockers
Interview by Garry Bushell, Trouser Press, July 1979
"TAKE A LOOK where you're living/You got the army on your street/ And the RUC dog of repression is barking at your feet..." Jake Burns ...
Nico: Strange Interlude With Nico
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, July 1979
SITTING IN the second floor cocktail lounge at Howard Johnson's, Nico drinks an afternoon breakfast of Bloody Marys and beer. It's a dreary overcast day ...
The Fall: Live at the Witch Trials (Step-Forward SFLP 1)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1979
"I STILL believe in the r'n'r dream/R'n'r as primal scream." ...
The Ramones Finish High School
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1979
"D-U-M-B, everyone's accusing me..." The Ramones don't wanna be pinheads no more. ...
Van Morrison: Belfast to Belfast
Retrospective by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, July 1979
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO imagine someone further removed than Van Morrison from looking like a pop star or even a rock'n'roll artiste. It's not even like, ...
Bonzo Dog Band, Vivian Stanshall: Viv Stanshall: Bonzo Bounces Back
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1979
Perhaps, as the curse of King Tut suggested, some legends are best left uninvestigated. Rock heroes tend to have warts, just like everybody else, and ...
The Pink Fairies: Pink Fairies: Kings Of Oblivion (Polydor)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980
It must have taken a lot of guts to name a band "Pink Fairies". But considering the amount of mind alteration practised by its British ...
Remember Those Fabulous Seventies? A Musical Stroll From Woodstock To Punk-rock
Overview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980
The best characterization of rock'n'roll's third decade is that of 10 years spent revising, refining and recalling the music of the '60s. While '50s bands ...
Sparks: A Woofer In Tweeter’s Clothing (Bearsville)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980
The all-time weird American art-rock LP, Spark’s second album was, at first encounter, impenetrably arcane and smug. After cranking up the volume, adjusting to the ...
New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: The New York Dolls (Mercury)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980
This seminal slab of early-70s punkitude, produced by unlikely Todd Rundgren, defines the sound and style of New York’s contribution to new wave: a raunchy ...
Profile and Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, March 1980
LAST SUMMER, holed up in Sound City Studios in the industrial pits of the San Fernando Valley, four musicians known collectively as 20/20 were deep ...
Motörhead: Bomber (Bronze BRON523)
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1980
LISSEN, HOW the b'jeezus can these guys be considered hip by anyone besides a Hell's Angel (and an English one at that)? I mean, look ...
The Clash Play Revolution Rock
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, Trouser Press, March 1980
IT'S FOUR days before Christmas. A dark, early evening damp with snow and rain. Immediately south of the Thames, in the inappropriately genteel Victorian suburb ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1980
"Nothing's been inflated and nothing's been enlarged/What you're looking at, baby, is the original model..."— Will Birch, 1977 ...
Fleetwood Mac: Can't Go Home Again
Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, Trouser Press, April 1980
OF COURSE, Fleetwood Mac is the American Dream. The band's success story is the stuff of which the mythology of modern day America is made: ...
Marc Bolan, T. Rex: A Wizard, A True Star
Retrospective by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1980
Marc Bolan's brief blaze of glory ...
Cindy/Cidny Bullens: Cindy Bullens can take it or leave it
Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, May 1980
"IT WAS Mick Jagger when I was 14 years I old." Cindy Bullens, almost twice that age now, took her rock 'n' roll baptismal by ...
Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Get Happy!!
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1980
The first draft of this review, written on the basis of an American pressing, had to be discarded when an English copy arrived. Sound quality ...
Discography by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1980
PINK FLOYD is pretty weird. And not just the band, but the way they've been viewed by the rock world. ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1980
HAS IT really been three years since the Jam made its first live appearance in America? Since three teenagers in matching suits and skinny ties ...
The Knack: ...But The Little Girls Understand (Capitol SOO-12045)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1980
"THE SONGS are an assortment of feelings and emotions expressed redundantly as only the Knack can...This record is very dear to me and my bank ...
Overview by Dave Marsh, Trouser Press, June 1980
EVER SINCE Col. Tom Parker, genius entrepreneur of Hadacol, dancing chickens and Eddy Arnold, signed Elvis Presley to an exclusive (on both parts) contract, managers ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1980
REMEMBER HOW your parents used to attack rock 'n' roll by pointing out how disreputable most bands looked? It sure didn't help when they seized ...
Joy Division: University of London
Live Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1980
THERE IS NO joy in Joy Division. And no division either. At the University of London the band presented an hour of unrelenting, uncompromising bleakness; ...
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980
ROBERT SMITH of the Cure is not your ordinary front man. ...
The Motels: Growing Up In Motels
Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, July 1980
"THERE'S SOMEONE on the Ameche for you, Mom," chimes in Maria Davis, 13-year-old daughter of Motels lead singer/songwriter/sometime rhythm guitarist Martha Davis, 29. Ameche? "The ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1980
THE INNER sleeve of the current Motors album, Tenement Steps, boldly states "The Motors are Andy McMaster [and] Nick Garvey." A demarcating "with" adds a ...
The Undertones: Hypnotised (Sire)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1980
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING special about the Undertones. They're a motley gang of Irish kids with typical imperfect faces and no visible charismatic presence as ...
Willie Nile: The Reluctant Stardom of Willie Nile
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980
YOU PROBABLY remember the New Dylan syndrome. It doesn't turn up much anymore, but once upon a time it seemed like every American male songwriter ...
Gang of Four's Great Leap Forward
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1980
"THE IRONY of our name," says guitarist Andy Gill of Gang of Four, "is the idea that four essentially middle-class English musicians would dare to ...
Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (Island ILPS9592)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980
THIS ALMOST defies weirdness. Grace Jones is an awfully tacky disco singer next to whom the B-52's women look tasteful. Warm Leatherette's musicians are reggae ...
Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople: Ian Hunter Remembers
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1980
As told to Jon Young ...
John Hiatt: Two Bit Monsters (MCA 5123)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980
LAST YEAR'S most exciting newcomer returns with his fourth album, hoping to become an overnight sensation after ten years. Forgetting an early pair of weak ...
Secret Affair: A Thoroughly Modern Affair
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1980
IAN PAGE, 19, is the smooth-talking, trumpet-tooting singer/co-writer/producer of Secret Affair, the first and foremost band to emerge from London's neo-mod explosion. He is also ...
The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Sire SRK6091)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980
BIRMINGHAM, England has been the birthplace of several major musical trendsetters: the Move, Moody Blues, Black Sabbath. Unlike a number of other large cities in ...
Dave Davies: This Man He Laughs Tonight: Dave Davies Spearheads Kinks Attack!
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, August 1980
SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER 'You Really Got Me', the Kinks are entering the 80's in better shape than anyone has a right to expect them to ...
The Undertones: A Better Mousetrap: The Undertones Beat A Path To America’s Door
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1980
Back in the primordial '70s, a rash of groups moved into the British 45 charts to occupy the places formerly inhabited by the Beatles and ...
Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1980
IN A BUSINESS geared more and more towards pushing product, Kevin Ayers is a rare commodity. He's never sold great amounts of records, but has ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1980
OVER THE course of eight albums Queen has scaled all the heights and plumbed all the depths. ...
The Residents, Snakefinger: Ralph Records: Surrealism a Go Go
Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1980
Waiting for art talent scouts? There are no art talent scouts. Face it, no one will seek you out. No one gives a shit. — ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1980
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Bass Culture (Mango); Blackbeard: I Wah Dub (UK, More Cut); Matumbi: Point of View (EMI America); Sugar Minott: Black Roots (Mango); Toots ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1980
A day in the life of Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh ...
Peter Gabriel: Gabriel on Gabriel or Man vs. Record
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, October 1980
PETER GABRIEL is mildly amused. ...
Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, November 1980
IF THE IDEA of Todd Rundgren producing Wasp, an album by teen idol Shaun Cassidy strikes you as...unusual, that, Cassidy says, was the idea. ...
Cheap Trick: Greetings From Rockford, Ill.
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1980
Rockford, Illinois (population 140,000) has made two notable contributions to the entertainment world: John Anderson and Cheap Trick. While there is little similarity between the ...
Bruce Springsteen: The River (Columbia)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1981
A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE sketch of a few seasons back poked fun at Roy Orbison by reducing him to a caricature: motionless stance and ever-present ...
Carlene Carter, Nick Lowe: Carlene Carter
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1981
SONNY AND CHER. Ike and Tina. Steve and Eydie. The roll call of illustrious show business couples could go on and on. Now you can ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1981
CONTRADICTIONS, contradictions. (Sigh.) Gary Numan is not a simple proposition. Most people think he's simply wonderful – the electrono-pop tunesmith who's ever so cute – ...
Detective, Michael Des Barres, Silverhead: Michael Des Barres
Profile and Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, January 1981
THOUGH THE degree of his sales success thus far has been, to put it kindly, limited, Michael Des Barres has lived one of rock's more ...
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, January 1981
THE MUSICAL trend of the year in Britain, a nation which obviously relishes its fads, was the emergence of the neo-ska bands. Buoyed by a ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1981
HEY BUNKY, are ya feelin' low because the whirlwind East Coast tour you were promised turned out to be two weeks at Vinnie's Peppermint Lounge ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981
HEAVY METAL at its stalest has few rivals in the all-time tedium stakes. Monsters of Rock, recorded live at Castle Donington in Britain, is not ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1981
THE GENERAL PUBLIC is no doubt familiar with the Blondie story: from Bowery pop-punks to mid-American Euroschmaltzers and product endorsers. What was once a band ...
Buzzcocks, Human Sexual Response: The Ritz, New York NYC
Live Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1981
DO I DETECT the beginnings of a love affair between New York and the Buzzcocks? The Mancunians packed the Ritz solid on a Sunday night, ...
George Thorogood & The Destroyers
Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, February 1981
GEORGE THOROGOOD sits in a hotel room in western Massachusetts, watching television. It's a bitter cold November night; in a couple of hours he will ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (Geffen GHS2001)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
John and Yoko: A Fond Farewell ...
Neil Young: Hawks & Doves (Reprise HS2297)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
NEIL YOUNG stands alone in his ability to startle an audience with the most familiar techniques. As a master of everything from quiet folk to ...
Gang of Four: Outside the Bands Don't Toe the Line: Gang of Four Makes Music Their Way
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
WOULD YOU like your rock with politics or without? Today pop music offers a wide variety of choices: from the violent invective of stereotypic punk ...
Rod Stewart: Foolish Behaviour (Warner Bros. HS3485)
Review by Laura Fissinger, Trouser Press, February 1981
FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR is Rod Stewart's first studio LP in two years, written entirely by Rod and band and produced almost entirely by same. Gee, it's ...
Roy Orbison, The Romeos: Town Hall, New York
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
MANHATTAN'S Town Hall recently showcased two generations of Southern rockers and provided a lesson on the importance of image. ...
Secret Affair: Behind Closed Doors (I Spy 2)
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981
SECRET AFFAIR has a knack for getting up people's noses. Those you'd expect to be sympathetic to the band's aims react to their name with ...
Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
SOONER OR later, every British band of any significance has to decide what to do about America. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
"THERE WAS one review that said we sounded like Jose Feliciano, the Beatles, Foreigner and Queen," notes the Monochrome Set's Lester Square (real name, Tom ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981
BOTH THESE records explore the musical turf of brave new pop swathed in synthesizers and studio effects. Neither is quite a paradigm of such experimentation; ...
Adam & the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier (Epic NJE37033)
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1981
IMAGINE AN obsessive singer who calls to mind an earthbound version of glitter-era David Bowie, and a guitarist who draws from sources as diverse as ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1981
SPOT THE one that doesn't belong: (a) rock 'n' roll, (b) aggression, (c) rationality, (d) energy. Normally, of course, you'd say that being rational has ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1981
THE FIRST TIME the Clash ventured into a recording studio they emerged with a concise blockbuster 45 ('White Riot') that deliv-ered the goods in under ...
Spandau Ballet, Visage: Blitz Night: Hurrah, New York NY
Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1981
ARE THE futurists a spin-off of the Star Trek fanatics? Nope, they're just the newest British cultists of individuality, using make-up and dress that amalgamates ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: Ritz, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1981
WHILE EACH new generation of upstarts spout the notion that rock is just for kids, it's easy to find aging veterans who hang in there ...
Profile and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Trouser Press, May 1981
"NOISE IS A big part of Motorhead mania" says the stark black lettering inside one of the band's tour brochures. Immediately below it is a ...
Steve Winwood: The Steve Winwood Autodiscography
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1981
Steve Winwood's work defies pigeonholing; his distinctive "blue-eyed soul" vocals grace an impressive blend of rock, soul, jazz and folk. He's responsible for a wealth ...
Colin Newman, Wire: Colin Newman
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1981
"YOU CAN'T forcibly solve contradictions; you've got to allow them to work themselves out," says Colin Newman. What's a Colin Newman? Good question; he himself ...
Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (IRS SP70014)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1981
CHANCES ARE you have an opinion about the Dead Kennedys even if you've never heard their music. Provocation is the name of the game; a ...
The dB's: Stands for DeciBels (Albion AB105)
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1981
PERHAPS THE most fertile period for pop-rock experimentation were the years between the end of the Merseyboom and the beginning of the Woodstock/FM radio era. ...
The Stray Cats: Bond Club, New York NY
Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, June 1981
TALK ABOUT time warps. New York's ultra-cool, ultra-modern Bond rock club, decorated like something out of a bad science fiction movie, was invaded by girls ...
The Who: Face Dances (Warner Bros.)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1981
ONCE UPON A TIME, the Who was a guiding force in the life of many people (myself included). The wisdom of Chairman Pete Townshend, as ...
The Small Faces: The Steve Marriott Autodiscography
Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1981
As told to Jim Green ...
Adam & The Ants: Palladium Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981
LISTEN, SNOBS: Adam and the Ants headlined New York's Palladium Theater (3300 seats) for a legitimate reason, not just that tired old scapegoat hype. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981
THE ROCKABILLY revival currently sweeping England ought to be a bonanza for rock 'n' roll fans, but mostly it's been a dud. While the original ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1981
AH YES. The ringing guitars, simple rocking beat — definitely American but with a twist of Limey-philia. The Plimsouls are from Los Angeles, and you ...
Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, The Small Faces: The Steve Marriott Autodiscography Part Two
Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1981
As told to Jim Green ...
Duran Duran: Duran Duran (Harvest ST12158)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1981
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND'S Duran Duran, yet another entrant in the let's-play-synth-disco-with-silly-costumes chart sweepstakes, had a recent hit with a wretchedly tedious piece of routine ass-wag called ...
Joe Ely: You Can Take The Boy Out Of Texas...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981
IT DOESN'T take a genius to figure out that country music is in pretty sorry shape these days. There's something wrong when unbearably bland hacks ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981
THERE'S A BIG difference between playing crudely out of necessity and harnessing primitivism to say things that can't be said any other way. Rock thrives ...
Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive: Savoy, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981
WHITE ROCK musicians are notorious for "borrowing" from blacks. Were it not for the inspiration of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, James Brown and so ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981
THAT OLD saw about prophets without honor in their own land has a ring of truth even today, as Ron and Russell Mael, known as ...
The Boys, The Members: The Members, the Boys: Privates, New York NY
Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1981
MANAGERIAL problems, identity crises, record companies' loss of faith — not a pretty picture, but that's what both the Members and the Boys have faced ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1981
"THE OTHER day I was discussing doing a new kind of record deal for the States. The record companies are going to hate it, but ...
Bill Nelson: Triumph of the Bill
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, November 1981
The admirable Nelson returns ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, 1 November 1981
THE CURE is this kind of rock band that encourages a blurring of distinctions between journalism and criticism. They simply must be considered subjectively; dealing ...
Rick Springfield: Rick Rules This Town
Profile and Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, December 1981
IF THE Saturday night crowd at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is any indication of who buys his records, Rick Springfield has at last conquered ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, 1982
THEIR LOOKS and their sound may strike some as a bit suspect, but there's no doubting the Stray Cats' affection for the classic rock 'n' ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1982
WITH A LITTLE embroidery Annabella Lwin's story could be a classic show business myth: Discovered working at a dry cleaners, an ordinary 14-year-old girl becomes ...
Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1982
"MANY PEOPLE have said to me, 'You must have changed your style, because you now have a popular record with 'New Toy'," says Lene Lovich. ...
The Police: Ghost in the Machine (A&M SP-3730)
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1982
THE POLICE are stars. What with the worldwide mega-success of 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' and Zenyatta Mondatta, maybe they figured they ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1982
From a fan's point of view, there is nothing worse than a compilation album put together by either a group, whose nearness to the material ...
Interview by Toby Goldstein, Trouser Press, January 1982
TOM VERLAINE is looking for clues in an interior landscape, signposts that just might point the way to some inescapable Truth. "You don't respond to ...
Elvis Costello: Almost Blue (Columbia FC37562)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
WHY SHOULDN'T Elvis Costello make a country album? An accomplished dilettante, he's previously drawn from such diverse sources as Tin Pan Alley ('My Funny Valentine') ...
Neil Young: Re•ac•tor (Reprise HS2304)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
NEIL YOUNG'S sustained vitality is a truly amazing phenomenon. Where most superstars burn out, he's so dependable you tend to take his consistency for granted. ...
The Human League: Dare (Virgin V2192)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
LAST YEAR'S fracturing of the Human League into two camps held more promise than the usual band breakup. For two albums the original League displayed ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1982
IT'S EASY to criticize October; just call it "Son of Boy" and trash the band. What this line of thought fails to consider is that ...
Blue Oyster Cult: Why You Should Care About Blue Oyster Cult
Comment by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1982
Action conforms to preexistent imagery.– Sandy Pearlman, The History of Los Angeles, 1965-1969 ...
8-Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy (Fetish FR2003)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, March 1982
"IT WAS FUN while it lasted," Pat Irwin (now a Raybeat) sighs in the liner notes to this catch-all retrospective of live and studio tracks. ...
Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1982
PUNK BANDS made up in sheer energetic vitality and charm what they lacked in technique. The young electronic bands now taking the British charts by ...
Joan Jett: I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982
JOAN JETT'S first solo album, Bad Reputation, suffered from a number of flaws, I pointed out in my review of the time; listening to it ...
The Skids: Skids: Joy (Virgin V2217)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982
WITH THIS album (their fourth) the Skids have taken the final plunge of their career. From a pimply-faced four-piece with a great first album and ...
Tenpole Tudor: Let the Four Winds Blow (Stiff SEEZ42)
Review by Jon Tiven, Trouser Press, March 1982
ALTHOUGH THE UK has embraced Eddie Tudor and his cronies with open arms, Tenpole Tudor is pretty much an unknown quantity in America. ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982
WANT TO FEEL prematurely old? This, if you can believe it, is the Stranglers' seventh British album. While most alumni of the '77 punk explosion ...
Laurie Anderson: William Burroughs, John Giorno, Laurie Anderson: The Ritz, New York NY
Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1982
AH YES, culture. Not rock — two-thirds of this bill wasn't even music. But my doubts that a novelist, a poet and a multimedia performance ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, 1 March 1982
PEOPLE HAVEN'T asked U2 if they're the future of rock. They've told them. ...
Profile by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, April 1982
IT'S AN IRONIC fact of life that until quite recently very few of the so-called (and frequently maligned) "Los Angeles" bands had deep roots in ...
The Fleshtones: This Year's Authentic Embodiment of Rock 'n' Roll
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1982
A COMMON thread runs through all great rock 'n' roll, from Elvis Presley and Little Richard to Dave Edmunds and the Ramones. It's a sublime ...
The Go-Go's, The Police: The Police, Go-Go's: Spectrum, Philadelphia PA
Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, April 1982
IT WASN'T the same seeing the Police at the Spectrum, Philadelphia's pro sports arena, as it was back at CBGB or even the midsize Palladium. ...
Report by Mick Farren, Trouser Press, May 1982
AS I WRITE THIS, the tabloids tell me we're having a cocaine war in New York City. Not that there's anything novel about a cocaine ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1982
"A dB IS A proportion, a logarithmic measurement of energy," Chris Stamey, 27, explains. "It doesn't mean there's necessarily a lot of it; it relates ...
Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1982
HELLO, SPORTS fans! We're in the 76ers' dressing room at the Spectrum in Philadelphia – but that tall, gangly fella slumped on the end of ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1982
"EQUALITY AND democracy were what we preached. That's how it was when we started, but it didn't last. When we started making $2,000 a night ...
Graham Parker: Another Grey Area
Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1982
IF, AS GRAHAM PARKER declared on Squeezing Out Sparks, "passion is no ordinary word," then Another Grey Area should by all rights have been no ...
Joan Jett: Selling Records Is The Best Revenge
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1982
"I LOVE ROCK'N'ROLL" has to be one of the corniest, old hat, lowest-common denominator clichés of all, right? The phrase conjures images of barechested, bluejeaned ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1982
JOHN HIATT'S career has been hampered by unfortunate business liaisons ever since lift-off. ...
Phil Manzanera, Roxy Music: Phil Manzanera
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1982
PICTURED ON THE first Roxy Music album with bizarre fly-glasses, long hair and unkempt beard, Phil Manzanera looked like left-field weirdness incarnate. That image was ...
Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, July 1982
ONE FREQUENTLY repeated cliche of the rock press has it that John Hiatt is the "American Elvis Costello." ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1982
SPARKS' HIT STREAK in the mid-'70s produced America's best Anglophiliac rock ever – so good, in fact, that English teenyboppers made them tops of the ...
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1982
Wherein two highly anticipated albums refuse to be what was expected of them, proving neither fans nor skeptics correct in their assumptions. ...
Obituary by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1982
LESTER BANGS, whose writings probably influenced the style and outlook of countless rock critics, died in his New York apartment on April 30 at the ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1982
The Germs: Germicide (ROIR A108 cassette) Stimulators: Loud Fast Rules! (ROIR A109 cassette) Circle Jerks: Wild in the Streets (Faulty Products COPE3) Flipper: ...
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1982
BLONDIE IS the new wave success story, from Bowery boys-and girl-to glamorous chart-toppers. Yet the band has never felt it had to toe any musical ...
Haircut 100: Haircut One Hundred: ...And Now For Something Really Clean
Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, September 1982
Haircut One Hundred proves that neatness counts ...
The Gun Club, The Jam: The Jam, The Gun Club: Palladium, New York NY
Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, September 1982
UNDER A WIDE banner that said "Trans-Global Unity Express," the Jam played an intense 80-minute set to a half-empty Palladium. Songwriter/guitarist Paul Weller, with his ...
Profile and Interview by Toby Goldstein, Trouser Press, October 1982
MIKE SCORE, 24-year-old founder and lead vocalist of A Flock of Seagulls, strongly resembles a large winged being: His carroty-blond hair has been coaxed into ...
Kim Wilde: A Face In The Crowde
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1982
DO YOU believe that children of celebrities have it made? British pop singer Kim Wilde doesn't think so. "Daughters of famous fathers don't have an ...
Robert Plant: Pictures at Eleven
Review by Mick Farren, Trouser Press, October 1982
IT'S ALWAYS HARD to know what to do when the drummer drops dead. The Who and the New York Dolls recruited new ones and pressed ...
Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1982
After 11 albums over a decade of stylistic evolution, Sparks — that is, Ron and Russell Mael with collaborators — have achieved legendary status despite ...
The Fleshtones: Opening The Doors Of Perception
Profile and Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, 1983
IT WAS a dark and stormy night. In his castle high on the hill, evil Dr Vollen was cackling to himself, and to the stuffed ...
Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1983
Starkness at the Edge of Town ...
Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, February 1983
ABC ARE currently the hottest three letters of the alphabet. The band of that name's debut album, The Lexicon of Love, contains some of the ...
Captain Beefheart: In Search Of Captain Beefheart
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1983
The elusive Don van Vliet tracked to his lair ...
Kate Bush: The Dreaming (EMI America ST17084)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983
KATE BUSH'S The Dreaming is a stunning record in more ways than one. Besides being a triumph of inventive songwriting and unpredictable performances, it is ...
Soft Cell, Yazoo: Soft Cell and Yaz(oo): Synths and Singers
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983
JUST TWELVE months ago it was unclear if the primarily British phenomena of synthesizer bands would exhibit any staying power. Although 1981 was a good ...
Warren Zevon: The Ritz, New York NYC
Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, February 1983
WARREN ZEVON is arguably the most compelling and exciting member of the LA singer/songwriter set. His latest album, The Envoy, is his most movingly powerful ...
Neil Young: Trans (Geffen GHS2018)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983
NEIL YOUNG must struggle to find something new for each album. When you've made as many records as he has, and covered as much stylistic ...
Rank and File: Can Punks Sing Country? Just Listen Up!
Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, April 1983
"I'D CALL IT country music, and let I everyone take it from there," Chip A. Kinman says, almost defiantly. ...
Ric Ocasek: Beatitude (Geffen GHS2022)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983
WHY WOULD Ric Ocasek make a solo album? He's the songwriter for the Cars, as well as one of the lead singers. Not surprisingly, Beatitude ...
The Clash’s Greatest Hits: Clash City Rockers
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1983
"In 1977 I hope I go to heaven'Cos I been too long on the doleAnd I can't work at allDanger stranger — you better paint ...
Dexys Midnight Runners: This Man Believes
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1983
The back of Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Liars A to E' single sleeve bears a message to the world. In general terms it explains the Dexys ...
Soft Cell: The Art of Falling Apart (Sire 237691)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1983
MARC ALMOND and David Ball of Soft Cell make great singles. Like Paul McCartney, Abba and precious few others these days, they're adept at creating ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1983
The End of the World is Nigh ...
Echo & The Bunnymen, U2: Echo & the Bunnymen: Porcupine (Sire 23770); U2: War (Island 90067)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1983
THERE AREN'T too many English bands that can buck the current vogue for synthesizers and funk/dance rhythms, remain musically adventurous and still be commercially viable ...
Musical Youth: Out Of The Mouth Of Babes
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1983
IT'S A BITTERLY cold and gusty February day that finds me scampering through the remnants of New York's blizzard of '83 on my way to ...
Buzzcocks, Pete Shelley: Peter Shelley
Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1983
Back when the much-saluted bywords of British punk were "rebellion," "relevance" and "gritty realism," Manchester's Buzzcocks brought something fresh, pithy and even humorous to their ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983
ARE YOU tired of constantly being told how this or that band is the new greatest wonder? Of course you are. Unfortunately, superlatives have a ...
Spandau Ballet: True (Chrysalis)
Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1983
I USED TO think Spandau Ballet bit the boot. The band's first two albums seemed little more than gussied-up disco, a rip-off of various cultures, ...
The Replacements: Hootenanny (Twin Tone)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983
HOOTENANNY??! BY way of explanation, the liner notes remark that the "hoot" began as "a completely spontaneous, unrestrained event," and go on to say, "Today, ...
Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1983
IF DICKENS HADN'T gotten there first, Great Expectations would be the perfect title for the saga of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh. After their ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, December 1983
THE TRANSATLANTIC telephone line is dominated by the muffled distortion and hiss common to calls made across a thousand leagues of water; the voice at ...
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