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Report and Interview by Garry Bushell, Sounds, 6 June 1981

NEW YORK'S Plaza Hotel is so posh you wouldn't be at all surprised to turn round and catch the Queen Mum sliding down the bannisters ...

A Certain Ratio, Joy Division, New Order, Slits, The: Rough Trade and Factory: Business Brains in Action!

Interview by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, July 1981

Independent Thoughts From Rough Trade's Geoff Travis And Factory's Tony Wilson ...

Visage: …And Their British Guru, Steve Strange

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 July 1981

SOMETIMES, confides Steve Strange, weeks go by when he doesn't buy any clothes. ...

The Pretenders: Pretenders

Interview by Peter Silverton, Smash Hits, 20 August 1981

"I must be the most boring person in the world..." sighs Chrissie Hynde. "What on earth is she on abut?" wonders Pete Silverton. ...

Jah Wobble, Public Image Ltd: Jab Wobble At Your Service

Interview by Chris Salewicz, The Face, September 1981

The Entertainer as Servant of the People. Chris Salewicz talked to the former Public Image bass player. ...

Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris: Rodney Crowell: Country's New Laureate?

Profile and Interview by Todd Everett, L.A. Weekly, 1 October 1981

"I EXPECTED him to be more of a household word than he is now," admits Emmylou Harris, echoing the opinion of some of the world's ...

Duran Duran: In New York New York With Duran Duran

Interview by Mike Stand, Smash Hits, 15 October 1981

So good they named 'em twice. Postcard from Mike Stand. ...

The Human League: A Soap Opera

Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 17 October 1981

An everyday story of human life starring the HUMAN LEAGUE. Script MARK COOPER ...

Ritchie Valens Lives!

Retrospective by Don Waller, LA Weekly, 29 October 1981

RITCHIE VALENS, born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, California, on May 13, 1941, cut three hit records before he finished high school: 'Come On Let's Go', ...

Clash, The: Clash at the Apocalypse Hotel

Report by Robin Banks, ZigZag, November 1981

"We're just waiting to be melted down .... have you ever seen a burning puma?" (Joe Strummer. 'Clampdown'. Paris. September '81.) ...

Soft Cell: Bedsitting with Soft Cell

Interview by Mike Stand, Smash Hits, 12 November 1981

‘BEDSITTER’? I’M not knocking it, but the table in Marc Almond’s Leeds bed-sitting room probably said more on the subject than the complete lyric of ...

Aswad, Linx: Linx and Aswad: Shades of Black

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, The Times, 26 November 1981

THERE IS A special role in British life for young black pop musicians, involving a task more serious than could ever be demanded of their ...

Olivia Newton-John: Cream Of The Crop

Interview by Robin Eggar, Record Mirror, 28 November 1981

The front of the chocolate box has changed forever. Or has it? OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN has cut her hair, shed her old image and entered the ...

Purely Percussive: The Irresistible Rise Of Rock Drumming

Overview by Chris Welch, The History of Rock, 1982

A GLITTERING ARRAY of drums surrounded by a forest of shining stands and cymbals has been the center-piece of the rock show since the early ...

The Easybeats

Retrospective by Tom Hibbert, The History of Rock, 1982

An Australian group with stardom on their minds. IN MID-SIXTIES AUSTRALIA, home-grown acts found it difficult to penetrate the music scene on a national ...

Doo-wop: At The Hop

Retrospective by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1982

White vocal groups of the Fifties embraced a variety of styles and sounds, ranging from adult pop groups (the Ames Brothers, the Four Aces, the ...

Little Willie John: The Turbulent Career Of Little Willie John

Retrospective by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1982

Little Willie John brought soul to blues balladry and helped to change the whole direction of black popular music. Born William Edward John in Camden, ...

Mary Wells: Teenage Chart-Topper With Motown Style

Retrospective by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1982

Mary Wells helped create the history that surrounds the Motown sound. She was their third chart-topper and the first to achieve international acclaim. But despite ...

Berry Gordy: Motown Magician

Profile by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1982

Until recently little was known of Berry Gordy Jnr’s background. Such information as was available made no sense at all except on a romantic level, ...

The Archies, Barry Mann, Carole King, Neil Sedaka: Don Kirshner: The Pop Factory

Profile by Greg Shaw, The History of Rock, 1982

POP FROM THE production line; that seemed to be the story of the late Fifties and early Sixties. But the production line does not inevitably ...