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Music Business, The

882 articles

John D. Loudermilk and Fred Foster: Nashville Men Take a Look at London

Interview by June Harris, Disc, 9 June 1962

TRAVELLING companions on a brief visit to London last week were songwriter and RCA recording artist John D. Loudermilk, and Fred Foster, the 30-year-old boss ...

The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer: How that lucky Mr. Epstein got a head's start with the Beatles

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 27 April 1963

IT WOULDN'T be difficult to be exceedingly jealous of Brian Epstein. In fact, I should think a lot of people are — managers particularly. ...

Billie Davis, John Leyton, Mike Sarne: Robert Stigwood: The Young Tycoon Behind Mike Sarne & Co.

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 22 June 1963

FEW GROWN up people, I find, have a genuine respect for the pop singer. They see him as a creature who makes inexplicably large sums ...

Carole King: The Dumb Sound

Report and Interview by Al Aronowitz, Saturday Evening Post, August 1963

2003 note: The following was trimmed down to fit in the pages of the Saturday Evening Post by Bill Ewald, one of the few editors ...

The Beatles: Beatles Heat Flares in Court

Report by uncredited writer, Billboard, 25 January 1964

CHICAGO — The Beatles, the nation's hottest recording property today, are becoming the object of the nation's hottest lawsuits, at least as far as the ...

Nat King Cole: Says Nat Cole: Record Industry Must Go Back to Building Stars

Interview by uncredited writer, Billboard, 25 January 1964

HOLLYWOOD — "If I had to come up in the business today, I'd be a frustrated man. No one's developing stars anymore, and the industry ...

The Beatles: Musicians Union Watching Invasion of British Groups

Report by uncredited writer, Billboard, 28 March 1964

NEW YORK — The influx of the British musical groups on the U.S. personal appearance scene is disturbing the American Federation of Musicians. It's understood ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Mr. Oldham Has Second Thoughts About The Stones...

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 8 August 1964

"I'D BE A FOOL TO GIVE UP ALL THAT LOOT" ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham: Secrets Of The Stones' Man

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 15 August 1964

The Stones are no longer a challenge... they need no pushing... the Andrew Oldham Orchestra doesn't exist ...

The Animals, The Dave Clark Five, Joe Meek, Mickie Most, Andrew Loog Oldham, The Tornados: The decline in power of the record Tsars

Report and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 15 August 1964

ARE THE Record Companies losing their grip? There are eight British records in the Top Ten. Of these eight, only three have been recorded by ...

The Beatles, Cilla Black, Tommy Quickly: Brian Epstein: 'I Knew They'd Be Bigger Than Elvis Presley...'

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964

SAYS BRIAN EPSTEIN TO DAVID GRIFFITHS IN THE FIRST OF OUR NEW 'STARMAKERS' SERIES ...

The Honeycombs, Peter and Gordon, The Rolling Stones: Death of a Dynasty

Comment by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 January 1965

Norman Jopling takes a hard, cynical look at the declining beat boom and makes some frank comments ...

The Beach Boys, The Lettermen: Nobody bugs the Gutsy Greek — the sten guns see to that

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 1 May 1965

NICK VENET went into the American record industry when he was 18 years old for this reason: "I wanted," he said, "to do something devastating; ...

Talent Immigration Dispute Continues

Report by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 19 May 1965

IT APPEARS that the Government is not giving in after all, and is still making it plenty rough on British acts trying to get into ...

Adam Faith, Jackie Trent, Sandie Shaw, Val Doonican: Eve Taylor: Queen Bee Of Show Business

Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 16 July 1965

EVELYN TAYLOR – affectionately, respectfully, jealously and irreverently known as the "Queen Bee of Show Business" – has a loud voice, grey hair and the ...

Tom Jones, The Kinks, Levon & the Hawks, The Merseybeats, The Who: Kit Lambert: The uncovering of the Who and where...

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 20 November 1965

KIT LAMBERT and his partner Chris Stamp manage the Who and the Merseybeats. Chris Stamp is Terence Stamp's brother, more handsome but less photogenic. ...

Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Gordon Terry: The Nashville Sound

Report by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 28 November 1965

NASHVILLE — ALTHOUGH there have been no birthday cakes visible, this music center has been savoring its sweet desserts during this anniversary year. ...

Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw: Eve Taylor: When Eve Fought For Adam

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 4 December 1965

...

Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe: He is lovable... that's the funny thing about Rik Gunnell

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 15 January 1966

THERE ARE two Gunnell brothers, Rik and Johnny. If asked their dearest, secret wish, they might say they wished there were three Gunnell brothers — ...

Our Nancy's Life Abroad — with Those British Pop Stars

Profile and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 13 February 1966

The telegram came from Interpop. It read "ARRIVING IN DETROIT FROM LONDON ON PANAM FLIGHT 57 TUESDAY 3:20 PM IS YOUNG LADY OF POSSIBLE INTEREST ...

The Beatles, Cilla Black: Brian Epstein: The Man Behind The Beatles And How He Lives

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 1 April 1966

Many theories developed about Brian Epstein: he was crooked, he was straight; he was a tough businessman, he was a lousy businessman; it was all ...

Sid Bernstein: The Genius Finder

Interview by Jane Heil, Hit Parader, May 1966

THE MAN BEHIND THE STARS ...

Herb Alpert: No Movie For The Brass, They Want Their Rights

Report by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 7 May 1966

THE POP world is going movie mad. ...

The Yardbirds: Simon Napier-Bell always tells the truth... especially about Simon Napier-Bell

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 13 May 1966

MAUREEN CLEAVE'S FRIDAY INTERVIEW ...

British Invasion Losing Its Power

Report by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 28 May 1966

THE CIRCLE has been completed and the American artists are back to reigning on all of the music charts. Before the Beatles hit Stateside in ...

Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe, Alan Price, Geno Washington: Rik Gunnell: The Man Behind Fame and Farlowe

Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 30 July 1966

AND IN THE beginning there was Georgie Fame. At least, that more or less how it was for Rik Gunnell. Disregarding the seventh day of ...

The Facts of Pop Life

Special Feature by uncredited writer, Rave, August 1966

RAVE takes a long, hard look at the pop world and the people who make it tick. What's it all about, this real yet so close ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Rolling Stone Oldham: Talented, Insulting, Outrageous

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 5 August 1966

ROLLING STONES manager Andrew Loog Oldham is on the move and as usual with this ubiquitous personality ("The Beach Boys' new single is not dedicated ...

The Troggs: Larry Page — The Man Who Fights In Pop Without Being Nasty

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 13 August 1966

LARRY PAGE used to be a recording artist — and his exploits were headlined in national newspapers. Now he's on the management-production side and his ...

Musicassettes — a Revolution in the Recorded Music Field

Report by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 27 August 1966

LET'S TALK about musicassettes! Might just as well get in early on this revolutionary form of prerecorded music because like it or not, there's going ...

Kim Fowley, The Mothers Of Invention: Kim Fowley: Portrait of a Freak

Interview by uncredited writer, International Times, 31 October 1966

KIM FOWLEY is a hustler. He telephoned International Times and bombarded me with ideas. His main idea was that I should interview him and give ...

The Four Tops, The Who: Nancy and The Who Making It Big

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 6 January 1967

AT THE RIPE old age of 23, Nancy Lewis isn't exactly a teenager. But Detroiter Nancy is swimming right in the middle of all the ...

Billy Fury and Larry Parnes

Report and Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 7 January 1967

WE WERE talking about Billy Fury, Larry Parnes and I. Recalling, first of all, Bill's record of success over eight years, involving at the last ...

The Troggs: Trogg-Maker Reveals Secrets

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 21 January 1967

LARRY – "Lawrence" to his friends – Page is the one-man organisation behind the phenomenal success of the Troggs. Lawrence is the group's business manager; ...

Sam Cooke, Jan & Dean, The Mamas and The Papas, Barry McGuire, Johnny Rivers: Lou Adler: Producer in the Groove at Picking Hit Records

Profile and Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 19 April 1967

LOU ADLER, one of the best known and most respected record producers, is a defier of stereotypes: ...

AIR — The Top Men Behind The Hits...

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 22 April 1967

BACK IN the old days of show business (until the early Fifties) an artiste never got to make a record unless he was already established ...

The Beatles, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones: Pop Concerts — Essential or Obsolete in '68?

Report by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 20 May 1967

THE BEATLES have decided that it is no longer possible for them to gain anything other than dollars galore from putting on concert performances. ...

Paul Revere & The Raiders: Revere's Raiders Attack the Treasury

Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 1967

YOU CAN'T identify Paul Revere and the Raiders without a program and to get a program you have to buy it from Paul Revere, the ...

The Beatles, Cilla Black: AIR: George Martin — 700 Hours To Complete Sgt Pepper

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 22 July 1967

IF I WERE a recording manager, I'm sure you'd never catch me on the hop if you asked how many number ones, or top ten ...

Jackson Browne, Penny Nichols: The Billy James Underground

Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 3 August 1967

HE CRUISES along the Freeway out of Los Angeles in an open Rolls, the kind that used to have upholstery and windows. His young son ...

Big Brother & The Holding Company, Charlatans, The (US), Grateful Dead: Chet Helms: Hurok of Haight Street

Report and Interview by Richard Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 27 August 1967

HIS DESK looks impressive. A clean blotter is piled high with correspondence. A vertical file bulges with memos. A calendar and a trash can are ...

The Beatles, Cilla Black: Brian Epstein's Death Is Ruled Accidental Overdose

Report by Tony Barrow, KRLA Beat, 7 October 1967

THE NEWS OF Brian Epstein's tragic death led to an immediate storm of speculation about the future of his artists and his various pop empires ...

Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Paul Revere & The Raiders: Dick Clark: Packager of Pop

Profile and Interview by Richard Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 7 January 1968

Though the folk-rock era ended his pop music dictatorship, there are signs Dick Clark is inching his way toward the center of the scene again. ...

Curtis Knight, Jimi Hendrix: Jimi Hendrix: A Shoddy Hendrix Record?

Report by Michael Lydon, Rolling Stone, 20 January 1968

THE NEW Capitol LP, Got that Feeling: Jimi Hendrix Plays, Curtis Knight Sings, is not what it appears: Hendrix's latest release. The cover, with no ...

The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Moody Blues: London: Beatles Clip Banned

Column by Nick Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 January 1968

  THERE ARE a few gloomy faces in England these days since our pound has devalued (what?) but it's mainly the profiteers who can't bear the ...

Record Business '68

Comment by Paul Williams, Crawdaddy!, March 1968

THERE IS confusion afoot in the rock music world, a familiar confusion that arises from lack of understanding, lack of communication, and lack of common ...

John Mayall, MC5, Traffic: Rock and Roll Dope #6

Comment by John Sinclair, Fifth Estate, 15 August 1968

NOW THAT things have cooled down a little for the MC5 and myself after all the excitement of recent weeks maybe I can get into ...

Marmalade: "Bread" and Marmalade

Interview by Maureen O'Grady, Rave, September 1968

The last of the big spenders — that's the image most fans have of pop groups. But how much "bread" (money) do groups really earn, ...

The Rolling Stones: The Banned Stones' LP Cover...

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 14 September 1968

Mick Jagger protests against 'Dylan offensive' charge ...

Bring Back the Single

Comment by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 22 October 1968

A STORY of virtue rewarded: Polydor, tiny in Britain compared with EMI or Decca, sold more LPs in the third quarter of 1968 than any ...

Up Against The Wall, Bill Graham!

Report by Lita Eliscu, East Village Other, 25 October 1968

PEOPLE WERE going around saying, It's an obscenity or an insanity or if they could get their heads together, they said both, fast and in ...

Our Famed Fillmore Goes East — With a Difference

Report by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 27 October 1968

  DURING THE past two and a half years the San Francisco Fillmore has become internationally famous as the principal shrine of rock 'n' roll concerts ...

Bill Graham: The Producer of the New Rock

Interview by Michael Lydon, The New York Times, 15 December 1968

"I dream about doing the Beatles," Bill Graham said, hunched over his desk in the crowded office of the Fillmore West. Outside the office, the ...

Rock for Sale

Report by Michael Lydon, Ramparts, 1969

IN 1956, WHEN rock & roll was just about a year old, Frankie Lymon, lead singer of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, wrote and recorded ...

Jefferson Airplane: Bill Graham: Scrooge McDuck?

Letter by Michael Lydon, The New York Times, 19 January 1969

To the Editor: ...

The LSD Of Underground Rock

Report by Mark Williams, International Times, 13 June 1969

IN AN ARTICLE in the dreaded Melody Maker (7/6/69), Tony Wilson points out that, 'At last the underground seems to be coming to terms with ...

Giorgio Gomelsky: The Pop Paragon

Report by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 22 June 1969

Author's note, 2018. Georgio died in New York in January 2014, aged 81. Everybody with even a passing interest knows that Georgio, whose dark bearded ...

Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band: Joe Boyd: Freaky Galahad

Profile by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 29 July 1969

"WELL, YOU'D put your arm round its neck, y'know, like this" (demonstrating) "and hold it on the seat next to you, like another person." ...

Johnny Winter: The Apollo Theatre and the Fillmore East: Black and White Music in NYC

Comment by Loraine Alterman, New York Scenes, September 1969

MORE THAN Central Park and city blocks separate the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the Fillmore East in the East Village. ...

Kim Fowley, The Hollywood Argyles: Kim Fowley

Profile by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 14 October 1969

EVER HEAR OF a guy named Kim Fowley? Fowley was the MC at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was a good job for ...

The Beatles: Christmas Release for Get Back — Album Won't Set the World on Fire

Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 17 October 1969

THE BEATLES' next album, Get Back, actually recorded before their recent album Abbey Road, probably won't set the scene on fire. It's better than Abbey ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Bonzo Dog Runs, Fucks Itself

Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 29 November 1969

NEW YORK — The Bonzo Dog Band, bitter over what they felt was shoddy treatment by their American record company, cut their second U.S. tour ...

New-Old Grande Something to See

Report and Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 26 December 1969

THE LATEST word, in the merry-go-round that ballroom promoters have been sending Detroit people on, is good, but still a little confusing. It's confusing In ...

Bill Graham Plans Winterland Move

Report by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 20 January 1970

ROCK CONCERT-dance impresario Bill Graham, threatened with eviction from his Fillmore West location at Market and Van Ness sometime this year, has made long-range agreements ...

Chairmen Of The Board, Freda Payne: Eddie Holland: A Musical Magician, Once of Motown, Bidding for His Own 'Detroit Sound'

Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 8 February 1970

Yes, Holland-Dozier-Holland DID Split with the Giant; Yes, Eddie Holland DID form Invictus Records; Yes, Invictus IS Climbing the Charts ...

Eddie Holland Is 300% Happier Now

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 2 April 1970

DETROIT — Edward Holland learned a lot at Motown besides how to make hit records. Edward Holland learned the art of the controlled interview, an ...

Brown Shoes Don't Make It

Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, Oz, May 1970

IT WAS, AT least for me and most of the people I know, the music that first aroused interest in things Underground, and the music ...

Grand Funk Railroad: The Bigtime Rock Band That's Ignored Back Home in Detroit

Report and Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 17 May 1970

THERE'S NOTHING small-time about Detroit in the music business. More and more, record company executives come here first to tap talent. They know it's here. ...

Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane: Kent Aftermath: Teen Turmoil Poison At B.O.

Report and Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 25 June 1970

SAN FRANCISCO — Lou Rhode, a student at San Francisco City College, is a clerk at Tower Records, and wears an "Out Now" peace button ...

The Monkees, Michael Nesmith: Mike Nesmith: No Monkee Business

Interview by Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 3 October 1970

EX-MONKEE Mike Nesmith has withdrawn from the bubble gum stakes to regain his country and western identity with the First National Band. ...

Led Zeppelin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Sherman, Edwin Starr: U.S. News: Edwin Starr, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Sherman, Led Zeppelin

Report by Ian Dove, Record Mirror, 3 October 1970

EDWIN STARR was back in New York after his 16th trip to England and with the news that 'War', a Motown mover by the Norman ...

The Americanization of Rock

Comment by Bill Graham, Cue, 10 October 1970

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE that rock has been on this planet for two decades. My own involvement with the music, as a producer in these ...

Bill Graham: The Man The US Kids Love To Hate

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 14 November 1970

BREAKFAST at London's Savoy Hotel with Bill Graham. The man, who has the high cheekbones and thick mouth of an American Indian, and the thundering ...

Mike Curb Congregation, John Sebastian: Mike Curb: Record Boss Keeps Mum

Report and Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 6 December 1970

The 'Curb 18' Still Unidentified ...

Big Bill Broonzy, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Little Miss Cornshucks, Charlie Parker: Ahmet Ertegün (1971) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1971

This is a transcript of Charlie's audio interview with Ahmet. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival: The band that means business

Report by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 23 January 1971

Lillian Roxon flew from New York across America to attend a party for an $82 million rock and roll group — a party which, she ...

David Bowie: Rudi will be the new Mick Jagger' said David Bowie. Rudi blushed

Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 1 May 1971

Who will be the first male to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine? Rudi Valentino, says spaced oddity David Bowie. David has big plans ...

Fillmore West Going — Police Blamed

Report and Interview by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 11 June 1971

THE FILLMORE West rock-dance operation at Market and Van Ness will close down permanently at the end of June, an exhausted and bitter Bill Graham ...

The Flamin' Groovies: Rock And Roll Dope: the Flamin' Groovies

Report by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 11 June 1971

DETROIT CITY was reelin' and rockin' last weekend to high energy blasts from the most unique and refreshing band to come out of San Francisco ...

Tami Lynn Hit Cost £5 A Copy

Report and Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 12 June 1971

In true Mickey Spillane style, Roy Carr investigates the case of the six-year-old hit. ...

Harold Battiste, Sam Cooke, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, Barbara George, Tami Lynn, Prince La La, Sonny & Cher, Allen Toussaint: Behind the Scenes with Harold Battiste

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 9 July 1971

FREQUENTLY, we receive letters from readers' asking us to write about the people behind the scenes in our music. For example, the features we did ...

King Crimson, T. Rex: BP Fallon: He can't do our press, he doesn't wear socks

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 11 September 1971

IT WOULD have been so easy and so obvious to give the third degree treatment to one of these hard-sell publicists who daily hog the ...

The Rainbow Theatre: Cheap Seats In Pot Of Gold

Report and Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 16 October 1971

"ROCK audiences now are interested in having a comfortable place to sit and really listen to music. The days of freak out dancing to anything ...

Nesuhi Ertegun: The World Is His Manor

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 19 October 1971

GEOFFREY CANNON talks to "the most powerful man in the record business outside America" ...

Grand Funk Railroad: To Live Outside the Law You Must Be Honest

Report by Lenny Kaye, Creem, November 1971

Mark, Don, Mel, and Terry at Shea: Give Peace a Chance, Love Conquers All, Get Funked ...

Osibisa, Three Dog Night, The Who: The More Successful You Get, The More Equipment You Get, So Teams Are Needed To Get Everything From Place To Place

Report and Interview by Ian Dove, Billboard, 6 November 1971

THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY LIFT AND HANDLE... ...

Loudon Wainwright III: Ambassador's Son to Recording Biz Mogul

Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, Los Angeles Times, 14 November 1971

...

Labelle, Dusty Springfield: Vicki Wickham: The Secretary That Roared

Interview by Toby Mamis, Phonograph Record, December 1971

I'D CONSIDERED doing this piece since mid-June. So, frankly, when the time came, I was thoroughly prepared. Prior to my interview with Vicki Wickham, I'd ...

U.K. and Europe — Wide Open for Rock Theater

Interview by Rob Partridge, Billboard, 18 December 1971

LONDON — John Morris knows about rock theatre. His career has blended together a decade's experience in both the rock music and theatre worlds, including ...

There is Chaos at the Concert

Comment by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 19 December 1971

AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR at rock concerts has deteriorated in recent months. Near anarchy exists in many portions of the concert halls. ...

Frank Zappa: Portrait Of The Artist As A Businessman

Interview by Paul Phillips, Rob Partridge, Cream, January 1972

"IF you’re making £10 a night, you’ll be screwed. When you’re making £1,000 a night, you’ll still get screwed... only you’re being screwed for more." ...

Dawn, Tony Orlando: Tony Orlando: Plague of False Dawns

Report and Interview by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 23 January 1972

LIFE USED to be simple for Tony Orlando. Then he became a rock star, sold 12 million records and started losing money. ...

David Geffen: David's Talented Asylum

Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 5 February 1972

Penny Valentine talks to America's leading manager David Geffen ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Elvis Presley: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Rock's Debt to Crudup

Report by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 20 February 1972

BLUES SINGER Arthur (Big Boy) Crudup has spent most of his 67 years staring at bad crops, worse bills, garbage trucks and empty promises. He ...

Joe Cocker, Leon Russell: Cordell, the Coaxer Behind Cocker

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 4 March 1972

DENNY CORDELL roamed around the music business in London during the early sixties before discovering the Moody Blues and consequently becoming their producer. He assisted ...

Savoy Brown: Shadow Boxing with Savoy Brown's Mgr.

Interview by Andrew Bailey, Rolling Stone, 11 May 1972

LONDON — HARRY rose from the chair and his mouth went slack. His eyes rolled around and his tongue slid out like an epileptic's. He ...

Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Boz Scaggs: Bill Graham: Mister Fillmore

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 27 May 1972

Loraine Alterman in New York previews Fillmore, the film about America's legendary rock centre... and talks to its star, super-impresario Bill Graham ...

Sounds of the Seventies: Graham is *#! mad again

Report and Interview by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 28 May 1972

BILL GRAHAM stood with his hands behind his back, watching a man from Twentieth Century Fox tell a press conference how Graham and the company ...

The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham: Behind the Shades — The Stones, and Other Stories...

Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 17 June 1972

ANDREW OLDHAM, THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED THE STONES ...

The Rolling Stones: Andrew Oldham: Last Part of the Tony Norman Series

Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 24 June 1972

LAST WEEK, Andrew Oldham talked about his life with the Rolling Stones. Like Brian Epstein, Oldham seemed to be more than just an ordinary manager. ...

The Rolling Stones Tour: Rock & Roll On The Road Again

Report by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 6 July 1972

LOS ANGELES – Danny has no shirt, no shoes, no wallet, no keys. The shirt went when he took it off and stuck it in ...

America, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, Neil Young: This is David Geffen, by Gentlemen's Agreement Manager to the Superstars

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 22 July 1972

Will CSN&Y ever re-unite and find true happiness? ...

The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Slade: Chas Chandler: Slade Driver

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

Chris Charlesworth talks to CHAS CHANDLER, ex-docker, ex-Animal, ex-manager of Jimi Hendrix and now manager of Britain's hottest band, Slade ...

Frank Barsalona Is Probably Rock's Most Successful Agent. His Wife Says It's Because He Really Cares

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

IT'S SUPER being a rock 'n' roll mogul. ...

Artist & Repertoire: We Buy And Sell Talent

Report by David Rensin, Music World, January 1973

"So you want to be a rock and roll star
Well listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Take some time and learn how ...

Sir Doug Weston's Troubadour: They Hate it, but They Play it

Report and Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 18 January 1973

LOS ANGELES — Why was Joni Mitchell recently playing the Troubadour folk club for several nights when she could play for as many people (and ...

Tower of Power: It's More Starvation Than Success for Rock Musicians

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 January 1973

THOUGH THERE is plenty of big money floating around the recording industry, few rock bands ever see any. ...

Kim Fowley, The Rockin' Berries: The Rockin' Berries v. Kim Fowley. Or, The Vulture Scoops the Pool

Essay by Phil Hardy, Let It Rock, March 1973

The only time the Rockin' Berries met Kim Fowley was in Los Angeles in 1964. Phil Hardy has met them both recently and found that ...

The Platters: Buck Ram and The Platters

Profile and Interview by Bill Millar, Let It Rock, April 1973

BUCK RAM is remembered for The Platters and a number of hit records: 'Only You' and 'The Great Pretender' (1955); 'The Magic Touch', 'My Prayer' ...

David Bowie, Cherry Vanilla: Cherry Vanilla: Cherry Sauce

Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 21 April 1973

...Or hot gossip from a former skin-flick queen who's been hired to handle David Bowie's publicity machine. ...

The Beatles: Peter McCabe and Robert D. Schonfeld: Apple To The Core (Martin, Brian and O'Keeffe)

Book Review by Phil Hardy, Let It Rock, May 1973

A short sighted look beyond the stars ...

Jerry Butler: The Iceman Talking: The Life And Times Of Jerry Butler

Interview by Norman Jopling, Cream, June 1973

BUTLER'S MUSIC Workshop is upstairs in a tatty warehouse building in Chicago's South Side, very near Chinatown and uncomfortably near Lake Michigan so it gets ...

Davis Case Stirs Wide Probe on Federal Level

Report by Ian Dove, Billboard, 16 June 1973

NEW YORK — Rumor, speculation, innuendo and fact — all rocked the music industry in the wake of Clive Davis' dismissal as president of CBS ...

Chicago: A James William Guercio Enterprise

Report and Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 19 July 1973

CHICAGO, THE line goes, would be a useless slag heap of Midwestern has-beens went it not for the strong hand of their producer, a young ...

Desmond Dekker, John Holt, Dandy Livingstone, Bob Marley & the Wailers: Reggae... The Hits You Never Hear

Report by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

Scores of reggae records sell enough copies to qualify as pop hits. But you won't see them on the charts and you won't hear them ...

The Rolling Stones Hit The Road…

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 August 1973

...and at every date the promoter is expected to provide 50 security men, five limousines, a doctor, ten dozen roses, two bottles each of whisky, ...

Hot Chocolate, Stories: Stories and Hot Chocolate: 'Brother Louie'

Report and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 13 September 1973

"THIS IS NOT what I wanted," Enrol Brown mused over a boiled egg breakfast in his London penthouse. "Tony Wilson and I will still get ...

New York: Pop, Rock Thrive on Concert Format

Report by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 25 September 1973

SAME FACES, new places — that's the outlook for rock in the coming months in New York. The rock industry (and it is an industry) ...

Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds: Giorgio Gomelsky: The Man Who Sold The World

Interview by Max Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

Giorgio Gomelsky was a pioneer of British rock in the sixties. In the second part of an interview with MM he talks about managing Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll and his ...

Jan & Dean: Dean Torrence (1973)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, 12 November 1973

From high school in the late '50s to Kittyhawk Graphics in the '70s, Dean Torrence looks back at his partnership with Jan Berry: early hits such as 'Baby Talk'; being managed by Lou Adler, with Herb Alpert; the L.A. indie labels Dore and Challenge; the evolution of surf music, and collaborations with the Beach Boys from 'Surf City' to 'Barbara Ann'; surf boards, cars and fashions; Jan's accident, and going back to school to become a graphic designer; recording Brian Wilson's 'Vegetables', and the Legendary Masked Surfers album with Terry Melcher and Bruce Johnston.

File format: mp3; file size: 81mb, interview length: 1h 24' 22" sound quality: ****

Plastic, paper and petrol famine shakes the whole music scene — ROCK CRISIS!

Report by Colin Irwin, Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

ROCK MUSIC is reaching a crisis point. The worldwide energy shortage threatens the future of the entire music industry while rock itself faces a ban ...

Mel Carter, Sam Cooke, The Pilgrim Travelers, Billy Preston, Lou Rawls, The Sims Twins, The Soul Stirrers, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, Clara Ward, Bobby Womack: Behind The Scenes With J.W. Alexander

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 7 December 1973

J.W. is the man who took Sam Cooke from his gospel background and helped mould him into the very first Soul superstar. He performed a ...

Alice Cooper: Alice through the looking glass

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

Shep Gordon worked for firm making clothes for the dead... Now he manages the killer himself, Alice Cooper. Gordon talks to MM New York writer ...

Jobriath: Superstar or Superhype?

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

"If hype means projecting your artist, I'm going to produce the biggest hype ever" – Jerry Brandt talking to ROBERT PARTRIDGE about his latest discovery, ...

The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Wings: The Rolling Stone Interview: Paul McCartney

Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 31 January 1974

THIS JANUARY marks the tenth anniversary of the Beatles' appearance on the American charts. Last month Rolling Stone conducted its first full-scale interview with Paul ...

Jimi Hendrix: How Rock Society Blew Another Mind

Essay by Michael Gray, Let It Rock, February 1974

WHEN JIMI HENDRIX flew into England for the first time, with Chas Chandler, they went straight from the airport to Zoot Money's house for an ...

Marshall Sehorn: We Had Some Good Times

Interview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, February 1974

Marshall Sehorn of Sansu talks to John Broven about his start in the business ...

Humble Pie, Peter Frampton: Dee Anthony: Dee Works!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

From doing impersonations of Al Jolson for 20 bucks a night to managing Humble Pie – that's the story of Dee Anthony. He talks to ...

Fleetwood Mac Flak: Manager Takes Name, Not Members, On Tour

Report by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 28 February 1974

And then there were none... ...

Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, Roy Wood, The Small Faces, Wizzard: Don Arden: The Hit Man

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

He's been called the Al Capone of pop, and the reputation's, shall we say, a little heavy. A nervous Robert Partridge talks to Don Arden... ...

Mott The Hoople, Procol Harum: Guy Stevens: Guy's Out For Glory

Profile and Interview by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 30 March 1974

GUY STEVENS is the kind of guy who might be buttonholing your young lady in the boozer. ...

Vinyl Shortage: Curse of the Vanishing Dynaflex

Report by Dave Marsh, Creem, April 1974

"Before the vinyl shortage is over, kid, they may have to make your Jethro Tull albums out of earwax." ...

Grand Funk Railroad: Knight & Funk: The Bleat Goes On

Report and Interview by Ian Dove, Rolling Stone, 11 April 1974

Lawsuits Settled ...

Emerson Lake & Palmer: ELP...What? ELP!... What? ELP...

Report and Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 25 April 1974

LOS ANGELES — Say what you will about the music, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's recently completed four-month American tour was the heaviest rock & roll ...

Emerson Lake And Palmer: Welcome Back, My Friends, To The Show That...

Report and Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 27 April 1974

… requires 40 tons of equipment, 18 humper/loaders, seven personal roadies, six sound crew, five trucker/drivers, four spot manipulators, three heavy musicians two outside coordinators and (we guess) a man to make the ...

David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Lou Reed, Mick Ronson: Tony DeFries: Bowie's MainMan

Profile by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Tony DeFries is Mr Big of today's rock —the 70s' Col. Parker. He deals in STARS, the most glittering of whom is David Bowie. He ...

Andrew Loog Oldham: Mr. Sharpie

Interview by Jon Tiven, Sounds, 1 June 1974

MOST OF the top recording business entrepreneurs from the Sixties have their little niches all carved out for them. ...

The Rock'n'Roll Way of Death

Essay by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 1 June 1974

Death has always been big business as a perverse form of entertainment. In the 18th Century, public hangings had similar pulling power to Emerson Lake ...

Joe Cocker, Georgie Fame, The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Leon Russell: Denny Cordell: The Cordial Englishman

Interview by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 8 June 1974

DENNY CORDELL is not at all like my image of him. Well in fact, I didn't know what to expect but he was not like ...

Maggie Bell, Led Zeppelin: Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 22 June 1974

With a background in wrestling, it's not surprising that Peter Grant is cast as a heavy. And as manager of Led Zep, the legend has ...

Clive Davis Return: "I Love Music"

Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 4 July 1974

AFTER A YEAR of speculation, former Columbia Records President Clive Davis, 41, announced that he has been writing a book about his Columbia years, and ...

Foghat: Their Business Is Rock & Roll

Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Rolling Stone, 29 August 1974

So you want to be a rock & roll star Well listen now to what I say Just get an electric guitar ...

Black Oak Arkansas, Brownsville Station, Billy Preston, War: Hard Rock in Hawaii: "Like an Army Zone"

Report by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 10 October 1974

HONOLULU — BACKSTAGE violence erupted before an August 31st concert at Hawaii Raceway Park which starred War, Black Oak Arkansas, Billy Preston and Brownsville Station. ...

Jimi Hendrix, James Taylor: The Ghost Tapes

Report by Bill Wasserzieher, Los Angeles Free Press, 22 November 1974

OLD DEMO TAPES have a habit of rising to the surface — usually as soon as a performer has become big enough to be considered ...

Star Trek: You, too, can be a superstar

Report by uncredited writer, IPC News, December 1974

A MILLION men go from ashes to ashes. Only the man-in- a-million journeys from dust to stardust. ...

Darren Burn, The James Boys, Simon Fisher Turner, Michael Ward, Ricky Wilde, Lena Zavaroni: Whatever Happened To Puppy Love?

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

REMEMBER HOW it was last year? Heathrow Airport swamped by thousands of fans welcoming the Osmonds flying in for a tour of Britain? Hordes of ...

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper Hits the Road

Report by Susin Shapiro, Crawdaddy!, February 1975

NEW YORK — It had to happen. The formation of a road show with the music of Lennon and McCartney had to be money in ...

Clive Davis: Clive: Inside The Record Business with James Willwerth (Morrow)

Book Review by John Morthland, Creem, March 1975

THE LONGEST PRESS RELEASE ...

Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers, Dr. Feelgood, Kokomo: Money Doesn't Talk — it Mutters out of the Side of its Mouth

Report by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 1 March 1975

THE NAUGHTIES OF THOSE NAUGHTY RHYTHMS ...

Amon Düül (I & II), Ash Ra Tempel, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream: Kraftwerk et al: Germany invades U.S.!

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975

Three years ago German rock bands like Can and Amon Duul took Britain by storm. Now Kraftwerk are spearheading an assault of new Kraut-Rock groups ...

Led Zeppelin: Under The Hood – A Backstage Chronicle Of The Historic 1975 Tour

Report by Danny Goldberg, Circus, May 1975

THERE WAS an historic purple aura in the clouds that hung over the audience at Madison Square that evening in February. ...

The Beatles: Apple Corps: They didn't have to be so nice... (We would have liked them anyway)

Report by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 17 May 1975

Inquest by ROY CARR ...

Little Richard's Big Troubles, Part 1

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 28 June 1975

Part 1: Lewisham "TURN THE BAND DOWN!" bawls a lady who may have been a teenager in the '50s. "Turn the bloody band down!" This, and ...

Little Richard's Big Troubles, Part 2

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1975

Part 2: Dunstable & the European Saga "IT'S NICE TO LET THEM KNOW that you are not IN THE WAY, that you ARE THE WAY, that ...

John Lennon's battle with the US Immigration Department

Report by Andrew Tyler, New Musical Express, 26 July 1975

JOHN LENNON, IN his battle of wits with the US Immigration Department, is looking less like the stoical pre-doomed crazy of old, and more like ...

Press Receptions

Overview by Steve Turner, New Musical Express, 26 July 1975

NME raises its bleary-eyed head to peer at the wacky world of Press receptions. Or how to get some not-so-cheap publicity. ...

The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger: I Can Get It Up, But I Can't Get It Down

Interview by Dave Marsh, Creem, August 1975

OF COURSE, Mick Jagger was talking about flying the twin-engine Cessna which had brought him into the Marine Air Terminal in New York's LaGuardia Airport ...

Larry Parnes

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, New Musical Express, 2 August 1975

"Marty Wilde was managed by Larry Parnes – 'They don't call me Parnes, shillings and pence for nothing' – who entered rock as Tommy Steele's ...

Bob Dylan: Dylan's The Basement Tapes – The Best Of The Bootlegs Goes Establishment

Overview by Michael Gross, Circus Raves, October 1975

BOB DYLAN'S ART is his body of work. There are close to twenty legitimate Bob Dylan albums. There is a book, Tarantula, and another of ...

The Faces, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Bands On The Run From The Taxman?

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

THE PIONEER of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, defined the artist's aims as "fame, wealth, power, and the love of women." Though no one has yet found ...

The Hope & Anchor

Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 25 October 1975

During this week and next week London's Second Pub-Rock Festival is being held at the Hope And Anchor, Upper Street, N.1. CHAS DE WHALLEY examines ...

Bruce Springsteen

Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, New Musical Express, 15 November 1975

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN says he just writes down his impressions of stuff whereas here in Hollywood, Calif., there are people in from New York who believe ...

The Rolling Stones: So You Wanna Be A Label Boss? Start Your Own Record Label

Guide by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 29 November 1975

"As anybody knows who has read Karl Marx, it is distribution which is important if there is to be any kind of revolution. I'm not ...

The Bay City Rollers: Can the Rollers crack America?

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

CHRIS CHARLESWORTH IN NEW YORK ANSWERS THE 64,000 DOLLAR QUESTION ...

Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Bruce Springsteen: John Hammond: From Billie to Bruce

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

John Hammond recalls his 40 years atthe forefront of popular music recording ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Dr. Feelgood, The Faces, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Slade: Introduction

Book Excerpt by Mick Gold, 'Rock on the Road' (Futura), 1976

THE IDEA OF doing a book of photo-essays about live music was sparked by a desire to examine two areas: what the job of being ...

Keith Moon, The Who: Keith Moon: The Chancellor and the Drummer Boy

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 17 January 1976

Is KEITH MOON The Biggest Loony in the World? Or is DENIS HEALEY Even Dafter? ROY CARR tells the heart-tugging tale of The Chancellor and ...

Godzilla and I

Comment by Penny Valentine, Street Life, 21 February 1976

THERE ARE three women writers on Street Life. We are generally treated with the same 'respect' as our male colleagues. In other words, if there's no ...

Joe Boyd: An Interview

Interview by Penny Valentine, Street Life, 21 February 1976

Penny Valentine talks to the man in between, Joe Boyd who has recently produced Toots Hibbert, Maria Muldaur, and the McGarrigles. ...

Brinsley Schwarz, Curved Air, The Moody Blues, Bruce Springsteen: Finally... The World Is Ready For Mick Brown's History Of Hype

Report by Mick Brown, Sounds, 6 March 1976

IF YOU'RE looking for a definition, forget it. The word is an abbreviation of 'hyperbole', which the dictionary defines as 'rhetorical exaggeration', but in the ...

Phil Spector: Upstairs, downstairs and in my mixing chamber

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 6 March 1976

DATELINE: MARCH 31, 1974. ...

Grammys '76: Sham, Sham, Sham

Comment by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 25 March 1976

EACH YEAR, the American music industry embarrasses itself by nationally televising a 90-minute display of the irrelevant and the ridiculous, the Grammy Awards. ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Mel Bush: The Man Who Hired The World

Book Excerpt by Mick Gold, Rock On The Road (Futura), April 1976

A PROMOTER IS THE middleman between a musician and an audience. A promoter hires a venue, books an act, organises the publicity, is responsible for ...

Archie Bell and the Drells, Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble, O'Jays: Gamble & Huff: It's Got a Good Beat, and You Can Pray to It

Report and Interview by Tom Vickers, Rolling Stone, 20 May 1976

The only way for our music to go is the way the world goes. And where it goes negative, we're going to show where it ...

John Lennon: Sue You, Sue Me Blues

Report by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 17 June 1976

ROCK STARS are easy prey for legal harassment; rather than have their time and money eaten up by fruitless months of litigation, most stars agree ...

School's out for rock

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

Once the colleges were the bastion of the British rock industry – now they're little more than musical backwaters. As classes close for the summer, ...

The Ramones: Why the Ramones Are Great (I Think)

Comment by Paul Nelson, Circus, 6 July 1976

RAMONES (SIRE) may or may not be the best album so far this year, but its fate — good or bad — is going to ...

Stuff et al: The 'Citteh'

Report and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, October 1976

Davitt Sigerson investigates New York's soul music underground ...

Stevie Wonder: The Selling of Stevie

Report by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976

MAYBE I'M just a cynic... but from where I'm standing it appears that, in terms of pushing as much product as humanly possible, the 13 ...

Peter Frampton: Frampton hits the middle

Report by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 3 October 1976

After 10 years on the fringes of popularity, Peter Frampton is suddenly on top. ...

George Harrison: A&M Sues George Harrison for $10 Million

Report by Sam Sutherland, Record World, 9 October 1976

LOS ANGELES — A&M Records has filed a suit against George Harrison, seeking $10 million in damages and the dissolution of Harrison's Dark Horse label, ...

Malcolm McLaren, New York Dolls, The Sex Pistols: Malcolm McLaren: Meet The Colonel Tom Parker of the Blank Generation

Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 27 November 1976

MEET MALCOLM McLAREN. He runs a shop called "SEX". He manages a group called THE SEX PISTOLS. He sincerely believes that he and his band ...

Last Exit (UK), Sting: Making It: Last Exit

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 8 January 1977

Any band with fire in its belly sooner or later has to gamble on that make-or-break trip to London. This is an account of how ...

Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride: Jerry Bradley: This Nashville dynamo doesn't sing a note

Interview by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 13 February 1977

PEOPLE WITH careers in the record world refer to their industry as the music business for one elementary reason. It is a business, with a ...

Ian Hunter, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Britain's Tax Exiles; Keeping a Piece of the Rock

Report by Simon Frith, The Village Voice, 28 March 1977

It's difficult to feel sorry for an exile whose alternative to an impoverished Britain is unfettered hedonism in the south of France. ...

The Eagles: One Of These Nightmares

Interview by Barbara Charone, Crawdaddy!, April 1977

Say a Prayer for the Pretenders... ...

Elton John, Cliff Richard: John Reid, Elton John's Manager: "Welder's Son Who Built A Pop Empire"

Profile and Interview by Ed Jones, The Sunday Times, 8 May 1977

WHILE ELTON John was wowing the pearl-strung punters at last Monday's concert in aid of the Queen's Jubilee Appeal at the Rainbow Theatre, London, John ...

Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: A Non-Interview With Malcolm McLaren

Interview by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 18 June 1977

I VISITED THE office of Glitterbest (Sex Pistols management) recently, accompanied by Tony D. (editor of Ripped & Torn fanzine) to try and arrange an ...

The Doors, MC5, The Ramones, Jonathan Richman, The Stooges: Danny Fields: The Fields Connection

Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 9 July 1977

The Doors, MC5, Iggy & The Stooges, John Cale, Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers and The Ramones — without them the last ten years of ...

The Beach Boys: CBS Convention: Beach Boys Party

Report by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 6 August 1977

BEACH BOYS PARTY FOR CHOSEN 1,600 ...

Automated Radio: The Future Is Upon Us

Report by Todd Everett, High Fidelity, September 1977

DOES YOUR favorite radio station sound better lately? Do the announcers sound more professional, the music brighter and more consistent? Or don't you pay enough ...

Reflections on Solid State Neon Faces

Comment by Stephen K. Peeples, RePlay, 1 November 1977

SEATED AT A back table near the Golden Rooster's alleyway exit, my eyes fix a stare on the joint's '50s neon face (jukebox). Thirty years ...

John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen: Behind the Scenes: Iovine in the Right Place

Profile and Interview by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1977

NEW YORK — In 1973, when he was working with producer John Lennon as assistant engineer on Harry Nilsson's Pussycats album, Jimmy Iovine looked up ...

How To Succeed In The Biz Without Really Dying, part 1

Guide by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 14 January 1978

OK, SO YOU GOT yourself an electric guitar, you've learned how to play and now you think you're ready to corner the market with the ...

How To Succeed In The Biz Without Really Dying, part 2

Guide by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 21 January 1978

ROCK'N'ROLL is Laissez-Faire Capitalism Incarnate. Sorry to get so heavy so soon, but it's the truth. The music business is the most highly developed consumer ...

How To Succeed In The Biz Without Really Dying, part 3

Guide by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 28 January 1978

NOW YOU'RE heading for the one. The big record contract with the big record company for the BIG money and the BIG Hits. ...

How To Succeed In The Biz Without Really Dying, part 4

Guide by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 February 1978

"How many times have you been asked to sign away your services exclusively for five years? Viewed that way a record contract represents a very ...

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. ...

The Charts and the 12-inch Limited Edition Single

Comment by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 26 August 1978

NME's LAST chart-hyping piece concluded with a statement to the effect that the twin threat of both exposure in the press and the greater number ...

Picture Discs: Pix to Click

Report by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

The latest manifestation of rock & roll collection mania is the picture disc. What it means, as RICHARD WOOTTON explains, is that lots of people ...

Singles in 1978: The Ones That Got Away

Overview by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 23 December 1978

1978 was a classic year for singles. But most of the best were released on small labels with little chance of airplay, erratic distribution, and ...

Rock Mortality: They Gave Their Souls For Rock 'n Roll

Essay by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 27 January 1979

THE WRITER can eventually put down his pen, close the book and turn on the TV. The actor can take off his makeup and go ...

Essential Logic, The Normal, The Raincoats, Red Crayola, Stiff Little Fingers: Rough Trade: Beat, Activity and Conversation

Report and Interview by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 10 February 1979

Terms For An Industry In The '80s... IAN PENMAN reports on the artistic and commercial concept of ROUGH TRADE, recorders, distributors and promoters of new ...

Billy Joel: Power Behind The Throne

Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Daily Mail, 22 February 1979

WHAT ROCK'S LATEST SUPERSTAR OWES TO HIS WIFE ...

John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren, Public Image Ltd, The Sex Pistols: Rotten v. McLaren: No Winner

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

AS JOHNNY Rotten savours his first victory in the Lydon-Glitterbest case, Public Image Ltd. prepare to record a second album with a new drummer, the ...

Aging Musicians’ Dilemma: Is There Rock After 30?

Comment by John Mendelsohn, Los Angeles Times, 25 March 1979

AT THE APOGEE of Beatlemania, Paul McCartney was asked at a press conference how long the Beatles would last: "Dunno," he replied, "but I can’t ...

EMI: Saturday Night Beneath The Corporate Umbrella

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 2 June 1979

MUSIC, FILMS TV, HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, MEDICINE, WEAPONS...HOW A GIANT RECORD COMPANY NOW EXTENDS INTO EVERY AREA OF LIFE – AND DEATH. ...

Ronnie Biggs, Malcolm McLaren, New York Dolls, Sex Pistols: The Rise And Fall Of Malcolm McLaren Part One: Tin Pan Alley Meets An Idea Whose Time Has Come...

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

The Man Who Sold The World ...

Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: The Rise And Fall of Malcolm McLaren Part Two: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Go Riding...

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

EARLY IN July, 1978, the office of Glitterbest Ltd. at 90/98 Shaftesbury Avenue, which is the centre of London's Theatreland, received the following letter. ...

Record Prices: Tear Them Down

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 7 July 1979

AM I CRAZY or am I in the UK? Strolling through a discount record store I look to the right and there's Blondie's Parallel Lines ...

Duffo, The Lurkers, Tubeway Army: Beggars Banquet: Laughing All The Way To The Banquet

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 21 July 1979

FROM SECOND-HAND RECORD SHOP TO NUMBER ONE SINGLE AND ALBUM. THE STORY OF BEGGARS BANQUET ...

The Sex Pistols: Sex Pistols: Some Product: Carri On Sex Pistols (Virgin)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 28 July 1979

THIS IS getting silly. ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Trials of Tom Petty: Petty gets it…

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 March 1980

Washed clean by legal wranglings, Tom Petty is settling down to write good rock 'n' roll songs. "That's all I want to do," he tells ...

The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Sex Pistols: Father-Figure Knows Best: Rock managers from Elvis to Elvis

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 ...

The Commodores: Six Part Harmony: The Commodores' Sweet Sound of Success

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 1 August 1980

AT 10 A.M. IN Clyde's Omelette Room, William King, Thomas McClary and Milan Williams — half of the Commodores — were splitting their attention between ...

Alive & Making it

Interview by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 23 August 1980

DEREK GREEN tells ROSALIND RUSSELL the writing's on the wall for the record industry ...

Tape It or Levy It: Home Taping Survey Results

Report by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 30 August 1980

Who's to blame for the slump in the record industry? ROSALIND RUSSELL gets the answers ...

McCabe's Fights the Folk Yoke

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 31 August 1980

YOU WOULD expect a venue that's been presenting live popular music longer than any local club this side of the Lighthouse to be a familiar ...

Chet Atkins: Custom Of the Country

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 20 September 1980

Chet Atkins' Guitar Enters the Smithsonian ...

Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, Modern English: 4AD Records: Bloodless Revolutions

Interview by Tony Fletcher, The Face, May 1981

TONY FLETCHER TALKS SMALL BUSINESS WITH A SUCCESSFUL ALTERNATIVE ...

Bow Wow Wow, Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: Malcolm McLaren... the True Poison!

Interview by Chris Salewicz, The Face, May 1981

You're dealing with a very low level of creativity in the music business. The man who sits in his office marketing records is not a ...

The Bongos, Bush Tetras, Our Daughter's Wedding, The Outsets, Pylon: The New Independents

Overview by Van Gosse, Musician, June 1981

A pot pourri of personal insights into the galaxy of artist-centered independent labels, including a sample (sampler?) of the latest bumper crop. ...

A Certain Ratio, Joy Division, New Order, The Slits: 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 ...

Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Bruce Springsteen: John Hammond: Discovering Musical Talent — White and Black

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 25 September 1981

JOHN HAMMOND is a rare figure in the American recording industry. In an industry that worships last year's trends, Mr. Hammond discovered such original artists ...

Marc Bolan, John's Children, The Yardbirds: The Music Game as Played by Simon Napier-Bell — Label Owner, Songwriter, Producer, Manager

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 ...

Kim Fowley: Rock'n'Roll Survivor

Press Release by uncredited writer, unpublished, 1982

1957: Kim meets future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and begins to write songs. ...

Majors and Indies: Fight For Survival

Overview by Greg Shaw, The History of Rock, 1982

During the forties and fifties, at a time when giant conglomerates were starting to squeeze small companies out of the market in most industries, a ...

The Cassette Revolution

Report by Clinton Walker, Rolling Stone (Australia), 1982

"ATTITUDES TO CASSETTES are changing," says Andy Maine, co-producer of Fast Forward cassette magazine. "For so long they've been the little brother or sister of ...

Adam & The Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: Malcolm McLaren: Innovation Or Exploitation?

Interview by Roy Trakin, Musician, February 1982

Malcolm McLaren, the shaker and baker of British punk, turned the Sex Pistols into an epochal event, turned Adam Ant around and now plays Svengali ...

Bill Drummond, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes: A Life In The Day Of Bill Drummond

Interview by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 3 April 1982

Bill Drummond, manager of The Bunnymen and The Teardrops, talks to Mark Cooper ...

Brass Construction, D-Train, Millie Jackson, Rick James, Maze, Prince, Skyy (US): Touring Talent Sacrifices Luxury For Livelihood

Report by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 5 June 1982

Revert To '60s Packaging ...

The Motels: Hell In A Handbag

Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 28 August 1982

STUCK IN a jam on the Hollywood Freeway, staring for five miles at a yellow Smiley bumper sticker telling me to have a nice day, ...

Mickie Most: The Midas Touch: Mickie Most

Profile by Steve Turner, The History of Rock, 1983

Record production made millions for Mickie Most ...

The US Music Moguls and the Rock Revolution

Retrospective by Greg Shaw, The History of Rock, 1983

Business as Usual Following the arrival of the Beatles, the American record industry no longer found it so easy to manufacture rock 'n' roll stars ...

Ozzy Osbourne: Sharon Osbourne: The Power Behind The Throne

Interview by Chas de Whalley, Kerrang!, 13 January 1983

Before she linked up with, and subsequently married, Ozzy, Sharon Osbourne was better known as the daughter of Don Arden, proprietor of Jet Records and ...

Jonathan King: "I Think About 90% of the Public Really Hate Me — and I Don't Like Them"

Interview by Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, 14 April 1983

There you have it — the Jonathan King philosophy. So far it's got him loads of hit records, a slot on Top Of The Pops ...

Rick James: Why MTV Is Shaking the Music Industry

Report and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 1983

HUEY LEWIS, leader of the Marin County-based Huey Lewis and the News, loves MTV: "Everywhere I go," he says in a promo spot on the ...

Malcolm McLaren: Proud Pirate of Punk

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, The Times, 27 May 1983

Malcolm McLaren was dismissed as a distasteful maverick when he managed the Sex Pistols, but there is more to him than an outrageous gift for ...

The Bar-Kays, Nona Hendryx, Gladys Knight and the Pips: The Bar-Kays, Nona Hendryx, Gladys Knight: Veteran Hitmakers Span The Generations

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 4 June 1983

IN A BUSINESS where the term "veteran" can be applied to acts that have been consistent chartmakers for at least five years, it is a ...

A&R Crisis: Why U.S. Acts Can't Get Record Deals

Report and Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 23 June 1983

NEW YORK CITY — "When you do A&R," says Karin Berg as she climbs the steps of Manhattan's cavernous, sparsely populated Ritz nightclub near midnight ...

Eric Clapton, The Charlie Daniels Band, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Billy Joel, Journey, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Take the Money and Run

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 7 July 1983

Rock & roll gets in bed with corporate America ...

Wham!: What Simon Says: Simon Napier-Bell

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 29 October 1983

MODESTY, TACT AND DISCRETION ARE NOT THE QUALITIES OF '60s POP ENTREPRENEUR SIMON NAPIER-BELL. BARNEY HOSKYNS FINDS OUT WHAT ARE. ...

Art of Noise, Frankie Goes to Hollywood: ZTT: Who Bridges the Gap Between the Record Executive and The Genius? Me

Essay by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 February 1984

PAUL MORLEY, the man who took FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to Number One, takes a long day's journey into night where he wonders whether he ...

Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: Outside promoters lessen King's role in Jacksons' summer tour

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 10 May 1984

DUE TO growing dissatisfaction with Don King, Michael Jackson and his five brothers have brought in two music-business veterans to promote their upcoming tour. Frank ...

Discotto Finds Way To Succeed In Italy

Report by Peter Jones, Billboard, 12 May 1984

MILAN — A new trend within the troubled Italian record business is for wholesalers to set up their own record production operations, mainly turning out ...

The Jacksons' Summer Tour In Chaos As Businessmen Scramble For Power

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 7 June 1984

LITTLE MORE than a month and a half before the Jacksons were due to hit the stage, preparations for their summer tour were a shambles. ...

Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson, The Jacksons: The Jacksons: Victory — Tour de Force or Tour de Farce?

Report by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1984

John Abbey reports from backstage at the opening of The Jacksons' Victory Tour, the most eagerly awaited tour for many a long year. The organisation, ...

MTV snaps up video rights

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, August 1984

SAN FRANCISCO — Rock-video fans who don't get their MTV — and that means seventy-five percent of the country's households — were at the losing ...

Bill Graham: Legacy of a Dance Hall Keeper

Interview by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 21 September 1984

Taking a look at his life as it is and as it was, Bill Graham addresses his place in rock and roll's order of power, ...

The Roots Radics: Roots Radics: Cheque It! (please!!)

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 6 October 1984

The ROOTS RADICS — the session trio — talk about run (how they never seem to run into any pay) All ears, SEAN O'HAGAN ...

Richard Branson: Rock & Roll at 30,000 Feet

Profile and Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 25 October 1984

From Tubular Bells to Boy George, Richard Branson has made millions from music. Now he's trying to run his own airline. Is he smart enough ...

Notes That Are Music To His Ears: Clive Davis

Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 1985

What do Barry Manilow, Donovan, Janis Joplin, and Springsteen have in common? They owe a lot of their success to Arista Records’ boss Clive Davis. ...

The Special AKA: Memoirs of a Survivor

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 January 1985

Few artists are entitled to hold their heads as high as JERRY DAMMERS. He hasn't yet managed to free Nelson Mandela, but Dammers has managed ...

Junior Giscombe: Junior Showtime

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 23 February 1985

Now's the time lor Junior to put up or shut up. Having sold himself two years ago as the nice black kid from Streatham, he ...

Pet Shop Boys: Neil Tennant At The British Record Industry Awards

Report by Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, 28 February 1985

You saw Prince. You heard Frankie. You felt the warmth of Wham's sun tans. You watched the TV show but now read THE FULL STORY! ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 8 March 1985

The chief Midnighter talks about his 'Twist' royalty legal entanglements, a loan from the notorious Morris Levy and his current musical activities.

File format: mp3; file size: 17.7mb, interview length: 20' 29" sound quality: * (phoner)

John Fogerty alters album: 'Zanz' becomes 'Vanz'

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 28 March 1985

Fantasy Records and Saul Zaentz still threaten to sue former Creedence leader ...

The Faces, Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, The Small Faces: The Small Faces' Steve Marriott (1985)

Interview by Chris Welch, Rock's Backpages audio, 29 May 1985

The smallest Face takes us back to the band's beginning: meeting Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones and starting the Small Faces; the Man with the Van, Jimmy Winston; signing up with manager Don Arden; sacking Winston and Ian McLagan joining; the hits, and wild times on the road; leaving Decca and Don Arden and joing Immediate; leaving the band and forming Humble Pie with Peter Frampton; his uneasy relationship with psychedelics and his cocaine years.

File format: mp3; file size: 85.2mb, interview length: 1h 28' 44" sound quality: ****

Duran Duran: Style Counsel

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 2 September 1985

ADAM SWEETING investigates the selling of a pop star package ...

Jerry Wexler (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1985

Speaking at the Friars Club in midtown Manhattan, the great Atlantic producer recalls the black bands he loved as a kid and talks about Louis Jordan, Tiny Bradshaw and the birth of R&B. "Wex" also holds forth on the growth of urban black America; the influence of gospel on black pop; the importance of Western Swing; the other labels and white entrepreneurs involved in black music; discovering Stax and Muscle Shoals in the dog days of the early '60s; tying the knot with Stax... and getting back in the studio with Wilson Pickett.

ile format: mp3; file size: 43.7mb, interview length: 45' 30" sound quality: ****

Prince: Rock 'N' Roll Feels The Fire

Report by John Morthland, High Fidelity, December 1985

The PMRC isn't only out to censor sex and violence. John Denver could be next. ...

The Rolling Stone Interview: Bill Graham

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 19 December 1985

The P.T. Barnum of rock & roll celebrates his twentieth anniversary ...

Jackson Browne, The Byrds, The Doors, Terry Melcher, The Mothers Of Invention, The Rising Sons, Frank Zappa: Billy James on Columbia, Elektra and the L.A. music industry

Interview by Richie Unterberger, unpublished, 1986

Author’s note: This was based around one of the first significant historical interviews I did. The essay wasn't published anywhere, just typed out for a ...

Juke Box Jury

Overview by Kathryn Flett, i-D, February 1986

i-D presents the story of the Jukebox in glamorous technicolour, taking a quick bop, swing and a jive through the story of the blues and ...

Stiff's Upper Lip

Interview by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 1 February 1986

Stiff supremo DAVE ROBINSON explains to HUGH FIELDER why he's back at first base and going for a home run. ...

Joan Baez, The Band, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Peter, Paul & Mary: Albert Grossman: 1926-1986

Obituary by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 13 March 1986

Managed Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and others ...

John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: Lydon vs McLaren: The End of the Affair

Report by Jon Savage, Spin, April 1986

EARLY IN 1976, the Sex Pistols were a good idea trying to get started, gate-crashing other people's concerts — with instruments allegedly stolen from rich ...

Independent Promotion: The Inside Story

Report and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 24 April 1986

IT WAS GOING to be easy money. The cash would be sent, each week, in an unmarked brown paper envelope to the home of the ...

Grand Juries Investigate Mob Ties to Record Biz

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 8 May 1986

MCA linked to criminal activities ...

Martyrs Of Elitism

Essay by Cynthia Rose, Creem, June 1986

ELITISM. DICTIONARIES call it "the sense of being part of a superior or privileged group." On the street, it's more familiar as hipnitude, or novelty. ...

Pepe Willie, Prince: Pepe Willie: "See, Me And Prince Had A Deal..."

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

IN THE MID-'70s, Pepe Willie — a New York writer, musician and producer — went into the Cook House Studio in Minneapolis with two teenaged ...

Label Mates? The Indie revival

Report by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 5 July 1986

Is there an indie revival in the air or just another battle of the bands? HUGH FIELDER tracks down the men at the top and ...

Seymour Stein: The Sultan Of Sire

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 9 October 1986

Seymour Stein may be the most eccentric record executive in America. But his taste, foresight and business smarts have taken his label to the top ...

The Monkees et al: Comebacks

Report and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, December 1986

TWENTY YEARS ago, Mickey Dolenz, a former child actor best known in the title role of Circus Boy, answered an ad for "Four Insane Boys, ...

Whitney Houston: The Long Road To Overnight Stardom

Report and Interview by Bud Scoppa, Billboard, December 1986

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, a new artist emerges who simply takes over, in utterly decisive and undeniable fashion. So it was with Whitney Houston ...

John Anderson, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, The Judds, Patty Loveless, Lyle Lovett, Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam: Alive and Kickin'

Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 18 December 1986

A year after The New York Times ran its obit, country music is stronger than ever, thanks to artists like Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and ...

Derek B, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, Luther Ingram, The Leroi Brothers, Run-DMC: The Profile profile

Interview by Gene Santoro, Pulse!, 1987

Six years ago, Profile Records released six 12" singles. That was before Run-D.M.C. Now this thriving independent has some very major ambitions. ...

Dire Straits, Pet Shop Boys, Spandau Ballet: BPI Awards: Middle-age Spread

Report by Jon Savage, The Observer, 15 February 1987

JON SAVAGE takes a sceptical look at the BPI Awards ...

The Beatles, Happy Mondays, New Order: CDs: The Slipped Disc

Report by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 27 February 1987

Compact Disc has brought the second coming of The Beatles and the promise of a revolution in the rock industry. But is it a sound ...

DAT: How Japan has got the trade taped

Report by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 27 February 1987

There's another audio revolution on the way, and it could pose a piracy threat to the music business, says Mark Cooper. ...

The Singles Scene

Report by Ben Fong-Torres, GQ, April 1987

AMONG THE many mini-debates raging in the record business is the future of the 45-revolutions-per-minute single. It was born in 1949, came to life by ...

The Smiths: The Band With The Thorn In Its Side

Report by Nick Kent, The Face, April 1987

The past two years have seen panic in the Smiths camp, with take-over bids and narcotic problems competing with international success. Nick Kent assesses the ...

You Don't Have to Say You Love Him: The Divine Simon Napier-Bell

Profile and Interview by Dave Rimmer, Q, April 1987

IN A DISCREET east London venue, in the smaller dressing room backstage, a new group called Blue Mercedes are packing up their gear after their ...

Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen: Obituary: John Hammond

Obituary by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 25 July 1987

WHO'S GOING to find the next rock legend now that John Hammond's gone? Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith, ...

Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Bruce Springsteen: John Hammond 1910-1987

Obituary by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 27 August 1987

LEGENDARY RECORD producer and talent scout John Hammond — who played a key role in the careers of Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Aretha ...

John Hammond

Memoir by Dave Marsh, Musician, October 1987

REMEMBERING THE CONSCIENCE OF AMERICAN MUSIC ...

Home Taping: Off the Record

Report by Simon Frith, Jon Savage, The Observer, 11 October 1987

SIMON FRITH and JON SAVAGE on the home-taping controversy ...

Eric B. & Rakim, The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, M/A/R/R/S, Stock Aitken Waterman: Sampling the Sounds

Report by Simon Frith, Jon Savage, The Observer, 18 October 1987

SIMON FRITH and JON SAVAGE on more copyright complexities ...

George Michael, Wham!: George Michael (1987)

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1987

On the release of his solo debut Faith, George Michael talks about his complex relationship with the press; his split from Simon Napier-Bell's management; his confidence from an early age and what excited him starting out; his run-in with miners' leader Arthur Scargill, the miners' benefit debacle and his personal politics; the crazy Wham! fame days; Boy George's attempts to out him as gay; the new album and its songs, including 'I Want Your Sex'... and his general outlook on life.

File format: mp3; file size: 59.5mb, total interview length: 1h 02' 00" sound quality: ***

Tower Records: The Power of Tower

Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 November 1987

IT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR TOWER RECORDS TO OPEN A SHOP IN BOSTON: IT HAD TO BE THE WORLD'S LARGEST — AND MOST LAVISH — RECORD ...

Rock & Advertising: The Selling Of A Revolution

Report by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 4 December 1987

Madison Avenue Buys A Big Piece Of The Rock: How The Ad Industry Takes Your Favorite Songs And Turns Them Into Jingles For Toothpaste, Tennies ...

Wham!: Johnny Rogan: Wham! Confidential – Death of a Supergroup (Omnibus)

Book Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 12 December 1987

NO, NOT another tardy teenybopper cash-in but an investigative peek at the rock business machinations that caused Wham!'s meteoric rise and fall. ...

Inside the Payola Scandal

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 14 January 1988

ROLLING STONE has uncovered details of alleged cash payoffs — payola — to radio-station personnel by the operation of the California-based independent promotion man Joe Isgro. ...

Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth: Honey of the 'Core: Ten Years After... and it's Almost Independents Day

Interview by Ralph Traitor, Sounds, 16 January 1988

During 1987 the US indie underground began surfacing in much the same way as it had here a full decade earlier. BYRON COLEY, co-editor of ...

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly Johnson: Frankie goes to Litigation

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 18 January 1988

Holly of Frankie Goes To Hollywood takes his label to court today. Adam Sweeting reports ...

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly Johnson: Frankie Went To Hollywood And All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt

Interview by Michele Kirsch, New Musical Express, 20 February 1988

When two tribes go to war... As the Great Frankie Case ends, MICHELE KIRSCH talks to the victorious HOLLY JOHNSON ...

Belinda Carlisle, The Go-Go's, Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul, The Police, R.E.M., Sting: Miles Copeland: "Make sure you write what a nasty S.O.B. I am"

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, March 1988

STING'S BRING On the Night was a big-budget home movie by a talented musician convinced that every breath he takes deserves to be documented. It ...

Frankie Goes to Hollywood: The Final Chapter?

Report and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, April 1988

ON WEDNESDAY 10 February, the usual knot of press photographers and television camera crews on permanent point duty outside the Law Courts in The Strand ...

Payola: The Record-Label Connection

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 21 April 1988

How much do record-industry executives know? ...

MCA and the Mob: Risky Business

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 2 June 1988

How did a reputed mobster become a deal maker for MCA Records? ...

Soul II Soul: Jazzie B and the New Black Economy

Report and Interview by Cynthia Rose, New Statesman, 17 June 1988

A thriving underground enterprise culture has grown up around music – bootlegged vinyl, pirate radio, warehouse parties. It’s a black economy powered by black aesthetics ...

Biz Markie, Just-Ice, Mantronix, Salt-N-Pepa, Joyce Sims: Indie Labels: Players With the Rap Attack Making the Most Impact — and It's Not Just for the Money

Report by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 18 June 1988

INDEPENDENT LABELS have always been critical to the exposure of new black music. In the '50s, labels like Specialty and Chess gave pioneers like Little ...

Jane Ira Bloom, Steve Coleman, Kenny G, Grover Washington Jr: Kenny G et al: Safe Sax

Report and Interview by Steve Bloom, Musician, July 1988

What's Sales Got to Do With It? A Lot. ...

Rosie Flores, George Highfill, Michelle Shocked, Dwight Yoakam: Producer Pete Anderson Leads Calif.'s Gold Rush

Report and Interview by Holly Gleason, Billboard, 16 July 1988

LOS ANGELES — With the success of Dwight Yoakam's gold albums (Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. and Hillbilly Deluxe), producer Pete Anderson has found a beachhead ...

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly Johnson: Holly Johnson: Frankie Say See You In Court!

Report and Interview by William Shaw, Blitz, August 1988

Despite rampant early successes, the Frankie Goes To Hollywood saga ended in a bitter courtroom battle. Now freed from his ZTT contract, frontman Holly Johnson ...

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Simon Napier-Bell, Svengali

Interview by Chris Bourke, Rip It Up (New Zealand), August 1988

SIMON NAPIER-BELL'S reputation has preceded him. He's used to that. "Some people are wary of me," he says. "So it's difficult to know what a ...

Michael Jackson: Touchdown!

Report by Lloyd Bradley, Q, September 1988

On July 12, Michael Jackson arrived in the UK for his first ever solo appearances here. It was to become the largest and most lucrative ...

Tipper Gore and the PMRC: Not In Front Of The Parents

Report and Interview by Ralph Traitor, Sounds, 10 September 1988

The PMRC scored major brownie points recently when its chief, Tipper Gore, appeared on MTV. RALPH TRAITOR hears the woman who Guns N' Roses' Slash ...

Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Keith Richards (1988)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 19 September 1988

Keith opens by criticising Mick Jagger as a solo artist, then goes on to talk about being in the Rolling Stones; talks about the art of rhythm guitar; making the Chuck Berry movie; the great players on his first solo album Talk is Cheap; the Stones' future and how a band can grow old; the recent CD reissues of the group's catalogue; the "fragile monster" that was Brian Jones; their evolution as songwriters; the establishment's hounding of them; his drug use... and being in the public eye.

File format: mp3; file size: 89.3mb, interview length: 1h 33' 04" sound quality: ***½

Def Leppard: Rock's New Gift of Garb

Report and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 3 November 1988

Once maligned, concert merchandising is now rock's hottest business ...

Scalped: Why you can't get good concert seats

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1988

WHEN RHONDA Stofko and June Iacovello entered the New Rochelle Mall, in the suburbs of New York, at 7:30 one morning in August to purchase ...

Sting: Culture candy

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 16 December 1988

Adam Sweeting watches the label boom and fears a future of repackaged rock, candyfloss music and 'low-stress' hard sell ...

Kenny Rogers (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1989

This is a transcript of John's audio interview with Kenny. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Malcolm McLaren (1989)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, 1989

The manager/artist/impresario bemoans the state of the music business today: the conservative corporate culture; the equally conservative artists; the inability to create new Gods; becoming an artists himself, and the manager as artist; his ambitions and predictions; how England hates artists, and his optimism for Europe.

File format: mp3; file size: 26.8meg, interview length: 27' 57" sound quality: *****

Malcolm McLaren (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1989

This is a transcript of John's audio interview with Malcolm. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Miles Copeland (1989)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, 1989

The IRS chief talks about the label and its successes on both sides of the Atlantic: R.E.M., the Go-Go's, Fine Young Cannibals and more; being saved from bankruptcy by punk, and his labels Faulty Products, Deptford Fun City and others; Squeeze and the Police; IRS's relationship with Jerry Moss at A&M, then moving, via MCA, to EMI; the Night of the Guitars tour, and its participants; London v Los Angeles; how he got into the business; the current state of pop, and his predictions for its future.

File format: mp3; file size: 75.2mb, interview length: 1h 18' 19" sound quality: ****

Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty: Fogerty Wins Unusual Self-Plagiarism Suit

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 12 January 1989

Case is latest round in long fight with Fantasy Records ...

Tom Jones (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 25 January 1989

This is a transcript of Adam's audio interview with Tom. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik: Hope Against Hype

Interview by Mal Peachey, Time Out, 8 March 1989

Sigue Sigue Sputnik were the biggest hype of the '80s, their huge hairstyles and huger lies sweeping all before them — until the backlash. Mal ...

Canned Music: Pop’s Cola Wars

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, April 1989

Madonna has signed a $7.5 million deal with Pepsi which allows them the "world exclusive" on her single. They call it "synergy". Others call it ...

Island Records: The man who sold the world?

Report by David Toop, The Times, 2 August 1989

Chris Blackwell, the idiosyncratic founder of Island Records, has sold out to one of the music industry giants, Polygram. David Toop asks whether the spirit ...

Sampling: A Creative Tool or License to Steal?

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 6 August 1989

Guitarist Leo Nocentelli vividly remembers his first exposure to sampling in 1982. "I was on a session and the guy pressed one note on the ...

Georgie Fame, Billy Fury, Malcolm McLaren, Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde: Larry Parnes: The past master in idol speculation

Obituary by David Toop, The Times, 7 August 1989

David Toop on how Larry Parnes, who died last week, invented the British pop music star as a result of a meeting in a coffee ...

The Beastie Boys: Paid In Full

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Spin, October 1989

The Beastie Boys say their old record company is withholding millions of their dollars. Def Jam's Russell Simmons says he taught the Beastie Boys how to walk and talk. A ...

"I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives"

Interview by Len Brown, New Musical Express, 7 October 1989

PETER JENNER epitomises the 'fifth Beatle' school of pop management, guiding the ill starred careers of the early Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan and Topper-troubled Clash ...

Making It: Heavy Metal in Hollywood

Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, November 1989

LOS ANGELES – It's 2:20 a.m., a Sunday, just after the rock clubs on Sunset Boulevard have rousted the last rowdies and kicked out the ...

Black Box, Loleatta Holloway: Black Box: This Means War!

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, December 1989

There's insurrection in the ranks. Stock Aitken & Waterman's supremacy has been overthrown by a troupe of battle-scarred no-holds-barred dance producers from Bologna. Phil Sutcliffe ...

Buzzcocks, J.J. Cale, Dr. Feelgood, The Groundhogs, John Lee Hooker, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, The Stone Roses, The Stranglers: Andrew Lauder (1990)

Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages audio, 1990

From the Groundhogs to the Stone Roses: the music-industry legend narrates his journey from '60s Denmark Street to '90s Madchester via United Artists Records; talks about Hawkwind and Dr. Feelgood, signing the Stranglers and Buzzcocks, Radar Records and F-Beat, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, Demon Records and the CD/catalogue revolution; Silvertone Records and the Stone Roses... and the many changes in the music business over the years.

File format: mp3; file size: 60.7mb, interview length: 1h 03' 12" sound quality: ***

Those That Can, Do … Music Criticism and Other Evils

Report by Chris Bourke, Rip It Up (New Zealand), January 1990

Rock critics are a bunch of misanthropic know-alls who like to talk more than they like to dance. They think they're the only ones who ...

Billy Bragg, The Clash, Ian Dury, Pink Floyd, T. Rex: Peter Jenner Journeys Through The Minefields Of The Rock World

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1990

IN HIS 46 years, Peter Jenner has seen a lot of rock 'n' roll, and a lot of rock 'n' rollers, come and go. He's ...

Ice Cube, N.W.A: Straight Outta Here? Legal war erupts in N.W.A.

Report by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 8 February 1990

IT'S LIKE the Sex Pistols all over again. NWA, rappers from Compton, generate a huge word-of-mouth reputation, they put out a careening album quickly banned ...

Singles Incentives, Rank Outsiders

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, April 1990

SO, FAREWELL – to the Fine Young Cannibals single in a tin, to the Eurythmics in a wooden casket, and to Eric Clapton in a ...

Guns N' Roses, N.W.A: At a Loss for Words

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 31 May 1990

Record-industry acceptance of stickering is already having a chilling effect ...

Tape Rape

Report by Tony Fletcher, Spin, July 1990

The man selling the prerecorded tapes on the street will tell you they come straight from the factory, and the reason for the low price ...

Fredric Dannen on Hit Men

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Vox, November 1990

Barney Hoskyns talks to Fredric Dannen, author of a chilling study of the American record industry. ...

Miming: Here's One We Prepared Earlier…

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, November 1990

IT WAS THE Prince's Trust Concert of 1985 and Wembley Arena swayed gently to Dire Straits' lushly bestringed lament for star-crossed lovers, 'Romeo And Juliet'. ...

No biz like the old biz

Report by Simon Frith, The Observer, 30 December 1990

THE BRITISH Phonographic Industry, the record trade organisation, never did manage to endear itself to Margaret Thatcher. Its connection with sex and drugs and rock ...

N.W.A: Poison The Hood: Niggaz with Attitude

Retrospective by John Mendelssohn, unpublished, for Playboy, 1991

ON A SPRING EVENING in 1991, the late Eazy-E accepted the invitation of Dr. Dre, his fellow member of the notorious "gangsta" rap group NWA, ...

Anita Baker: Anita & the Killing Machine

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 January 1991

The straight talking Anita Baker delivers her verdict on the state of R&B and the double standards applied by the U.S. music business. David Nathan ...

Milli Vanilli: The Milli Vanilli Story: What A Swizz!!

Report by Tom Doyle, Smash Hits, 23 January 1991

They had many hits! They bought lots of houses! They earned loads of money! But unfortunately ROB and "FAB" forgot to sing on their records!! ...

The Crash of '91

Report by Fred Goodman, Musician, February 1991

Did all that wheeling and dealing in the '80s doom the music industry? ...

Jonathan King: King Prat

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 9 February 1991

On the titter count he scores high. And he insists on playing the prat because it pays off so handsomely. But the music biz has ...

No More Heroes?

Report by Sean O'Hagan, The Face, March 1991

Where have all the pop stars gone? Artists like Elvis Presley or The Beatles are the record company ideal, showing steady sales year after year. ...

MC Hammer: Here Comes The Hammer!!!

Report by Siân Pattenden, Smash Hits, 6 March 1991

It's the all-rappin' all-dancing "revue" sensation that is MC HAMMER's American live show! It's coming to this country on May 2! And SIAN PATTENDEN has ...

The KLF: Off The Orbitals

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, The Observer, 7 April 1991

Simon Reynolds profiles the anarchic duo The KLF ...

Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson: The Jacksons Score Big

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 2 May 1991

Michael and Janet set new standards for artist deals ...

Janet Jackson, Sting, Suzanne Vega: Changing Times at A&M

Report and Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 16 May 1991

The classy, formerly independent label tries for a comeback ...

Robert Johnson: The Devil's Work: The plundering of Robert Johnson

Special Feature by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 4 July 1991

THE SUN did not shine but it was hot as hell the day a memorial stone was unveiled for bluesman Robert Johnson near a country ...

The Stone Roses: Stone Free

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, August 1991

After nine months of strenuous legal wrangling, The Stone Roses have extricated themselves from an "oppressive", "one-sided and unfair" contract. Report by Phil Sutcliffe. ...

Milli Vanilli: The Award Sinners

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 17 August 1991

The Milli Vanilli affair rocked the secretive world of pop. CAROLINE SULLIVAN on the scandal of stars who don't sing — and the judge with ...

The Band: Bill Graham on The Band (1991)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 August 1991

Über-promoter Bill Graham talks about his relationship with The Band, from their Winterland debut to The Last Waltz, via Watkins Glen and the 1974 Dylan mega-tour

File format: mp3 File size: 28.3mb Interview length: 30 minutes 56 seconds Sound quality: ****

Digital-Tape War Heats Up

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 31 October 1991

NOW THAT the compact disc has supplanted the vinyl phonograph record, consumers can brace for another technology war. Next year, Philips Electronics N.V. and Sony ...

A Last Farewell To Bill Graham

Obituary by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 November 1991

BILL GRAHAM was a movie of a man. His 60-year-long life, which came to an end in a helicopter crash in Sonoma County the night ...

Bourgie Bourgie, Faith Hope & Charity, JoBoxers, Billy Mackenzie, The Pop Tarts: Everybody's gone drop of the pops

Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 14 November 1991

As the recession hits record labels, Lucy O'Brien talks to some of the bands who've been given the chop ...

Bill Graham 1931-1991: Rock's Greatest Showman

Obituary by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 12 December 1991

THE MUSICAL notes seemed to hang in the air of the synagogue, each one dripping with the sorrow and heartache felt by those who had ...

Nirvana: The indie alternative

Report by Simon Reynolds, The Guardian, 19 December 1991

This year saw groups like Nirvana breaking into the mainstream,. Simon Reynolds reports on the changing face of the charts ...

Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Mötley Crüe, The Rolling Stones: Big Deals: How Money Fever is Changing the Music Business

Report by Fred Goodman, Musician, January 1992

"IN MARCH of 1985 the band was broke. People were selling their houses. The IRS was calling every day." ...

Motley Crüe's Piece of the Action

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, January 1992

WHAT A difference a decade makes. "When we started," Motley Crüe singer Vince Neil recalls, "we were so naive about the business that our first ...

Ticket Touting: On Every Street

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, February 1992

"IT'S A QUESTION of water in the desert," say Harry the ticket tout. "If someone's got the water and you need it, you'll pay him ...

Nirvana: Smells Like… Bullshit

Interview by Steffan Chirazi, Kerrang!, 8 February 1992

Nevermind has been at Number One on the Kerrang! Album Chart for a month, Stateside it's the same plus Double Platinum, and worldwide the video ...

Tori Amos: I Wanna Sell You A Tori

Report by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 8 February 1992

Six months ago she was nobody, today TORI AMOS is well on the way to becoming a household name. The former LA 'rock chick' has ...

Consolidated, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, The Pixies: Doing the slam: Tales from the mosh pit, where rock 'n' roll is a contact sport

Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 February 1992

THESE DAYS, rock 'n' roll has become a contact sport. Not all rock 'n' roll, of course. You won't see slam dancing at a Moody ...

Love Compilations: The Fast Food Of Love

Overview by Lloyd Bradley, Q, March 1992

Passion to go. Ambience-U-Like. Take-away smooch. Marketing men have discovered the public's appetite for romantic compilation albums. "Everyone loves love," they tell Lloyd Bradley. "We've ...

Barbara Thompson: Major Barbara: saxophonist and bandleader

Interview by Richard Cook, The Wire, March 1992

Barbara Thompson reflects on life at the top of British jazz. ...

Richard Branson: The Virgin King

Special Feature by Fred Goodman, Vanity Fair, May 1992

With the unprecedented $1 billion sale of Virgin Records, British mogul Richard Branson said good-bye to the last major independent label in the world and ...

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine: Carter USM: Stars of the Singlets Market

Report by Bruce Dessau, The Guardian, 21 May 1992

Never mind the music, it's the T-shirt that counts these days. Bruce Dessau reports ...

Bill Nelson, Robert Wyatt: Robert Wyatt & Bill Nelson: Tough Guys Don't Dance

Interview by Mac Randall, Musician, August 1992

Bill Nelson meets Robert Wyatt. For 20 years they've bucked the system and made music at the edge of rock. Two vets discuss the never-ending ...

Stand By Yer Samplers

Essay by David Toop, Mixmag, September 1992

Dance music is under attack. The establishment is swamping us with double packs and pointless pop product posing as dance music. Dance music is no ...

A Question of Indie Pendence

Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Vox, October 1992

Since their birth in the mid-'70s, independent labels have progressed from the bedroom to the boardroom. Now the majors are muscling in on the act ...

Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out By Bill Graham and Robert Greenfield

Book Review by Tom Graves, The Washington Post, 18 October 1992

THE LATE Bill Graham is remembered by most as the prickly, hyperactive browbeater who opened not one, but two Fillmore concert halls during the height ...

Madonna: The Madonna Pornucopia

Preview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 21 October 1992

PSSSST! WANNA see some new Madonna product? ...

Tribute bands: Phonies!

Report and Interview by Martin Aston, Q, November 1992

Weird but true. The average unknown band will get more work and better money by pretending to be someone famous than by being themselves. Martin ...

Kim Fowley (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1993

A brief history of Hollywood (the Fowley version); growing up in L.A., and growing up fast; getting into the music biz, and the calamity that was The Beatles. The King of the Hollyweird Night tells all.

File format: mp3; file size: 110.3mb, interview length: 1h 54' 55" sound quality: ***

George Michael: D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, January 1993

George Michael vs. Sony: "We do not speak the same language." ...

Julian Cope, The Fall, Pop Will Eat Itself, U2: Ground Control To Major Labels

Report and Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 30 January 1993

Unattached, paranoid, fancy working your ass off and seeing five gigs a night, listening to 400 tapes a week and shouldering the blame when the ...

Mudhoney, Pavement: 45rpm Singles: Seven Inches of Pleasure

Report by Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, 4 February 1993

For bands and fans, the single is the new format of choice ...

Wendy James: This Year's Model: The Second Coming of Wendy James

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 6 February 1993

The last time we spoke to WENDY JAMES, she made a lot of typically outrageous claims for herself. She would be the biggest name in ...

Clint Black Rides Out the Storm

Report and Interview by John Morthland, Country Music, March 1993

IT'S BEEN A ROUGH COUPLE OF YEARS FOR CLINT BLACK. MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS, LAWSUITS, TABLOID HEADLINES AND GARTH-MANIA FORCED HIM TO REGROUP. BACK ON THE ROAD ...

Negativland, U2: Negativland: A Fistful Of Lawsuits

Report and Interview by Tony Fletcher, Creem, April 1993

"I don't think there are any record companies right now in the real sense of the word. We're all in the fashion business. You used ...

Vince Power: Power, Corruption and Lies?

Profile and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, May 1993

Once, he ran a junk shop; now Vince Power's a powerful music impresario. But last month's acquisition of London's Town & Country Club has led ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces: Andrew Loog Oldham: "Charlie's Good Tonight, Innit?"

Interview by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 1 May 1993

Cancel room service! The man who styled and managed those grubby pop hopefuls The Rolling Stones — forever staining the world with the concept of ...

Lollapalooza: Return of the All Day Sucker

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1993

Lollapalooza '93: The making of the summer's biggest rave ...

Elliot Roberts (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, June 1993

The L.A. deal-maker on first finding Joni Mitchell in NYC and becoming her manager; on moving to L.A. and into David Crosby's orbit; on getting Joni signed to Warners; on meeting Neil Young and the end of Buffalo Springfield; on the L.A. music scene; on David Geffen; on the Eagles; on cocaine; on Tom Waits and Warren Zevon... and the end of his partnership with Geffen.

File format: mp3; file size: 48.1mb, interview length: 50' 07" sound quality: ****

Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young: Elliot Roberts (1993) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, June 1993

This is a transcript of Barney's interview with Neil Young's manager Roberts, conducted in Santa Monica in 1993 as part of the interviewer's research for ...

Sonny Til & The Orioles: Is This The Woman Who Invented Rock & Roll?: The Deborah Chessler Story

Retrospective and Interview by Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, 24 June 1993

IN AN EARLY EPISODE of Homicide: Life on the Street, Barry Levinson's recent TV series about a team of Baltimore cops, the detective played by ...

Black 47, BoDeans, Edie Brickell, Major Thinkers, The Neighborhoods, Willie Nile, The Regulators, The Simms Brothers Band: Leaving Normal: The day after the day you get signed

Report by Bruce Pollock, Musician, July 1993

FOR A band at the top of the local ladder, it's the best of times and the worst of times. It's when the answer from ...

The 10 Most Indefensible Recording Contract Provisions

Overview by Fred Goodman, Musician, July 1993

A man labors and fumes for a whole year to write a symphony in G minor. He puts enormous diligence into it, and much talent, ...

Bad Boys Inc, Take That: Take That and Parody

Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 October 1993

Pop is being manufactured like never before — especially cute-white-boy pop. As the war between champs TAKE THAT and challengers BAD BOYS INC hots up, ...

Kim Fowley: Living and Dying in L.A.

Retrospective and Interview by Steve Roeser, Goldmine, 26 November 1993

IT'S A NAME (and yes, it's a man's name) that's been popping up around the music scene for roughly the past 35 years. And every ...

George Michael Vs Sony: This Time It's Personal

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, December 1993

DOWN AT THE High Court, as Q went to press, the case of George Michael versus Sony was prodigiously well-paid business as usual for the ...

Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Color Me Badd, En Vogue, Intro, Jade, Jodeci, Shai, Silk, SWV: Quiet Storm: The Year In R&B

Report by Frank Owen, Vibe, December 1993

While no one was looking, a new kind of R&B became the dominant force in pop music. And still it gets no respect. ...

The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt: Nik Venet (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, Summer 1993

From his youth in '50s Baltimore to involvement with Linda Ronstadt and the Canyon Cowboys in '70s L.A., via Kim Fowley, his time at World Pacific and Capitol including producing the Beach Boys and much more: the music biz veteran tells the whole story.

File format: mp3; file size: 108.6mb, interview length: 1h 53' 09" sound quality: ***

Cypress Hill And The New US Rap

Report by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 19 February 1994

IN AMERICA, rap is big, big business. ...

Kirsty MacColl: Raging Against the Machine

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 February 1994

There are many ways to describe Kirsty MacColl, but "female singer-songwriter" is not one of them, she tells Paul Sexton ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer: The Wailers: Pirates Yes They Rob I

Report and Interview by Larry Jaffee, Vibe, March 1994

Three decades after cutting his first record, Bob Marley still ranks as one of the most exploited artists in the history of recorded music. Larry ...

Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra: Juggy Gayles: Leader of the Old School

Profile and Interview by Holly George-Warren, Rolling Stone, 24 March 1994

JUGGY GAYLES hyped records the old-fashioned way-with style ...

Counting Crows: Anatomy of a Hit

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 April 1994

They weren't supposed to be a huge success, but Counting Crows had an amazing demo tape, an influential record company, good luck and great timing. ...

Aimee Mann (1994) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Ian Ravendale, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 18 April 1994

This is a transcript of Ian's audio interview with Aimee. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Dr. John (1994)

Interview by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 April 1994

The erstwhile Night Tripper on writing his autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon; on the New Orleans music business — the rip-offs, lousy studios, useless Musician's Union, Jim Garrison; on his new album Television; on drugs and recovery; on moving to New York City; on the modern recording scene (and being sampled by Beck); on his early involvement in N.Y. hip hop... and how he started out just playing for fun.

File format: mp3; file size: 72.1mb, interview length: 1h 15' 03" sound quality: ****

David Bowie, Thomas Dolby, Peter Gabriel, Heart, Elvis Presley, The Residents, Todd Rundgren: Are We Making Art Yet? Music in the age of interactive entertainment

Report by Alan di Perna, Musician, June 1994

MUSIC, OF course, has always been interactive. People dance to it, make love to it, sing along with the lyrics and figure out the chord ...

How Technology Will Kill The Music Biz

Special Feature by Frank Broughton, i-D, June 1994

In the future, there will be no record companies or record shops. In fact there will be no records. Instead, sound will be transmitted straight ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Early Wailers: Fussing & Fighting

Report by Larry Jaffee, Billboard, 18 June 1994

Marley Catalog Is A Source Of Strife, Suits ...

The Beastie Boys: The Filofax Of Life

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 25 June 1994

Beastie Boys have recovered from years of being f***ed about by record companies to build their very own self-contained business empire. They've also just made ...

John Fogerty, Randy Newman, Prince: Lenny Waronker: All In The Family

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, July 1994

Warner Brothers President Lenny Waronker is not your Average Corporate Cheese ...

George Michael: He's a Loser, Baby

Report by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 11 August 1994

Court rejects GEORGE MICHAEL'S plea to break his contract with Sony ...

Neil Young: A Conversation with Elliot Roberts

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, September 1994

FEW OTHER artist/manager relationships have endured as long as the one between Neil Young and Elliot Roberts. It is nearly 30 years since the lanky, ...

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix: Who the hell does MAX CLIFFORD think he is?

Interview by Tom Hibbert, Q, September 1994

Hamster snack outrage! Lycra thigh-shots farrago! Politician-toe-to-actress-tonsil coincidence! All the proud work of one proud PR man, ever spoon-feeding the media, manipulating the smaller-format newspapers, ...

Metallica: Don't Tread On Me! Metallica Sue 'Em All In Court Case Spectacular!

Interview by Steffan Chirazi, Kerrang!, 22 October 1994

Gloves off as Metal masters take on record company in legal scrapof the decade! Lars tells all! ...

MTV OD

Report by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 10 December 1994

The MTV European Music Awards happened last week. You might have seen them on the telly. Lots and lots of famous stars winning prizes for ...

Ice-T (1991) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages transcripts, Summer 1994

This is a transcript of Andy's audio interview with Ice-T. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

The Chemical Brothers, Orbital: The British Invasion?

Report by Frank Broughton, Blah Blah Blah, 1995

With the Chemicals and Underworld making waves stateside, is dance music finally reaching mainstream America? ...

Pearl Jam's Ticket Wars

Report by Mark Rowland, Musician, January 1995

IN 1994 PEARL Jam showed they weren't just the biggest band in America, they were the most revolutionary. Now that's a combination we haven't seen ...

The Q New Year Summit 1995: Where Are We Now?

Interview by Robert Sandall, Q, February 1995

We teeter on the lip of a New Year, and, let's not flagellate around the shrub-like foliage here, The Future. In an attempt at stocktaking ...

Richard Hell: Victor Bockris presents Susan Sontag & Richard Hell, New York City, 1978

Interview by Victor Bockris, The Poetry Project, February 1995

IT WAS THE EVENING of the fifteen-foot snow blizzard and SUSAN SONTAG was due at my Greenwich Village apartment from her 107th Street penthouse at ...

Sleeping With The Enemy: When Musicians Become Record Executives

Report and Interview by Roy Trakin, Musician, March 1995

YOU WOULD think Gary Lemel is one of the luckiest guys around. As President of Music for Warner Bros, films, he gets to pal around ...

Radiohead, Suede: The British Aren't Coming

Report by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 9 March 1995

IS THE NEWEST WAVE FROM THE U.K. A WASHOUT? ...

Ash: Boys Who Like Hurls

Interview by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 25 March 1995

ASH may be fresh-faced teens but they're hardly naïve kids. The Irish striplings are currently the coveted prize in a US bidding war involving such ...

Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Crash Test Dummies, Sarah McLachlan, Sloan, The Tragically Hip: Canadian Rock Music Explodes

Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Maclean's, 27 March 1995

WITH HIS STRAGGLY, shoulder-length hair, torn blue jeans and red sneakers, Greig Nori doesn't look like the sort of man to be wined and dined ...

Bush Telegraph

Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, The Guardian, 7 April 1995

How come an unknown British band are so big in the US? ...

Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy: Puff Daddy: Born To Be Bad

Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, May 1995

A multi-platinum music mogul at just twenty four, Sean "Puffy" Combs is the face of future hip hop. meet a Bad Boy made good. ...

The Rolling Stones: How It Happened

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, May 1995

By 1963, The Rollin' Stones lacked only a "g" and a manager. Enter Andrew Loog Oldham, 19-year-old music publicist and soon-to-be Stones Svengali... ...

Accept, Cinderella, Mötley Crüe, Vince Neil, Poison, Trixter, Warrant, Winger: Who Killed the Hair Bands?

Report by Alan di Perna, Musician, May 1995

IN JANUARY OF 1992, singer Vince Neil appeared on the cover of this magazine, lighting a cigar with a thousand-dollar bill. His band, Mötley Crüe, ...

Elvis Costello, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Why Are Records Too Long?

Report by Roy Trakin, Musician, November 1995

And other odd twists of the CD revolution. ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham: The Rolling Stones' First Manager And Producer

Interview by Dave Thompson, Goldmine, 24 November 1995

THERE ARE only a handful of rock managers who truly deserve the epithet great, those whose reputations have lived on long after the sell-by date ...

Sly & the Family Stone: The Pink Hippopotamus, The Ferry Godmother and Ilili (A Non-Fiction Fairy Tale): David Kapralik in 1996

Profile by Al Aronowitz, The Blacklisted Masterpieces of Al Aronowitz, 1996

THE DAY HE GETS OUT of the hospital from his third suicide attempt, Dave Kapralik is ready to try to snuff himself again. He's got ...

Bis: Sounds like teen spirit

Report and Interview by Susan Corrigan, The Guardian, 14 March 1996

Why would Top Of The Pops give space to a band without a record deal? And why is the band adamant it doesn't want one? ...

Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, R. Kelly, Teddy Riley: Andre Harrell: Resurrection of the Soul

Report and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 22 March 1996

Andre Harrell is a man with a mission. The youngest head of Motown since Berry Gordy, he tells Sean O'Hagan how he plans to put ...

Spice Girls: Taking On The Britboys: Spice Girls

Report and Interview by Paul Gorman, Music Week, April 1996

JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life – Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move ...

David Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Frank Zappa: Contract Breakers

Essay by Mark Sinker, The Wire, June 1996

2005 note: Savage Pencil did a nice illustration for this: John and Yoko hilariously naked, among other excellent things. It also elicited an angry postcard ...

Elton John: My life with the Rocket man

Memoir by Caroline Boucher, The Observer, 30 June 1996

Katharine Hepburn in the swimming pool and Stevie Wonder locked in the loo. Just two more problems for Elton John's former PR, Caroline Boucher ...

Prince: 0(+>: The man with no name has no label

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 July 1996

The slave we know as Prince tells David Sinclair why his new album is his last (for Warners, anyway) ...

The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Slade: Chas Chandler 1938-1996

Obituary by Chris Welch, The Independent, 17 July 1996

WHEN JIMI Hendrix set fire to his guitar, Chas Chandler was ready with the lighter fuel. When Slade were desperate for a new image, Chandler ...

R.E.M.: Be Seeing You?

Report by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, August 1996

Last year's Monster tour almost killed them. They have dispensed with the services of their "fifth" member. They now live time zones apart. On the ...

Evan Dando, The Lemonheads: Evan Dando and the Pop Walkabout

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, The Independent, September 1996

IN DON DeLillo’s 1973 novel Great Jones Street, a rock star named Bucky Wunderlick decides to quit his band and disappear from the music industry. ...

Elvis Presley: 25% Of The King: Col. Tom Parker

Obituary by Michael Gray, The Guardian, 23 January 1997

COLONEL TOM PARKER, the flamboyant tent-show hustler who was Elvis Presley's Svengalian manager, has died in Las Vegas at the age of almost 90. He ...

Jay Z: Jaÿ-Z: Z Top!

Interview by Andy Crysell, New Musical Express, 1 March 1997

SOME PEOPLE, eh? They're never satisfied. Incredibly, not even vast pop success is enough for these blighters. ...

Bruce Springsteen: Fred Goodman: The Mansion on the Hill (Times Books, $25)

Book Review by Ira Robbins, Rolling Stone, 6 March 1997

BABY, YOU'RE A RICH MAN A new book explores how rock & roll became a $20 billion business ...

Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young: Fred Goodman: The Mansion on the Hill (Times Books)

Book Review by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, April 1997

Deny it all we might, the truth is that music is a business. And its richest players have made billions without ever striking a single ...

Motown put the soul in sold

Report by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 July 1997

Paul Sexton on the sell-off that saw a generation of classics change hands ...

“Bastards. Liars. Pimps. Theives. Scumsuckers. Perverts...”

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, August 1997

...And that's some of the nicer things they say about rock'n'roll managers. they may have swapped their baseball bats for law degrees, but as Phil ...

How To Roger The Charts...

Report by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1997

Roger Cook's flawed investigation into chart rigging failed to address the real problem afflicting the singles chart. Johnny Black plays detective... ...

The Death of Live Music

Essay by Mark Dery, Musician, August 1997

Will concert and club dates survive in the Internet age? ...

The Beatles: Taylor of Savile Row: Derek Taylor, 1932-1997

Obituary by Chris Bourke, The New Zealand Herald, September 1997

DEREK TAYLOR, WHO will forever be known as "the Beatles' press officer", leant across and switched my tape recorder to "pause". I had just admitted ...

The Beatles: Derek Taylor, 1932-1997

Obituary by Chris Welch, The Independent, 9 September 1997

DEREK TAYLOR, the Beatles' press officer, brought calm, authority and a sense of dignity to the chaos of the '60s. As spokesman for the band ...

Shooting Stars: Denny Bruce Produced Plenty Of Legends – But Never Became One

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, LA New Times, 11 September 1997

STROLL THROUGH Denny Bruce's home on a hillside north of Sunset Boulevard, and you wander through mementos of a career spent nurturing greatness. ...

Chris De Burgh, Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls: Humbug in the wind

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 12 September 1997

Elton John aside, pop's tributes to the Princess seem to be rather lacking in sincerity ...

Is the dance shop dead?

Report and Interview by Toby Manning, Jockey Slut, October 1997

WITH THE SHOCK CLOSURE OF LONDON'S FAMOUS FAT CAT RECORD SHOP, THE SHUTTERS OF PETE WATERMAN'S CHAIN OF SPECIALIST DANCE SHOPS FIRMLY SHUT AND THE ...

Five: Boys Will Be Boys Bands

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 18 October 1997

You've never heard of Five. The Spice Girls' inventors will make sure you do. Caroline Sullivan reports ...

The Beatles: Derek Taylor 1932-1997

Obituary by Philip Norman, Rolling Stone, 30 October 1997

THE SIMPLE term "music publicist" does not begin to describe Derek Taylor, who died from cancer of the esophagus at his home, in Suffolk, England, ...

They're the New Beatles!

Overview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, November 1997

Or the New Dylans. Or the New Stones. Maybe they were the New Johnny Hates Jazz. Whatever, whether plugging a gap left by the originals ...

Spice Girls: Spice: The Final Frontier

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 19 December 1997

The tabloids have turned on them, their fans are leaving them — even Smash Hits readers voted them Worst Group. Is this the end for ...

Frankie Lymon

Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, February 1998

"I WAS MERELY a pawn in a big chess game," said Frankie Lymon, just months before he died of a heroin overdose on February 28, ...

Press Officers: Trying to Keep the Customer Satisfied

Report and Interview by Steven Wells, Vox, February 1998

When you're the PRESS officer for a rock group, life's about fending off the scum press, nannying drug-addled lead singers... and punching out the odd ...

Popzilla: SFX Entertainment

Report and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 23 March 1998

How one man is gobbling up the nation's concert business – and what it could mean for you. ...

Prince: An Audience With The Artist

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Addicted To Noise, August 1998

THE SECURITY GUARD in suit and tie who is watching the closed door to The Artist's upstairs dressing room on The Tonight Show set in ...

Rock'n'roll Infanticide

Essay by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 7 August 1998

Pop is on sick leave because the nation's youth hasn't done its music homework. Tom Cox tells aspiring young bands to nab their parent's record ...

Mobo Workin'

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 9 October 1998

The Music Of Black Origin awards are now pop's trendiest bash, reflecting the dominant R&B influence in the charts. ...

Full Circle

Report by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 20 October 1998

In one of the most startling comebacks in music history, Tom Cox is delighted to find that sales of turntables and crackly old vinyl records ...

A&R Men: Where's the Bar?

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 November 1998

They're narcissistic coke fiends with no interest in music, or so the legend goes — yet A&R men shape the future of pop. Surely, asks ...

The Beatles: "No one else had the flair, the panache, the wit that Brian had," says Paul McCartney. So why did he die miserably and alone?

Retrospective by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 18 December 1998

Jon Savage describes how Brian Epstein fell victim to drugs and the pressures of being a secret homosexual. ...

Bands and Money

Overview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, 1999

Nobody goes into rock’n’roll for the money. No, really. Ask any band. But the trouble is if a lot of people like them they get ...

Bush: Breaking America

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, 1999

Phil Sutcliffe checks out the history of British bands making it, and failing to make it, in the USA, and looks at the example of ...

The Verve: My Copyright Hell

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, 1999

Tangled webs, anyone? Rock’n’roll’s got them by the skein, especially when it comes to money. But the case of The Verve, Allen Klein and Andrew ...

Whose Song Is It Anyway?

Overview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, 1999

Phil Sutcliffe tells of the winners and losers in music publishing ...

Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Millie, Ernest Ranglin, Traffic, U2, Steve Winwood: Chris Blackwell: A Man of Wealth & Taste

Profile and Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 18 February 1999

For forty years, CHRIS BLACKWELL has survived on killer instincts, killer bud and tough business tactics. Along the way, he's changed the course of pop ...

The Bay City Rollers: Bay City Rollers manager Tam Paton (1999)

Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages audio, 6 March 1999

The Rollers' Svengali talks about how hurt he is by his ex-charges' indifference to him; about how the band broke up and didn't even play on their own records; about their shoddy financial affairs and personal problems, and about his incarceration in the '80s.

File format: mp3; file size: 39.4mb, total interview length: 41' sound quality: **½

The Beatles: Tony Barrow: Beatles Confidant Offers Glimpse Inside Mania

Report and Interview by Frank Tortorici, sonicnet.com, 29 March 1999

Publicist Tony Barrow was there for the "We're more popular than Jesus" and "Paul is dead" crises. ...

Dallas Austin, TLC: TLC: Spice Who?

Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 1999

THE EXPRESSION "eagerly anticipated" may be one of the most played out in the lexicon of show business. Not because fans don't fiend for new ...

Fatboy Slim: Funk Sold Brother

Report by Marc Weingarten, Rolling Stone, 1 April 1999

With help from Nike, Miramax and TV Guide, Fatboy Slim puts some Rockafeller in his skank ...

Paul Oakenfold (1999) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 7 April 1999

This is a transcript of Frank's audio interview with Paul. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Britney Spears: Inside the Mind (and Bedroom) of America's Teen Queen

Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 15 April 1999

The child navigates becoming a woman while the former Mousketeer courts worldwide fame ...

Faith Hill, Tim McGraw: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill: Love and Industry

Profile by James Hunter, The Village Voice, 25 May 1999

COUNTRY MUSIC Nashville is a town of handlers, of purportedly insightful managers and publicists and producers and record company presidents. In 1993, when Tim McGraw ...

Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Jim O'Rourke, Pavement, Sebadoh, Smog: The Domino effect

Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 28 May 1999

So the major record labels have got things all sewn up? Not quite. As the business reels under the impact of downsizing, the cottage industry ...

The Beatles: Timeless Illustrious Past: Why The Beatles Are Still Big Business

Essay by Steve Turner, Wiener Zeitung, June 1999

ALTHOUGH THE Beatles disbanded almost thirty years ago, public interest in the group has never waned. Beatles records still sell in their millions worldwide (six ...

Bros, Five, Spice Girls: Bob Herbert 1942-1999

Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 14 August 1999

BOB HERBERT, who has died in a car crash aged 57, didn't invent the idea of the packaged pop group, but, as the man responsible ...

Who Killed Rock 'n' Roll?

Comment by Gene Sculatti, LCD, 5 November 1999

Who's the perp?Somebody must've done this. ...

Prince: Pop stars as you'll never see them

Report by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 20 November 1999

I HAVE A certain contingent of friends who want to protect me from the music business because they think it's riddled with merciless charlatans and ...

Marc Almond, Labelle, Dusty Springfield: Vicki Wickham: Ready, Vicki, Go!

Retrospective and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 November 1999

She's managed stars from Dusty Springfield to Marc Almond and has just won an award for her lifetime's work in the music industry. But outside ...

Larry Graham, Chaka Khan, Prince: My father named me Prince

Profile and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Code, December 1999

The turn-of-the-century artist takes a second look. ...

Herb Abramson, 1916-1999

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 3 December 1999

HERB ABRAMSON, who has died aged 82, was one of the architects of Atlantic Records, which in the 1950s and 60s was the most creative ...

Brits Go Home! The End of the Invasion

Overview by Barney Hoskyns, The Observer, 2000

AMID ALL the self-congratulatory hubbub over the British successes at the Oscars, few people stopped to reflect that luvvie wonderboy Sam Mendes hadn't actually made ...

David Bowie, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones: I Was A Pop Star's Arse-wiper!

Report by Martin Aston, Q, January 2000

For as long as there have been rock stars, there have been rock star "support systems", from the Memphis Mafia to "Spanish" Tony Sanchez to ...

Are We the World? Global Music in the U.S. Faces the 21st Century

Comment by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 8 February 2000

SONY MUSIC'S recent and massive Soundtrack of a Century collection includes a two-CD set called International Music, ostensibly to celebrate the geographically diverse roots of ...

The KLF: Burning question: The KLF

Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, The Observer, 13 February 2000

Why did Bill Drummond set fire to £1 million? Why did he want to chop off his own hand on stage? And why did the ...

Run-DMC: House Divided

Interview by Amy Linden, The Source, April 2000

The thrill is gone for the crew from Hollis, Queens. With DMC's voice failing and run eager to battle rap against the new school, will ...

The Chart Busters

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 4 April 2000

First Britpop, then drum'n'bass, now UK garage: behind every popular band are the A&R scouts, hunting for acts who might repeat that success. ...

Pop in the 90's: Everything for Everyone

Essay by Eric Weisbard, The New York Times, 30 April 2000

GEORGE STRAIT is a middle-aged country singer with an easy grin about him; even his boxed sets go platinum. Ice Cube is an intense rapper ...

Sex Pistols: Sophie Richmond: Sid, Johnny,
 Malcolm & me

Retrospective and Interview by Robert Webb, The Independent, 10 May 2000

She paid Johnny Rotten his weekly wages, clashed with Sid Vicious and was arrested alter the Jubilee cruise gig. Sophie Richmond, Malcolm McLaren's former PA, ...

Britney Spears: Oops!… I Did It Again (Jive) — She was born to make us happy

Review by Barbara Ellen, The Times, 19 May 2000

For £15 you can enjoy Britney all night long — and still have change for a Big Mac and twirly fries. Barbara Ellen gets stuck ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, June 2000

As manager of The Rolling Stones for most of the Sixties, ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM became almost as famous as the band themselves. Modelling himself on ...

Badly Drawn Boy: This Charming Man

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, Select, July 2000

Floral tributes please for Badly Drawn Boy: incurable romantic, nicotine addict and, quite probably, the best songwriter in the world... ...

Modest Mouse: Caught in a trap

Interview by RJ Smith, Spin, July 2000

For seven years, Modest Mouse have been writing songs about being stranded in boom-time America. Now they’re signed to a major label and more lost ...

Girl Thing: No more girl power

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 July 2000

Girl Thing were meant to be the new Spice Girls. But the public had other ideas. Caroline Sullivan reports ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty: John Fogerty: The saddest story in rock

Retrospective and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 11 July 2000

In 1988 John Fogerty was sued for plagiarising his own songs. Adam Sweeting talks to the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman about 12 years of bitter ...

Chain Store Hairdos: Totally Hits 2

Review by James Hunter, The Village Voice, 25 July 2000

THERE'S SOMETHING strange about the idea of Totally Hits 2, the compilation of recent pop smashes by various names, a follow-up to 1999's equally incongruous ...

Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg: Suge Knight: Death Wish

Report by Andy Crysell, New Musical Express, 5 August 2000

His rise and his fall has been a story of violence, pig-headed machismo and ruthless determination. Currently biding his time in jail, Death Row boss ...

Limp Bizkit: Among the Mooks

Report and Interview by RJ Smith, The New York Times, 6 August 2000

As entertainment entrepreneurs align the fantasy lands of rap, rock, wrestling and pornography, a generation of fans grows ever more brutish. ...

Andy Irvine

Interview by Colin Harper, Folk Roots, October 2000

HAVING BEEN through the music business mill several times over the past thirty-five years, with spells in such legendary and pioneering Irish music ensembles as ...

Spice Girls, Westlife: Battle of the blands: Westlife versus the Spice Girls

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 November 2000

It was the biggest chart clash since Blur versus Oasis: Westlife versus the Spice Girls. What does that tell us about today's music business, asks ...

Whiskeytown: Out of Town

Profile and Interview by Bill Holdship, Dallas Observer, 30 November 2000

THE GREAT major-label mergings and purgings of the last several years have lost hundreds of people their jobs – but another tragic result is that ...

The Kinks: Larry Page: Kinky Music

Sleeve notes by Kieron Tyler, RPM Records, December 2000

KINKY MUSIC was originally issued on June 18, 1965, by Decca Records. The album included twelve instrumental interpretations of songs composed by Kinks Ray and ...

The Human League: Human remains

Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 December 2000

What are the Human League doing playing a bank's Christmas do? Dave Simpson reports ...

Ewart Abner

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 1923, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 27 December 1997, Los Angeles ...

Roy Acuff

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 15 September 1903, Maynardville, Tennessee, USA, d. 23 November 1992, Nashville, Tennessee ...

Gene Vincent, Led Zeppelin: The Enforcer: Peter Grant

Book Excerpt by Chris Welch, from 'The Man Who Led Zeppelin', Omnibus Books, 2001

An extract from Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin by Chris Welch, first published by Omnibus Press in 2001. (256pp, currently available in softback ...

Sigur Rós: Desolation Angels: Icelandic music

Report and Interview by Rob Young, The Wire, January 2001

Spearheaded by Sigur Rós, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and the Kitchen Motors collective, Iceland’s hardy children of nature are proving stubbornly resistant to the World Rock ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: The Backpages Interview: Andrew Loog Oldham

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Rock's Backpages, January 2001

Last year saw the UK publication of Stoned, a wonderfully insightful film/fashion/music overview of the first Britpop era (1960-1964) by Andrew Loog Oldham, perhaps best ...

Brit Awards 2001: Prize fools

Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 January 2001

The Brits shortlist will spark a hunt for the next Coldplay or Craig David. Dave Simpson despairs  ...

Ronnie Scott: Playing with fire

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 5 February 2001

The Musicians' Union is accused of failing its members.  ...

The price is wrong

Comment by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 14 February 2001

It's been a bad week for music fans — but a good week for the industry. Adam Sweeting on why the CD swindle has to ...

Rough Trade: Top of the shops

Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 February 2001

One little store inspired a new breed of musician and turned the record industry on its head. Dave Simpson celebrates 25 years of Rough Trade ...

NSYNC: Britney can move, Christina can blow and *NSYNC got some street cred with 'Gone' — is blue-eyed soul the rebirth of cool?

Comment by Amy Linden, Honey, March 2001

IT WAS A seminal moment — as if life had just been discovered on Mars. The world's biggest boy band was on BET's 106 & ...

Gay Dad: "We're back. Don't tell your friends"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 15 March 2001

TWO YEARS AGO, when Gay Dad were at their most hyped, lead singer Cliff Jones predicted that his band's name would be remembered as "either ...

More Outrages at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Shame! 
Shocking! Scandalous! Typical. 
Plus, Another Sinister Cabal Unmasked!

Comment by David Dalton, Gadfly, 22 March 2001

NOW WHAT did I do with my invitation? Not that I had any intention of attending (on moral grounds, mind you). The $25,000 a table ...

Looking For Influence, Significance, Development And Perpetuation At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Comment by Bill Holdship, LA New Times, 28 March 2001

Press release, Tuesday, December 12, 2000, New York – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for the 16th Annual Induction Ceremony were announced ...

Blasts to the Past: Canada's labels dig through back catalog and discover gold

Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Billboard, 31 March 2001

THERE'S GOLD in them there vaults. Like miners digging for precious nuggets, Canadian record companies have been sifting through their back catalogs to find long-lost ...

Music: The Key To Getting Rich, High And Laid

Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 5 April 2001

Black Vinyl White Powder by Simon Napier-Bell (Ebury Press, £16.99) ...

Shane MacGowan and Simon Napier-Bell: The Sound And The Fury

Book Review by Ian Penman, The Guardian, 14 April 2001

Black Vinyl, White Powder, Simon Napier-Bell (390pp, Ebury Press £16.99)A Drink With Shane MacGowan, Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan (360pp, Sidgwick & Jackson £15.99) ...

Autechre: Mathematics is the new rock'n'roll

Interview by Mike Barnes, The Independent, 29 April 2001

Being formulaic is what techno duo Autechre do. Good, says Mike Barnes ...

Nirvana: This Is Pop

Retrospective and Interview by Keith Cameron, MOJO, May 2001

The plan was simple: make a raw, honest punk album within 14 days. Then big business intervened. The troubled story of Nirvana's In Utero. ...

Cowboy Junkies take the indie route

Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Maclean's, 7 May 2001

IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to imagine Margo Timmins as a bad-tempered diva. The angel-voiced singer of Canada's Cowboy Junkies has always been a point of calm ...

Let's Try That One Again...

Comment by Tom Cox, The Observer, 20 May 2001

IN AN ERA WHEN pop carries scant mystery and every 'best ever' list imaginable seems to have been compiled, the term 'lost classic' has so ...

Journey, Poison: Party On, Dude: Rock Package Tours

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 24 May 2001

GET READY, Houston, 'cuz here they come – rolling into town in waves all summer long. No, not the Bayou City's infamous mosquito swarms, but ...

Slaves to the Rhythm: Is Napster Dying?

Report by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 7 July 2001

After leading the digital music revolution, Edward Helmore says former fans won't flock back to Napster when it relaunches this summer ...

Table manna

Comment by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 27 July 2001

Everyone is clamouring for CDs brought out by hip restaurants and bars, says Lisa Verrico ...

Gillian Welch: The Cost of Music

Essay by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 11 August 2001

"EVERYTHING IS free now," sings Gillian Welch. "That's what they say/Everything I ever done/ Gotta give it away." There is resignation in her voice. Though ...

Blade, Roots Manuva: The home boys: Roots Manuva and the UK posse

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 September 2001

Who needs Eminem and P Diddy when we've got perfectly good British rappers? Dave Simpson talks to Roots Manuva and the UK posse ...

Burt Bacharach, Jeff Barry, Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin, Ellie Greenwich, Carole King, Leiber and Stoller, Barry Mann, Neil Sedaka, The Shangri-Las, Steely Dan, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Wexler: The Hit Factory: New York's Brill Building

Retrospective and Interview by David Kamp, Vanity Fair, November 2001

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I spent much of 2001 interviewing the songwriters, machers, and artists of the Brill Building era for this oral history. It was the ...

Garbage: White Trash: Shirley Manson

Interview by Tim Cooper, The Evening Standard, 8 November 2001

Shirley Manson, pop's most famous redhead, has suddenly gone blonde. A new look to match her new outlook. ...

Let's talk about me: Paul Gorman's In Their Own Write

Book Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 8 December 2001

The music industry is full of pompous bores – and that's just the writers. ...

Andrew Loog Oldham… And The Salty Tale Of Sandy Beach

Retrospective by Dave Thompson, Goldmine, 2002

POP STARDOM is about creating myths and sticking to them. ...

Coldplay, So Solid Crew, Starsailor: Letter from London, January 2002

Overview by Phil Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Times, January 2002

WHILE, SINCE The Beatles, we British music fans have often affected insouciant confidence in the superiority of our taste over the rest of the world's ...

Gorillaz: Damon and the fine art of faking it

Report by Stevie Chick, The Evening Standard, 15 January 2002

At this year's Brit Awards, Damon Albarn's creation, Gorillaz, look set to upstage the fake bands they so like to mock. Stevie Chick reports. ...

Simon Cowell: "The White Stripes? Heard of them. Wasn't blown away."

Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 January 2002

He makes kids cry, hates fat people and he gave us Westlife. Now Pop Idol villain Simon Cowell turns his evil gaze on some NME ...

My Problem With CDs & Records

Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 28 January 2002

Learning how not to hoard music. ...

The Chemical Brothers: Come With Us (Astralwerks)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Spin, February 2002

No surrender: With dance music in a funk, the Chemical Brothers return to Big Beats ...

Joan Jeanrenaud: No strings: Joan Jeanrenaud

Profile and Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 28 February 2002

Joan Jeanrenaud had the classical world at her feet as cellist with the Kronos Quartet. She tells Adam Sweeting how she finds life on her ...

U2: Bono’s Dosh: U2 and Money

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Payday, March 2002

"WE'RE NOT GOING to let people rip us off, we want the money!" That's what Bono said in 1979 when Dublin's teenaged hopefuls U2 were ...

Ranting About The Record Business

Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, March 2002

It's no surprise major-label music sales are down – the music sucks!. ...

Ali G: The joke's on you: Ali G's 'Me Julie'

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 March 2002

This week Ali G releases his first single, 'Me Julie'. Caroline Sullivan wishes he wouldn't. ...

Is The Record Industry Killing Itself?

Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 23 March 2002

Chasing the elusive million-seller could be the kiss of death for the corporate music business ...

Wilco: Taking Control in a Crisis

Report and Interview by Ben Thompson, Daily Telegraph, 28 March 2002

ROCK AND ROLL is not the first place you would look for a new form of patriotism. Yet Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the latest album by ...

Tony Wilson: Home entertainment: Tony Wilson on Factory Records

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 29 March 2002

The man behind Manchester's chaotic Factory Records, Joy Division and Happy Mondays takes us through his own back catalogue ...

Rock Bottom: The Music Industry In Trouble

Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 9 April 2002

WHEN ROLLING STONES manager Andrew Loog Oldham founded his own company, Immediate Records, in the 1960s, the paper sleeve of each and every single bore ...

Stan Cornyn: It's A Warner-Ful Life

Interview by Todd Everett, Hits, 10 April 2002

FOR MORE THAN 30 years, Stan Cornyn was the "voice" of Warner Bros. and Reprise Records. The company's image-setting print advertisements – offering free Topanga ...

Simon Frith: An Interview

Interview by Jason Gross, Perfect Sound Forever, May 2002

Depending on how you see music journalism, Simon Frith is either a sinner or a saint. After the late '60's, rock criticism began to show ...

At Indie Music Shop, A Guide via MP3s

Report by Marc Weingarten, The New York Times, 16 May 2002

...

Onyx

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, June 2002

IMMORTALIZED IN Woody Allen movies and Seinfeld, Manhattan's Upper West Side is old school New York. Graced with wide avenues and imposing buildings — the ...

God save the toddlers

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 3 June 2002

Why would anyone want to turn punk classics like 'Pretty Vacant' and 'White Riot' into kids' lullabies? Dave Simpson reports ...

Queens of the Stone Age: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, 6 July 2002

THERE ARE people everywhere. Crowded at the front of the stage, clogging the bar, hanging on the stair rails, queuing for the toilets. The room ...

John Otway: All aboard the Otway express

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 3 October 2002

The one-hit wonder behind 'Really Free' is returning to the charts, with a bit of help from Chiltern Railways, Mystic Meg ... and Adam Sweeting ...

Robbie Williams: Robbie's £80m deal puts EMI on new path

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 October 2002

Record giant's move into entertainment business on wider front highlights changing situation at a time when classical market is faltering ...

Cody ChesnuTT, CeeLo Green, N.E.R.D., Iggy Pop: Shortlist showcase stumbles

Live Review by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 31 October 2002

THE SHORTLIST PRIZE for Artistic Achievement in Music is out to rectify years of Grammy frustration, and as it attempts to become an American analogue ...

The Beatles: The Death of Brian Epstein

Retrospective by Jim Irvin, MOJO, November 2002

THERE'S A story, probably apocryphal, concerning John Lennon during his infamous 'lost weekend', the period in the mid-'70s when he split from Yoko and devoted ...

A Chocolate Biscuit Beats The Pop Charts These Days

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 14 November 2002

The Top 20 of old has ceased to be, we have to invent lots of replacements. ...

Christina Aguilera: Has Anyone Seen Christina?

Interview by Chris Heath, Rolling Stone, 14 November 2002

Because all we can find is Xtina, with her explosive beats, body piercings and broken glass.  ...

Joni Mitchell: "I'm quitting this corrupt cesspool"

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 November 2002

Why Joni Mitchell has had it with the music business ...

The Cradle Will Rock: Punk rock for babies

Comment by Pete Paphides, The Guardian, 23 November 2002

Nirvana and the Clash are the perfect bedtime listening for toddlers, reckons new label Punk Rock Baby. Anything for a good night's sleep, says Peter ...

Avril Lavigne, Pink: Riot Girls

Report and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 9 December 2002

Goodbye cheerleaders, hello snarling, smoking punks. Dorian Lynskey on how Pink! made teen pop grow up ...

Girls Aloud: Females with Attitude

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 16 December 2002

Despite the hype, could reality TV's Girls Aloud be the first girl band to matter since the Spice Girls? ...

Bobby Curtola, The Moffatts, Justin Timberlake: Teen Idols and the fast track to fame

Report and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Inside Entertainment, 2003

"Some people call me a teenage idol/Some people say they envy me/I guess they got no way of knowing/How lonesome I can be" (Ricky Nelson, ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: Petty Grievances

Interview by Alan di Perna, Guitar World, January 2003

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers take on the corporate giants with their new concept album, The Last DJ. ...

Pushing the pressure point

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 11 January 2003

THE NEWS THAT the Vines have been sent back to Australia, following a bout of Ricky Gervais/Grant Bovey-style pat-a-cakes onstage between singer Craig Nicholls and ...

Glut of rival ceremonies gives industry a sobering warning

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 14 January 2003

BEFORE ANYONE says a disparaging word about the Brits, as invariably happens around now. bear in mind that, compared with America's stodgy Grammys, they are ...

Linkin Park: Pirate Paranoia

Report by Toby Manning, The Guardian, 15 February 2003

Since the advent of the unholy trinity of internet, MP3 and CD burner, the music industry has gone into piracy tailspin. Toby Manning feels like ...

Kylie Minogue: The Brits: Early night for wild things at alco-less pops

Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 21 February 2003

THE DEPARTMENT for Work and Pensions has been plugging this year's Brit Awards with the happy promise "anything can happen at the Brits", but then ...

S Club 7: That's showbiz!

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 April 2003

S Club are mystified as to how they only made £400,000 each to their manager's £50m. It's called talent. ...

Johnny Clarke, Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Derrick Morgan, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Max Romeo: Working Like Trojans

Report and Interview by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, July 2003

Mike Atherton delves into the revitalised world of the renowned reggae label Trojan. ...

David Bowie: Conversation Piece

Interview by Pat Pierson, Yeah Yeah Yeah, 23 July 2003

I WILL TRY not to bother with self-indulgences, but please allow some room for the usual blah blah blah; that or just skip the intro. ...

Closing Time

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 2 August 2003

ON JULY 3, the House Of Lords failed to block government moves to introduce a new law requiring pubs, clubs and cafes to apply for ...

Damon Dash: Dash it, says Posh Damon

Profile and Interview by Chris Campion, Daily Telegraph, 9 August 2003

Dash — a man who wears a new pair of shoes every day — has given Victoria Beckham a hip-hop makeover. Chris Campion met him ...

Fountains of Wayne: How to Be a Rock Manager for a Day

Report and Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Blender, September 2003

EAGER TO LEARN if we have what it takes to make our way in the talent-management industry (sticky fingers, violent tendencies), Blender asked pop maestros ...

Joe Smith (2003)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 2 October 2003

The Warner Bros., Elektra/Asylum and Capitol Records boss remembers the great days of the West Coast music industry: the Laurel Canyon scene and the Troubadour; the Eagles, James Taylor, Little Feat and others; his relationships with Steve Ross, David Geffen and Irving Azoff; Joni Mitchell and the power of the artists; and the difference in his later period at Capitol...

File format: mp3; file size: 28mb, interview length: 29' 12" sound quality: ***

Rah Digga: Da unbreakable

Interview by Amy Linden, XXL, November 2003

She's the rare female MC who's known for her jaw-dropping lyrics — not the thing between her legs. That's why we love Digga, Digga … ...

Hundred Reasons: A Cut Above

Interview by Ian Winwood, Kerrang!, 8 November 2003

Hundred Reasons make terrible rock stars. They do, however, make fantastic rock albums. This despite being crippled by panic attacks, chronic geekyness and rampant alcohol ...

Michael Jackson: No more mileage in being Wacko

Comment by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 21 November 2003

MICHAEL JACKSON's efforts to maintain his self-proclaimed status as "the king of pop" are looking desperate as the passage of time and profound changes in ...

Last Christmas, I gave you my chart

Column by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 26 November 2003

Caroline Sullivan is appalled by this year's efforts for the Chrismas No 1, but finds some consolation in the thought that next year the singles ...

David Bowie: The Ken Pitt Interview

Interview by Chris Welch, unpublished, 2004

ONE AFTERNOON in 1967 I was interviewing The Nice at a flat in Earls Court when their guitarist David O'List produced a new album he ...

Mickie Most, The Yardbirds: Mickie Most

Retrospective by Alan Clayson, unpublished, 2004

"The only gift I had as a producer was finding the right song. I felt I knew how it should be done and, after that, ...

Prince: The Man With No Name

Retrospective by Dan Gennoe, Q, 2004

NOTE: Article from a special edition of Q: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll 1954-2004 From Elvis to the Beatles ...

Frank Zappa: We Need a Frank Zappa for the 21st Century

Comment by Larry Jaffee, Medialine, January 2004

A TRIBUTE TO Frank Zappa was one of the highlights of Surround 2003 at the conference's awards show Dec. 11 at the Beverly Hills Hilton, ...

Kim Fowley, Tomorrow, Keith West: A Teenage Opera: Testing… Testing…

Retrospective by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, February 2004

Brainchild of German Phil Spector wannabe Mark Wirtz and UK psych hopefuls Tomorrow, A Teenage Opera promised to be the grandest psychedelic production of the ...

The Brits: D-Day – The Music Died

Report by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 18 February 2004

IT WAS the British music industry's D-Day, with The Darkness, Dido, Duran Duran and even Daniel "personality bypass" Bedingfield sweeping the board. ...

Walter Yetnikoff with David Ritz: Howling at the Moon (Little, Brown)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 22 February 2004

DURING WALTER Yetnikoff's reign as president of CBS Records (later Sony Music), the music industry generated unprecedented profits, and commensurately large corporate egos. ...

The Beatles, Danger Mouse: More Than Words: Musings on Music Journalism — Life Goes On

Comment by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 10 March 2004

FEBRUARY 24 WAS a banner day for the Copy Left, a loose network of computer activists, intellectuals, forward-thinking musicians and zealous fans who continue to ...

So Sue Him!: Walter Yetnikoff with David Ritz: Howling At The Moon (Abacus) ***

Book Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, May 2004

Subtitled "Confessions of a music mogul in an age of excess", the fearsome former figurehead of CBS's enjoyable schmuck-into-mensch saga. ...

Julian Cope, XTC: The Old Boy Network

Report by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2004

GETTING DITCHED by a major label is not always the end of the line for the big stars of yesteryear, as Terry Staunton reports ...

Prince of Paradox

Interview by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 12 June 2004

Though he has become a Jehovah's Witness, Prince's stage act remains sexually charged. Having bitterly spurned the record industry giants, he now has a deal ...

"£50 Man" is music to ears of dying industry

Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 29 June 2004

FIVE years ago, prominent figures in the music industry began proclaiming that downloading would kill the music industry. ...

In a Spin

Comment by Pete Paphides, Observer Music Monthly, 18 July 2004

Will iTunes really kill off the record shop? Perhaps not – after all, digital information isn't something you can have and hold. And, says Peter ...

The Beatles, The Drifters, Kenny Lynch: Kenny Lynch: Nothing But The Real Thing

Sleeve notes by Kieron Tyler, RPM Records, September 2004

KENNY LYNCH HAS been at the heart of British showbusiness over 40 years. Whether he's acting, writing for light entertainment or drama, singing, performing comedy ...

Prince: Body & Soul

Interview by Alan Light, Tracks, September 2004

The hit Musicology album and torrid live shows have made him a star again. Faith and marriage have made him happy. Yes, Prince has come ...

Brinsley Schwarz: Andrew Lauder: Paradise Recalled

Retrospective and Interview by Max Bell, The Independent, 19 September 2004

Once, rock inhabited Eden. Man, Can and Beefheart were its fruit. Then the snakes in suits took over and music biz creatives like Andrew Lauder ...

The Guardian profile: Vince Power

Profile by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 8 October 2004

The self-made music promoter with a hardman image and an antagonistic work style is seeking to sell his stake in his Mean Fiddler empire. If ...

David Geffen (2004)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 5 December 2004

The mogul of Laurel Canyon on Asylum Records, managing artists and his close relationships with the likes of JD Souther, Laura Nyro, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell.

File format: mp3; file size: 25.1mb, interview length: 26' 07" sound quality: * (phoner)

The Who: Kit Lambert: A Profile

Retrospective by Chris Charlesworth, Q, Spring 2004

"GET HIM OUT of here." "What?" "Get him out. He’s making things worse." "But Pete, he’s... he’s Kit, their manager." ...

Harpers Bizarre, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Jack Nitzsche, Van Dyke Parks, James Taylor, The Turtles, Neil Young: Ostin-powered: The Mogul of Burbank

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'Hotel California' (4th Estate), 2005

Five adapted excerpts from Barney Hoskyns' 2005 book Hotel California that chart the rise of Warner-Reprise Records during the reign of its revered chief Mo ...

David Blue, Jackson Browne, Ned Doheny, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Judee Sill, J. D. Souther: Play It as It Lays: David Geffen and Asylum Records

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'Hotel California' (4th Estate), 2005

This is an excerpt from Barney Hoskyns'  Hotel California: Singer-Songwriters & Cocaine Cowboys in the L.A. Canyons (Fourth Estate, 2005) ...

Britney Spears: Under The Covers: Britney

Guide by Todd L. Burns, Stylus, 1 February 2005

The Queen of Pop? Since 1999’s …Baby One More Time, Britney has quickly elevated herself to pop royalty via a conflicting series of psycho-sexual messages ...

Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Scissor Sisters, Joss Stone, The Streets: More Originality Please: The BRITS

Report by Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror, 10 February 2005

THE BRITS Awards Panel must be relieved that their 25th Anniversary coincided with a revival in the fortunes of new UK music makers. ...

The iPod: Rise of the Machines

Report by Edward Helmore, Q, March 2005

This is the untold story of Apple's iPod — the gadget that ate the world and saved the music industry. We're all pod people now. ...

Out of tune: Customers suffer in the music download war

Report by Angus Batey, The Times, 26 March 2005

This month, a group of unnamed people became the first casualties of the UK music industry's war on internet piracy, when the British Phonographic Industry ...

Duane Allman, Southern Bitch: Apocalypse in the American Bush: R.I.P. Muscle Shoals Sound, Sheffield, Alabama

Essay by Kandia Crazy Horse, Perfect Sound Forever, April 2005

Feels so good inside myself Don't wanna move Feels so good inside myself Don't need to move –'Luv 'N Haight', Sly & the Family Stone ...

Arrow Brown: The Godfather of King Drive

Retrospective by Bob Mehr, Chicago Reader, 22 April 2005

Arrow Brown wanted badly to be a player-he wore a black hat, packed heat even in church, and exploited a houseful of wives and concubines ...

James Blunt: I was Blunt’s instrument

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 21 July 2005

"DOUBLE WHAMMY for Blunt," says a headline in this week's issue of trade magazine Music Week, acknowledging the fact that songwriter James Blunt is at ...

Death of the album

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 3 October 2005

Why insist on 50 minutes of music when you could have a perfect 10 — or better still, a single? ...

Dan Zanes: The Making of the Next MTV Generation

Report and Interview by Will Hermes, The New York Times, 23 October 2005

TWENTY YEARS AGO, when Dan Zanes fronted the punky roots-rock band the Del Fuegos, MTV was changing the business of rock 'n' roll. He has ...

The Sugarhill Gang: Hip-Hop Happens: The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'

Retrospective and Interview by Steven Daly, Vanity Fair, November 2005

Released in 1979, the single 'Rapper's Delight' launched hip-hop as a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. The opportunistic 15-minute track also revived the career of its producer, a ...

Madonna: Famous for being more famous than famous: Madonna and other icons

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 4 November 2005

Our writer muses on the qualities that separate the icon from the merely great. ...

David Crosby, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell: Barney Hoskyns: Hotel California – Singer-Songwriters & Cocaine Cowboys in the L.A. Canyons, 1967-1976

Book Review by Nick Coleman, Independent on Sunday, 13 November 2005

DOES NARCISSISM have a sound? If it does, it is surely a dulcet, soft, melodic, tender sound. The music – for narcissism is nothing if ...

Nik Cohn: Triksta – Life and Death and New Orleans Rap

Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 9 December 2005

JUST AFTER THE first printing of this iconic writer's account of his cultural and musical misadventures in an iconic city, the situation changed almost beyond ...

Aztec Camera, Madonna, The Smiths, Talking Heads: Seymour Stein: Siring Greatness

Interview by Scott McLennan, Rip It Up (Australia), Summer 2005

IN A WORLD where the longevity of most rock stars is fleeting, record magnate Seymour Stein has nurtured a vast array of successes across the ...

Sway: This Is My Demo (Dcypha)

Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 3 February 2006

IF THIS is the moment that Derek Asafo — aka Sway — crosses over, you can hardly blame him for exercising a little caution. For ...

Miles Davis: Kind Of Overkill

Comment by John L. Walters, The Guardian, 10 February 2006

Miles Davis wouldn't have wanted his out-takes made public, so why all the box sets? ...

Martha and The Muffins: One Hit Wonders: Martha and the Muffins' 'Echo Beach'

Retrospective and Interview by Kieron Tyler, MOJO, April 2006

MARTHA AND the Muffin's moodily reflective 'Echo Beach' is a new wave perennial, but somehow the Toronto band failed to score a follow-up British hit, ...

Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Jimi Hendrix: Joe Boyd: White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s (Serpent's Tail)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 14 May 2006

THIS PROTEIN-PACKED memoir entwines a number of stories that reach well beyond the subtitle's modest brief. At one level it's a boy's own adventure. Joe ...

Hype and glory: How to Create a Buzz

Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 June 2006

As Alan McGee books a made-up band, Dave Simpson looks at the science of creating a buzz. ...

Ronnie Scott's says goodbye to sticky carpets, hello to decent food and air conditioning

Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 24 June 2006

The legendary Soho jazz club has had a long overdue revamp. Robert Sandall reports. ...

The Neptunes, N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams: Sorry, laydeez, he's booked

Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 21 July 2006

Music is my one true love, says blingtastic baron of beats, Pharrell Williams ...

Scritti Politti: Return of Scritti Politti

Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Evening Standard, 21 July 2006

For almost a decade, Green Gartside abandoned his band and the pop scene. Now he's back with a new album — and a surprise Mercury ...

Obituaries: Mercury Records' Irving Green, co-founder, and Art Talmadge, first vice president

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, August 2006

BY PURE COINCIDENCE, two founding members of the first management team of Mercury Records have died within weeks of each other: Irving Green, co-founder and ...

Radiohead, Thom Yorke: Radiohead: Ghost in the Machine

Interview by Nick Kent, MOJO, August 2006

Q: What happens when "a bunch of stupidly self-critical pathological overachievers" form a rock band? A: They become Radiohead. Thom Yorke talks candidly to Nick Kent ...

Tom Waits: Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, NC

Report and Interview by Fred Mills, Harp, 2 August 2006

HE CAME, he saw, he conquered. Meanwhile, he hoisted that rag, he got behind the mule, and he tangoed until we were just about sore. ...

P. Diddy

Interview by Alan Light, Elle, October 2006

"THERE HE IS! There he is!" ...

Joe Tex: Buddy Killen, 1932-2006: Nashville record man and music publisher

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, December 2006

BUDDY KILLEN, the highly successful Nashville music publisher, songwriter and record man, died of liver and pancreatic cancer on November 1, 2006 at age 73.  ...

Tool: When A Special Package Becomes The Standard

Report by Larry Jaffee, Mediaware, Summer 2006

MUSIC INDUSTRY executives are usually quick to blame slacking CD sales on pilferage through illegal downloads. Rarely do major label types take any kind of ...

How To Beat The Difficult Second Album Syndrome

Comment by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 26 January 2007

SOPHOMORE SLUMP Or Comeback Of The Year? asked Fall Out Boy in a brilliantly prescient track on their 2005 album From Under the Cork Tree, ...

Ray Charles: Ahmet Ertegun, 1923-2006

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Word, February 2007

AS MUSIC BUSINESS people go, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun was a giant amongst pygmies, a mover and shaker whose colossal impact on the course ...

Joe Boyd: The Music Man

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 15 February 2007

Legendary producer Joe Boyd hits Memphis. ...

Marc Bolan, David Bowie: Tony Visconti: Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy — The Autobiography (Harper Collins)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 18 February 2007

IT CAN'T have been easy choosing the alliterative lineup for the sub-title of this rock'n'roll memoir. After Phil Spector, Tony Visconti is probably the most ...

The Beatles: Neil Aspinall: The Man Who Really Made The Beatles

Profile by Philip Norman, Daily Mail, 12 April 2007

LOYALTY IS not a virtue associated with the pop music industry. Treachery, exploitation and kiss-and-tell are its far more familiar signature-tunes. ...

The Beach Boys: David Anderle's California Nights

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Life After 50, May 2007

"WATCH YOUR HEAD," cautions David Anderle. The retired record industry executive-turned-painter is leading the way down a steep, narrow stairway in his classic Spanish-style home ...

Elvis Costello: Flogging A Dead Horse: Reissuing back catalog ad nauseam is no way to revive an ailing record industry

Report by Larry Jaffee, Mediaware, June 2007

YES, THE PRE-RECORDED music industry is mired in the throes of a tailspin from which it most likely will never recover. This, of course, is ...

George Michael, Wham!: George Michael (2007)

Interview by Steve Pafford, Rock's Backpages audio, June 2007

The man born Georgios Kyricacos Panayiotou talks at length about his family's attitudes towards homosexuality; his relationship with his mother; coming out to his parents; on his own gayness, and not being part of the gay community; on Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley; on songs and videos such 'Wham Rap', 'Club Tropicana' and 'Young Guns'; manager Simon Napier-Bell's shenanigans; the L.A. cruising incident and his American career; meeting Anselmo Feleppa; meeting Kenny Goss; his love of David Bowie; the rivalry between the Brit MTV bands; the state of current pop, and how he sees his future.

File format: mp3; file size: 109.1mb, interview length: 1h 53' 40" sound quality: ***

The 50 Year Copyright Conundrum

Report and Interview by Colin Harper, unpublished, July 2007

IN SEPTEMBER 1959, an inmate of Mississippi State Penitentiary named James Carter led his fellows in singing a work song, 'Po' Lazarus', while chopping wood. ...

Prince Papers The House

Comment by Phil Sutcliffe, Yahoo! Music, 16 July 2007

THAT PRINCE CHAP, he does like to lob a spanner in the music-industry works. It's record shop chains he's upset this time. They're calling him ...

Spreading The Word

Report by Robin Eggar, The Sunday Times, 29 July 2007

Library gigs, recycled sleeves, free CDs – our correspondent finds novel ways to get your music to the masses ...

Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso, David Morales: Def Mix: The house that Judy built

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Brewster, Pacha, August 2007

AT THE CENTRE of every story is what philosopher Malcolm Gladwell calls a "connector". Connectors are people who know lots of other people. They are ...

How Green Is Rock?

Report and Interview by William Shaw, The Word, August 2007

In years to come, will the picture on the right be as unacceptable as the one above? The music business has a green problem, and ...

Enter Shikari: Off the record

Report by Robert Sandall, Prospect, August 2007

In recent years, the economics of pop music have been upended. The market for CDs has collapsed, and not even the rise of legal downloading ...

Georgie Fame: Rik Gunnell, 1931-2007

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Word, August 2007

RIK GUNNELL, who died recently aged 75 in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbuhel, where he owned and ran a bar called The Londoner, was ...

The Police: Miles Copeland: Where's the Police chief?

Report and Interview by Chris Campion, The Observer, 2 September 2007

AS THE POLICE prepare to finally hit home turf on their reunion tour, one figure conspicuously absent from all the reappraisals of their career is ...

Radiohead: OK Computer: Why The Record Industry Is Terrified Of Radiohead's New Album

Comment by Andy Gill, The Independent, 5 October 2007

Radiohead are the latest — and greatest — band to shun the conventional CD release. Their new album is available online — and you don't ...

Roots Manuva: The war on jiggification

Report and Interview by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 26 October 2007

Stevie Chick on how UK hip-hop got its groove ...

Paul Wasserman, Press Agent and Friend

Obituary by Wayne Robins, waynerobins.blogspot.com, 24 November 2007

PAUL WASSERMAN, the erudite press representative to a long roster of rock and movie stars, died in Los Angeles at age 73, according to an ...

RZA, Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-Tang Clan: Putting the record straight

Interview by John Lewis, Metro, 10 December 2007

The hunger has returned: Wu-Tang Clan, with group leader RZA are back and ready to rule the hip hop world again with new album 8 ...

Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses, Joy Division, Slash: Music books: the most debauched tales of rock'n'roll excess

Book Review by Ben Thompson, The Independent, 16 December 2007

HOW BETTER to salve the pangs of remorse induced by a season of over-indulgence than by voraciously consuming the reminiscences of those whose lifestyles make ...

Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse: I need a break, what shall I have: heroin or a baby?

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 20 December 2007

As Amy Winehouse's problems mount, and Lily Allen announces that she is pregnant, Caitlin Moran explains that the two young singers are under the same ...

Radiohead's In Rainbows: Jonny Greenwood speaks

Interview by Mark Paytress, MOJO, January 2008

Radiohead have made the album of the year. No one is more surprised than them. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood talks to Mark Paytress. ...

EMI: A Giant at War with itself

Report by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 17 January 2008

As EMI faces painful restructuring, Robert Sandall, a former employee, recalls the confusion and rivalries that once bedevilled the company. ...

Clyde Otis 1924-2008

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2008

CLYDE OTIS died on January 8, 2008, in Englewood Hospital, New Jersey at the age of 83. He was famous amongst NDT readers for writing ...

Radiohead: Chasing Rainbows

Interview by Mark Paytress, MOJO, February 2008

Four years in the making, In Rainbows is both tortured and triumphant… Here, for the first time, is the unexpurgated inside story of the album ...

Adele: "Her Success is Depressingly Inevitable"

Comment by Andy Gill, The Independent, 5 February 2008

AS ADELE'S album sweeps to the top of the charts, it becomes increasingly clear that in the future, all our pop-cultural decisions will be made ...

Seymour Stein: Shellac in My Veins

Retrospective and Interview by Jason Cohen, Cincinatti Magazine, March 2008

A New York City record man recalls his dearest mentor. ...

Elmer Valentine, 1923-2008

Obituary by Ken Hunt, The Guardian, 27 March 2008

Co-owner of L.A.'s Whisky a Go Go venue ...

Joy Division: The Joy Division Industry

Comment by Chris Roberts, The Quietus, 10 April 2008

More offcuts from the Factory ...

War: The Lowrider Band

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 23 April 2008

WHILE THE NAME "Lowrider Band" may not be familiar, their set-list certainly is, as a sweet harmonica riff wafts through funky material like 'The Cisco ...

Damon Albarn: Honest Jon's: Shellac shock

Report and Interview by John Lewis, Financial Times, 28 April 2008

Damon Albarn's label Honest Jon's has discovered the world on their doorstep in the form of the EMI Archive. ...

Half Man Half Biscuit

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2008

The indie bards of daytime TV. They could've been contenders — if it weren't for Tranmere Rovers... ...

Steve Beresford, David Gray, Guillemots, Courtney Pine: London's musical instrument shops

Guide by John Lewis, Time Out, June 2008

J Reid & Sons "WE DON'T GET many high-class customers up here in the badlands," laughs proprietor John Gregory. It's probably because they wouldn't expect to ...

The Supremes: A Love Supreme

Interview by Lois Wilson, Record Collector, July 2008

Mary Wilson Recalls The Highs And Lows Of The Most Successful Girl Group Of All Time. Interview By Lois "No Relation" Wilson ...

Bloc Party: What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?

Comment by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 11 July 2008

Bloc Party's new single Mercury fires them into the realm of pop eccentricity. Who else resides there? ...

Bill Drummond: Recorded Music Has Run Its Course

Interview by John Doran, The Quietus, 28 August 2008

...

Russell Simmons: The Hustler

Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 18 September 2008

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons helped Run DMC, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys make it big. But is his greatest talent self-promotion? Angus Batey meets ...

Jerry Wexler: Appreciating Jerry Wexler, the Supreme Atlantic Record Man

Memoir by John Broven, Now Dig This, October 2008

AS SOON AS Jerry Wexler's death was announced on August 15, 2008, daily newspapers and rock magazines had their already-written obituaries ready to go in ...

Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Neil Young: Neil Young: Against the Tide

Retrospective and Interview by Mark Cooper, Observer Music Monthly, 11 October 2008

Charles Manson, the Iraq war, a near fatal aneurysm: Neil Young has spent five decades fighting anything foolish enough to get in his way. On ...

Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Brian Wilson, The Zombies: Recycling Albums

Report by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 26 October 2008

Van Morrison's revival of Astral Weeks is the latest example of yesterday's cult LPs being turned into today's sell-out concerts. ...

Live Music: Is This The End Of The Road?

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 November 2008

Gigs have been shoring up the ailing music industry – but they're not as popular as they once were. Caroline Sullivan reports on growing anxiety ...

Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Men: Cadillac Records (dir. Darnell Martin)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Bill Holdship, Metro Times, 10 December 2008

Hollywood's version of the Chess Records story combines the best and worst of the classic rock 'n' roll biopic ...

Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard: The Early Days of the "Rock 'n' Roll Comeback" Album

Retrospective by Steven R Rosen, SonicBoomers.com, 2009

WHEN THE album-rock revolution hit full force in 1967, blues veterans were immediately in a great place to benefit. Revered by the new, young rock ...

Bruce Springsteen's 'Dream'

Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, January 2009

THE FIRST PUBLIC airing of 'Working On A Dream', the title track from The Boss’s upcoming 24th album took place during Barack Obama’s massive rally ...

On the Downturn Train

Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, The Word, January 2009

The cold wind of recession is already freezing record companies — but what will it mean for the kind of music that artists want to ...

Steve Knopper: Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age

Book Review by Jeff Tamarkin, The Boston Phoenix, 13 January 2009

LIKE ANY GOOD murder mystery, Steve Knopper's Appetite for Self-Destruction keeps the tension high and the action swift as the search for a culprit drags ...

The Astoria: Share your beer-stained memories

Report by Ian Winwood, The Guardian, 13 January 2009

YOU CAN ALWAYS tell when a gig at the Astoria has just finished because you'll be greeted with the sight of 2,000 people spilling out ...

Wembley Arenaversary: A Legendary Venue Turns 50

Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, March 2009

FIFTY YEARS AGO, in March, 1959, Petula Clark, Lonnie Donegan and rising young songstrel Shirley Bassey appeared in the Record Star Show, the first live ...

Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold: Superstar DJs: Here We Go! by Dom Phillips

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 1 March 2009

They're mostly gone now, but back in the 1990s Britain's superjocks could coin thousands for a single night. A lucid history charts their excesses ...

Do It Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade (dir. Chris Wilson)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Alex Ogg, The Quietus, 10 March 2009

Quietus scribe Alex Ogg, who's currently writing a book on the history of the independent label, makes a brew and settles down in front of ...

The Dead Weather, Jack White: Music, Label, Retail: Jack White's Vertical Integration

Report and Interview by Alan Light, The New York Times, 12 March 2009

JACK WHITE, the meticulous frontman of the color-coordinated White Stripes, has always been known for his attention to detail. So it was no surprise to ...

Alan Livingston Obituary

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 20 March 2009

Alan Wendell Livingston, businessman, born 15 October 1917; died 13 March 2009 ...

The Satin Peaches: Fuzzy and sweet

Interview by Bill Holdship, Detroit Metro Times, 25 March 2009

"THESE DETROIT-BRED cuties are so goddamned good … Think '60s Brit-pop with bluesy piano strut and raggedy garage-rock thrown in for good measure. [The song] ...

Ray Parker Jr.: Who you gonna call? 118 118

Comment by Johnny Sharp, The Guardian, 4 April 2009

Ray Parker Jr is the latest ad/pop crossover. Johnny Sharp wants more ...

The Bay City Rollers: Tam Paton

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 10 April 2009

Bay City Rollers manager who was mired in scandal ...

Sepian Thoughts: The Other Side of Copyright

Report and Interview by Fred Dellar, Rock's Backpages, 27 April 2009

RICHARD TAY'S OFFICE is an aural museum of the impressive kind. Many hundreds of old 78 rpm shellac discs plus vinyl long-players from the '50s ...

The Last Days of a Great Guitar Shop: RIP Manny's Music Store

Retrospective by Binky Philips, Rock's Backpages, May 2009

AFTER 75 YEARS, Manny's Music Store on West 48th St in Manhattan will close its doors forever at the end of this month. Obviously, this ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Island Records turns 50

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, The Times, 3 May 2009

NOTE: This is the original "director's cut" version of the piece that ran in the The Times ...

Quintessence: The Manager of Quintessence

Memoir by Chris Charlesworth, Rock's Backpages, 15 May 2009

IT'S NOT OFTEN I come across the name Quintessence these days but the give-away CD on the most recent MOJO is an Island folk compilation ...

All Tomorrow's Parties: Breeders And Fans Strike Back II

Live Review by John Doran, The Quietus, 26 May 2009

I'M MORE appreciative of ATP than usual at the moment (and I'm usually damn appreciative of its quasi-utopian spread of music, guilt-free loafing and social ...

Recession Rock: How the credit crunch will make Britannia cool again

Comment by Dan Gennoe, Rock's Backpages, 26 May 2009

MONEY. IT'S NOT everything. It's a lot. But not everything. In music, it's actually more curse than blessing. Commerce is an essential element in any ...

The Dead Weather, Jack White: Q&A with Jack White, The Dead Weather

Interview by Kimberly Mack, Music Connection, June 2009

JACK WHITE HATES to wait. ...

Steve Knopper: Appetite for Self-Destruction – The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age

Book Review by Danny Goldberg, Truthdig, 26 June 2009

STEVE KNOPPER'S Appetite for Self-Destruction is an entertaining, well-written attempt to chronicle the economic decline of record companies, but his thesis echoes conventional wisdom that ...

Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, George Michael, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse: All rock stars have a price, even Mick Jagger

Report by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 28 June 2009

The biggest names in music have been enjoying a nice little earner – getting paid millions to perform for the super-rich. ...

Speaking Of Dying: R.I.P. Vibe

Comment by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 2 July 2009

A MERE three years after purchasing the 16-year old Vibe magazine from founder Quincy Jones, the Wicks Group pulled the plug this week, dumping the hip-hop publication on the top ...

Will the Indie Chart rise again?

Report and Interview by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 31 July 2009

In its 1980s heyday, the indie chart was a beacon of top alternative music. Then the majors took over. Now it may get a new ...

Barry Beckett, 1943-2009

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 16 August 2009

BEHIND EVERY star there is a great producer, musician or record company A&R man. Barry Beckett, who has died aged 66 after a series of ...

The Cribs, Johnny Marr, The Smiths: The Cribs

Interview by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 11 September 2009

In a revealing interview, Johnny Marr and The Cribs discuss what went wrong with indie, why LA destroys creative thought, the curse of the lad, ...

Music's intellectual-property eviction notice

Essay by John Pidgeon, The Guardian, 24 September 2009

What made old singles so great? Session musicians, that's what. So why are those players finding their royalties disappearing? ...

The Beatles: You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle For The Soul Of The Beatles by Peter Doggett

Book Review by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 8 October 2009

BY NOW all of us should have recovered from our latest dose of Beatlemania, occasioned by the release of the Beatles' remastered back catalogue on ...

Robyn Hitchcock: He Often Dreams of Packaging

Report and Interview by Larry Jaffee, MediaPack, December 2009

LIKE MANY singer-songwriters, Robyn Hitchcock needs to supplement his boundless creativity with art forms in addition to music. Not surprisingly, when he's not releasing albums ...

Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: The new mellow Snoop Dogg still has bite

Interview by Sophie Heawood, The Times, 4 December 2009

Snoop Dogg: "Now that I'm more concerned and caring and a father and a husband — it seems the less respect I get" ...

Top Of The Noughties Pops

Essay by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 17 December 2009

Can Bob Stanley listen to every No 1 song from the noughties and escape with his sanity intact? He recalls a musical decade that ranged ...

The decade in pop

Comment by Pete Paphides, The Times, 21 December 2009

AS A SOURCE of theoretically endless music, the iPod — launched in 2001 — was an immaculately designed microcosm of the shift in our music ...

A Year In The Life Of The Brits

Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, March 2010

The BRIT Awards is, of course, a one-night-only affair. However, anyone paying attention to the ease with which the whole production flows, the clarity of ...

Pink Floyd: Prog rockers strike a blow for all musical artists

Comment by David Stubbs, The Independent, 12 March 2010

PINK FLOYD'S legal victory over EMI may be welcomed by some as a victory for artistic integrity. ...

Frank Zappa, Tom Waits: Frank Zappa's Manager: A Smile On His Lips, And A Pistol Under The Bar

Obituary by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2010

Mick Brown pays tribute to Herb Cohen, who managed Frank Zappa while maintaining an enthusiasm for music, cheese, confectionery and armaments. ...

Malcolm McLaren 1946-2010

Obituary by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 April 2010

THE IMPRESARIO and iconoclast Malcolm McLaren, who has died aged 64 from the cancer mesothelioma, was one of the pivotal, yet most divisive influences on ...

David and Goliath: a tale of two festival organisers

Interview by Tim Cooper, Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 16 May 2010

On one hand, veteran Vince Power, the man behind Reading and Leeds; on the other, the Webster-Joneses launching Deer Shed for the first time. ...

Rage Against the Machine: Finsbury Park, London, N7

Live Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 8 June 2010

THE MOST POPULAR T-SHIRT at the merchandise stands depicted a scoreboard that read "Rage 1 Cowell 0." As a means of explaining why Rage Against ...

Grand Funk Railroad: We're An American Band

Retrospective and Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Uncut, July 2010

Grand Funk Railroad shared drugs with Hendrix, helped Janis Joplin play tricks on the Stones, immortalised groupies, worked with Zappa and Rundgren, had the most ...

Beyoncé Does Not Write Her Own Songs. Really?

Comment by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages, 15 July 2010

MY GAST WAS unutterably flabbered earlier this week when record producer Bangladesh "revealed" that Beyoncé does not write her own songs. ...

Robert Sandall, 1952 2010

Obituary by David Sinclair, The Sunday Times, 21 July 2010

David Sinclair, a friend of Robert Sandall's since the 1970s, remembers the life of the late, great Sunday Times music critic, who died on Tuesday. ...

LCD Soundsystem, The Pixies, The Zombies: Why Your Favourite Band Should Split Up

Overview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 19 August 2010

From the Pixies to the Zombies, Jude Rogers talks to the bands who chose to burn out, not fade away ...

David Bowie: Station to Station: The importance of David Bowie

Essay by Paul Morley, Financial Times, 3 September 2010

HOW MUCH DO you like David Bowie? You will have to like him a lot to want to spend more than £80 on a deluxe ...

Hurts: No gain without the pain

Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, The Sunday Times, 5 September 2010

The Mancunian duo Hurts are taking on vacuous pop with heart-on-sleeve honesty. And sharp clobber ...

Black Lace, Jive Bunny, Stock Aitken Waterman: Novelty Records: When pop goes bad

Retrospective by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 22 September 2010

The excruciatingly catchy novelty song was a hallmark of the 1980s. Is it back? And how do you write one? Dave Simpson talks to the ...

Blade, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Ruthless Rap Assassins: The hip-hop heritage society

Report and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 7 October 2010

Why aren't Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and other classic hip-hop acts lovingly reissued in the same way as other genres? Because guardians of rap's ...

Justin Bieber, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Asher Roth: Industry Profile: Scooter Braun

Profile and Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, 13 December 2010

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Scooter Braun, founder, SB Projects ...

Lady Gaga, Muse: Spectacles: Muse and Lady Gaga

Report and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Word, January 2011

Muse pushed the envelope of live spectacle, while Lady Gaga was oddly intimate. Who won? ...

Dan Charnas: The Big Payback – The History of the Business of Hip-Hop

Book Review by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 4 January 2011

"HERE'S A LITTLE story that must be told," Dan Charnas writes by way of an ironic introduction to his brick-sized epic, quoting a classic rap ...

The Archies, The Monkees: Don Kirshner

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 20 January 2011

IT IRKED Don Kirshner, who has died of heart failure aged 76, that he was never inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ...

Obituary: Bobby Robinson, Harlem record man

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2011

MORGAN CLYDE "Bobby" Robinson, the longtime Harlem record man and record shop owner, died on January 7, 2011, at the grand age of 93 while ...

The BRIT Awards

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 13 February 2011

THE VOTING ACADEMY for this year's Brit awards is made up of 1,000 specially invited members from across the UK music industry: music critics, music ...

Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Unholy: Aubrey Powell on Led Zeppelin

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, March 2011

NOTE: This is a transcription from an interview that Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell gave me in March 2011, for Trampled Under Foot, my 2012 oral ...

Kenny Gamble: "Philadelphia was the party with a tormented soul"

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 3 March 2011

Philly Soul's sweet sound hid masked warnings about growing chasms in 1970s American society ...

Harlem Knight: Bobby Robinson's Last Rites

Obituary by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, 23 March 2011

BOBBY ROBINSON, who died January 7, 2011, was one of the unsung pioneers of the 20th century American record industry. ...

The Hoosiers: Pop 'til you're dropped: The Hoosiers' major-label woe

Profile and Interview by Angus Batey, The Guardian, 24 March 2011

How tight is the margin between being the toast of your record company and being a failure? One chart place, as the Hoosiers found out ...

Not Not Fun label: New Age Outlaws

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, The Wire, May 2011

Britt and Amanda Brown are the husband and wife team behind LA's Not Not Fun label, focal point of a networked international underground that includes ...

How The Music Industry Is Killing Music And Blaming The Fans

Comment by Wyndham Wallace, The Quietus, 24 May 2011

While the industry continues to blame illegal downloading for its financial woes, it's musicians who are paying the price while being forced to work harder ...

The Byrds, David Crosby, Chris Hillman: Jim Dickson, 1931-2011

Obituary by Rob Hughes, The Guardian, 27 June 2011

Producer and manager behind the Byrds ...

The Great Rock'n'Roll Sellout

Report by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 30 June 2011

Gone are the days when bands would be scorned for getting into bed with corporate sponsors and brands, so what ever happened to "selling out"? ...

The Songs of Now Sound a Lot Like Then

Comment by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, 15 July 2011

ONCE POP MUSIC was something by which you could tell the decade, or even the year. But listening to the radio nowadays is disorienting, if ...

Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick: Industry Profile: Hal David

Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, 26 July 2011

HAL DAVID'S NAME should be a lyric. This prolific American lyricist who turned 90 on May 25, 2011, is chairman emeritus of the Songwriters Hall ...

The Brill Building Sound

Retrospective by Steven R Rosen, Paste, 22 August 2011

WHEN DON MCLEAN'S "American Pie" was released in late 1971, everyone tried to analyze what he meant by "the day the music died." McLean was ...

Nirvana: Smells Like a Sellout: Nirvana and the Death of Alternative Rock

Essay by Toby Creswell, Rock's Backpages, September 2011

NOWADAYS EVERYBODY ascribes the collapse of the recording industry to illegal downloading. But as Bob Dylan recently observed, "Remember when that Napster guy came up ...

Craig Douglas, Nic Jones, Cliff Richard: Copyright extension: good for Cliff and the Beatles, bad for the little guys?

Report by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 15 September 2011

The extension in copyright law is hailed as a victory for musicians. But while it will surely benefit Cliff, the Beatles et al, it will ...

Lana Del Rey: Is Lana Del Rey The Kreayshawn Of Moody, Electro-Tinged "Indie"?

Report by Maura Johnston, The Village Voice, 15 September 2011

LAST NIGHT, Glasslands played host to a "secret" show by Lana Del Rey, an up-and-coming singer who was described by the one press release I ...

Mara Carlyle: Torched Songs

Interview by Graeme Thomson, The Word, October 2011

Mara Carlyle's album was jinxed — delayed for years in legal wrangles, then all the stock was burnt in a riot-related warehouse fire. But in ...

Led Zeppelin: An Interview with Peter Grant's daughter Helen

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, Spring 2011

Author's note: This is a transcript of an interview I did with Helen Grant for Trampled Under Foot, my oral history of Led Zeppelin. ...

Gong, Magma, The Yardbirds: Giorgio Gomelsky: An Interview

Retrospective and Interview by Archie Patterson, Eurock, Spring 2011

IF THERE EVER was a man who lived and breathed music it's the international vagabond Giorgio Gomelsky. Born in the former Soviet-Georgia, his parents fled ...

Huey P. Meaux is dead

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, Summer 2011

AFTER A PERIOD of failing health, Southern record man Huey Purvis Meaux died at home in Winnie, Texas, on April 23 at age 82. He ...

Indie Rock's Slow and Painful Death

Report by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 16 January 2012

Sales figures suggest alternative rock is in a dismal place right now. Will it ever recover? And should we care? ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Bad Blood Rising

Retrospective and Interview by David Cavanagh, Uncut, February 2012

AT THE DAWN of the '70s, Creedence Clearwater Revival were the biggest band in the world — a brilliant and driven hit machine with deep ...

Davy Jones, The Monkees: The day I performed for Davy Jones

Memoir by Beverley Glick, Rock's Backpages, 12 March 2012

IN HONOUR OF the late Monkee, I feel compelled to share with you this vignette from my sadly-still-unpublished memoir, Hit Girl: My Bizarre Double Life ...

Kim Fowley: Impresario, Svengali, Saint, Devil

Report and Interview by Evelyn McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 1 April 2012

KIM FOWLEY pulls DVDs, fliers, CDs, a hospital admission slip and more DVDs out of a jumble of media on the mixing board of a ...

Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend: Jim Marshall, 1923-2012

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 5 April 2012

The "Father of Loud", he gave his name to the world-famous, ubiquitous amplifier. ...

Ed Sheeran: And another thing: Miserable songs

Comment by David Hepworth, The Word, August 2012

Writing miserable songs doesn't make you deep, boys and girls ...

Paul Weller: The Rapacity of the Record Revival

Report and Interview by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 11 August 2012

Music labels are trying to cash in on a resurgence in the popularity of vinyl, putting often-inflated price-tags on albums, says Nick Hasted. ...

Chris Lighty, 1968-2012

Obituary by Amy Linden, XXL, September 2012

THE DEATH OF a young person evokes its own peculiar grief. And when that death is a suicide – grief mushrooms into something more painful ...

Bill Sykes: Sit Down, Listen To This! – The Roger Eagle Story/Pat Long: The History Of The NME

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, October 2012

THE LATE Roger Eagle was an enigma. Born in Oxford into a middle class family during the Second World War, like many others of his ...

Sixty years of the UK charts

Retrospective by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 13 November 2012

Sixty years ago on Wednesday, the first singles chart was published in Britain – turning pop music into a competitive sport. Bob Stanley on how ...

The Rolling Stones: Everybody Must Get Stoned: Andrew Loog Oldham Speaks

Interview by Paul Trynka, Rock's Backpages, December 2012

ANDREW OLDHAM'S two books of memoirs, Stoned and 2Stoned, are not only vital, entertaining works on the genesis and growth of the Rolling Stones; they ...

Don't blame HMV for its demise

Comment by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 18 January 2013

It's our fault – because we're too lazy to support our shops. ...

Underachievers and proud of it

Comment by Dorian Lynskey, Q, February 2013

Attention, young bands and their fiercely partisan friends! It turns out that making it isn't all it's cracked up to be. ...

Frank Zappa: Gail Zappa: Mother of Re-Invention

Comment by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 8 February 2013

I'M A HUGE admirer of Frank Zappa, and have been since the mid-'60s. As a music critic I've written about him extensively, and during my ...

The Rolling Stones will reign supreme until there is a new counterculture

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 31 March 2013

The new generation is blocked from moving on creatively, not only by the baby boomers but also their own inertia. ...

Peace: Tiny, Smug and Blissfully Ignorant Minds: New British Indie and Peace's In Love (Columbia)

Special Feature by Neil Kulkarni, fuckyouneilkulkarni.blogspot.co.uk, 30 April 2013

"I. Man's perceptions are not bound by organs of perception; he perceives more than sense (tho' ever so acute) can discover." — William Blake, ...

Craig David

Interview by John Lewis, Baku, May 2013

WE'RE AT THE O2 in London to see Craig David's first UK tour in four years, and there's a weird buzz of excitement. Just over ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty: John Fogerty

Interview by Bob Mehr, MOJO, June 2013

The prime mover behind Creedence Clearwater Revival, he crafted blazing pop songs of soul and protest until band strife and label hell undid him. But ...

Janelle Monáe: "I'm a time traveller. I have been to lots of different places"

Interview by Kate Mossman, The Guardian, 30 June 2013

She's an android-dating style queen who's been compared to Bowie. Is the R&B singer the saviour of pop? ...

Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel turns 25

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 15 August 2013

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE it's been 25 years since the release of Bobby Brown's groundbreaking Don't Be Cruel. New-jacking the title from an old Elvis ...

Elvis Costello, The Roots: Elvis Costello and Questlove

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, MOJO, September 2013

Forged in the unlikely surroundings of an American late-night TV show, the transatlantic union between Elvis Costello and The Roots' drummer and co-frontman Questlove has ...

Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj: Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne: The Blueprint Group

Profile and Interview by Kate Allen, IDOL, September 2013

"The Blueprint Group makes brands out of rappers and turns their dreams of success into a reality." ...

Nas: The Golden G's: On Nas and Aging in Hip-Hop

Report and Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Complex, 10 September 2013

How Nas has been able to stay relevant through 20 years in hip-hop. ...

Michael Lang (2013)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 October 2013

The man who produced the Woodstock festival talks about the importance of its name; moving to the town in 1968; the major figures around town: The Band, Bob Dylan and Albert Grossman; the notable people and places in the vicinity, including Jimi Hendrix, Tim Hardin and Fred Neil; the relationship between town and festival; his Just Sunshine label and its abiding cult signing Karen Dalton; the town's incestuousness; the Bearsville label and studio, and Todd Rundgren; the 1994 festival... and Woodstock today.

File format: mp3; file size: 65.2mb, interview length: 1h 07' 55" sound quality: ***

Girls Allowed? The Women On Top In The Music Industry

Report and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 26 October 2013

After Sinead O'Connor's open letter of concern to Miley Cyrus, sexism in the music business has never been more discussed. But what do the women ...

AR Kane, Bauhaus, Belly, The Birthday Party, Bon Iver, The Breeders, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Lush, M/A/R/R/S, Modern English, The National, The Pixies, Red House Painters, This Mortal Coil, Throwing Muses, Xmal Deutschland: 4AD Records: Labelled with Love

Retrospective and Interview by Wyndham Wallace, Classic Pop, November 2013

A new book, Martin Aston's Facing The Other Way, tells the story of a label that scored just a single number one hit during the ...

HMV Revisited

Retrospective by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages, November 2013

AS THE HMV retail chain slowly unravels in the 21st Century multi-tech marketplace, I offer a few off-the-cuff memories of my time working at the ...

U2: "Fifth member" of U2 Paul McGuinness to Walk On after 35 years

Report by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 15 November 2013

"WE'RE NOT GOING to let people rip us off, we want the money," Bono, the singer for the penniless and unknown band U2 proclaimed in ...

The rise, fall and rise again of Rough Trade

Report and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 23 November 2013

Vinyl sales are up and many music fans want an experience that click and buy can't match. As London's pioneering shop opens in New York, ...

The Dave Clark Five: Dave Clark's Miscalculation

Retrospective by Harold Bronson, Rock's Backpages, March 2014

THE fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles' debut in America has occasioned a number of other anniversary TV specials linked to the British Invasion. With a ...

Bert Berns, Solomon Burke: Cry to Him: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns

Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, 'Here Comes The Night' (Counterpoint Books), April 2014

In these two excerpts from Joel Selvin's splendid new biography of Bert Berns, the soul hustler from the Bronx oversees the 1961 session for Solomon ...

Miriam Bienstock: The First Lady of Atlantic

Memoir by Loraine Alterman, Rock's Backpages, April 2014

FOR MONTHS I had noticed an immaculately coiffed and beautifully dressed older woman at my manicure place on Manhattan's Upper East Side.   ...

Music Attorney Lee Phillips: "Labels Made a Mistake by Not Doing a Deal with Napster"

Report and Interview by Roy Trakin, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 April 2014

WITH ALMOST a half-century under his belt since starting in private practice, music and entertainment attorney Lee Phillips has seen it all, but even he ...

Phil Hardy, 1945-2014

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 25 April 2014

THE LATE 1960s and the '70s saw a sea change in media coverage of popular culture, especially cinema and music. Film reviewers and pop journalists ...

Dr. Dre: Dr Dre: The hip-hop head with a business brain

Guide by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 10 May 2014

The man cited by his peers as the most significant force in hip-hop is set to become its richest operator. But what does his $3.2bn ...

Bert Berns: Joel Selvin: Here Comes the Night – The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm & Blues

Book Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 12 May 2014

EVERY SO OFTEN, a music bio arrives that becomes "the book to read." Think of Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and ...

Bert Berns: Hit Man: Joel Selvin's Here Comes the Night

Book Review by Robert Gordon, The New York Times Book Review, 30 May 2014

BERT BERNS the producer is the Phil Spector you've never heard of. Bert Berns the songwriter is the Leiber and Stoller you've never heard of. ...

Black Sky Thinking: White Power And Black Pop: The Real Problem With 1Xtra's Power List 


Comment by Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 16 July 2014

Neil Kulkarni dissects the recent BBC 1Xtra Power List which featured three white acts in the top four... ...

Is It All Over For The Album?

Comment by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 31 July 2014

Artists were the kings of vinyl. Now, everyone can create their own digital playlist – but Spotify will never be Pet Sounds. ...

Nostalgia pays in Nashville as rocketing record sales make it the capital of vinyl

Report and Interview by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 30 August 2014

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are among the artists turning to the old LP format to capture the essence of their music. ...

U2: "It's the job of art to be divisive"

Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Observer, 12 October 2014

Thirty years after becoming the biggest band in the world, Bono and co still polarise opinion. Here, taking a break in the Côte d'Azur, they ...

Paul McCartney: Team Macca Inside Out — The Inside Story of the Out There Tour

Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, November 2014

WHEN LIVERPUDLIAN teenager Paul McCartney first met John Lennon, in Woolton Church Hall on July 6, 1957, he could not have imagined that over fifty ...

James Bay: The new noise bubble: are critics' choice awards for new artists a blessing or a curse?

Comment by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 1 January 2015

Awards such as the BBC's Sound Of 2015 can be vital in helping new artists break through and get noticed by fans — but can ...

Kim Fowley, 1939-2015

Obituary by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 18 January 2015

FEW PEOPLE IN pop music spanned such a range as Kim Fowley, the record producer, songwriter and Sunset Strip svengali who has died aged 75. ...

Britney Spears: Why Did Britney Spears Quietly Drop an Album then Take it Down?

Report by Kate Allen, Rock's Backpages, April 2015

ARE WE ALL sick of "surprise" music releases yet? Are we supposed to feign excitement over Beyoncé serenading Jay Z via a Tidal-exclusive video (the ...

Lee Hazlewood: "I'm just an old cowboy who wrote a few songs…" A First Encounter with the legendary Lee Hazlewood

Book Excerpt by Wyndham Wallace, 'Lee, Myself & I' (Jawbone), May 2015

The following extract takes place within a few minutes of my first meeting with Lee Hazlewood in April, 1999, at New York's Grand Hyatt Hotel, ...

Led Zeppelin, U2: Dennis Sheehan Talks About Led Zeppelin (and a little bit about U2)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, May 2015

NOTE: This is a transcription of an April 2010 phone interview with Dennis Sheehan – then tour manager for U2 –  for my oral history ...

How the compact disc lost its shine

Report and Interview by Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 28 May 2015

It's 30 years since Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms began the CD boom. How did the revolution in music formats come about and what killed ...

David Bowie's DNA: Spaceboy Keeps Swinging

Essay by Steve Pafford, DNA, June 2015

David Bowie was the bisexual alien rock star who sold genderfuck to the world. He's also claimed to be the first pop star to declare ...

Taylor Swift: Apple royalties U-turn: is Taylor Swift the most powerful woman in music?

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 22 June 2015

Viewed as an advocate for artists and a game-changer, almost no other pop star could have made the corporate behemoth roll over. ...

Sing along with the common people

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 16 August 2015

As gritty, working-class performers get eclipsed by the posh brigade, major labels thirst for the next Oasis. ...

Magnum, Suzi Quatro, Saxon, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash: "We'll retire at 106. What else can we do?" The rockers who won't call it a day

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 August 2015

From Suzi Quatro to Saxon's Biff Byford, rock's pioneers have been making music for more than 40 years. Here they talk about leather jumpsuits, performing ...

Capitol's Bhaskar Menon: An Interview

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, September 2015

"I WAS INFORMED on a Thursday that they'd like me to be on the Friday Pan Am flight. There were three of us on the ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: "I was killed when I was 27": the curious afterlife of Terence Trent D'Arby

Interview by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 9 October 2015

Terence Trent D'Arby's 1987 debut album sold a million copies in three days. The music press went mad for him. Where was there to go ...

"The Best Things in Life Are Free": Downloads, Streaming, You Tube and Mags

Comment by James Musker, Rock's Backpages, November 2015

THE AGE OF INSTANT access is upon us. We are currently living in a world where it's difficult to avoid sensory overload, as there seems ...

Lee Hazlewood: Wyndham Wallace: Lee, Myself And I – Inside The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood (Jawbone)

Book Review by Mike Barnes, The Wire, November 2015

WYNDAM WALLACE was a publicist for the City Slang record label in the late 1990s and our paths crossed many times. My memory of him ...

Beyoncé: Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story by J Randy Taraborrelli

Book Review by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 1 November 2015

The real surprise in this exhaustive biography is not Beyoncé, but her driven dad. ...

Tileyard Studios: The Hit Factory

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 1 November 2015

Mark Ronson is among the leading acts flocking to a north London studio complex. What's the big draw? ...

James Brown, George Clinton, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Prince: Take The Power Back: Black Artist-Owned Labels

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 25 January 2016

At the height of their careers, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, George Clinton and Prince all formed their own imprints. Michael Gonzales tells the ...

Frankie Lymon: Crooks and Fools: Morris Levy, Frankie Lymon, and the story of 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love'

Book Excerpt by Richard Carlin, 'Godfather of the Music Business' (U. Miss Press), March 2016

'WHY DO FOOLS Fall in Love' is one of the classic hits of the '50s.  Along with its importance to the history of rock 'n' ...

Ke$ha, The Last Shadow Puppets: Sexism on repeat: how the music industry can break the cycle

Essay by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 11 March 2016

From Kesha's case against Dr Luke to Miles Kane's objectification of a female journalist, the industry has to admit there's a problem before sexism is ...

Iron Maiden: Maiden Voyage: Inside Iron Maiden's Book Of Souls Tour

Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, April 2016

SEEN FROM the stage, an Iron Maiden concert is an ocean of Maiden t-shirts, with thousands of devotees proudly displaying various incarnations of the band's ...

Anita Ward (2016)

Interview by Tom Graves, Rock's Backpages audio, May 2016

Ms. Ward talks about her Memphis upbringing and family life; making waves on the local gospel circuit as a girl; going to college and attracting attention as a singer; the rapid success of 'Ring My Bell' and her opinion of the song; being a one-hit-wonder and the slog of touring; her return to performing and belatedly getting paid... and her near-fatal car crash.

File format: mp3; file size: 86.8mb, interview length: 1h 30' 23" sound quality: *****

Ben Ratliff: Every Song Ever/John Seabrook: The Song Machine and other new books

Book Review by James Medd, New Statesman, 13 May 2016

The digital revolution has turned pop into a world of smart playlists and surprise albums. Yet the way we engage with music remains remarkably similar. ...

Spice Girls: The 1990s were the best of times… until the Spice Girls ruined everything

Retrospective by Sylvia Patterson, The Guardian, 4 July 2016

A decade of unbridled musical creativity also saw the rise of brand-pop muses the Spice Girls, celebrity culture and hyper-capitalism ...

Drake: Streaming is skewing the pop charts

Comment by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 7 August 2016

Drake's 'One Dance' was No 1 for 15 weeks. The charts are stalling and need a rethink ...

Tommy Boy At 35: Tom Silverman Talks Hip-Hop's Most Iconic Indie Label

Retrospective and Interview by Miles Marshall Lewis, Genius, 18 August 2016

A history of the brand that brought the world Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul, and Queen Latifah. No account of early hip-hop industry is complete without ...

What Goes Around, Comes Around (or) Vinyl's Back and It's Not a Fad

Report by Larry Jaffee, The Audiophile Voice, September 2016

The LP's Return Picks Up Traction ...

Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, N.W.A: Jerry Heller, 1940-2016

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 7 September 2016

Music manager who launched NWA and set up Ruthless Records with Eazy-E   ...

Richard Carlin: Godfather of the Music Business – Morris Levy (University of Mississippi Press)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, October 2016

MORRIS LEVY WAS born in 1927 and rose through the ranks of the U.S. music business starting by running a hatcheck concession in New York ...

10cc, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias, The Beatles, Bongwater, Bonzo Dog Band, David Bowie, Culturcide, The Darkness, The Detergents, Hannah Diamond, The Dukes of Stratosphear, James Ferraro, The First Class, Morgan Fisher, The Flying Lizards, Gary Glitter, Laibach, Little Pain, Nick Lowe, The Mothers Of Invention, The Move, John Oswald, QT, Redd Kross, The Residents, Roxy Music, Todd Rundgren, The Rutles, Shockabilly, Spinal Tap, Alvin Stardust, The Tubes, The Turtles, Utopia, Wizzard, Weird Al Yankovic, Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction: Killer Riffs: A Guide to Parody in Popular Music

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 19 October 2016

From the Residents' freakish Beatles sendups, to Spinal Tap's meta-metal escapades, to the gastronomic goofs of "Weird Al", a chronicle of those who have turned ...

Drake, Green Day, Sting: American Music Awards: anti-Trump sentiment peppers pop's timid party

Report by Maura Johnston, The Guardian, 21 November 2016

Usually the awards show is a chance for those who turn up to walk away with a gong, but this year several acts and presenters ...

Elvis Presley: Elvis & the Hustler: Colonel Tom Parker

Retrospective by David Burke, 'Vintage Rock – Elvis: A Celebration', 2017

NONE OF US will ever know if Elvis Presley would have become the king of rock'n'roll without the involvement of Colonel Tom Parker at the ...

The Mamas and The Papas: The Strange Vibrations of the Mamas & the Papas

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2017

THERE WAS a melancholy guitar, and then the voices came in: "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey." That was the beginning ...

Henry Rollins: Why Vinyl Matters: Henry Rollins

Book Excerpt by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, 'Why Vinyl Matters' (ACC Editions), 2017

HENRY ROLLINS WAS barely out of his teens when he joined the legendary punk band Black Flag. Since parting with the band in 1986, Rollins ...

Metallica: Why Vinyl Matters: Lars Ulrich

Book Excerpt by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, 'Why Vinyl Matters' (ACC Editions), 2017

LARS ULRICH WAS born in Denmark in 1963. After seeing his first concert at age 10, he became enamoured with the drums. His family moved ...

Barry Cain and Neil Matthews: Flexipop! The Book

Book Review by Jamie Atkins, , January 2017

ADAM ANT revealing that, as a child, his father used to call him Fadius Nicodemus; the peculiar habits of Robert Smith ("Today I dressed up ...

NOFX: Why Vinyl Matters: Fat Mike

Book Excerpt by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, 'Why Vinyl Matters' (ACC Editions), January 2017

FAT MIKE, BORN Mike Burkett, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and ...

Drake: More Life

Review by Miles Marshall Lewis, The Village Voice, 20 March 2017

Drake's More Life is Another All-Purpose Emoji ...

Elton John: Madmen Across the Water: How Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) stormed the USA

Retrospective by Harvey Kubernik, Rock's Backpages, April 2017

IN NOVEMBER 1970, Elton John performed an intimate concert at A&R Studios in New York, recorded for WABC FM. In front of 125 people, Elton ...

Talking about a new generation … festivals ditch the "heritage acts"

Report and Interview by Edward Helmore, The Observer, 16 April 2017

Why the rock gods of the past are headlining elsewhere as they are dropped from line-ups at US music events ...

Metallica: Michael Alago, Who Signed Metallica and White Zombie, Gets the Documentary Treatment in Who the F**k Is That Guy?

Report and Interview by Roy Trakin, Variety, 21 July 2017

IF THE HISTORIES of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre warrant four hours of prime HBO real estate in The Defiant Ones, then certainly Michael Alago, ...

Elvis Presley: Caught in a Trap: The Kidnapping of Elvis – Two Excerpts

Book Excerpt by Chris Charlesworth, (Red Planet Books), August 2017

The first extract from Caught in a Trap features Elvis in hospital (which is true) accepting a phone call from Richard Nixon (which probably isn't). ...

Gladys Pizarro: The Street-Savvy Talent Scout That Shaped New York Dance Music

Retrospective and Interview by Carol Cooper, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 30 August 2017

Going from working in construction to co-founding Strictly Rhythm, Gladys Pizarro's commitment to street culture helped make her one of the most influential dance music ...

Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens, Josef K, Orange Juice: Simon Goddard: Simply Thrilled: The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records

Book Review by Pete Paphides, Medium, 4 September 2017

THIRTY-THREE YEARS have elapsed since the wildly prodigious Roddy Frame volunteered Aztec Camera's most impressive song to date for release on Alan Horne's Postcard label. ...

Stormzy is the star the world was waiting for

Profile by Dorian Lynskey, GQ, October 2017

He's the showman his scene's been waiting for and grime's thunderous hit-maker is setting the record with guts and grace.  ...

Madonna: Another view: My night with Madonna (and Sean Hughes)

Memoir by Tim Cooper, The Evening Standard, 20 October 2017

BACK IN THE LATE 1990s I used to run into Sean Hughes all the time at parties. He was a Perrier Award-winning stand-up comedian and ...

Record Store Day Summer Camp

Report by Larry Jaffee, Long Live Vinyl, November 2017

Larry Jaffee attends the second annual 'Record Store Day Summer Camp' in America's 'Crescent City', the home of Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Professor Longhair, ...

Joe Hagan: Sticky Fingers – The Life & Times of Jann Wenner & Rolling Stone Magazine

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, 3 November 2017

THE IMAGE OF the brooding, avaricious, power-hungry newspaper proprietor was set in stone by Orson Welles in the film Citizen Kane and through the ages ...

U2: Another view: The thing with Bono and Apple...

Comment by Tim Cooper, The Evening Standard, 24 November 2017

I HEAR THAT U2 have a new album coming out. I know this not because I have received a press release (though I have) but ...

Kim Wilde — Close Encounters of the Wilde Kind

Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, March 2018

"I always figured that the music world and my voice were connected and that was my destiny," says Kim Wilde. And she wasn't wrong. Now ...

Mo Ostin (2018)

Interview by Ben Merlis, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 March 2018

The legendary Warners exec talks about the label's involvement in hip hop, and their associtation with the Tommy Boy and Cold Chillin' labels; Quincy Jones and Back On The Block; fellow execs like Benny Medina; Reprise Records, and Frank Sinatra's resistance to rock'n'roll; Ice-T, 'Cop Killer' and the resulting pressure on the label; his career in the music business, starting with Norman Granz's Verve Records; his Brooklyn roots, and growing up in Los Angeles.

File format: mp3; file size: 56.3meg, interview length: 58' 37" sound quality: ****

No, Streaming Services Are Not "Saving The Music Industry"

Comment by Patrick Clarke, The Quietus, 26 April 2018

Recent reports that streaming is now the "biggest money-maker" for the music biz have prompted hyperbolic claims that Spotify and co. have "saved the music ...

The Beatles: Derek Taylor: As Time Goes By (Faber)

Book Review by Mick Brown, Sunday Telegraph, 5 May 2018

ONE MAGICAL weekend in the summer of 1968, Derek Taylor, the press agent for the Beatles, took a trip with Paul McCartney and the singer ...

The Beatles: Derek Taylor: The Fifth Beatle

Retrospective by Jon Savage, GQ, 20 May 2018

He was the proto multi-hyphenate, serving as press officer, PA and confidante to the Beatles while still finding time to master journalism, launch the Byrds, ...

Joe Penhall: Mood Music (Old Vic, London)


Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, 3 June 2018

MOOD MUSIC is a play about the music industry, specifically the abuse of power that enables an established, controlling figure to benefit from the creativity of ...

Moloko, Roisin Murphy: Róisín Murphy: "Pop's about putting across the primitive parts of yourself"

Retrospective and Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 21 June 2018

The former Moloko singer on the freedom and heartbreak that inspired her favourite tracks from her back catalogue ...

Tommy James & the Shondells: Tommy James

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Sullivan, Cape Cod Times, July 2018

TOMMY JAMES has many stories to tell, stories of gain, stories of loss. He can tell you about the string of hits he and his ...

Sky Ferreira hits out at label after being "forced" out of her own Soundcloud

Report by Patrick Clarke, New Musical Express, 28 July 2018

SKY FERREIRA HAS posted a lengthy attack on her own record label, saying she has been "forced/told I had no choice" to hand over her ...

Ariana Grande: How Ariana Grande floated free

Comment by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 29 August 2018

Grande has lifted the weight of the Manchester terror attack with a collection of gloriously oddball, career-changing pop songs. ...

Blondie, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, John Lennon, New York Dolls, Suzi Quatro, The Runaways: In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Toby Mamis, manager, Alive Enterprises

Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, 30 August 2018

YOU ARE GOING to have to wait for a film to make much sense of Toby Mamis' fabulously winding career. ...

Bob Dylan: First Rock Bootlegger Comes Clean

Retrospective and Interview by Larry Jaffee, Goldmine, October 2018

UNDERWHELMED BY the mellow country rock of Nashville Skyline, two Bob Dylan fans in the summer of 1969 in southern California unwittingly gave birth to ...

Stan Lewis, 1927-2018

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, October 2018

STAN LEWIS, (aka "Stan the Record Man"), died in Ruston, Louisiana, on July 14th, aged 91. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1927, he worked at his ...

U2: How do U2 fill the O2? They send for Stufish

Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 15 October 2018

Stufish Entertainment Architects has made spectacular sets for the rock band, as well as Elton and Beyoncé. Stephen Dalton sees how ...

Bad Company, Led Zeppelin: Mark Blake: Bring It On Home – Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond (Constable)

Book Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 20 October 2018

The manager of Led Zeppelin was a giant with giant appetites, says Stephen Dalton. ...

David Bowie's DNA: Spaceboy Keeps Swinging

Retrospective by Steve Pafford, DNA, 3 November 2018

David Bowie was the bisexual alien rock star who sold genderfuck to the world. He's also claimed to be the first pop star to declare ...

Dorothy Carvello: Anything for a Hit – An A&R Woman's Story of Surviving the Music Industry (Chicago Review Press)

Book Review by Robert Dean Lurie, National Review, 12 November 2018

"A BOOK FOR the #MeToo and Times Up Movements," proclaims the PR one-sheet for Dorothy Carvello's new memoir. ...

Laurence Cane-Honeysett: The Story of Trojan Records

Book Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 15 December 2018

GROWING UP in the early 1960s in Manchester, with grandparents living in Moss Side, the infectious music of bluebeat and ska records newly imported from ...

Chic, Nile Rodgers: Nile Rodgers: The Next, Not the Last

Report and Interview by Alan Light, Savoy Magazine, Fall 2018

Nile Rodgers has long been considered one of the coolest artists on the music scene, and shows no sign of slowing down. Following his victory ...

The Residents — American dreams turned to grotesque nightmares

Live Review by Luke Turner, The Guardian, 5 February 2019

The anonymous, long-serving denizens of the post-hippy underground are joined by Mother Teresa and John Wayne for a bizarre take on vaudeville ...

Data, Driven: Spotify Under Surveillance

Book Review by Angus Batey, The Quietus, 30 March 2019

An academic team's look under the hood of the music-streaming giant arrives as worries over Silicon Valley snooping go mainstream. Angus Batey surveys the bookshop ...

Roy Orbison, Roscoe Shelton, Joe Simon: Fred Foster, 1931-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, May 2019

FRED FOSTER, the founder of Monument and Sound Stage 7 Records, died on 20th February in Nashville, aged 87. Born in North Carolina in 1931 ...

Neil Young: After The Gold Rush: The Legacy of Elliot Roberts

Obituary by Bud Scoppa, Hits, 22 June 2019

THE DICTIONARY definition of the word manager should have Elliot Roberts' picture alongside it. Roberts, who died on Friday, June 21, at the age of ...

Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, The Nashville Teens, The Rolling Stones, Them: Decca Records in 1964: The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Tom Jones and the British pop explosion

Retrospective by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 3 July 2019

To celebrate 90 years of Decca Records, a new book about the label's history is being released. In this exclusive extract, renowned music critic Jon Savage ...

Tessa Violet: On The Rise: Tessa Violet

Profile and Interview by Pip Williams, The Line of Best Fit, 3 July 2019

The colourful, quirky Tessa Violet channels her love of music into a unique electro-pop sound and ambitious aesthetic. ...

The golden age of the pop PR

Retrospective and Interview by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 4 July 2019

How mythmakers shaped the music scene. ...

Breaking out of the galaith box: Women music journalists in America, 1920–1960

Retrospective by Don Armstrong, Music Journalism History, October 2019

Introduction  In a gay, diminutive galaith box comes an indelible lip paste blended from the finest beautifiers, exuberantly youthful in color. 'Feminine Frills', Edita Miller Lenz (Billboard, ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: How OMD manoeuvred themselves back from the dark

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Event Magazine, 16 November 2019

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES In The Dark aren't bitter, not a bit of it. They have missed out on millions, seen marriages collapse and, at one point, ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: How OMD manoeuvred themselves back from the dark

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Event Magazine, 16 November 2019

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES In The Dark aren't bitter, not a bit of it. They have missed out on millions, seen marriages collapse and, at one point, ...

The Teardrop Explodes: Wilder Times: How the Teardrops Exploded

Book Excerpt by Mick Houghton, 'Fried and Justified' (Faber & Faber), Summer 2019

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The back story here is the release of the Teardrop Explodes' second album Wilder on 20 November 1981. Rather than do the usual ...

Streaming: The Inessential Collection

Essay by Mark Sinker, The Wire, January 2020

The explosion of music streaming platforms in the 2010s makes Mark Sinker yearn to get back off the grid ...

The Doors: Elektra: When Worlds Collide

Retrospective by Larry Jaffee, Record Collector News, February 2020

Former Manhattan home of Elektra Records faces demolition. The Doors' heyday coincided with label being at 1855 Broadway ...

John and Colin Mansfield: As You Were – The True Adventures Of The Ricky Tick Club

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, February 2020

THE RICKY TICK Club has a permanent place in the development of British rhythm and blues and rock music. I can't recall any decent history ...

Malcolm McLaren: Paul Gorman: The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren

Book Review by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 6 April 2020

Huckster, visionary — or a bit of both? An exhaustive new biography chases down the elusive punk promoter  ...

Richard Russell: Better Music Through Listening: XL's Richard Russell Interviewed

Interview by Angus Batey, The Quietus, 11 April 2020

The XL Records boss on his first book, new LP, and how not to be a dickhead. ...

Paul Simon: How Graceland saved Paul Simon — and offended the anti-apartheid world

Retrospective by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2020

Forged in South Africa, the 1986 masterpiece drew accusations of 'cultural appropriation', offence and theft. What were Simon's intentions? ...

The Flamin' Groovies, Kim Fowley, The Stooges: Farewell to Marc Zermati

Memoir by Nick Kent, unpublished, 15 June 2020

IT'S BEEN FIVE hours now since I received the news that Marc Zermati died in his sleep and — as with all deaths of those ...

David Mitchell: Utopia Avenue

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, 24 July 2020

DAVID MITCHELL is a distinguished author whose books are regularly reviewed by fellow novelists in upmarket broadsheets. His best known work, Cloud Atlas, is a dazzling ...

Frank Turner: Live rock returns, from a distance: inside Frank Turner's "government-endorsed" pilot concert

Review by Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, 29 July 2020

AT FOUR PM on Tuesday 28th July, the English singer Frank Turner leans over a table in a small room in South West London and ...

Malcolm McLaren: Jewish manager as professional troublemaker

Retrospective by Gary Lucas, Please Kill Me!, 13 October 2020

A new doorstopper-sized (900+ pages) biography of Malcolm McLaren by Paul Gorman got musician Gary Lucas thinking about one part of the former Sex Pistol/Bow ...

Bob Dylan: Richard Lysons: Were You There – Popular Music At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, 1951-1996 (Empire Publications)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 23 November 2020

MANCHESTER'S FREE Trade Hall was built on the site of the 1819 Peterloo massacre as a public hall celebrating the repeal of the Corn Laws ...

Music in lockdown

Report by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2021

WHILE IT'S been a highly challenging year for the music industry – particularly in terms of cancelled tours, venue closures and a disrupted retail market ...

Why technology is making record companies richer

Comment by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 21 February 2021

It should give artists control, but the major labels are more powerful than ever. ...

Desmond Child

Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access, 29 March 2021

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Desmond Child, songwriter and producer. ...

The Fratellis: how we made 'Chelsea Dagger'

Retrospective and Interview by Henry Yates, The Guardian, 29 March 2021

"My girlfriend was a burlesque dancer who used the name Chelsea Dagger. It was a play on Britney Spears." ...

Bob Koester, 1932-2023

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 28 May 2021

Owner of Chicago's influential Jazz Record Mart and Delmark label, which recorded many of the city's blues greats ...

Raye: Polydor records respond after RAYE says she hasn't "been allowed" to release her debut album

Report by Patrick Clarke, New Musical Express, 30 June 2021

RAYE has expressed her frustration that she's yet to release her debut album, despite having been signed on a major label deal with Polydor for ...

Rose Royce: How we made 'Car Wash'

Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 July 2021

"THIS WILL never be a hit, we told each other — we are literally singing about a car wash!" ...

Walter Yetnikoff, 1933-2021

Obituary by Roy Trakin, Variety, 9 August 2021

WALTER YETNIKOFF, a colorful record label executive who led CBS Records as president/CEO from 1975 to 1990 — when its roster was stacked with superstars ...

Overlooked No More: Ruth Polsky, Who Shaped New York's Music Scene

Retrospective by Rachel Felder, The New York Times, 18 November 2021

She booked concerts at influential nightclubs in the 1980s, bringing exposure to up-and-coming artists like the Smiths and New Order. ...

Jann Wenner on Rolling Stone: "Some reviews were just insufferably nasty"

Interview by Jim Farber, The Guardian, 16 September 2022

The founder of the legendary magazine discusses his rise to the top, navigating famous friendships and hiding his sexuality ...

Clive Davis and Arista Records

Book Excerpt by Mitchell Cohen, 'Looking for the Magic' (Trouser Press Books), Summer 2022

This is the second of two excerpts on RBP from Mitchell Cohen's book Looking for the Magic: New York City, the '70s and the Rise ...

John Peel, The Undertones: Terri Hooley: I Need Excitement

Book Excerpt by Stuart Bailie, Dig With It Books, November 2023

NOTE: This is an excerpt from Seventy-Five Revolutions, Stuart Bailie's book about the legendary owner of Belfast's Good Vibrations record store. Buy the book here. ...

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