Chas de Whalley
There are few journalists in Britain today who can match Chas de Whalley's personal experience and detailed understanding of the music industry. As Head of UK A&R for CBS Epic (now Sony) Records, he produced the first two singles by fledgling Irish supergroup U2 and was instrumental in signing chart topping Eighties acts Shakin' Stevens and Adam and The Ants.
As Head of Information Services for weekly trade paper Music Week he ran the research teams behind the weekly Top 75 Singles and Albums charts as well as the prestigious Music Week and Music Business International (MBI) directories and a large portfolio of other, subscriber-only, business to business publications. Previously, as Group Special Projects Editor he commissioned in depth analysis features on all aspects of the music industry for Music Week and MBI and, in conjunction with the various sales teams developed a successful range of revenue building special supplements.
Among the titles to which Chas has contributed are NME, Sounds, Record Mirror, International Musician, Vox, Rock CD , Time Out, Mojo, Record Collector and Music Week. He has also authored reports, guides and surveys for trade bodies such as The British Phonographic Industry ( BPI), The British Library National Sound Archive and the Welsh Development Agency. Over the years he has also led a band on the London pub and club circuit, owned a recording studio, and managed acts signed to major labels such as Warner Music and BMG. Among his other qualifications is an MA in English Literature from Cambridge University. Chas prides himself not only on his in depth knowledge of the way the music industry really works but also in his ability to explain and analyse it clearly, simply and entertainingly but, most important of all, with real accuracy.
164 articles
List of articles in the library
The 101'ers: Hope & Anchor, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 16 August 1975
THE CELLAR OF Islington's Hope and Anchor is hardly the place to keep cool, calm and collected on one of the hottest nights of the ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 6 September 1975
AS SUNDAYS GO, this promised a real party. Wake up for Charlie Gillett's Honky Tonk on BBC Radio London and then down to the Roundhouse ...
Dave Mason and Streetwalkers at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
SOME NEED WIRES and some need strings, but Dave Mason don't use none of those things. Instead he hitched himself onto the back of his ...
Jive Bombers: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
THERE'S ALWAYS A good time to be had at the 100 Club. ...
Supercharge: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975
SUPERCHARGE CERTAINLY HAVE something to celebrate. They've just signed a five year record contract, and are probably hoping to be very rich one of these ...
Max Merritt And The Meteors: White Hart, Willesden
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 20 September 1975
A FEW YEARS ago, when I was employed in a South London certain department store, I worked with a couple of globetrotting New Zealanders who ...
George Jones, Wanda Jackson: George Jones and Wanda Jackson at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
THE FOYER OF the Hammersmith Odeon was like Middle America gone London town, except the folks were mostly British and there wasn't a stetson to ...
Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
DEPENDING ON WHERE you part your hair, the Grateful Dead are either the finest rock'n'roll band in the world bar none... or else they are ...
John Cipollina, Man: Man and John Cipollina: Maximum Darkness
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
WHEN JOHN Cipollina's visit to England was announced earlier this year I made a conscious effort not to check him out. ...
Starry-Eyed and Laughing - Thought Talk
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
WHILE AMERICAN COUNTRY Rock bands seem to spring up from everywhere, there has yet to be one from these shores who really convince. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT Sean Tyla, late of Ducks Deluxe, is one of the finest and most distinctive rhythm players in town. ...
The Kursaal Flyers: Kingston Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 4 October 1975
THIS WEEK THE Kursaal Flyers waved a fond farewell to the London pubs with two rip-roaring nights at the Newlands in Peckham, and now the ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 11 October 1975
OKAY, SO YOU'VE heard it all before: ...
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 ...
Brewer and Shipley: Welcome to Riddle Bridge
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 1 November 1975
MIKE BREWER AND Tom Shipley are just plain lads at heart, from Oklahoma and Ohio. ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 1 November 1975
SO WHAT ABOUT The Snow Goose at the Royal Albert Hall, then? ...
Freddie King: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 1 November 1975
A NIGHT TO remember. "It's Blues time, ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome Freddie King." ...
Ozark Mountain Daredevils: The Car Over The Lake Album
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 8 November 1975
FOR A BUNCH of guys who are supposed to be averse to leaving their country ranch in Missouri for the hustle of the cities, the ...
Report by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 15 November 1975
IT'S SATURDAY night, a good ten minutes after closing time. Down at the Hope and Anchor in Islington landlord Fred Granger is going quietly berserk, ...
Captain Beefheart: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 22 November 1975
DON'T BELIEVE WHAT your mother tells you kids, there really is a Legion of Super Heroes. ...
Rory Gallagher: Against The Grain
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 22 November 1975
DO YOU realise that Against The Grain is Rory Gallagher's seventh album since he split Taste? ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 22 November 1975
WHEN SASSAFRAS FIND the right single, they are going to be huge. ...
Dr. John: Cut Me While I'm Hot and Hollywood Be Thy Name
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 29 November 1975
"DOCTOR JOHN THE Night Tripper, he's the King of New Orrlins". ...
Back Street Crawler: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 6 December 1975
SOME UGLY MOMENTS here. ...
Chris Farlowe: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 20 December 1975
HE'S REALLY ONLY back on the road to squeeze every last drop of success from his reactivated hit 'Out Of Time'. That's what you're expecting ...
Kilburn & The High Roads: Hope & Anchor, Islington, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 December 1975
AMONG CERTAIN CIRCLES, Ian Dury has gained a reputation as one of rock'n'roll's losers. ...
Tony Joe White: Eyes (20th Century)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 1976
SO YOU thought Tony Joe White was a downhome country guy with his feet firmly in the mud of the Mississippi swamps? ...
The Rumour: Rumour: Newlands Tavern, Peckham
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 3 January 1976
ARE THE Rumour really Pub-Rock's first Supergroup? Some people would tell you so, and they would have their reasons. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 17 January 1976
IT'S ALL A far cry from Alfred Jarry. ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 24 January 1976
SINCE HE split with The Animals and the Rock 'n' Roll mainstream to home in on the craftsmanship of Randy Newman, Price's career has seen ...
Ace, Graham Parker: Graham Parker: Southampton University, Southamption
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 24 January 1976
YOU CAN PICTURE the scene – it's the same one that goes down on the first night of every major college tour; equipment trouble, late ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 31 January 1976
Too many holiday brochures getting you down – let some real sun into your home... ...
The Kursaal Flyers: Kursaal Flyers: Surely This Band Is Too Young To Die?
Profile and Interview by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 7 February 1976
PAUL SHUTTLEWORTH'S Secret Ambition is to become a member of Equity, the Actors' Union. "Trouble is though," he told me, "You can't just pay your ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 14 February 1976
RONEE BLAKLEY was the star of Robert Altman's Nashville, if you remember, the film that was universally condemned by the inhabitants of Music City U.S.A. ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 21 February 1976
WE ALL KNOW about Lynyrd Skynyrd. As barroom brawlers go, they don't come quite as gross as these six Southern redneck bruisers wired on Coors, ...
T. Rex: Lyceum Ballroom, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 28 February 1976
BORN TO BOOGIE, or born to Waltz? The story of an ageing teendream with the cheek to book himself into London's Lyceum Ballroom, without a ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie And The Hot Rods: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 6 March 1976
FIRST DUKE DUKE and the Dukes, now Eddie and the Hot Rods – Kursaal Flyers' manager Paul Conroy knows how to pick support bands. ...
Jess Roden: Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 20 March 1976
DRESSED IN the remains of a particularly dapper three-piece suit and with straight hair stretching to his collar and no further, British country-soulster Jess Roden ...
Osibisa: Fairfield Hall, Croydon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 24 April 1976
ONLY CRITICAL SNOBBERY could deny Osibisa the distinction of having played one of the finest sets I have seen this side of Christmas. On this ...
Grateful Dead: Steal Your Face
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 10 July 1976
ON STAGE the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia is not quite the superslick guitarist you might imagine him to be from their recordings. ...
Thin Lizzy: Remembering. Part I (Decca)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 21 August 1976
EVERY RECORD company has done it at one time or another. Reactivated old material by an artist who has since had hits with another label. ...
Queen: The Greatest Show In The World
Report by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 11 September 1976
"EXCUSE ME, are you with Queen?" was the question. ...
The Clash, The Kursaal Flyers: The Kursaal Flyers/Crazy Cavan/Clash: Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 11 September 1976
JOE STRUMMER'S Clash — the best new band of the year? Well, some would claim as much. At least you can guarantee that any band ...
Flying Burrito Brothers: Southern Californians Bring Me Down
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 2 October 1976
The Flying Burrito Brothers: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...
Moon: Is This The Dark Side Of The Moon?
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 2 October 1976
"ARE YOU using Memorex?" asked Moon's Noel McCalla, leaning quizzically over my cassette machine. "You gotta use Memorex for us, you know. Only the best, ...
Willie Nelson: Willie Nelson Live (RCA)**
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 9 October 1976
WILLIE NELSON has been in country music for the better part of twenty years as a songwriter and performer, while, arm in arm with Waylon ...
Carol Grimes: Carol Grimes (Decca) ****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 October 1976
THIS IS CAROL Grimes' legendary Memphis album, the one that she cut in Tennessee the best part of two years ago but has never had ...
Flying Burrito Brothers: Sneeky Pete And The Return Of The Flying Journeymen
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 October 1976
"ASK THEM abouta da name. They gotta no right to use it!"Don't worry, friends, my esteemed Italian colleague doesn't really speak like that, and his ...
Rusty and Doug Kershaw: Louisiana Man
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 October 1976
I GOT a pre-release tape of this two months ago and I played that constantly. Now I've got the record and it's wearing out very ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 October 1976
LET'S HEAR it for Sherbet. They play some of the best contemporary Pop music I've heard this year. Eminently disposable, but for all that, tremendous ...
The Kursaal Flyers: Kursaal Flyers: Golden Mile
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 23 October 1976
A NEW Kursaal Flyers album, eh?On their night the Kursaal Flyers are one of the most entertaining rock bands in the country, with their tacky ...
Willie Nelson: The Troublemaker (CBS)****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 23 October 1976
HOW ARE we supposed to take this album, eh? ...
The Kursaal Flyers: Kingston Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 30 October 1976
ALL ABOARD, boys and girls. It's time for the Kursaal Flyers works outing. First stop Cheltenham and now here we are at Kingston where you'll ...
Bob Seger (And The Silver Bullet Band): Night Moves (Capitol) *****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 November 1976
THE SAME WEEK Graham Parker proved his real worth with a headlining London theatre date, Capitol release the new Bob Seger album. Seger is to ...
Clover: Roll Me Over, Lay Me Down And Do It Again
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 November 1976
NICK LOWE knows his way around the big mixing desk. Clover know all about recording studios. Together they're gonna cut some class. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 13 November 1976
YOU INTO electric guitars? You like them in pairs, screaming and squealing in some kind of linear harmony? ...
After The Fire: Brunel University, Middlesex
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 13 November 1976
AFTER THE Fire are a Christian Band. But don't let that frighten you away. They don't preach, they don't sing songs about Jesus Christ and ...
Babe Ruth: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 13 November 1976
SUPERSTARS COME and go, but Babe Ruth seem to rock on forever. The sort of band who always end up at the Marquee. Last time ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 13 November 1976
I EXCHANGED Geography for German at the tender age of fourteen, so if my command of the atlas is not all it should be, please ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie And The Hot Rods: Woolwich Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 20 November 1976
EDDIE and the Hot Rods are turning into Heroes under our very eyes. ...
Ultravox: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 20 November 1976
MAYBE IT was just the crowd, but nobody seemed able to generate much atmosphere and excitement on this Tuesday night at the Nashville. Support band ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 December 1976
COMES AS A bit of a shock really, doesn't it? The news that Man are splitting up after eight years on the road. ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 December 1976
THIS ONE I rather like. Not so much for its musical qualities but for the strange sense of homour through which these five debonair Chicagoans ...
Grinderswitch: Pullin' Together
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 18 December 1976
I DIDN't see them live but I gather from the reports that Grinderswitch – Messrs Dru Lembar, Stephen Miller, Larry Howard, Joe Dan Petty and ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 18 December 1976
Reviewer rattled by sensuous songstress ...
Hawkwind: Coventry Theatre, Coventry
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 25 December 1976
IT'S LIKE trying to resurrect the agonies and ecstasies of the Lysergic communion, putting Hawkwind's Robert Calvert on paper, spinning a yarn from the scattered ...
Chelsea, The Stranglers: The Stranglers, Chelsea: Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 8 January 1977
BASS MAN Jean Jacques Burned now sports a torn t-shirt and black eye liner. If it wasn't for the big Fender Precision slung round his ...
Emmylou Harris: Luxury Liner (Warner Bros.)**
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 15 January 1977
I'M SORRY, but I don't like Emmylou Harris very much. Doubtless you'll recommend me to the Inquisition for a Heresy like that. But I've been ...
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 22 January 1977
LONDON'S BURLINGTON Arcade runs up the side of the Royal Academy. It has high gates at either end and boasts some of the most expensive ...
Kokomo: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 29 January 1977
WELL, JOE Cocker wasn't there. At least I don't think he was. After a very hard weekend of various rock 'n' roll activities the strain ...
Jethro Tull: Songs From The Wood (Chrysalis)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 5 February 1977
IF YOU PLAY this album at 45 rpm it sounds just like Steeleye Span. ...
Frank Zappa: Frank Panned (Almost)
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 19 February 1977
Frank Zappa: The Rainbow Theatre, London ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie And The Hot Rods: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 26 February 1977
ALMOST a Black Sabbath job, this one. You know, up goes the safety curtain, there's the band already head first and accelerating into 'Get Across ...
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Dirt, Silver and Gold (United Artists)****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 26 February 1977
PLEASE TELL me, who is going to buy this peach of an album? It's a three record set, a compilation of the Los Angeles' band's ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 5 March 1977
PARIS? Graham Parker and the Rumour loathe the place.Their reasons? ...
The Jam: Jam: Maximum New Wave
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 5 March 1977
PEOPLE TRY TO put us down just because we sound like The Who. ...
Hall & Oates: Daryl Hall and John Oates: No Goodbyes (Atlantic) **
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 19 March 1977
ATLANTIC RECORDS attempt to cash in on the current Hall and Oates boom with a compilation of some of the best tracks from the Philadelphian ...
The Stranglers: IV Rattus Norvegicus (United Artists)****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 April 1977
I THINK this album will surprise a lot of people. After all (by chance, coincidence and a spot of media manipulation, no less) the Stranglers ...
Asleep At The Wheel: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 23 April 1977
I DON'T think I've ever seen so many ten gallon hats on one stage. Not outside Texas, anyhow. And so many straight-legged jeans and cowboy ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 23 April 1977
I FIRST got into Poco back when Buffalo Springfielders Richie Furay and Jim Messina were still in the band. They cut a live album, called ...
The Small Faces: Steve Marriott
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 23 April 1977
IT'S A bit like having a bull in a china shop, being around Steve Marriott. Like being in the same room as a whirlwind. His ...
The Faces: The Best Of The Faces (Riva)****
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 30 April 1977
"AAALRIGHT: HERE'S one you may well know, you may not know it; and if you don't know it, I really don't know where you bin." ...
Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, May 1977
ELVIS COSTELLO is a cagey sort of fellow. You can talk to him for hours and still not discover quite what makes him tick. ...
Asleep At The Wheel: The Wheel
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 7 May 1977
THIS IS Asleep At the Wheel's fifth album in seven odd years. It's the one, so they hope, to transform them from a cult country ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 7 May 1977
THE FIRST cut on this album is 'Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone', Smokie's latest chart single. Of course, you'd expect to find it ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 14 May 1977
I HEARD the Jam's single 'In The City' on the radio the other day. The bass came roaring up from the mix and through the ...
The Marshall Tucker Band: Carolina Dreams
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 14 May 1977
I THINK the late great Duane Allman might turn in his grave if he heard this record. ...
Talking Heads: The Rock Garden, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 21 May 1977
WHY NOT somewhere that can handle crowds properly, like the Nashville? Why on earth were Talking Heads put on at the Rock Garden? Do answer ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 21 May 1977
ONE THING about the Kursaal Flyers...they never do things by halves. ...
The Ramones, Talking Heads: The Ramones: Gabba Gabba Hey In The UK
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 28 May 1977
The Ramones/Talking Heads: Eric's, Liverpool ...
Gloria Mundi: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
Profile and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 June 1977
AND WHAT did Gloria Mundi's Eddie Maelov get for the courage of his, convictions? ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 June 1977
LET'S START with some questions this time, alright? ...
The Jam: Boy Wonders Make The BIG STEP
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 25 June 1977
PHEW. THAT was a close one! For a moment there I thought the Jam were going to blow it completely. ...
Hawkwind: Pulsating Poets of Sturm und Drang: Robert Calvert and Hawkwind
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Album Tracking, July 1977
"ROCK IS THE literature of this generation". Thus spake Robert Calvert, occasional playwright, self-styled poet, songwriter and lead singer with Hawkwind, the weirdest, most ...
Van Morrison: The Speakeasy, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 2 July 1977
EVER LOOKED Dr John the night tripper straight in the eyes? Ever stood this close to Van the Man you can feel him breathe? ...
Red Clay Ramblers: The Red Clay Ramblers: Half Moon, Putney
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 9 July 1977
IN THESE DAYS of unbridled electrical energy, it never ceases to surprise me the drive and excitement that can be generated by a highly ordered ...
Retrospective by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 July 1977
In which SOUNDS people bring long-ignored or deleted albums to your attention ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 16 July 1977
Huckleberry Finn will love this one. Five English guys capture the downhome spirit of America. ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 30 July 1977
WHAT'S THIS? Two stars for Bruce Johnston the ex-Beachboy? Yeah, you read right...and if it wasn't for that illustrious track record of his I wouldn't ...
The Bay City Rollers: It's A Game
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 30 July 1977
LET'S FACE it, the idea of a Bay City Rollers album is just a little amusing. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if several of ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 30 July 1977
TEN YEARS and twelve-odd albums on from when they first hit the streets of San Francisco, the good ol' Grateful Dead present us with their ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 August 1977
AS A TECHNICIAN alone Roy Buchanan is one of the finest electric guitarists in the world. ...
Squeeze: Local Boozers Make Good
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 August 1977
HEY JOHN, take a look at this. When did this happen last in the Hope, eh? There's two bodies stretched out straight in the tiny ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 6 August 1977
SO I PICKED through the albums lying in Master Barton's dusty drawer and there, amongst the dross, was a name I recognised. The Gap Band. ...
Radio Stars: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 27 August 1977
SOME CAME TO catch the Boomtown Rats (who had cancelled at the last moment) but, despite the substitution of Chiswick's Radio Stars, there were still ...
The Small Faces: Small Faces: Playmates
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 27 August 1977
OH DEAR, I fear Steve Marriott and his mates are in for a real critical pasting with this, the first Small Faces LP for ten ...
Ted Nugent: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 27 August 1977
I WAS STANDING on the stairs backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon when the Ted Nugent band came down from the dressing rooms. ...
Ultravox: Patchy Enough, But Powerful
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, September 1977
ULTRAVOX HAVE come in for their share of criticism since Island Records launched them with a bang eight months ago and amidst the flashing lights ...
Fabulous Poodles: Fabulous Poodles
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 10 September 1977
HOW DO you decide whether an album's a good one or a bad one? Difficult really. If anybody had a handy rule of thumb, a ...
Profile and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 10 September 1977
"WE'LL CHALENGE any band in the business to any bar sport they care to name. Darts, Pool, Crib, Table Football, Pinball. You name it. Meal ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 17 September 1977
TW STUDIOS are tucked away behind a drab shopfront off London's Fulham Palace Road. To gain entry you have to go round the side, through ...
Van Morrison: T.B. Sheets (Phonogram – Reissue)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 17 September 1977
IN WHICH Phonogram Records acquire the rights to Van Morrison's early BANG material and effectively re-issue an album called T.B. Sheets which Decca put out ...
Fabulous Poodles: A Poodle Is All Things To All Men
Profile and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 24 September 1977
'The dog has one fault which you will never be able to overcome, an unforgivable fault, alas! It is common to all dogs, and there ...
Daryl Hall, Hall & Oates: Hall & Oates: Beauty On A Back Street
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 24 September 1977
THE ACCEPTABLE face of disco music? ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 24 September 1977
HAVE YOU heard of Joe Ely before? Thought not. I certainly haven't. His past history is a total blank as far as I'm concerned. And ...
The Kursaal Flyers: Five Live Kursaals
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 24 September 1977
IT ALL boils down to what you think of the Kursaal Flyers really, doesn't it? Me, I fell in love with them the first time ...
Harry Chapin: Dance Band On The Titanic
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 1 October 1977
I REALLY can't make my mind up about this guy Harry Chapin. One one level he is totally crass and on another he is totally ...
Profile by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 8 October 1977
DOO-WOP was a term applied to the singing style of American R 'n' B vocal groups of the Fifties, originating in the fact that the ...
The Stranglers: Brunel University, Middlesex
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 8 October 1977
OF COURSE, what with all those bad reviews the Stranglers have picked up since the release of the new album No More Heroes, you might ...
Link Wray, Robert Gordon: Robert Gordon: Robert Gordon With Link Wray
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 22 October 1977
FOR SOME odd reason Private Stock don't want you to know that Robert Gordon used to be with those CBGB specials Tuff Darts. Richard Robinson ...
X-Ray Spex: Oh Bondage! Up Yours!
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 22 October 1977
"IF SOMEBODY said I was a sex symbol, I'd shave me'ead tomorrer," cackled Poly Styrene. "'Oh Bondage Up Yours' ain't about sex particularly. In fact ...
The Sex Pistols: Sex Pistols: Spunk Rock
Report by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 29 October 1977
FOR A MOMENT there I thought I'd stumbled into a dream I just wasn't equipped to handle. All change for Edge City. The punk behind ...
Wishbone Ash: City Hall, Newcastle
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 29 October 1977
WHATEVER YOUR tastes in music, there's one thing you can never argue about. Audience reaction. A hall full of standing rock fans, clapping their hands ...
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 12 November 1977
I TELL YOU no word of a lie. This table was at least the length of my sitting room at home, if it wasn't actually ...
Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Eggs Over Easy: The Glory That Was Pub Rock
Retrospective by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 26 November 1977
"Before pub rock people used to think the ideal gig was somewhere like Guildford Civic where you could sit cross-legged and watch King Crimson pan ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 3 December 1977
GREG KIHN again? Does that mean I missed the first one? Suppose it does. Oh, well. So it goes. ...
Kilburn & The High Roads: Kilburn & The Highroads: Handsome
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 3 December 1977
I SUPPOSE it had to happen sometime. People have such short memories. Pye have re-released the first and only Kilburn and the High Roads album ...
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 3 December 1977
"LIVING in Bloomington," considers Rich Stim, "Is like living in a hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar." And you might be excused thinking he was talking out ...
Man: All's Well That Ends Well
Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 10 December 1977
I TRUST there aren't too many of you out there who've forgotten Man. This lovable bunch of Welsh boyos were once one of the very ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 17 December 1977
DOWN IN WOKING at three o'clock in the afternoon the Modern World seems miles away. Outside it's icy cold, but in number 44, with the ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 7 January 1978
I WOULD have expected Christmas Eye with the Rods at the Roundhouse to turn into something of a real party, wouldn't you? Well, strangely enough, ...
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 ...
Dire Straits: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 28 January 1978
DIRE STRAITS are not yet one year old, and they've been playing to the public for little more than six months. Nevertheless they must arguably ...
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 ...
Power Pop part 1: Suddenly, Everything Is Power Pop!
Overview by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 11 February 1978
A BRAND NEW YEAR and a brand new word for the media to fool about with, eh? What's it all about then, this Power Pop ...
The Soft Boys, The Brakes: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, 4 March 1978
NOT AN evening for those with sensitive eardrums, this. Even these days when volume for its own sake seems to be a pre-requisite of too ...
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 10 January 1981
You ain't seen nuthin' yet reckons CHAS DE WALLEY about KATE BUSH ...
Richard Thompson: Strict Tempo (Elixir LP I)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 17 October 1981
ALBUMS LIKE this are comparatively rare these days. Strict Tempo simply presents good music for its own sake, showcasing the style and skill of a ...
The Slits: Return Of The Giant Slits (CBS 85269)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 14 November 1981
LONG TERM Slits fans can relax. Just because the girls' latest album appears on the CBS label doesn't mean they've sold out, gone soft or ...
Spandau Ballet: A Day In The Life Of Gary Kemp
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 28 November 1981
Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet talks to Chas De Whalley sbout one of his working days. ...
Ian Gillan, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Robert Palmer: The Producers: Steve Smith
Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, December 1981
STEVE SMITH is one of those comparatively rare creatures: a quiet American. No more, and quite possibly less than average height, he doesn't favour the ...
Duran Duran: Rum Runner, Birmingham
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 12 December 1981
THERE WASN'T a lot to see, for a start. When Duran Duran returned to their old stamping ground in Birmingham's trendy but tiny Rum Runner ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 19 December 1981
DURAN DURAN find life a gas in more ways than one. Eternally intrepid CHAS DE WHALLEY takes it all with a pinch of salt (or ...
The Blasters, Nick Lowe: Nick Lowe and his Noise to Go, the Blasters: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Record Mirror, 29 May 1982
THE BLASTERS set a standard of gritty excitement which even Nick Lowe and the loosely professional Noise To Go might have found difficult to sustain. ...
Steve Miller Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Kerrang!, 12 August 1982
STEVE MILLER'S career has been long and varied. The Texan-born guitarist surfaced in 1967 on the first wave of West Coast psychedelia and he has ...
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 ...
Pat Benatar: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, Kerrang!, 10 February 1983
INSIDE THE kovers of Kerrang! the kontroversy kontinues: is she a bona-fide heavy rocker or merely an elaborate American fake? Some say her albums beg ...
Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Chart
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Kerrang!, 5 May 1983
... but BONNIE TYLER'S a rocker at heart, sez CHAS DE WHALLEY ...
The Tubes: Lude-icrous Tales From The Tubes' Fee Waybill
Interview by Chas de Whalley, Kerrang!, 17 June 1983
ASTOUNDING THOUGH it may seem, The Tubes have never seen Twisted Sister, much less rubbed shoulders with the outrageous Dee Snider. In fact, before they ...
Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, January 1986
Ken Scott muses on his journey from Bowie to Kajagoogoo. Chas de Whalley listens attentively ...
Hipsway: The Producers: Paul Staveley O'Duffy
Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, October 1986
Chas de Whalley, Paul Staveley O'Duffy, and the Get Down Mixdown Factor. ...
Cliff Richard, Tina Turner: The Producers: Terry Britten
Interview by Chas de Whalley, International Musician & Recording World, December 1986
The man who made AOR respectable? Terry Britten confesses all to Chas de Whalley ...
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 ...
Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Living In A Boom Time
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, October 1992
ACROSS ELEVEN TRACKS, recorded live on tour in Ireland earlier this year, Tom Robinson reinvents himself as a solo folk singer. But where some faded ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, March 1993
WHEN JONATHAN RICHMAN and The Modern Lovers first surfaced with Roadrunner, late in 1976, the studied '60s simplicity of their garage band arrangements and Richman's ...
Duran Duran: The Wedding Album
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, April 1993
NEARLY 12 YEARS ON, and Messrs Le Bon, Taylor and Rhodes are still peddling the same kind of prosaic pop which was their calling card ...
Soft Machine: Who Was That Masked Voice?
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Vox, April 1993
So what if Elvis Presley isn't available for commercial breaks these days? Just get someone in who can impersonate him — the Hofmeister bear, for ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: Symphony For The D'Evil: Terence Trent D'Arby: Symphony Or Damn (Columbia)
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, June 1993
BY RIGHTS, of course, Terence Trent D'Arby should have achieved superstar status years ago. That he hasn't is entirely his own fault. ...
The Dogs D'Amour: The Dogs D' Amour: More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, June 1993
IT'S HARD TO RESIST the immediate temptation to write The Dogs D'Amour off as relics of that late-'80s sleazeball revolution that threw up Guns N' ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, Vox, July 1993
THEY RULED THE WORLD... they ran the world. They sowed the seeds of love... they got divorced. Quite an achievement for a duo who released ...
U2: Another Time: The inside story of U2's very first record
Retrospective and Interview by Chas de Whalley, Record Collector, 1 September 2004
I FIRST MET U2's manager Paul McGuiness sometime in February 1979. He was on a trip to London doing the rounds of the record companies ...
Retrospective by Chas de Whalley, Record Collector, April 2006
As Paul Weller polishes his award for his Outstanding Contribution to British Music at this year's Brits, Chas de Whalley looks back at the days ...
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