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Colin Irwin

Colin Irwin

From beginnings as a sports reporter on the long defunct Slough Evening Mail (where one of his colleagues was Greg Dyke), Colin Irwin joined Melody Maker in the mid-1970s. He was to spend over 12 years there, writing the folk pages throughout that time, but also graduating to become Features Editor and Assistant Editor.

His notable interviewees during that tenure include Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Kris Kristofferson, Tammy Wynette, Suicide, Joan Baez Human League, the Fall, Sandy Denny, Kate Bush, George Michael and, er, Bay City Rollers. He survived punk rock and the new romantics but left to become editor of weekly pop magazine Number One in the hazy, crazy era of Kylie, Jason, Wet Wet Wet and A-ha. He then disappeared into the bowels of the BBC to do something unmentionable in "Special Projects", eventually emerging to play cameo roles in a succession of best-forgotten magazines, including Rock World and The Radio One Story.

He also presented five series of Acoustic Roots for BBC Radio 2 and fronted two series of the BBC’s TV coverage of the Cambridge Folk Festival, was music editor at Teletext and a Mercury Music Prize judge (his crowning glory beating a desk as he argued for Antony & the Johnsons to win).

Settled into an uncertain world as an impoverished freelance writer, he contributed to fROOTS, Mojo, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Observer Music Monthly. He also wrote several books. In Search of the Craic detailed a long love affair with Irish music and pubs; In Search of the Albion was a trawl through English traditions; Sing When You’re Winning looked at soccer terrace songs; and Highway 61 Revisited examined Dylan’s seminal album.

Colin died on 3rd November, 2022.

Guardian obituary

115 articles

List of articles in the library

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10cc: Sheet Music (UK)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

10cc's Music of genius ...

Marc Almond: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

BOUNCING ON for his first encore, Marc paused, adjusted his shimmering shirt and briefly addressed his kingdom. "Do you think it was a big mistake ...

Bachman Turner Overdrive

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, February 1974

AMERICANS tend to pronounce the word "boogie" with one "u" and a couple of "g's". It comes out sounding "buggie" and it's heard a lot ...

The Bay City Rollers: Rollin' with the Rollers

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

HELLO AND welcome to the BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush. There's a lot of excitement... and chaos... here today, as always when they're making ...

The Be Good Tanyas: Be Good Tanyas: Chinatown

Review by Colin Irwin, MOJO, March 2003

Second album by the Canadian trio who seduced us with their disarmingly unassuming old-timey debut Blue Horse. ...

Bert Jansch: On The Road So Long

Obituary by Colin Irwin, MOJO, December 2011

A virtuoso guitarist who knew no boundaries and inspired Jimmy Page and Neil Young, Bert Jansch died on October 5. Colin Irwin says farewell ...

The Boothill Foot Tappers, The Pogues: Pogues, Boothill Foot Tappers: Mean Fiddler, Harlesden

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

IT WAS not a night to be sober. ...

David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Donovan, The Goodies, George Harrison, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Kenny, Diana Ross, The Rubettes, Ringo Starr, The Three Degrees: Singles from Elton John, David Bowie et al

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Elton gets lost ...

Bronski Beat: The rage dissent: Bronski Beat: Hundreds & Thousands (Forbidden Fruit)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE we should approve of this sort of thing. When a band of status splits up it's general record company policy to ...

Jackson Browne These Days…

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

The American singer/songwriter – currently touring Britain – who has made his name by writing constantly demanding, complex and mysterious songs, talks to COLIN IRWIN ...

Jackson Browne: The Pretender (Asylum)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

THE CHOICE of Jackson Browne's classic 'Late For The Sky', with all its mystique and aura, as soundtrack to the movie Taxi Driver, was no ...

Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon: Apollo, Glasgow

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

Jackson: after the deluge ...

Kate Bush: Who's That Girl?

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Rock World, October 1993

KATE BUSH is back with a sensational new album The Red Shoes, her first of this decade. She's been a major figure for 17 years ...

Kate Bush: Paranoia and Passion of the Kate Inside

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 October 1980

Kate Bush talks to Colin Irwin in Munich... ...

Kate Bush: Hounds Of Love (EMI)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

Girl with stars in her eyes ...

Kate Bush: The Dreaming

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 September 1982

UNDER THE premise that the Great British Public instinctively turns its nose up at anything that's a little unexpected, or which doesn't meet its carefully ...

Laura Cantrell: Vulnerable, minimalist Manhattan country

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, MOJO, March 2001

NOBODY'S MORE surprised by the wealth of critical and public acclaim for Laura Cantrell than the gently self-deprecating artist herself. ...

The Carter Family, Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 27 September 1975

Cash — the legend lives on ...

Martin Carthy: Essential

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 9 May 2011

A collection marked by the many shifting contours of his remarkable career. ...

Martin Carthy: Shearwater (Mooncrest)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

MORE RE-RELEASING of supposed folk classics from Mooncrest, although this one doesn't have quite the same aura as the others that have emerged from the ...

Eva Cassidy: Simply Eva

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 31 January 2011

Acoustic songs from the late singer's catalogue carrying great emotional weight. ...

Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson: Kris Kristofferson: Young Blue Eyes is Back

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 8 April 1978

Kris Kristofferson was a hell-raiser. He also grabbed country music by the scruff of its neck and dragged it into the Seventies. Now he's to ...

Elvis Costello, Georgie Fame: Last Night a Record Changed My Life: Attack of the killer organ

Memoir by Colin Irwin, MOJO, October 1999

Elvis Costello was a scrawny 12-year-old — until Georgie Fame opened the door to hipness. ...

Mary Coughlan: Angel With Dirty Phrases

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

Seductive on vinyl, scathing in the flesh, MARY COUGHLAN tames the wild rover in Prof. Colin Irwin. ...

Smiley Culture: Pop-up Toaster

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

Colin Irwin takes a trip into childhood with Tulse Hill's favourite son, SMILEY CULTURE. ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The Great Contender

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 August 1987

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY isn't modest. But, as he's quick to point out, he has very little to be modest about. Two hit singles, a number ...

Dead Or Alive: Youthquake (Epic)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 May 1985

Third degree Burns ...

Damien Dempsey

Interview by Colin Irwin, MOJO, June 2004

The sensitive ex-pugilist from Dublin's Northside has arrived. ...

Sandy Denny Pregnant

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 July 1977

SANDY DENNY looked radiant. Yes, one is always supposed to say that about ladies when they're pregnant, but in this case it was true. She ...

Sandy Denny: Sandy Fights Back

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 November 1977

"IF I HAVE TO SING 'Matty Groves' one more time, I'll throw myself out of a window... I'll be doing a lot of stuff from ...

Sandy Denny, The Strawbs: Strawbs featuring Sandy Denny: All Our Own Work (Hallmark)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

GET THE duster out, mother. Clear those cobwebs away, here's one from the archives. The Strawbs and Sandy Denny together recorded in 1968. The first ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Dexy's Midnight Runners: Don't Stand Me Down

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

COMPROMISE, as Kevin Rowland so sharply observes on the opening verse of this remarkable album, is the devil talking. ...

Tymon Dogg: Fiddling Around

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, September 1980

Tymon Dogg has nothing against success, but he wants it on his own terms, he tells COLIN IRWIN ...

Tymon Dogg: Tymon Time Again

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 8 January 1983

Colin Irwin visits the strange world of TYMON DOGG, former Paul McCartney protégé, Clash sidekick, and enemy of Safeway People ...

Nick Drake: Robert Kirby, 1948-2009

Obituary by Colin Irwin, The Guardian, 7 October 2009

IN HIS FIRST YEAR as a music student at Cambridge University, Robert Kirby sought to join Footlights, the undergraduates' fabled arts and drama club. He ...

Nick Drake: The Enigma's Variations: Darker Than The Deepest Sea: The Search For Nick by Trevor Dann ***

Book Review by Colin Irwin, MOJO, March 2006

A bold attempt to unravel the tragic secrets of an enduring, but still elusive, cult hero, says Colin Irwin ...

The Eagles: Hotel California (Asylum)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

Don Henley (drums, vocals), Glenn Frey (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Don Felder (guitar, slide guitar, vocals), Joe Walsh (guitar, keyboards, vocals). Randy Meisner (bass, vocals). Produced ...

Electric Light Orchestra: E.L.O.: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

AS A ROCK band the Electric Light Orchestra are successful enough. They have built a solid following, play value-for-money concerts, and get hit records. What ...

David Essex, Adam Faith: Stardust (Dir. Michael Apted)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974

Stardust: the heavy side of pop ...

The Fall: Hex Enduction Hour (Kamera)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 March 1982

OF COURSE, YOU don't actually review a Fall LP. You hover in the shadow of the aura and attempt to catch some of the sparks ...

Julie Fowlis

Interview by Colin Irwin, MOJO, June 2008

Hot Songs From The Outer Hebrides ...

Peter Frampton: Rock Victim

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

THE MAN once dubbed the "Face Of '68" sat in the cafe, quietly reflecting on his home country. He was once the most screamed at ...

Fred Neil

Obituary by Colin Irwin, The Guardian, 11 July 2001

HE WROTE ONE of the most famous songs of the late 20th century, but Fred Neil, who has died aged 64 of cancer, remains one ...

Marvin Gaye 1939-1984

Obituary by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 April 1984

With the death of MARVIN GAYE, black music lost one of its most eloquent voices. Colin Irwin documents a brilliant but tempestuous career. ...

Gordon Giltrap: Visionary (Electric)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

CYNICS STOP here. Rarely has an album invited scepticism so shamelessly as this, where an acoustic guitarist takes on strings, synthesizer, complex arrangements and the ...

Andrew Gold, Linda Ronstadt: Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Gold: Odeon, Birmingham

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Linda warms to a Heatwave ...

The Gun Club: Gun Fun: The Gun Club: Fire Of Love (Beggars Banquet)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

THE GUN CLUB are direct descendants of a ferociously-subversive rock 'n' roll tradition fired by the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and most successfully embodied ...

Woody Guthrie: My Dusty Road

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009

A chance to grasp the full essence of the man behind the legend. ...

Claire Hamill

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

SHE CAME down to London from fields afar, a cute little northern lass who was gonna be Britain's new first lady of rock. They all ...

Tim Hardin: The Legend of Tim Hardin

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

A CHUNKY, muscular figure. Penetrating eyes. Wispy black hair ever so slightly receding. What the hell is a legend supposed to look like anyway? "The ...

Heatwave: Phewhattascorcha!

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

HEATWAVE, whose 'Boogie Nights' single is moving up the chart, talk to Colin Irwin ...

Heaven 17, Carol Kenyon: Carol Kenyon: Oh Carol!

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 February 1984

Could this be love? Almost certainly. Colin Irwin (drooling reportage) and Andrew Catlin (provider of lascivious images) feign maturity in the presence of CAROL KENYON. ...

Dorris Henderson: US Folk Singer Who Settled In London

Obituary by Colin Irwin, The Independent, 9 March 2005

DORRIS HENDERSON cut an unforgettable figure on the emergent British folk-music scene of the mid-1960s. ...

Hot Chocolate: Choc's Away

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

A CLUTCH of nubile girls are usefully spending their school holidays hanging around outside the Bell Record Company offices in the hope of a glimpse ...

The Housemartins: Rough Rumours

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 June 1987

HOUNDED BY THE FLEET STREET RAGS, THE HOUSEMARTINS ALMOST THREW IN THE TOWEL AT THE TURN OF THE YEAR BUT NOW THEY'RE BACK WITH WHAT ...

The Humblebums, Gerry Rafferty: Gerry Rafferty: A Humble One

Interview by Colin Irwin, Folk Roots, 1988

GERRY RAFFERTY is one of the more elusive and enigmatic figures on this increasingly strange roundabout. A Scotsman bred on traditional music, he was never ...

Jackson C. Frank

Obituary by Colin Irwin, MOJO, May 1999

JACKSON WAS ONCE DESCRIBED AS "the most famous folk singer no-one ever heard of and that was about right. He met Elvis, was Sandy Denny's ...

Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins: Dolly Parton, George Jones, Marty Robbins, Barbara Mandrell, Wanda Jackson et al: Country Music Festival, Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Yee-hah for the cowboys! Colin Irwin and Robert Partridge review Wembley's giant country festival ...

Nic Jones: What the folk! Nic Jones is back

Retrospective and Interview by Colin Irwin, The Guardian, 28 June 2012

Thirty years after the car crash that almost killed him, folk hero Nic Jones is returning to the stage. He talks about his rebuilt body ...

Seth Lakeman: To The Sea!

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Daily Telegraph, 3 July 2008

The Penlee lifeboat disaster inspired Seth Lakeman's raw new CD. Colin Irwin went to a Cornish beach to see him play it. ...

John Lennon, Julian Lennon, Yoko Ono: Julian Lennon: The Lennon Legacy

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 October 1984

Four years after a madman took out his father, JULIAN LENNON launches his own career in music. In his first major interview he tells Colin ...

Miriam Makeba : Mama Afrika 1932-2008

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009

Majestic recordings by a genuine world music pioneer. ...

Ziggy Marley: The Melody Makers: Jah Makers

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 May 1984

Colin Irwin meets the MELODY MAKERS, children of the legendary Bob Marley. ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna Face the Music

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 5 March 1977

IT WAS once my considerable misfortune to own a part-time job, forced on me by financial hardship, that required knocking on people's doors inviting them ...

Anaïs Mitchell, Karine Polwart, Emily Portman, Kathryn Roberts, Chris Wood: Never Mind the Birdlore: The New Face of Folk Music

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, The Observer, 27 January 2013

The folk scene is changing – there are songs about police shootings, Occupy London and rape. Colin Irwin meets the singers who are shaking things ...

Van Morrison: Versatile

Review by Colin Irwin, MOJO, February 2018

After R&B covers album, Van pays homage to the great jazz songbook. ...

Dolly Parton: Confessions of a Power Crazed Wig-Model

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

'Ah'd like to think ah've ADDED to what I had before.' With these words, Dolly Parton struck COLIN IRWIN dumb. And she's writing a song ...

Tom Paxton: Something In My Life (Mam)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

THIS IS PROBABLY the most undistinguished album Paxton has ever made. Maybe it's no coincidence, but his first album on the same label as Gilbert ...

Pet Shop Boys: Disco (EMI)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 22 November 1986

THE ART of the re-mix was perhaps debased forever by the whole Frankie fleece-the-punter exercise. Re-mixes have subsequently come to be cold-shouldered to isolated corners ...

The Pogues: The National, Kilburn

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

"WE WANT CAIT, we want Cait," chanted the barmy army at the front rather ungraciously before it all began, and I have to say I ...

The Pretenders, Sandie Shaw: The Pretenders: Dominion, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 January 1982

No time to go to sleep ...

Queen: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

FREDDIE MERCURY glares thunderously from beneath the beam of the spotlight. Anger and hostility ooze from his mouth. He pumps his right fist vigorously skywards ...

Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus With Jazzboe Abubaka: Tribute To The Emperor (Trojan)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

THIS ALBUM is designed to cash in on the recent mini-tour by the Rastafarian group, and with its colourful sleeve (green, red and gold stripes ...

Cliff Richard: Palladium, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

WELL, WADDYA know? Ol' Cliff's getting a bit nostalgic in his little-corner of comfy respectability. Surrounded by glam girls kicking their legs up, a massive ...

Demis Roussos: It's all Greek to Britain

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

COLIN IRWIN talks to Demis Roussos ...

Rufus: Chaka: I Feel Sexless on Stage

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975

CHAKA KHAN is a bit like a furry golly. She flops in front of the telly, cheering for Connors at Wimbledon, giggling and proudly displaying ...

Sade: The Jewel In The Crown

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 December 1984

An unlikely star and a reluctant one, but SADE ADU is the most successful female artist of the year. The life and times of a ...

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Retrospective and Interview by Colin Irwin, The Guardian, 31 July 2009

ALL GUSHING JET-black hair, radiant smiles and shining eyes, Buffy Sainte-Marie looks fabulous. "Do I? Why thank you..." ...

Saxon Dregs 'N' Rock 'N' Roll

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 June 1982

From the pits of Yorkshire to the industrial might of Seattle, SAXON have taken tea to the world. Colin Irwin earnestly believes it's the new ...

Boz Scaggs: An interview

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 5 July 1980

BOZ SCAGGS graced our fair capital last week, dropping off en route to an Italian beach with his wife and kids. Mindful of the relative ...

Danny Schmidt: Man of Many Moons

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, February 2011

Schmidt gambles everything on lyrical intensity and simple presentation, and succeeds. ...

Seals and Crofts: Two's Company

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975

JIMMY SEALS is wearing an extremely smart tweedy outfit like he's an advert for Hardy Amies. He's got those granny spectacles and he leans back ...

Slade: Your Public Is Your Judge

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

THEY CAME out of Wolverhampton. Failed skinheads who became the loudest, most aggressive stomping band in the land. A year ago nobody questioned it – ...

Smokie: Smokey: No Smokey Without Fire…

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

THE NEWS that Chinn and Chapman had signed a new band was predictably greeted by the music business with one big yawn. What would this ...

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 ...

Steeleye Span: Family of Span

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

"HAVE WE ever come close to splitting? My God, HAVE we! It's very incestuous, our band, y'see. We're all interdependent and to work out your ...

Steeleye Span: How a Goon Came To Play Ukelele

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 October 1974

IT WAS like the coming of a new Messiah. Everyone sat around nervously awaiting the arrival of HIM, the man who was gonna make this ...

Steeleye Span: Now We Are Six (Chrysalis)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Span: Six of the best ...

Cat Stevens, Yusuf: Cat Stevens: Time to Make a Change

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, MOJO, June 2000

It's one of music's most overdue reconciliations. Yusuf Islam has made peace with Cat Stevens. ...

The Stylistics: Sing, Baby, Sing!

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

ABUSE COMES too easily. The Stylistics are the masters of sweet soul, the kings of lush sentiment, and the lords of overstated romance. Even their ...

Suicide: Bent on Suicide

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 March 1978

Colin Irwin reports on New York's latest cult success: a weird duo called Suicide ...

Donna Summer: Cats Without Claws (WE A 250 806-1)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

TO BE honest I liked Donna better when she talked dirty to me. They may have been Giorgio Moroder records as much as they were ...

June Tabor: Ashore

Review by Colin Irwin, bbc.co.uk, 21 February 2011

Tabor's a colossus, and this is one of her finest hours. ...

Tenpole Tudor: Men of a Thousand Swords

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

Tenpole Tudor stun Colin Irwin. ...

Thin Lizzy: Phil Lynott 1951-1986

Obituary by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

Colin Irwin chronicles the rise and inevitable downfall of Phil Lynott, who died at the weekend. ...

Richard Thompson: The Guitar Hero as Mystic Recluse

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 October 1978

Richard Thompson is one of the world's finest guitarists, but a few years ago he "got cheesed off" and packed it all in. Now he's ...

Richard and Linda Thompson: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

IT WAS a night steeped in nostalgia. One of those occasions when the event was more important and ultimately more memorable than the music. Lots ...

Toto: Losing The Studio Tan

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

DAVID PAICH has the grizzly, rough-hewn features of a particularly underhand heavyweight wrestler. The image is blown by a hugely infectious grin that recurs frequently, ...

U2: Glory Days

Interview by Colin Irwin, Spin, June 1987

With a platinum-bound LP and sell-out tour, U2 have finally conquered America. But first they had to conquer the problem of being a political band ...

Tom Waits: Guess You're Waits

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 29 April 1978

FORGIVE the blasphemy, but I reckon God must have been way out of his little box when he deposited Tom Waits among us. Mr. Waits ...

Scott Walker, The Walker Brothers: Scott Walker: No Regrets

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 14 February 1976

IT'S ONLY mid-afternoon, but the curtains are drawn and the lights are out. The room is in darkness and at first it looks empty. "Hi, ...

Joe Walsh: Lonely Leader

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

IT'S A BIT disconcerting when you're having a perfectly innocent conversation and the guy you're talking to suddenly brandishes a knife beneath your nose. Not ...

We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 November 1986

They sing! They dance! They make jokes! They play with bar-bells! They dye their hair! They talk in Brummy accents! They've got a new single ...

Wham!: The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Bite

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984

In an historic encounter, Colin Irwin confronts WHAM! on such burning issues as sexism, politics, wallyism and taking your shirt off in public. ...

Chris Whitley

Obituary by Colin Irwin, The Independent, 29 November 2005

HE WAS ALTERNATIVELY described as a rock'n'roll troubadour, a "nu blues" artist, an alt country pioneer, a slide guitar master and a trailblazing singer-songwriter who ...

Don Williams: Country Boy (ABC)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 October 1977

NOW LET'S get this straight from the outset. I'm a Don Williams fan of considerable ardour, and all the disappointments felt with this album are ...

Don Williams: Silence Is Golden

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 October 1979

THE FOYER of London's Royal Garden Hotel is an amusing monument to opulence. Arabs glide around as if they own the place, and they probably ...

Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Record Producer

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

Tammy Wynette, over here for a short tour, lectures COLIN IRWIN on how to be an Average Superstar... ...

Tammy Wynette: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

SO ENTRENCHED is the tradition of slick showmanship and synthetic sincerity among buxom country goddesses that we should no longer be surprised or nauseated by ...

XTC: Middlesex Polytechnic

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 28 January 1978

"HELLO, WE'RE XTC. You're the audience, and this is 'Radios In Motion'." A violent blast of noise collides with your brain, a few pints of ...

List of genre pieces

David Gahr: Folk, jazz and rock photographer

Obituary by Colin Irwin, The Independent, 5 September 2008

WHEN BOB DYLAN shocked the audience at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by going on stage with members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to ...

Folk's man of mystery: is Cecil Sharp a folk hero or villain?

Retrospective by Colin Irwin, The Guardian, 24 March 2011

IT SOUNDS LIKE some hideous TV reality show dreamed up by Simon Cowell and Andrew Lloyd Webber during a night on the lash. Dump eight ...

Glenn Swings Out — Now It's Funky Shorts

Report by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976

Colin Irwin visits the Lacy Lady in Ilford, where deejay Chris Hill is leading a new disco trend. ...

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 ...

Garry Bushell: The Most Evil Man In Pop

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 10 May 1986

Scourge of the Looney Left, creator of Oi and prime exponent of the dreaded 'Sunspeak', GARRY BUSHELL makes a clean breast of it to Prof ...

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