David Sinclair
David Sinclair was born on October 24, 1952. He was educated at Eltham College, London and at Warwick University, where he graduated in 1975 with an honours degree in Politics. He played drums in London Zoo and TV Smith’s Explorers then worked as a BBC TV researcher on programmes including Wogan and The Rock’n’Roll Years. He became pop critic at The Times in London in 1985 and has contributed to Rolling Stone, Billboard, Q and Kerrang! He is the author of Tres Hombres: The Story of ZZ Top (1986); Rock On CD - The Essential Guide (1992, updated 1993); and Wannabe: How The Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004). His parallel career as a singer, guitarist and songwriter continues with the release of his album, Hey, on Critical Discs/Proper, available from record shops and online at www.indiestore.com/davidsinclair
230 articles
List of articles in the library
The Police: Wiry: The Police Live
Review by David Sinclair, Q, 1995
ITS EASY TO forget what an outstanding live act The Police were. Combining musicianly flair (guitarist Andy Summers) with furious bursts of energy (drummer Stewart ...
Interview by David Sinclair, MOJO, April 1994
THEY SAY THERE'S ONE IN EVERY CROWD. BUT HE'S ALWAYS hard to spot because he looks so normal. Quiet, polite, a little shy even. You ...
Joni Mitchell: Conversation with a Wandering Dreamer
Review and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 February 1991
WITHIN 60 SECONDS of setting eyes on me, Joni Mitchell has started telling me about her dreams. I am spared details, but she insists that ...
Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Rocks the U.K - But He Can't Match His Own Impossibly High Standards
Live Review by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 24 June 1993
"WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I truly didn't think music had any limitations," said Bruce Springsteen in an interview with New York Newsday last year. "I ...
The Lemonheads: Come On Feel The Lemonheads (Atlantic)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, October 1993
IT SEEMS A quaint idea now, but there was a time when being a "serious" rock band didn't necessarily mean carting a ton of attitude ...
Neil Young: Still a Young Man's Game
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 May 2003
HE CALLED one of his albums Rust Never Sleeps. But does Neil Young ever sleep? In the 12 months since he last played in Britain, ...
Judie Tzuke at the Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 October 1985
DESPITE HER GREATEST CLAIM to fame still being her one British hit single in 1979,'Stay With Me 'till Dawn', Judie Tzuke has released seven albums ...
Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, March 2004
AH, THE FIRST HYPE OF SPRING. In media watering holes from Camden to Sauchiehall Street, the tastemakers began sniffing the wind as long ago as ...
INXS at Wembley Stadium: All the aces but little heart
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 July 1991
QUITE BY coincidence INXS mount their London summer spectacular on the sixth anniversary of the Live Aid concert at this same venue, In so far ...
Morrissey: This Charming Mandroid
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 February 1995
Back on tour, back in the sights of those who would destroy him, Morrissey talks to David Sinclair about love, hate and fame ...
Black Eyed Peas: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 2 February 2005
CAN IT ONLY be 18 months since the Black Eyed Peas were jostling each other for space on the tiny stage of the 400-capacity Jazz ...
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 5 October 1995
IT'S A GLORIOUS SUMMER DAY in Oxford, city of dreaming spires in the heart of England. Three young tykes laugh and joke with each other ...
Rory Gallagher: The Show Must Go On!
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, Q, July 1990
AT THE START of 1970 the world was Rory Gallagher's oyster. Cream had split up towards the end of 1968 and Hendrix, having dissolved the ...
David Bowie: All The Old Dude Had, He's Still Got
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 November 2003
David Bowie: MEN Arena, Manchester ...
Bruce Springsteen: Perfect Mastery Of The Beat
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 June 1985
Bruce Springsteen: Slane Castle, Dublin ...
Overview by David Sinclair, Q, April 1988
IF THERE IS ONE group for whom the enhanced audio medium of CD might have been invented, it is Pink Floyd. From its earliest days ...
Scritti Politti: Return Of An Eighties Enigma
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, July 1999
AS DISAPPEARING TRICKS go, the strange case of Green Gartside is not quite up there with those of Richey Edwards or blues hero Peter Green, ...
Jimi Hendrix: Radio One (Rykodisc)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, April 1989
AHEAD OF NEXT year's 20th anniversary of his death there are already tell-tale signs of renewed interest in the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, still unquestionably ...
Interview by David Sinclair, The Independent, 13 July 2006
WHEN BLONDIE were admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, earlier this year, it seemed about time. After thirty million ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, January 1988
WHILE ANDREW ELDRITCH has been away, all sorts of musical mice have been out to play. In the wake of the first and last Sisters ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, January 1988
IN THE WORLD league table of entertainers' earnings recently compiled by Forbes magazine, only one rock group, U2, was thought to have amassed more than ...
The Rolling Stones: Flashpoint
Review by David Sinclair, Q, May 1991
THE STEEL MACHINE/Urban Jungle extravaganza of 1989 and '90 was the most colossal tour the rock world has ever witnessed. By its close, The Rolling ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, March 1992
IN 1990, IN A REGULAR feature called "The Experts' Expert", The Observer canvassed a cross-section of guitarists (David Gilmour, Hank Marvin, Brian May and others) ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, October 1992
"ALL SONGS WRITTEN by Sting", it says under the 16 titles on Greatest Hits – 15 of them Top 20 hits, five of them Number ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, August 1991
IS DAN REED a little too good to be true? ...
Bruce Springsteen: Charles R. Cross: Backstreets and Marc Eliot: Down Thunder Road
Book Review by David Sinclair, Q, September 1992
BACKSTREETS IS THE AMERICAN quarterly fanzine whose editors maintain a painstaking and uncritical log of the life of Bruce Springsteen. First published in November 1989, ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, May 1989
Are You ExperiencedAxis: Bold As LoveSmash HitsElectric LadylandBand Of GypsiesThe Cry Of LoveIsle Of WightHendrix In The WestWar HeroesLoose EndsCrash LandingMidnight LightningThe Singles AlbumKiss The ...
Bryan Adams: The Life Of Bryan
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, November 1987
MOST OF THE stories about Bryan Adams tend to emphasise how ordinary the guy is. Like the one about an occasion in New York two ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, October 1989
FOREVER PORTRAYED as a moody, maverick, Jeff Beck has blazed an erratic trail littered with the detritus of broken guitars and broken bands. ...
Retrospective and Interview by David Sinclair, Q, June 1992
IF EVER A story has grown in the telling it is that of Jimi Hendrix. From a no-name sideman on the American chitlin circuit to ...
Britney Spears: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 October 2000
ROBBIE WILLIAMS may believe he has no competition. But the day after he began his latest tour, the American superstar Britney Spears arrived to play ...
AC/DC: Phew! Got Away With It, Readers!
Retrospective and Interview by David Sinclair, Q, December 1990
MOST PEOPLE in Britain first heard about AC/DC at about the time of the punk explosion. A bunch of roughneck Aussies with a guitarist dressed ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, October 1990
Carlos Santana's fortuitous appearance at the bottom end of the Woodstock bill completely changed his life. From that moment, he was swept up into an ...
Elbow: Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 October 2003
THERE WAS an air of resignation when the fire alarm went off at the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow on Thursday night and the splendidly ...
INXS: Welcome To Wherever You Are
Review by David Sinclair, Q, September 1992
NOW 15 years old, INXS have made remarkably little go a long way. ...
The Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels
Review by David Sinclair, Q, October 1989
NOT ONLY did The Rolling Stones come out of the traps considerably faster than the current wave of mouthy young turks but they have stayed ...
The Hold Steady: Carling Academy, Oxford
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 December 2008
ON THE FACE OF IT, the Hold Steady are upholders of a classic rock tradition. A five-man, New York group who craft their songs out ...
Tom Waits: Well Worth the Waits
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 October 2004
NEXT MONTH Tom Waits will make his first British concert appearance for 17 years. And if the word filtering back from Vancouver and Seattle, where ...
The Dead Weather: Boston Arms, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 25 June 2009
EIGHT YEARS AFTER I first saw the White Stripes play in the back room of the Boston Arms pub in Tufnell Park, North London, Jack ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, February 1995
IT'S STRANGE when you think of the qualities we demand from our rock stars. ...
Kate Bush: Dear Diary: The Secret World of Kate Bush
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 24 February 1994
CRICKLEWOOD IS not at all the kind of place you would expect to find Kate Bush. Although immortalized long ago in the title of a ...
David Bowie: Black Tie White Noise
Review by David Sinclair, Q, May 1993
THE 1980S WAS not a happy decade for David Bowie. ...
Prince and The New Power Generation: 0{+>
Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1992
APPARENTLY UNAFFECTED by his elevation to executive status at Warner Brothers Records, Prince bounces back with yet another 75 minutes' worth of music celebrating his ...
Jamiroquai: The Return Of The Space Cowboy
Review by David Sinclair, Q, December 1994
ONLY JAY Kay could come up with as naff a title as The Return Of The Space Cowboy and make it sound about right. A ...
The Lemonheads: Come On Feel The Lemonheads (Atlantic)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1993
IT SEEMS a quaint idea now, but there was a time when being a "serious" rock band didn't necessarily mean carting a ton of attitude ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, June 1993
IT STARTS with the musical equivalent of an itch. A guitar plonks away softly, a light clattery drum sound brushes against the beat, and eventually ...
Neil Young: Got A Problem Pal?
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, January 1993
Neil Young is back with a new LP and an all-consuming grievance. Lately, something has been getting the old goat's goat like nothing before. That ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, May 1989
Led-heavy and light of finger, The Cult are back ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1994
SUEDE'S FANS have always been utterly unwavering in their belief in the band. But out there, in the big bad world, the group still suffers ...
Chuck Berry: The Poet of Rock'nRoll (Charly)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, September 1994
A colossally influential talent in his prime and a painful embarrassment in his decline, Chuck Berry has bequeathed a musical legacy that is like the ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, June 1994
ISN'T IT odd how some bands can carry on year after year, getting consistently good reviews, backed by major record company muscle, yet still end ...
Spin Doctors: Pocket Full Of Kryptonite (Epic)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, April 1993
Spin Doctors must be the first group in recent memory to sell a million records and get their faces on the cover of Rolling Stone ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, February 1994
THE LONGEST-RUNNING trio in rock, ZZ Top come down from the hills less frequently these days, yet they remain blithely impervious to the ravages of ...
The Auteurs: New Wave (Hut Hut)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, March 1993
A NAME that the nation's tastemakers have been looking up in their dictionaries and dropping in the right circles for, oh, weeks. ...
Joan Baez: Play Me Backwards (Virgin)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, February 1993
WHAT EXACTLY is the most dignified role for the faded activist folk singer who wakes one morning to find herself five years older than the ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, January 1993
With the colossal success of Nevermind, Nirvana brought grunge to the masses, a phenomenon which has radicalised "mainstream" rock across the board. ...
Queen: Made In Heaven (Parlophone)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1995
MADE IN Heaven is an album so heavily freighted with emotional resonance that it is quite impossible to disentangle the music from the unique historical ...
Spin Doctors: Turn It Upside Down (Epic)
Review by David Sinclair, Q, July 1994
"Oh, mama, I'm gonna roll with a truckload of hurt. These wheels have rolled across I don't know how many bags of dirt."(from 'Bags Of ...
Kings of Leon: Brighton Centre, Brighton
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 December 2008
CALEB FOLLOWILL was in an expansive mood as Kings of Leon began their biggest British tour yet. "This has been one of the best years ...
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, Q, December 1998
Yes, maam! Safety-conscious Celine Dion is the vowel-wobbling queen of candyfloss pop, and for 30 months she's sold one album every 1.2 seconds. David Sinclair ...
Spinal Tap: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 2 July 2009
THE BIZARRE blurring of the lines between comedic fiction and showbusiness reality continued apace with the staging of Spinal Tap's "One Night Only World Tour" ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, May 1991
JOE JACKSON is clearing up and moving out of his first floor Manhattan apartment. A cool breeze blows gently through the open French windows and ...
Richard Thompson: The Old Kit Bag
Review by David Sinclair, The Word, March 2003
ONE OF THE MANY extraordinary things about Richard Thompson is how resistant he is to the image-making process. After all, here is a man who ...
The Corrs: "Sorry, We're Boring!"
Interview by David Sinclair, Q, September 1998
Au contraire, Mrs, Mrs, Mrs and oh, Mr Corr. You are extraordinary in ways it would be rude to fully explain, while a Number One ...
Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos: Town and Country Club, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 4 February 1993
ON THE EVE of his forty-ninth birthday, the eternally delinquent Keith Richards was back in his hometown, at an 1800-capacity club, doing what he loves ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Kerrang!, 15 December 1983
DAVID SINCLAIR takes it from the Top with Messrs. Hill and Beard ...
Black Country Communion: Return of the Rock-and-Roll Supergroup
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, Daily Telegraph, 29 September 2010
THE ROCK SUPERGROUP is back. Once a byword for hype and hubris, the idea of renowned musicians getting together to form instantly famous new groups ...
David Bowie, Mick Ronson: Mick Ronson: Ziggy's Axeman
Obituary by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 24 June 1993
Mick Ronson was a sideman extraordinaire ...
Elbow: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 April 2008
WHAT A LONG, hard slog it has been for Elbow. Eighteen years in the pop trenches and still only on their fourth album. They have ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 1 April 1993
WHEN THE English rock stars of the 1960s eventually wearied of life on the road and in the metropolis, the ones who still had any ...
Gil Scott-Heron: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 June 1985
ALTHOUGH HE does not like being labelled, particularly as a "protest singer", Gil Scott-Heron may fairly be described as a radical black poet and jazz-funk ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, February 1988
The Pogues: no sleep 'til closing time. ...
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? ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Word, February 2006
WHEN I TOLD my 16-year-old daughter that I was reviewing the debut album by Arctic Monkeys, she was not particularly impressed. "Yes, yes," she said. ...
The Only Ones: Night Of The Living Dead
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Word, June 2007
COME TOGETHER: After 26 years apart, the Only Ones have climbed aboard the reunion bandwagon. They have more reasons than most, as they tell DAVID ...
Report by David Sinclair, The Word, March 2006
Internet phenomenon MySpace provided the Arctic Monkeys with their fast track to fame. It's now adding a million users every week and guess who's just ...
Review by David Sinclair, Q, September 1988
Dwight Yoakam: country music with added ultra-twang. ...
Paul McCartney: The Cavern, Liverpool
Live Review by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 20 January 2000
IN ITS OWN downbeat English way, Mathew Street in Liverpool is as much a shrine to the Beatles as Graceland is to Elvis. Walk up ...
The Blasters: Electric Ballroom, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 July 1985
WITH THE energy and precision that is now the recognizable hallmark of the bands engaged in the current American roots music invasion of Britain, the ...
Jamie Cullum: Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 May 2010
JAMIE CULLUM’S blend of jazz, pop and anything else that comes to hand may not be to everyone’s taste, but he certainly knows how to ...
David Bowie: Station to Station
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993
ON A PERSONAL TOUR OF ZIGGY'S LONDON, DAVID BOWIE LOOKS BACK HIS AT DAYS AS THE GLAM KING OF ENGLAND ...
Childish Gambino: The Basement at the Camp, EC1
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 January 2012
IT IS ABOUT time someone challenged the "get rich or die trying" stereotype that has dominated hip-hop music on its journey from ghetto art to ...
Mötley Crüe: Hammersmith Odeon, Odeon
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 February 1986
SINCE FORMING in Los Angeles in 1981, Mötley Crüe have assiduously cultivated a hard-living bad-boy image, diligently indulging in the traditional macho pursuits of drinking, ...
Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five: Oxford Polytechnic
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 12 March 1985
"WHEN YOU leave the ghetto, you gotta figure a way of walking out in style", drawled the lean Grandmaster of New York rap, Melle Mel. ...
Neil Cowley Trio: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 19 March 2012
NEIL COWLEY was 10 when he last played here. Now 39, he plays keyboards with acts ranging from the Brand New Heavies to Adele (on ...
ZZ Top: Civic Center, Lake Charles LA
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 February 1986
ALTHOUGH A low-profile start to their lengthy American tour, ZZ Top's performance at this small lakeside township in Louisiana was anything but understated. With a ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 February 1991
Breezy blend with a Cuban flavour ...
Island Records: A History of Cool
Report by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 May 2009
From Nick Drake and Roxy Music to Mika and McFly – David Sinclair charts 50 years of Island Records. ...
Rocket From the Crypt: Garage, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 January 1996
IT BEGAN with a James Brown-style fanfare of horns and an unlikely promise: "Are you ready for one of the best shows of your damn ...
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. ...
Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 March 1986
ALTHOUGH THE two artists performed separately, their recent hit as a duet, 'Saturday Love', and other common features of their careers, made this a sensible ...
Jeff Beck: Ambitious in his artistry
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 March 1986
The reclusive Jeff Beck is back with a new single, released on Monday. Interview by David Sinclair ...
Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 April 1986
WITH HIS explosive playing style and highly developed technique, Billy Cobham earned the dubious accolade among rock audiences, unused to such an advanced jazz playing ...
Joni Mitchell: Conversation with a wandering dreamer
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 February 1991
Joni Mitchell, artist, photographer and grande dame of rock, talks to David Sinclair. ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 February 2002
THE SCANDINAVIAN rock'n'roll invasion is gathering pace. Indeed, the industry joke that in the past the Vikings came in longboats, but now they're coming back ...
Steve Earle: Train A Comin' (Transatlantic/Castle Communications TRA 111)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 July 1995
HAVING ALLOWED a promising career to be blighted by delusions of grandeur — remember those four-hour, son-of-Springsteen shows? — and latterly a stretch in prison ...
McAlmont & Butler: Hanover Grand, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 12 May 1995
Camp in a field of intensity ...
Obituary by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1995
BONO CALLED him "one of the top 10 guitar players of all time," and there is no doubt that Rory Gallagher, who died in a ...
The Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death (Bad Boy/Arista 78612-73011; two discs £15.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 28 March 1997
...
Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 9 December 1985
DESPITE CAMEO'S low media profile, they boast a distinguished history of 11 album releases yielding estimated sales of 20 million records. It is but one ...
G. Love & Special Sauce: Electric Ballroom, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 January 1996
A whiter shade of blues ...
The Verve: Bittersweet Success
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 11 December 1997
AFTER YEARS OF NEAR MISSES, THE VERVE HAVE SCORED BIG BY STAYING TRUE TO THE DARKNESS AT THE HEART OF ROCK & ROLL ...
Liza Minnelli: Palladium, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 March 1986
IT WAS OF course a coincidence that Liza Minnelli opened her British season the same week that Frank Sinatra's version of Kander and Ebb's 'Theme ...
R. Kelly: R. Kelly (Jive CHIP 166)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 December 1995
TRADITIONALLY, soul sex gods have tended to be avuncular characters with film-trailer voices, people such as Barry White and Isaac Hayes. But 26-year-old R. Kelly ...
M People: Fresco (BMG 74321 52490 £14.49)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 October 1997
Listen without prejudice ...
Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Dominion, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 September 1985
Songs written with soul ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 January 2002
California's No Doubt stay up with the pack, while P.O.D. have seen God. David Sinclair is awed ...
Robin Guthrie: Out of the Shadows
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 March 2003
Why has the limelight-shy former Cocteau twin Robin Guthrie gone solo? ...
The Rolling Stones: But what can a poor boy do?
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, MOJO, May 1999
IN AMERICA, THE STONES' JUGGERNAUT ROLLS ON UNSTOPPABLY. BUT BACK HOME THEIR STOCK HAS HIT ROCK BOTTOM. AS THE BAND'S STRIPPED-DOWN NEW SHOW DEFIES THE ...
Beats International: Let Them Eat Bingo (Go Beat 842196-2)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 April 1990
Light beats from a bright cook ...
Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 April 1985
HAVING TENACIOUSLY eschewed the medium of live performance as a factor in their rise to ministardom, Frankie Goes to Hollywood now find themselves hoist by ...
Einstürzende Neubauten: Einstürzende Neubaten: Heaven, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 September 1985
THE FIRST visitors to the garish Heaven club on Monday night were GLC safety inspectors, alerted perhaps by reports of Einstürzende Neubaten's previous London performance ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 10 April 2012
MCFLY HAVE never paid much attention to the traditional boyband script. It is eight years since their first single, '5 Colours in Her Hair', reached ...
Spice Girls: Wannabe in their gang? Oh, yeah — Spice Girls: Spice (Virgin 7243 8 42174)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 November 1996
Spice Girls follow up two smash hit singles with a debut LP that has David Sinclair joining their fan club ...
Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 February 1999
The real hip hop mother ...
Van Morrison: Johnny Rogan: Van Morrison – No Surrender (Secker & Warburg)
Book Review by David Sinclair, The Guardian, 28 May 2005
Johnny Rogan supplies everything you wanted to know about Van Morrison – and even more that you didn't. David Sinclair digests an almost comically unflattering ...
Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 October 1985
ON HIS third visit to Britain, and with his current album So Many Rivers making modest inroads on the charts, Bobby Womack seems to have ...
Sonny Sharrock: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 April 1990
Brash display of showmanship ...
Kym Mazelle, Ten City: Ten City, Kym Mazelle: Town & Country, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 March 1989
Beyond the beat ...
Super Cat: Don Dada (Columbia 471570 2);
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 25 July 1992
A quick 'toast' to reggae tradition ...
PJ Harvey: Town & Country, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 June 1992
P J the pacesetter ...
Elkie Brooks: No more the has-been
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 March 1987
"I HOPED I was going to retire when I was 40, but unfortunately I wasn't rich enough to be able to do that," is how ...
All Saints: All Saints (London 828979 £13.99)
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 November 1997
Spice up your soul food ...
Screaming Trees: Dust (Epic 483980)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 12 July 1996
IT IS being talked up in the music press as the "rock masterpiece" of the year, and there is indeed something special about Dust, the ...
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1995
"YOU 'AVEN'T got any rizlas, 'ave you?" Tricky says, asking for rolling papers by way of an introduction. The 27-year-old rapper and songwriter — "I ...
New Kids On The Block: Step by Step (CBS 466686 1)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 June 1990
CONCERNED PARENTS may be anxious to discover what exactly has precipitated the recent bouts of querulous mass hysteria among our nation's six to 12 year-olds. ...
Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die (City Slang EFA 04972)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 January 1996
THE "POST-rock" conceptualist ensemble from Chicago, Tortoise, do not travel on the fast track. Exhibiting a lofty disregard for conventional song structures, their wholly instrumental ...
En Vogue: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 November 1992
A lot of heart, but not much soul David Sinclair is charmed, if not wholly convinced, by the British debut of a vocal group that has ...
Radiohead: OK Computer (Parlophone 7243 8 55229 £13.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 June 1997
Modem life is rubbished ...
Steve Earle: New habit for Earle of excess
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 April 1996
Country-rocker Steve Earle switched tracks, and feels all the better for it. David Sinclair reports ...
Chaka Khan, Third World: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 September 1985
Not her moment ...
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam 466281 1)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 April 1990
THERE HAS been an all-round upping of the ante in the rap stakes since Public Enemy released the classic, It Takes a Nation of Millions ...
The Beastie Boys, Run-DMC: The Beastie Boys: Just nice boys at heart
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 May 1987
"THERE'S A certain virtue in negative publicity, and a lot of it has come from us just being ourselves, particularly on stage; but there's a ...
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) ...
Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: Spiceworld (Virgin V2850, £13.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 31 October 1997
More girl power to their elbows ...
Betty Boo, Neneh Cherry: The raw and the cooking: albums from Neneh Cherry and Betty Boo
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 October 1992
Two rap divas unveil new albums, with mixed success ...
Daft Punk: Homework (Virgin CDV 2821 £14.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 January 1997
ONE OF the intriguing side effects of the techno revolution is the way it has re-trained the ears of the pop market to accept instrumental ...
Nina Simone: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 May 1985
IT WAS A fair measure of Nina Simone's ability that, in, the bustling thoroughfare of Ronnie Scott's, she was able, to command close attention with ...
Lyle Lovett & his Large Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 June 1992
Journey into odd country ...
The Fratellis: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 March 2007
THEY FOUGHT OFF Lily Allen, Corinne Bailey Rae and James Morrison to win the British Breakthrough Act Award at the Brits. Their first album, Costello ...
John Mayer: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 20 January 2010
GREETED BY a tumultuous wave of adulation, John Mayer arrived on stage looking like an all-American college freshman; pale trousers, trainers, clean-cut, preppy hairstyle. Halfway ...
Roni Size and Reprazent: Roni Size & Reprazent: Against the current and in the mainstream
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 September 1997
For Roni Size and his drum and bass army, winning the 1997 Mercury Music Prize is a means to an end, writes David Sinclair ...
Charlie Watts: Take me back to Birdland
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 June 1996
David Sinclair meets Rolling Stone Charlie Watts in his other incarnation — as a jazzman ...
Pulp: Different Class (Island 524 165)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 October 1995
Louche canon finally on target Jarvis Cocker's lowlife lyrics have come of age on a Pulp classic, says David Sinclair ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 August 1992
From US slick to British snooze ...
Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 29 April 1989
Ladies in waiting ...
Gloria Estefan: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 September 1989
Salsa rhythms propel the Havana beat ...
Nerina Pallot: The Bloomsbury, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 June 2006
YOU CAN'T WALK ROUND A CORNER in West London these days without bumping into Nerina Pallot. The billboard campaign for her second album, Fires, suggests ...
Omar: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 October 1992
IN WHAT is becoming an oddly familiar scenario, a new wave of British soul singers is offering a young, credible alternative to the over-stylised dominance ...
Garth Brooks: Ropin' the Wind (Capitol CDESTU 2162)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 February 1992
All blown down ...
Eternal: Power Of A Woman (1st Avenue/EMI 8 36354)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 November 1995
HAVING SLIMMED to a trio since their million-selling debut. Always & Forever, London-based vocal group Eternal continue to fly the flag for British soul with ...
Ace Of Base: The Bridge (London 529 655)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 December 1995
THEY MAY have sold 19 million copies of their debut album, Happy Nation, but the Swedish boy-girl quartet is still a long way from justifying ...
The Black Crowes: God gave rock'n'roll to them
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 20 January 1995
The Black Crowes are not just a rock band; they're claiming their birthright, as lead singer Chris Robinson tells David Sinclair ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 December 2004
A NONDESCRIPT bunch of blokes from Scotland, they spent several years fine-tuning an unremarkable indie-rock formula until they eventually started to sell albums in the ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 18 April 1996
Frontman JARVIS COCKER wreaks revenge for the 'Common People' ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 March 1991
Musical literacy makes sound sense ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 9 November 2002
IT HAS BEEN A SWIFT and unexpected rise to the surface for Aqualung, and there were times during their debut live performance on Wednesday when ...
Black Country Communion: Victoria Park, London E3
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 July 2011
THE ANGLO-AMERICAN "SUPERGROUP" Black Country Communion began their British tour with a muscular performance towards the end of the closing day of the High Voltage ...
Paul Westerberg: Too fast to live, too old to die
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 12 April 1996
David Sinclair talks to rehabilitated rock'n' roller Paul Westerberg about drugs, death, hellraising and the joys of a quiet evening in ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 29 May 1996
Never mind the Pistols... ...
Laura Veirs: Union Chapel, London N1
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 29 January 2010
A set dominated by music from her latest album July Flame did not disappoint fans of the Oregon folk singer-songwriter ...
Laura Veirs: Bush Hall, London W12
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 August 2007
LAURA VEIRS EXISTS in a universe that runs parallel to the mainstream music industry, if not directly counter to it. With six studio albums to ...
Joan Osborne: Relish (Blue Gorilla/Mercury 526 699)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 February 1996
A Pelé of the blues ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 25 July 1997
Elegy for a rapper ...
Air: Moon Safari (Source/Virgin CDV 2848 £13.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 January 1998
NICOLAS GODIN and Jean- Benoit Dunckel, the youthful duo better known as Air, come from Versailles and have mysteriously acquired a fashionable cachet not normally ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 July 1987
Exciting find ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 December 1993
Must we fling this filth at our pop kids? ...
Steve Earle & the Dukes: Mean Fiddler, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 March 1987
IF ANYONE has given substance to the idea that there is something more to "New Country" than a handy promotional slogan, then it is Steve ...
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Astoria, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 9 October 1996
Out of the blues, onto the rack ...
Janet Jackson: The Velvet Rope (Virgin V2860 £15.99)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 October 1997
Ballad on the dancefloor: Janet Jackson shows her more sincere side to David Sinclair on The Velvet Rope ...
Radiohead: Wired up for better reception
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 March 1995
David Sinclair meets a band tuning in to tomorrow's wavelength ...
The Pogues: If I Should Fall From Grace With God (Pogue Mahone NYR 1)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 January 1988
Rip-snorting triumph ...
Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 June 1989
Trying too hard ...
Mica Paris: So Good (4th & Broadway BRLP 525)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 August 1988
Mica has arrived, right on time ...
Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers: Astoria, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 19 October 1987
AT 9.10 ON Friday night a lean young man called Milton Smith sat down behind a white Sonor drum-kit and began teasing out a gritty, ...
John Lee Hooker: Nothin' shakes a true blue legend
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 October 1989
David Sinclair talks to rugged, illiterate bluesman John Lee Hooker, at 69 sounding like a man who breakfasts on iron filings. ...
Gary Barlow: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 March 1998
Ready to Take That and party on ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 July 1988
Fast and furious ...
Paul Westerberg: Borderline, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 July 1993
Grunge godfather or master melodist? ...
Aswad: The genial face of reggae
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 December 1988
Having recognized that music is a business, Aswad have at last won the recognition they deserve, David Sinclair writes. ...
Mary Gauthier: The Roundhouse, London NW1
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 November 2006
IN ITS CONTINUING BID to corner every must-see gig in town, the refurbished Roundhouse has incorporated the Freedom Studio, a 180-capacity "multi-form" room, buried in ...
Madonna: Erotica (Maverick/Sire 9362-45031-2)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 October 1992
Madonna may find her role as Venus in furs a turn-on. But for the rest of us her new album is less than erotic. ...
David Gray: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 September 2009
ON THE DAY HIS NEW ALBUM, Draw the Line, was released, David Gray began a short run of UK shows with a workmanlike performance. Four ...
Craig David: Hammersmith Apollo, London W6
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 May 2006
CRAIG DAVID IS THE ONLY R&B SUPERSTAR this country has produced. His debut album, Born to Do It, sold eight million copies, while the "flop" ...
David Gilmour: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 31 May 2006
THE PINK FLOYD REUNION at Live 8 last year was not enough to revive the group. But it has propelled David Gilmour’s solo career to ...
David Sylvian: Festival Hall, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 30 September 2003
AN ACQUIRED TASTE at the best of times, David Sylvian did not make life easy for himself or his extraordinarily loyal following at the Festival ...
David Gray: Shepherds Bush Empire, London W12
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 September 2005
FOR A SOLO SINGER-SONGWRITER kind of guy David Gray favours a reassuringly cluttered performing environment. There was so much equipment, set at odd angles here ...
Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg: Tha Doggfather (Death Row/Interscope INTD- 90038 £13.49)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 November 1996
DEDICATED "in loving memory" of rap star Tupac Shakur, shot dead in September, Tha Doggfather is another loathsome celebration of the black American thug lifestyle ...
Roy Buchanan: Dominion, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 March 1985
TO THE majority of rock enthusiasts, Roy Buchanan may be remembered as little more than an American guitarist who achieved one minor British chart success ...
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 ...
Freddie Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 6 March 1991
FREDDIE JACKSON has lost the initiative in recent years, which is a great shame. In the mid-Eighties it looked as if he was poised to ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 11 May 1992
Capital of her country ...
James Taylor: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 30 April 1998
A Hazelnut Voice for All Seasons ...
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 May 1988
David Sinclair meets American guitarist Ry Cooder, in London to prepare for a six-city British tour ...
Stone Temple Pilots: Underworld, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 15 March 1993
Already on the runway ...
Howard Jones: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 April 1985
HOWARD JONES, a successful pop star for about 18 months, has become the doyen of the new breed of singer-songwriters who, with their electronic keyboards ...
Suede: Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 October 1996
Step aside, Oasis, the hard men are back ...
Joan Osborne: A cowgirl gets the blues
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 January 1996
Joan Osborne has gone from bluegrass country to R&B heaven, says David Sinclair ...
Pat Metheny Group: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 May 1985
A touch of class ...
Beth Orton: Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 December 1997
Unplugged and unvarnished ...
David Lee Roth: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 March 1991
AN IRREPRESSIBLE showman, David Lee Roth has got where he is primarily by dint of athletic energy, brass neck and sheer force of personality. His ...
Tammy Wynette: Just a country girl at heart
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 May 1987
David Sinclair talks to American singer Tammy Wynette, in Britain as part of her long-awaited European tour. ...
The Mike Flowers Pops: Forum, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 19 February 1996
In praise of light entertainment ...
Supergrass: It's alright to get serious, lads
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 April 1997
David Sinclair discovers a new heavyweight image being brewed by that ebullient trio Supergrass. ...
Blur: The Great Escape (Food/Parlophone 8 35235)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 September 1995
Blur put the grate in Britain ...
Alanis Morissette: Flashing the peace-sign
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 23 February 1996
David Sinclair is pleased to report that Alanis Morissette is no jagged little pill ...
The Stone Roses: Alexandra Palace, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 20 November 1989
Failing the acid test ...
Randy Travis: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 June 1988
Timeless voice ...
Guns N' Roses: The Spaghetti Incident? (Geffen GED24617)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 November 1993
These we have loved to death ...
Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 November 1997
Mary not so contrary ...
Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: As they say, all you need is positivity
Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 February 1998
If the Spice Girls are past it, no one told them, the fans fighting for tickets for their first tour, or David Sinclair. ...
Presidents of the United States of America: The Presidents of the USA: Astoria, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 April 1996
Monster raving loony party ...
Edwyn Collins, Orange Juice: Edwyn Collins: Don't call me popular
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 February 1996
Arch-outsider Edwyn Collins is a hit at last. David Sinclair finds him unrepentant ...
Michael Jackson: Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 1 July 1992
Europe cheers Jackson ...
Fishbone: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 January 1989
Punk with brains ...
Madonna: Wembley Stadium, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 21 July 1990
Rock à la Hollywood ...
Guns N' Roses, Izzy Stradlin: Izzy Stradlin: Happy to be fretting out on his own
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 12 October 1992
Izzy Stradlin, lead guitarist with Guns N' Roses, has left the band he helped to create. Now, as he tells David Sinclair, he plays to ...
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 February 2010
IF YOU wanted a Valentine’s Day show with all the trimmings, then Ne-Yo on Sunday night was your man. There was champagne and fireworks, bunches ...
The Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth (Tag Recordings/Atlantic 7567-92726)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 September 1996
HAVING CRACKED up (and I use the term advisedly) in the wake of 1993's breakthrough album, Come On Feel the Lemonheads, Evan Dando returns to ...
The Verve: Urban Hymns (Hut/Virgin 7243 8 44913 £14.49)
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 September 1997
Faith, hope and even clarity: David Sinclair applauds the bittersweet symphonies of the suddenly huge Verve ...
Bryan Adams: He's a megastar, he's Bryan who?
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 5 November 1993
Adams. You know, the 'I Do It For You' one, 16 weeks at No 1 and so on. David Sinclair meets the unknown hero ...
Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 December 1995
TWO SOUL smoothies who bridge the generation gap as seamlessly as the sky stretches to meet the sea, Eddie Levert, Sr and Gerald Levert look ...
Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 25 December 1997
WITH THEIR inspirational third album, OK Computer, released this July, Radiohead became one of the decade's cornerstone British acts. Emotionally ragged and musically precise in ...
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 January 1997
Suede were mammoth, then they were rubbished, and now they're hot again. David Sinclair takes to their leader ...
The Lords of the New Church: Lords of the New Church: Hammersmith Palais, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 August 1985
NEARLY TEN years after the punk rock "revolution", the genre is slipping into a quiet middle age. In common with heavy metal, punk is now ...
The Fugees: Fugees: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 May 1997
Street-smart and user-friendly ...
Robbie Williams: Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 22 May 1998
Take That's black sheep back for good ...
Tina Turner: A smile and a song
Report and Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 17 June 1987
David Sinclair meets the resilient rock star Tina Turner, playing at Wembley Arena until tomorrow night ...
Robert Palmer, The Power Station: Robert Palmer: Vinegar into champagne
Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 June 1988
Robert Palmer, the rock singer whose 20-year career has included associations with Elkie Brooks, Gary Numan and Duran Duran, talks to David Sinclair about his ...
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