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John Robb

John Robb

Former frontman with the great Membranes, Robb has interviewed everyone from Primal Scream to Nirvana for publications such as SOUNDS. He is the author of THE NINETIES: WHAT THE F**K WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?!, acclaimed biographies on the Charlatans and the Stone Roses, and the new THE NORTH WILL RISE AGAIN... AN ORAL HISTORY OF MANCHESTER MUSIC (Aurum Press).

 

93 articles

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The Jesus & Mary Chain: The Jesus and Mary Chain: Like A Virgin

Profile and Interview by John Robb, ZigZag, February 1985

GLASGOW 1984 AND punk is dead (At last, positive punk had become a coral reef of untold disaster, sinking outfits such as Silly Death Cult ...

Bodines,The, The Fall, Happy Mondays: The Fall/The Bodines/Happy Mondays: International, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 2 May 1987

STRANGE HOW, these days, any gathering of vaguely well known groups always makes you think of charity and polished consciences. But tonight seemed to be ...

The Stone Roses: International, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 11 July 1987

KING ROCK is still flailing his sweaty head around the world. And Stone Roses are four hip dudes close to his heart, guitars slung low, ...

Inspiral Carpets, Spacemen 3: Spacemen 3, Inspiral Carpets: Asylum, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 12 September 1987

WOWEEE, TRIPPY baby — the far-out scene jumped into the time machine, shed all its colour and mind-exploding drugs, and leapt into the 1980s. ...

Inspiral Carpets, Spacemen 3: Spacemen 3/Inspiral Carpets: Asylum, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 12 September 1987

WOWEEE, TRIPPY BABY — the far-out scene jumped into the time machine, shed all its colour and mind-exploding drugs, and leapt into the 1980s. ...

Television Personalities: Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 19 September 1987

TUNE IN AND TURN ON ...

Frank Sidebottom: Contact Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 9 January 1988

PAUL MCCARTNEY, the famous ex-Beatle and big mate of top bubble head comedian Frank Sidebottom, once said, "The only thing that I ever got from ...

The Stone Roses: Trunk Call — Romancing The Stone

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 23 January 1988

Are THE STONE ROSES the likeliest lads in Manchester to step into the huge void left by the implosion of The Smiths? JOHN ROBB reports ...

Rapeman Unmasked!

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 17 September 1988

Steve Albini, the legendary guitar-abuser and manic singer of Big Black, returns with another fearsome noise – Rapeman. John Robb ventures into their Chicago dungeon ...

That Petrol Emotion: Inflammable Material: That Petrol Emotion

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 15 October 1988

SHAGGED OUT after a frenzied bout of road fever, That Petrol Emotion have collapsed into the back of their minibus. ...

Pussy Galore: Six Ways To Skin A Cat

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 26 November 1988

Pussy Galore are back and the noise freaks are out in force to greet them. John Robb grills head Pussy Jon Spencer about their new ...

The Quireboys, Yngwie Malmsteen: Yngwie Malmsteen, The Quireboys: Apollo Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 26 November 1988

DRENCHED IN wet dreams, the skeletal framed Quireboys are currently making molehills out of rock mountains. This is a tight pant boogie stuffed into way ...

My Bloody Valentine: This Is My Bloody Valentine

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 10 December 1988

From Dublin to London via Berlin, My Bloody Valentine have taken the scenic route to success. John Robb retraces their footsteps on the way to ...

Television Personalities: The Television Personalities

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 1989

As the Berlin Wall tumbled under the weight of New Year celebrations, The TV Personalities were treating the revelers to a three-hour set. John Robb ...

Jon Langford, The Mekons, The Three Johns: The Three Jon Langfords

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 7 January 1989

With The Three Johns and The Mekons, Jon Langford has spent over ten years fighting against the never-ending Top Of The Pops party. John ...

A Guy Called Gerald: Moss Side Shuffle

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 29 April 1989

A Guy Called Gerald explains to John Robb why his aims are wider than mere chart success ...

The Mekons

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 30 September 1989

"EUROPOX!" BELCHES the fat fool on the next table. ...

Nirvana: White Heat

Profile and Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 21 October 1989

Natural descendants of Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana are a high energy explosion resulting in a trail of smashed gear and beat anthems. John Robb ...

Tackhead: Tackattack!

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 21 October 1989

Crazed noise guerillas Tackhead are going for mainstream success with their new LP, Friendly As A Hand Grenade. John Robb grabs at the pieces of ...

Tad: White Noise

Profile and Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 21 October 1989

Watch out! A mean American storm is heading your way in the shape of the shit-stained rock beast, Tad. And teaming up with Nirvana for ...

The Stone Roses: Island of Lost Soul: The Stone Roses at Spike Island

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 1990

Sun, sea water and cement factories. Not your idea of Ibiza perhaps, but according to our resident mad Manc John Robb, this is the start ...

My Bloody Valentine

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 1990

GETTING OUT of bed is a tough thang, especially for quilt lizard gang My Bloody Valentine. ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 1990

NOTE: This was the band’s first interview in the national music press. ...

The Fall: Mark E. Smith Extricates Himself

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 3 February 1990

WHILE THE WORLD WENT MAD FOR MANCHESTER THE FALLKEPT QUIET. NOW THEY’VE RETURNED TO FORM WITH EXTRICATE AND MARK E SMITH’S BACK VENTING HIS SPLEEN ...

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 24 February 1990

CARTER (THE Unstoppable Sex Machine) are a belch from the past – recalling a time when bands laced their songs with ‘realism’. ...

The Times: Ed Ball

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 24 February 1990

Are The Times just one man and a good scam or is Ed Ball really the "Salman Rushdie of Manchester"? John Robb tries to find ...

Lush For Life

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 3 March 1990

After all the hype surrounding Lush, their new Mad Love EP was bound to come under scrutiny. But, says John Robb, its mixture of cunning ...

808 State, Happy Mondays: Step Right On Up: Happy Mondays/808 State: G-Mex, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 31 March 1990

With rave rock shifting into top gear, 8000 watch its spiritual fathers Happy Mondays go mad in Manchester G-Mex. John Robb witnesses one of the ...

Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave: The Return of the Prodigal Son

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 14 April 1990

Throughout the turmoil of the ‘80s, Nick Cave was on some sort of slow development course. From the pithy pop blunders of Boys Next Door ...

Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Spacemen 3, The Stone Roses, Andrew Weatherall, Tony Wilson: Summer 1990: The Madness

Report and Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 14 April 1990

With The Stone Roses at Spike Island, the Mondays at Glastonbury and numerous other raves, the summer of 1990 should be one to remember. John ...

BMX Bandits: C86 (Belshill Records)

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 28 April 1990

IN WHICH king wimp sweetie addict, pierced nipple, multi-tattooed contradiction of a man, Douglas peeps out again at the confusing turmoil of the world. ...

Dead Kennedys: Catching Up With Jello Biafra

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 23 June 1990

HARDCORE, FAST-shit guitar or cranked-up pub rock has glued some fairly diverse personalities onto the cranium over the years, from the cretinous dullard through to ...

Ministry: Minister of Carnage: Alain Jourgensen

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 30 June 1990

PERHAPS THE core dude to all things Waxtrax is the mad fucker retro byker figure of Alain Jourgensen. Careering through Ministry's New Order-styled early ...

Revolting Cocks

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 30 June 1990

STOMP! STOMP! Stomp! The evil 120 bpm jackbeat clomps across the USA, armed to the rotten teeth with a badass beat, some serious studio talent ...

Ruthless Rap Assassins: Killer Album (EMI) ****

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 7 July 1990

NOT THAT it's important but this killer crew pace the streets of Manchester, a bona fide non scal outfit with a history interwoven into the ...

Teenage Fanclub

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 11 August 1990

"FUCK, AYE!" The leering Gaelic battle cry is spat out for the twentieth time in a hour by the whippet thin Teenage FC drummer. ...

Deee-Lite: World Clique (Elektra)

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 1 September 1990

OUTRAGEOUS, COLOURFUL, Deee-Lite's tacky funky mush is a breathtaking pysche trip at the tail end of a summer that's been disappointing in terms of excess ...

Deee-Lite: Lite Heavyweights

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 1 September 1990

New York City, 1990, and a head-on culture collision has thrown up one of the hottest, sweatiest groove machines since P Funk. It's a crayzee, ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: The Importance Of Being Angry

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 8 September 1990

Five years ago The Jesus And Mary Chain were the best pop band in the world, but with little mainstream media attention they've been overtaken ...

Cocteau Twins: Thank Heaven For Little Girls

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 15 September 1990

The COCTEAU TWINS are back with a new album, a new baby and the same old "cathedral of sound". But as JOHN ROBB discovers, it's ...

Lard: The Last Temptation Of Reid (Alternative Tentacles)

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 6 October 1990

NO SURPRISES with this one. ...

Saint Etienne: St. Etienne: Holier Than Thou

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 13 October 1990

ST ETIENNE might have covered Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart', but they are not the hippies that people imagine. This is Brit ...

Lush: Dear Students (Won't You Come Out To Play?)

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 27 October 1990

Right now, a thousand acne strewn depressives are bustin' pimples to Lush's cool bedsit beat. But are they the ultimate student band or just the ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Now for the Big Time

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 10 November 1990

Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and the Inspirals have all been tipped to break the States, but THE CHARLATANS may have the best chance of all. ...

Gumball, Teenage Fanclub: Teenage Fan Club, Gumball: International One, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 24 November 1990

YOUR DRUMMER looks like some kinda freaked golf player, your bass player looks like an American touring circuit pro, your encore sees half the Fannies ...

BMX Bandits: Totally Groovy Live Experience (Avalanche) ****

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 12 January 1991

HEAD BANDIT Douglas is one of life's oddballs — a pasty-faced jumble sale of a man, hooked on sweets and crisps and sporting pierced nipples ...

Silverfish: Fat Axl (Wiiija) *****

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 12 January 1991

BASS UP YER ASS ...

Ween: God Ween Satan (Twin/Tone)

Review by John Robb, Sounds, 12 January 1991

WEEN ARE a mindf**k duo from Pennsylvania, cranking out a cacky mixed up brew of styles purportedly produced by Andrew Weiss from the Rollins band. ...

Electronic: Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 19 January 1991

DAT's the way to do it ...

Spacemen 3, Spiritualized: Spacemen 3: Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 9 February 1991

The story of SPACEMEN 3 is a cool, rock'n'roll tale of drugs, revolution and eventual destruction. JOHN ROBB meets up with Sonic and Jason on ...

808 State: Electro Therapy

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 2 March 1991

808 STATE are one of the few genuine 'pop groups' of the underground scene. Not for them a bunch of hairy '60s riffs or ideologies, ...

808 State, Björk, N-Joi: 808 State, N-Joi: G-Mex, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Sounds, 23 March 1991

THE RETURN to G-Mex, the core combat zone of the Manchester thing, could have been disturbing. Like, is there a thing going on anymore? The ...

Massive Attack: Wild At Heart

Profile and Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 6 April 1991

It's taken three years and a war, but MASSIVE have finally risen to the top of the charts. JOHN ROBB listens to their stunning debut ...

Northside: Chicken Skin Music: Northside

Interview by John Robb, Sounds, 11 May 1991

A bunch of scallies with names like Dermo, Speg, Cliff, Weg, Woz and Giblet, NORTHSIDE are sitting targets for the brewing Manc backlash. ...

Sonic Youth: Young At Art

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 24 August 1991

As they prepare for their appearance at this weekend's Reading Festival, Veteran art rock terrorists talk to Johnny Robb ...

Spiritualized: Spaced Out

Interview by John Robb, Siren, February 1992

IN A BATTERED armchair collapses a laid back, skin and bone R'n'R trouper with an exquisite record collection and perfect cheekbones. Jason Pierce, ex Spaceman ...

Doughboys: Rising To The Task

Interview by John Robb, Siren, March 1992

PLAYING A melodic hardcore spiel that has typically been compared to Husker Du, Canada's Doughboys have been working the world circuit, almost 1500 gigs into ...

Manic Street Preachers: Look Back In Bangor

Interview by John Robb, Siren, April 1992

THE BEAUTY of contradiction. Incendiary intellectuals tarted up on oxfam glam rags, sensitive made up boyos from the beer swilling valleys, the Manic Street Preachers ...

The Haçienda: Club It To Death

Report by John Robb, Siren, May 1992

BRICKS AND mortar. For a building the Haçienda has become one hell of an icon for youth culture, a myth perpetrated by Manchester and Factory ...

The Verve: The Road To Wigan Fear

Profile and Interview by John Robb, Siren, May 1992

BOUNCING ONSTAGE in slow mo'...loose limbed lanky frame in shabby oxfam chic....v-necked black 'T'...shaggy barnet and flapping lips...the man is pure Jagger, Richard Ashcroft...the front ...

Pavement: Slanted and Enchanted (Big Cat)

Review by John Robb, Select, June 1992

WITH ENOUGH hints at the twin godheads of the Fall and the Velvets, Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted is an outstanding debut. ...

Cud: Asquarius

Review by John Robb, Select, August 1992

IN WHICH THE PERENNIAL UNDERDOGS go overground. In some ways Cud epitomise everything that's crap about guitar rock in 1992 — they're wilfully self-indulgent, deft ...

Nirvana: Nirva Mind The Bollocks

Interview by John Robb, Siren, August 1992

JESUS H. CHRIST! This is turning into some sort of modern-day fable. Out there, an uncompromised riffola outfit from an arse end of the US, ...

Sonic Youth: Dirt Tracks

Interview by John Robb, Siren, August 1992

JUMPING ON their own bandwagon, Sonic Youth are the old Nirvana, baton carriers of the underground spirit through the late '80s and early '90s, paving ...

Where now for Manchester?

Report by John Robb, i-D, April 1993

Three years ago Manchester was famous for flares, clubs and the Happy Mondays. Now it's guns, drugs and violence. How accurate is the city's media ...

Huggy Bear, Skinned Teen: Ready Teddy Go: Huggy Bear/Skinned Teen: Notre Dame Hall, London

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993

BREAKING THE SILENCE following the white-hot furore surrounding them earlier in the year, Huggy Bear are a band under pressure. For some, they are the ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Pros And Cons

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

Remember THE CHARLATANS? Pop idols of the baggy era, responsible for such sublime moments as 'The Only One I Know'? Whatever happened to them? Well, ...

Oasis: Man City Slickers: Oasis: The Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Vox, November 1994

Having stormed into the album chart at Number One, Oasis return to Manchester's Haçienda — giving their hometown its greatest night since the height of The ...

Huggy Bear: Erotic Bleeding: Huggy Bear: Weaponry Listens To Love (Wiiija/Famous Monsters Of Filmland)

Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 3 December 1994

Forget the Riot Grrrl politics — if you must. Huggy Bear are/were a brilliantly confrontational punk rock band, much-maligned and misunderstood. Much like JOHN ROBB, ...

The Chemical Brothers: Chemistry Set: the Chemical Brothers

Interview by John Robb, Loaded, 1995

WHEN THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS come to town, DJ'ing takes on a whole new dimension. The duo play the decks like two fucked-up guitar gods. Lanky ...

Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord DIS90CD 13 tks/44 mins/FP)

Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 6 May 1995

FUGAZI are the unsung heroes of the American underground, busting out of the Washington projects on a white hot punk rock tip in a straight ...

The Verve: live at Manchester Roadhouse

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, June 1995

YEAH, we know that Richard Ashcroft can talk a good campaign and that The Verve are the nearly men of the great northern rock thing, ...

The Chemical Brothers: Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 1 July 1995

H2SO4 REAL! ...

Northern Uproar: "The Teenage Oasis"

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

NORTHERN UPROAR are the latest rock 'n' roll delinquents from Manchester. JOHN ROBB — who produced the B-side to their debut single! — hails the ...

The Stone Roses – At Last!

Retrospective and Interview by John Robb, RAW, 6 December 1995

For a band who have avoided the limelight for most of the decade The Stone Roses are still very big news. This month they tour ...

Rancid: Rank Account

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

The American ska-punk noise of RANCID is more intelligent than your average dumb thrash racket ...

Cornershop: Popkomm, Cologne

Live Review by John Robb, Bizarre, 1997

AFTER BEING ALL at sea, playing a shambolic punk rock lo fi rush that never seemed to suit them (and I should know I fell ...

Blink 182 have arrived! Watch out Britain!

Interview by John Robb, Kerrang!, 2000

Blink 182 are taking no prisoners. We compare tattoos with America's finest ...

Queens of the Stone Age

Interview by John Robb, Bizarre, 2000

"Bizarre magazine. Man, we love that magazine... it’s all tits, shit and midgets, ha! ha! ha!" ...

Slade: A Natter with Noddy Holder

Interview by John Robb, City Life, June 2002

I'M STILL FEELING the noise. Slade are so much part of British culture. They were the quintessential hard rocking band with a neat line in ...

The Darkness Descends

Report and Interview by John Robb, playlouder.com, August 2002

THIS IS A STORY of nudity, skintight cat suits, East Anglian folk tales, a mad dog with bloodshot eyes, well-clipped moustaches, crazed frontmen and hard ...

Killing Joke: The Return of the Joke

Interview by John Robb, playlouder.com, July 2003

"HA HA HA." It's that laugh again. ...

Kasabian

Interview by John Robb, Louder Than War, 2004

IN 1994 I INTERVIEWED a very new band called Kasabian. Their ambition has since been proven and they have made some of the best modern ...

The Monochrome Set: Remembering the Band that History Forgot

Retrospective by John Robb, The Guardian, 9 January 2009

THERE HAVEN'T been many bands like the Monochrome Set. They should have been absolutely massive, but instead were sidelined by their post-punk peers and were ...

Steven Wells 1960-2009: A Tribute

Memoir by John Doran, Andrew Mueller, John Robb, Terry Staunton, David Stubbs, The Quietus, 29 June 2009

David Stubbs ...

Rammstein: Industrial Immolation Live In Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, The Quietus, 6 February 2010

Flamethrowers, exploding babies and a sonic apocalypse: John Robb proclaims Rammstein's current tour the greatest show you will see this year. ...

World Of Twist: The great lost Manchester band

Retrospective by John Robb, Louder Than War, 28 January 2011

THE WORLD IS FULL of great lost bands but perhaps the greatest lost band from Manchester was World Of Twist. Frontman Tony Ogden died in ...

Manic Street Preachers: Sziget Festival, Budapest

Live Review by John Robb, Louder Than War, 17 August 2011

THERE'S SOMETHING idiosyncratic about seeing former snotty firebrands playing the festival circuit. The wide eyed talk of changing the world with a song, the idealism ...

Wilco: The Whole Love

Review by John Robb, Louder Than War, September 2011

THE LAST TIME I wrote a review cautiously praising a band for a slow return to form, that band was R.E.M., who shocked the music ...

The Horrors: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by John Robb, Rock's Backpages, October 2011

ONLY THOSE WITH tin ears have been "surprised" by The Horrorssonic muscle. On account of their youth and subscription to textbook Goth aesthetics, they were ...

Esben and the Witch: Sound and Vision Festival, Norwich Arts Centre

Live Review by John Robb, Louder Than War, 2 October 2011

ESBEN AND THE Witch are one of those bands that don't fit in anywhere, and that's their genius. ...

Adam & The Ants: Adam Ant: Seawick Park, Clacton-on-Sea

Live Review by John Robb, Rock's Backpages, 9 October 2011

THERE HAVE BEEN a lot of comebacks recently, some great, some not so. They've ranged from the "oh not them again" to the more exciting ...

The Specials: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Rock's Backpages, 16 October 2011

THE SPECIALS, of course, not only sound great, they look great. They hit the stage in matching suits. Razor stitched threads that are cut from ...

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