Johnny Black
Stimulated by his first taste of the good life as runner up in the 1967 Hawthornden Youth Club Mick Jagger Impersonation Contest, Johnny Black sang with seminal Haggipsych bands Narodniki and Blacklight (actually the same band, but with different names).
A true renaissance jock, he simultaneously cultivated a second career as a quillmeister non-pareil, quickly finding acceptance for his poetry in the magazines Scottish International and Effie.
In the early 70s, being unemployed full-time as a Whitehall-based civil service sultan of spin, he enjoyed limitless opportunities to wangle short science-fiction stories into magazines as diverse as Interzone and Penthouse.
Somewhere in the mid-70s, he succumbed to a brief but severely debilitating bout of being a press officer for CBS Records, then Head Of Press for Polydor Records. When next he woke up, he found himself combining his two great loves ("music"[copyright Tom Hibbert] and words) by scribbling for the newly-emerging Smash Hits magazine where, among other insights, he predicted that Duran Duran would never have another hit after 'Planet Earth'.
Before long he was being paid to waffle about music, almost like he knew, for publications as diverse as The Times, Observer, Radio Times, Over 21, Listener, Oxford Children's Encyclopaedia, The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Popular Music and two rock monthlies, Q and Mojo.
For Q, as well as album reviews and other general features, he produced monthly Eye Witness features for almost a decade. He also edited its special edition on the Beatles. For Mojo, as well as features and reviews, he was the first editor of its Time Machine pages.
In 1999, his acclaimed first book, Eyewitness - Hendrix, was published. In 2003 he authored the definitive rock chronology, Rock & Pop Timelines, for Backbeat Books, who have subsequently published Reveal - The Story Of R.E.M. He has also been involved as a major contributor to Backbeat's companion volumes Albums and Singles.
Johnny also curates a big, scary, ever-expanding (currently 3.5m words) chronological database, ROCKSOURCE, about which you need to know more.
265 articles
List of articles in the library
Tom Waits: Waits And Double Measures
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 18 March 1981
PUT YOURSELF in my place. Scant hours earlier I'd been regaled with the tale of how, in an interview the previous day, Tom had turned ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 28 May 1981
WHEN MARTY Wilde shot to fame in 1959 (look it up in a history book), the only questions anybody ever asked pop singers were about ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 6 August 1981
Soft Cell are half-Soul, half-Electronic. Johnny Black likes both bits. ...
The Undertones: the Famous Five go to Finland
Profile by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 6 August 1981
IN JULY in Helsinki, Finland, the only darkness you can find is inside buildings with no windows. Buildings like the "Travastia Klubi" where the Undertones ...
Altered Images: Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Live Review by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 26 November 1981
THE ELEMENTS were conspiring against Altered Images from the moment they took the stage of Cambridge's cavernous Corn Exchange. The sound went immediately out of ...
Adam & The Ants, The Human League, Madness, The Nolans, Gary Numan, The Police, The Specials: Videos
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 21 January 1982
The rise and rise of the pop video has brought mini-movies into every living room; Adam in panto, The Human League in detective thrillers, Barry ...
Bow Wow Wow, Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: Malcolm McLaren
Interview by Johnny Black, unpublished, February 1982
This is the full transcript of the interview, a small (1500-word) version of which appeared in Over 21 magazine in May 1982. ...
Scritti Politti: It's The Scritti Political Broadcast
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 10 June 1982
Quiet please! The next feature will be on all three channels. Johnny Black gets a taste of modern soul music. ...
Depeche Mode, Yazoo: The Meaning Of Mute
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, Masterbag, September 1982
(1) Not emitting articulate sound:NOT THAT YOU could blame him if his utterances were totally inarticulate, because Daniel Miller has been having a hard and ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 23 December 1982
Lest you harbour any doubts as to why Tears For Fears have taken over five months to record their first album, the answer is simple. ...
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 6 January 1983
"I ACTUALLY ENJOY Top Of The Pops very much but it lacks the excitement of a live programme. You can't cheat the kids. You've got ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 17 March 1983
JUST BACK from a photo session at the Museum Of Mankind, Big Country burst through the swing doors into Phonogram's cramped press office and mayhem ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 9 June 1983
I ARRIVE, two hours late, outside a church in North London. I push open the huge wooden door and find myself being smiled at by ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 1 September 1983
Why was Glenn Gregory smashing windows? What's this about platform boots with five-inch heels? Who or what are The Underpants? Johnny Black gets to the ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 24 November 1983
Success, say the Thompson Twins, brings out the worst in you. And yet they still want more of it. Johnny Black brings you another chapter ...
Rock Cinema: It’s Only A Movie
Overview by Johnny Black, The History of Rock, 1984
How rock cinema fared in the wake of Woodstock IN MANY WAYS, THE FIRST HALF of the '70s was a drab time for rock music ...
Depeche Mode: Are These Men Really Miserable?
Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 15 March 1984
Believe it or not, they aren't. Depeche Mode still haven't quite made the Big League but they don't seem to mind much. They're huge in ...
Ray Davies: Sadness and A Kind Of Fame
Interview by Johnny Black, The Sunday Times, 18 March 1984
RAY DAVIES has always been a rough diamond. The famous gap-toothed smile is still there, he mumbles through his polysyllables and, bit by bit, he ...
Nik Kershaw: I Never Wanted To Be A Muscleman
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 29 March 1984
Nik Kershaw wears black underpants, plays chess and suspects some people think he's a wimp. It's amazing what pop stars tell Johnny Black. ...
The Cure: In Search Of El Dorado
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, July 1987
EARLY IN THE evening of 27 March 1987 in Rio de Janeiro, Robert Smith is sipping tea in the air-conditioned cool of The Cure's luxury ...
Review by Johnny Black, Q, 1989
GLASGOW'S BLUE NILE did rather well with their debut album, A Walk Across The Rooftops. Following almost universal critical acclaim it sold a respectable 80,000 ...
Interview by Johnny Black, unpublished, 22 February 1989
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED in the Halcyon Hotel, Holland Park, London, 22.2.89. Crosby casual in jumper, white shirt and slacks. Seriously overweight and often short of breath, ...
The Cure: The Curious Case Of The Cure
Interview by Johnny Black, The Times, 26 April 1989
IF ANY ROCK millionaire other than Robert Smith claimed not to know the chart position of his latest single, it would be impossible to believe. ...
Review by Johnny Black, Q, August 1989
THE FREQUENTLY poor quality of second albums is often explained by reference to the unavoidable circumstances whereby most successful artists have 18 years to write ...
Essay by Johnny Black, Q, November 1989
Any self-respecting Yes album used to feel naked without a fantasy cover by artist Roger Dean. It seems only fitting, then, that he has done ...
Review by Johnny Black, Q, June 1990
WORLD PARTY – BEST known for the 'Ship Of Fools' hit off their 1986 debut – is, to all intents and purposes, Ex-Waterboy Karl Wallinger, ...
Electronica: Electronics Anonymous
Report by Johnny Black, Q, December 1990
Swatched in dry ice, tucked behind towering banks of keyboards, they are the spiritual descendents of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, prescribing "psycho-active music to bring ...
Various Artists: The Sun Story Vols 1 & 2
Review by Johnny Black, Q, February 1991
Sun compiled. Historic and musically satisfying – even without Elvis. ...
Overview by Johnny Black, Q, April 1991
Concept albums...What are they? Are they: ...
Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison: Peter Gabriel: World Party
Report by Johnny Black, Q, November 1991
One week this summer, Peter Gabriel's dream came true. Musicians of the world, from Sinead O'Connor and Van Morrison to stars of Lapland and Tanzania, ...
Report by Johnny Black, Q, July 1992
The sound of compact discs was hailed as a technical miracle. But is it? Classic albums get re-issued on CD and we're told they're better. ...
Guide by Mat Snow, Johnny Black, Q, November 1993
... and the law, being an all-powerful customer, usually won. Johnny Black and Mat Snow investigate the link between the crazy, hot-headed outlaws of rock ...
The Fugs: F*** Art, Let's Levitate The Pentagon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1994
DECEMBER 16, 1965. A press conference is under way at Columbia Studios, Los Angeles. Bob Dylan is holding court. One reporter throws a question: "What ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1994
Childhood fears, being bullied at school, his first tentative steps as a musician up to the extended trauma of XTC, culminating in his stage fright-induced withdrawal from live playing.
File format: mp3; file size: 120.4mb, interview length: 2h 05' 26" sound quality: ****
Van Morrison: The Great Hall, Exeter University
Live Review by Johnny Black, MOJO, April 1994
MAN. VAN. THE. UNTIL NOW THE ONLY WELL-KNOWN PHRASE or saying into which these three words could be re-assembled has been a synonym for irascible ...
XTC: Andy Partridge Confronts His Lifelong Enemy - Stagefright!
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 1994
This is an interview with Andy Partridge. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1994
I'M MARTIN," SAYS THE ONE WITH THE CURLY HAIR. "D'you know Ken Dodd's dad's dog died?" ...
John Entwistle, The Who: The Who's John Entwistle (1994)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1994
The Ox talks about the making of classic Who songs such as 'I'm A Boy' and 'My Generation', naming Led Zeppelin, the endless rows, and tells a handful of great Keith Moon stories
File format: mp3; file size: 72meg, interview length: 1h 15' 00" sound quality: ****
John Entwistle, The Who: John Entwistle
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1994
MY GENERATIONA LOT OF THE SOLOS I PLAYED WERE MUCH FASTER AND MORE interesting than the ones that finally went on the record. ...
Guide by Johnny Black, Q, September 1994
Cambridge? Dreaming spires, boatered buffoons, cravat-wearing spy rings, punting and finger-in-the-lug folk festivals. Yeah, and one of the world's biggest ever bands. Johnny Black traces ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 17 November 1994
The Tubular Bells man on his latest album, The Songs of Distant Earth, on using technology, digital vs. analogue, Richard Branson and more.
File format: mp3; file size: 47.4mb, interview length: 49 24" sound quality: ****
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, December 1994
THE INTRINSIC NICENESS OF JOAN BAEZ is proving a problem for David Gray. "Yes, she's very nice," he admits again, shaking his head as if ...
The Cure's Simon Gallup (1995)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 1995
The Cure's bass player Simon Gallup talks about Lol Tolhurst, about getting married, and about the band's life on the road.
File format: mp3; file size: 49mb, interview length: 51' 04" sound quality: ****
The Pretty Things' Phil May (1995)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 1995
Pretty Things mainman Phil May, joined by manager Mark St. John, talk about the early days of the band, their rivalry with the Rolling Stones, their disappearing bandmates and their legal battles to regain their copyrights.
File format: mp3; file size: 52.3mb, interview length: 54' 28" sound quality: ****
The Pretty Things' Phil May (1995) [transcript]
Transcript of audio interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1995
This is a transcript of Johnny's audio interview with Phil May and manager, Mark St. John. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
The Rolling Stones: How It Happened
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, May 1995
By 1963, The Rollin' Stones lacked only a "g" and a manager. Enter Andrew Loog Oldham, 19-year-old music publicist and soon-to-be Stones Svengali... ...
Elvis Presley: Long Live The King!
Overview by Johnny Black, Q, June 1995
Most insist that Elvis Presley died on August 16 1977. Yet some say that not only is The Memphis Flash alive, but that they've seen ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, June 1995
Pink Floyd, The Soft Machine, The Move... Some of Swinging London's swingiest played at the legendary International Times benefit at Alexandra Palace. Johnny Black rounds up a ...
Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg (1995)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, June 1995
Dave Pegg talks about Liege & Lief, Unhalfbricking, the departure of Richard Thompson and the death of Sandy Denny.
File format: mp3; file size: 35.4mb; Interview length: 38' 43"; sound quality: *****
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, July 1995
Summer, 1976. Punk, live punk, is about to explode in the capital. Tap rooms, Poly bars and sweaty clubs will host its unwashed greats. Johnny Black looks ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1995
DODGY'S PRECOCIOUS QUOTABILITY, from the early "Rock'n'roll's been making love to the world for 40 years – we're the band to make it come" to ...
The Sex Pistols Sign To A&M Records
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, October 1995
Early 1977, and following the inevitable bust-up with EMI, the Sex Pistols are about to release 'God Save The Queen' and embark on their shortest ...
Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood: Mick Fleetwood (1995)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1995
The veteran drummer assesses the career of Fleetwood Mac, looking at key songs from their career from 'Oh Well' to 'Tusk'
File format: mp3 File size: 43.7mb Interview length: 47 minutes 46 seconds Sound quality: ****
Loudon Wainwright III: Professional Confessions: Loudon Wainwright
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, November 1995
INTELLECTUAL SINGER-songwriters, doncha jus' luv 'em? LW3 has been at it for 20 years, spilling his guts, sharing his fears and generally earning a living ...
Cliff Richard: Ian Samwell on Cliff Richard (1995)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 24 November 1995
From The 2i's, Cliff Richard and writing 'Move It', to producing America's 'Horse With No Name', this beat-boom Zelig takes us on a journey through British Rock'n'Roll history.
File format: mp3; file size: 64.9mb, interview length: 1h 07' 33" sound quality: ****
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, December 1995
'Shake Your Moneymaker'From Fleetwood Mac LP 1968 (Blue Horizon) MY INEPTNESS TO do separate things at speed became my style of drumming. When it got ...
Cowboy Junkies: The Cowboy Junkies (1996)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 1996
Timmins frère et soeur talk about recording, writing and performing, and latest album Lay It Down.
File format: mp3; file size: 15.4mb, interview length: 16' 52" sound quality: *****
Wizzard: Making 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, January 1996
Mike Burney (sax, Wizzard): I'd been doing really boring big band gigs on the ballroom circuit so when Roy offered me a job in Wizzard ...
Rutles.The: The Rutles: The Making Of All You Need Is Cash
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, February 1996
The time had finally come to stick a pin in the monolithic zeppelin that was Beatles mythology – and with the aid of a star-sprinkled ...
Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, Tom Robinson Band: Red Wedge
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1996
Only one thing could possibly save us from vicious '80s Conservatism: the assembly of pop pinkos that made up the Labour-supporting Red Wedge organisation. Johnny ...
k.d. lang: National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Live Review by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 1996
BIG-BONED BOTTICELLI GIRL K.D. LANG IS LYING ON the floor. Knees up to her chest, hands clasped round the back of her head, she rocks ...
Blind Faith: Born Under A Bad Sign
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, July 1996
IN THE EVENING COOL OF JUNE 6, 1969, almost 7,000 people made their way to Hyde Park, where they slept under stars to be sure ...
T. Rex: Eyewitness: The First Glastonbury Festival, September 19-20, 1970
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, July 1996
No Glastonbury this year! No matter! Let Q whisk you back to the first festival of Pop, Folk & Blues At Worthy Farm – a ...
Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: The Shape I'm In: Peter Green
Profile by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1996
IT'S MID-WINTER 1968. The five members of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac are huddled together, holding hands on the floor of the Gorham Hotel on West ...
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1996
ARGUABLY the most intense and most intensely English musical experience to have arisen from the brief heyday of the new wave that succeeded punk, XTC ...
Cream, Jimi Hendrix: Jimi Hendrix And Cream
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, October 1996
Eric Clapton, arms hanging limp at his side, stared in disbelief at the outlandishly garbed guitarslinger who had just joined the Cream for an impromptu ...
Manic Street Preachers: More!!
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, December 1996
Cambridge Corn Exchange, October 11, 1996 ...
The Lightning Seeds: Dizzy Heights
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, December 1996
IF MORE OF THE SAME SOUNDS insulting, think in terms of more of the same but better, because that's essentially what Ian Broudie delivers with ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, December 1996
Twenty years ago this month, the Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned, Heartbreakers and Buzzcocks embarked upon the Anarchy Tour. What followed more than lived up to ...
The Troubadour Club: A History
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Troubadour, 1997
WHEN THE SUN goes down over Santa Monica Boulevard, there's really only ever been one place to be and that's inside Doug Weston's legendary Troubadour ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, February 1997
THE TWIST WAS the most remarkable dance phenomenon in the history of the rock era. Here's the story of how it happened in the words ...
Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood: Steve Winwood (1997)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, February 1997
Winwood talks about the early days in Birmingham, from his childhood through to the start of the Spencer Davis Group, and thence to the stop-start life of Traffic, plus an overview of where he's at now
File format: mp3; file size: 114.7mb, interview length: 1h 59' 29"; sound quality: ****
James Brown: Eyewitness: James Brown is arrested after a Car Chase
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, March 1997
1988, SEPT 24: HIGH ON PCP, SHOTGUN-WIELDING JAMES BROWN GETS ARRESTED IN AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, AFTER AN INTER-STATE CAR CHASE. ...
Laura Nyro: Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best Of Laura Nyro
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, March 1997
Most comprehensive Nyro compilation to date, features extensive booklet with her own notes and unseen photographs – not to mention guest appearances over the years ...
Velvet Underground: Time Machine: Velvet Underground
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, March 1997
Launched largely from a platform provided by their association with the decade’s most celebrated artist, Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground without Nico had become New ...
The Supremes: Mary Wilson on The Supremes
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, April 1997
"ONE DAY IN mid-April we were all summoned to berry’s home on Outer Drive," remembers Mary Wilson of The Supremes. "As I drove there, I ...
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, April 1997
IT'S LOOKING GOOD. Gary's got his hands down inside the front of his trousers and Dom's rolling a skinny little one on the table. These ...
Fleetwood Mac: Eyewitness: The Recording of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours
Interview by Johnny Black, Q, May 1997
They were, it seemed, about to go their own ways, but first, troubled Fleetwood Mac had to finish off Rumours. To this end they needed ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, May 1997
Purveyor of pap, or pop genius? The Rak man on 'House of the Rising Sun', Herman's Hermits, 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', Donovan and lots more
File format: mp3; file sizes: 45mb, interview length: 46' 50" sound quality: *****
Transcript of audio interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages transcripts, May 1997
This is a transcript of Johnny's audio interview with Mickie. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Steve Winwood, Traffic: Steve Winwood
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, May 1997
IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1993, 30 years after he first heard Ray Charles sing, that Steve Winwood met his lifelong idol. Winwood happened to be ...
Aretha Franklin: Time Machine: Aretha Franklin
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, May 1997
The most crucial moment in Aretha Franklin's career ...
Obituary by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 1997
LAURA NYRO DIED OF OVARIAN CANCER, AT HOME IN Danbury, Connecticut, on April 8. Of all the revered ‘60s singer-songwriters, she was the one whose ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, July 1997
America's First Lady of Polysexual Song talks about the making of Drag, the art of interpretation, and of her love of all things Burt Bacharach
File format: mp3; file size: 12.9meg, interview length: 14' 06" sound quality: *****
Transcript of audio interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages transcripts, July 1997
This is a transcription of Johnny's 1997 audio interview with k.d. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Report by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1997
Roger Cook's flawed investigation into chart rigging failed to address the real problem afflicting the singles chart. Johnny Black plays detective... ...
Pink Floyd: David Gilmour Could Tell His Friends Were Having Problems…
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1997
GILMOUR, GUITARIST for the locally popular Cambridge band Joker's Wild, was in London during May 1967. Knowing that fellow Cambridge outfit Pink Floyd were recording ...
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Uncle Charlie And His Dog Teddy
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1997
AFTER A bunch of friends, including a young Jackson Browne, figured that singing Bill Monroe and Mississippi John Hurt songs in the back of McCabe's ...
Elvis Presley: Eyewitness: The day I met Elvis
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, September 1997
He didn't get out much (of America, anyway), yet Elvis Presley touched millions of lives. Twenty years after his death, some of those who actually ...
The Zombies' Colin Blunstone (1997)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1997
Colin Blunstone looks back at the Zombies, from their formation in leafy St. Albans, via their first hit 'She's Not There', on to package tours of the US and finally to the crumbling of the band and its aftermath
File format: mp3; file size: 115.9mb, total interview length: 2h 00' 43" sound quality: ****
World Party: At Shepherd's Bush Empire
Report by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1997
"I WISH he'd stop wiping his nose," moans the guy in the next seat. Even without his nasal hygiene tic, the object of this ...
Janis Joplin: Eyewitness: Janis Joplin's Last 24 Hours
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, October 1997
It's October 3, 1970 and after an exhausting tour Janis Joplin and her new group, the Full Tilt Boogie Band are holed up in Sunset ...
Tupac Shakur: Eyewitness: The First Shooting of Tupac Shakur
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, November 1997
Halfway through his New York trial for rape and amidst growing tension between East and West Coast rappers, Tupac Shakur attended a recording session. He ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, November 1997
EVEN THE MOST MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION of early publicity shots of bookish, bespectacled quintet The Zombies yields no clue that these middle class English boys in ...
John Fred And His Playboy Band
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, January 1998
IF JOHN LENNON'S diction had been just a bit clearer, John Fred And His Playboy Band might never have scored their US Number 1 hit, ...
Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley: Eyewitness: Michael Jackson's Wedding
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, February 1998
After a 16-week romance, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley boarded a Sony Records jet and flew to the Domincan Republic to embark on a ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, February 1998
"I WAS MERELY a pawn in a big chess game," said Frankie Lymon, just months before he died of a heroin overdose on February 28, ...
Judas Priest: Eyewitness: Judas Priest on trial
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1998
EVENT: The Trial of Judas Priest DATE: 23 Dec 1985 – 24 August 1990 LOCATION: Washoe County Courthouse, Reno, Nevada ...
Michael Head: The Magical World of the Strands
Review by Johnny Black, Q, April 1998
IT ALWAYS SEEMS as though Michael Head's 15 minutes of fame are imminent. Over the last two decades, this unfairly neglected Liverpudlian has written much ...
Duran Duran: Eyewitness: Simon Le Bon sinks aboard Drum England
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, June 1998
WITNESS: Various DATE: 11 August 1985 LOCATION: Two miles off the Cornish coast. ...
Saint Etienne: Good Humor (Heavenly)
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 1998
FACED WITH Sarah, Bob and Pete's latest creamy confection, smothered in schmaltz and techno-lite topped off with Astrud Gilberto vocals, it's easy to dismiss them ...
Crosby Stills and Nash: The Birth of Crosby, Stills and Nash
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, June 1998
DISILLUSIONED WITH their respective bands, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash met in early 1968. Egged on by Mama Cass and plenty of marijuana, ...
Oasis, Saint Etienne, The Verve: Eyewitness December 1993: Oasis Support The Verve
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, July 1998
Freshly signed to Creation, Oasis venture out on UK tour earning £50 a night supporting The Verve – known at the time as just plain ...
Depeche Mode, Primal Scream: Depeche Mode and Primal Scream: The Most Debauched Tour Ever
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, August 1998
Depeche Mode have been touring for almost a year. Drug and alcohol abuse is rife and the group are close to breaking point. The obvious ...
Sinead O'Connor: Eyewitness October 1992: America Slays Sinead O'Connor
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, September 1998
Two weeks after tearing up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live and receiving a lifetime ban from the US TV show, Sinead ...
Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (Mercury 558 318-2)
Review by Johnny Black, Q, September 1998
Fifth album from enigmatic Grammy-winning country rock singer-songwriter. ...
Joy Division: The Making Of Unknown Pleasures
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, November 1998
Joy Division settle into 10cc's Strawberry Studios in Stockport to record one of the greatest albums of the 70s. But Ian Curtis has just discovered ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, 1999
29 JULY 1974. Filming begins on the rock movie Slade In Flame, on location in the UK. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 1999
The Chicago boys talk about the making of Summerteeth, and life on the road.
File format: mp3; file size: 32.8mb, interview length: 35' 47" sound quality: ****
Eyewitness: March 1952 — The First Rock'n'Roll Concert
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, February 1999
10,000 people smashed down the doors to get in, none of the bands were paid and one man was stabbed in the arse. After the ...
Kate Bush: Eyewitness: The Grooming Of Kate Bush
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, March 1999
It wouldn't happen now. Kate Bush was 16 when Pink Floyd's David Gilmour recommended her to EMI records. Over the next two years, the arty ...
Wilco: 4.00 - 5.00pm: soundcheck/5.00 - 6.00pm: local press/6.00 - 6.05pm: cigarette break
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, July 1999
IT'S DARK IN an alley just off Hamburg's notorious Reeperbahn, a faint neon glow filters in from the street to reveal a gaggle of noisy ...
Screaming Lord Sutch: Loony Institution: Screaming Lord Sutch
Obituary by Johnny Black, MOJO, August 1999
BRITAIN'S LONGEST-SERVING political party leader and rock'n'roll aristocrat has died at home in Harrow, Middlesex, on June 16. ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, September 1999
Frenzied orgies, drugs, pneumonia, woman-beating... and that was just Brian Jones. No wonder Keith Richards swiped his "old lady" during the Rolling Stones' Moroccan holiday. ...
Profile by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1999
How Tom Rapp, of cult psychsters Pearls Before Swine, resurfaced thanks to a UK fanzine. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock'n'Reel, Fall 1999
THERE ARE POINTS along the craggy Connemara coast that look like the moon and feel like nowhere on earth. ...
The Bee Gees: How the Bee Gees got into Disco: An Oral History of Main Course
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, April 2000
NOTE: This is a considerably extended version of the piece published in Q. ...
Richard Hell & The Voidoids: Blank Generation
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, April 2000
New York punk classic originally released in 1977, now released with extra tracks. ...
James Brown, B.B. King, Lloyd Price: Eyewitness: The Black Woodstock — 22-23 September 1974
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, June 2000
As Muhammad Ali and George Foreman waited to go toe-to-toe in Zaire, Don King persuaded James Brown and BB King to headline a music festival. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, September 2000
Follow You, Follow Me: Johnny Black hears from Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks about Phil's joining, becoming front man, and his departure.
File format: mp3; in 4 parts, total file sizes: 81.3mb, total interview length: 1h 17' 44" sound quality: ****
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 2000
Their innocent exterior concealed a story of murder, family feuds and skullduggery. But between the fights and disasters, the Kinks cut some of the finest ...
The Beatles, John Lennon: John Lennon: From the Quarrymen to the MBE
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, October 2000
"THAT WAS THE day," said John Lennon. "The day that I met Paul, that it started moving." ...
The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb (2001)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 February 2001
Barry takes us through the '60s, starting in Australia before hitting Swinging London, hanging out with Stones and Beatles, the drugs and booze, and his close relationship with Robert Stigwood
File format: mp3; file size: 62.9meg, interview length: 1h 05' 31" sound quality: ****
The Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb (2001)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 February 2001
The late Bee Gee Maurice takes us back to the early days in Manchester, Australia and Swinging London, meeting Lulu, his battle with the bottle, and talks about songwriting and that run-in with Clive Anderson.
File format: mp3; file size: 63.2meg, interview length: 1h 5' 50" sound quality: ****
The Bee Gees' Robin Gibb (2001)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 February 2001
Surviving the Hither Green railway crash; his role within the Bee Gees; Robert Stigwood, NEMS and Brian Epstein's death; the Odessa album, and much more.
File format: mp3 File size: 60.8mb Interview length: 1h 06' 25"; Sound quality: *****
Emerson Lake And Palmer: Emerson Lake & Palmer
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, March 2001
QUESTION: HOW DO EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER change A light bulb? A: They don't. Drummer Carl Palmer's personal karate instructor holds the bulb steady while ...
The Bee Gees: You Lookin' At Me?
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, May 2001
"WHAT IMAGE?" ASKS BARRY Gibb. "I haven't got an image." What he does have, though, is a guitar. It's a second-hand customised hollow-bodied Epiphone, bought ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 2001
IT WAS EASTER 1965. THE STONES were at Number 1 in the UK with 'The Last Time', The Beatles and The Supremes were battling it ...
The Who: 'Won't Get Fooled Again'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, July 2001
Billboard debut: 7 August 1971 Label: UK – Track/US – Decca Performers: Pete Townshend: guitar & synths/Roger Daltrey: vocals/John Entwistle: bass/Keith Moon: drums Producer: Glyn Johns Released: UK – ...
Mike Oldfield: The Making of Tubular Bells
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, August 2001
One of the most influential pieces of music in rock history – much imitated, used in movies, TV commercials and documentaries, sampled by Janet Jackson, ...
Jack Bruce, Cream: Cream's Jack Bruce (2001)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, September 2001
From Manchester's Twisted Wheel to the Royal Albert Hall: Jack Bruce talks to Johnny Black about the beginning and ending of the first supergroup, Cream
File format: mp3 File size: 23.9mb Interview length: 26 minutes 8 seconds Sound quality: ****
Jack Bruce, Cream: Cream's Jack Bruce (2001) [transcript]
Transcript of audio interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages transcripts, September 2001
This is a transcript of Johnny's interview with Jack. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb: Glen Campbell: 'Wichita Lineman'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, November 2001
Vital statistics on Glen Campbell's 'Wichita Lineman' ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, November 2001
IT CAN ONLY HAVE BEEN WITH A certain sense of foreboding that Dave Gilmour officially joined Pink Floyd on the first day of January 1968. ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, November 2001
Song title: 'Today'Artist: Smashing PumpkinsLabel: Virgin ...
David Bowie: The Making of The Man Who Fell To Earth
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, November 2001
CANDY CLARK (actress): I agreed to do the movie some time before Bowie became involved. I had known the director, Nic Roeg, quite well for ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: Where Are They Now: Terence Trent D'Arby
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, Summer 2001
ONCE THE snake-hipped future of soul, Terence Trent D'Arby never quite capitalized on the enormous publicity that greeted his arrival in the mid-'80's, nor the ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 2002
On the road with Ike & Tina Turner; supporting the Rolling Stones; 'Tin Soldier' and The Small Faces; meeting Jimi; going out with Rod Stewart, plus countless superstar sessions: P.P. Arnold takes us on a trip back to Swinging London!
File format: mp3; in 2 parts, total file sizes: 56.7mb, total interview length: 1h 1' 57" sound quality: ****
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2002
RELEASED: 19 April 1965 (US) HIGHEST CHART POSITION: 1 ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2002
Song title: 'Train In Vain' Artist: The Clash Label: CBS Performers: Mick Jones – guitar/vocals Joe Strummer – guitar Paul Simenon – bass Topper ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, June 2002
It's 1984, and America's in thrall to Valley Girls, Day-Glo socks and 'Billie Jean'. Is this really the best time for a jangly Georgia folk-rock ...
U2: Eyewitness: U2 Conquer London
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Q, July 2002
WHEN U2 visited the capital in the summer of 1980, their intention was to play a handful of low-key club shows. Three months, a Marquee ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, July 2002
Performers: Eddie Vedder: vocals Jeff Ament: bass Mike McCready: guitar Stone Gossard: guitar Dave Krusen: drums Rick Parashar: keyboards Producer: Rick Parashar Released: September 1992 Highest chart position: 79 ...
Public Enemy: 'Fight The Power'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2002
Vital statistics on Public Enemy's 'Fight The Power' ...
The Byrds, Roger McGuinn: Roger McGuinn: Twelve-string Driven Thing
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 2002
THE OPENING JINGLE-JANGLE 12-string Rickenbacker guitar line on The Byrds' 1965 classic, 'Mr Tambourine Man', ushered in a new era in popular music – the ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2002
PERFORMERS: Karen Carpenter, lead vocals; Richard Carpenter, piano, vocals; Hal Blaine, drums; Joe Osborne, bass; Jim Horn, wind instruments; Bob Messenger, bass and wind; Doug ...
Jackson Browne: The Naked Ride Home
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, November 2002
WHILE MOST of his coked-out Californian contemporaries were mapping every last detail of the geography of their navels, endlessly rhyming "illusion" with "confusion" for consumption ...
Jay Z: Jay-Z: 'Hard Knock Life'
Profile by Johnny Black, Blender, November 2002
Vital Statistics on Jay-Z's hit ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: The Making of 'Free Bird'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, December 2002
VITAL STATISTICS SONG: 'Free Bird' ARTIST: Lynyrd Skynyrd LABEL: MCA/Sounds Of the South PERFORMERS: Ronnie Van Zant: vocals Allen Collins: guitar Gary Rossington: guitar Ed ...
Duran Duran: 'Hungry Like the Wolf'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, 2003
VITAL STATISTICS:SONG: Hungry Like the WolfARTIST: Duran DuranLABEL: EMI-Harvest/Capitol ...
Pink Floyd, Roger Waters: Roger Waters: Off The Wall
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, March 2003
To some, Roger Waters is the reactionary ogre who destroyed Pink Floyd. To many others, he's one of the few truly intelligent voices in rock ...
The Beatles, Paul McCartney: Paul McCartney (2003)
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages audio, 14 March 2003
A long, free-flowing conversation, during which Paul talks about Phil Spector and Let It Be, on his relationship with Yoko and the "whose name first" saga, and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, plus much more.
File format: mp3; file size: 75.8mb, total interview length: 1h 22' 44" sound quality: ****
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, April 2003
Vital statistics on Beck's 'Loser' ...
The Rolling Stones: The Making of the Rolling Stones' 'Tumbling Dice'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, April 2003
PERFORMERS Mick Jagger – vocals, guitar Keith Richards – guitar Mick Taylor – guitar and bass Charlie Watts – drums Nicky Hopkins – piano Clydie ...
The Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, April 2003
PERFORMERS Mick Jagger – vocals, guitar Keith Richards – guitar Brian Jones – guitar Charlie Watts - drums Bill Wyman - bass Jack Nitzsche – piano, tambourine ...
The Fugees: 'Killing Me Softly'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2003
Vital statistics on The Fugees' 'Killing Me Softly' ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, June 2003
Vital statistics on Cheap Trick's 'Surrender' ...
Stevie Wonder: The Making of 'Higher Ground'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2003
Vital statistics ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, October 2003
VITAL STATISTICS:SONG: 'Just Like Heaven'Artist: The CureLabel: ElektraPerformers: Robert Smith : guitar/vocals; Porl Thompson - guitar; Lol Tolhurst - keyboards; Simon Gallup – Bass; Boris ...
Radiohead: The Greatest Songs Ever: Radiohead's 'Fake Plastic Trees'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, Summer 2003
MOST BANDS SPEND years trying to score a hit single, but Radiohead have spent years trying to live one down. 'Creep' took America by storm ...
The Beatles: Don't Fear The Reeperbahn
Retrospective by Johnny Black, 'The Beatles: Ten Years that Shook the World', 2004
"LIVERPOOL AND HAMBURG had a lot in common in the early sixties," muses Gibson Kemp. "They're both seaports, they're both on the same line of ...
David Bowie: The Story of 'Young Americans'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, January 2004
"'YOUNG AMERICANS' wouldn't have happened without Bowie's cocaine addiction," asserted Duran Duran's John Taylor in a recent interview. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, February 2004
VITAL STATISTICS SONG: 'Night Moves ' ARTIST: Bob Seger LABEL: Capitol ...
Randy California, Spirit: Randy California
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, February 2004
Just turned 22, Spirit guitarist and figurehead Randy California stands on Chelsea Bridge, staring down into the grey waters of the River Thames. It's April 1973, ...
Arthur Brown, Mick Farren, The Move, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow: We Have Lift Off!
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, February 2004
In less than one year, London's UFO (pronounced "you-foe") club became the nocturnal haunt of the '60s counterculture, gathering place for the Beatles, Stones and ...
Review by Johnny Black, MOJO, March 2004
Four originals by Japan's oft-overlooked electronic trail-blazers, re-mastered and repackaged with some extra material but no supporting information. ...
The Cranberries: Is Dolores Do-lally?
Report by Johnny Black, Blender, June 2004
Therapy… I only write for myself. To get my emotions out. It's self-theraputic. (Independent on Sunday, 16 January 1994) ...
The Smiths: No Time Like The First
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 2004
Britain in the early '80s: New Romantics, pencil 'taches and Phil Collins. Then came The Smiths. The tale of their first ever gigs by Johnny ...
The Cure: Work in Progress: The Cure
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, June 2004
Title: TBC Due: June 21 Production: Ross Robinson ...
A Girl Called Eddy: A Girl Called Eddy
Review by Johnny Black, MOJO, July 2004
ERIN MORAN, for she is the Girl whose record label likes to call her Eddy, writes and sings as if she has nothing to prove. ...
Joni Mitchell: How 'Free Man In Paris' came along
Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2004
WHEN Joni Mitchell played the finished tapes of her 1974 album Court and Spark for her Asylum Records labelmate Bob Dylan, the venerated spokesman of ...
David Bowie, Mott The Hoople: The Greatest Songs Ever! 'All The Young Dudes'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, October 2004
David Bowie saved Mott the Hoople from extinction with this glam-rock anthem. ...
Spanky & Our Gang: Anything You Choose/Without Rhyme Or Reason
Review and Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, November 2004
Psychedelic not-so-sunshine pop via Broadway and the Windy City. ...
Deep Purple: 'Smoke On The Water' (Warners)
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2005
Performers : Ritchie Blackmore – guitar; Ian Gillan – vocals; Jon Lord – keyboards; Roger Glover – bass; Ian Paice – drums; Producer: Martin Birch; ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2005
Vital Statistics on Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams' ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, May 2005
Vital statistics on The Police's 'Roxanne' ...
T. Rex: The Making of T. Rex's 'Bang A Gong (Get It On)'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, October 2005
T. Rex: 'Bang A Gong (Get It On)' ...
Derek & The Dominos: Derek and the Dominos: 'Layla'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, January 2006
Performers: Eric Clapton – guitar/vocals; Duane Allman – guitar; Jim Gordon – drums/piano; Bobby Whitlock – keyboards; Carl Radle : bassLabel: AtcoProducer: Tom DowdChart debut: ...
Raspberries: The Raspberries' 'Go All The Way '
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, July 2006
VITAL STATISTICS LABEL: Capitol PERFORMERS: Eric Carmen – vocals/piano/guitar Wally Bryson – lead guitar David Smalley – bass Jim Bonfanti – drums PRODUCER: Jimmy Ienner CHART DEBUT: 19 August 1972 HIGHEST CHART POSITION: 5 ...
Interview by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 2006
Ex-child models at war with pop convention, the siblings of Sparks are bloodied but unbowed. But what underpins their ever-baroque edifice? Brotherly love? "We don't ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, January 2007
WHATEVER YOU think you know about Joe Brown, forget it. ...
Blood, Sweat & Tears, Al Kooper: Al Kooper: The Blood, The Sweat And The Tears
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, February 2007
"...ALMOST NO one alive has lived as much rock 'n' roll history as Mr. Kooper in his assorted lives as performer, producer, sideman, songwriter, author, ...
The Cure, Oasis, Pulp, T. Rex: Top 5 Unforgettable Glastonbury Moments
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, May 2007
1. 19-20 September 1970: The very first Glastonbury It was a triumph of faith over common sense. Having snuck in for free to the Bath Festival ...
Bill Haley and His Comets: 'Rock Around The Clock'
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, backonthetracks.com, July 2007
12 April 1954: At Decca Records' Pythian Temple Studio, New York City, Bill Haley and His Comets record 'Rock Around The Clock' and 'Thirteen Women'. ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2007
"WHEN THE wrecking ball of success whacks you," reckons Fran Healy of Travis, "your life goes in fifty directions at once. We had to stop ...
AC/DC: The Story Of 'You Shook Me All Night Long'
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, October 2007
LESS THAN a year before releasing their first American hit, 'You Shook Me All Night Long', AC/DC came close to throwing in the towel. ...
Profile by Johnny Black, Blender, December 2007
Vital statistics on Soft Cell's controversial smash ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, MOJO, Summer 2007
RELEASED AT the tail end of the summer of love, 'A Hole In My Shoe' was hailed by NME as "an incredible disc which you ...
Bonzo Dog Band: Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band: Pour L'Amour Des Chiens
Review by Johnny Black, MOJO, January 2008
The '60s' best-loved musical satirists return; guests stand in for Viv Stanshall. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, June 2008
ONE THING Eric Anderson likes to make very clear is that he is not a folk singer. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, August 2008
All my life I've thought of you as Scottish but you were actually born in England weren't you? ...
Mad River: The Mad River Story
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Shindig, August 2008
AT THE CLOSE of the '60s, the power of America's rock bible Rolling Stone was immense. Entire careers hinged on the opinions of the magazine's ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, September 2008
CLIFF RICHARD has been the most constant companion of British pop fans since 1958, but he remains one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures ...
Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah, We Love Him So: Leonard Cohen's Comeback
Report by Johnny Black, Audience, September 2008
How the world's pre-eminent septuagenarian Jewish Buddhist singer-poet staged 2008's most remarkable comeback. ...
John Martyn: Still Wide-Eyed and Increasingly Legless
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, September 2008
INTERVIEWS ARE like minefields. Amidst the chummy showbiz chat, there's almost invariably at least one potential hair-trigger moment when someone like me has to ask ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Music Week, October 2008
JUDGED BY A JURY of his peers, Roy Orbison would almost certainly be found unanimously guilty of being the greatest singer and live performer of ...
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, January 2009
THE FIRST PUBLIC airing of 'Working On A Dream', the title track from The Boss’s upcoming 24th album took place during Barack Obama’s massive rally ...
Black Sabbath: None More Black: Black Sabbath
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, March 2009
"IT'S BEEN described as the heavy metal Holy Grail," says Steve Hammonds, Catalogue Consultant for Universal Music, "and it's been a labour of love to ...
The iPod and iTunes: Buy Three Get Nine You Don't Want
Comment by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages, March 2009
IT STARTED — the slow realisation — when my wife bought me an iPod for my birthday. ...
Wembley Arenaversary: A Legendary Venue Turns 50
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, March 2009
FIFTY YEARS AGO, in March, 1959, Petula Clark, Lonnie Donegan and rising young songstrel Shirley Bassey appeared in the Record Star Show, the first live ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Music Week, 25 April 2009
IN THE WORDS of the jazz legend who founded it, Ronnie Scott's club has always been, "just like home … filthy and full of strangers." ...
Jarvis Cocker, Michael Jackson: Eyewitness: Jarvis Cocker invades the stage at the BRIT Awards
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, May 2009
WITNESS: Various EVENT: Jarvis Cocker invades the stage at the BRIT Awards DATE: 19 February 1996 LOCATION: Earl's Court, London. ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2009
IT'S OBVIOUS to anyone with even a smattering of pop music suss that without Neil Sedaka there would be no 'Breaking Up Is Hard To ...
a-ha: Even Better than Spinal Tap
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, September 2009
FOR 25 YEARS, Norway's pop gods have harboured a deep, dark secret that even the most dedicated News Of The World smut-sleuth would never have ...
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours Vinyl Icon
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, September 2009
RUMOURS WAS the eleventh album by Anglo-American rock giants Fleetwood Mac, one of an elite cadre of bands which not only survived the loss of ...
Michael Jackson: Vinyl Icons: Michael Jackson's Thriller
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, October 2009
WHEN MICHAEL Jackson started recording Thriller, he must have wondered how on earth he could top the extraordinary achievements of Off The Wall, his previous ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, November 2009
DESPITE ALL HER best efforts to stick a spike in the wheel of success, Laura Marling is fast-becoming the most talked-about young singer-songwriter of recent ...
The Police, Sting: Vinyl Icon: The Police's Synchronicity
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, November 2009
IN 1977, a virtually unknown trio called The Police recorded their debut album, Outlandos D'Amour, in a village hall that had been converted to a ...
Elvis Presley: Elvis' Christmas Album Vinyl Icon
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, December 2009
IN 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America revealed that, having notched up 12m sales, Elvis Presley's Christmas Album had become the top-selling holiday release ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, December 2009
SURELY, BY NOW, there should be a commemorative blue plaque on the central reservation of Princess Avenue in Liverpool's Toxteth. ...
Phil Spector's Christmas Album
Retrospective by Johnny Black, unpublished, December 2009
GUNS HAVE LANDED Phil Spector in no end of trouble over the years. Usually, as in his confrontations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and the ...
Bob Dylan: Blonde On Blonde Vinyl Icon
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2010
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, lies 750 miles south west of Bob Dylan's first stomping ground, New York City. It's just a two-hour plane ride but, when Dylan ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, January 2010
ON A CLEAR DAY, from the roof of the Shaftesbury Theatre, you can gaze out over London's West End theatreland, and listen for the echoes ...
Cat Stevens: Tea For The Tillerman Vinyl Icon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2010
TEENAGE SINGER-SONGWRITER Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) hit the ground running in 1966 with a string of memorably catchy hits, including 'I Love ...
The Bee Gees: Fifty Years Of The Brothers Gibb
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Music Week, January 2010
ON DECEMBER 28, 1957, Manchester skiffle combo The Rattlesnakes first earned money from their ability to sing in harmony with a ten-minute slot at the ...
Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome Vinyl Icon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, February 2010
IT STARTED in jail. In the spring of 1982, Mark O'Toole, bassist of fast-emerging Liverpool band Frankie Goes To Hollywood, was jamming on a new ...
A Year In The Life Of The Brits
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, March 2010
The BRIT Awards is, of course, a one-night-only affair. However, anyone paying attention to the ease with which the whole production flows, the clarity of ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Music Week, March 2010
THE BRIT Awards, about to celebrate its 30th anniversary, has become a cherished national institution, a must-see annual celebration of the most successful, enduring and ...
Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, March 2010
"I DON'T OWN MANY THINGS," Laura Veirs tells me. "I'm not a things person." ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages, March 2010
ON 28 OCTOBER, 1964, the T.A.M.I. Show was recorded at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. T.A.M.I. stood for Television Audience Measurement Index, though ...
Deep Purple: Vinyl Icon: Machine Head
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, March 2010
TO GET THE POINT of Machine Head you must first understand what it is not. ...
Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, April 2010
NECESSITY, THEY say, is the mother of invention, and no-one knows that better than Alvin Stardust. ...
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2010
IN THE COURSE of twenty years in the music business, Brian Kennedy has been there and done that. He's won awards, published two best-selling novels, ...
Report by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2010
LESS THAN a year ago Robbie Williams was being written off by the nation's critics, but this month has seen him honoured with an Outstanding ...
The Beach Boys, Culture Club: Steve Levine
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2010
ACHIEVING THE perfect mix and getting the balance right are essential skills for any record producer but, with a glittering career which has spanned 35 ...
Supertramp: Vinyl Icon: Supertramp's Breakfast In America
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, June 2010
WHEN SUPERTRAMP released their sixth album, Breakfast In America, on March 29, 1979, the two core members of the band, Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, July 2010
"I CAN LOOK back now," reflects Phil Collins, "and see how annoying I must have been to people in the '80s and '90s." ...
The Black Keys: The Ongoing Adventures Of Two Complete Knuckleheads
Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2010
"WE DIDN'T KNOW what the hell we were doing," laughs the Black Keys' frontman Dan Auerbach, in a not entirely successful attempt to sum up ...
Steely Dan: Vinyl Icon: Gaucho
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, July 2010
GAUCHO, THE FINAL ALBUM Steely Dan recorded before they broke up in 1981, is still regarded as a masterpiece by aficionados, but making it put ...
Beyoncé Does Not Write Her Own Songs. Really?
Comment by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages, 15 July 2010
MY GAST WAS unutterably flabbered earlier this week when record producer Bangladesh "revealed" that Beyoncé does not write her own songs. ...
Phil Collins Goes Back to his Soul-Music Roots
Interview by Johnny Black, Rock's Backpages, August 2010
JB: Your new album, Going Back, quite literally goes back to your musical roots. So where did you first start to become interested in music? ...
Ry Cooder: Bop Until You Drop Vinyl Icon
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, September 2010
GUITAR GURU Ry Cooder's eighth album, Bop Till You Drop, released at the very end of July 1979, gave him his first British chart entry, ...
Pink Floyd: Vinyl Icon: Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, September 2010
IT'S WRIT large in pop history that The Beatles spent the spring of 1967 recording their classic Sgt Pepper album in EMI's Abbey Road Studio ...
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, February 2011
IN HIS 50TH YEAR in the music business, Tony Christie is at the top of his game. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, March 2011
THE RECENT, TRAGIC, DEATH of Gerry Rafferty reminded thousands of fans just how vital his contribution to the '70s was, first as a member of ...
Gerry Rafferty: City To City Vinyl Icon
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, March 2011
THE RECENT, tragic, death of Gerry Rafferty reminded thousands of fans just how vital his contribution to the 70s was, first as a member of ...
Mike & The Mechanics: Mike and the Mechanics
Profile and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, April 2011
WHO CAN SAY what might have happened if mother nature had endowed Mike Rutherford with a voice as distinctive as his Genesis partners Phil Collins ...
Phil Collins: No Jacket Required Vinyl Icon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, April 2011
TO DESCRIBE No Jacket Required as an era-defining album is almost an understatement. ...
The Clash: Vinyl Icon: The Clash
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, May 2011
UNUSUALLY, FOR AN ALBUM awarded Vinyl Icon status, the "fi" of The Clash's eponymous debut is not of the highest. It is, however, an album ...
Steve Miller: Vinyl Icon: The Steve Miller Band's Fly Like An Eagle
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, May 2011
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE was the album which, in 1976, transformed San Francisco-based Stevie "Guitar" Miller from acclaimed critics' favourite to global superstar. ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2011
ANYONE LOOKING for a dream come true probably wouldn't start in a hole in the ground in the remote hinterland of Cornwall. Nevertheless, that's what ...
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, June 2011
ON JANUARY 3, 1967, failed Australian pop trio The Bee Gees set sail for England, aboard the SS Fairsky. By the middle of that summer, ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, September 2011
1989, JULY 15: 200,000 fans and 100m satellite TV viewers worldwide watch Pink Floyd play a spectacular free show from a barge floating in the ...
Jimi Hendrix: Surrounded By Vultures
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, October 2011
SEPTEMBER 10, 1969, had been a bad night for Jimi Hendrix and it was about get considerably worse. ...
Queen Of Nude Orleans: 1978, October 31
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, October 2011
IT WAS THE aftershow party to end all aftershow parties. The champagne flowed like water, couples coupled under the tables and the entertainment included strippers, ...
The Fugs Levitate the Pentagon
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, November 2011
NOT IN HIS wildest imagination could David Copperfield have dreamed this one up. Levitate the Pentagon, America's stark and forbidding Defense HQ, 300 feet skyward, ...
Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull: An Interview with Ian Anderson
Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, December 2011
CR: When you started, there were virtually no flute players in rock music. What inspired you to take it up? ...
Gram Parsons: Gram Theft Parsons Revisited
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, March 2012
LATE IN THE evening of September 20, 1973, two drunk men clad in rhinestoned jackets and cowboy hats drove a hearse into Los Angeles Airport ...
Keith Moon Drives His Car Into a Swimming Pool
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Classic Rock, November 2012
IN 1967, Holiday Inn was the world's largest hotel chain, with nearly 1,000 properties – comprised primarily of roadside motels. ...
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: The Making Of Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Country, October 2013
AT THE START of the '70s, America was riven by conflict. Inter-racial strife, the Vietnam War and the emergence of a new, left-leaning youth culture, ...
Howlin' Wolf's London Sessions
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, November 2013
NOW REVERED AS a lynchpin moment in the history of the blues, Howlin' Wolf's 1970 London Sessions with a superstar assemblage of England's rock royalty, ...
Spade Cooley: Eye Witness: Spade Cooley Murders His Wife
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Country, January 2014
IN THE EARLY 1960s, ageing country music star Spade Cooley and his significantly younger wife Ella Mae were living on his remote ranch, Rosamund, in ...
Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, January 2014
PETER GREEN IS, arguably, the most underrated lead guitarist of the British mid-'60s blues boom, consistently relegated to a position somewhere below the holy triumverate ...
The Band: Vinyl Icon: The Band's Music From Big Pink
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2014
IN 1965, BOB Dylan chose a hoary and somewhat grizzled rock'n'roll combo, the Hawks, as his backing group when he famously "went electric". ...
Electric Light Orchestra: Vinyl Icon: ELO's Out Of The Blue
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, February 2014
MUSIC THAT was reviled by the critics in its day frequently proves to have lasting merit which only reveals itself in the fullness of time. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, April 2014
LEGEND HOLDS that on October 22, 1962, a van set out from London, headed north. In that van were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian ...
Paul McCartney: Team Macca Inside Out — The Inside Story of the Out There Tour
Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, November 2014
WHEN LIVERPUDLIAN teenager Paul McCartney first met John Lennon, in Woolton Church Hall on July 6, 1957, he could not have imagined that over fifty ...
The Doors: Vinyl Icon: The Making of the Doors' L.A.Woman
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, January 2015
AS 1970 DREW to a close, The Doors were widely considered a spent force. ...
Jimi Hendrix and the Birth of Heavy Blues
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blues, July 2015
LIKE ALL THE great overnight sensations, Jimi Hendrix took years to get off the ground. His was a long road to fame, from the little ...
Dusty Springfield: The Making of Dusty in Memphis
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, July 2015
IN 1967, DESPITE international success and her status as the UK's undisputed queen of blue-eyed soul, Dusty Springfield found herself stifled by the career path ...
B.B. King: The Making of B.B. King in London
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, August 2015
AFTER FIFTEEN years as the undisputed King Of The Blues, B.B. King's career seemed to have sailed into some kind of doldrums when the '60s ...
B.B. King: Vinyl Icon: B.B. King's Live at the Regal
Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, August 2015
ON NOVEMBER 21, 1964 Chicago's historic Regal Theater became the recording location for B.B. King's incendiary in-concert album Live at the Regal, which would not ...
Paul McCartney, Wings: Vinyl Icon: Paul McCartney & Wings' Band On The Run
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, August 2015
KNIFE-WIELDING ATTACKERS, primitive recording facilities, medical emergencies – for sheer unadulterated behind-the-scenes drama and bizarre shenanigans, no other Paul McCartney album comes even remotely close ...
Boz Scaggs: Vinyl Icon: The Making of Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees
Retrospective by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, February 2016
NOBODY WOULD HAVE thought that a former Steve Miller Band sideman whose name sounded like a disease of sheep would suddenly, after six failed solo ...
Iron Maiden: Maiden Voyage: Inside Iron Maiden's Book Of Souls Tour
Report and Interview by Johnny Black, Audience, April 2016
SEEN FROM the stage, an Iron Maiden concert is an ocean of Maiden t-shirts, with thousands of devotees proudly displaying various incarnations of the band's ...
back to LIBRARY
