Paul Sexton
Freelance print and broadcast journalist Paul Sexton has been writing about music and avoiding a proper job since he started with the occasionally-lamented pop weekly Record Mirror while still at school in 1977.
He has written for all of the daily UK broadsheet titles (including the Financial Times), but is most closely associated with the Sunday Times (to whose Culture section he has contributed since 2003) and The Times itself, for which he started doing features and gig reviewer in 1993.
At Record Mirror he wrote features, record and gig reviews for well over a decade. He survived an early trial by subbing when an editing error on his first RM location assignment, covering rock ‘n’ roll revival band Darts in Dublin, meant that he appeared to think he was in Belfast.
Sexton wrote features on countless dance and soul acts for Record Mirror alongside influential DJ James Hamilton’s celebrated disco column. He went on to contribute to a wide range of daily, weekly and monthly titles including Music Week, Beat Instrumental and other titles published alongside Record Mirror by Spotlight Publications, notably the monthly dance title Jocks. He wrote for Select magazine in its initial years, and in the early 1990s began an ongoing association with Billboard magazine as a UK contributor.
His work in radio began as an interviewer and writer for the syndicated weekly British show "Rock Over London", for which he soon became producer and, throughout the 1990s, presenter. At the height of its popularity, the programme was broadcast by more than 200 US radio stations a week. He also wrote for US titles such as Rockbill, Pollstar, Radio & Records and Friday Morning Quarterback. More recently, his features have appeared in Radio Times, SAGA and the PRS For Music magazine M.
Sexton is also a frequent contributor to BBC Radio 2, for whom he regularly presents and produces documentary programmes, including shows on everyone from the Rolling Stones to Louis Armstrong, also including Aretha Franklin, Leon Russell, Burt Bacharach, Dame Shirley Bassey, Al Green, Brian Wilson and dozens of others. He has deputised for Bob Harris and Huey Morgan and also presents shows at Inflight Entertainment for such airlines as Emirates, Cathay Pacific and KLM.
192 articles
List of articles in the library
Dire Straits: Rock Garden, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 21 January 1978
THE SUPPORT band at the Rock Garden sweatshop were new wavers Cheap Stars. One of their songs, all of which lasted the statutory two minutes, ...
Randy Edelman, Fairfield Halls, Croydon
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 22 April 1978
THIS GUY really is the archetypal singer-songwriter. I write that with no malice, because he gives a lot of people a lot of pleasure. But ...
Sylvester: Step II (Fantasy FT549)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 October 1978
I'LL BET Sylvester loves being called outrageous, but that description fits his appearance far better than his music. Not that his album is unremarkable; it ...
The Jacksons: No Signs Of Any Slackening
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 October 1978
'Blame It On The Boogie' may not be the Jacksons most exciting single, but it's doing the trick again. PAUL SEXTON talks to Michael Jackson. ...
Heatwave: Heating Up the Disco Crowd
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 November 1978
TO COME back from a very successful American tour to see your new single shoot into the chart at No 36 while making healthy strides ...
Chaka Khan: Chaka (Warner Bros.) ****
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 December 1978
NOW THEN, an album which the whole team involved has obviously spent a good deal of time thinking about. Chaka Khan needs songs which exploit ...
Tavares: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 23 December 1978
TAVARES SEEM assured of fairly attentive, appreciative concert audiences for some time to come because they've managed to compile quite a sizeable catalogue of hits ...
Peabo Bryson: Crosswinds (Capitol ST-11875)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 March 1979
THE NAME doesn't mean much to you, does it? Peabo Bryson's been in this game for quite a while and he's been digging his way ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 June 1979
Anita Ward rings PAUL SEXTON'S bells ...
McFadden and Whitehead: Startin' 'N' Stoppin'
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 July 1979
PAUL SEXTON winds up old phillybusters McFadden and Whitehead ...
Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: The Boss (Motown STML12118)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 July 1979
Ross stops the rot ...
Jennifer Warnes: Shot Through The Heart (Arista SPART 1097)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 July 1979
HOT SHOT ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 July 1979
SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN the hype and the hit, when the noise has died down before it lives again, there's a spell of anticipation when the ...
Minnie Riperton: Minnie (Capitol) ****
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 August 1979
THIS WAS going to be a happy, triumphant comeback album... ...
The Sugarhill Gang: Beat The Rap
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 January 1980
SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, and the Parliafunk crowd are watching three ex-DJs performing 15 minutes of the hippest tongue twisting in town. "Said a hip-hop, the hippie ...
Jermaine Jackson: Let's Get Serious (Motown STML 12127)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 May 1980
MEANWHILE, BACK at Motown... as Michael Jackson prepares to take over the cosmos with his Epic epic, big brother Jermaine launches his counterplot. ...
Janis Ian: Theatre Royal, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 31 May 1980
LONDON'S THEATRE ROYAL is one of the city's few large venues which maintain anything like a convivial atmosphere. ...
Average White Band: Picking Up The Pieces: Average White Band: Shine (RCA)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 31 May 1980
TWO OR THREE years ago, if the Average White Band had said, "Let's go round again", the vast majority of Britain's record-buying public would have ...
Teena Marie: Lady T (Motown STML12130)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 June 1980
IT MUST be a while since Motown Records had two singles in the same Top 10, but Jermaine Jackson and Teena Marie cracked it for ...
The Three Degrees: Wembley Conference Centre, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 July 1980
IF YOU'VE got it, flaunt it, someone once said. The Three Degrees flaunt it, but I'm not sure they've got it. Well... if you like ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 August 1980
PAUL SEXTON gets worn out by ODYSSEY. ...
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 August 1980
SOME WORDS of praise, late in the day, for a Warner Brother and a Warner Sister. 1980 is already George Benson's year, his commercial breakthrough. ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 November 1980
THE DARK and mysterious Notting Hill Gate tube station, one cold and rainy night. Outside it stands an equally dark and mysterious stranger, armed with ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Wembley Conference Centre, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 22 November 1980
IT MUST be the most pertinent observation that Gladys Knight and the Pips have made on record for a long time: "Everybody wants to be ...
Freeez: Southern Freeez (Beggars Banquet EL PEE 1)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 February 1981
"NEW WAVE jazz funk, play loud." So says the liner, and it's almost all you need to know. Except perhaps that it's British, it's in ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 March 1981
ONCE YOU'VE licked the label, it's pretty hard to peel it off. It was Freeez themselves who called their music "new wave jazz funk". Now ...
Profile by Paul Sexton, Smash Hits, 2 April 1981
FOR THE NEXT question, disco fans, try this one. What's the connection between the following two statements? ...
Randy Crawford: Secret Combination (Warner Bros K 56904)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 June 1981
CURIOUS THE way the music public keeps on discovering Randy Crawford and then losing her again. You'd have thought that having once chanced upon such ...
Odyssey: I Got The Melody (RCA LP5028)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 July 1981
'USE IT Up And Wear it Out' for number one? Not on your life, John. (The record tops the chart). Well, alright, it was a ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 July 1981
RANDY CRAWFORD is talking and laughing. She rarely does one without the other, even with the hay fever that Britain's presented to her. ...
The Crusaders: Standing Tall (MCA MCE 3122)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 19 September 1981
COCKER? YES, Joe Cocker, well-loved throat of the late sixties cum early seventies now looking as if he's in his early seventies but, on this ...
Aretha Franklin: Love All The Hurt Away (Arista SPART 1170)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 October 1981
DOES IT strike you as a little odd that the Queen of Soul (as I believe she likes to be called), the woman who we're ...
Donald Byrd and 125th Street, NYC: Love Byrd (Warner Bros K52301)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 October 1981
IT'S NOT just love that's come around for Donald Byrd. It's the music scene too, to the healthy state of affairs where he can have ...
Shakatak: Easier Done Than Said
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982
PAUL SEXTON shacks up with SHAKATAK ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982
IT WASN'T that Shalamar don't have their own distinctive sound. It wasn't that they didn't make their presence felt on their first ever British live ...
Tom Browne: Bepopafungi, He's My Baby
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 February 1982
BEBOPAFUNKADISCOLYPSO is bad enough. But Fungi Mama? Say Whaaat? ...
Shalamar: Friends (Solar K52345)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 March 1982
AN ALBUM to establish Shalamar as LP artists and not just the final part of another disco assembly line churning out three-minute pounding product, not ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 17 July 1982
IT'S PERHAPS not every day that you go to a gig at St Paul's Cathedral introduced by Rod Steiger and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. It's not ...
Profile by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 August 1982
HE'S BEEN around longer than you'd suppose and done things that might surprise you... in other words, he isn't the Burke you think he is. ...
Pete Wingfield, The Sugarhill Gang: The Sugarhill Gang: Sweet Talking
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 August 1982
Rap? No, actually the Sugar hill Gang are pretty good, says Paul Sexton ...
Vince Montana: Montana Climbing
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 8 January 1983
"WE'VE GOT an 18 lb turkey in the oven, the whole family's coming over." Is this a heavy vibe or is someone giving Vince Montana ...
Brothers Johnson: Brothers Rock
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 January 1983
SO WHAT did happen to the Brothers Johnson? Just a couple of years ago, they took 'Stomp' to the highest reaches of the charts and ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 February 1983
"I WAS ROUND at the house of a friend of mine, and his sister was supposed to have a date. But she was stood up ...
52nd Street, The Commodores: The Commodores, 52nd Street: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 February 1983
Hoarses for courses ...
Angela Bofill: Too Tough (Arista 205 273)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 March 1983
ANGIE BOFILL is one of those ladies who looks different in every picture; always pretty, but in changing ways. The comment fits her work as ...
Janet Jackson: Janet Jackson (A&M AMLH 64907)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 26 March 1983
ALMOST AS if someone had said "Follow that", Mom and Pop Jackson have. Again. Sister Janet is gingerly testing the water with her first album. ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 April 1983
"MANNY'S FINE" says Man Parrish when I ask how he should be addressed. And so begins a conversation with the hippest of the hip-hop — ...
Smokey Robinson: Touch The Sky (Motown STML 12175)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 April 1983
IT'S ALWAYS struck me as unfortunate that one of the greatest black soul writers of the past 20 years has one of the weediest voices. ...
The Whispers: Love For Love (Solar E0216)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 April 1983
BRITAIN'S TENDED to prefer loud Whispers to soft Whispers in the past, which means we've majored on their dance tunes rather than their ballads. Which ...
Joe Sample: The Hunter (MCA MCF 3164)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 April 1983
THE SOLO crusades count for just a little more now that drummer Stix Hooper has apparently fought his last battle with the Crusaders. Joe Sample ...
Man Parrish: Man Parrish (Polydor Deluxe POLD 5101)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 April 1983
OUR MAN offers up a tune here called 'Man Made' and despite the possible pun, 'Machine Made' might be more accurate, because the Parrish debut ...
The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls: Candy Girls
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 May 1983
WHEN RICK James auditions hopefuls for a new all-girl group, it's the look that counts. In other words, he uses a tape measure, not a ...
Freeez: Two's Company... Freeez A Crowd
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 2 July 1983
PROFOUND STATEMENTS of our time, number 23. Let me introduce you to Freeez's John Rocca, who says assertively: "If you want a loaf of bread, ...
Duran Duran, Robert Palmer, Prince Charles & The City Beat Band: Villa Park, Birmingham
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 July 1983
A whisper to a scream ...
Herbie Hancock, Material: Herbie Hancock: Future Shock (CBS 25540)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 20 August 1983
AS IT is written on the single, so it shall be on the album... and Herb shows enough courage of his convictions to 'Rockit' right ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 August 1983
We release New Edition on an unsuspecting London ...
André Cymone, Prince: André Cymone: I Taught Prince Everything
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 November 1983
Saucy bass player's shock story ...
Lionel Richie: Join Our Millionaire's Club
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 November 1983
"MAN, YOU'RE talking about wonderful!" In the showbiz world of Lionel Richie, that's the kind of remark you hear all the time. And who's saying ...
Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Love Wars (Elektra 96-0293-1)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 January 1984
WHEN BACKROOM boys decide it's time they had some of the limelight for themselves, the results are unpredictable to say the least. Cecil and Linda ...
Dennis Edwards: Anyone For Dennis?
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 April 1984
IT WAS very nearly the combination of the year. Dennis Edwards and Chaka Khan. But hold on: Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett – maybe it ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 April 1984
The selling of soul, by our financial staff, Paul Sexton ...
Bobby Womack: The Poet II (Motown ZL72205)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 May 1984
JUST SO'S brother Cecil and sister-in-law Linda don't get all the crossover kudos... the love wars in the Womack family start here, and Bobby's gonna ...
Dazz Band: The Dazz Band: Joystick (Motown ZL72003)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 May 1984
WHEN THE Dazz Band head out on 'To The Roof' with the line "Let's all act a little crazy", you've a strong feeling that they ...
The Rock Steady Crew: Ready For Battle (Charisma RSCLP 1)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 June 1984
IN THEIR 15 minutes of marketability, you get the feeling that breakdance visuals (the myriad films, mainly) have a few more minutes of life; but ...
Brass Construction: Renegades (Capitol EH 244 0160 1)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 June 1984
WHERE THERE'S Brass, there's muck. Sorry fellas, I couldn't resist it. ...
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 30 June 1984
Film break ...
Cyndi Lauper: Would You Wrestle With This Girl?
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 21 July 1984
Fun loving Cyndi Lauper pins Paul "Giant Hack" Sexton to the ropes — time after time ...
The SOS Band: Sending Out an SOS
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 28 July 1984
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier... the SOS Band are out on manoeuvres. Paul Sexton discusses tactics with one of the hardest working soul squads ...
Brothers Johnson: The Brothers
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 August 1984
FEMINISTS, GET ready to fill the fountain pen with a good supply of vitriol. George Johnson, one half of the back-in-business Brothers Johnson, says: "Wives ...
Shakatak: Down On The Street (Polydor POLD 5148)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 September 1984
Mean Streets ...
Thelma Houston: Qualifying Heat (MCA MCF 3243)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 19 January 1985
'YOU USED To Hold Me So Tight' came desperately close to putting that fine Houston voice back in the Top 40, but if that can't ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 2 February 1985
In our fascinating profile of Mr Glenn Gregory, crooner of this parish, we discover what Heaven 17 and toilet paper have in common. And there's ...
Teena Marie: Starchild (Epic EPC 26315)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 16 February 1985
WHAT SHE wants to do, and what singles buyers want her to do, are many miles apart for Teena Maria. She wants to get artistic ...
Luther Vandross: The Night I Fell In Love (Epic EPC 26387)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 April 1985
YOU EITHER think he's the saviour of soul or a lump of lard, Luther Vandross. And while his writing and singing skills have never been ...
Phyllis Nelson: Nelson's Column
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 April 1985
Phyllis Nelson celebrates the return of the smooch with Paul Sexton ...
DeBarge: Rhythm Of The Night (Gordy ZL72340)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 April 1985
THEY HAD to plagiarise Lionel Richie to do it, but at least the streetparty sound of 'Rhythm Of The Night' has finally brought the DeBarge ...
The Mary Jane Girls: Mary Jane Girls: Only Four You (Gordy ZL 72341)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 27 April 1985
THE MARY Jane Girls are like the girlfriend who invites you back for coffee and just gives you the coffee. Plenty of hints but no ...
Steve Arrington: Robes to Freedom
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 4 May 1985
STEVE ARRINGTON SAYS NO MORE FORNICATING. PAUL SEXTON SAYS PSALM GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK... ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 May 1985
Could DeBarge be subtitled 'The Richie Family'? Is there any fraternal rivalry? Surely not, says Paul Sexton ...
Maze: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 11 May 1985
STILL A minority soul group? Seven full houses at Hammersmith is some minority... Maze's continued absence from the crossover crew makes it easy for the ...
Loose Ends: This Soul Heart of Mine
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 June 1985
Soul becomes a permanent top 40 fixture — cue a Loose Ends/Paul Sexton celebration. Jane, Macca and Steve look forward to poaching fans from Max ...
Philip Bailey, Phil Collins: Philip Bailey: View to a Phil
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 June 1985
WATCH OUT — PHILIP BAILEY IS AN ANGRY YOUNG MAN. PAUL SEXTON PUTS DOWN THE ARGUMENTS IN BLACK AND WHITE. ...
Paul Hardcastle: The Hardcastle Dossier
Profile by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 July 1985
Trumpet blowing dept: In January RM predicted Paul Hardcastle would be one of the successes of '85. Now, the career overview by Paul Sexton ...
Whitney Houston: Whitney Houston (Arista 206 978) **
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 July 1985
WHITNEY HOUSTON'S had fantastic US and European success with this debut album but I could pick out at least three stronger first LPs by similar ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 September 1985
Larry Blackmon, the man with a lead role in Cameo, doesn't like his music labelled funky. He also has these Rambo fantasies. Paul Sexton decides ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 14 September 1985
The family history of Colonel Abrams probed by Paul Sexton. NB: this feature mentions Spandau Ballet and Stevie Wonder ...
Isley Jasper Isley: Caravan Of Love (Epic EPC 26656)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 26 October 1985
IF NOTHING else, these Isley boys give me 'n' Betty a good chuckle with their album sleeves. They do like dressing up. Poor old Ernie ...
The Valentinos, Bobby Womack: Bobby Womack: All in the Family
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, November 1985
Bobby Womack on his brothers, on Paul Young and on the Rolling Stones. Story: Paul — soul shoes — Sexton ...
The Isley Brothers, Isley Jasper Isley: Isley Jasper Isley: 3 Go Wild Between The Sheets
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 December 1985
BACK IN 1973, the Isley Brothers brought out an album called 3+3. You might remember it, 'specially if you were partaking of all the soul ...
Whitney Houston: Hello... Hello... Houston Calling
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 December 1985
Whitney Houston is 21, she never had acne in public and Dionne Warwick is her favourite cousin. Read on... Story: Paul Sexton ...
Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 21 December 1985
LET'S RESIST the churlish temptation to start wondering how many of Cameo's crowd were there when they last funked the hell out of Hammersmith 18 ...
Full Force: Young Business People Of The Year?
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 18 January 1986
Well, they have created the biggest 12 inch record in CBS history and they are going to feature on a new tribute to Martin Luther ...
Cherrelle: "Cheryl Is Boring... Cherrelle Has More Spunk To It"
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 25 January 1986
New name gets you into top 10 shock! Cherrelle name drops her men friends (Alexander, Jimmy, Terry...) to Paul Sexton. ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 25 January 1986
That's LL Cool J, possibly the best rapper ever and main thrust of Def Jam Recordings, possibly the coolest label this decade. They're both here ...
The Beastie Boys: Don't Be A Faggot
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 February 1986
Why anyone should want to be a small meatball in gravy we don't know, but this is (supposedly) the title of the Beastie Boys' forthcoming ...
Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle: Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Fairfield Halls, Croydon
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 15 March 1986
THEY PACK 'EM in down Croydon way. A brace of shows by the Tabu twosome, no less, proving that Saturday love really stretches this far ...
James Brown: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 May 1986
"IT WAS just like watching Gary Glitter," said one voice on the way out, not in the least discontentedly. He wasn't far off, either. You ...
The SOS Band: The Sweetest Tabu
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 3 May 1986
Have the SOS Band stood the test of time, or are they sticking to the same old Jam 'n' Lewis formula? Paul Sexton asks Mary ...
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Denise LaSalle, The Rose Brothers: Saenger Theatre, New Orleans
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 31 May 1986
THE DEEPER you go into the heart of them ol' United States, the deeper the soul, and way down yonder in N'awlins this kind of ...
The Real Roxanne: The Woman Who Put Bugs Bunny Top Forty
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 July 1986
She's not got a kind word to say about her rival, Roxanne Shanté; she wants to sing like Sade; but more importantly, she's immortalised Bugs ...
Shirley Murdock, Zapp: Zapp, Shirley Murdock: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 12 July 1986
ZAPP'S UK debut was always going to be a bit of a circus, bearing in mind that the man at the controls is Roger Troutman, ...
Anita Baker, Nat Augustin: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 9 August 1986
BEING THE warm-up at one of the most hotly anticipated soul shindigs of the year was a double-edged sword for Nat Augustin, the former Light ...
Anita Baker: Antita Baker: Has This Woman Made The Best Soul Album Of The Year?
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 16 August 1986
Well, according to the experts, Anita Baker's Rapture LP is the business. But did anyone know that the lady shelled out some of her own ...
Floy Joy, Carroll Thompson: Carroll Thompson: Life After Joy
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 13 September 1986
Weren't Floy Joy s'posed to be Big In '85? Well, erm, yes... but now they're no more and singer Carroll Thompson's doing very nicely on ...
Kurtis Blow: The Super-Ego Rules, From The Bronx To Kingdom Blow
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 November 1986
In short, Kurtis Blow thinks an awful lot of himself. An awful lot. His new LP is called Kingdom Blow. The line-up on it includes ...
Ronnie Laws: Mirror Town (CBS 4S0068 1)
Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 1 November 1986
ISN'T IT great sometimes when an artist you'd given up for dead comes back to life (almost) as good as before? Ronnie Laws had several ...
Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Keeping It All In The Family
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 8 November 1986
The next Womack and Womack LP is produced by the pair themselves, and features Cecil's three brothers and his ex wife (Mary Wells). Family ties? ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 February 1987
Hot House is one of the best new soul acts in Britain. Hot House was signed before their record company had even seen a picture ...
Los Lobos, Ritchie Valens: Los Lobos: The Company Of Wolves
Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 8 August 1987
It's Tex-Mex, tortilla chips with everything and a large helping of Mexican folklore with Los Lobos, who reached numero uno in the charts with a ...
Freddie McGregor: Town and Country Club, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 5 December 1987
THE SECOND of three Town-and-Countries for Freddie had the upstairs closed and a definite spot of sparseness in the crowd downstairs, which suggested that he'd ...
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, August 1990
THEY CAN'T win, Bad Company. In the 70s. anyone who harboured a hope of hipness roundly lambasted their swaggering rock style. Two decades on, suddenly ...
Jill Sobule: Things Here Are Different
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, August 1990
IT'S STILL a guarantee of something, a Todd Rundgren production credit. Whether it's been XTC, The Pursuit Of Happiness or Bourgeois Tagg, they've always had ...
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, August 1990
IT TOOK Magnum a decade's-worth of albums to reach the stage of automatic entry into the Top 40 singles chart, as they did three times ...
Poison: Flesh And Blood (Enigma)
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, September 1990
THE CHALLENGE for Poison was to fulfill the corporate responsibility, having sold Open Up And Say... Aaah! to five million Americans, and still kick the ...
The Pointer Sisters: Right Rhythm
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, September 1990
TOPSY-TURVY would seem to be the phrase. Along come the soulful sisters Pointer from Oakland. California in the '70s and produce some blistering singles like ...
Robert Cray: The Robert Cray Band: Midnight Stroll
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, October 1990
THE CHIPS were well and truly down for Robert Cray this time. It was felt that 1988's Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark had him ...
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, December 1990
IN THE 12 MONTHS since they bid us Welcome To The Beautiful South, the perplexing popsters have been pretty low-profile, taking a measured approach to ...
Marc Almond, Soft Cell, The The: The Bizzare Adventures of Stevo
Interview by Paul Sexton, Select, February 1991
Bank managers chase after him, record company chiefs live in fear of him trashing their offices, but STEVO somehow manages to survive, along with one of the most ...
Tanita Tikaram: Everybody's Angel
Review by Paul Sexton, Select, March 1991
THE STATISTICS — a number two album, world tours, etc — make it seem as though 1990 and 'The Sweet Keeper' were further TT triumphs ...
Michael McDonald: Jazz Cafe, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 September 1993
McDonald's nuggets ...
Silk, U.N.V. : Silk, U.N.V.: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 September 1993
Smooth and sassy ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 October 1993
MANY OF the audience at this first of five London shows would have been at primary school when War last came to town. The Rainbow, ...
Wet Wet Wet: Too big for their own good — Wet Wet Wet: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 8 December 1993
Paul Sexton sees Scotland's gift to blue-eyed soul sell themselves short. ...
Carleen Anderson: Forum, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 February 1994
God-daughter with an offer you can't refuse ...
Kenny G: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 February 1994
Safe and smooth as skimmed milk ...
Kirsty MacColl: Raging Against the Machine
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 February 1994
There are many ways to describe Kirsty MacColl, but "female singer-songwriter" is not one of them, she tells Paul Sexton ...
M People: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 1 March 1994
THE SELECTION of M People as Best Dance Act in the 1994 Brit Awards was proof that success does come to those who wait. Probably ...
R. Kelly, Zhané: Apollo, Hammersmith, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 March 1994
The bard of bed and bawd ...
Garth Brooks: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 April 1994
Tip of the hat ...
Des'ree, Sounds of Blackness: Sounds of Blackness, Des'ree: Apollo, Hammersmith
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 April 1994
Songs of praise and passion ...
Townes Van Zandt: Union Chapel, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 26 April 1994
Return of a rambler ...
Natalie Cole: Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 July 1994
Natalie's art still belongs to daddy ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 27 July 1994
A southern heaven ...
Snap!: In tune with pop's crackle and Snap
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 2 September 1994
Record sales of more than 15 million and a growing reputation for trend-setting have made two German former DJs a global sensation. Paul Sexton met ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 26 October 1994
Let's go scurfin' USA — Punk strikes a power pop chord ...
Sheryl Crow: Wide-eyed and egoless
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 November 1994
Paul Sexton meets Sheryl Crow, awed but unspoilt by her international success ...
Eternal, Michelle Gayle: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 9 December 1994
Funk for all the family ...
Blackstreet, the Whitehead Brothers: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 21 December 1994
Magpie raiders ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 17 January 1995
Unknown heroes ...
Boyzone, Whigfield: Grand, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 14 June 1995
Quick, nurse the screams ...
Mary J. Blige, Jodeci: Jodeci, Mary J. Blige: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 22 September 1995
Invitation to the dance ...
East 17: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 December 1995
The music of merchandise ...
The Mavericks: Wild horses drag rock into the country
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 12 January 1996
Paul Sexton meets those hard-blasting, easy-listening, award-winning Nashville twangers, the Mavericks ...
Eternal: Fairfield Halls, Croydon
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 March 1996
Here today at least ...
Garbage: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 27 March 1996
Why the charts are a load of rubbish ...
k.d. lang: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 May 1996
Ingénue no longer ...
Mariah Carey: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 June 1996
Top notes that come in wads ...
Herb Alpert: It's long way to Tijuana
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 10 July 1996
POP MUSIC. The mid-1960s. The era when Britannia apparently ruled the airwaves. Yet consider the American album chart of 30 years ago this week. The ...
Alison Limerick: Jazz Cafe, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 23 September 1996
Fine talent lost in the remix ...
Horace Andy: Subterania, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 9 October 1996
Massive respect ...
Alexander O'Neal: Alexander the grateful
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 8 November 1996
Finding God helped soul survivor Alexander O'Neal to straighten up and fly right. Paul Sexton reports ...
Blackstreet, The Isley Brothers, SWV, Tony! Toni! Toné!: Venus fires and retro rockets
Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 November 1996
Graphic sex is out and good, old-fashioned lurve is in for America's latest soul stars. Paul Sexton meets some of them ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 6 December 1996
Beauty and the beast ...
Michelle Gayle: Sweet soul with a hard centre
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 31 January 1997
Michelle Gayle is back, with a new album and, of course, the same old determination. Paul Sexton reports ...
Lewis Taylor: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 19 March 1997
Saving our soul ...
Eternal, Human Nature: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 7 April 1997
The sound of a well-oiled machine ...
Beth Orton: Union Chapel, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 April 1997
Finger in the ear to the ground ...
Paul Thorn, Zucchero: Zucchero, Paul Thorn: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 28 May 1997
Italy wins again ...
Boyzone: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 9 June 1997
One for the girls ...
En Vogue does not mean fashionable
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 June 1997
Paul Sexton meets the trio that found success by the old-fashioned route — via talent, hard work, charm, that sort of stuff ...
Report by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 July 1997
Paul Sexton on the sell-off that saw a generation of classics change hands ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 1 August 1997
She still needs some body ...
Boyz II Men: Motown's saviours?
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 August 1997
If Boyz II Men's new album fails, a once-great record label is in deep trouble. Paul Sexton reports... ...
Mariah Carey: In bed with my career
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 12 September 1997
Mariah Carey's marital breakdown has led to a highly personal album. Paul Sexton meets a determined diva ...
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 16 September 1997
Hollywood says hello ...
Coolio: Fairfield Halls, Croydon
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 20 October 1997
Fantastic voyage of rap to suburbia ...
Louise: Brighton Centre, Brighton
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 18 December 1997
Pretty girl, likes a melody ...
Shania Twain: Mark Twain as the face of new country
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 13 February 1998
Nashville hates her, but millions of record buyers can't be wrong about Shania Twain. Paul Sexton reports... ...
The Beatles, George Martin, The Prodigy: The backroom boys who wield a big stick
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 20 March 1998
Sir George Martin talks to Paul Sexton about the power of the producer ...
Billie Myers: Billie's big adventure
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 3 April 1998
Paul Sexton meets a Coventry lass short on sang-froid but reassuringly long on singer-songwriting talent ...
Spice Girls: Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 14 September 1998
Cooking without Ginger ...
Tina Arena: Tickled by the fickle finger of fame
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 25 September 1998
Tina Arena isn't fooled by people being nice to her now that she's a pop star, she tells Paul Sexton ...
112, Faith Evans, Puff Daddy, Total: Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, 112, Total: Sound Republic, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 19 October 1998
King of the bad boys ...
Faith Evans, The Notorious B.I.G.: Faith Evans: Faith healed
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 31 October 1998
The most famous widow in R&B? Not anymore. Faith Evans, singer, mother and survivor, has come to terms with Notorious B.I.G.'s death, is making her ...
Dru Hill: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 23 February 1999
Tears or cheers ...
All Saints: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 3 May 1999
Party night for the holy rollers ...
The Dixie Chicks: Country's bad girls
Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 June 1999
They broke all the rules in Nashville and now they're heading our way. Paul Sexton meets the Dixie Chicks ...
Backstreet Boys: Earls Court, London
Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 18 June 1999
Good, and over here ...
Whitney Houston: An audience with the diva
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 6 September 1999
On the eve of a European tour, Whitney Houston gives Paul Sexton a little of her precious time. ...
James Taylor: "I used to check my bumpers for blood"
Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Guardian, 20 December 2007
He sang sweet simple tunes with deeply felt narratives, but James Taylor's demons almost tore him apart. The thrice-married ex-drug addict tells Paul Sexton how ...
Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2009
ALISON KRAUSS IS wandering through a meadow, elegantly, if incongruously, attired in a black ballgown, her fingers languorously brushing the tall grass as she sings ...
Carly Simon: A Not So Vain Superstar
Interview by Paul Sexton, Sunday Express, 14 March 2010
TALKING TO Carly Simon is like getting an invitation to the most impossibly sophisticated party you'll ever go to but instead of making you feel ...
Robert Plant: How I got my "big voice" out again
Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2012
ROBERT PLANT stands on a small stage 4,500 miles from his birthplace, and yet he's never been so close to home. ...
Larry Graham, Prince, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham: Soul Secrets of a Family Man
Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 30 August 2012
The co-founder of funk pioneers Sly and the Family Stone Larry Graham tells Paul Sexton of stardom, survival, and his new group Graham Central Station. ...
James Taylor: "A big part of my story is recovery from addiction"
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 20 June 2015
At the age of 67, James Taylor has made his 16th album, his first in 13 years. After spending his early career addicted to heroin, ...
Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Independent, 16 October 2015
Daptone Records has put authentic soul into R&B for 15 years, from Back to Black to 'Uptown Funk'. ...
Rick Astley: Never gonna give him up: How Rick Astley returned from the wilderness
Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 9 September 2016
OVER COFFEE in a smart London hotel, Rick Astley is explaining his antidote to middle age. "I still play in a band, with a couple of friends. We ...
Bette Midler: "I was the biggest coward in the world"
Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 30 October 2016
The Grammy-winning singer and actress tells Paul Sexton about her accidental, taboo-busting journey from Hawaii to Hollywood. ...
James Brown: Cliff White, 1945-2018
Obituary by Paul Sexton, Music Week, 30 January 2018
CLIFF WHITE, one of the UK's leading journalistic authorities on soul music and a Grammy winner for his work on James Brown's Star Time box ...
James Taylor: Going on tour with his old friend Paul Simon
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Sunday Times, 13 May 2018
Fifty years after he signed up with the Beatles, Taylor is returning to London. He's not stopping yet. ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Sunday Times, 11 November 2018
Aged 69, the guitarist isn't marking time. With a new album out this week and the musical Local Hero opening next year, the Straits man ...
Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard: 'I Don't Know What You've Got': Little Richard With Young Jimi Hendrix
Retrospective by Paul Sexton, uDiscoverMusic, 20 November 2020
'I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)' became Richard's last Top 20 R&B hit and featured a future superstar guitarist. ...
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