Push
Push left Melody Maker in early 1995 to become launch editor of Muzik, IPC’s dance music magazine. He remained editor until late 1998, by which time the magazine had won several industry awards and achieved an ABC of over 50,000. He left Muzik to become editor of Mondo, a male lifestyle magazine launched via Cabal Communiations, but Mondo proved to be a relatively short-lived project and was closed down in 2000.
In more recent times, Push has spent much of his time writing books, most notably The Book Of E: All About Ecstasy (co-written with Canadian author and journalist Mireille Silcoff) and Rat Scabies And The Holy Grail, which was published under his real name, Christopher Dawes.
An archive website called Pushstuff
96 articles
List of articles in the library
Bronski Beat: Piccadilly St James's Church, London
Live Review by Push, Soundcheck, August 1984
HERE'S a great game, boys and girls. The idea is to see how pale a pop group's other songs seem when set alongside their massive ...
Review by Push, Soundcheck, August 1984
WARNING: This is an American release and it may take a lot of effort to find a copy. Justification: all successful searches will be truly ...
Colenso Parade, Pulp: Pulp/Colenso Parade: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986
COURAGE IS the key word. Pulp throw out sudden drum rumbles and savage violin wails, lazy guitar twiddles and keyboard stabs, all wrapped around vocals ...
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987
THE MAN HAS become the bane of my life. He telephones me every day, usually more than once. I meet him in the haze of ...
Cardiacs: The Cardiacs: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 7 February 1987
TIM SMITH dribbles over his guitar and gesticulates with one or two fingers. ...
Aswad, Toots & The Maytals: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 19 September 1987
THE HOMECOMING. The hope coming. Aswad are undoubtedly the most prestigious band who could assist in the revival of a genre whose popularity has flagged ...
Lee "Scratch" Perry: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 3 October 1987
PRESIDENT Abraham Perry appears in full ceremonial dress. Long red socks, stars upon his breeches, fairy lights around his head, a mirror strapped to his ...
Lee "Scratch" Perry: Lee 'Scratch' Perry: The 30 Year Itch
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 October 1987
"I AM the first black Jew you've ever seen," he says. Later he declares, "I am Hitler! I rule the swastika!" ...
Cardiacs: Bunker Club, Rotterdam
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 14 November 1987
THE MANIAC, the idiot, the fop, the sultry and the forlorn, the one who defies description: six characters in search of a play. What do ...
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 April 1988
DO YOU EVER get to see daylight, Mark? ...
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 21 May 1988
THE VAST majority of double albums are stuffed with excessive nonsense, material which a greater perspicacity would have assigned to personal libraries. He's The D.J., ...
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine: Carter USM: Sex Mechanics
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 6 August 1988
"I DUNNO, REALLY. We just looked at a pot of jam on the table and thought, 'Let's call it Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine'. No, ...
Guns N' Roses: The Rocky Horror Show
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 September 1988
When Guns N' Roses were interviewed just before they performed at Castle Donington last week, guitarist Slash said, "The kids need to have that one ...
The Bubblemen, Spacemen 3: Spacemen 3, the Bubblemen: Riverside Studios, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 3 September 1988
BEYOND THE BEYOND ...
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 8 October 1988
TIMOTHY LONDON, the self-elected chairman of the board, pops his head in to say hello. But beyond that, he's happy to leave the talking to ...
Bomb The Bass: Into The Dragon (Rhythm King)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE to know where to begin with Bomb The Bass. Tim Simenon, part joker, part scientist, part funny, furry hat, doesn't know either, even ...
Savage Republic: Republican Party Reptiles
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 22 October 1988
IN THEIR SEVEN-YEAR CAREER, SEMINAL L.A. MUTINEERS SAVAGE REPUBLIC CLAIM TO HAVE INFLUENCED BOTH SONIC YOUTH AND SWANS. NOW THEIR ALBUMS ARE FINALLY AVAILABLE IN ...
Tom Tom Club: The Borderline, London
Live Review by Push, Soho News, 9 November 1988
FROM THE OPENING ripple of 'Little Eva' to the parting shot that is 'Psycho Killer', this is – note for note, word for word – ...
Overview by Push, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988
AT THE BEGINNING of this year a House record would have cleared the majority of London's dancefloors. ...
The Wolfgang Press: Wolfgang Press: Pressing Engagements
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 4 February 1989
4AD'S LONGEST-SERVING BAND TALK TO PUSH ABOUT 'KANSAS', THEIR NEW SINGLE INSPIRED BY THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION AND EXPLAIN WHY EXPERIMENTATION AND INNOVATION HAS SO FAR ...
De La Soul: 3 Feet High And Rising (Tommy Boy/Big Life)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989
THE DAISY AGE ...
Anthrax, Living Colour: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 1 April 1989
FAVOURITE COLOURS ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 8 April 1989
PUSH TALKS TO THE BIGGEST RAP SENSATION SINCE PUBLIC ENEMY AND DISCOVERS WHAT LIFE'S LIKE ON PLANET SCREWBALL. ...
Just-Ice: The Sophisticated Thug
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989
"FORGET IT, MAN. I ain't gonna talk about those things. Don't ask nothing about that. You won't get no answers. Those things are very personal, ...
Mudhoney, Soundgarden: School of African and Oriental Studies, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989
THERE'S NO containing the capricious belligerence of Seattle's Soundgarden. Vocalist Chris Cornell — part monkey, part Adonis and all of a doodah — is stripped ...
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989
DESPITE GAINING the respect of Billy Mackenzie and Roddy Frame, success has eluded Paul Haig: he's still probably best known for his role in Josef ...
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: Straight To The Sky (CBS)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 3 June 1989
MUCH OF Straight To The Sky is thinly disguised and indiscriminately stolen property .There's the instantly recognisable keyboard climb from Yazoo's 'Don't Go', a little ...
N.W.A.: Straight Outta Compton (Priority/Ruthless)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 8 July 1989
THE SLEEVE of Straight Outta Compton, the debut LP from N.W.A., depicts one of the members of this Los Angeles rap group pointing a pistol ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 5 August 1989
Just when you thought Public Enemy had pushed as far as it could go, just when you thought rap outrage had peaked, along come N.W.A. ...
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 19 August 1989
STONED, LOADED. It's both a mental and a physical bliss. Everything is nothing but an abandoned blur. Minutes away from a blackout, from a sweet, ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 September 1989
WITH TWO NUMBER ONE SINGLES ALREADY UNDER HIS BELT, MARK MOORE WAS FINALLY CROWNED AS THE SVENGALI OF ACID SAMPLING WHEN PRINCE ASKED HIM TO ...
Digital Underground: Space Oddities
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 16 September 1989
"LOTS OF PEOPLE have said we're similar to De La Soul simply because we're with the same record company in America and we both have ...
Soundgarden: Sex and Guns and Rock 'N' Roll
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 7 October 1989
"WE SIGNED WITH A&M about eight months ago, at around the same time our Ultramega OK album was released by SST. We'd been talking to ...
Mudhoney: Mudhoney (Glitterhouse)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 28 October 1989
THE BLITZ PARADE ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 4 November 1989
IN THEIR SHORT CAREER THE RAPPERS HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI, CONDEMNED BY THE CONGRESS FOR RACIAL EOUALITY, BANNED BY TV AND RADIO AND ...
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 December 1989
"THIS IS TOTALLY weird," says drummer Brendan Canty, pointing to a photograph of himself that appeared in Melody Maker the last time Washington DC's Fugazi ...
The Jungle Brothers: Jungle Brothers: Done By The Forces Of Nature (WEA)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 20 January 1990
RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE ...
Beats International: A Family Affair
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 10 February 1990
SINCE LEAVING THE HOUSEMARTINS, NORMAN COOK HAS BEEN WORKING UP SOME SHARP DANCE GROOVES. PUSH INVESTIGATES HIS LATEST PROJECTS. ...
Primal Scream, Andrew Weatherall: Primal Scream: Spring Loaded
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 10 March 1990
The former darlings of indie rock may lose some deities with their new house-orientated single 'Loaded', but Primal leader Bobby Gillespie is determined to use ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 10 March 1990
Push reports on The KLF, Bill Drummond's new band who're at the forefront of the ambient house movement. After The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu ...
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990
IMPURITY AND impatience are two of the most obviously immediate characteristics of Repeater, Fugazi's third LP. Words drip with spit and guitar notes collide, the ...
Grace Jones: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 7 April 1990
IT'S THE second of Grace Jones's first London shows for almost 10 years and everybody's hoping there won't be a repeat of the appallingly unprofessional ...
Pussy Galore: Historia De La Musica Rock (Rough Trade)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 12 May 1990
REVOLUTION SUMMER ...
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990
BLUR are precisely that. The antics of their vocalist have to be seen to be believed. ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990
AFTER MONTHS BUILDING A REPUTATION AS THE WILDEST MAN ON THE HOUSE RAVE CIRCUIT, GURU JOSH SUDDENLY HIT THE BIG TIME EARLIER THIS YEAR WITH ...
Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Profile US import CD)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990
GANG BUSTER ...
Pop Will Eat Itself: Porn to be Wild
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990
NEITHER THE Football Association nor, astonishingly, FIFA's UK representatives are entirely sure who will be presenting the 1990 World Cup to the winners in Italy ...
Above the Law, Michel'le, N.W.A: NWA, Above The Law, Michel'le: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990
GUNS OF BRIXTON ...
Bim Sherman: Too Hot (Century)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990
EVEN BIM Sherman isn't sure how many solo LPs he's released, but Too Hot must take him up to around the 20 mark. Add to ...
Soul II Soul: Voice of the B Jive
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990
JAZZIE B HAS ALREADY BEEN CREDITED WITH CHANGING THE FACE OF DANCE MUSIC IN THE LATE-EIGHTIES. SINCE THE RELEASE OF CLUB CLASSICS VOL 1 LAST ...
Overview by Push, Melody Maker, 23 June 1990
To mark their 10th anniversary, the famous cassette label ROIR has released a compilation album featuring artists like Television, MC5 and The Buzzcocks. PUSH reports. ...
Gary Clail, On-U Sound System: Gary Clail: Heard It Through The Bovine
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 14 July 1990
Alter supporting Happy Mondays at Wembley and a performance at Glastonbury, GARY CLAIL releases a new single, 'Beef', on Paul Oakenfold's RCA-financed Perfecto label. PUSH ...
Report and Interview by Push, Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 18 August 1990
A couple of years ago, the success of DJ-based groups such as M/A/R/R/S, Coldcut, S'Express and Bomb The Bass heralded a new musical era. Now, ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 November 1990
"JOHNNY ROTTEN telephoned me within hours of splitting The Sex Pistols," begins Jah Wobble, acknowledging the fact that there's a fascinating background story to tell ...
Professor Griff, Public Enemy: Professor Griff: Putting America On Trial
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 3 November 1990
In the past year, Professor Griff has been thrown out of PUBLIC ENEMY, accused of being a racist, a Jew-hater and an American-basher. PUSH talks ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 15 December 1990
NIRVANA'S NEW single, 'Sliver' weighs in at a fraction over two minutes and is one hell of a pop song. No messing. ...
Vanilla Ice: To The Extreme (SBK Records)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 15 December 1990
UNTIL he hit number one with 'Ice Ice Baby', Vanilla Ice's major claims to fame were going to school with 2 Live Crew and looking ...
Flowered Up, Saint Etienne: St Etienne, Flowered Up: The Underworld, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991
THOSE WHO believed the rumour that Happy Mondays were to be the surprise guests at St Etienne's Christmas trash will probably still be waiting by ...
Gang Starr: Step Into The Arena (Cooltempo)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991
JAZZ U LIKE IT ...
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 18 May 1991
On the eve of their first British live dates, PUSH meets a rap duo who don't glorify ghetto violence, drugs, crime and screwing "bitches", but ...
Bomb The Bass: Seasonal Adjustment
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 13 July 1991
TIM SIMENON shuts his eyes, shakes his head and through gritted teeth describes the last Bomb The Bass single, 'Love So True', as "a total ...
Primal Scream, Andrew Weatherall: Andy Weatherall: Mixed Emotions
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 17 August 1991
In his first ever interview outside Bocca Juniors, ANDY WEATHERALL talks to PUSH about being the most sought-after remixing whiz-kid of the Nineties and his ...
Fun-Da-Mental: Prohibition, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991
FUND-DA-Mental's claim to be the British Asian version of Public Enemy isn't as daft as it sounds. The "Black Revolutionary Runnings" tee-shirts and the keyboard ...
Soundgarden: Daylight Shrubbery
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 5 October 1991
With their Badmotorfinger LP being hailed as a classic, SOUNDGARDEN tell PUSH that this is their time ...
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 6 1992
"IT'S FUCKING CRAZY. It's completely fucking mad. We can't stop celebrating. We've been off our fucking heads since Thursday." ...
Terry Edwards: Totally Wired Individual
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 18 January 1992
TERRY EDWARDS has long been true to the word "individual" he has tattooed along his neck. ...
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 18 April 1992
TRUST FLOWERED UP to come up with the name "Debauchery" for the unofficial launch party for their new single, 'Weekender'. And trust them to take ...
Fun-Da-Mental: Turban Warriors
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992
"FORGET THE IMAGE of Asians as passive, happy people," begins Prince Haq, MC with Fun-Da-Mental, a Bradford group who are fast making a name for ...
Derrick May & Associates: Relics (Transmat/Buzz)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992
MAY'S DAZE ...
New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses: For Faç's Sake! 10 Years of the Haçienda
Retrospective and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992
Few clubs can lay claim to changing the face of music, but THE HAÇIENDA certainly made it smile, giving fledgling acts like The Stone Roses, ...
Galliano: A Joyful Noise Unto The Creator (Talkin' Loud)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992
WHAT DO Galliano have to do to get a hit record? It's been bugging me for ages, ever since 'Jus' Reach' fell short of the ...
The Rockingbirds: Modern Lovers: The Rockingbirds
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992
"EVERY GROUP SHOULD be like a cartoon," says Alan Tyler, former philosophy student, tap dancer and bookies runner, now lead singer with the Rockingbirds. "If ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 15 August 1992
THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES' new LP is a veritable cornucopia of rap talent. PUSH gets the word on the band that all the other bands ...
GWAR! What Is It Good For? GWAR: The Longhorn, Stuttgart
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 10 October 1992
THIS IS utter f***ing madness. ...
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992
THE ORB are on the road and mayhem reigns. PUSH joins in the jollities ...
Leftfield: Release The Pressure!
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 5 December 1992
CRITICAL ACCLAIM means bugger-all in clubland. Here, an act's reputation is better measured by the number of others sampling them. And, right now, it's impossible ...
The Frank and Walters: Making a Splash
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993
"WOW! WILL you look at that now? Isn't that just crazy?" ...
Jamiroquai: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993
JAZZ, FOR FUNK'S SAKE! ...
Jamiroquai: Hat's Entertainment!
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993
Jamiroquai are Jay Kay, basically, a serious 22-year-old west Londoner with serious political ideas, a serious love of funk and a seriously funky voice. PUSH ...
LL Cool J: LL Cool J: 14 Shots To The Dome (Def Jam)
Review by Push, Melody Maker, 17 April 1993
THE CAREER of LL Cool J, which began almost 10 years ago with the first Def Jam release, has been a helter skelter of ups ...
Bandulu: Infonet Possibilities
Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993
"NONE OF BANDULU started out as musicians or DJs. We started as record collectors. Going back a few years, we thought nothing of bunking off ...
Profile and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 October 1993
"THESE GUYS SAVED my life," begins Cranium HF vocalist Fisheye, nodding at his partners Kev and Ross. "I was really seriously ill when I first ...
Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994
I KNOW IT'S ONLY January but there's no way you will hear a more thrilling dance music album this year than Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman. No fucking ...
The Chemical Brothers: Chemicrazy Pilots
Interview by Push, Muzik, June 1995
They've changed their name from The Dust Brothers to THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS and their beats are beefier than ever. Stand by for the imminent release ...
St Germain: Boulevard (F Communications)
Review by Push, Muzik, July 1995
GONE ARE THE days when everybody under 40 associated jazz with Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band and little else besides. ...
Interview by Push, Muzik, 10 March 1996
With the release of their new album, Second Toughest In The Infants, UNDERWORLD take a hurtling ride through their world... With a little help from ...
Interview by Push, Muzik, September 1996
PETE TONG. His Essential Selection show on Radio One is the nation's choice on a Friday night. It's a dry run for a night out, ...
Secret Knowledge: Hi Bunny, I'm Home!
Interview by Push, Muzik, September 1996
Kris Needs and Wonder. A boy from Aylesbury and a girl from Ohio. Music from the heart, some hard lessons from the street... and a ...
DJ Shadow: Endtroducing... (Mo'Wax)
Review by Push, Muzik, October 1996
STUTTERED BEATS, fluttered beats. Scratching harder and faster than the caretaker's cat at the local fleapit. Pianos which tease and prick, b-lines which cajole and ...
Interview by Push, Muzik, May 1997
DON'T MENTION the war. Unless you are in Rotterdam. Because if you are in Rotterdam, you really should know that on 14 May 1940, a ...
Luscious Jackson: Divan Du Monde, Paris
Live Review by Push, Muzik, June 1997
GUITARS ARE crap. It's a simple and obvious fact of modern life. Except when it comes to Luscious Jackson, that is. ...
Primal Scream: Vanishing Point (Creation)
Review by Push, Muzik, August 1997
YOU CAN'T overestimate the importance of Primal Scream in the grand scheme of groovy things. ...
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