Steven Wells
Steven Wells, aka Swells, aka Seething Wells, aka Susan Williams, aka aka aka, was one of the truly great comedians working in rock prose - a sit-down comic if ever there was one. He wrote for NME, Philadelphia Weekly and other rags, and appeared frequently on the telly. Swells died in his adopted Philadelphia in June 2009.
RBP writers pay tribute to Swellsy
179 articles
List of articles in the library
2 Live Crew: Sports Weekend (As Nasty As They Wanna Be Part II) (Luke Records/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 October 1991
YO! DIDDLEY! ...
2 Live Crew, Skid Row: Skid Row and 2 Live Crew: Let's Shock!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 30 November 1991
So just who is the most outrageous of them all? Is it SKID ROW'S SEBASTIAN BACH — banned from Wembley Stadium for life for using ...
3 Colours Red: Revolt (Creation)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 February 1999
OVERTHROWING MUSES ...
ABBA, Bjorn Again: Bjorn Again: You Saab Bastards!
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 December 1992
Are BJORN AGAIN the camp, knowing, so-bad-it's-good good-time covers band it's OK to like? Or the malignant cancer eating away at real rebellious new rock ...
The Adverts, The Clash, Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex: Jon Savage: "I Remember Punk Rock..."
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 October 1991
He was a bored public schoolboy, then JON SAVAGE heard the Pistols and the Clash and the strings of his heart went ping. He's now ...
Alabama 3: Testament Department
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 June 1997
Yea, verily, it is written. Theatrical preacher types ALABAMA 3 will meet STEVEN WELLS in a Brixton restaurant. They will shout at him about about ...
Amen: "I don't know if I'll be around in five days, let alone five years"
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 November 2000
Don't put your son on the stage, Mrs Chaos. Not unless you want him to form the most vile, heathen, nihilistic, hedonistic rock 'n' roll ...
Anthrax: State Of Euphoria (Island LP/Cassette/CD)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 24 September 1988
LAD TIMING ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 29 August 1987
THRASH TRASH ...
Anthrax, Public Enemy: Anthrax and Chuck D: Noise From The Black Stuff
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 June 1991
Five years after Run DMC's groundbreaking rap reworking of Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way', rock is finally repaying the compliment with ANTHRAX'S astonishing take on Public ...
Apache Indian: Big Bhangra Theory
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 January 1993
He's been called the voice of Asian youth, the pop Gandhi and a politician but, according to APACHE INDIAN, his music just reflects the sound ...
Ash: Turn Up, Check In, Rock Out!
Report by Steven Wells, Vox, December 1995
These days, most teenagers leave school and sign on. But not ASH – they play loud punk rock, trash hotels and party till they puke. ...
Ash: Staying Out Of It For The Summer
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 28 June 1997
As the world prepares to get ripped to the tits on cheap cider and mung bean noodle bake at GLASTONBURY, NME indulges in a series ...
Ash: TFI Friday, Saturday, Sunday...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 March 1997
They've been on the rock'n'roller coaster since they were bagging off school to play gigs but there's just the little matter of five sell-out shows ...
Asian Dub Foundation: Forum, Kentish Town, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 30 October 1999
PUNK IS DEAD! LONG LIVE, ERM, PUNK! ...
Rick Astley: Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 24 December 1988
IS RICK merely a driplet of festering pus oozing from a seeping SAW inflicted on the slashed side of the crucified pop-christ by the very ...
Overview by Keith Cameron, Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 January 1992
It's the dawning of a new earache! Jakki Brambles is playing Daisy Chainsaw! Your parents have heard of Nirvana! Geffen are chasing Mudhoney! Madonna's into ...
Bad Boys Inc: Naughty By Nurture
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 3 July 1993
It's easy to be cynical about 'manufactured' Pop Stars, how it's all so easy for talentless young upstarts to get fame and fortune beyond their ...
Bad Boys Inc, Take That: Take That and Parody
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 October 1993
Pop is being manufactured like never before — especially cute-white-boy pop. As the war between champs TAKE THAT and challengers BAD BOYS INC hots up, ...
Buju Banton: Young Slack Teenager
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 14 August 1993
Two years ago, BUJU BANTON caused a furore with his single 'Boom Bye Bye', advocating the killing of homosexuals, a controversy further fuelled when his ...
The Beastie Boys: Rap Around The Cock
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 January 1987
THE BEASTIE BOYS take a long, slow ride into the sewers of their minds, accompanied by a fascinated hack, one STEVEN WELLS. They do it ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 28 May 1994
SHIRT UP AND DANCE ...
The Beastie Boys: Beastie Boys: Licensed To Ill (Def Jam)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 29 November 1986
SLOW AND LOW AND SICK AND FAB ...
Belle And Sebastian: Belle & Sebastian: The Lo-Fi Who Came In From The Cold
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 20 May 2000
After years of refusing to speak to the press, Belle & Sebastian mainman Stuart Murdoch finally faces up to his fiercest critic. ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 November 1987
SOFA, SO GOOOOOOD! ...
The Bloodhound Gang: A Question of Sportz
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 11 March 2000
Juvenile and offensive, do Bloodhound Gang represent the bona fide arse end of sportz meddle? ...
The Bluetones: Bolt From The Blue
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 February 2000
Take one top Rottweiler, introduce it to an indie band, throw in some irresponsible comments about the "dilution of English culture" and await the inevitable ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 11 March 1989
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" ...
Bon Jovi: Don't Mention The Hair!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 June 2000
Tousled, crimped and teased to perfection, how can NME not mention poodle rock's most celebrated barnet? So Bon Jovi, hair we go! ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 November 1990
Luscious, pouting, loud-mouthed, lambasting BETTY BOO is asking 250 million screaming teen hordes 'Where Are You Baby' in her day-glo, bobbed and blushered bid to ...
Burzum, Darkthrone, Mayhem: Varg Vikernes: This is the Most Evil Man in Rock
Overview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 September 1998
STEVEN WELLS reports on the BLACK METAL scene, where various bands have been linked to church burnings, neo-Nazism and even murder. ...
Busta Rhymes: The Temple, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 April 1998
AND WHAT sort of name is 'Busta Rhymes' anyway? Sounds like a character from the Whizzer & Chips comic circa 1978. No, but seriously, the ...
Butthole Surfers: The Butthole Surfers: Beach Bums
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 October 1985
Taller than Jesus, ferociously noisy, militantly gay and quite probably off their trolleys, THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS are coming to get ya, ready or not. Blubbering ...
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine: Carter USM: Tattoo Little Boys
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 November 1995
CARTER USM have been held back by their following's anti-pop element — a minority who can't accept that their heroes don't want to kill pop. ...
Johnny Cash: Old, Gifted And Black
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 27 April 1991
A C&W star for longer than most people have been alive, you'd expect JOHNNY CASH to be a down home, redneck good ol'boy. Hell no! ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 24 April 1999
Cast's John Power may be older, cutting down on the 'chong' and, um, less frantic but, don't worry, he can still talk bollocks for England... ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 February 1998
Mulder & Scully. Horses' heads in people's beds. Selfish genes. Blimey what are those crazy cats CATATONIA singing about? Well, don't bother asking the band. ...
The Chemical Brothers: Octagon Theatre, Sheffield
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 December 1997
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS: A couple of girly-haired posho Oxbridge medieval language student chancers who claim that their 'big beat' mobile disco can knock any rock ...
Cher: Love Hurts (Geffen/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 July 1991
STRONG POP-women ditch bastard men to make it big time. Mad Donna slung out stroppy Sean to become Number One Rock Goddess whilst mighty hewed ...
Chicks on Speed: International punky art rockers: Chicks On Speed
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 January 2000
Three Chicks On Speed stand statue-still onstage dressed in leather rags while a giant robo-voice intones "CHICKS ON SPEED" over a demented dustbin techno loop. ...
Chumbawamba, Class War, Conflict, Crass, Flux of Pink Indians: Anarcho-Punk: Veg Wedge
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 May 1987
With Crass, Poison Girls and Flux in either retirement or a state of change, and Conflict in trouble, the anarcho-punk movement is in tatters. STEVEN ...
Phil Collins: Ugly Bald Bastard Speaks (to Phil Collins)
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 3 March 1990
• He leaves the toilet seat up! He does stuff in the privacy of his own house! He's worth 22 million! He's not a rich ...
Cowboy Junkies: Steers Beers and Pointy Ears
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 March 1992
Q: Who killed John Wayne?A: Burt Lungcancer.– Cowboy drug joke, trad. ...
Cradle Of Filth: This Is My Uncouth
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 December 1998
It was a meeting made in hell — quite literally. A gathering of the forces of evil — namely Cradle Of Filth — and the ...
The Cult: Bill and Ian's Excellent Adventure
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 February 1992
Free-wheelin' through the Deep South, peddling their Bible Of Dangerous Rawk to innocent kids and getting chased by magnum-toting sheriffs...Yeah, THE CULT are still up ...
Smiley Culture: Word Party, Y'all
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 November 1986
Rabbit on, SMILEY CULTURE! STEVEN WELLS ties tongues wiv the mouf movin' fast frew the language barriers. ...
Daisy Chainsaw: Drivin' Miss Daisy
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 11 January 1992
In less than eight years, Daisy Chainsaw will be crushed to death by a giant rock from outer space. So shut up! Listen! We haven't ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 September 2000
Daphne & Celeste — social commentators, teen girls bringing a breath of fresh air to the testosterone-charged air of the Carling Weekend. Of course not ...
Terence Trent D'Arby, Prince: Terence Trent D'Arby: Storm in a T-Shirt; Prince: Prince of Darkness
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 August 1987
"RACIST" D'ARBY T-SHIRT ROW... DEMONIC PRINCE IS "SATAN'S TOOL"... STEVEN WELLS INVESTIGATES ...
Derek B, Pop Will Eat Itself, Public Enemy: Pop Will Eat Itself: Scrapping With Rap
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 29 October 1988
As DEF JAM'S happy rap panto rolls through Europe POP WILL EAT ITSELF and PUBLIC ENEMY are getting on fine. Unfortunately the hordes of Belgian ...
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Telly It Like It Is
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 April 1992
Prime your remote controls for the anger and eloquence of powerful San Franciscan panthers of polemic rap, THE DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY, telling it like ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 16 December 2000
Straight outta Compton, Dr. Dre shaped the future of gangsta rap with NWA and lived to tell the tale. Now, the man responsible for giving ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 July 1992
Smells like (oh yes) caffeine spirit! Brash, thrashy, bursting with attitude, irony and a shameless desire to make a mint out of countless 'intellectual redneck' ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 September 1994
Hard-lad hoodlums in a world of antiseptic pop fodder, EAST 17 are the credible alternative to the usual pec-flexing pin-ups that try to storm the ...
Eels: The Freak Shall Inherit The Earth
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 March 1997
The EELS are the band currently treating Britain to the joys of geek power with their hit single, 'Novocaine For The Soul'. And leading their ...
Elastica, John Lydon, S*M*A*S*H, These Animal Men: Speed: Sinus Of The Times
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 March 1994
Hey, you! Are you trying to coat your lungs with a half-pound bag of baking soda mixed with industrial-strength heroin and dealer's dandruff? STEVEN 'Just ...
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, theaudience: theaudience: Sophie's Choice
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 29 August 1998
First she was a grunge slacker, then an Adidas-clad Britpopper, but nowadays it's not so clear. Is THEAUDIENCE's glamourpuss Sophie Ellis Bextor "showbiz royalty" or ...
EMF: I've Got You Under My Foreskin
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 10 October 1992
Once they were young, pretty and sexy pop stars riding on the frenzied rock-shag monster with a diet of dangerous drugs and sex. Now EMF ...
Eminem: The Slim Shady LP (Aftermath/Interscope)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 April 1999
MMM, LET'S TALK about sweeties! M&M's are the grey squirrels of the confectionery world, driving the indigenous British Smartie to the verge of extinction. A ...
Erasure: I Say I Say I Say I Say (Mute/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 May 1994
DURING THE recent furore over the homosexual age of consent, nobody saw fit to introduce into the debate the on-going 30-year-old love affair between straight ...
The Fall, I, Ludicrous: Mark E. Smith and I, Ludicrous: Notebooks! Lout! Plagiarists!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 12 September 1992
• Which scabrous, sarky interviewer could give Fall-derivatives, football-obsessive and all-round smart alecks I, LUDICROUS a good going-over as their Idiots Savants LP sneaks out? ...
Bryan Ferry: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 February 1989
SENT TO review a man who looks like the squinting lion out of Banana Splits, who sings like a garrotted donkey and dresses like a total ...
Fields Of The Nephilim: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 16 January 1988
NEPHI-PHLEGM ...
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 July 1995
The last time FUN-DA-MENTAL took a journalist to Pakistan, the writer came home a jibbering wreck and the band split. A return trip anyone? Bribes/blackmail/strict ...
Interview by Steven Wells, Vox, April 1996
SAN FRANCISCO: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is being projected onto the fire curtain while the stage is being prepared for Garbage. The soundless ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 March 1998
Take some scary spiders, a few mad mutts, a sound akin to the Pet Shop Boys on downers and, er, eye of Shirley Manson, and ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 March 1998
Take some scary spiders, a few mad mutts, a sound akin to the Pet Shop Boys on downers and, er, eye of SHIRLEY MANSON, and ...
Garbage: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 30 January 1999
VERSION INCISION ...
Gaye Bykers On Acid: Camden Palace, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 16 May 1987
THO' THEY dilly dally mightily with the inherently sloppy imagery of psychedelic flip-foppery, the Bykers are in reality as hard and as disciplined as a ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 February 1999
Gene — bunch of weedy, sensitive fops, right? Wrong! For they have returned and this time they are a no-nonsense, well-hard fighting machine. So just ...
Guns N' Roses, Frankie Knuckles, Tone Lōc: Friend or Phobic?
Comment by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 March 1990
STEVEN WELLS investigates American rock's backlash against gays ...
Happy Mondays: Working Class Zero
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 16 November 1991
1990 was the year HAPPY MONDAYS could do no wrong. But this year they've made more headlines than records — Ronnie Biggs, editing Penthouse, the ...
Hole: The Berlin Independent Days Festival: Don't Mention The Wall!
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 November 1991
Swells Uber Alles! STEVEN WELLS takes his war on Jingly Jangly Wank to the Berlin Independent Days festival, where he shouts at Indie Kids, Europop ...
Special Feature by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 March 1993
You've seen HUGGY BEAR smash up mainstream complacency on The Word, you've been baffled by a load of biased ranting on some kind of new ...
Idlewild: Arts Theatre, Kirkwall
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 25 September 1999
ORKNEY LOVE ...
Idlewild: Where the Idlewild Things Are
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 October 1999
And where are Idlewild? In the bleedin' Orkneys, as far away from the cynical London music biz as possible, honing their new 'acoustic' direction in ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 28 April 1990
BILLY IDOL has got plastered! He's got God! He's got dead! Rumours about the blond Bromley bombshell blast through the ether of Transatlantic rockgossip! Is ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 January 1998
Politicians hate them, Christians hate them and, since they beat him up, Thom Yorke probably does too. But those bonkers kids in America just love ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 July 1989
THERE IS a sound where pop meets chaos and rides its fury and when I heard it I fall in love... ...
Kenickie: Socialist Smirkers Party
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 10 May 1997
Tory-bashing, loads of shouting and plenty of swearing. Enough about STEVEN WELLS, 'cos here's KENICKIE. And they've brought their cracking debut LP At The Club ...
Killing Joke: I Came, I Warsaw, I'm Bonkers!
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 27 October 1990
Push! Struggle! They're living in the '90s!! Steven Wells joins Killing Joke as they storm Poland, and finds Jaz Coleman recovering from playing with "chaotic ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 September 1998
OK, Yank metalheads Korn might not be named after a foot complaint, but they are definitely hot-blooded hetero rawk muthas, right?! Why else would they ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 30 May 1992
Ranting, shouting, swearing, spilling conspiracy theories, spitting food in faces — L7, that is, not STEVEN WELLS (for once)! Gag, vom and die laughing as ...
Tommy Lee, Methods of Mayhem, Mötley Crüe: Tommy Lee: Tommy Knockers…
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 March 2000
…well we were, but now we're willing to give former Mötley Crüe drummer and lo-fi porn star Tommy Lee the benefit of the doubt. 'Cos ...
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 14 October 2000
ARSE AND PISS. Gerrit? Crap, innit? ...
Living Colour: Astoria, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 September 1988
"IF YOU'RE black, it's OK to be two things, a crooner in a fairisle sweater or a bad ass B-Boy... look at the history of rock music, ...
Londonbeat: Mammal We're All Crazy Now
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 October 1990
Rubberwear! Snorkels! Four-foot sexual organs! Real chart acts! We aim to please... Gasp in astonishment as LONDONBEAT give STEVEN WELLS a sense of porpoise and ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 October 1991
Are LUSH the new Mike Oldfield? Does the old Mike Oldfield reckon his fans are "twats"? Is STEVEN WELLS picking on their gurly petal rock ...
Manic Street Preachers: Manic On The Streets Of London
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991
"SMASH HITS is more effective in polluting minds than Goebbels ever was…" ...
Manic Street Preachers: The Junction, Cambridge
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 January 1992
THE MANIC kampfwagen rolls on, picking up speed, one album to total oblivion, wannabe girl-boys with Welsh haircuts and purple scarves and blue blouses and ...
Marilyn Manson: The Afterlife Of Brian
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 30 August 1997
You may think that MARILYN MANSON (or Brian to his mum) is just a spooky goth who smokes human bones and sings about scabby angels ...
Mansun: Rocket From The Cryptic
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 February 1997
It's a mighty strange world that MANSUN inhabit — stripping vicars, bend-your-brains surrealism, anti-religious ranting and, of course, songs about chickens. STEVEN WELLS takes the ...
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 September 1999
SCIENTISTS SEEM to be forever discovering hideously ugly living examples of supposedly extinct prehistoric animals. One experiences a similar frisson of excitement upon discovering that ...
Metallica, Queen: Metallica: Het's Induction Hour
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 May 1992
JAMES HETFIELD likes weapons, Queen, women who aren't brain-surgeons, hates rap and looking like Lemmy, doesn't know all the words to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' but feels ...
Mortiis: "Boy. I'm really nervous!"
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 25 September 1999
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the real Mortiis ...
Mötley Crüe: Decade of Dickheadedness
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 October 1991
Grand old dames of Heavy Metal MÖTLEY CRÜE have just signed a record deal worth a cool £35 million. Not bad for a band that ...
Mudhoney: Dweeb Will, Dweeb Will Rock You!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 July 1990
Diseased drugvom and dogs! MUDHONEY cut through STEVEN WELLS' spunk encrusted C60 to give us the bald and rotting bare facts about the inadequacy of ...
Napalm Death: Fear, Emptiness, Despair (Earache/All Formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 May 1994
WHAT CAN you say about a band who defined the very genre of which they are a part? ...
Napalm Death: Harmony Corruption (Earache LP/CD)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 September 1990
WHAT DO you do when you've reached the outer limits of the known universe? That's the question that haunts the makers of the Star Trek ...
Napalm Death: End of an Earache
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 January 1992
Two weeks ago STEVEN WELLS parachuted into Moscow to witness first hand the mega f— off potential of born-again frash warriors NAPALM DEATH. Today, the ...
Nine Inch Nails: Bierkeller, Bristol
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 September 1991
NINE DANKE! ...
No Way Sis, Oasis: No Way Sis: Faker Makers!
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 December 1996
• Tipped for the Christmas Number One spot, besieged by groupies, plagued by demented fans — yup, Oasis copyists NO WAY SIS have made it ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 October 1988
"IT'S COLD outside" sang GARY NUMAN nine years ago during 'Are Friend's Electric''s wintery grip on the charts. None of Gaz's more recent attempts have ...
N.W.A.: Some Muthas Do 'Ave 'Em
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 June 1990
Rubbing white America's nose in its own racism or blagging big bucks by glorifying gangsterism, NWA are not the FBI-pigs' favourite people. STEVEN 'Wild West' ...
N.W.A: Niggers With Attitude: Straight Outta Compton (4th And Broadway LP/Cassette/CD)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 September 1989
PAINT IT BLACK ...
Offspring: The Offspring: Spawn To Be Wild
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 February 1997
• Californian punk rockers THE OFFSPRING are hated by the American 'underground'. Why? Well, they love 70s disco, one of them is saving for his ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 7 September 1991
Techno-slaphead alert! Bow-tie-wearing aliens with enormo-ears from planet Proper Dance Music are writhing in our cornfields and masquerading as ORBITAL. Beam me up, Rotty, screams ...
Ozzy Osbourne: Big Oz I Love You
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 May 1989
Why does MR OSBOURNE bite the heads off small animals? Ozzy can. Get it? Is Oz a fat geriatric bastard who'd be better off playing ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 January 2001
They're Yanks, they rock, but, dude, this infestation of ass-kickers aren't jumping on any bandwagon — they're pissing all over it. ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 14 March 1992
PROBLEM: A man knocks on the door of a Manchester hotel room and hands me a note which says: "Band been held up at knife-point. ...
Pink: Go Ahead Pink, Make Our Day!
Comment by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 May 2002
Be afraid Britney, Gwen and Kylie: there's only one candidate to be the new Madonna ...
Pop Will Eat Itself: Brielport, Dienze, Belgium
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 October 1988
RAP OVER THE KNUCKLEHEADS ...
Pop Will Eat Itself, Public Enemy: Pop Will Eat Itself (and Public Enemy): Scrapping With Rap
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 29 October 1988
AS DEF JAM'S happy rap panto rolls through Europe, Pop Will Eat Itself and Public Enemy are getting on fine. Unfortunately the hordes of Belgian ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 September 1986
SWAMP THINGS ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 12 October 1996
One of THE POWER STATION used to be in Duran Duran and one of them is Robert Palmer. It's not a promising start, is it? ...
Professor Griff: Kao's II Wiz 7 Dome (Luke/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 10 August 1991
GRIFF IS the liberal's worst nightmare. A young black radical who is something of a lyrical and musical whiz and who's made anti-Semitic and anti-white ...
Professor Griff: 100 Per Cent Prof.
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 31 March 1990
Accused of anti-Semitism, dissing the President, condoning Idi Amin and generally being a bit of a foam-flecked Rottweiler, Public Enemy's Minister Of Information PROFESSOR GRIFF ...
Phil Spector, Radiohead: Steven Wells On Rock Snobs
Column by Steven Wells, playlouder.com, 2 August 2003
The The Stages Of Pop-Man ...
Rage Against The Machine: Livid In The Material World
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 February 1993
From Comershop to Consolidated, politics is most emphatically back on the pop agenda. And throwing up the high-wire act between semtex and spandex to beat ...
Rage Against the Machine: Marx Out Of Tension
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 June 1994
All festival trails lead to Glastonbury. At least they do for RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, stall angry, still shouty and still not talking about their ...
Rammstein: Docklands Arena, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 June 2002
WHOOOOMPHF! The mad bastards are wearing 20ft long napalm-flame spewing fuckmasks. This is great! ...
Profile and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 June 1996
Punk's not dead, kids! Not real stinking-mohawk-gobbing punk rock anyway, because that's alive and spitting with RANCID, America's coolest (and richest) revolutionaries. So stuff yer ...
The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Warners/All formats)
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 12 October 1991
TOOLS YOU CAN TRUST ...
The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: See You Later Ejaculator
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 March 1992
THINK OF one word to sum up the Red Hot Chili Peppers. COME ON! COME ON! Sex, right? Right. ...
Reef: Bad Rock!: Reef: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 May 1999
"I LIKE TEQUILA!/It mek me happy!"No, sorry, that's Terrorvision. This is Reef — the other mighty-biceped bunch of lantern-jawed provincial troglodytes who bring us lumps ...
Right Said Fred: This Ain't Rock'n'roll...This is Spermicide!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 31 October 1992
Oo-er! Sex rears its ugly Fred this week, as those saucy HEAVENLY artistes release a charidee EP of rubber soul classics, namely RIGHT SAID FRED ...
Kid Rock: At Last! Could Kid Rock Be The Saviour Of Rock? Oops. Sorry.
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 October 1999
"HEY, SCATLAND! R U ready for some medal!? How many of you guyz are gonna getta 'shag' tonite!?" ...
The Rolling Stones: Wembley Stadium, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 14 July 1990
AS THE Stones plodded through crap recent album track after crap recent album track we became restless. We started shouting abuse at the fans. They ...
Salt-N-Pepa: Salt 'N' Pepa: Scratching with Thatcher
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 July 1988
SALT 'N' PEPA and Spinderella, those crazy female purveyors of the street beat meet Mrs T for tea in Downing Street. STEVEN WELLS asked them ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 December 1993
With Nirvana and Metallica now deemed radio-friendly, someone had to supply a new soundtrack for rebellion — and Brazilian rockers SEPULTURA have taken up the ...
Seven Year Bitch: Smashed!, Islington, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 February 1993
BOYS ARE BORING. The tedious parade of middle-class white males desperately trying to persuade us that they 'hurt', that they 'suffer' ...YAWNO YAWNO! But listen ...
The Sex Pistols: Crystal Palace Sports Centre, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 August 2002
We Might As Well Be Proud Of Them ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 24 February 2001
He's boombastic, totally fantastic, he'll do anything for love but he won't do that. Re-introducing Shaggy, the '90s pop dancehall king whose rude rhymes are ...
Shed Seven: The Great White Shack Hunt
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 May 1998
So you thought SHED SEVEN were boring? Hah! Well that was before the band's first ever interesting interview. Hold on to your seats, you're in ...
Shonen Knife: Dagger Dagger Hey!
Profile and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 November 1992
Do SHONEN KNIFE have some sinister masterplan to conquer Planet Pop or are they just a happy freakshow? STEVEN WELLS pulls on his combat fatigues ...
Silverfish: Acid Louse Revival
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 1 February 1992
Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, punk rock and sex. SILVERFISH have snogged everyone in pop music, and dreamt that they've snogged everyone else. STEVEN WELLS ...
Sister George: Queercore: Come Out Feel The Noise!
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 February 1994
Alienated by the white, middle-class, mostly male gay scene and spurred on by riot grrrl, the exponents of QUEERCORE are young, working class, politically motivated ...
Sister Souljah: Empire, Liverpool
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 12 September 1992
DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE Bill Clinton wants to be President of the world's only superpower — a nation capable of swatting any other off the globe at ...
Skunk Anansie: Skin Complaints
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 September 1996
Skunk Anansie are a rock band with a difference because the 'Nansie are a rock band who actually ROCK! Like a bastard, in fact… and ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987
OK, SLAYER. So you're the world's top death-metal thrash outfit, and you're playing to thousands all over Britain. But now you must justify your appalling ...
Sleater Kinney: Sleater-Kinney: The Hot Rock
Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 20 February 1999
The Ember Strikes Back ...
Slipknot: Sinister Masked Rap-Metallers
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 January 2000
JOEY (No 1): "We have enough hatred and anger to fucking fuel fucking ten fucking records!" Shawn (No 6): "We're pretty angry." ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 September 1990
SOUL LAAAARGAAAAH! ...
Spearhead: Don't Spear the Rapper
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 24 September 1994
MICHAEL FRANTI, the man behind The Beatnigs' post-industrial clatter and key shouter with agit-rappers Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, has adopted a mellower vibe for his ...
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Blast Rites
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 17 October 1998
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. They're a blues band, right? Wrong! They're the living, breathing embodiment of fizzing rock'n'roll. And soul. AND blues. And if ...
Spice Girls: The Spice Is Right: The Spice Girls: Spiceworld: The Movie
Film/DVD/TV Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 3 January 1998
DIRECTOR: Bob Spiers STARRING: Sporty, Posh, Ginger, Scary, Baby, Richard E Grant, Roger Moore, Michael Barrymore ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 December 2001
EXACTLY 70 PER cent of this audience are fluffy pink deely-boppered weeny-poppers. About 20 per cent are benignly smiling mums and dads. And the remaining ...
Stereo MCs: Birch Placidy and the Fun Dance Kids
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 May 1993
Beaut mutants THE STEREO MCs, the first great British rap band, are making cowboys clench their buttocks in the achy-breaky Texas heartland and dispensing mellow ...
Super Furry Animals: Scream! Latvia! Scream!
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 July 1997
...that's right, Latvia, 'cos SUPER FURRY ANIMALS are heading your way, and they've got new single 'The International Language Of Screaming' and STEVEN WELLS with ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 11 January 1997
Feisty teen poppers SYMPOSIUM may've pelted NME with snowballs in the past, but we forgave them. Hey, we're professionals (stop sniggering!). So professional that we've ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 11 May 1991
Tubby, or not tubby? Erm...tubby actually. TAD may not be the biggest band around, but they're certainly the biggest band around (the middle). In full combat gear, STEVEN ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 6 August 1988
Thrill to the Ultimate Confrontation as Teen Queen TIFFANY kills The Acne Ridden Rotter of T'Pennines STEVEN WELLS. Watch in horror as Swells is eaten ...
T'Pau: Crystal Tipps, Kicks to Kill
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 March 1988
All hail t'purveyors of t'power and t'glory that is T'PAU. STEVEN WELLS meets up with Caz Decker in Berlin. Swoon. ...
Transglobal Underground: Trans-Global Underground: 24 Hour Liberal Party People
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 October 1994
TRANS-GLOBAL UNDERGROUND are the ultimate in multi-ethnic, politically correct entertainment and they've never been guilty of thinking non-PC thoughts about anyone. Ever. At least, not until STEVEN ...
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 16 October 1999
THE MAN POO! ...
U2: Welcome to Empty-V: U2's Zoo(ropa TV)
Comment by Stephen Dalton, Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 August 1993
Is Zoo(ropa/TV) a subversive, ironic multi-media bombardment and situationist statement or a two-hour post-modernist Pot Noodle advert made by politically naive, culturally unaware squares with ...
Underworld: The Rocket, London
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 27 June 1998
WE GOT NO 'Born Slippy' with its killer "lager lager lager" chorus tonight because sensitive artist Darren Emerson is "fucked off with it". Well excuse ...
The Velvet Underground: Velvet Underground: Some Velvet Moaning...
Comment by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 June 1993
TRUE STORY: I'm at the Smash Hits Christmas party, the disco is blamming out non-stop teeny-pop fun stuff and the joint is bopping with the ...
Barry White: King Shag Is Back
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 September 1989
Bombing around The Riveria in a convertible BMW screaming abuse at the rich are STEVEN WELLS and lensman KEVIN 'O'GRADELY' CUMMINS. The soundtrack that roars ...
Robbie Williams: Slane Castle, Dublin
Live Review by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 4 September 1999
OVER 80,000 people stand for hours in the baking sun wearing alternately flashing red devil horns, KISS make-up and the occasional latex Homer Simpson mask. ...
Robert Wyatt: Wheelie Saying Something
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 September 1991
Beardy-weirdy radical ROBERT WYATT may have ended up in a wheelchair pursuing rock 'n' roll Nirvana with '70s experimental cases Soft Machine, but he refuses ...
Yazz: The Benetton Skeleton Gets It On
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 3 December 1988
Who is this seaweed munching ex-clothes-horse YAZZ person? And why am I covered in bark? asks STEVEN WELLS. ...
John Zorn: There's John Zorn Every Minute
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 18 May 1991
Zorn to boogie! From his New York avant-garde garret, JOHN ZORN is busy invigorating the slumbering corpse of jazz with hardcore shock therapy. STEVEN WELLS ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991
From out of the Texan desert they came, with recycled riffs, "ironic" sexism and grotesque amounts of facial hair… the Middle Aged Mutant Guitar Heroes! ...
List of genre pieces
Acid Crackdown: Get Right Off One Chummy
Report by Paolo Hewitt, Sean O'Hagan, Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 November 1988
With the hysteria now reaching fever pitch and questions being asked in the (non-Acid) House, NME calls a time out to assess the damage in the tab-mad ...
Retrospective by Steven Wells, Vox, March 1991
From protest to punk, rock'n'roll has provided the soundtrack to every conflict since World War II. Reaching its climax in Vietnam. Steven Wells gets up ...
Essay by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 January 1994
Is the current wave of Little Englandism just a mask for the fact that Brit rock is becoming increasingly irrelevant? STEVEN WELLS looks at the ...
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 March 1986
Soaraway Sun scribe GARRY BUSHELL finds himself on the other side of the fantastic fact-finding fence. STEVEN 'Scoop' WELLS digs a grave. ...
He Bans The Drums — This Man Thinks You Are A Moron!
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 13 January 1990
Rock is bad for you — OFFICIAL! According, that is, to DENIS VAUGHAN, top classical conductor and author of a virulently anti-pop blast in this ...
Report by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 June 1999
When the Glasto Green Field vibes work their magic, we all come over a bit hippy. But for the good folk of Glastonbury, being a ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 23 April 1988
From presenting the only four nights a week show to play the Primitives next to Prince, JANICE LONG has felt the cold shoulder from the ...
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 3 May 1986
It's point and counterpoint in this bout of champions; in the camel pen, bile scribbler JULIE BURCHILL, defending her high-profile prose against the red trunks ...
Press Officers: Trying to Keep the Customer Satisfied
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, Vox, February 1998
When you're the PRESS officer for a rock group, life's about fending off the scum press, nannying drug-addled lead singers... and punching out the odd ...
Simon Cowell: "The White Stripes? Heard of them. Wasn't blown away."
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 26 January 2002
He makes kids cry, hates fat people and he gave us Westlife. Now Pop Idol villain Simon Cowell turns his evil gaze on some NME ...
Steve Wright: Radio Ga-Gagging
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 21 September 1985
Mister Angry from Bradford, STEVEN WELLS, paints a colourful portrait of hip, sensitive Radio One DJ STEVE WRIGHT. ...
Cynthia Plastercaster: This Woman Has Handled The Biggest Things In Rock
Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 8 July 1989
Twenty years ago The Plastercasters of Chicago were the most infamous groupies in America. Now, hardened professional CYNTHIA PLASTERCASTER is back with tales of naked ...
Groupies: Stars In Their Thighs
Report and Interview by Steven Wells, David Quantick, New Musical Express, 28 March 1992
NME'S LOOK AT THE THINGS THAT GO HUMP IN THE NIGHT ...
Why Great Footballers Like Really Crap Music
Essay by Steven Wells, Guardian Unlimited, March 2003
WITH ALL THE current hoo-hah about how all gun crime in the UK is obviously caused by listening to gangsta chaps rapping about ho's and ...
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