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Terry Staunton

Terry Staunton

Terry Staunton started in journalism as a 16-year-old on regional newspapers, reporting on parish councils, murder trials and all points between. He subsequently moved to one of the country's biggest freelance agencies, covering the likes of top flight football for the Sunday tabloids and the miners' strike for the Daily Telegraph and ITN. An example of his "craft" from this time, a three-minute LBC radio recording of a live end-of-game summary of an incident-free goalless draw between Port Vale and Brentford, became a much-used illustration of "How Not To...", played to broadcast journalism students nationwide.

Switching, perhaps wisely, to full-time music writing, he was a senior editor at NME for ten years, where he played an integral part in setting up the notorious Brat Awards, and masterminded the magazine's 40th anniversary charity album Ruby Trax, which brought us the first Top Ten hit by Manic Street Preachers and the last Top 20 hit by The Farm. This whirlwind period in Terry's career also took in being mistaken for Sting in Montevideo, being mistaken for Jon Bon Jovi by Graham Coxon, being banned from the BBC World Service for an ill-conceived on-air joke involving Eric Clapton, and being described by Cher as a "greasy-haired asshole in a cheap suit".

He then, perhaps wisely, joined the founding editorial team of Uncut. Now freelance, specialising in music, film and television, his work has also appeared in The Times, Vox, Jack, Record Collector, Creem, The Village Voice, Hot Press, Sour Mash, Get Rhythm, Uncut DVD, When Saturday Comes, DVD World, and on the website Music365. He is also an occasional contributor to topical radio comedy shows, and is currently working (slowly) on two books: a personal Costello memoir entitled Fortysomething Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, and a newspaper/crime novel, Police Probe Double Death Blaze Riddle.

175 articles

List of articles in the library

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Barry Manilow: Conan The Pipe Cleaner: Barry Manilow with Anthea From Cheshire: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 25 January 1986

A STRANGE BLEND of a thousand perfumes wafts its way across the aisles, but further back by the souvenir stalls there is a much stronger ...

Cheap Trick, Mötley Crüe: Mötley Crüe, Cheap Trick: Odeon, Birmingham

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 1 March 1986

CHILLY WILLIES AND THE RED HOT PECKERS ...

Pop Will Eat Itself

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 28 June 1986

POP WILL EAT ITSELF drink tea, say "GRRrrr!", play live sets atrocious enough to necessitate post-gig disguises, and make faces at the Mary Chain, Siouxsie ...

Curtis Mayfield: Piccadilly Theatre, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986

PAUL WELLER knows his place. Despite meaning a lot of things to a lot of people, he was more than reluctant to share the stage ...

Peter Case: Shaw Theatre, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986

CASE OF NERVES ...

Paul Simon: The Boy in the Boycott

Report by Mark Sinker, Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 4 April 1987

Is PAUL SIMON "a genius and a loathsome coward"? Does the lack of anti-apartheid statements on Graceland amount to condonation of Botha's regime? Or has ...

Keith Richards: Talk Is Cheap (Virgin LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 8 October 1988

CHEAP AND NASTY ...

Tom Tom Club: The Borderline, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 12 November 1988

TINA WEYMOUTH has been fidgeting behind a bass guitar for 11 years, just waiting for a chance to shake her long blonde hair about like ...

Elvis Costello: Spike (Warners)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 25 February 1989

THE DOUR, BEARDED man wearing a crown who stared out from a record sleeve three years ago was an unhappy monarch. An emperor in new ...

Bros, Debbie Gibson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 26 August 1989

BROTHERS GRIM ...

Eurythmics: We Too Are One (RCA LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 9 September 1989

'TOO' THE POWER OF TWO ...

Liza Minnelli, Pet Shop Boys: Liza Minnelli: Results (Epic)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 14 October 1989

THE LAST time Ms Minnelli did anything of note was at the start of the decade. Her portrayal of shoplifting Linda, the object of Dudley ...

Marc Almond, The Beautiful South, Edwyn Collins, The La's, The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses, Marc Almond, Edwyn Collins, the Beautiful South, the La's: Les Inrockuptibles Festival, La Cigale, Paris

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 21 October 1989

LA VIE EN ROSE(S) ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The World, New York NY

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 13 January 1990

THERE'S A nice little joke doing the rounds of the London headquarters of CBS in Soho Square, which goes something like this:"Knock knock.""Who's there?""Terence.""Terence who?""That's ...

The Pixies: Bossanova

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, August 1990

THE EVER-SO-ARTY lyric book that accompanies the new Pixies album contains the words to a song that you will not find on the record itself. ...

Dread Zeppelin, Robert Plant: The Bong Remains The Same: Led Zeppelin Meet Dread Zeppelin (Almost)

Report and Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 4 August 1990

"After half an hour Elvis' bodyguards motioned that it was time to go. As they were leaving Robert gushed, 'Elvis, you're my idol. Thanks for ...

The Stone Roses: Fools' Gaoled (almost!)

Report by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 13 October 1990

THE STONE ROSES may face a £3 million libel suit from their former record company, unless they pay for the damage they caused to the ...

Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction: Perry Farrell: Goodbye To Jane?

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 9 March 1991

Basking in the glory of their Ritual de lo habitual album, are JANE'S ADDICTION about to hit the self-destruct button? As their US tour ends ...

Scritti Politti, Shabba Ranks: Scritti Politti: Do The Gart, Man

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 16 March 1991

THE DANCEHALL FOUNDATIONS are shaking and there's outrage in the ragga ranks. A white pop star has plundered their culture with the aid of Lennon ...

Cher: Spare ribs, anyone?

Report by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 29 June 1991

Hungry for publicity for her new album, CHER says "Let's do lunch!" A dramatic TERRY STAUNTON puts on his best bib and tucker, but proves ...

Elvis Costello: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 13 July 1991

This Year's Muddle  ...

Nine Inch Nails: A Bang On The Gear

Report and Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 7 September 1991

SAN FRANCISCO, city of peace and love. Perhaps the last refuge of the beautiful people who advocate making babies, not bombs. But, hey, get out ...

Spinal Tap: This Much Talent!

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, December 1991

2013 NOTE: This piece is slightly longer than the version that appeared in NME, since I took the liberty of reinstating a small handful of ...

Icicle Works: The Best of the Icicle Works

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Beggars Banquet Records, 1992

"TRY NOT TO listen to it all in one go, it'll do your head in." Sound advice? Maybe, but pretty unusual when you consider that ...

Meat Puppets: Meat Is Murmur

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 18 January 1992

Darlings of the critics for more than a decade, the MEAT PUPPETS have finally signed to a major and made their "first" album. A battered ...

Tori Amos: I Wanna Sell You A Tori

Report by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 8 February 1992

Six months ago she was nobody, today TORI AMOS is well on the way to becoming a household name. The former LA 'rock chick' has ...

The Beautiful South: Wake Up… Time To Dial: The Beautiful South: 0898 (Go!)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 28 March 1992

"The perfect love song it has no words, it only has death threats/And you can tell a classic ballad by how threatening it gets." ...

Primal Scream: It's Only Choc 'N' Roll: Primal Scream: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 4 April 1992

"ALIEN INVASION, what on earth are we going to do?/Alien Invasion, what on earth are we going to do?" ...

Dinah Washington: Mad About The Boy (Mercury)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 9 May 1992

IF THE LIFE STORIES of Billie Holiday, Loretta Lynn and Pasty Cline were interesting enough to inspire major Hollywood movies, it's surely only a matter ...

The KLF, Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Van: Tammy Meets the KLF

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 23 November 1992

Welcome to Mu Mu Land, where hooded figures drive ice-cream vans and nothing is quite like it is in Tennessee. Which is a welcome change ...

Pulp, Saint Etienne: St Etienne, Pulp: Mayfair, Glasgow

Live Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 6 March 1993

A MIRRORBALL of confusion spins and sparkles over the hall. Blank faces stare at the stage where Pulp are playing. Is this pop? ...

Pet Shop Boys: The Smiths You Can Dunce To: Pet Shop Boys

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 29 May 1993

WELL, HONESTLY! They're like an old married couple at times: Neil Tennant will poke fun at Chris Lowe, and Chris will get mildly stroppy in ...

Kate Bush: Plimsoll Asylum: Kate Bush: The Red Shoes (EMI)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 6 November 1993

"WE THINK you'd better wake up captain," suggests the crew of Kate's ship on 'Constellation Of The Heart'. "There's something happenin' up ahead." "What am I ...

Therapy?

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 15 January 1994

Quietly, stealthily, THERAPY? have crept up on the rock world to become the "indie" band it's OK for Beavis & Butthead to like. Even stranger ...

Elvis Costello: They Think It's All Covers... Er, It Is Now!

Interview by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 20 May 1995

After 18 years of being either a sneering young turk or cumudgeonly old bugger, ELVIS COSTELLO has decided it's time for a change – he's ...

Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace Of Sin/Burrito Deluxe

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1997

IN CONTRAST to the pure country of Gram Parsons' seminal early Seventies solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, his work with the Burritos at the ...

The Small Faces: Ogden's Nut Gone Flake; The Small Faces & The Autumn Stone

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1997

CHECK OUT how many column inches The Small Faces warrant in rock encyclopaedias, compared to the space given to the likes of The Kinks or ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1997

Echo & The Bunnymen: honesty and openness ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo and the Bunnymen: Manhattan Chancer

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, August 1997

IT'S A HOT AND sticky sunday afternoon in the Little Italy district of Manhattan, and every street corner resembles an expanded version of the wedding ...

Oasis: Westpoint Arena, Exeter

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 1997

CERTAIN elements of the tabloid press can't be too happy. Whispers around the Street of Shame suggested that some hacks were being despatched to Devon ...

Billy Joel

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, January 1998

BILLY JOEL on his heavy metal past, the music biz, covers, his heroes and getting free tickets for the Superbowl... ...

Nick Lowe: Dig My Mood

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, March 1998

The Godfather of pub rock returns with his best collection yet ...

Nick Lowe: The Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, April 1998

Following rave reviews for his new LP, NICK LOWE last month played his first London show for three years, at Camden's Jazz Café ...

The Beatles, George Martin: George Martin: In My Life

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, May 1998

The "fifth Beatle" signs off with a little help from his friends ...

Rialto

Report and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, May 1998

IT'S A CHILLY, misty morning, as dawn breaks across old London town. Terence Stamp, tie loosened and top shirt button undone, lounges in the back ...

David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds: Dancing in the Street

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1998

THE ROCK'N'ROLL documentary is in fine shape in the Nineties, thanks mainly to the BBC. Second series of both Rock Family Trees and Classic Albums ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo and the Bunnymen: Ian McCulloch's Favourite Things

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1998

ABBA"I REALLY DO think they're great. 'The Winner Takes It All' is so sad – the video's fantastic, Agnetha's blue eyeliner runnln' – and it ...

Sunhouse

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1998

ROB BROOKS stumbles into the hotel lounge, nursing a hangover and a half-finished bottle of red wine with equal tenderness. The bass player is followed ...

Ian Dury

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, August 1998

Sweet Gene Vincent, sozzled Max Wall, sexy Marilyn Monroe, and the stiff upper lips of Dickie Attenborough and Johnny Mills are among Blockhead IAN DURY's ...

Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Super Furry Animals: Consuming Passions: Howard Marks

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, September 1998

Skinning up from Lennon's stash box, securing dentures with a luxury adhesive, and watching lizards drown in brandy — a typical evening at home with ...

Transister

Profile and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, September 1998

MR GARRISON, lies awake in his bed, unable to sleep. ...

Gomez's Ben Ottewell

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, October 1998

Spark up a snout, let the songs of Joni Mitchell soothe you to sleep, and watch out for Homer's gut with that cannonball. BEN OTTEWELL ...

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Theaudience: theaudience

Profile and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, October 1998

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR is bored. Not, as you might expect, with the endless media references to her parentage – she's the daughter of former Blue Peter ...

Paul Weller, The Style Council: The Style Council: The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 1998

FIVE-CD overview of Paul Weller's "Cappuccino" years. ...

Dar Williams

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998

"IT'S THE teachers who are to blame, if you ask me. Probably more so than parents, because they're kinda paid to shape young minds — ...

Film Pop-Stars: This Much Talent!

Guide by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998

SECONDS BEFORE surrendering to self-inflicted, drug-induced unconsciousness, reclusive rock singer Jim MacLaine turns to his friend and manager, Mike, to reminisce about the old days ...

Jools Holland: These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things

Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998

Fire up the steamroller, jangle the old Joanna, and fall off your chair when Terry-Thomas enters the room. Welcome to the world of JOOLS HOLLAND ...

Blondie: London Sound Republic

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, March 1999

MADONNA turned 40 last year and marked the occasion with the most critically-acclaimed album of her career. The biggest selling single in the UK was ...

Lauryn Hill: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, April 1999

FOLLOWING THE phenomenal success of The Score, in some critics' eyes the time was right for a Fugees backlash. After all, what was so great ...

Burt Bacharach: We're In Love With This Guy: Hal David

Interview by Terry Staunton, music365.com, 27 May 1999

Lyrical legend HAL DAVID has just become the first non-Briton to be honoured with a prestigious Ivor Novello Award by the British Academy Of Composers ...

Gene: As Good As it Gets

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Polydor Records, January 2001

THE 17 TRACKS gathered on this disc provide a perfect opportunity to re-appraise one of the brightest, most intriguing bands of recent times (isn't hindsight ...

Julian Cope, XTC: The Old Boy Network

Report by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2004

GETTING DITCHED by a major label is not always the end of the line for the big stars of yesteryear, as Terry Staunton reports ...

Jackie Lomax: Is This What You Want?

Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2004

LIVERPOOL singer-songwriter Lomax never enjoyed the widespread acclaim of his Apple contemporaries (Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, and, eventually, James Taylor), but the wealth of big names ...

Badfinger: Magic Christian Music/No Dice/Straight Up

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004

TAKING THEIR NAME from the working title for 'With A Little Help From My Friends', it's ironic that Badfinger's famous pals could also be a ...

Carly Simon: Reflections – Carly Simon's Greatest Hits

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004

THIS IS THE fifth Carly compilation in less than ten years (and, yes, one was imaginatively entitled Nobody Does It Better), during which time she ...

Cat Stevens: Majikat: Earth Tour 1976

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004

FELINE FOLKIE caught live in his prime ...

Gram Parsons: Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels (Rhino)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004

WITH A BODY OF WORK scattered over a wide selection of labels, Parsons fans had until now been faced with a musical Easter egg hunt ...

Elvis Costello: Almost Blue/Goodbye Cruel World/Kojak Variety

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2004

AS THE AMBITIOUS Costello reissue programme heads towards completion, the contents of the bonus discs take on a greater significance, bolstering releases that may struggle ...

George Thorogood & the Destroyers: Raiders of the Lost Axe

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2004

Bluesman George Thorogood is celebrating 30 years of 12-bar brilliance with a new Best Of… and a global tour. He talks to Terry Staunton. ...

John Lydon: Anarchy In The UK Gold

Guide by Terry Staunton, unpublished, October 2004

JOHN LYDON is expected to put the cat among the pigeons during his forthcoming stint on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here — ...

Elvis Costello: Complicated Shadows: The Life And Music Of Elvis Costello by Graeme Thomson

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2004

Only the man himself could have done better ...

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2004

AFTER THE TEPID reception for last year's Nocturama, Cave and the Bad Seeds could have been forgiven for taking time out to lick their wounds. ...

Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis: Dwight Yoakam: The Very Best Of; Randy Travis: The Very Best Of

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004

ROUTE 88 WAS an ambitious cross-label campaign to establish several country stars in the UK, with Yoakam and Travis seen by many as the twin ...

Jim Croce: The Way We Used To Be (Sanctuary)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004

KILLED IN A PLANE crash in 1973, just weeks after his first US Number One single, Jim Croce was a master of tender beauty and ...

The Kinks, Ray Davies: Ray Davies: Return To Waterloo/Come Dancing With The Kinks

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004

Double bill of Ray Davies' '80s video output ...

Warren Zevon: Various Artists: Enjoy Every Sandwich - The Songs Of Warren Zevon

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004

LONG BEFORE his death last year from inoperable lung cancer, Warren Zevon knew his time was almost up. Undeterred, he carried on making records bulging ...

Anne McCue: Roll

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

ALREADY FAMILIAR to fans of Lucinda Williams after a lengthy stint as an opening act, Australian-born McCue has effortlessly mastered the bluesy drawl of her ...

Elton John: Peachtree Road

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

IT HAS BECOME an irritatingly common marketing ploy for any new release by a music veteran to be declared a "return to form". If we ...

Gwen McCrae: I'm Not Worried

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

ALTHOUGH OFTEN in the shadow of former hubby George, Gwen McCrae is still a much revered name in deep soul circles almost 30 years after ...

Ian Dury: New Boots And Panties/The Bus Driver's Prayer And Other Stories

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

Welcome double disc reissues for a solid gold masterpiece and a forgotten nugget ...

John Mellencamp: Words & Music

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

HEARTLAND ROCKERS have been ten-a-penny over the last 20 or 30 years. For every eloquent and poetic Springsteen there is a subs' bench straining under ...

Lloyd Cole & the Commotions: Rattlesnakes (Deluxe Edition)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

DISMISSED IN some quarters as a chubby Elvis lookalike with a library card, Lloyd Cole was nonetheless an integral part of any student dorm soundtrack. ...

Gene Vincent: Primitive Texas Rockabilly & Honky Tonk: Gene Vincent Cut Our Songs

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

Not quite the Crossroads Robert Johnson had in mind… ...

The Ramones: Ramones: We're Outta Here!

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

RAMONES GIGS were always exciting rather than accomplished affairs, and if this disc featured only their shambolic 1996 Los Angeles swansong there would be little ...

Sandie Shaw: Nothing Comes Easy (EMI)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

AS STAGE GIMMICKS go, not wearing shoes is a pretty lame one, but it's what the tabloids of the '60s would inevitably focus on when ...

The Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955 - 1984

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

The greatest gospel group of all time? Lordy, yes! ...

Brenda Fassie: Greatest Hits

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 2005

A potted history of one of Africa's biggest pop stars ...

Grin: Grin

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, 2005

AUGUST 25, 2004, was a special date in the calendar of Montgomery County, Maryland. More than 30 musicians gathered in the town of Strathmore for ...

Don't Give Up The Day Job

Guide by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2005

THEY LIGHT UP the screen with their dramatic talent, but for many fine thespians that's just not enough. Some of them have a few songs ...

The Rolling Stones: Rolling Stones: Live Licks

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2005

THEIR SEVENTH concert record, if you’re counting ...

Al Kooper: Al’s Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2005

Unsung hero's anthology of solo work and collaborations ...

Bon Jovi: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2005

Ooh, they can be, you know ...

Bonzo Dog Band, Neil Innes: Neil Innes: Taking Off/The Innes Book Of Records

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005

A TV SHOW like The Innes Book Of Records would struggle for a terrestrial timeslot these days, but back in the late '70s former Bonzo ...

Noel Harrison: Life Is A Dream

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005

THE TERRIBLY BRITISH tonsils of Noel Harrison found a receptive audience in the laid-back California of the '60s, already in the throes of a love ...

Ray Charles: O-Genio: Live In Brazil 1963

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005

AFTER LAST YEAR'S duets album became the best-selling release of his career, coupled with the Oscar buzz surrounding the new biopic, it was inevitable that ...

Fairport Convention: Chronicles

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2005

FAIRPORT'S ANNUAL reunion festival at Cropredy in Oxfordshire celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, long since established as one of the primo dates on the ...

Free: Chronicles

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2005

CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING the almost impossible task of filling Freddie Mercury's shoes in a new-look Queen, it's hard to imagine Paul Rodgers landing any further from ...

Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2005

FILM DIRECTOR Paul Thomas Anderson used Aimee Mann's music as the starting point and inspiration for his Oscar-nominated Magnolia, about the intertwining, desperate lives of ...

The 101'ers: The 101ers: The Key to Joe's Art

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2005

Punk pioneers the 101ers gave us Joe Strummer's earliest recordings. The band's drummer Richard Dudanski reminisces with Terry Staunton. ...

The Beatles: The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider's Diary Of The Beatles

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2005

The madness and mayhem of the Apple empire ...

Bob Dylan: Sam Shepard: The Rolling Thunder Logbook

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2005

30th anniversary reprint for a bizarre chronicle of the infamous Dylan tour. ...

The Alpha Band: The Alpha Band

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, July 2005

VIEWERS OF star-studded awards shows in recent times may have been intrigued by a gangly six-and-a-half-foot figure occasionally appearing in the background of numerous TV ...

The Boo Radleys: Boo Radleys: Find The Way Out

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2005

THE ONLY CREATION act other than Oasis to have a Number One album, the Boos were arguably the label's most eclectic signing. This 35-track anthology ...

The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2005

Surf's up, mm-mm, mm-mm ...

Cowboy Junkies: Early 21st Century Blues

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2005

Conchie dispatches from the folk frontline ...

From The Velvets To The Voidoids: Clinton Heylin's The Birth Of American Punk Rock

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2005

Updated reprint of a highly regarded new wave dossier ...

Big Star: In Space

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

WITNESSES TO BIG STAR'S comeback shows in 1993 would often find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with sundry teary-eyed power poppers whose own bands owed a huge debt ...

BMX Bandits: Serious Drugs: The Creation Anthology (Castle)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

SHOULD THE RENOWNED journalist and music archivist Pete Frame ever attempt one of his celebrated Rock Family Trees for the BMX Bandits, he may need ...

Elvis Presley: He Touched Me – The Gospel Music Of Elvis Presley

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

THE ONLY Grammys Presley won in his lifetime were for gospel records, and for a long spell in the '60s his songs of praise were ...

Jackie Lomax: Home Is In My Head/Three (Rhino/Warners)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

FEELING UNDERVALUED and forgotten in the shadow of the Fab Four, two Apple signings jumped ship at the start of the '70s to join Warner ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Ocean Refrain: Echo and the Bunnymen

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

To mark the release of the first Echo & the Bunnymen album in four years, Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant recall the triumphs and pitfalls ...

Supergrass: Road To Rouen

Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

ANOTHER HIGH quality crop. ...

Phil Spector: The Killing Of A Barbarian Queen

Retrospective by Terry Staunton, DVD World, October 2005

It took a scandalous Hollywood shooting to catapult faded B-movie starlet LANA CLARKSON onto the front pages. TERRY STAUNTON looks back on the life and ...

The Turtles: Happy Together: The Very Best Of (Shout Factory)

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005

SPURRED INTO ACTION by Beatlemania and making their chart debut with a Bob Dylan cover, there initially wasn't a huge world of difference between The ...

Elvis Costello: The Right Spectacle

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2005

Anthology of 27 videos for hits, near misses and ones that got way. ...

The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2005

EIGHT YEARS ON from Bridges To Babylon, the longest ever gap between studio releases, one question begs to be asked: Does anybody really need a ...

Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye

Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY of the Trouble Man ...

Dolly Parton: The Essential Dolly Parton

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

DON'T BE FOOLED by the high hair, long nails or curvy torso. Dolly Parton may appear, on the surface, to be a prairie poppet moulded ...

Jimmy Cliff: The Harder They Come: The Definitive Collection

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

The man who paved the way for Marley ...

Neil Young: Prairie Wind

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

THE MOST POIGNANT moment on a masterly record full of insight and articulacy comes in the chorus of its opening song, 'The Painter'. It's just ...

Stevie Wonder: A Time To Love

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

Long overdue reminder of what the great man does best ...

The Gun Club: Mother Juno

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

THE PASSING OF Jeffrey Lee Pierce in 1996 after a brain haemorrhage robbed the music world of a true original. A wildman psychobilly blues howler ...

Kate Bush: The Kate Bush Collection: An Album By Album Guide

Guide by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

THE KICK INSIDE (1978, EMI EMC3223) Much was made at the time of the album's release of the fact that Bush was only 19, but let's ...

The Police: Synchronicity Concert

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

SUPERSTAR TRIO on swansong global jaunt. ...

Al Green

Profile by Terry Staunton, Notes for Live in '72 DVD, 2006

Terry Staunton profiles the life of Al Green for the sleevenotes for Revolver Entertainment's Live in '72 DVD ...

Linda Lewis: Turning Bitter Into Sweet

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2006

Disco diva, Northern Soul icon, hippie singer-songwriter, reluctant stage show brat. Linda Lewis has been all of these and more. Terry Staunton hears tales of ...

The Waterboys: The Man In The Ironic Mask

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2006

Back with what's being heralded as their best album for two decades, the Waterboys have a busy year ahead. Mike Scott cracks a smile for ...

The Blasters, Dave Alvin: Dave Alvin: Romeo's Escape

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, June 2006

THE TIME: Summer, 1987. The place: Downtown Manhattan hang-out The Kat Klub. It's the height of the annual industry beanfest, the New Music Seminar, and ...

Paul Carrack: Suburban Voodoo

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, June 2006

BY THE TIME the 1980s were just a few years old, the goodtime sounds of the pub rock movement had pretty much fallen out of ...

Flying Burrito Brothers: The Flying Burrito Brothers: Flying Again/Airborne

Sleeve notes by Terry Staunton, Acacia Records, June 2006

THERE ARE FEW figures in the history of popular music who have been eulogised or mythologised as much as Gram Parsons. It's to be expected ...

The Final Countdown: Top of the Pops

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2006

With the BBC pulling the plug on Top Of The Pops after 42 years, the stars share their memories. ...

The Police: Kings of Pain: The Police

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2006

More than 20 years after The Police split, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland have broken lengthy silences about their time in the band.* ...

10cc: Perfect 10

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2006

10cc made smart pop for smart people, and surprised many (including themselves) when they crossed over to the mainstream. Terry Staunton spoke to Graham Gouldman ...

Stewart Copeland, The Police, Andy Summers: Kings of Pain: Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2006

More than 20 years after the Police split, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland have broken lengthy silences about their time in the band. Terry Staunton ...

Mike Scott, The Waterboys: Mike Scott: The Man In The Ironic Mask

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2007

Back with what's being heralded as their best album for two decades, the Waterboys have a busy year ahead. Mike Scott cracks a smile for ...

Al Green: The Everlasting Great Soul Man

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2007

On the eve of his current UK tour, and with a new album due later this year, Al Green continues to spread the message of ...

Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe: Nick Lowe: Nick of Time

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2007

With a long-overdue album in the shops, Nick Lowe explains his lengthy absence, touches on late fatherhood, bigs up his new songs, and attempts to ...

Elvis Costello: True Stories

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2007

Thirty years after the release of My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello is set to revisit his classic debut. Terry Staunton looks back at the ...

Billy Bragg: Patriot Games

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2008

As BILLY BRAGG blows out 50 candles on his birthday cake, TERRY STAUNTON sharpens his pencil for a musical history lesson ...

The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli: Talk Like a Man: Frankie Valli

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, April 2008

A FAILED AUDITION for a gig as a lounge singer at a low-rent bowling alley in Union, New Jersey, might be the sort of experience ...

Whiskeytown: Strangers Almanac Deluxe edition

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 8 May 2008

A FREQUENT ACCUSATION levelled at both Prince and Van Morrison is that they're too prolific, the sheer volume of their output leading to dips in ...

Dave Edmunds: Subtle As A Flying Mallet

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 2008

WAS THERE EVER a more reluctant pop star than Dave Edmunds? The common practice for almost anyone who's scored a big hit is to roll ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Simply Red: Mick Hucknall: From Red To Blue

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2008

As the multi-million-selling figurehead of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall found himself in a creative cul-de-sac. On his debut solo album, a tribute to his idol ...

Randy Newman: Harps For Harps' Sake

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2008

The new record is in the shops, but RANDY NEWMAN admits he has no excuses for his "ridiculous" output of three albums in 20 years. ...

Echo & the Bunnymen: The Making of 'The Killing Moon'

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 2008

1984's shimmering indie-pop epic is part Elvis, part Leonard Cohen, and part Bing Crosby, according to Ian McCulloch and co. Oh, and it's also "the ...

Darlene Love: All You Need Is Love

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008

'Tis the season to be jolly, and to dig out a yuletide classic by DARLENE LOVE. Phil Spector's secret weapon gets festive with TERRY STAUNTON ...

Ronnie Wood: Now Look

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008

SANDWICHED BETWEEN the end of his days with the Faces and the beginning of his tenure in the Stones camp, Wood's second solo album was ...

Solomon Burke: Still on Fire

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008

Soul survivor Solomon Burke has endured bigger setbacks than most, but continues to make records as lauded as his perceived '60s heyday. ...

Clover: The Sound City Sessions – 1975

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2009

Inspirational pioneers deserving of credit they never got ...

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: From Her To Eternity/The Firstborn Is Dead/Kicking Against The Pricks/Your Funeral... My Trial

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2009

AS ONE CONTRIBUTOR to the episodic documentary that features across the DVDs of these four reissues observes, Nick Cave was well on his way to ...

The Housemartins: London 0 Hull 4

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 24 May 2009

LIKE THE all-conquering Madness during the first half of the '80s, the Housemartins pulled off the admirable trick of shoehorning well-considered social comment into the ...

Steven Wells 1960-2009: A Tribute

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

David Stubbs ...

Linda Thompson, Richard Thompson, Richard and Linda Thompson: Richard and Linda Thompson: Keeping Up with the Thompsons

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2009

Once flippantly but affectionately called "the Sonny & Cher of the folk world", Richard & Linda Thompson are worshipped as living legends, a jewel in ...

Richard Hawley: Truelove's Gutter

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2009

A THIRD consecutive album named after a lost corner of his beloved Sheffield hometown might suggest it's business as usual for Hawley, but the lush ...

Rain Parade: Unsung Heroes: The Rain Parade

Retrospective by Terry Staunton, Uncut, February 2010

Pioneers of LA's '80s "Paisley Underground" — it's warring psych revivalists the Roback brothers! ...

Jason & The Scorchers: Halcyon Times

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2010

MIDWAY THROUGH 'Moonshine Guy', the opening track on The Scorchers' first album of all-new material in 14 years, the music stops abruptly to allow a ...

Joan Jett: I Love Rock And Roll

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2010

Joan Jett talks to Terry Staunton on the making of the Runaways movie, and life after the band split. ...

Van Dyke Parks: Parks Life: An Interview with Van Dyke Parks

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2011

The next few months will see the release of a series of vinyl singles by celebrated writer, arranger and producer VAN DYKE PARKS, plus the ...

Roy Wood, Wizzard: Roy Wood: The Santa Claus Of Pop Music

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Sunday Express, 11 December 2011

TRIPS TO the supermarket can take twice as long in December when you're Roy Wood. The humdrum chore of grocery shopping is constantly interrupted by ...

Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Return of the Spectacular Singing Songbook

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, January 2012

REVIVED IN summer 2011 on a lengthy series of dates across America (and coming to the UK in May 2012), The Spectacular Spinning Songbook is ...

The dB's: Falling Off The Sky

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 13 August 2012

HAILING FROM North Carolina (via New York), the dB's were seen by many as the US college rockers most likely to break through to the ...

Mick Harvey: Four

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 22 April 2013

HARVEY'S LAST album, 2011's Sketches From The Book Of The Dead, was a series of ruminations on people and places lost, and there's a similar ...

Be Bop Deluxe: Be Bop Deluxe At The BBC 1974-1978

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2013

IN ADDITION TO releasing five studio albums in as many years, Bill Nelson's modernist/ futurist art-rock ensemble found space in their diaries to regularly visit ...

Eric Clapton: How God Saved Himself

Retrospective by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2014

God playing reggae, rather than 'Sunshine Of Your Love'? You're kidding me! Yes, Eric Clapton's return to vinyl in 1974 really was that radical, shocking ...

Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway: Donny Hathaway: Never My Love: The Anthology (Atco) 9/10

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, February 2014

Superb overview of the soul man's tragically short career ...

Fleetwood Mac: Then play on

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2014

British blues band Fleetwood Mac rose to fame on the strength of Peter Green's playing and writing. Their success as an Anglo-American AOR act is ...

Robert Ellis: The Lights From The Chemical Plant

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, March 2014

RAZOR-SHARP DISSECTIONS of the human condition. ...

Ethan Johns : The Reckoning

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 2014

HIS CREDENTIALS as a top-flight producer firmly established over a broad range of jobs (Kings Of Leon, Laura Marling, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones), winning a ...

Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull: Marianne Faithfull: Give My Love To London

Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, October 2014

Recuperating from serious injury, the veteran chanteuse puts her back into one of her most personal records... ...

Sid Griffin: The Trick is To Breathe

Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 2014

SINCE THE demise of the Long Ryders at the beginning of the '90s, Kentucky native Griffin has made London his musical base, cutting records mostly ...

Ry Cooder: The Prodigal Son

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, April 2018

FOR AN ALBUM on which he takes stock of a 21st century US riddled with crises and uncertainty, Cooder astutely plunders the grammar of the ...

Rickie Lee Jones: Adult Kicks

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2019

AS HER TOUR BUS heads across Texas on the way to the Kessler Theatre in Dallas, a song that's been running around inside Rickie Lee ...

Bill Fay: Countless Branches

Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2020

HAD JEFF TWEEDY not chosen to cover 'Be Not So Fearful' in the 2002 Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, the song's ...

Lucinda Williams: Good Souls Better Angels

Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2020

IT MAY BE because she's not long come off the road from a lengthy live trek marking the 20th anniversary of her most celebrated album, ...

The Waterboys: The Magnificent Seven

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2022

STILL FIRING ON all cylinders after recording and promoting the acclaimed Fisherman's Blues, the Waterboys' leader Mike Scott was in no mood to rest on ...

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