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Melody Maker

Melody Maker

Melody Maker was for many years one of the leading UK weekly pop and rock music newspapers. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, and in the 1950s and 1960s gradually switched its focus from jazz to popular music. A serious decline in sales in the 1990s led to its absorption in 2000 by New Musical Express, one of its competitors which shared the same publisher – IPC Media.

4,478 articles

List of articles in the library

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Hoagy Carmichael: The 'Old Music Master' says "I've no patience at all with the Narrow Jazz Boys"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 August 1948

A first-hand character impression of HOAGY CARMICHAEL ...

Lonnie Johnson: They don't listen today unless you play loud says Lonnie Johnson, the blues singer with electric box

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1952

"HOW LONG have you had that Gibson electric guitar?" I asked Lonnie Johnson when he came round to my flat to hear some of his ...

Ken Colyer, Lonnie Donegan, Alexis Korner: Skiffle or Piffle?

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 July 1956

ALEXIS KORNER tells Max Jones ...

Bill Haley Hits Britain

Report by Tony Brown, Melody Maker, 9 February 1957

AT 2.55PM on Tuesday, the organised and highly publicised reception for Bill Haley looked like being a flop. A few couples, exhorted by precariously perched ...

Frankie Lymon: Headache for the £9-a-Week Teenager

Report and Interview by Tony Brown, Melody Maker, 23 March 1957

THE RELATIONS of 14-year-old Frankie Lymon with the Teenagers are very much dependent on the ability of Frankie to drink in his personal success without ...

Chris Barber, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Chris Barber: St. Pancras Town Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 October 1958

I WAS surprised to read that Muddy Waters was coolly received in Leeds. At his London appearance on Monday the applause was hot and strong. ...

Muddy Waters: This World of Jazz: Muddy Waters

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1958

MUDDY WATERS, that astonishing blues artist from Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, departed for home on Monday night without too many regrets. ...

Billie Holiday: "They won't let me work in New York, so I'm settling in London"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 February 1959

Billie Holiday was in London this week for a TV date. She returned to the States on Wednesday ...

Billie Holiday: She was original, honest — unique says Max Jones

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 August 1959

WHAT A sad, bad year it has been for jazz. The deaths of Baby Dodds, Lester Young and Sidney Bechet have been followed with tragic ...

Quincy Jones: "Bandleading... enough to make grey hair grow on my eyeballs... but I'm not quitting jazz"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 February 1962

QUINCY JONES — in London for a flying visit — grabs a word with MAX JONES ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha (UK Fontana TFL 5173)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 March 1962

'Won't be Long'; 'Over The Rainbow'; 'Love Is The Only Thing'; 'Sweet Lover'; 'All Night Long'; 'Who Needs You?'; 'Right Now'; 'Maybe I'm A Fool'; ...

Lesley Gore, Quincy Jones: Lesley Gore is Set For Stardom

Profile by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963

WHO IS the young pop artist most like to hit the highest spots this year? ...

Sarah Vaughan: Madame Butterfly

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963

MAX JONES talks to a new-look SARAH VAUGHAN ...

Stevie Wonder: Tribute to Uncle Ray; The 12-year-old Genius Recorded Live (both Oriole)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963

LITTLE STEVIE Wonder is largely unknown in Britain. The main fact about him is that he's a 12-year-old American blind Negro who has just had ...

Jimmy Smith: Hobo Flats (Verve VLP9039)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

Big band backing lifts organ tracks ...

Quincy Jones, Sarah Vaughan: Music In The Making: Quincy Jones — Sarah Makes It All Worth While

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

Quincy Jones, who spent last week in London enjoying the sights and sounds by day and night, is one of music's all-rounders. Bandleader, composer, arranger, publisher, ...

Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Victoria Spivey, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Now It's The South's Turn At The Blues

Report by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

BLUES IN Croydon may strike a funny note to enthusiasts steeped in the lore of Mississippi and Chicago's South Side. ...

Duke Ellington: "They're trying to make me a piano player. I'll have to start practising..."

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 February 1964

MELODY MAKER'S MAX JONES PHONES DUKE ELLINGTON IN THE STATES ON THE EVE OF HIS BRITISH TOUR. ...

Bob Dylan: If You Want To Do It — Then Do It

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 May 1964

It's the rules that cause the trouble ...

Little Walter — the man who sparked off a revolution

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 September 1964

I KNOW Little Walter only from records. ...

John Lee Hooker: Your kids dig the blues...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 October 1964

IT IS hardly three months since John Lee Hooker was last in Britain, but even in that short time he's noticed a change in the ...

Sugar Pie DeSanto, Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Howlin' Wolf, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Boy Williamson et al: American Blues Festival, Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 October 1964

BLUES FALL ON CROYDON ...

The Shangri-Las: It's motor bikes next for the seagull girls

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 October 1964

SHANGRI-LAS hit town and talk to Chris Welch ...

Ben Webster: Talking of love...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 January 1965

EVERYBODY TALKS about Ben Webster's big sound, but I don't remember about when, where and why he began to cultivate it. Between sets at Scott's, ...

Inez Andrews, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Bishop Samuel Kelsey: From Church To Concert Hall

Report by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 January 1965

MAX JONES PREVIEWS THE SPIRITUAL AND GOSPEL PACKAGE ...

The Moody Blues: Moody Blues: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 January 1965

LONDON'S MARQUEE Club shook with the excitement of New York's Apollo Theatre when the Moody Blues struck at a Monday night session. They have an ...

The Who: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 9 January 1965

"THE WHO", appearing each Tuesday at Lon­don's Marquee Club, should be billed not only as "Maximum R&B" but as "Far-out R&B." ...

The T-Bones (U.K.): The T-Bones: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 23 January 1965

THEM BONES ...

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, T-Bone Walker: T-Bone Walker, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Flamingo, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 March 1965

THE GREAT T-Bone Walker opened at London's Flamingo on Friday with an hour of beefy blues. ...

Cilla Black: "I was terrified at first but the fans are just the same"

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 March 1965

CILLA BLACK — calling from Australia — tells Chris Welch ...

Donovan, Bob Dylan: Dylan v. Donovan

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1965

DOUBLE EXPOSURE ON THE FOLK SCENE ...

The Who: Who — and why

Profile and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1965

LONG BEFORE the present craze for group names like Them, Us and Themselves, the flat-mate of 19-year-old guitarist Pete Townshend thought of Who. ...

Bob Dylan: Fastest sell-out yet

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 March 1965

When Bob Dylan first came to Britain some three years ago, his visit passed virtually unnoticed outside the folk music field. Now, on the strength ...

The Searchers: Searchers success story

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 27 March 1965

THE ORGAN and the saxophone are the accepted instrumentation in the '65 Sound. But this week we find, among many others the Searchers — number ...

The Yardbirds: How to be an overnight success... in three years

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 27 March 1965

SINCE THEY started at Richmond's Crawdaddy Club three years ago, THE YARDBIRDS have had more than their share of bad luck. ...

The Who: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 17 April 1965

The Who must be seen ...

Donovan, Bob Dylan: Screams for Dylan

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 May 1965

BOB DYLAN got the full star treatment at London Airport on Monday night. A mainly young crowd of about 150 created chaos as the 24-year-old ...

Bob Dylan: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 May 1965

Different Dylan ...

The Who: Every So Often, a Band is Poised on the Brink of a Breakthrough. Word Has It It's... The Who

Profile and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 5 June 1965

THEY THINK THE MOD THING IS DYING... ...BUT THEY DON'T INTEND TO GO DOWN WITH IT ...

The Yardbirds: After two hit records... Yardbirds — Why We Went "Commercial"

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1965

PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH, bass with the Yardbirds, explains why they decided on a change of group policy ...

The Byrds: Strictly for The Byrds!

Report by Derek Taylor, Melody Maker, 17 July 1965

THE BYRDS happened. Suddenly, with little enough warning for any of us. For me, it started a couple of days after I arrived in Hollywood ...

The Who: Manor House, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1965

LONDON'S MANOR HOUSE club held their first pop inn Wednesday session last week — and an all time record audience turned out to watch the ...

The Animals: A Few Roars from the Newest Animal

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 24 July 1965

'Get Dave' said Eric — and I was in! ...

The Animals, Alex Harvey and His Soul Band, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Manfred Mann, The Mark Leeman Five, Unit 4+2: The Animals, Manfred Mann, Mark Leeman Five, Alex Harvey Soul Band, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds et al: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 24 July 1965

RAVE NIGHT FOR MARK'S BENEFIT Animals surprise ...

Marianne Faithfull: "I'm A Pop Singer!" — Says Marianne Faithfull

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 31 July 1965

MOST PEOPLE will agree, they were surprised when they heard Marianne Faithfull's latest single, 'Summer Nights'. ...

The Moody Blues, The Rolling Stones, Steampacket: The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Steampacket et al: Palladium, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 7 August 1965

Jagger drowned in a sea of noise ...

The Byrds: Flamingo Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 August 1965

FANS GO COOL OVER TOO-COOL BYRDS ...

Sonny & Cher: It's Avant Garde Pop! Sonny And Cher — The Latest In The New Wave Of Far-Out American Poppers

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 August 1965

CHRIS WELCH meets the pair who give a new look to the old showbiz man-and-wife singing duo ...

Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds, The Manor House, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

CHRIS FARLOWE and the Thunderbirds blew up Bluesville at the Manor House, London, last Friday. Chris kept numbers short and punchy, and sang powerfully 'Mr. ...

Herman's Hermits, Elvis Presley: Herman's Hermits: The Day Herman Met Elvis

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

"He was so nice... just sort of walked in and said: Hello Herman" ...

Bert Jansch: Jansch — 'Don't Ask What My Message Is'

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

BERT JANSCH is one of the newer crop of folk singers who have spurned the more traditional forms for something approaching a pop-folk style. ...

Steampacket: The How and When of the Steampacket

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

IN A SOMEWHAT loud striped suit, blues singer Long John Baldry, with the help of organist Brian Auger, told the story of the formation of ...

The Who: The Price of Pop Art — The Who Count the Cost

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

THE WHO stand firmly for pop art. By their terms, pop art means how they behave and dress both on and off stage. On stage, ...

Lulu & the Luvvers: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 September 1965

LULU KNOCKS THEM OVER AT THE MARQUEE ...

Chris Barber: Now They Can Tell The Difference

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

CHRIS BARBER, who has been leading bands off and on for sixteen years, still approaches the business with youthful enthusiasm. In spite of beat booms, ...

Cilla Black: Cilla Wants A Song...

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

WANTED: one new song. It must be up-tempo, happy yet simple, and with a good melody and lyric. Anyone with a number fitting the above ...

Herman's Hermits: Herman Hits Out!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

SOME OF the gun-fighting mentality of America seems to have brushed off on Herman during his wildly successful trip there. ...

Ken Dodd: It's Tattifalarious! Ken Dodd's The New 'In' Name!

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

The Diddy People march on the Pop 50 ...

Sleepy John Estes: Brownsville Blues (Delmark DL613)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

Estes (voc. gtr), acc. on some tracks by Hammie Nixon (harmonica) or Yank Rachel (gtr), Ed Wilkenson or Ransom Knowling (bass) on three tracks. 1964/5. ...

The Rolling Stones: When Irish Fans Are Punching

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

ALAN WALSH, MM MAN-ON-THE-SPOT, REPORTS THE STONES' IRISH TOUR ...

Unit 4+2: Marquee, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

UNIT FOUR Plus Two, resplendent in new stage gear, stepped into the breach at the Marquee when the Moody Blues were unable to appear. Moody ...

Manfred Mann: You Won't See Paul Jones Crying When The Pop TV Shows Stop

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 September 1965

MANFRED'S MAN IN THE MIDDLE WEIGHS IN ...

The Supremes: Supreme Supreme: Will Diana Ross Go Solo?

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 October 1965

"NO COMMENT," said Diana Ross of the Supremes, to the perennial question: "Will you be going solo?" "I've just never thought about it. We're too ...

Cilla Black, The Everly Brothers: The Everly Brothers, Cilla Black: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 October 1965

THAT GREAT US duo, the Everly Brothers, made their first London appearance last Saturday, at the Finsbury Park Astoria. In black evening dress the Everlys ...

Manfred Mann: Manfreds Bounce Czechs

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 23 October 1965

BEAT GOES EAST AND FINDS NO RED SQUARES ...

Carolyn Hester: Problems of the Pop/Folknik

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

WHEN A FOLK singer hits the big time, he or she often has to look at records in a different way from the strictly album-type ...

Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie: Dizzy Gillespie: in from the storm

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

DIZZY GILLESPIE was in benevolent mood when he met the press at his Mayfair hotel. Smiling amiably between mouthfuls of Worthington, he gave the impression ...

Fontella Bass: It started in a Church Choir

Profile by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

Welcome to England with her big Stateside chart hit on Chess ...

The Birds: The Trade, Watford

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

ONE of Britain's most talented and underrated groups, the Birds, packed 'em in at the Trade, Watford, last Saturday to present an hour of high-flying ...

Chris Farlowe: The Strange Case of Chris Farlowe

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

COLLIDE WITH a deb at a showbiz party and she'll probably say: "Have you heard Chris Farlowe yet? He's simply ripping." ...

Cilla Black, The Drifters, Adam Faith, Chris Farlowe, The Mark Leeman Five, The Nashville Teens, Roy Orbison, Billy Joe Royal, Paul and Barry Ryan, Nancy Sinatra, St. Louis Union, The Toys, Traffic: Blind Date: Stevie Winwood

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

CILLA BLACK: 'Love's Just A Broken Heart' (Parlophone). It's Cilia — she's great, but this is one of those things that need a second listen. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (Chess CRL4500); Bobby Bland: Here's The Man (Vocalion VA-PS041)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

HOOKER RECORDS abound, but the latest from Chess, John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (CRL4500) is a more than usually satisfying set. ...

The Beatles, John Lennon: Pop think in: John Lennon

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

John Lennon knew all about the MM's Pop Think-in when he was approached to sit in the "hot seat". "Yeah, it'll be a laugh," he ...

The Action, The Animals, The Artwoods, The Birds, Chris Farlowe, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Merseybeats, The Mindbenders, Zoot Money, Spencer Davis Group, Steampacket, The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Walker Brothers, The Who: Rave City 66: Groups On The Go Choose The Swingingest Scenes

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

And does it prove that what Manchester is today, London can be tomorrow? ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sonny Rollins: Rick Laird: Musicians Over Here Sound As If They're Stuck

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

LONDON — LATEST in a long line of British jazz musicians to trek to the United States is twenty-four-year-old Rick Laird, resident bassist at London's ...

Tom Paxton, The Watersons: Cecil Sharp House, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

THERE WAS one solitary "boo" — when he sang an anti-LBJ song about Vietnam — but apart from that Tom Paxton was greeted with tumultuous ...

Bert Kaempfert: 'Bye Bye Blues' Man Kaempfert Was First To Record Beatles

Profile and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

BERT KAEMPFERT is something of a musical paradox. This German musician/arranger/composer is thought of in Britain — even among sections of show business itself — ...

Mose Allison: A Chunk Of Indian Music In 'I Got Rhythm' Isn't A Jazz Influence

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

LONDON — MOSE ALLISON, Mississippi piano player now ending a two-week cabaret season at Annie's Room in London, is not quite the figure you expect ...

Son House: Father Of Folk Blues (CBS BPC62604)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

'Death Letter'; 'Pearline'; 'Louise McGhee'; 'John The Revelator'; 'Empire State Express'; 'Preachin' Blues'; 'Grinning In Your Face'; 'Sundown'; 'Levee Camp Moan'. ...

Stevie Wonder: Mr Harmonica Man

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

"STEVIE'S GOT A Monster," scream the adverts in American papers. They are referring, of course, to his hit record, 'Uptight (Everything's Alright)' which looks like ...

Stevie Wonder: The In Place, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Stevie Wonder is already a mature performer, and no mean raver. He has a far from diminutive voice, great charm, and a lot of ...

TV Pop: When will the raving have to stop?

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

The men (and woman) behind the cameras answer back ...

The Small Faces: Small Faces get hung up — on sounds

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 February 1966

Have the Small Faces gone commercial? "We've gotta make some bread" says Steve Marriott. "If we can score two or three big hits, then we'll ...

The Fortunes, The Merseys, The Who: The Who, the Fortunes, the Merseys: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 February 1966

THE THREE-day test run tour of the Who Show, started on Friday at London's Finsbury Park Astoria, to two well-filled houses. ...

Bob Dylan: Robert Shelton of the New York Times talks to Max Jones about his friend Bob Dylan

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 19 February 1966

BOB DYLAN remains a fascinating subject of conversation for four good reasons. Because he has talent and originality; because, in spite of brushes with the ...

David Bowie: Meeting the Bromley Boy

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 26 February 1966

WITHOUT DOUBT David Bowie has talent. And also without doubt it will be exploited. For, Mr. Bowie, a 19-year-old Bromley boy, not only writes and ...

Band of Angels: Public school blues... that's a Band Of Angels' problem

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 March 1966

'I say, you chaps, who's for a wizard wheeze? Let's cut some groovy sounds and enjoy some of the loot these ghastly pop chaps seem ...

Ramsey Lewis: Music for Anywhere from The In Crowd

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 March 1966

CHESS Records VP MARSHALL CHESS in Britain to bang the drum for the RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO, talks to the MM's Max Jones ...

Alexis Korner: Back to Square 1 With 'R&B' Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

ALEXIS KORNER, once regarded as the founding father of British R&B, is to be seen weekly on TV's Five O'Clock Club. He also works with ...

James Brown: Four days that shook the British pop world: The Brown Bomb!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

James Brown brought something that has been missing... ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: A band with a new tradition of blues

Interview by Tracy Thomas, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

TO A FIVE-year-old child, the blues are several colours, one for the sky, one for his eyes, one for Daddy's new car. To a forsaken ...

The Yardbirds: Birds' Brain — the man they call Sam

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

"YOU'RE LOOKING for Paul Samwell-Smith? He's the shy chap with the Yardbirds isn't he?" Thus aptly described was the bass-playing brain behind the Yardbirds, by ...

Don Covay: Blaises Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 9 April 1966

DON COVAY is another of the American soul singers at present on our shores. ...

The Action, Arthur Alexander: Arthur Alexander, London; The Action, Sussex

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966

Arthur Alexander: Marquee Club, London ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha & the Vandellas: Town Hall, Farnborough

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966

MARTHA AND the Vandellas performed a minor miracle last week. They almost — but not quite — evoked a big response from a dead audience ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Musical Mayhem: Chris Welch on the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966

"WE'RE NOT doing a Temperance Seven — we're murdering the Temperance Seven!" insisted a defiant member of Britain's most incredible new rhythm ensemble — the ...

The Rolling Stones: Aftermath (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 April 1966

SPANKING NEW fourteen-track Rolling Stones LP. Undoubtedly this is the best they have made and should be their biggest British seller to date. ...

Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones: Brian Jones: Pop Think-in

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

CHELTENHAM: A place of many memories. But it's a drag. ...

Bukka White: Sky Songs (Fontana 688804ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

BUKKA WHITE is one of the important Mississippi blues artists, an old-school singer and guitar player admired by just about every blues collector and performer ...

Cilla Black: There's more to a song than just singing about love

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

ARE THE days of moon-and-June in pop songs gone forever? Has the escapist love song been finally swallowed by fans pumped full of protest, and ...

Dusty Springfield: I Just Look For A Song That Suits Me

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

"YOU PUT a smell on me!" sang Dusty Springfield and Madeline Bell to an audience consisting of a monkey in a box. ...

The Rolling Stones, Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Oldham: Stones man digs into avant garde

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

ROLLING STONES manager Andrew Oldham has moved into the jazz scene — the British avant garde jazz scene to boot! He plans to release an ...

"Spider" John Koerner: Spider John and the 7-string itch

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

ONE OF the first things to strike you when you hear Spider John Koerner on records, is the odd double-string flavour of the guitar work ...

The Lovin' Spoonful: Spoonful — The Most On The Coast...

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

TEAM O' genuine hillbillies flew into London last week and if the Lovin' Spoonful didn't actually tote 12-bore shot guns, they looked as if they'd ...

Georgie Fame with the Harry South Orchestra: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

Fame and South — what a marvellous swinging mixture ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: Ramjam Club, Brixton, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

JIMMY WITHERSPOON'S appearances at R & B clubs like Brixton's Ramjam might seem out of place. But he cuts across the music barriers with his ...

The Lovin' Spoonful: Knocking Down a Myth

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

QUESTION Will Folk Rock be the next big influence on the pop world? ...

Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey: Lee Dorsey: Lee's Back — Thanks To The Talented Mister Toussaint

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

YOU PROBABLY first heard of Lee Dorsey after you asked the DJ what that record was he just played with the gun banging in it. ...

Lee Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra: Nancy Sinatra: Boots! Boots! Boots!

Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

NANCY SINATRA, newly-famous daughter of a famous father, descended on Britain last week in the biggest blaze of publicity since the third of the Beatles ...

Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel: Paul Simon: Pop think-in

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

The biggest thing Dylan has got going for him is his mystique ...

Bob Dylan: Will The Real Bob Dylan Please Stand Up?

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 May 1966

Max Jones meets the mystical mister Dylan ...

The Merseys: Mersey Mood

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 21 May 1966

The New-Look duo make it in their own right ...

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Bern Elliott and the Fenmen, Barry Fantoni, The Merseys, The Move, The Small Faces, The Stormsville Shakers, The Yardbirds: How Far Out Can The Poppers Go?

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 May 1966

NOW YOU'RE NEVER ALONE — WITH A SITAR ...

The Move: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 2 July 1966

A GROUP who don't pull their punches, the Move, from Birmingham, are a stark, loud, flashy, hard bunch whose music smashes you right in the ...

Mahalia Jackson: I Believe (GGL0367)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 July 1966

SEVERAL OF Mahalia Jackson's earliest Apollo recordings — and that means some of her most impressive singing — are included in the new Golden Guinea ...

Bert Jansch: Jansch digs back into tradition

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 16 July 1966

THE BALLAD the young man sang was long but the audience hung on every word. In his own individual way he managed to project some ...

Sandy Bull: Les Cousins, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 16 July 1966

IT'S STRANGE that while British guitar experimentalists abound, America doesn't have much in this line to offer — apart, that is, from Sandy Bull, who ...

Simon & Garfunkel: Marquee, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 16 July 1966

SIMON AND Garfunkel's only London appearance at the Marquee on Sunday was, from an artist-audience point of view, a major success. ...

Judy Collins, The Lovin' Spoonful: "All Folk Music Now" at Newport

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

THIS YEAR'S Newport Folk Festival was more like a blues show or a pop show, with traditional folk music supported by a very small hard ...

Cream: Sweet 'N Sour Rock 'N Roll

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

A THUNDER of blues in a church hall complete with Brownies and caretakers was the bizarre setting for the first tentative creations of the Cream ...

Johnny Mathis: Talk Of The Town, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

JOHNNY MATHIS' European cabaret debut at London's Talk Of The Town on Monday, confirmed that he's a superb song stylist though some of his nervous ...

The Beach Boys: Verdict On Pet Sounds

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

The most progressive pop album ever? Or as sickly as peanut butter? Pop people reply. ...

The Beatles: Revolver (Parlophone)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

BEATLES BREAK BOUNDS OF POP ...

Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, Duffy Power, John Mayall: Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 August 1966

IT WAS AN historic evening at London's Marquee on Monday night when Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated made their first appearance there for nearly four years. ...

Petula Clark, Love, John Mayall, The T-Bones (U.S.), Ike & Tina Turner: John Mayall, Love, Petula Clark et al Albums

Review by Nick Jones, uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 6 August 1966

Single minded blues men ...

The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Kim Fowley, Richard "Groove" Holmes, John Mayall, The Small Faces: Pop Singles inc. the Beatles, Small Faces, John Mayall with Eric Clapton

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 6 August 1966

CUTE & POTTY RINGO ...

The Action, Cream, Georgie Fame, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Move, The Small Faces, Spencer Davis Group, Geno Washington, The Who: Sixth National Jazz and Blues Festival, Windsor: Jazz on a Summer's Weekend

Live Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 6 August 1966

A washout, but still swinging ...

Martin Carthy, The Dubliners, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Julie Felix, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Dave Swarbrick: Beaulieu Folk Festival, Beaulieu, Hampshire

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

Beaulieu — a real triumph thanks to the downpour ...

James Brown, Bob Dylan, Jackie Edwards, Bert Kaempfert, Arthur Lyman, Wayne Newton, Otis Redding, The Righteous Brothers, Marty Robbins, Ruby & the Romantics, Norma Tanega, Junior Walker & the All Stars, Andy Williams: Bob Dylan, James Brown, Otis Redding et al: Album Reviews

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

Dylan rocks through 4 great sides ...

Davey Graham: Midnight Man (Decca LK 4780)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

DON'T JUDGE Davey Graham's latest LP, Midnight Man (Decca LK 4780) on the basis of one hearing alone or, like me, you'll decide it's not up to ...

Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe, Zoot Money, Alan Price, Geno Washington: Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe, Alan Price Set, Geno Washington, Zoot Money: Winter Gardens, Bournemouth

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

THE COUNTRY is due for one of the most powerful package shows ever staged this Autumn, judging by the "pilot run" of the Fame-Farlowe concert ...

It's All Smiles at the Two-Week Old Cavern Again

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 13 August 1966

TWO WEEKS after the barrage of publicity at the opening, it's all smiles at Liverpool's Cavern Club again. ...

Graham Bond Organisation: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 August 1966

"GO JOHNNY GO!" is the cry echoing round the club circuit as new face Jon Hiseman blows up a storm on drums with the Graham ...

Phil Ochs: Phil Ochs In Concert (Elektra EKL 310)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 20 August 1966

Vicious, brilliant dynamite from Phil ...

Neil Christian, Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, The Koobas, The Small Faces, Crispian St. Peters: The Small Faces, Wayne Fontana et al:"Swinging '66", Lewisham Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 August 1966

ANY CONNOISSEUR of bad pop package shows would have been delighted by Radio England's "Swinging '66" opening at Lewisham Odeon on Friday, starring the Small ...

The Mindbenders: Mindbenders: The Texas Police ran some guy in and cut his hair

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 3 September 1966

"CONSIDERING IT was the home of pop music the scene in America is pretty poor! ...

The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker: Scott Walker: A Lot Of Pressures And A Personal Problem

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 September 1966

SCOTT WALKER, for the first time, talks about the incident that ended in hospital ...

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Sonny & Cher: Sonny & Cher, Jimmy James & the Vagabonds: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 3 September 1966

Sonny and Cher fail to communicate ...

The Action: Shoreline Club, Bognor Regis

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 3 September 1966

PLAYING TWO jumping sets at Bognor's Shoreline Club — one of the most switched-on scenes on the South Coast — the Action again proved that ...

The Artwoods: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 September 1966

IT WAS AN exciting but nerve-racking night for the Artwoods, one of London's finest groups, when they made their Marquee Club debut last week. ...

Davey Graham: Les Cousins, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 10 September 1966

THE big question is: why isn't Davy Graham booked into Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club? He has as much to say as his fellow guitarist and ...

The Who: Sound sense Studio time

Report and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 10 September 1966

What Are The Who Going To Do Now? ...

Bert Jansch: Jack Orion (Transatlantic TRA 143)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966

BERT JANSCH has always been an interesting performer, and he has been the nearest thing Britain has had to offer to compare with the crop ...

Otis Redding: Mr Cool and The Clique From Memphis

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966

OTIS REDDING is unbelievably cool. Or is it just travel-weariness. Who knows? When he landed on English soil last week to introduce himself and prepare ...

Phil Ochs: America's Fieriest Songwriter

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966

LAST TIME American singer/songwriter Phil Ochs was here he stormed around from gig to gig, ending up in a four-letter-worded altercation with a St Pancras ...

Ronnie Lane, The Small Faces: Pop Think In: Plonk Lane of the Small Faces

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966

STEVE CROPPER: Oh yeah! He's a sort of idol — somebody I admire very much. Actually I'm past the idolising stage. When you first start ...

Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood: Spencer Davis Group: Winwood 66

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 September 1966

Frustrated or happy? Both, reveals Chris Welch ...

Horace Silver: Ronnie Scott's club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

Extension of the earlier quintet ...

The Modern Jazz Quartet, Swingle Singers, Les: Modern Jazz Quartet: Sitting Tight On The Format

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

JOHN LEWIS, amiable but reticent leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet, is that rare bird in jazz, a musician who doesn't like talking about himself. ...

Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

'Crossroads Blues'; 'Terraplane Blues'; 'Come On In My Kitchen'; 'Waltzing Blues'; 'Last Fair Deal Come Down'; '32-20 Blues'; 'Kindhearted Woman Blues'; 'If I Had Possession ...

Sandie Shaw: Sandie keeps her mouth shut

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

"OF COURSE I've changed. Who doesn't change in two years," said Miss Sandie Shaw at her Middlesbrough hotel, with a slight trace of annoyance in ...

The Supremes: Tamla Blueprints

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

WITH THE Supremes at No 6 in the Pop 50 after a rapid climb, all the signs are that we're in for a sustained attack from ...

The Rolling Stones: A Great Face Job!

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

That well respected song-writing team of Jagger and Richard take time out to look back over their shoulders into the Stones' past and compare it ...

Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Slim: Albums from Memphis Slim and Lonnie Johnson

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

Memphis leads a bunch of blues ...

Horace Silver: Just Quit While You're Ahead

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

ALREADY, AND in spite of the excessively rough luck of having his place of employment burned down on the opening night of his first British ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Show Comes To Town — All Nineteen Of Them

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

CARRYING a valet, two secretaries, the Ikettes — their three girl backing singers — two male singers Jimmy Thomas and Prince Albert, plus the Kings ...

Long John Baldry, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, The Yardbirds: The Stones Roll Out Again — And It's The Wildest Tour Ever To Hit Britain

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

MM MAN-ON-TOUR with the Rolling Stones and Ike and Tina Turner, ALAN WALSH ...

Dave Berry, The Fortunes, Alan Price, Dusty Springfield: Dusty Springfield, The Alan Price Set, Dave Berry, The Fortunes: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

THE DUSTY Springfield tour opened last Tuesday at London's Finsbury Park Astoria with Dave Berry and the Fortunes filling the large gap vacated by the ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Bluebird Blues (Fontana 688803 ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Lightnin' strikes again ...

Robert Parker: Hit Making Tenor Man

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

'COLTRANE MY INFLUENCE' SAYS ROBERT PARKER ...

Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Otis Rush, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Junior Wells, Robert Pete Williams: Sippie Wallace, Otis Rush et al: Fifth American Folk Blues Festival, Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Blues by three in the worst possible setting ...

Sippie Wallace: Very Much Alive And Singing...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

MEETING SIPPIE Wallace suddenly, after all these years of gazing at her name on ancient Okeh records, is an experience roughly comparable with running into ...

Dr. Ross, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf: Albums from Howlin' Wolf, Dr. Ross and Lightnin' Hopkins

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

RARE ITEMS FROM HOWLIN' WOLF ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sammy Davis Jr., Marvin Gaye, The Temptations: Albums from The Temptations, Butterfield Blues Band, Marvin Gaye and Sammy Davis Jr.

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

Temptations have got a big seller ...

Carolyn Hester: Not Ashamed To Do Some Folk Rock

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

INTO BRITAIN last weekend flew Carolyn Hester, the American folk singer with the fantastic range, for a tight schedule of ten TV dates and two ...

Cream: Clapton Revs Into A New Gear

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

NICK JONES talks to the loner who came in from the cold. ...

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

SEVENTY minutes of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass captivated a capacity 7,000 audience at London's Royal Albert Hall on Friday. Herb and his superb ...

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: Lambert, Hendricks and Ross: Fully paid up in the hod carrier's union

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

DAVE LAMBERT, 49-year-old jazz singer, composer and vocal arranger who was killed by a passing truck on the Connecticut Turnpike last week, was regarded as ...

The Watersons: The Watersons (Topic 12T142)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

THE WATERSONS' latest record was originally planned as a "live" recording at their Hull club — why, I can't think. The idea that folk music ...

Pink Floyd: All Saints Church Hall, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 20 October 1966

LAST FRIDAY the Pink Floyd, a new London group, embarked upon their first "happening" — a pop dance incorporating psychedelic effects and mixed media — ...

Bert Jansch: St. Pancras Town Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

TAKE ONE of our most introspective folk singers and put him alone on a stage for nearly three hours. It sounds like madness, but when ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Butterfield's Blues Men Aim To Spread Their Gospel In Britain

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

THE PAUL Butterfield Blues Band, in London this week for an extensive tour with Georgie Fame and Chris Farlowe, aims to spread its blues gospel ...

Charles Keil: Urban Blues (The University Of Chicago Press)

Book Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

THE BLUES AS AN URBAN NEGRO CULTURE ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Town Hall, High Wycombe

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

A SECOND, longer look at the Ike and Tina Turner rhythm and excitement band show at their first appearance off the Rolling Stones tour at ...

The Hollies, Paul Jones, The Nashville Teens, Paul and Barry Ryan: The Hollies, Paul Jones, Paul & Barry Ryan, the Nashville Teens: ABC Cinema, Aldershot

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

FIRST DISAPPOINTMENT to tour-goers on Saturday evening was the tell-tale notice board in the foyer of Aldershot ABC. It stated the Small Faces were unable ...

Dr. Ross, John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Williams: Blues Bargains from Hooker, Dr Ross, Big Joe

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

SOME good rocking samples of Hooker R&B are found on Driftin' Thru The Blues (Ember EMB3371) 17s 9d, from John Lee's early recording days. A few tracks ...

Chris Farlowe, Eric Burdon, Geno Washington, Georgie Fame, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Georgie Fame, Geno Washington, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

A GREAT SHOW and a puzzling audience reaction. That was the net result of the first night of the Georgie Fame package tour at Finsbury ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: It's Shakespeare and All That Rock for Jerry

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

CAN YOU imagine Jerry Lee Lewis swinging his way through a musical version of Shakespeare's play Othello? You can't? Then get ready for a shock ...

Mark Spoelstra: Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

THERE IS a soft centre at the heart of much of contemporary American songwriting in the folk or near-folk idiom which makes it difficult ever ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield: The Sad Chicago Blues Scene

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

NODDING A shock of dark curly hair, and gesticulating madly as he puts a point over, Mike Bloomfield, young lead guitarist with Chicago's Paul Butterfield ...

The Move, Spencer Davis Group, Wynder K. Frogg: Spencer Davis Group, the Move, Jimmy James, VIPS, the Herd, Wynder K. Frogg: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

SEDATE Fairfield Hall, Croydon, blew up with a wild pop package show featuring the Move, Jimmy James, VIPS, the Herd and Spencer Davis on Friday ...

The Move: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

PSYCHEDELIC sounds came to London in a new — and explosive — dimension, as the Move continued their Thursday night residency at the Marquee Club ...

Cream: Bruce Finds Himself via the Cream

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 5 November 1966

WELL THEY finally made it. The much publicised, talked-about, raved about, and listened to group — the Cream — are in the chart. ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: Marimba, Middlesbrough

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 5 November 1966

HE'S 31 AND, off stage just what you would imagine a Southern gentleman to be. But on stage, you'd better watch out because Jerry Lee ...

The Action, Bluesology: Shoreline Club, Bognor Regis

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 5 November 1966

BOGNOR REGIS' Shoreline Club offered sweet refuge from lashing seas and freezing winds last Saturday, as it reopened under the watchful eye and new musical ...

Cilla Black: Prince of Wales Theatre, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

FRANKLY, although Cilla Black is one of the stars, Way Out In Piccadilly just isn't a show for the pop fans. It's really the Frankie Howerd Show, ...

Judy Collins: Collins: A Singer, Period

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

"I AM FINALLY beginning to see what my direction is. I'm a singer and songs like these are what I want to sing." Lovely Judy ...

The Easybeats: Easybeats for long stay?

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

WHEN 'FRIDAY On My Mind' initially imposed itself upon my auditory passages I think it's only true to say I was knocked out. Verdict: a ...

Ewan MacColl: Manchester Angel (Topic 12T147)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

IT IS UNFORTUNATE that while Ewan MacColl has continued to develop as a singer, many of the available recordings were made long before he had ...

Tom Paxton: Paxton: Singing First

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

AS HANK Locklin's recording of 'The Last Thing On My Mind' climbs into the charts, the man who wrote it, folksinger-writer Tom Paxton, is back ...

Pete Seeger: Folk Music Live At The Village Gate (Verve VLP 5016)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

PETE SEEGER is a man who could sing practically anywhere and give a good account of him self. On Folk Music Live At The Village ...

Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Roland Kirk: Doesn't Fit Into The Avant Garde

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

JAZZ snobs have been hit hard by the arrival of Roland Kirk the Magnificent. Roland's music lurches crazily, but creatively from the humorous to the ...

The Beach Boys, Lulu, Sounds Incorporated: The Beach Boys, Sounds Incorporated, Lulu: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

Beach Boys get lads going! ...

Judy Collins, The Incredible String Band, Tom Paxton: Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, The Incredible String Band: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

A TRIUMPH — there is no other word for the reception Judy Collins and Tom Paxton received at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday. The ...

Chad & Jeremy, Neil Diamond, The Elgins, The Four Tops, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Paul and Barry Ryan, The Seekers, The Small Faces: Blind Date: The Four Tops

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

The stars single out the new singles ...

Buddy Rich, Dusty Springfield: Dusty Slams U.S. Star

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD this week slammed back at star American drummer-bandleader Buddy Rich who kept her waiting 2½ hours at her debut at New York's Basin ...

Pete Seeger: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

HE DID it again! Every time Pete Seeger puts on a solo concert in Britain I wonder if he can pull it off, the unique ...

The Four Tops: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

TREMENDOUS TOPS SCORE AT SAVILLE ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

THE PAVEMENT outside and the hallway inside were deserted. London's Marquee Club appeared dead and empty. The attraction was the Paul Butterfield Blues Band from ...

Why did Ready Steady have to... Go!

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

ALAN WALSH CARRIES OUT THE POST-MORTEM ON THE DEATH OF ANOTHER POP TV SHOW ...

Jacques Brel: Brel, The Man Who Wrote The Hard-To-Get Rule Book

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 November 1966

CONCERT promoter Roy Guest rubbed his chin dubiously when I asked for an interview with Jacques Brel. the legendary French singer-songwriter whose Albert Hall concert ...

Cream: Klooks Kleek, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 November 1966

ANY DOUBTS ABOUT the Cream's ability to perform as a group and not just three star soloists were dispelled by their sensational set at London's ...

Jacques Brel: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 November 1966

THE ALL-PERVADING perfume of Gauloises and an audience that went hysterical at the beginning, climax and end of each song reminded me of the atmosphere ...

Jean Ritchie: Jeanette Cochrane Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 December 1966

JEAN — PERFECT AT LETTING THE SONG TELL THE STORY ...

Arlo Guthrie: One Of America's Most Interesting Young Folk Singers For Some Time

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 10 December 1966

PEOPLE WHO go along to hear Woody Guthrie's son, Arlo, during his three week tour of Britain expecting to hear a carbon copy of the ...

The Rascals: Note the name well — the Young Rascals

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 10 December 1966

LAST WEEK an American group, the Young Rascals, visited England. ...

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, The Hollies, The Mindbenders: Scrubbers – The Facts

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 10 December 1966

ALAN WALSH investigates the WORLD OF THE FEMALE POP FAN ...

The Who: A Quick One (Reaction)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 December 1966

The Who fulfilled and a mini-opera, yet! ...

Arlo Guthrie: Cochrane Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

HIS hair is a lot longer — just about as bushy as dad's used to be in his heyday — and he's an inch or ...

Chris Farlowe, Paul Jones, Peter and Gordon, Pink Floyd, Alan Price, Jackie Trent: Pink Floyd, Paul Jones, Alan Price, Chris Farlowe, Peter and Gordon, Jackie Trent: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

A MARATHON four-hour show in aid of Oxfam was held at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday and featured an all-star cast. ...

The Small Faces: Small Faces in a Tight Green Circle

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

NICK JONES at a Small Faces recording session ...

T-Bone Walker: Thorny Problem Of Mixing The Blues With Modern Jazz

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

I HAVE always looked on T-Bone Walker as being more of a jazz-blues singer than a folk or country-type artist. In other words, as a ...

The Alan Bown Set, Chim Kothari, Cream, Hank Williams, Jackie Edwards, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Tim Hardin: Cream, Tim Hardin et al Album Reviews

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 24 December 1966

Cream working to produce a great album ...

The Creation, Sounds Incorporated, Geno Washington: Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band, The Creation, Sounds Incorporated: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 December 1966

GENO WASHINGTON'S triumph is not so much a musical one, as a victory over the minds of elderly mods, who have seized upon the Ram ...

The Attack: Hammersmith College, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 December 1966

HOLY SENSATION! It's Richard's Attack, a new group who had fans fighting with excitement at Hammersmith College on Friday last week. ...

The Move: The Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 24 December 1966

MIDST OF A smog of smoke bombs, smashed TV sets, smashed people, and the psychedelic decor — well, who would settle for anything else — ...

Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday (World Record Club TS30)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

THERE ARE FEW singers in and around jazz who continue to excite our wonder long after their death. Bessie Smith is one, and Mildred Bailey ...

Duke Ellington: Concert Of Sacred Music (RCA)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

Hot jazz and religion in a ducal mixture ...

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Blaises, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

JIMI HENDRIX, a fantastic American guitarist, blew the minds of the star-packed crowd who went to see him at Blaises Club, London on Wednesday. ...

Spencer Davis Group: The Spencer Davis Group: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

IT WAS A night of comedy and merry making when the Spencer Davis Group held their Christmas party at London's Marquee Club last week. ...

The Who: The Upper Cut, Forest Gate, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

AN INCREDIBLE new club called the Upper Cut under the auspices of famous boxer Billy Walker opened at Forest Gate, London, with the grand clamour ...

Cream: Fresh Cream

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

CHRIS WELCH ANALYSES THE WORK OF BAKER, BRUCE AND CLAPTON ...

Cream: Pop Think-In with Ginger Baker

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

MODERN ART: I still paint occasionally, and I've got a big sculpture I've been working on for 18 months. It's got a steel frame with ...

Lee Dorsey: The New Lee Dorsey (Stateside)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

IN CASE you were wondering, the old Lee Dorsey was a boxer. There's nothing new about his music — it's groovy, no messing American pop ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Say No To The Devil (Xtra 5014)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

THERE CAN be no doubting the emotional force of Gary Davis's music or the variety and strength of his guitar playing. He is among the ...

Kenny Ball, Max Bygraves, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, Bobby Goldsboro, Jay & The Americans, The Knickerbockers, Vera Lynn, The Mindbenders, The Nashville Teens, The Riot Squad, Percy Sledge: Singles From the Four Tops, Percy Sledge et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

A lack of new ideas but another Tops success ...

The Rolling Stones: Jagger and The Shape Of Things To Come

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

HOW DO YOU foresee the progress of the Stones in 1967? ...

The Move, Pink Floyd, The Who: The Who, The Move, Pink Floyd: The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

Psychedelicamania at Roundhouse ...

Madeline Bell, Ken Dodd, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Mindbenders, The Nashville Teens, The New Vaudeville Band, The Rolling Stones, The Royal Guardsmen: Blind Date: Paul Jones

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 14 January 1967

NOW IT'S psychedelic Blind Date. At least, that's what Paul Jones' session in the hot seat seemed like at the time. First of all, the ...

Graham Bonney, The Guess Who, Engelbert Humperdinck, Paul Jones, Keith, John Mayall, The McCoys, The Moody Blues, ? and the Mysterians, Otis Redding, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Rolling Stones, The Royal Guardsmen, Spencer Davis Group: New Singles from the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 14 January 1967

Stones old firm back in strength ...

The Move, Pink Floyd: Who's Psychedelic Now? MM Inquiry by Chris Welch and Nick Jones

Interview by Nick Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 January 1967

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PINK FLOYD AND THE MOVE ...

Adam Faith, Marvin Gaye, Paul Jones, John Mayall, The McCoys, ? and the Mysterians, Otis Redding, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Rolling Stones, Kim Weston: Blind Date: Dave Dee

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967

PAUL JONES: 'I've Been A Bad Bad Boy' (HMV). Sounds a bit like Paul Jones. Great — I like this one. I like that 'bad, ...

Donovan: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967

THAT THERE is still room for audacious youth in 1967 is a good sign. Donovan is an audacious youth, and in the vast monument to ...

Jimi Hendrix: Hendrix — on the Crest of a Fave Rave

Profile by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967

ALTHOUGH things are happening all around Jimi Hendrix — he doesn't choose to see them. It's all down to being cool. No pre-hatch counting of ...

The Rolling Stones: Between The Buttons (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967

FUN, EXCITEMENT, great ballads, and the full unveiling of Mick Jagger's voice after being cloaked in some secrecy for several years are among the rewards ...

The Monkees: Why All This Hoo-Ha About The Monkees?

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 January 1967

OH, THE bitchiness! Oh, the arguments! Oh, the rows! It's amazing how pop can still cause furore and uproar from one side of the Atlantic ...

Cat Stevens: A Rather Cool Cat

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 January 1967

CAT STEVENS won't purr if you poor him a saucer of milk. But if, as a reward for his sensational leap up the chart with ...

Lamont Dozier, The Four Tops, The Supremes: Holland-Dozier-Holland: This Tamla Trio Top The Hitmakers Chart

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 January 1967

HOLLAND-DOZIER-Holland may sound like a firm of solicitors, but they must rank among the most prolific songwriting teams in history. ...

Jimi Hendrix at the Pop Think-In

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 January 1967

FREAK OUT: Well, whatever the word means to you, add a few musical notes to that. Each to his own. I think for a new ...

The Lovin' Spoonful: Hums Of The Lovin' Spoonful (Kama Sutra)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 January 1967

Country blues from the Lovin' Spoonful ...

The Watersons: 'Entertainment' Isn't Enough For The Watersons

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967

BIGGEST bombshell to hit the folk scene since Dave Swarbrick left Ian Campbell was my news in last week's MM, that the Watersons are to ...

The Four Tops: Four Tops Plan a Motown Choir

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967

SWINGING London was practically rocked off its hinges the first time the famous Four Tops descended among us last year – the year of 'Reach ...

Jimi Hendrix, The Who: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967

Jimi Hendrix-Who battle at Saville ...

The Move: On the Move

Profile by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967

NICK JONES GETS BEHIND THE TV-SMASHING MOVE IMAGE ...

The Rolling Stones: The Pop Think-In: Charlie Watts

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 4 February 1967

Charlie Watts has been called "The Silent Stone", who prefers to sit about looking rather mournful and unwilling to communicate. In fact, Charlie has a ...

Cream, Edwin Starr: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

GINGER BAKER played one of the finest solos in his career at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday night. ...

Duke Ellington: Guildhall, Portsmouth

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

DUKE ALWAYS HAS A TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE ...

Mose Allison: Down Home Piano (Transatlantic PR7423)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

MOSE ALLISON and his work are both pretty well known by now to jazz and blues lovers over here. This album, to set down first ...

Nat King Cole: You're Listening To The Nat King Cole Trio (Music For Pleasure)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

WE ALL SUFFER from blind spots, I guess, so I'll confess one of mine at once and admit that I'm almost totally proof against the ...

Psychedelic Pop — When The Freaking Out Has To Stop...

Report and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

AN ATTEMPT AT AN EXPLANATION BY NICK JONES ...

Duke Ellington: Suites in a Hotel Suite

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 February 1967

DUKE ELLINGTON is a musician who composes tirelessly in his own way and in his own time — which means according to the circumstances he ...

Spontaneous Music Ensemble: John Stevens: A Sadder But Wiser Avant Gardist

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 February 1967

JOHN STEVENS has come back a sadder but wiser man from the so-called "avant garde scene" in Copenhagen. Stevens, drummer-organiser of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, ...

The Action, The Byrds, Donovan, Lee Dorsey, Jimi Hendrix, The Lovin' Spoonful, Paul McCartney, The Move, Gene Pitney, Alan Price, Paul and Barry Ryan, The Small Faces, Dusty Springfield: Beatle Blind Date: Paul McCartney reviews the new pop singles

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 25 February 1967

LEE DORSEY: 'Rain Rain Go Away' (Stateside) Lee Dorsey. It's in the same old vein and it'll be a hit. Sometimes I wonder if he ...

Chuck Berry, Del Shannon: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1967

FREAK OUTS forget — it's rock riots yet! Those smashing days of the fifties are back, and for evidence see the pile of broken seats ...

Gene Pitney, the Troggs: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 25 February 1967

GENE PITNEY strolled on stage on the first night of his last British tour last Friday at the Astoria, Finsbury Park and proved once again ...

Chuck Berry: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 March 1967

NO RIOTS, but plenty of good music were provided at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday night when Chuck Berry made a return appearance. ...

The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa: Mothers Of Invention: 
Freak Out!
 (Verve)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 March 1967

Freak Out with the Mothers ...

Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood, Traffic: Stevie Winwood: Why I Quit

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 March 1967

MM EXCLUSIVE: CHRIS WELCH probes the Great Break Up and finds the Spencer Davis-Stevie Winwood split inevitable ...

The Hollies, Graham Nash: The Hollies: All Things Bright and Beautiful

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 March 1967

HOLLIE GRAHAM NASH OUTLINES A POP STAR'S PHILOSOPHY... ...

Roy Orbison: Orbison — Friendly American With A Soft Spot For Britain

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 March 1967

ROY ORBISON is one of the unfathomable elements in British pop. He weathered the turbulent years of the beat boom singing dramatic ballads in the ...

Jeff Beck, Paul and Barry Ryan, Roy Orbison, The Small Faces: The Small Faces, Roy Orbison, Paul & Barry Ryan, Jeff Beck: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 March 1967

A RIGHT phantasmagorical experience was created by the combined powers of the Small Faces and Roy Orbison at the opening of their tour at Finsbury ...

Alan Price: Klooks Kleek, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 March 1967

ALAN PRICE and his amazing dancing band blew up a storm at Klooks Kleek on Tuesday last week, and an all-star turn-out joined in for ...

Duane Eddy: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 March 1967

DUANE EDDY and a band of faithful followers generated 'Some Kinda Earthquake' at the Saville London on Sunday. Not quite the enormous earthquake that was ...

Roy Harper: Sophisticated Beggar (Strike JHL 105)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 18 March 1967

THE TROUBLE with real innovators is that they make life very difficult for anyone who tries to emulate them. Bert Jansch and John Renbourn have ...

Jeff Beck: When The 'Big Break' Leads To Disaster...

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

CHRIS WELCH GOES BEHIND THE GLAMOUR AND GLITTER OF THE POP WORLD TO FIND TRAGEDY ...

Love: Da Capo (Elektra)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

ONCE AGAIN LOVE PROVE THEIR GREAT ORIGINALITY ...

Booker T & The MGs, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave et al: Stax/Volt Revue Tour, Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

STAX — THE RAVE SHOW TO END 'EM ALL ...

Simon & Garfunkel: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

TWO people, one guitar, gave a concert of overwhelming beauty, compassion, and entertainment at London's vast Royal Albert Hall, last Saturday, where enormous crowds flocked ...

The Byrds: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 March 1967

A SUSPICIOUS audience confronted the Byrds when they played their only gig, an informal affair at London's Speakeasy Club, last Tuesday — no doubt recollecting ...

Fats Domino, Gerry & the Pacemakers: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 April 1967

FATS HAS 'EM JIVING IN THE AISLES! ...

Pink Floyd: Freaking Out with the Pink Floyd

Report and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 1 April 1967

BEING ASKED to interview the Pink Floyd is an ordeal I would have wished only on my worst enemies. I was shaking like a leaf ...

Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers: Engelbert Humperdinck, The Walker Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 April 1967

A show which proves pop still has something up its sleeve ...

Fats Domino: Fats: Man From New Orleans

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 April 1967

DOMINO BRINGS A MISSISSIPPI TANG TO BRITAIN ...

The Move: Cadillac Club, Brighton

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 15 April 1967

A LOT OF people moan because they don't see a TV being axed into dust when they go to see the Move. There is a ...

Jimi Hendrix: Who Says Jimi Hendrix Can't Sing? (He Does!)

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 April 1967

JIMI HENDRIX can't sing! "Oo sez so?" outraged Hendrix fans will demand, at this startling statement. But before MM readers who dig the sounds of ...

The Alan Bown Set, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King: Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Alan Bown Set: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 April 1967

THE AUDIENCE stole the show at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday, presenting their polished performance of Mass Idiocy — the new art form. ...

P.P. Arnold, The Bee Gees, Booker T & The MGs, Neil Diamond, The Tremeloes, The Who: Singles, including the Who, Neil Diamond and the Bee Gees

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 22 April 1967

WHO MOVE INTO A CLASS OF THEIR OWN ...

Donovan: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 April 1967

EXPERIENCE BUT NO SATISFACTION FOR DONOVAN ...

The Who: Pictures of the WHO

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 April 1967

THERE SEEMS to be three distinct phases in the life of a pop group. Each is important, and mainly they are controlled by you the ...

The Small Faces: The Many Faces of Steve Marriott

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 April 1967

POP STARS and the Establishment seem to be ever at loggerheads. Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley used to be accused of corrupting teenage morals. Quite ...

P.P. Arnold: P.P. can bridge that soul gap

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 6 May 1967

IS THERE room for another little female barrel of dynamite on the English pop scene? ...

Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow: Pink Floyd, Soft Machine et al: The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, Alexandra Palace, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 6 May 1967

TECHNICOLOUR DREAM STIRS UNDERGROUND ...

The Beach Boys, Bobby Hebb, Chris Farlowe, Jimi Hendrix, John's Children, The Kinks, Lee Dorsey, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound: This Week's Singles: The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Beach Boys et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 6 May 1967

SUBTLE KINKS HEADING FOR CHART SUCCESS ...

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

THE JIMI Hendrix Experience is the kind of group you never tire of watching or listening to. ...

Lou Rawls: Carryin' On (Capitol T2632)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

LOU RAWLS is an energetic singer with a fairly rich voice and a hip sort of style influenced by blues, gospel and old and modern ...

The Beach Boys: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

ONCE AGAIN in their striped shirts the five Beach Boys opened the English part of their tour at London's Hammersmith Odeon last Thursday. ...

The Byrds: Younger Than Yesterday (CBS)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

No other word for the Byrds but beautiful ...

The Doors: The Doors (Elektra)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

THE RAVING R&B musical content of their first single, 'Break On Through To The Other Side', falls well short of the high standard the Doors ...

The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker: The Walker Brothers: Walker Plans

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

AFTER THE SPLIT: NICK JONES PINPOINTS THREE NEW CAREERS ...

Alan Lomax: Cowboy Songs and other Frontier Ballads by John A. Lomax; American Ballads and Folk Songs by John A. and Alan Lomax (both Macmillan)

Book Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 20 May 1967

IT ALL started with the Lomaxes — at least it often seems that way. Though there have been other American folksong collectors, before and since, ...

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced? (Track Records)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 20 May 1967

Yes — this is the real Jimi Hendrix ...

Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane: California Dreamin'

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 27 May 1967

AMERICA'S WEST COAST — ESPECIALLY SAN FRANCISCO — IS WHERE IT'S ALL AT NOW. WHAT LESSON CAN WE LEARN FROM IT? NICK JONES EXPLAINS ...

Procol Harum: The Procol Harum — A Sound To Remember

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 3 June 1967

NICK JONES charts a meteoric chart rise ...

The Turtles: Enter The Turtles — Part Of The... Flower Power Generation!

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 10 June 1967

WHETHER THERE is a slight lack of introspection among the British pop groups is a point that always arises after meeting "an average American group." ...

Arthur Brown, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Soft Machine: Love, Beauty, the Fuzz and the UFO

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 June 1967

THE IN CLUBS: CHRIS WELCH takes in the London club scene — beginning with UFO ...

Roy Harper: Is Roy the man to succeed Dylan?

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 June 1967

MAKE A note of this name: Roy Harper. The international folk scene is going to hear a lot of this talented 25-year-old singer-songwriter with drooping ...

The Incredible String Band: Now It's Folk Flower Power

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 24 June 1967

THE TWO young Scots who call themselves the Incredible String Band, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, are going to set both the folk and pop ...

The Who: Second thoughts on Monterey

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 1 July 1967

Pete Townshend talks to Nick Jones ...

Jeff Beck, Cream, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers: Cream, Jeff Beck Group, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 8 July 1967

IT'S THE CREAM ALL THE WAY AT THE SAVILLE ...

Denny Laine & The Electric String Band: Blaises, UFO, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 15 July 1967

CLEARLY IN the Electric String Band, crystal clearly in its founder member Denny Laine, the pop scene is to witness yet another exciting and creative ...

Traffic: No jams in sight for Stevie and Traffic

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 15 July 1967

THE PAPER sun begins to sink below the chart horizon but as each day is born queues of fans await the happy, happy day when ...

Procol Harum: Procol Probe: how the break-up came to pass

Report and Interview by Nick Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 July 1967

CHRIS WELCH AND NICK JONES FILL IN THE SPLIT BACKGROUND ...

Pink Floyd: The Great Pink Floyd Mystery

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 August 1967

AS THOUSANDS IN ballrooms and assorted hell-holes across the country are deafened and blinded nightly by the Pink Floyd, the well-known psychedelic group, thousands might ...

Dave Davies, The Kinks: Dave Davies: "I'm Not Good Enough To Go Solo"

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

DAVE DAVIES tells Alan Walsh ...

The Beach Boys: No More Beach Boy Gaps — Says Bruce

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

'GOOD VIBRATIONS' took light years to complete — 'Heroes And Villains' is the Beach Boys' new single and it took a long time too. But ...

Desmond Dekker: On The Trail Of Desmond Dekker

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

A FEW years ago Bluebeat, that simple jogging West Indian pop, was all the rage among the mods of Britain. ...

Ronnie Scott, Scott Walker: Scott Walker: Fiesta Club, Stockton

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

SCOTT SHEDS HIS POP WINGS IN STOCKTON... ...

The 5th Dimension, The Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, Moby Grape, Vanilla Fudge: The Week's New Singles: Beach Boys, 5th Dimension, Vanilla Fudge, Moby Grape, Aretha Franklin

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

Fresh Beach Boys for the summer months ...

The Beach Boys, Ken Dodd, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, The Herd, Albert King, Jimmy Ruffin, Vanilla Fudge: Beach Boy Bruce Johnston reviews new singles in Blind Date

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967

VANILLA FUDGE: 'You Keep Me Hanging On' (Atlantic). Oh! I love it. Oh it's great. I didn't recognise the beginning at first. Yeah, Vanilla Fudge. ...

The Animals, Dead Sea Fruit, Jimi Hendrix, Manfred Mann, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, The Smoke, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Traffic: New Singles from the Stones, Monkees, Jimi Hendrix et al

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967

STONES — CONSIDERABLY TOO MUCH ...

Procol Harum: Procol Harum (Regal Zonophone)

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967

Worried about Procol Harum? Just wait till you hear this! ...

Arthur Brown, Cream, Donovan, Manfred Mann, Marmalade, The Nice, P.P. Arnold, The Small Faces, Tomorrow, Yusef Lateef: Various Artists: Seventh National Jazz And Blues Festival, Windsor

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967

I've got those Seventh National Jazz And Blues Festival blues ...

Cream: Speakeasy Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 26 August 1967

LONDON'S SPEAKEASY CLUB has been, as the fashionable columns would say, "in" for some time now. ...

The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa: Meet the Boss Mother, Sussing Out Britain...

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 26 August 1967

IF AFFLUENCE and power is the Great American Dream, Frank Zappa is the Great American Nightmare. ...

Scott Walker: Scott (Philips)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 August 1967

TRIUMPH FOR SCOTT ...

The Rolling Stones: Mick Decides To Play It Cool

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 August 1967

"STONES CASH IN on psychedelic craze! Read all about it!" This was the dramatic headline that swam into Mick Jagger's vision as he answered newspaper ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: The George Harrison Interview

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 September 1967

"You may think this interview is of no importance to me," said George Harrison across a table in NEM's Enterprises Mayfair offices. "But you'd be ...

The Incredible String Band: The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (Elektra EUK 257)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 2 September 1967

STRING BAND — NO LONGER FOLK SINGERS ...

Cilla Black: Brian Epstein: It's Impossible To Put My Feelings Into Words — Cilla

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

"WHEN I HEARD the news of Brian's death I just felt utterly alone. There was no consolation from anyone." Cilla Black, at her parents' new ...

Jimi Hendrix: Mitch Mitchell: 'We're Only Friendly Little Gnomes After All'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

MITCH MITCHELL TALKS ABOUT HIS IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA ...

Dave Brubeck: Teo Macero: 'It May Be What Jazz Needs, The Psychedelic Touch'

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

TEO MACERO, American Columbia A&R man, arranger, and composer of experimental music, is becoming a regular visitor to Britain. Last week he was with us ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: The George Harrison Interview (part 2)

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

George Harrison, Beatle, human being and musical innovator, spoke of God, LSD, the Hippies and Haight Ashbury last week in the first of these two ...

Tomorrow Are Saying It Today

Profile and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

"QUICKLY BECOMING the latest rave" is the kind of statement most groups, especially the unknown ones, would dearly like to hear echoing in their egos. ...

Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings the Blues (RCA Victor RD7S33)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 September 1967

NINA SIMONE'S singing is very much an acquired taste, and I have to confess that it is not my favourite brand. I recognise, though, the ...

The Beatles: Two Magical Mystery Tours

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 September 1967

'Ringo stood on my foot,' said one girl helpfully. 'But I don't know where they've gone!' ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 30 September 1967

MOTHERS — ALMOST A FREAK OUT, NOT A LOVE IN, DEFINITELY A SEND-UP! ...

The Incredible String Band: Incredible String Band: Incredible Incredibles

Profile and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 30 September 1967

AS THE beautiful, unrelenting success of their second album so justly affirms the Incredible String Band are something incredible. ...

Traffic: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 30 September 1967

AFTER CENTURIES in hibernation Traffic left their country womb last Sunday to make their debut at London's Saville Theatre, and certainly in potentiality they must ...

Traffic's Life of Isolation Ends in London

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 30 September 1967

THE TRAFFIC'S splendid isolation in the wilds of Berkshire has temporarily ended. Pressure of success has forced the group into town and now they share ...

John Mayall, Mike Vernon: True Blues?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967

ALAN WALSH investigates the plight of the British bluesman ...

Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band, Pink Floyd, Tim Rose, Tomorrow: Pink Floyd, Incredible String Band, Tomorrow, Tim Rose, Fairport Convention: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967

SUNDAY'S SAVILLE bill was most groovy, opening with the Fairport Convention who are beginning to find their way, followed by American Tim Rose who was ...

The Who: The Zombie Cometh!

Comment by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967

NICK JONES is worried about British pop audiences. Here he explains why. ...

Tom Paxton: A Portrait of Paxton

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967

THERE ARE just seven clear free days in the crowded schedule of Tom Paxton, who arrived in Britain this week for a three-week stay which ...

Jimi Hendrix: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967

THE OTHER (WRESTLING) SIDE OF JIMI HENDRIX ...

Stevie Wonder: It's Not Such a Drag Being Blind

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967

STEVIE WONDER, here for a tour of Britain, talks to NICK JONES ...

The Flowerpot Men, Tomorrow, Traffic, Vanilla Fudge: Traffic, Vanilla Fudge, Tomorrow, The Flowerpot Men: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967

IT WAS AN explosive opening night For the Traffic-Tomorrow-Fudge tour at London's Finsbury Park Astoria on Wednesday of last week. The Fudge came off the ...

Vanilla Fudge: Fudge Slow Down To Hang On To Success

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967

JIMI HENDRIX slowed down 'Hey Joe', previously always recorded as an all-out tear-up, and came up with a giant hit. Then Vanilla Fudge slowed down ...

John Lennon: How I Won The War (Dir. Dick Lester, starring John Lennon)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

BEATLE JOHN Lennon reveals a talent for acting and a sense of bitter irony in the part of Private Gripweed in Dick Lester's How I ...

Bobbie Gentry: Bobbie — On The Tallahatchee Bridge To Fame

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

ALAN WALSH meets the 'Ode to Billie Joe' girl ...

Judy White, Josh White: Josh & Judy White: Josh and his Singing Family

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

SOMETIMES IT seems as though Josh White brings a different member of his family every time he visits us, and every one is a singer. ...

Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker and The All-Stars, Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

GREAT THUNDERING jackanapes! An all-round good show at the Saville: No goofs, no cur­tains falling down, great music, a nice audience and even, won­der of ...

Ten Years After: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

TEN YEARS AFTER are currently drawing huge applause and crowds at London's Marquee Club on Friday nights, and it is not difficult to see why. ...

Shirley & Dolly Collins, The Incredible String Band: The Incredible String Band, Shirley & Dolly Collins: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

THEIR TRUTHS may shriek, whisper, caress or stab at the thread from which we hang, and scorch our fallen bodies in hot sun, dry them ...

John Mayall: O, Come And Join All Ye The Blues Faithful Crusade

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 October 1967

ROLL UP! Get your Bluesbreakers masks here. Peter Green 2s 6d, Eric Clapton five bob... ...

Vanilla Fudge, The Who: The Who, Vanilla Fudge: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 October 1967

Who, minus freak outs and smash ups ...

Tomorrow: U.F.O.: Who Killed Flower Power?

Report and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 October 1967

U.F.O. the Flower power mecca has closed. Did it die a natural death — or was it murdered? And if it was... ...

Bob Dylan Today

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

Exclusive! Nick Jones listens to seven secret tapes ...

Bonzo Dog Band, Cream: Cream, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

IT WAS A night of great music and brilliant comedy, approaching genius in both departments, when the Cream and Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band starred ...

Anita Harris, Engelbert Humperdinck, The Rockin' Berries: Engelbert Humperdinck, Anita Harris, the Rockin' Berries: Adelphi, Slough

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

Engelbert replaces Ken Dodd as idol of the mums ...

Gary Burton, Larry Coryell: Larry Coryell: Breaking Through The Barriers

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

MM pop writer Nick Jones on the Gary Burton quartet in general — and guitarist Larry Coryell in particular — finds new hope for jazz ...

Son House, Skip James, Little Walter, Brownie McGhee, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Sonny Terry: Skip James, Son House, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor et al: American Folk Blues Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

THE BLUES roll on, as we're often told, and last Thursday they rolled up to the shores of Hammersmith in the form of the 1967 ...

"Brother" Jack McDuff: Silk and Soul (Transatlantic PR 7404)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

BENNY GOLSON arranged some of the eight tracks on Brother Jack McDuff's SILK AND SOUL (Transatlantic PR 7404) for organ and big band, complete with ...

Cream: Disraeli Gears (Reaction)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

THE CREATION OF PURE ENERGY FROM THE CREAM ...

Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick: Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy: No Restrictions On Tour For Dave And Martin

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

FOLK FIDDLE virtuoso Dave Swarbrick will accompany guitarist-singer Martin Carthy when he returns to Britain in the New Year. But at the end of a ...

The Herd, Marmalade, Traffic, The Tremeloes, The Who: The Who, Traffic, the Herd, the Tremeloes, Marmalade: Walthamstow Granada, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

FANS WENT wild for both houses of the Who-Herd-Traffic-Tremeloes tour when it hit Walthamstow Granada on Saturday. ...

Granny's Intentions, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Nice, Ten Years After: Jimmy James & the Vagabonds, the Nice, Granny's Intentions, Ten Years After: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 November 1967

A STRANGELY mixed bag of performers at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday. There was Irish folk, psychedelia, a few lights, a bit of hip wiggling ...

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Country Joe & The Fish, Pink Floyd, Keith West: New Singles including The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Buffalo Springfield

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 18 November 1967

STILL THE BEATLES OLD SOUL AND FEELING ...

Al Stewart: Bedsitter Images (CBS 63087)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

AL LEAVES THE RANKS OF FOLK FOR IMAGES ...

Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll: Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll: Open (Marmalade)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

ONE OF THE album events of the year featuring two of Britain's more talented artists, organist Brian Auger and singer Julie Driscoll. Everything about it ...

Amen Corner, Eire Apparent, Jimi Hendrix, The Move, The Nice, Pink Floyd: Jimi Hendrix, The Move, Amen Corner, The Nice, Eire Apparent, Pink Floyd: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

HUBBLE, BUBBLE, toil and trouble, and wowee Jimi Hendrix! The Hendrix-Move tour thundered off on its trip round Britain with a deafening start at London's ...

Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick: Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick: Byker Hill (Fontana TL 5434)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

MARTIN CARTHY and Dave Swarbrick's third album together, Byker Hill really marks a peak in the development of their partnership which is underlined by Dave's ...

Big Brother & The Holding Company, Buffalo Springfield, Captain Beefheart, Country Joe & The Fish, The Doors, Grateful Dead, Moby Grape: New Wave USA

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

NICK JONES SORTS OUT THE NEW U.S. SOUNDS ...

Ten Years After: Ten Years After (Deram).

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

A BRILLIANT debut album by the blues group that has been building up a huge name for itself at London's Marquee Club. ...

The Bee Gees, Bonzo Dog Band, The Flowerpot Men: The Bee Gees, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Flowerpot Men: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

THE MOST remarkable show ever held at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday — the Bee Gees with awe inspiring 30-piece orchestra, combining advanced pop with ...

The Dubliners: More of the Hard Stuff (Major Minor MMLP5)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 November 1967

QUESTION: HAS chart success spoiled the Dubliners? Answer: judging by their new album, More of the Hard Stuff (MMLP5) for Phil Solomons' Major Minor label, ...

Eddie Floyd: Knocking On The Wrong Wood

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 December 1967

EDDIE FLOYD IN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY ...

The Electric Prunes: Putting Electricity into the Electric Prunes

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 2 December 1967

THE Electric Prunes landed in Britain from the States last week to recharge the British club circuit with electricity — from natural sources. ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Dedicated Idiocy

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 December 1967

THE BONZOS' POLICY PAYS OFF ...

Pink Floyd: Hits? The Floyd Couldn't Care Less

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 December 1967

GIVING POP journalists a hard time is the blood sports of groups. It's one of the occupational hazards of the job, as anyone who's ever ...

Jimi Hendrix: With Jimi, The Music Is 3-D! The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold As Love (Track)

Review and Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 9 December 1967

NICK JONES ON THE NEW HENDRIX LP ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: Beatle George And Where He's At

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 16 December 1967

For many people, the Beatles have long passed the stage where they are merely a pop group. The first indication of this development was probably ...

Otis Redding: Otis, The King Of Soul

Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 December 1967

OTIS REDDING, voted as the worlds number one male vocalist in this year's MM Pop Poll, died in an air crash on Sunday night. A ...

Dave Mason, Traffic: Traffic: Dave Quits, But Traffic Keeps Moving

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 December 1967

DESPITE THE INTENDED departure of songwriter and sitarist Dave Mason, Traffic wheels are turning with renewed vigour. ...

Duke Ellington: When Duke Shared the Bill with the Cheeky Chappie

Retrospective by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 December 1967

THE JAZZ ARCHIVES: ELLINGTON AT THE PALLADIUM BY MAX JONES ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: Beatle George And Where He's At (Part 2)

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 30 December 1967

WE WERE talking about how meditation and yoga leads to self realization. ...

Cream: In The Kingdom of Freakdom

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 30 December 1967

THEY ARE THE Cream. Baker, Bruce and Clapton and there's not many desperados who would hitch up their breeches and roll down the dusty main ...

The Who: Who Needs To Take Pop Seriously? Asks Pete Townshend

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 December 1967

PETE TOWNSHEND is as unpredictable as a badly made Roman candle. He fizzes and spurts, showers light and occasionally explodes. ...

Judy Collins, Julie Felix, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Al Stewart: No strings attached...

Comment by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 January 1968

DEAR JUDY, Julie, Phil, Tom and Al: Girls! Fellows! What's got into you? It's getting so a folksinger isn't a folksinger any more. ...

Procol Harum "At An All-Time Low", says Organist Fisher

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 January 1968

"I THINK the group position is at an all-time low. People are saying: 'Okay, they've had two hits. Now what else can they do?' " ...

The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (Apple Corps/BBC)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 January 1968

WE HEAR a lot in the pop world about that magical mystery word "communication." ...

Traffic: Stevie's Back On The Beer Again

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 January 1968

ALL IS not lost! Stevie Winwood is drinking beer again! It is pleasing to report the Traffic boss was observed entering a London ale house ...

Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Beyond the Blues Horizon

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

THE EVER-growing acceptance of blues during the Sixties has decisively affected the direction in which the popular music business has travelled in country. On the ...

Miriam Makeba: Miriam Makeba In Concert (Reprise RLP6253)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

TODAY MIRIAM Makeba is a polished concert, cabaret and TV artist working on the fringe of folk song and popular music. ...

The Small Faces: Small Faces: Is All Still Well With The Faces?

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

"MAC LEAVING? No — of course not!" groaned Stevie Marriott and Ronnie Lane in unison. ...

Tom Rush: Rush Reaches For The Pop Audience

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

TOM RUSH walked into my office shortly after he had arrived to record a BBC-2 colour TV show with Julie Felix and John Renbourn last ...

The Monkees: What Makes a Monkee Fan?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

IT WAS hard to tell Peter Tork from the mutter of a fierce press of journalists. ...

Love Affair: A Love Affair To Remember…

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 January 1968

IT'S EXCITING, it's fun, it's new – it's the Love Affair! ...

Dusty Springfield, Mickie Most, P.J. Proby, Spencer Davis Group: Right Then, Who's Backing Britain?

Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 January 1968

IF BRITAIN is going to the dogs, it is obvious a large section of the (older) community are convinced that sinful pop stars are prime ...

Manfred Mann: Manfred Still Has That Chart Touch

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 January 1968

BOB DYLAN and Manfred Mann have never met. Yet there is a bond between them. Manfred gets hits with Dylan songs, and the songwriter approves ...

Jimmy McGriff: McGriff An Organ Player For All Ears

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 January 1968

WILD — THAT was the reaction to U.S. organ star Jimmy McGriff when he played his first-ever appearances in London this week. ...

Simon Dupree and the Big Sound: Simon Dupree Doesn't Want To Be A One Hit Wonder

Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 27 January 1968

"THE MAIN THING is to get the next record off the ground," said Simon Dupree. "We've got to make sure we aren't one-hit wonders. ...

Brenton Wood: Brenton, Fastest Man in the Chart

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968

BRENTON WOOD must be one of the few singers to dance for hours at his own press reception. He outlasted all the journalists and was ...

Humphrey Lyttelton: Humph, 20 years after

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968

"NO, IT can't be true," people can often be heard muttering when their eyes fall on a picture of the mature Shirley Temple or Jackie ...

Amen Corner: Rock 'N' Roll Is On The Way Back! — Say Amen Corner

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968

ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW, lead singer of the Amen Corner is a placid sort of bloke. But he blows his cool if you ask him about ...

The Herd, Love Affair, The Tremeloes: The Tremeloes: War Of The Groups

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968

Pop, crackle, snap – there's friction in the air! ...

The Beatles, Paul McCartney: Beatles by Barrow: Paul — the Cute Beatle Boy

Profile by Tony Barrow, Melody Maker, 10 February 1968

PROBING NEW BEATLES SERIES BY THE MAN WHO'S KEPT SILENT FOR FIVE YEARS ...

Manfred Mann: Mighty Mike Of The Manfreds

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 February 1968

MEETING MICHAEL D'ABO is to slip back through the years to a long since shattered age of grace and reason. ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: Beatles by Barrow: Beatle Who's Changed The Most

Profile by Tony Barrow, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

TONY BARROW, the Beatles press representative, writes about the Beatles for the first time in five years. Naturally, he chose Melody Maker. Barrow has been ...

Brenton Wood: Brenton — Jazz Fan

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

BRENTON WOOD digs jazz. Back home in Hollywood, the singer whose 'Gimme Little Sign' has crept steadily higher and higher in its slow journey to ...

Engelbert Humperdinck: Engelbert: from dawn till dusk

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

ONE SLEEPY eye topped by tousled black hair raised itself from under the bedclothes and a voice said: " Ho, lads, we sail on the ...

Françoise Hardy: "I can't sing, but I act worse than I sing"

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

"I CANNOT sing very well, but I act worse than I sing," says Françoise Hardy. ...

Leonard Cohen: Songwriter Who Got Into Folk By Accident

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

WHEN THE new album by the uncrowned queen of the non-folk, Judy Collins, is issued this month a lot of people will start talking again ...

T-Bone Walker: Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

FIVE T-BONE originals, including his new version of the title song, are to be heard on Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223), latest album from guitarist-singer T-Bone ...

The Move: Disgusting, That's Our Stage Act

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

"IS OUR stage act sexy? It's disgusting! There's no doubt about it, it's vulgar and obscene, and if I was a father I wouldn't let ...

The Beatles, Ringo Starr: Beatles by Barrow: Beatle at the Back

Profile by Tony Barrow, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

TONY BARROW, the Beatles press representative, writes about the Beatles for the first time in five years, Naturally, he chose Melody Maker. Barrow has been ...

Eddie Boyd Names Europe's Best Blues Guitar

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

WHEN EDDIE Boyd, American blues pianist and singer, first came to Britain with the Folk Blues Festival in 1965 he was surprised to find such a ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Captain Beefheart, Blossom Dearie, Fleetwood Mac, Patti LaBelle, Johnny Mathis, Otis Redding, Tomorrow: New Albums from Fleetwood Mac, Paul Butterfield, Captain Beefheart et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

PETER GREEN'S FLEETWOOD MAC: Fleetwood Mac (Blue Horizon). One of the group events of last year for blues fans was the formation of the ex-Mayall guitarist Peter Green's ...

Status Quo: In Search Of A Concrete Image

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

STATUS QUO are worried men. Their problem: a follow-up to their first chart hit 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men'. ...

Esther and Abi Ofarim: Esther and Abi's Audience — from Seven to Ninety

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 March 1968

IN THE summer of 1966, Munich's Circus Krone seethed with excitement as three thousand fans eagerly awaited the appearance on stage of the Beatles, making ...

The Beatles, John Lennon: Lennon the Outrageous Beatle

Profile by Tony Barrow, Melody Maker, 2 March 1968

TONY BARROW, the Beatles' press representative, concludes his four part series with this article on John Lennon. Barrow has been associated with the Beatles since ...

Little Walter: King Of The Blues Harmonica

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

IT IS A sad work indeed to have to write of the death of Little Walter, outstanding harmonica player and fair blues singer, who came ...

Nancy Wilson: Nancy, Bread and Butter Singer

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

IT SEEMS as though Nancy Wilson is always making flying visits to this country in order to appear in television programmes. Once she came here ...

The Move: Five Really Nice Guys

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

Despite what you may think, the Move are really five nice guys – or so they say... ...

Fleetwood Mac: How to Upset the Blues Purists

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 March 1968

AMONG BRITAIN'S young blues fans Eric Clapton was once hailed as a god, then discarded by the ethnics when he left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for ...

The Incredible String Band: Once Again, Is It Folk?

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 16 March 1968

WHEN poet Pete Brown, lyric-writer for the Cream, heard the new Incredible String Band LP, The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, he said: "That's what the Rolling ...

Carolyn Hester: Les Cousins, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 23 March 1968

SUCCESS USUALLY means that singers quit the folk club circuit and restrict appearances to concerts. Which is a pity, since often the club scene which ...

Tim Buckley, The Incredible String Band: Incredible String Band/Tim Buckley: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

TIM BUCKLEY made a guest appearance at the Incredible String Band's packed Royal Festival Hall concert last Saturday and amply illustrated the difference in approach ...

Ten Years Of The Marquee

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

When the Stones were rollin' – for £10 a gig ...

The Beach Boys: A Brave New World – Through Pop

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

IT'S GOING to be a Brave New World through pop. That's the hope of men like George Harrison, Donovan and Mike Love, bearded, humourous hell-raiser ...

The Bee Gees, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: The Bee Gees; Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

WE HAVE seen group wars and feuds before, but nothing like the battle for fans between the Bee Gees and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick ...

The Herd: Move 'Em Out It's The Real Herd

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

A POACHED egg is many things to many people. To advertising copy writers, it is a symbol of health and efficiency. To the savages of ...

Amen Corner, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, The Herd, The Kinks, Gene Pitney, Status Quo, The Tremeloes: Gene Pitney, Amen Corner, Status Quo: Lewisham Odeon/Kinks, Tremeloes, Herd: Walthamstow Granada

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

BOREDOM, HIGH JINKS AND CHAOS ...

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: Hendricks and Ross now Seek Fame...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

JON HENDRICKS, indelibly associated with the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross trio and the creation of a new form of jazz singing, has been experimenting with ...

Roy Harper: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

LONDON'S Speakeasy must be the most difficult gig for any folk-type artist, and when Roy Harper sang there on Sunday, sandwiched between an old Mae ...

Scott Walker: Scott 2 (Philips)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

SOME PEOPLE have the power to control the emotions of others — to bring them up, or bring them down, just by a word, gesture ...

Louis Armstrong: Tell Them Satchmo Is Feeling Great, Looking Pretty And Blowin' Great!

Profile and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

LOUIS ARMSTRONG, ON HIS PERSONAL HOTLINE FROM MIAMI BEACH, TALKS TO ALAN WALSH ...

Andy Williams: I Owe This Hit To Frankie Valli

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 20 April 1968

ASK THE average pop fan about politics, and he'll recoil in horror. Lots of people in pop, and outside it, believe that politics and pop ...

Reparata & the Delrons: "We're Getting Fat on Cakes and Sweets!"

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 20 April 1968

REPARATA AND THE DELRONS EAT THEIR WAY ROUND BRITAIN ...

The Move: Move's Ace Kefford: If I Hadn't Left

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 April 1968

ONE OF THE older clichés in pop, exercised whenever a star cracks up, is "it was too much, too soon." ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Race Riots Drive Ike & Tina to Britain

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 27 April 1968

THERE'S A good chance the Ike and Tina Turner band and the Ikettes will be spending some time in Europe this summer... because of America's ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha — the True Professional

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968

IN ONE of the attractive middle-class homes which line the long streets of north west Detroit, passers-by often notice an attractive young woman dusting and ...

Cream: Eric Clapton: Back To The Blues

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968

CHRIS WELCH picks his way through the chicken feathers in darkest Chelsea to chat up the guitar star of the Cream ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Hatchett's, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968

WITH NO hesitation at all I report that the Ike and Tina Turner revue with the Ikettes is the most exciting R&B act to visit ...

The Small Faces: 'Lazy Sunday' The Hit Stevie Didn't Want

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968

WHAM! — It's the Small Faces screaming back up the chart with one of their best-ever singles, the fun-packed, all-action 'Lazy Sunday', now at number ...

The Who: Would You Let Your Daughter Marry A Venusion?

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 May 1968

TYPICAL WHO sound blasted in stereo from a battery of speakers – screaming guitar, vocals, bass and drums. But Roger Daltrey, John Entwhistle and Keith ...

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap: Union Gap

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 11 May 1968

"WE WEAR American Civil War uniforms to give the group an identity," said Union Gap lead singer Gary Puckett. The conversation took place over the ...

Aretha Franklin: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

America's soul sister Aretha conquers Britain ...

Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll: Brian Auger: DANGER: All Our Groups are Going Abroad

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

GREAT NEWS for all diggers of Britain's most power packed duo this week, as Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll finally crack the chart problem. ...

Little Walter: Little Walter (Marble Arch)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

Walter — guv'nor of the harp ...

Scott Walker: I'm Going To Japan By Train

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

IS SCOTT Walker a monster? This is his image among some of the pop fraternity. Is he a helpless innocent, buffeted by pitiless probings of ...

Pentangle: The Many Talents Of The Pentangle

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

ANSWER THE following questions to win five points: Which group is playing at the Cambridge Jazz Festival one weekend in July, and at the Cambridge ...

Cilla Black: Work... Is A Four Letter Word starring Cilla Black (Dir. Peter Hall)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

CILLA BLACK is a lovely bird. She's warm, loyal to old friends, vivacious and charming in her own way. She may even make a competent ...

Aretha Franklin, After Her Hammersmith Odeon Clambake — What Do You Want To Tell Me About That?

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

MELODY MAKER EXCLUSIVE BY MAX JONES ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Marc Bolan: The Man Behind Tyrannosaurus Rex

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

AGE AND world wearyness are the enemies of pop. Marc Bolan has youth and enthusiasm. His are the qualities which must be the saviours of ...

Shirley Collins: Shirley is a bit of a Good Fairy

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

THE YOUNG man fitted together what looked like a short walking stick with holes and showed it to folksinger Shirley Collins. "That's what we call ...

The Spinners (UK): Spinners: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

THE SECRET of the success of the Spinners is hard to define, but a lot must lie in their ability to create a sort of ...

The Byrds: The Changing Face of the Byrds

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

"THE BYRDS have changed. In looks, line-up and partly in repertoire. Gone is the long hair, which, back in 1965, earned them the description of ...

The Beach Boys: After The Maharishi What Next For The Beach Boys?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 June 1968

AN UNEXPECTED bonus came out of the collapse of the Beach Boys' abortive tour with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After the Indian mystic split the trek, ...

The Animals, Eric Burdon, Zoot Money: Eric Burdon and Zoot Money

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 June 1968

ERIC BURDON belongs to a fast vanishing breed. He is the last of the outspoken men of Pop, and the Animals are the last of ...

The Beatles: Revolution: That's What The Beatles Are Planning With This (picture of an apple)

Report and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 June 1968

APPLE, THE Beatles' artistic mindchild, is a feeling, an effort and a purpose. ...

The Monkees: The New Monkees

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 June 1968

MICKEY DOLENZ reveals their plans for a change of image in the future ...

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (Stax)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 June 1968

'Born Under A Bad Sign'; 'Crosscut Saw'; 'Kansas City'; 'Oh, Pretty Woman'; 'Down Don't Bother Me'; 'The Hunter'; 'I Almost Lost My Mind'; 'Personal Manager'; ...

The Beatles: Paul McCartney: 'We Have a Handful of Songs and a Band Called the Beatles'

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 June 1968

PAUL McCARTNEY, new-style businessman of Apple, took time off from creative planning last week and talked about the Beatles recording plans. Paul spoke to the MM the ...

The Rolling Stones: UFOs Are Landing In My Garden Says Keith Richard

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 15 June 1968

KEITH RICHARD, Rolling Stones guitarist and co-writer of songs with Mick Jagger, believes that he lives on a UFO landing site. ...

The Rolling Stones: Will Charlie Watts Wake Up The World?

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 June 1968

BEACH BOYS, Beatles and Donovan chased round the world after the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in search of spiritual peace. ...

Marmalade: No Peel For Marmalade

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 June 1968

THEY DON'T like Peel in Marmalade. The well-known voice of hippery has frequently expressed opinions that the Scots lads once known as Dean Ford and ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 1

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 June 1968

MAX JONES reports from Batley ...

Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim: Chicago Blues are Dying

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

and Britain's Mike Vernon tries resuscitation ...

Manfred Mann: Manfred Michael Say's — 'It's Like Selling Fish And Chips'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

IS THE era of the pop idol dead? Are the days when Mick Jagger's face could launch a thousand screams over? ...

O.C. Smith Fights For Poor People

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

THERE was a familiar face at the head of last week's Poor People's March in Washington, USA,the protest on behalf of America's underprivileged classes led ...

The Incredible String Band: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

Time to get off the Incredible String Band's mystery tour ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 2

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

"I'VE BEEN trying to follow you for 20 years," a trumpet player was saying to Louis Armstrong in Batley the other day. Louis raised his ...

The Nice: 1968 The Year Of The Nice

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

NICE ARE now one of Britain's top groups, ranking with Cream and Jimi Hendrix's Experience. And as Cream aren't working and are on the edge ...

Cream: Background to a Break-Up

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

CREAM ARE breaking up. The world-famous trio that features Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce are to go separate ways in the autumn. Said ...

John Mayall: Bare Wires

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

JOHN MAYALL HAS taken a great leap forward with his Bare Wires suite which takes up one side of his latest Decca album. ...

John Mayall: Mayall's Bare Wires = a progression in attitude

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

JOHN MAYALL has taken a great leap forward with his Bare Wires suite which takes up one side of his latest Decca album. ...

Bonzo Dog Band, The Byrds, Joe Cocker, The Move: The Byrds, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Move, Joe Cocker: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

Bonzo's brilliance steals the show ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 3

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

SATCH SAYS THANKS FOR THE THRILL ...

Junior Wells: It's My Life, Baby (Fontana TFL6084)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1968

'It's My Life Baby'; 'It's So Sad To Be Lonely'; 'Country Girl'; 'You Lied To Me'; 'Stormy Monday'; 'Shake It Baby'; 'Checking On My Baby'; ...

Jimi Hendrix: "I Felt We Were In Danger Of Becoming The U.S. Dave Dee" — Jimi Hendrix

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 20 July 1968

THE ELECTRIFIED hair has been shortened somewhat, but it was unmistakably still Jimi Hendrix. He loped into his manager's Gerrard Street office, grinned slyly, shook ...

Arthur Brown: I Am The God Of Hell Fire

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 July 1968

"WHO ARE you then?" inquired the pretty young barmaid, as she served the fifth pint of foaming beer, to the customer with shoulder-length hair, clutching ...

Phil Ochs: The War Isn't Over for Phil Ochs Yet

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 July 1968

WHEN PHIL OCHS arrived in England on his recent visit the immigration people almost didn't let him in. "They asked me did I want to ...

1910 Fruitgum Company, Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, Ohio Express: Bubblegum Music is Sweeping the States

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 August 1968

BUBBLEGUM music is making a lot of money for New York record producers Jeffrey Katz and Jerry Kasenatz. Yes, that's right, bubblegum music. That's what ...

Electric Flag: A Long Time Comin' (CBS)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 August 1968

'Killing Floor'; 'Groovin' Is Easy'; 'Over-Lovin' You'; 'She Should Have Just'; 'Wine'; 'Texas'; 'Sittin' In Circles'; 'You Don't Realise'; 'Another Country'; 'Easy Rider'. ...

The Doors: Jim Morrison: Is He The American Mick Jagger?

Profile by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 August 1968

LOOK OUT, England! Jim Morrison is coming to get you! ...

The Small Faces: Steve Marriott: Putting A Brave Face On Things

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 August 1968

STEVIE MARRIOTT is not too horrified by the slow progress of 'Universal', the Small Faces' latest vital waxing. ...

The Action, The Nice, The Pretty Things, Traffic: The Nice, Traffic, Pretty Things, the Action, Eyes: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 August 1968

"ALL THIS needs is for John Peel to appear with three loaves and five fishes and he could feed the ten thousand," said an observer ...

Cream: Wheels Of Fire

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968

'White Room', 'Sitting on Top of the World', 'Passing the Time', 'As You Said', 'Pressed Rat and Warthog', 'Politician', 'Those Were The Days', 'Born Under ...

Family: Music In A Doll's House (Reprise)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968

LOATHE TO put their music into any category, the men of Family make it difficult for anybody else to adequately describe what they are attempting. ...

The Moody Blues: Moody Blues: In Search Of The Lost Chord (Deram)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968

AFTER YEARS of singing 'Jump Back Baby, Jump Back', it all gets a bit difficult when stalwart veterans of the Beat Era have to start ...

The Four Tops, The Supremes: No Mo' Motown?

Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968

CHRIS WELCH records the demise of a chart influence ...

Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets (Columbia)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 10 August 1968

Hear the Floyd — it's not so painful ...

Amen Corner's Shopping List: 14 steaks, 28 Cokes, 10 bottles of Squeezy and 14 of orange juice

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

AFTER TWO glasses of orange juice, Mr Andrew Fairweather-Low, of the Amen Corner, was observed staggering, shuffling and reeling in a dingy London alleyway this ...

Bob Dylan: We May Never See Him Perform Again

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

BOB DYLAN is unlikely ever to appear in concerts again. This is my considered opinion after two weeks talking with his friends and business associates ...

Canned Heat: Coming from the States in September — A Hard Blues and Rock Group

Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

CANNED HEAT, who crept into the bottom of the chart last week at 28 with 'On The Road Again' are a hard blues and rock ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: Country, Cabaret, and Rock — It's The New Look Jerry Lee Lewis

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

THE MAN who rivals Little Richard as rock and roll's King of Excitement arrived back in London last week for a fleeting visit. Jerry Lee ...

Jeff Beck, Arthur Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Marmalade, The Nice, Ten Years After: Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Jeff Beck, The Nice, Jerry Lee Lewis et al: Eighth National Jazz And Blues Festival, Kempton Park

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

Music triumphs, despite rain, accidents and the rockers ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Fred McDowell, Forest City Joe, Etc.: Roots Of The Blues (Atlantic Special 590019)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

ALAN LOMAX, assisted by Shirley Collins, made a recording expedition in the South during '59 which produced 80 hours of taped folksong and instrumental music. ...

Cream, Ginger Baker: Ginger Baker: The Ginger Man

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

PETER "GINGER" BAKER will be 29 soon, and after 13 years of beating drum kits into submission, he is at last able to relax and ...

"Mama" Cass Elliot, The Mamas and The Papas: How Mama Cass Won The Will-They-Won't-They Split Saga To Emerge With A Monster Hit

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

THE LATEST episode in the Mama's and Papa's will-they-split-or-won't-they saga is a single by mammoth Mama Cass which seems certain to be a monster hit. ...

Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin: Janis Joplin: Lock Up Your Sons

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

SHE WEARS a micro-length dress with a neckline plunging down to the navel. She swoops around the stage like some kind of female bat about ...

John Lee Hooker: I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy 101)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

JOHN LEE Hooker is a fairly basic artist, and a collection of his songs from the Vee Jay label titled I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy ...

O.C. Smith: The Revolution, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

And he triumphs, despite all, at the Revolution ...

Judy Collins: Stand by for the "electric" Judy Collins

Report by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

WHEN JUDY Collins makes a brief visit to Britain at the beginning of November, some of her fans are going to get a bit of ...

O.C. Smith: What does O.C. care about? Feeling for other Negroes and gunfire in Watts for a start...

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

O.C. SMITH peered over a metal balcony 60 feet from the ground. A steady penetrating drizzle dropped non-stop from a wicked grey sky as he ...

The Beatles: Why does nobody loves the Beatles?

Comment by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

THE KNIVES are out in force. Fleet Street is gunning for the Beatles. ...

Canned Heat — Putting Blues Back on its Feet Again

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 31 August 1968

"WE ARE a country blues band. That's our main bag," said Bob "The Bear" Hite, lead singer of Canned Heat, the West Coast blues band ...

Jefferson Airplane: The Isle of Wight Pop Festival

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 September 1968

A SMALL bronze medal should be struck and presented to all the survivors of the Isle of Wight Pop Festival. They are the brave men ...

Cream: Pop LP of the Month — Cream: Wheels of Fire (Polydor)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 September 1968

AN EXCITING AND REWARDING SET ...

Canned Heat, The Group That Refused To Be A Juke Box And Got Fired

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 14 September 1968

AFTER THE tensions and hatred of America, Canned Heat, who claim they are the only white country blues group in the world, have found London ...

Johnny Nash and the Need for a New Image

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 14 September 1968

AMERICAN SINGER Johnny Nash flew into London last week with a problem: his act. "For a start, I've got no charts (arrangements) with me," he ...

Sly & the Family Stone: BANNED! Top Of The Pops Drop Sly & The Family Stone

Report and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 September 1968

SLY AND The Family Stone, still a chart force with 'Dance To The Music', were supposed to appear on BBC-TV's Top Of The Pops last ...

The Rolling Stones: Oh, What? Own Up! Just Groove!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 September 1968

MICK JAGGER, vintage 1968. ...

The Who: Bus Ride Back To Pop 30 For Who

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 September 1968

THE STATES are where the Who now have their biggest hits, most fan fever, and excitement. Pete Townsend, Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: Live (Stateside SL10232)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

ON LIVE (Stateside SL10232), the rich-voiced Jimmy Witherspoon is heard in a typical club show accompanied by the Ben Webster quartet. ...

Joni Mitchell: Joni, The Seagull From Saskatoon

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

TALKING TO Joni Mitchell about her songs is rather like talking to someone you just met about the most intimate secrets of her life. Like ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Earth Blues (Minit MLL40006E.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

SAM HOPKINS, one of the great Texas bluesmen, is well represented on records but this new release of some of his early titles is an ...

Ray Charles: Backstage With Ray, 'The Genius'

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

RAY CHARLES, singer and pianist among other things, and his team of 16 musicians, four Raelets, manager Joe Adams and sundry helpers, flew into London ...

Skip James: Skip James Today! (Vanguard SVRLI9001.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

IN BLUES and other Negro folksong, as in jazz, judgments are much a matter of individual taste, though certain aspects of an artist's work are ...

David Ackles: Travelling Man with a Difference

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 5 October 1968

FIRST THING Illinois-born singer-songwriter David Ackles did when he arrived in Britain last week was to arrange to hear Julie Driscoll's next single, 'Road To ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa: Reviled, Revered Mother Superior

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 October 1968

FEAR OF THE abnormal isn't a trait confined to Americans, but they do seem to express their fears more vociferously than most. ...

Al Stewart, Joni Mitchell: Joni Mitchell, Al Stewart, The Johnstons: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 5 October 1968

OPENERS AT Roy Guest's "Festival of Contemporary Song" at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday, the Johnstons, finished their set with Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides ...

Tom Jones: The Truth About Tom Jones: Part One

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 5 October 1968

FOUR YEARS ago, Tom Jones was working in a sawmill in Pontypridd, South Wales, and picking up extra cash singing with his group in the ...

Traffic: Traffic (Island)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 October 1968

The latest in an exciting series ...

Tom Jones: The Truth About Tom Jones: Part Two

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 12 October 1968

Tom Jones is a rare person. Adulation, money, fame — all these he has, yet they don't seem to have touched him fundamentally. He's still ...

Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, The Yardbirds: The Yardbirds: Only Jimmy Left To Form The New Yardbirds

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 October 1968

WHATEVER HAPPENED to the Yardbirds? One of the great mysteries of our time, ranking with the Devil's footprints, the Marie Celeste and the Five Penny ...

Tom Jones: The Truth About Tom Jones: Part Three

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 19 October 1968

For millions of Tom Jones' fans, the moment they feel closest to him is when he is on tour and they can actually watch his ...

Blue Cheer: Meet the Loudest Group in the World

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

BLUE CHEER have been called the world's loudest group. This American trio first hit the American chart headlines some months ago with their version of ...

Della Reese and her Mean Uncle

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

DELLA REESE, halfway through her stint as special guest artist on the Tom Jones tour, rested in London on Monday and looked forward to a ...

Jose Feliciano: 'I'm Not Coming Back To Britain Without My Dog' Says 'Light My Fire' Man JOSE FELICIANO

Report and Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

"I LOVE England but I'm never coming there again," said blind singer/guitarist Jose Feliciano. ...

Joe Cocker: Soul Sheffield Style

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

WHICH pop star uses the Mario Lanzo method? You're wrong – it's not Tiny Tim, it's our old blues shouting, Beatle bellowing mate Joe Cocker! ...

The Alan Bown Set, Arthur Brown, Jess Roden, The Who: The Who, Arthur Brown, Alan Bown: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

ALL HAIL Arthur Brown! How high the Who! In a curtain-raiser for their forthcoming tour, taking the form of an all-night rave at London's Lyceum, ...

Horace Silver, Joe Simon, The Stars of Faith, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Horace Silver, Joe Simon, Stars of Faith: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 November 1968

Swinging down the aisles ...

The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa: The Mothers of Invention: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 November 1968

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE MOTHERS COULD BE BORING? ...

Tiny Tim: When Tiny Tim Started To Sing In A High Voice, Even Dear Father Said 'Cissy'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 November 1968

Chris Welch comes face to face with Tiny Tim ...

Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs: Bob Johnston: ...And a PS From the Man Who Produced the Last Dylan LP

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

BOB DYLAN'S John Wesley Harding album was probably the most eagerly awaited record of the year. ...

The Isley Brothers: For The Isley Brothers Better Late Than Never

Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

AFTER A tortoise-like two-and-a-half-year journey, the Isley Brothers' 'This Old Heart of Mine' has put the Tamla Motown insignia in the Pop 30 again. ...

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (Track)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

...

The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album) (Apple)

Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

Are the Beatles going backwards? ALAN WALSH PREVIEWS THE NEW BEATLES DOUBLE ALBUM ...

The Nice: Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Immediate)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

THIS SECOND Immediate album by the Nice, is not only a vast improvement on their first, but a major breakthrough in pop group experimentation. In ...

The Who: Tackling The Most Serious Project Of Their Lives

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

"THAT'S A nasty letter. What's all that about?" inquired a menacing, dramatically dressed Roger Daltrey, clutching a copy of the MM and noting a communication ...

Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back (Dir. D.A. Pennebaker)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT DYLAN ...

Captain Beefheart: Strictly Personal (Blue Thumb S1)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

(From One Stop Records, 40 South Moulton St., London W.1, or other import speciality shops) ...

Fred Neil: Bleeker And McDougal (Elektra EKS 7293)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

FRED NEIL is a name that won't be too familiar to British folk enthusiasts but his album Bleeker And McDougal (Elektra EKS 7293) should help. ...

The Incredible String Band: Incredible String Band: Wee Tam And The Big Huge (Elektra)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

THE INCREDIBLES' third album, The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter was rather subdued and introspective with Mike Heron leaning towards Robin Williamson's elegiac style. ...

Joan Baez: Baptism (Vanguard SVRL19000)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

Lovers of Baez folksong will be disappointed ...

John Fahey: The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death (Transatlantic TRA 173)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

WHAT IS A guitarist's guitarist? Listen to John Fahey on The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death to find out. Originally recorded back in the early ...

Pentangle: Sweet Child (Transatlantic TRA 178)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

A BRILLIANT second album from the Pentangle and, being a two-record package, gives full rein to the group's tremendous ability, fine musicianship and remarkable flexibility. ...

Horace Silver: Eyes for the Writing Scene

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

"I'D like to mention a new direction in my career." This was Horace Silver, talking at a Blue Note reception given for him at Ronnie ...

Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon: Johnny Johnson: No Heartache for Rolling Bandwagon

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

WHAT HAVE the Bandwagon got in common with their soul sisters the Supremes? ...

Nina Simone: Nina Hits With Hair

Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

NINA SIMONE provokes mixed reactions from the music critics of the world. Some hail her as a giant of the blues, while others, though grudgingly ...

Roy Harper: St Pancras Town Hall, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

A first solo flight to remember ...

The Nice: Whitla Hall, Belfast

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

BELFAST'S annual music festival, organised by Michael Emmerson of Queens University, was opened by the Nice in a highly successful "pop" concert at the Whitla ...

Diana Ross, The Supremes: Diana Ross: A Talking Instead Of Just A Walking Doll

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

DIANA ROSS is a living doll. But as an all-talking living doll, her new image came as quite a surprise to the pop scene last ...

John Mayall: Blues
 From Laurel Canyon (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

THIS IS John's least interesting album for a long time, and the reason is quite simple, and explained best in his own words on the ...

The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album) (Apple)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

WITH OVER a million quid already in the coffers for this latest two-LP set handed down from the Liverpudlian heights, it is difficult to put ...

The Deviants: Disposable (Stable)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

ONE IS with the Deviants in spirit and one applauds the efforts of Mick Farren and Steve Sparkes who produced this second "underground" album, but ...

The Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

THE STONES, like the Beatles, have the same, problems, i.e. surpassing their original inspirations. But as the Stones have always set their sights on the ...

Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation: Doctor Dunbar's Prescription (Liberty LBL93177E)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

SADLY BRITISH blues groups seem to have reached the end of their creative ability, and a short road it has proved to be. Recording quality ...

Cream: Farewell To The Cream

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

A FANTASTIC and highly emotional send-off for the Cream almost gave the group second thoughts about breaking up after their brilliant final performance at London's ...

The Beatles, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax: Has Apple Gone Rotten?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

HAS APPLE GONE SOUR? That's a question people are starting to ask as directors quit, and the film division virtually closes down. There are also ...

Lulu: Learning New Things About Life

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

'AM I A TIGER?' ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters and Otis Spann: End of the Soul Half-Brothers

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

I WAS playing some records with Otis Spann and S.P. Leary in their hotel on London's Cromwell Road last week. ...

The Beatles: Album of the Month — The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album) (Apple)

Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

'Back In The USSR', 'Dear Prudence', 'Glass Onion', Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Wild Honey Pie', 'The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill', 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', 'Happiness ...

Billy Cobham, Horace Silver: Billy Cobham: The Pulse Behind the Horace Silver 5

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

IT'S BEEN a very good year for drummers. ...

Family, Alexis Korner: College of Commerce, Manchester

Live Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

MANCHESTER'S College of Commerce was packed out on December 4 for Family and Alexis Korner — along with a light show, two scantily-clad maidens, who ...

Blossom Toes, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Blossom Toes: Revolution Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

MUDDY WATERS and his Blues Band may not have been at their magic best at London's Revolution before they left — they weren't playing for ...

The Groundhogs, John Lee Hooker: Out of the Groundswell the New Groundhogs

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

IF IT'S doing nothing else, the present blues boom is drawing attention to a number of singers and players who have been around the country's ...

The Rolling Stones: How I Survived Beggar's Banquet

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

THAT custard pies would one day be hurled by the Rolling Stones at the gentlemen of the press was fairly inevitable. ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: The Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse (Liberty)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

Bonzo's latest piece of art ...

Eire Apparent: Revolution Club, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

EIRE APPARENT were in trouble from their opening number at London's Revolution last week. First they were told to turn the volume down and then ...

Elmore James: Something Inside Of Me (Bell MBLL104)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

A LOT HAS been written of late about Elmore James, one of the big men of post-war blues, who died in May of '63. His ...

Jimmy Smith: If I Was To Take My Choice Between Strings And My Wife I'd Take The Strings. They Don't Fight Me Back.

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

ORGANIST JIMMY SMITH TELLS MAX JONES ABOUT HIS FIRST LOVE ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Two Virgins (Track)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

MOST AMUSING part of this entertaining family album is the line on the label which states all the "compositions" are published by Northern Songs Ltd. ...

Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry: Leadbelly: Leadbelly Sings Folk Songs (Xtra 1064)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

"LEADBELLY is a hard name" says Woody Guthrie, "and the hard name of a harder man." The late Woody is quoted (from the book, American ...

Marmalade, winners of 'Ob-La-Di' chart race

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

MARMALADE WOULD have covered 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', moving up the MM Pop 30 this week, even if it had been taken off a double album by ...

Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus: Meet the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

"SINGALONG, DANCE-along music with no deep meaning — that's what the Singing Orchestral Circus is all about," said one of the two men who created ...

Nina Simone: The Fantasy World of Nina Simone

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

"YES, I'M happy that I've got a hit record. I'm happy because I like the song and because in the future I'll get some time ...

The Beatles, Duster Bennett, Dr. K's Blues Band, The Dubliners, Jimmy Forrest, The Groundhogs, Arlo Guthrie, Iron Butterfly, Lord Nelson, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Ten Years After, Joe Tex: The NEW Blind Date: Alvin Lee

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

ALVIN LEE, guitarist-leader of Ten Years After, recently returned from a successful Stateside tour, lent an ear to this week's selection of albums and singles ...

Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull, The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones: Rock and Roll Circus

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

IT WAS a group fan's dream, when the giants of pop held a three hour jam session, while rehearsing for the Rolling Stones' Rock And ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Viv Stanshall, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, at the Pop Think-In

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

FISH: I'm trying to become a pisceculturist. I'm less interested in fish than I am in turtles really. I like evil fish of archaelogical interest ...

Dusty Springfield: Why Dusty Must Leave Britain

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD phoned to talk about her new hit record — by our reckoning, her 17th chart record since she became a solo artist five ...

Ben Webster: Reminiscing with Big Ben

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 December 1968

"DID YOU ever hear about my film? It's a half-hour thing made by Johan van der Keuken for Dutch TV last year. It would be ...

The Bee Gees: Face To Face With Barry Gibb On The Day His Rolls Broke Down, The Colour TV Fused And The Central Heating Was 3° Under

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

Chris Welch ventures into deepest Bee Geeland ...

Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon: "British People Great"

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

"THE MOST out-of-sight thing about Britain is the people. They are so warm, they get right down in with you." That's the Bandwagon's reaction to ...

Love Sculpture Write To The Russian Embassy

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

THE COMRADES at the Russian Embassy could help three boyos from Cardiff follow up one of the most unusual hits of 1968. ...

The Pretty Things: Pretty Things Kick Off Their Old Image

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

ONE OF Britain's oldest and most hallowed group relics are the Pretty Things, who must go down in the pageant of pop history as men ...

Blind Faith, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Steve Winwood: Steve Winwood says — Groups must play much much softer

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

"FREAKING OUT with volume is over. Everybody seemed to think volume was the revolution of the music. That's okay theatrically, but not musically." ...

The Small Faces: Stevie Marriott is alive and well and living in Essex

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

"COR — WE haven't even been in the Raver for weeks!" exclaimed Stevie Marriott on the subject of their mystery disappearance from the affairs of ...

B.B. King: The Men Who Make The Blues: B.B. King

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

B.B. KING is among the most popular of the newer-generation blues-men; and he has certainly been the most influential. Charles Keil, who devotes a chapter ...

Yes to Yes

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

THIS IS the time of year when pop journalists start surveying the scene for groups or singles likely to make an impression in the coming ...

Jimi Hendrix: If You Were Worried, The Jimi Hendrix Experience is Alive and Well and Will Not be Breaking Up

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 January 1969

CHRIS WELCH meets the new-look Jimi! ...

The 5th Dimension: 5th Dimension - looking forward to a British tour

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

"I DON'T know why we haven't done a tour in Britain," said gorgeous Marilyn McCoo of 5th Dimension, "I guess the bookers haven't been able ...

Herman's Hermits, Lulu, Mickie Most: Mickie Most: Making Hit Records for the Government

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

ALAN WALSH TALKS TO MICKIE MOST, THE MAN BEHIND THE HIT MAKERS ...

Sergio Mendes: Brasil '66 Bring A Taste Of Latin Rock

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

WE'VE HAD just about every kind of rock you can imagine — rock and roll, rocksteady, hard-rock... but now there's a new one and it's ...

Sly & The Family Stone: 'Everyday People' (Direction)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

IT WAS A pity their first British visit was such a mess up, for Sly and Co seem like a most unusual and interesting group, ...

Melanie, Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tyrannosaurus Rex/Melanie: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 January 1969

A HANDFUL of musical fairydust was thrown into the air at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Monday, which baffled some and choked others. ...

Barbra Streisand: Face To Face With The Funny Girl...

Report and Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

SHE SWEPT into her press reception at London's Dorchester Hotel like a queen. ...

Chicken Shack: O.K. Ken? (Blue Horizon 7-63209)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

SOLID GOOD humour abounds on Chicken Shack's O.K. Ken? (Blue Horizon 7-63209) of a British variety which makes it so more bearable and strangely authentic, compared to ...

Randy Newman: The Man They All Dig Doesn't Dig Himself

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

BEATLE PAUL McCartney phoned to say how much he likes his work; Frank Sinatra wants him to write an album but the man himself doesn't ...

Buddy Miles: The Buddy Miles Express: Expressway To Your Skull (Mercury 20137 SMCL)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

EXPRESSWAY TO Your Skull is dramatic, intense music from the ugly hero of the drums, who once powered Electric Flag. His band is more or ...

Jeff Beck: The Jeff Beck Group: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

JEFF BECK'S band blew a solid set at London's Marquee Club last week to a packed house and proved why they have been so successful ...

Steve Miller: The Steve Miller Band: Sailor (Capitol ST 2984)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

THE LATEST trend among packagers of records is to make absolutely certain the least amount of information is available for the public to glean from ...

Jeff Beck: When Jeff Was Scared To Go On Stage

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 February 1969

JEFF BECK is a complicated person. He can appear lazy, sullen and difficult. He has an expressive face that appears to give away his every ...

Savoy Brown Take on a New Identity

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 1 February 1969

WHEN THE Savoy Brown first started the only other band on the British blues scene was John Mayall... but that was four years ago before ...

Harmony Grass: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

HARMONY GRASS are a fine band — they always were as Tony Rivers and the Castaways. Although Tony has castaway the surfing image, they still ...

Nina Simone: 'Nuff Said (RCA Victor)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

PROOF TO SILENCE THE CYNICS ...

Pop On The Air: Facelift for the station of the stars

Report by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

MELODY MAKER MEETS THE MEN WHO DECIDE WHAT YOU LISTEN TO ALAN WALSH REPORTS FROM RADIO LUXEMBOURG ...

Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann: Top of the chart Fleetwood Mac act as a backing group!

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

WHICH TOP British group acted as a backing group for another artist while their own record was number one? ...

Tamla Motown: Munch, Munch, Munch

Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 February 1969

Chris Welch discovers what it's like to eat his own words… ...

Wilson Pickett: Why Wilson dropped the "la-la-la" bit

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 15 February 1969

WHEN WILSON Pickett landed at London's Heath Row airport two hours late last Thursday after flying from Rome, all he wanted to do was sleep. ...

Fleetwood Mac: Sold Out? Gerroff!

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 1 March 1969

PETER GREEN defends Fleetwood Mac ...

Jimi Hendrix: The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 March 1969

The legend comes to life: Chris Welch catches Hendrix in action ...

Chet Atkins: The Day Elvis Split his Pink Britches

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

WHEN ELVIS Presley recorded 'Heartbreak Hotel', the record that launched him to adulation level in Great Britain, he really tore the studio apart. ...

The Hollies, Graham Nash: Fingers are crossed for Hollies "stopgap" single

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

POP'S MOST consistent hitmakers, the Hollies, are back on the chart trail for the first time without Graham Nash but feeling more of a group ...

Ron Geesin: It can't be long before Ron Geesin takes over the world

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

"A RAVING bloody loony" he may be, but there is no call for the Scots Jimi Hendrix of the banjo to be accused of being ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: What a Fave Rave in Othello!

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

JERRY LEE LEWIS, one of the legenary rock names of the past decade, is true to his image. ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Church House, Farnham

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

"I'M NOT a rock and roll singer. The only way you make me rock is by putting me in a rockin' chair. But if you ...

Peter Sarstedt: Girl Dentist Put Peter On The Road To Fame!

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

PETER SARSTEDT would probably still be tramping footsore and penniless around Europe if it wasn't for a Danish dental student named Anita who stopped songwriter ...

Brian Auger: Fear Not For The Trinity!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

QUESTION – What happened to Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity? Answer – a lot! ...

Glen Campbell: The Wichita Lineman is On The Line

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

JIM WEBB'S wistful 'Wichita Lineman' has realised an ambition for guitarist-turned-singer Glen Campbell. ...

The Rolling Stones: Jagger In 3-D (part 1): The First Dimension – The Present

Interview by Keith Altham, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

KEITH ALTHAM begins his three-part series on Mick Jagger by attempting to assess where he is now, the most controversial and greatest Anti-Hero of our ...

Jimmy Reed: Jimmy Reed at Soul City (Joys-127)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

IN SPITE of its title, Jimmy Reed At Soul City (JOYS-127), and the sleevenote's proclamation that the LP "is a fine study of the man ...

STEVIE WONDER explains the latest sound from Tamla... FUNKEDELIC!

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

AT THE AGE of 19, Stevie Wonder is something of a soul business veteran. But after meeting and seeing him in action, it's easy to ...

The Flirtations, The Foundations, Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder, The Foundations, The Flirtations: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

Stevie's a big star now ...

Taj Mahal: The Natch'l Blues (Direction 8-63397)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

AMERICAN MUSICIANS have always scored over their British musical cousins, in their ability to RELAX, and still show off their mastery of whatever medium they ...

The Tymes they are a—

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

BIG BEN, like the Tymes, swings but doesn't say much. At least George Williams, lead singer with the group which is just ticking over in ...

Freddie King: Freddie Takes a British Cold Back Home

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

"I DIDN'T have it tonight," said Freddie King after a hard workout at Art Saunders' Wood Green club on Tuesday last week. ...

Free: Tons Of Sobs (Island)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

...IS A REASONABLY good programme by Free, a group often dismissed as "just another blues band." ...

The Rolling Stones: Jagger In 3-D (part 2): Second Dimension — Jagger On Stage

Interview by Keith Altham, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

KEITH ALTHAM looks into the past for the SECOND DIMENSION in his series on Mick Jagger to discover the strengths and weaknesses in the Rolling ...

Junior Wells: Coming At You (Vanguard SVRL 19011)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A GOOD TASTE, if not a feast, of modern Chicago blues is offered by the explosive Junior Wells on his latest from Vanguard (perhaps his ...

Marv Johnson: Part-time Hitmaker from the Grocery Shop

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

THE STORY behind the success of Motown man Marv Johnson — one of the host of Tamla invaders in the chart — reads like a ...

Taj Mahal: At Last — A Welcome New Voice

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A NEW VOICE on the music scene and a very welcome one, belongs to Mr Taj Mahal a young blues singer and guitarist from Massachusetts. ...

The Nice: Will Nice Get Lost Among The Commuters?

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

WILL BRITAIN'S heaviest group, the Nice, conquer America? After the Cream and Jimi Hendrix, the Nice must be our most spectacular band and well in ...

Led Zeppelin: Why Led Zeppelin Took Off in America and not Britain

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A REACTIONARY anti-love movement in Britain is the disturbing development noted by guitarist Jimmy Page on his return from a long spell in America with ...

The Foundations: Foundations Aren't Going To Desert The British Public

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

THE FOUNDATIONS aren't going to permanently desert these shores for the richer pickings across the Atlantic even though they're only now losing the title of ...

The Rolling Stones: Jagger In 3-D (part 3): Third Dimension — The Future

Interview by Keith Altham, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

"BUT HE can't go an being a Rolling Stone for ever, can he?" asked Joe Public spitefully. ...

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

Jimmy Page triumphs! Led Zeppelin is a gas ...

Spooky Tooth: Spooky Two (Island)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

HEAVY STONED rock music, typified by intense, dramatic riffs repeated ad infinitum, or at least until the engineer cuts off the electricity. That's the impression ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Men Who Make The Blues: Howlin' Wolf

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

HOWLIN' WOLF is, as his name suggests, one of the "heavy" bluesmen. A 6ft 3in singer, weighing 280 lbs or more, he is as tough ...

Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell: Marvin Gaye: With The Solo Success Comes A Little Sadness

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 5 April 1969

MARVIN GAYE PHONES FROM DETROIT AS 'GRAPEVINE' HITS No. 1 ...

Blind Faith: Eric, Or Little By Little

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

IT'S SOUNDING good, the Eric Clapton, Stevie Winwood, Ginger Baker Band. Forget about Cream. This is a new group with a new sound. ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: A New Look For Spoon And Back To Authentic Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

IT WAS clear at first glance, when Jimmy Witherspoon and his wife walked into the MM offices last week, that I was confronted by a new-look Spoon. ...

Willie Dixon: The Men Who Make the Blues: Willie Dixon

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

...

Melanie's Looking For A Bag Of Her Very Own

Profile by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 19 April 1969

YOU CAN'T BE neutral about Melanie. She's one of those people who comes along and creates new dividing lines in the scene, setting people at ...

Nina Simone: Nina's The Medium For The Message

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 19 April 1969

NINA SIMONE, the artist, is the High Priestess of Soul, the blues singer and the jazz pianist. Nina Simone, the person, is compelling, formidable, and ...

Pink Floyd: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 April 1969

PINK FLOYD'S Festival Hall concert on Monday was artistry in pop technology. ...

Dusty Springfield:
 Dusty In Memphis (Philips)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

DUSTY'S AMERICAN LP is her best yet! Eleven great tracks most of them beautiful, soulful ballads with Dusty sounding all the better for holding herself ...

Aretha Franklin, Dion, Elvis Presley, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Joe South, Paul and Barry Ryan, Spirit, The Sweet Inspirations, Vanilla Fudge: Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin et al: Album Reviews

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

Both sides of the great Elvis Presley, orchestral pop from the Brothers Ryan ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Howlin' Wolf Album (Chess CRLS4543)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

ON THE front cover of THE HOWLIN' WOLF ALBUM (Chess CRLS4543) is printed the message: "This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album. He doesn't like it. ...

Johnny Nash: Wise Guy With A Difference

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

POP IS A precarious business as so many artists will tell you. The fame and fortune that arrives overnight can disappear at an even faster ...

Lowell Fulson: The Men Who Make The Blues: Lowell Fulson

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

LOWELL FULSON is one of the leading post-war blues-men, a trendsetting artist who has made and sold a great many records since he cut his ...

The Who: Tommy

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, May 1969

A DOUBLE ALBUM can often prove a boring disappointment these days, with the gimmick presentation becoming more important than the quality of the music. Pete ...

Duster Bennett, Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry: B.B. King, Fleetwood Mac, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Duster Bennett: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

B.B. KING SPELLS OUT THE BLUES ...

B.B. King: B.B. Brings the Story of Lucille to the Rescue

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

EVERYONE KNOWS — everyone, that is, who knows much about the blues of the younger generation — that B.B. King is among the most original ...

Dr. John: Dr John: Babylon (Atco 228 018)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

Compulsive listening ...

The Equals, Eddy Grant: Equals Bring Back "Happy" Music

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

THE INHABITANTS of the MM's Fleet Street HQ are pretty used by now to witnessing the more bizarre manifestations of Britain's pop scene. ...

Humble Pie: Exclusive! Marriott & Frampton present HUMBLE PIE

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

When a new group is born naturally the Melody Maker is the first to know about it ...

Pink Floyd: Now It's Pink Floyd Plus The London Phil

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

CHRIS WELCH FINDS OUT WHAT BRITAIN'S TOP 'OVERGROUND' GROUP ARE PLANNING ...

Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation: Come what may, Aynsley's keeping the sound heavy

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

AYNSLEY DUNBAR is a gifted, intelligent and powerful drummer. Yet in the past his albums have been disappointing and his style restricted. ...

Bob & Earl: Bob and Earl Mystery is Solved

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

AS THE ancient 'Harlem Shuffle' made pop history by jumping into the top ten six years late, American due Bob and Earl arrived in Britain ...

Mary Wells, Cecil Womack: Mary Wells: Mother-To-Be Mary Comes Back

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

MARY WELLS, onetime Beatles' favourite and million-seller singer, is back in Britain to prove she's still one of the world's most talented female vocalists. ...

Jethro Tull: Now Jethro Tull Aim For The Pop Thirty

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

UNDERGROUND GROUPS as a rule aren't concerned about the singles charts. ...

The Who: The Renaissance of the Who

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 May 1969

PETE TOWNSHEND'S triumph! ...

Erroll Garner: Mr Garner and his New Brass Bed

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 May 1969

ERROLL GARNER arrived in London on Tuesday, last week, but not to appear in public. ...

Fairport Convention's Martin Lamble: Previous Occupation — Child

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

THEY WERE playing 'Meet On The Ledge' at London clubs last week. It is a tune people most associate with Fairport Convention. ...

Joe South: A Kaftan and Cups of English Tea

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

Royston Eldridge catches up with Joe South over breakfast at the May Fair ...

Lowell Fulson: A Name to be Reckoned With in Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

LOWELL FULSON has been a name to be reckoned with in blues circles ever since he began recording some 23 years ago. Oddly, though, people ...

Marsha Hunt Says – I Do What I Dig

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

MARSHA Hunt's trouble is she made one boob too many on TV recently. In fact two boobs too many. She caused a great outcry by ...

Steppenwolf: Stop the washing up... Steppenwolf are here

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

THERE WAS a time when pop music was simply pleasant sounds. It was music to do things by, cheerful little tunes with happy lyrics, but ...

Mahalia Jackson: Why Mahalia's Still In The Book

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 May 1969

AFTER HER extravagantly successful Albert Hall concert the other Sunday, Mahalia Jackson sat back in her dressing-room chair looking pretty flaked. ...

The Who: Tommy (Track)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 31 May 1969

An extremely tasteful pop opera ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention: The Truth Is, They're Not As Ugly As Their Pictures

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

Watching With Mothers: Chris Welch survives a week with Frank Zappa ...

Question: what's a company like EMI doing starting an underground label?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

ALAN WALSH investigates the new Harvest label ...

The Beach Boys: Funny, they don't look on their uppers

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

ALAN WALSH meets the optimistic Beach Boy ...

Tom Jones: Tom's the talk of the town — New York, that is

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

"HE'S THE hottest artist in the world and Wales should be proud of him," said a jubilant Gordon Mills about Tom Jones, the man who's ...

Simon & Garfunkel: What friendship means to Simon and Garfunkel

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

THE INFLUENCE of today's rock musicians is a very real one, and Paul Simon is a songwriter who reflects the times and society we live ...

Blind Faith, Donovan, The Edgar Broughton Band, Richie Havens, The Third Ear Band: Blind Faith, Richie Havens, Donovan, Edgar Broughton Band, The Third Ear Band: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 June 1969

Following Blind Faith to the shores of a lake ...

The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa: The Mothers of Invention: Uncle Meat (Transatlantic)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 14 June 1969

A DOUBLE volume set of madness, absurdity, serious music, rock and roll, electronics and sprecht stimme by Frank Zappa. Suzie Creamcheese and the Mothers presents ...

Family: Whatever Happened To...?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 21 June 1969

Alan Walsh finds out what's been happening with the Family ...

The Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor: Mick Taylor: The Other Mick...

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 June 1969

MICK TAYLOR, 20-year-old ex-Bluesbreaker from Welwyn, and for just over a week the new guitarist with the group that first brought rebellion to pop. ...

The Rolling Stones: The Stones Roll Again

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 June 1969

How Mick's facing up to the brave new world of getting the show back on the road: MICK JAGGER talks to Chris Welch about the ...

The Faces, The Small Faces: The Small Faces: At Least Mac Still Has His Sense Of Humour

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 June 1969

CHRIS WELCH meets the remnants of the Small Faces ...

Thunderclap Newman: Galloping Across The Downs And A Brief Chat About Bix With Mister Thunderclap Newman

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 June 1969

SOME WEEKS ago, I went horse riding with Thunderclap Newman. ...

Led Zeppelin: How They Got Led Zeppelin Off The Ground...

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

OUT IN THE wilds of Willesden, a not-so-salubrious part of North London, Britain's heaviest band are cutting tracks for their second album before they return ...

Max Romeo: 'It's Not A Dirty Song At All,' says Max Romeo

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

THE ENGLISH have got dirty minds, thinks Max Romeo, the young 19-year-old singer from Kingston, Jamaica, whose provocatively-titled single 'Wet Dream' is currently in the ...

John Mayall, Led Zeppelin, The Nice: Led Zeppelin, John Mayall, The Nice et al: Bath Festival, Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

A ZEPPELIN attacked the City of Bath on Saturday, and gassed 120,000. Airship Com­mander Jimmy Page kept the most fearsome dirigible in pro­gressive blues aloft ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Otis Spann: All Alone Otis Is Feeling No Pain

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

ON OTIS Spann's last visit to this country, with Muddy Waters in November, I wrote that the Waters-Spann partnership would soon be ended. ...

Pink Floyd: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

A SILENT, attentive crowd, joss sticks waving, a huge gong booming, and the Pink Floyd looning. It was strange inside the Royal Albert Hall, London, ...

Buddy Guy: The Men Who Make The Blues: Buddy Guy

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

BUDDY GUY is one of the younger generation of blues-men who is helping to carry the music to the younger generation of listeners. ...

Jeff Beck, Donovan, The Equals, Fairport Convention, Billy Fury, John Lennon, Love Affair, Hank Marvin, Yoko Ono, Plastic Ono Band, Billy Preston, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Ruffin, Tony Tribe, Vanilla Fudge, Yes, Tucker Zimmerman: The Rolling Stones, Plastic Ono Band et al: New Singles

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

ROLLING STONES: 'Honky Tonk Women'/'You Can't Always Get What You Want' (Decca). An important single for the Stones, but a disappointment for us . ...

Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones: Brian, the Stone in the Headlines

Obituary by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 12 July 1969

BRIAN JONES is dead — and his death in the swimming pool of his Sussex home last week was as dramatic as his last five ...

David Bowie: 'Space Oddity' (Philips)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 July 1969

DAVID IS A talented young man who has written many fine songs and now concentrates on mime shows. ...

Alexis Korner, Family, King Crimson, The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones et al: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 July 1969

CHRIS WELCH SAYS: 'Somehow the magic worked' ...

The Rolling Stones: One Plus One (Dir. Jean-Luc Godard)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 19 July 1969

SYMPATHY For The Devil, re-titled One Plus One, is the Jean-Luc Godard film which features the Stones as they were before Brian's death — enough ...

Desmond Dekker: What is the secret of rock-steady's success?

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 19 July 1969

THE SUCCESS of the strangely titled 'It Mek', which made a mammoth jump into the higher reaches of the chart last week, means that Desmond ...

Thunderclap Newman: The Crazy World Of Thunderclap Newman

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 July 1969

WHO IS THIS strange, Pickwickian character, rumbling and bumbling gaily into the pop scene? ...

Blodwyn Pig: Ahead Rings Out (Island)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 July 1969

Impressive debut album from Blodwyn Pig ...

Quicksilver Messenger Service: Happy Trails (Capitol)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 26 July 1969

INTROSPECTIVE exploration of themes is the general idea on this album from one of America's top underground groups. ...

Ray Charles, Billy Preston: Billy Preston: Forget The Rumours — Billy Will Be Back

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 August 1969

ONE OF the few sure things about the music business is that rumours will fly around it. ...

Blind Faith, Bread and Freedom – Now For The Sweet Music

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 August 1969

BLIND FAITH have not only gained a fine bass player in Rick Grech, who left Family to complete the super group, they also have an ...

Billie Holiday: Lady Day — the True Sound of Soul

Memoir by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 August 1969

MAX JONES writes on the tenth anniversary of Billie Holiday's death ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Messrs Crosby Stills and Nash Enlarge the Company

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 9 August 1969

CROSBY, STILLS and Nash are no longer just the ex-Byrd, ex-Buffalo Springfield and former Hollie supergroup. They've added new partners to the rock band with ...

Humble Pie: Ronnie Scott Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 August 1969

HUMBLE PIE were viewed with sceptical suspicion by the pop industry before their unveiling at a special press reception last week. However, with three encores ...

Wynonie Harris: Death of a Blues Shouter

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 August 1969

TITLES LIKE 'Good Mornin' Judge', 'Lovin' Machine', 'Bloodshot Eyes', 'Keep On Churnin'' and 'All She Wants To Do Is Rock' may not ring a bell ...

Led Zeppelin And How They Made 37,000 Dollars In One Night

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 September 1969

LED ZEPPELIN and the adjective "heavy" are practically synonymous. They were made for each other, and it's difficult to think of one without immediately associating ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: An Evening with John and Yoko: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

John Lennon — Genius or Just a Bore ...

The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon: "The Beatles' Wealth is a Myth"

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

JOHN LENNON hasn't had a royalty cheque for two years. And, believe it or not, he's feeling the pinch. ...

The Deviants: 'The Function of Rock is to Have a Good Times, not to Stand Marvelling at the Guitarist's Technique'

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

RICHARD WILLIAMS TALKS TO THE DEVIANTS ...

Bo Diddley: The Men Who Make the Blues: Bo Diddley

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

BO DIDDLEY was born in Mississippi, in or near McComb, on December 30, 1928. Like many bluesmen from the South, he made the journey up ...

The Beatles: Abbey Road (Apple)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 September 1969

Natural Born Beatles   ...

Erma Franklin, Wilson Pickett: Wilson Pickett/Erma Franklin: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 27 September 1969

A Vote For Wilson (Pickett That Is!) ...

Graham Bond: Commissar Bond Is Back In Business

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 October 1969

"WE DON'T want any of that around here," threatened an elderly lady shaking a palsied fist from one of the ancient alleys of Cambridge, as ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex: ...But The Bopping Imp Keeps Bopping

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 October 1969

CHRIS WELCH UNCOVERS THE TYRANNOSAURUS SPLIT ...

Delaney & Bonnie, Eric Clapton: Delaney & Bonnie: Out Of The South Comes 'The Best Band In The World'

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

WHEN A TOP musician becomes an unpaid press and public relations man for a group, it can be fairly assumed that the group must have ...

Fairport Convention: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

THERE'S only one question in my mind after having heard the Fairport Convention's superlatively excellent performance at the Fairfield Hall last Friday: why the hell ...

Led Zeppelin: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

Led Zeppelin rock Lyceum ...

Skip James

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

October 3, 1969 Dear Max, Skip James died this morning after a very long and painful illness. One of his finest memories was going to Europe in ...

Amon Düül, Deep Purple, Alexis Korner, The Nice, Taste: The Nice: Tear Gas, Stones and Broken Heads...

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

A NICE WEEKEND BY RICHARD WILLIAMS! ...

Joe Cocker: Why Did Cocker's White Soul Fail?

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

ROYSTON ELDRIDGE TALKING TO JOE COCKER ON THE EVE OF AN AMERICAN TOUR ...

Graham Bond, Pete Brown's Piblokto: Graham Bond/Pete Brown's Piblokto: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 October 1969

BOND NEARLY blew it. The extravagant return of the Great Graham almost turned into a fiasco – but happily everything came out all right. ...

Led Zeppelin: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 October 1969

THERE IS a sustained excitement about a Led Zeppelin performance I do not recall in any other group — apart from the Who. ...

Family, Steppenwolf: Steppenwolf, Family: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 October 1969

ONE'S ATTITUDE to much of Steppenwolf's current material depends to a great extent on how one reacts to the rather simplistic propaganda and sloganising of ...

Frank Zappa: The Mothers Are Dead, But Zappa's Still Very Much Alive

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 October 1969

THE MOTHERS are dead. Killed by a public apathy towards a style of music which the rest of the world will catch up with maybe ...

The Velvet Underground: It's a Shame that Nobody Listens

Overview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 October 1969

THE VELVET Underground have made just three albums, none of which have sold particularly well in Britain. But that trio of albums constitutes a body ...

Humble Pie: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 November 1969

HUMBLE PIE presented a quietly attractive show at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, last week. There was no flash showmanship or star presentation. The atmosphere was ...

Pink Floyd: Exclusive interview by Richard Williams

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 November 1969

PINK FLOYD are a visionary group of creators. Their music flies so high and wild that it can bring a kaleidoscope of images to your ...

Sarah Vaughan: Why Miss Vaughan Isn't Recording...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 November 1969

IF SARAH Vaughan never sang another heavenly high note she'd have earned her place, and a top place, among the immortals of jazz singing. ...

Champion Jack Dupree, Albert King, The Robert Patterson Singers, Otis Spann, The Stars of Faith: Albert King, Otis Spann et al: American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

JOHN LEE HOOKER'S absence from the American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival was without the consequence that at first seemed likely when the tour opened ...

Albert King: Talking to the King

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IT HAS taken a long time for Albert King to get to this country. But now he is among us there can be little doubt ...

Aretha Franklin, Arif Mardin: Arif Mardin: The Turkish Tycoon of Soul

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

HOW DOES a Turkish bebop pianist become one of the world's leading producers of soul music? ...

Bill Coleman, Jay McShann, Charlie Shavers: Bill Coleman, Charlie Shavers, Jay McShann: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IT LOOKED on paper like an epic evening of swinging middle-road jazz on Tuesday. It wasn't bad, either, but it wasn't quite the berries that ...

Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor: Cecil Taylor, Thelonious Monk: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

CECIL TAYLOR'S appearance on Friday was reminiscent of nothing as much as Ornette Coleman's Croydon concert four years ago. ...

Cecil Taylor: For Cecil Taylor, It's Just Beginning...

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

EMERGING FROM the stage door of the Odeon, Hammersmith after his triumphal Jazz Expo concert on Friday night, the diminutive figure of pianist Cecil Taylor ...

LeRoi Jones: Black Music (MacGibbon and Kee 36 shillings).

Book Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IN HIS writings for Downbeat and Kulchur magazines, LeRoi Jones — poet, playwright, essayist, critic and revolutionary — provided many of the first signposts to ...

Lionel Hampton: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

NOW WE know what has been missing from jazz for the last 14 years — Lionel Hampton! It was a good time and great jazz ...

Harry J All Stars, The Pioneers, Max Romeo and the Upsetters: Reggae — is it a new art form?

Comment by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

A critical appraisal by Christopher J Welch ...

Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa: The Beefheart-Zappa Talk-in

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

Frank Zappa breezed into London last week in an orange tee-shirt. His aim was to launch the British end of his record label, Straight, who ...

Arthur Conley, Otis Redding: Arthur Conley: Soul's not dead, it's just changed

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

OTIS REDDING and Sam Cooke, whose tragic deaths robbed the music world of two of its biggest talents, were both responsible for much of the ...

Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica (Straight)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

THIS YOU will either love or loathe, and we love it. Beefheart is a true original, and this double-album is testimony to his wayward genius. ...

David Bowie

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

FANS OF DAVID Bowie have for years been expecting him to make some proper impact on the music scene. If a reasonable position in the ...

Juke Boy Bonner, John Dummer Blues Band, Jo Ann Kelly, Freddie King: Freddie King, Juke Boy Bonner, Jo-Ann Kelly, John Dummer: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

TUESDAY OF last week was Big Blues Night at London's 100 Club where a large, good-humoured crowd was afforded almost non-stop entertainment by the Killing ...

Gene Vincent: Vincent, The Great Rock And Roller is Back

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

...

The Groundhogs, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf, The Groundhogs: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

THERE WAS nothing new about Chester Burnett's routine at the Marquee Club on Thursday, but the Wolf, nearing the end of his third British tour, ...

Lionel Hampton: If anybody asks, tell them — Lionel is ready!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

LIONEL HAMPTON'S late-night appearance at Jazz Expo in London the other week caused disputation, to put it rather mildly. Some people found him exciting. Others ...

Jimmy Cliff: Respectability to Reggae

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

JIMMY CLIFF is the hip young Jamaican who's brought respectability to reggae. His 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' is a development of the simple ska sound ...

Quintessence: Community Band

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

OXFORD GARDENS, just off Ladbroke Grove in deepest West Eleven, is currently the focal point of a community of artists (musicians, painters, poets) who will ...

T. Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex: Rex is Reborn

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

TYRANNOSAURUS REX has survived its transplant operation and is already back in circulation. A little heavier for its absence but still breathing fire and breeding ...

Taj Mahal: Giant Step/De Old Folks At Home (CBS Direction S 8-63820, S 8-63821)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

Mixed bag from Taj ...

Area Code 615: Now — Funky Country!

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

That's the sound on Area Code 615, a new album by Nashville musicians who have backed Dylan. It could be as significant as Music From ...

The Nashville Teens, Gene Vincent: Gene Vincent, Nashville Teens: Palladium, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

GENE VINCENT COULD DO NO WRONG ...

The Rolling Stones: Jagger in America

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

ALL'S WELL with the Stones and Mick Jagger is at peace with the world. They have returned to tour America after three years and says ...

Keef Hartley, John Mayall: John Mayall, Keef Hartley: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

JOHN MAYALL must have fell like the father figure of British blues at the Albert Hall on Thursday as he surveyed Henry Lowther and Keef ...

Max Romeo: Facts From Max

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

...on the current Reggae boom ...

Thelma Houston: Meet Thelma, the 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' girl

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

THIS TIME Thelma Houston did make it. ...

Taste: Marquee, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

THERE AREN'T many groups in Britain who fans will queue in the rain for Taste, a trio of Irishmen formed a little over a year ...

Chicago

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969

SELDOM HAS a group caused such a stir with a first album. America's Chicago became the most talked about band in Britain on the strength ...

P.P. Arnold, Delaney & Bonnie: Delaney & Bonnie, P.P. Arnold: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969

Back to rock 'n' soul with Delaney 'n' Bonnie ...

The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John & Yoko (part 1)

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969

"We had to do a lot of selling out. Taking the MBE was a sell-out for me". Part 1 of a new series by RICHARD ...

Percy Sledge: Have Percy!

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969

THREE YEARS ago an unknown singer recorded what was to become one of the greatest soul ballads of all time. ...

Yes: Swiss Rolling And Rocking With Yes

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 December 1969

CHRIS WELCH reporting, with a little Alp from his friends ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John & Yoko (part 2)

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 December 1969

"People prefer a dead saint to a living annoyance like John and Yoko. But we don't intend to be dead Saints for people's convenience". Part ...

The Who: Hippodrome, Bristol

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 December 1969

Smoke bombs and a bare bottom at the Hippodrome Richard Williams reports on the Who's incident-packed concert in Bristol ...

The Action, Mighty Baby: Action Grow Into a Mighty Baby

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 December 1969

IS THIS the career for you? Twenty pounds a week, uncertain prospects and no luncheon vouchers. The life of a rock drummer is not necessarily ...

Bonzo Dog Band: Keynsham (Liberty)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 December 1969

BRAVO BONZOS! Never a band to take the easy course or rest on past successes, they continue to advance their unique musical properties with a ...

Deep Purple: In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall (Harvest)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 December 1969

THIS IS A live recording of the widely reported concert which took place recently when Deep Purple joined Malcolm Arnold and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John & Yoko (part 3)

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 December 1969

"We're always together, like 24 hours a day. We're never apart by more than a 100 yards". RICHARD WILLIAMS concludes his exclusive series ...

Yes: Time And A Word (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1970

IT'S NICE to have those great Yes arrangements like ‘Then’, ‘The Prophet’ and ‘Astral Traveller’ on record at last. One of the great playing bands, ...

Scott Walker Comes In From The Cold

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, January 1970

IN 1970 Scott Engel's career appeared to grind to a halt. He practically vanished from the scene. He seemed to be forgotten, discarded, after a ...

Area Code 615: Area Code 615 (Polydor)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 3 January 1970

AREA CODE 615. 'Southern Comfort'; 'I've Been Loving You Too Long'; 'Hey Jude'; 'Nashville 9-N.Y.1'; 'Lady Madonna'; 'Ruby'; 'Crazy Arms'/'Get Back'; 'Why Ask Why'; 'Li'l ...

Ginger Baker's Airforce: Scramble Here Comes Ginger's Airforce

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 January 1970

"SCRAMBLE!" Ginger Baker, Marshall of the Airforce, rapped out his orders with the cool aplomb of a man in charge of a powerful attacking force, ...

James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Taste: Albums from Isaac Hayes, Taste and James Brown

Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul (Stax) Tremendously successful in the States, this is the first solo album from Isaac Hayes, better known as the hit songwriter with Dave ...

Joni Mitchell: Joni Still Feels The Pull Of The Country

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

CANADIAN FOLK singer Joni Mitchell this week denied rumours that she would be retiring after her Royal Festival Hall concert on January 17th. ...

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Nucleus: Ronnie Scott's Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

Rahsaan Roland Kirk at London's Ronnie Scott's Club ...

Soft Machine: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

IT SEEMS to me that this just might be Soft Machine's year. Having done things the unconventional way by finding first fame on the Continent, ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Neil Young: Stills and Young

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

"DON'T BUILD me up into a pop star. I'm no different from you or anybody else. It's just that, because I'm a musician, I can ...

Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra. Vol. 1. (Fontana)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

'Heliocentric'; 'Outer Nothingness'; 'Other Worlds'; 'The Cosmos'; 'Of Heavenly Things'; 'Nebulae'; 'Dancing In The Sun'. ...

Taste: A Taste of Free Form Rock and Roll

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 17 January 1970

THE ROCK revolution somehow missed France. While neighbours Germany and Scandinavia have followed similar lines to those developing here, the hip French have only recently ...

John McLaughlin, Tony Williams: After Miles comes Tony's Lifetime

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 17 January 1970

THE IMPORTANCE of the use of rock rhythms by the Miles Davis Quintet is only now beginning to be realised. Like everything Miles does, it ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 January 1970

CROSBY, STILLS, Nash, Young and Old gave a lengthy and often enjoyable concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last week. The "Old" was the age ...

The Edgar Broughton Band: Edgar Broughton: Meet Edgar The Agitator

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 January 1970

BOUNCERS ARE one of the bad old traditions of pop music, with roots reaching back through the 'Rock Around the Clock' riots to the Sinatra ...

East of Eden, Keef Hartley, Richie Havens, Yes: The Keef Hartley Band, Richie Havens, East of Eden, Yes: Olympia, Paris

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 17 January 1970

Handling the French ...

Joni Mitchell: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

A triumph for Joni ...

Magna Carta, Pentangle: Pentangle, Magna Carta: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

SUNDAY'S LYCEUM played host to two reputable acoustic groups, Pentangle and Magna Carta. Which is great if you join the hard core of enthusiasts at ...

The Temptations: Temptations...

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

...talking to Royston Eldridge ...

Jack Bruce: The Heavy Burdens Of Jack’s Shoulders

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 January 1970

HIGH COURT Judges have often been heard to observe that pop stars have "grave responsibilities." However, they are usually referring to suspected powers of influence ...

Chicago ...Moving From Jazz-Rock To Classical-Rock

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

STEVIE WINWOOD'S 'I'm A Man', the 1967 hit for the old Spencer Davis group, has brought the jazz-rock combination of Chicago to the puzzling British ...

Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex: Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Sam & Dave: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

IT'S BEEN three years since a soul tour of such importance has been to Britain. Then, in the spring of 1967, it was Otis Redding ...

Nico: Desertshore (Reprise)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

IT'S FUNNY, isn't it: this time last year Nico arrived in London, played two quiet gigs at the Roundhouse, and a bare handful of people ...

Richie Havens: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

CHARISMA: a rare kind of animal magnetism, frequently wrongly attributed to popular artists who don't possess it. ...

Roger Whittaker: Roger And The Ten Minute Hit

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

IT IS always rewarding for a British artist to strike a first chart success on home territory, particularly after winning so much acclaim in Europe ...

Syd Barrett: Confusion and Mr Barrett

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 January 1970

SYD BARRETT is a 
happy, creative if
 somewhat confused
 young man, who gave 
the Pink Floyd hits and 
headaches when still in 
the group of ...

Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley, Evan Parker: Derek Bailey's Music Improvisation Company: Purcell Room, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

YOU MAY not always be able to wait for a composer to write the music you want to play, to paraphrase the ads for the ...

Fairport Convention: Hampstead Country Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

DAVE SWARBRICK recovered from a neck operation three days earlier to fiddle the audience literally off their feet, when Fairport Convention celebrated a triumphant return ...

John Surman: Purcell Room, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

PART OF the joy of hearing "live" jazz is in the listener's knowledge that the music he has heard will never be played in the ...

Memphis Slim: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

MEMPHIS SLIM would have played on all night had he not been due back in Paris earlier the following morning. For when the American pianist's ...

Atomic Rooster, Free, Mott The Hoople, Yes: Mott The Hoople, Atomic Rooster, Free, Yes: Lanchester Arts Festival, Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

A MASS of gently struggling sons of Coventry and outlying parts politely tripped over each other in the seatless main hall at Lanchester Festival on ...

Simon & Garfunkel: Simon And Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Waters (CBS)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

IT'S BEEN 18 months since the release of Simon and Garfunkel's last album, and for much of its length Bridge Over Troubled Waters makes the ...

Spirit

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

SPIRIT IS one of those fine American groups which came to light following the Indian summer of 1967, and which have never really gained the ...

The Band: Civic Auditorium, Pasadena CA

Live Review by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

LOS ANGELES, Tuesday: The Band, rapidly reaching the pinnacle of respect enjoyed by only a handful of groups in America, performed two sold-out concerts in ...

Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page: Jimmy Page: Paganini of the Seventies

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

First of a great new series by Chris Welch ...

Mike Cooper and the bottleneck revival

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

MIKE COOPER, who has, in recent years, revived interest in the bottleneck and knifestyle of playing, uses two 1930s National steel guitars, as well as ...

Pink Floyd: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

AT THEIR best, Pink Floyd get as close to anybody I know to playing the Music of the Spheres. They are, through skilful manipulation of ...

Soft Machine: Robert Wyatt: A Child of the Pop Scene

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

ROBERT WYATT is the member of the Soft Machine you're most likely to be watching while you listen to their music. Tousle-haired and athletic behind ...

Rod Stewart: An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (Vertigo)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

AT LAST Rod The Mod has his chance! ...

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson, Proving That Miracles Still Happen

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

WILLIAM 'Smokey' Robinson is the lead singer of the Miracles, vice president of Motown Records and the man Dylan has described as "America's greatest living ...

The Nice, Yes: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

IT WAS an emotional as well as a musical triumph when the Nice took London's Festival Hall by storm on Saturday. A feeling built up ...

Arlo Guthrie: Trying to escape from Alice's Restaurant

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

ARLO GUTHRIE is a young man trying to escape from Alice's Restaurant. He says he likes the movie, and he enjoyed seeing it again at ...

Joe Cocker: Cocker and that Boogaloo Sound

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

JOHN COCKER stopped fitting pipes for the Gas Board in order to exercise his own somewhat steely vocal tubes that were forged, in those early ...

Steve Cropper: Cropper: The Living Legend from Memphis

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

A MELODY MAKER EXCLUSIVE BY ROYSTON ELDRIDGE ...

Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page Part Two

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

WHEN A band achieves the Led Zeppelin's kind of success in such a short time, there are bound to be whispered accusations in the corridors ...

The Deviants, Mick Farren, Shagrat: Mick Farren: Fun Is The Key Word

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

WATCH OUT, world — Mick Farren is out to accomplish with Shagrat what he couldn't quite get together with the Deviants. ...

The Faces: New Faces In The Old Band

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 February 1970

A SOUND not unlike a braying mountain goat echoed across the West End of London this week. The Faces — no longer Small — were ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: The Angel, Godalming

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

ARTHUR "BIG BOY" CRUDUP finally made it to the Angel, Godalming, on Sunday, where he was due to appear on the opening night of his ...

Blue Mink, Booker T & The MGs: Booker T. & the MGs, Blue Mink: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

BOOKER T. JONES and his group of Memphis musicians don't belong in any bag. You have to forget the categories where they are concerned and ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Stephen Stills: Genius, Hard Work and Steve Stills

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

GENIUS, SAYS the old adage, is an infinite capacity for taking pains. If that's so, then Stephen Stills must be pretty close to it. ...

John and Beverley Martyn, John Martyn: Is John Martyn Still A Folk Singer Or Not?

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

THIS IS A TOTALLY irrelevant question, and one which I'm glad I didn't bother to ask. For in this age of musical categories, John draws ...

Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page Part Three

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

CHRIS WELCH CONCLUDES THIS EXCLUSIVE SERIES ...

Love

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

ARTHUR LEE, mastermind and founder member of American west coast group Love, seemed surprised when I suggested that the band had faded into oblivion after ...

Love: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

Love is the message from Love ...

Steve Miller Band:Your Saving Grace (Capitol).

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

SOMEHOW, STEVE Miller manages to touch the pulse of a great number of people, through the kind of subconscious contact which is what rock's all ...

The Faces: First Step (Warner Bros)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

BACK WITH a bang are the Faces with Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals) added to the old line-up of Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan ...

Van Der Graaf Generator: The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other (Charisma)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 February 1970

THIS IS one of those rare and precious albums which occasionally arrive to knock you flat on your back and make you think really hard, ...

Doris Troy and the Marriage of Music

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

DORIS TROY is ready. After ten months of plotting and planning and working and having a ball in the depths of Apple's Savile Row Studios, ...

Jefferson Airplane: Volunteers (RCA SF 8076)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

Up the Volunteers! ...

John and Beverley Martyn: Stormbringer (Island ILPS 9113)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

Are you ready for the stormbringer ...

Tony Oxley: Forget the thick drummer myth

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 March 1970

TONY OXLEY, top British drummer according to last week's MM Readers' Poll, is a pretty fair example of just how far jazz has moved in ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: The original rock and roller

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

ARTHUR "BIG Boy" Crudup, the man responsible for firing Elvis Presley into one of the biggest crazes of all time, has been recording for over ...

The Liverpool Scene, Andy Roberts: Back to poetry for Liverpool Scene

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

ONE OF the worst group hang ups is the premonition of having to play on stage according to audience expectations rather than choice. The alternative ...

Black Sabbath

Profile and Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

BLACK SABBATH, four unknown rock musicians from Birmingham have emerged from obscurity with what is probably the first true underground success since the days of ...

Grateful Dead: Live Dead (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

I WASN'T expecting too much from this, having been bored silly by the Dead on their previous three albums. But all the fuss is clarified ...

Han Bennink, John Stevens: It All Began With Chick Webb

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

SINCE THE days when Chick Webb arrived at a gig armed with gongs, tubular bells, Chinese temple blocks, and an African sunset painted on the ...

The Four Tops: Tamla's senior citizens

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

THE SUCCESS of the Four Tops was instrumental in making the Motown sound of major importance in the development of rock music during the mid-Sixties. ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex are in good elf!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

TYRANNOSAURUS REX has taken rather a pasting recently. Trevor Brice of Vanity Fare in Blind Date said of their new album: "I think it's horrible. ...

Van Der Graaf Generator: Van Der Graaf... Generating Good Music

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

VAN DER Graaf Generator is a name that will probably be familiar to you, even if their music isn't. Through many trials and tribulations, they've ...

Amon Düül (I & II): Amon Duul II: Phallus Dei (Liberty).

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

JUST TO prove that the Continent is taking some of the initiative, here comes a really interesting German band who appeared with the Nice and ...

Delaney & Bonnie talking to Jacoba Atlas

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

DELANEY, BONNIE and Friends from the southern half of these here United States are home grown and home sown but they had to travel to ...

Sandy Denny, Fotheringay: Fotheringay: Sandy and the New Band

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

FOTHERINGAY, the new band which has been formed by Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention and Trevor Lucas of Eclection, with Garry Conway (Eclection) and Pat ...

Frank Zappa: Hot Rats (Reprise)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

Hot Rats is hot stuff! ...

Nico, the Lonely Chanteuse

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

THE SLEEVE of the Velvet Underground's first album was dead right when it read "Nico: chanteuse." Not just "singer," because Nico is more than that, ...

Sun Ra And The Arkestra: Sound Of Joy (Delmark DS-414)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

'El Is A Sound Of Joy'; 'Overtones Of China'; 'Two Tones'; 'Paradise'; 'Planet Earth'; 'Ankh'; 'Saturn'; 'Reflections In Blue'; 'El Viktor'. ...

The Mothers of Invention: Burnt Weeny Sandwich (Reprise)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 March 1970

IT WAS ONE of the great tragedies of modern music when the Mothers broke up last year, but they leave behind memories of success and ...

Taste: Trio Gives Taste More Challenge

Report and Interview by Richard Green, Melody Maker, 25 March 1970

TASTE ARE JUST starting to become a very hot property in England and on the continent, already having conquered the Irish fans. All the trappings and ...

Mick Jagger: Performance: A Victory For The Directors

Film/DVD/TV Review by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 11 April 1970

IT'S DANGEROUS and more than slightly unfair to review a film before its final cut; but Performance is too exceptional to wait. I was fortunate enough to ...

Jimmy Page, Screaming Lord Sutch: Screaming Lord Sutch: Heavy Friends Help The Lord's Comeback

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 11 April 1970

LORD SUTCH is back! The perennial rocker has come screaming back on the rock scene, after two years of abdication in America, through the help ...

Brinsley Schwarz: From Kippington Lodge to the Empire State

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 18 April 1970

BRINSLEY SCHWARZ, the band born out of the small time frustrations of Kippington Lodge, are the outfit the whole of the rock media were taken ...

David Ruffin: Feelin' Good (Tamla Motown)

Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 18 April 1970

IT WAS expected that David Ruffin would be able to stretch out away from the confines of the Temptations and his first solo single and ...

Kevin Ayers and the Whole World: Country Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 18 April 1970

KEVIN AYERS' new band The Whole World, derives much of its considerable appeal from the disparity of approaches which it encapsulates. ...

Kevin Ayers: Ayers Apparent

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

KEVIN AYERS says that he wants to involve people in his music, and to make every gig more of a party than an ordinary job. ...

Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwick — The Ability to Communicate an Emotion

Profile and Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

DIONNE WARWICK'S beautiful performance in concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last week was a demonstration of how a rare talent overcomes any sort of ...

Elton John: Elton John (DJM)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

IT'S NICE TO see Cat Stevens and Elton John providing the British answer to Neil Young, and Van Morrison. And make no mistake, Elton is ...

It's a Beautiful Day: The Best Kept Secret Is Out At Last

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

UNTIL VERY recently, It's A Beautiful Day was one of the best-kept secrets in the music business — on this side of the Atlantic, at ...

The Flock, Johnny Winter, Steamhammer: Johnny Winter, Flock, Steamhammer: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

ANY AMERICAN rock act is guaranteed a standing ovation at London's Royal Albert Hall these days. Johnny Winter deserved one on Friday night at the ...

Screaming Lord Sutch: Lord Sutch: Lord Sutch And Heavy Friends (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

SUTCH IS LIFE... ...

It's a Beautiful Day, Santana, Taj Mahal: Santana, It's A Beautiful Day, Taj Mahal: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

Beautiful Day a beautiful band ...

Soft Machine: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

THOSE WHO imagine that Ronnie Scott is selling out by inviting the Soft Machine to play for a week at his club are in for ...

Taj Mahal: Still One Of The Hardest Rockers

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

A FANFARE of trumpets would have greeted Taj Mahal if the artist's British reception had been judged on his success. Instead he was quietly willing ...

Liberace Goes Heavy

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 May 1970

HAS LIBERACE been out-freaked by the hippies? In a word — scarcely. Anti-establishment, anti-materialist acid rock audiences could conceivably view him with distaste — a ...

Ginger Baker's Airforce: Ginger Baker's Airforce (Polydor)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

GINGER BAKER HAS led a long tough career. He has worked hard, stuck to his musical guns at all times. ...

Eric Clapton, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf: Wolf Gathers His Flock In London

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

WHEN THE early 1960s gave birth to the R&B boom in Britain, it was artists like Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters ...

Shuggie Otis: Here Comes Shuggie Otis (CBS)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

IF SHUGGIE Otis is this good midway through his teens, what's he going to mature into? ...

Love: Out Here (Harvest)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 May 1970

AFTER SUCH a long gap in recording from this legendary West Coast band, among the first of the new wave American groups which emerged in ...

Can: The Can: Monster Movie (United Artists)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 May 1970

THINGS ARE certainly beginning to happen in Germany. ...

Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Dead on Arrival

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 May 1970

The Grateful Dead fly into Britain ...

Led Zeppelin: Sounds Like Another Platinum!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 June 1970

Chris Welch flies with Led Zeppelin as they cut their third LP... ...

Alrune Rod, Amon Düül, Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Can, Xhol Caravan: Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Can, Amon Düül et al: Is It Euro-Rock Next?

Overview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 June 1970

Richard Williams takes a Common Market-minded guess at a future trend in pop... ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Fillmore East, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 13 June 1970

Flowerpower returns to the Fillmore ...

Miles Davis: What Made Miles Davis Go Pop?

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 June 1970

Richard Williams talks to bassist Dave Holland in New York. ...

Aretha Franklin: International Hotel, Las Vegas

Live Review by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

Aretha's great re-birth ...

Booker T & The MGs: McLemore Avenue (Stax)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

NICE IDEA – they play all the tunes from Abbey Road, and imitate the sleeve of that album by picturing the four MGs crossing McLemore ...

Crosby Stills and Nash, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Hollies: CSN&Y: Nash: We May Fight, But Music Wins...

Interview by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH and YOUNG finished their week-long, triumphant stint at the New York Fillmore and were joined for a huge celebration party at the ...

Jimi Hendrix: Band Of Gypsys (Track)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

ANY ALBUM from Jimi is such a rare event, one can only be pleased to see his name back on the new releases' rack. Here ...

John Phillips: John The Wolfking of L.A. (Stateside)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

INSIDE THE Mama's and the Papa's, something better was waiting to get out – and this is it. ...

Joni Mitchell: Let's Make Life More Romantic

Profile and Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

JONI MITCHELL is a poet whose time has come. Because she uses the vehicle of music, her words and thoughts reach out to countless minds. ...

The Temptations: Psychedelic Shack (Tamla Motown)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

SHAME, SHAME, shame... Motown's sold its soul for a spoonful of wah-wah guitar. Actually that's not quite true, because you can't totally obliterate the true ...

The Who: Metropolitan Opera House, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 20 June 1970

Ten-dollar seats for The Who! ...

Son House: Blues Is Getting Bigger All The Time, Says Son

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

"THIS IS MY last time over here. Yes, sirree. I do this visit and that's it." The speaker was Eddie James (Son) House, a tallish ...

Sandy Denny, Fotheringay: Fotheringay, The Sea and Sandy Denny

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

A FEW months ago Fotheringay was a pretty name for a group of musicians who happened to play together. Today it is the name of ...

Free: Free At Last

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

A band who are slightly embarrassed by that long-awaited hit ...

Dr. John: How Do Voodoo, I'm Doctor John

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

DR. JOHN The Night Tripper is an original. Claiming to be a high priest of voodoo, Mac Rebennack (his given name) is also one of ...

Lonnie Johnson — Bluesman Who Played Jazz

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

LONNIE JOHNSON, who died last week, was a rarity in the blues field — a man who, though a folk artist in certain respects, played ...

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (CBS 66236)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

Bitches Brew an aural acid trip from Miles ...

Sonny Sharrock: Like No Other Guitarist Ever Born

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

WARREN "Sonny" Sharrock created one of 1969's most extraordinary musical moments, during a track called 'Chain Of Fools' on Herbie Mann's big-selling Memphis Underground album. ...

Free Trip

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 July 1970

Beatlemania-type Free-fever grips Britain. CHRIS CHARLESWORTH reports from the front line ...

Cat Stevens: Cat's Back With The Cream...

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

LAST WEEK SAW the return of Cat Stevens to the MM chart after a disappearance act worthy of Houdini. It is 12 months since the ...

Fairport Convention: Full House (Island)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

AYE, GATHER round me bully boys – once there was a time when Fairport albums were as hard to obtain as a Grope O'Shanter at ...

Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Wild Man Fischer: Frank Zappa: Listen With Mothers

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

FRANK ZAPPA has emerged as one of the most interesting, lucid, energetic, entertaining and creative figures in contemporary music. He has frequently complained of being ...

Matthews' Southern Comfort: Second Spring (UNI)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

IAN MATTHEWS' band, slightly changed, steam into their second album, as refreshing and attractive as their first. ...

Quintessence: Quintessence (Island)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

A BRILLIANT group in many respects, Quintessence unfortunately manage to alienate many potential enthusiasts through the expression of their religious and spiritual sentiments. ...

Steppenwolf: On Politics and Pop

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

FOR YEARS popular rhythm artists have expressed often in fairly heated fashion, or occasionally with affected languor, political opinions. ...

Wild Man Fischer: An Evening With Wild Man Fischer (Reprise)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 July 1970

Frank Zappa's "It had to be done" experiment finally released after some 18 months. Many will already have heard import copies of this two album ...

Noir — and those good black vibrations

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 July 1970

THERE ARE few groups around today who can boast that they are a "musicians' group" — a group whom musicians go out of their way ...

Roy Harper: On-Off Genius?

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 18 July 1970

ROY HARPER is a sort of Gerald Scarfe of music. Like the cartoonist, what he does isn't always pretty, it isn't always enjoyable, but by ...

The Rolling Stones: Get Your Ya-Yas Out

Preview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 July 1970

Live Stones album — MM exclusive preview ...

Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons: Gram Parsons, The Burrito Ego Man

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

LOS ANGELES, Tuesday: Gram Parsons, founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, was a Byrd, a southerner and a Harvard College Drop-out. With the formation of ...

Hotlegs — Hotfoot To The Top

Interview by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

FOR SO LONG London has been the undisputed capital of Britain's music industry, that it is almost unthinkable to suggest that its position could be ...

The Edgar Broughton Band, Formerly Fat Harry, Kevin Ayers, Pink Floyd, Roy Harper: Pink Floyd, Roy Harper, Edgar Broughton Band, Kevin Ayers & The Whole World, Formerly Fat Harry: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

Good music, bad vibes at free Hyde Park ...

Jo Ann Kelly, T. Rex: T. Rex, Jo Ann Kelly: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

Magical Marc! ...

Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Yes: Yes, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heap: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

YES MADE their comeback at the Lyceum on Friday, but what should have been a great occasion turned out to be rather mediocre. ...

Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band: Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention: Palladium, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970

Incredible night of string bands ...

Taste: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970

RORY GALLAGHER is King, days Mailbag most weeks, and Taste are the new Zeppelin/Cream/Beatles/Shadows. The queue around the Marquee one night last week, where the ...

Aretha Franklin: The Gospel Truth From Aretha

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970

WHENEVER ARETHA Franklin comes to town, which is not all that often, I try to see her. Partly because she is a genuine unhyped star ...

MC5 — Still The Bad Boys Of Rock

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 August 1970

ONE THING that American rock bands can generally do better than their British counterparts is to channel their energy into the notes. ...

Humble Pie, Matthews' Southern Comfort, May Blitz, MC5: MC5, Matthew's Southern Comfort, Humble Pie, May Blitz: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 8 August 1970

ON THE surface it seemed crazy — 1,500 kids packed into a hot stuffy old engine shed, while outside the temperature was in the seventies. ...

Osibisa: Beat The (African) Drums For Osibisa

Profile by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

IT MAY BE that, having endured the painfully stilted and emotionally lukewarm playing of most rock drummers for the last decade, audiences are waking up ...

Blodwyn Pig: Blodwyn: It's Blodwyn, Not Piggy Banks!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

WHAT HAPPENED when the Pig got up and slowly walked away? A new group emerged simply called Blodwyn, with the added new power of guitarist ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo's Factory (Liberty)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

The flaw in Creedence's brilliance ...

Hot Tuna: Hot Tuna (RCA Victor).

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

FIRMLY IMPLANTED in my mind is the image of Hot Tuna as an amazingly good, all electric jam band. This follows their appearance at Bath ...

Mark-Almond: No Drums For Almond And Mark

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

WHEN JOHN Mayall led the revolt against volume by dispensing with a drummer in his line-up, he also paved the way for what promises to ...

The Voices of East Harlem: The Black Pride Of 13 Hip Kids

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970

BLACK PRIDE, as a kind of more inner-directed companion to Black Power, is rapidly becoming a force in our musical world. "Black Is Beautiful" was ...

Joe Cocker, Leon Russell: Leon Russell: King of the Delta Rockers

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 29 August 1970

Top US session man LEON RUSSELL talks to Mark Plummer. ...

Jimi Hendrix: Hendrix Today

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

Rock's most influential guitarist on music, drugs, politics, and his plans for a new big band ...

Leonard Cohen: "The greatest thing would be to play a concert in front of fifty thousand middle-aged people"

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

LEONARD COHEN, man or myth, or what? He's a dreamer, but as he says his dreams are only products of real things, and fact. Basically ...

Mac Davis, Elvis Presley: Mac Davis: The man who put Elvis in the ghetto

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

IT'S ONLY a week or two since guitarist-singer-songwriter Jerry Reed hit London Town. And he starred on Lulu's TV show. ...

Stone the Crows: Fire and soul from the Crows' nest

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

AFTER JULIE Driscoll and Christine Perfect, who is going to be the next British female blues singer? Tiresome, boring question? Not anymore because her name ...

Supertramp: Tramp hits the road

Interview by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

LIKE A thousand other relatively unknown groups, Supertramp are trying hard to make a name for themselves. But unlike most groups in a similar position, ...

Hawkwind: The Hawk: sailing in the face of the wind

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

HAWKWIND ARE the progressive band, who, they say, are too progressive for British progressive clubs, and receive few bookings because of that fact. ...

Chicago, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, The Doors, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, The Moody Blues, Pentangle, Procol Harum, John Sebastian, Taste, Ten Years After, Tiny Tim, The Who: The Isle of Wight Festival: Five Days That Rocked Britain

Report by Mark Plummer, Michael Watts, Chris Welch, Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

MM's Richard Williams, Chris Welch, Michael Watts and Mark Plummer present a five-page report on an amazing weekend of music and other scenes... ...

Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt: The Softs, the Proms and drummer Wyatt

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

IT'S NOT long since Robert Wyatt announced that he was vacating the drum stool with Soft Machine in order to pursue a career with Kevin ...

Tony Joe White: This Here, Y'all, Is Tony Joe

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 5 September 1970

PEOPLE OFTEN ask what it's like to interview pop stars. Well like most things in life, there are the good times, and the bad times, ...

Jeff Dexter: From Twist Demonstrator... To Dance Band Singer... To High Priest Of Hits...

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 September 1970

Chris Welch tells the strange story of DJ Jeff Dexter ...

John Phillips, The Mamas and The Papas: John Phillips: At The Bitter End

Report and Interview by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 12 September 1970

IN THE mid-60s, when lots of weird and strange sounds were filtering across from California and the West Coast of America, one very hip vocal ...

Laurel Canyon: Hip Street USA

Report by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 12 September 1970

Jacoba Atlas reports on the street where she lives – Laurel Canyon, Hollywood, home of the rock stars... ...

Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant: Robert Plant: Down To The Roots

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 September 1970

ROBERT PLANT lives in an old, rambling farmhouse near Kidderminster, on the edge of the Black Country, with his wife Maureen, baby daughter Carmen, dog ...

Bread: Central London Polytechnic, London

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 19 September 1970

IT WOULD be totally unfair to deal harsh criticism on Bread's ludicrous first ever British appearance, at the Central London Polytechnic, on Friday night. Ludicrous, yes ...

Free, Mott The Hoople: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 September 1970

FAIRFIELD Hall, Croydon, has seen some amazing scenes since it became South London's home of rock, but I doubt whether the old faithfuls at the ...

Canned Heat, Eric Burdon, John Sebastian, Michael Chapman, War: John Sebastian, Canned Heat, Eric Burdon & War et al: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 September 1970

JOHN SEBASTIAN brought a little sunshine into a gloomy Hyde Park, London, on Saturday. ...

Joni Mitchell: Glimpses of Joni

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 19 September 1970

SCENE IN A television studio: a girl in a long pink shift, which catches at her ankles when she walks, picks hesitantly at a few ...

Chris Farlowe, Colosseum: Colosseum: Farlowe That!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

CHRIS FARLOWE and Colosseum – the mind boggles! One of the country's most powerful vocal talents has joined the most explosive force in groups to ...

Deep Purple: The Smashing-Up Bit Is Valid!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

WHEN DEEP PURPLE smashed up their equipment on a TV show recently, here were howls of protest throughout the land. A flood of complaints hit ...

Elton John: Elton Storms The States

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

AL KOOPER, talking about Elton John's last album: "That album's really got me screwed up. It's just the perfect album, and I carry it around ...

Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson Tulling It Like It Is

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

"THEY SAY I don't stand on one leg as much as I used to." Ian Anderson stretched out on a sofa and gazed quizzically at ...

Jimi Hendrix: The Music

Essay by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

THE IMPORTANCE of Jimi Hendrix as a musician was sometimes forgotten behind the man's sexuality and the flamboyance of his act and appearance. ...

Jimi Hendrix: The Story

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

"JIMMY HENDRICKS," was the name scribbled on a notepad, when Chas Chandler rang the MM towards the end of 1966. "You must come and see ...

Rock — Energy For Revolution

Comment by Mick Farren, Melody Maker, 3 October 1970

WHEN I first brought home Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry albums my parents didn't much like it. They made the mistake of thinking rock was ...

The Rolling Stones: Stones and the Street Fighting Men

Report by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 3 October 1970

Update, 2019. The Rolling Stones were never just entertainers. They are the world's leading creators and performers of Dionysian rock theatre. They are flamboyant, perverse, ...

Eric Burdon, War: War: Carrying A Heavy Burdon For Peace

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 3 October 1970

EIGHTEEN MONTHS ago in Los Angeles, Eric Burdon, six coloured guys, and a Danish harp player declared war on everything detrimental to mankind, except flesh ...

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 October 1970

Zeppelin III is pure magic! Track by track review of the new album from the World's Top Group (MM Pop Poll 1970) ...

Blind Faith, Family, Traffic: Ric Grech: Traffic's One Big Happy Family

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 10 October 1970

IT WAS good to see Ric again. We talked in melancholic tones of hazy days when gangster Grech, cigarette hanging from his lips, pumped out ...

Janis Joplin: The Agony of Janis

Comment by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 10 October 1970

Update, 2020. Yes, the deaths of Brian Jones in July 1969, then of Jimi Hendrix in September 1970, then of Janis Joplin a couple of ...

East of Eden: A Good Time East of Eden

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

"IF I HAD a choice of playing a technically perfect set or giving people a good time," says Dave Arbus, "I'd definitely give them a ...

Johnny Winter: Johnny Winter And... (CBS)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

OH YES! Great stuff, funky, pumpy, loud and brash and damned uncouth — which is the way R&B should be played. ...

Juicy Lucy: Lie Back and Enjoy It (Vertigo)

Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

JUICY LUCY have come a long way from 'Who Do You Love' and young ladies smothered in fruit. ...

Merle Haggard: The Fightin' Side Of Me (Capitol)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

MERLE HAGGARD is a tough ol' boy. While Johnny Cash broods about it, you have the feeling that Haggard might just get it done. ...

Miles Davis: Rock Is A White Man's Word, Says Miles

Report and Interview by Al Aronowitz, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

NEW YORK — Junior Mance was working the bandstand at New York's Top of the Gate and you had to put your ear to Miles ...

Rab Noakes: Making it down South

Interview by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

AT A TIME when complex guitar work is attracting a tide of admirers it's invigorating to hear the contemporary material of Rab Noakes, a young ...

Taste Split: Background To A Bust Up — How Taste Went Sour

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

Exclusive report from Ireland on the break-up of a mighty successful band by Roy Hollingworth ...

Anthony Wedgwood Benn: Listening To The New Generation

Essay by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 24 October 1970

Former Technology Minister Anthony Wedgwood Benn replies to Mick Farren's analysis of Rock as a political force. ...

Led Zeppelin: Page on Zeppelin III

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 October 1970

Jimmy Page gives a track by track background to Zeppelin's new album. ...

Stone The Crows: Maggie Rings The Bell

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 24 October 1970

Roy Hollingworth talks to the girl with the hottest new voice in rock... ...

Black Sabbath: Paranoia — As The Fans Go Wild For Sabbath

Report by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 31 October 1970

Mark Plummer on a one night stand with the 'Paranoid' hitmakers ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Graham Nash: Graham Nash: Song of a Simple Man

Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 9 November 1970

Update, 2020. I paid no attention to Graham Nash or to his band the Hollies, the close-harmony Manchester band formed in 1962 inspired by the ...

Bill Graham: The Man The US Kids Love To Hate

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 14 November 1970

BREAKFAST at London's Savoy Hotel with Bill Graham. The man, who has the high cheekbones and thick mouth of an American Indian, and the thundering ...

Tim Buckley: Lorca (Elektra)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 November 1970

THIS IS presumably Buckley's last album for Elektra, being recorded (so I'm told) at the same time as Happy/Sad and before his first Straight album, ...

Colosseum: The Secret Of Their Success – Good Music

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 November 1970

COLOSSEUM are now rated as one of Britain's and Europe's most popular and creative bands. In two years of furious activity and hard work, the ...

McDonald and Giles: McDonald & Giles: Outside The Court Of The Crimson King

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 November 1970

THERE ARE, YOU understand, these two musicians, both having played in one of our very best bands, who're sitting at home doing virtually nothing at ...

The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson: Staying Home: Brian Wilson

Report and Interview by Derek Grant, Melody Maker, 21 November 1970

"IT WAS A MISTAKE but I had to try it. After about half an hour I realised I couldn't go on. My ears hurt, I ...

Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Stephen Stills: Stills Life

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 28 November 1970

A portrait of a rock giant... at work on his solo LP and at home in his English country house ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention: The Coliseum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 December 1970

PROBABLY only Frank Zappa and his musicians could properly review their concerts at London's Coliseum on Sunday. So much happened in each two-hour segment, one ...

The Mothers Of Invention: Mother's Union

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 5 December 1970

TELL ME, Mr. Zappa, what do you think of the critical reaction to your work over the past five years?  ...

Albert Ayler Dead

Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 12 December 1970

ALBERT AYLER, the revolutionary jazz tenor saxophonist, is dead at the age of 34. ...

Albert Ayler: Beyond This World

Obituary by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 December 1970

Richard Williams pays tribute to Albert Ayler ...

Amon Düül: Amon For All Seasons

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 December 1970

IN THE BEGINNING there was Amon Duul, and A.D. was a musical community of about a dozen people of varied musical backgrounds. Gradually, some of ...

Derek & The Dominos: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (Polydor)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 12 December 1970

Beauty and boredom from Eric ...

Alan Price, Georgie Fame: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

An evening of Pricey nostalgia ...

Climax Blues Band: Climax Chicago Blues Band: A Lot of Bottle (Harvest)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

THERE LIES on this album one of the most exciting, imaginative guitar solos I've heard for a long time from Pete Haycock on 'Seventh Son', ...

Emerson Lake & Palmer: ELP in the Alps

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

Chris Welch reports on a trip to Switzerland with rock's most controversial trio... ...

Free: Highway (Island)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

ONE OF THE criticisms levelled at Free since their final acceptance earlier this year is that many of their songs sound very much alike. With ...

Monty Python's Flying Circus: Monty Python's Flying Circus (BBC Records)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

OF ALL THE comic programmes to arrive on the magic box, Monty Python's Flying Circus seems to be the one that most people talk about afterwards. ...

Ry Cooder: The Name To Watch In 71...

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 19 December 1970

Jacoba Atlas talks to the States' hottest new guitarist ...

T. Rex: T. Rex (Fly)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 26 December 1970

T. Rex goes funky ...

The Stooges: Fun House (Elektra).

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 26 December 1970

NEXT TO GRAND Funk Railroad, this is the worst album I've heard this year. In truth it's a muddy load of sluggish, unimaginative rubbish heavily ...

Judee Sill: Judee Sill (Asylum)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1971

JUDEE SILL IS one of those breed of American girls who’ve taken to singing who one supposes were previously engaged in quietly knitting at home ...

Captain Beefheart: Lick My Decals Off Baby

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 2 January 1971

ALREADY, I'M THINKING that this is the Captain's most satisfying album to date. ...

Graham Bond: Holy Magick (Vertigo)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 January 1971

ACCORDING TO ancient Druidic and Celtic legend, King Arthur will return in this age of Aquarius to sustain us. And man, he's going to blow ...

Leonard Cohen: Songs Of Love And Hate

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 2 January 1971

LEONARD COHEN in a deeper emotional trough than he's ever been in, more hypnotic, more melancholic than ever, and without doubt the least musical stuff ...

Black Sabbath: Sabbath, Singles and the States

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 January 1971

TALES OF hardship and woe generally follow a group's first trip across the Atlantic. Many bands have returned to inform us that "it's not all ...

Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt: Soft Machine: Inside the Mind of a Machine

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 2 January 1971

Michael Watts talks to Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt ...

Iron Butterfly: Butterfly Break Out of the Iron Cocoon

Interview by Harold Bronson, Melody Maker, 9 January 1971

LOS ANGELES — It was a nervous experience for Iron Butterfly when, late last year, they found out things weren't quite right. Their music had ...

Judy Collins: Judy — the leading lady

Profile and Interview by Al Aronowitz, Melody Maker, 9 January 1971

JUDY COLLINS is a leading lady. Like Myrna Loy used to be, and Loretta Young, and Barbara Stanwyck, and Rosalind Russell. The kind of actress ...

Mr. Fox, Steeleye Span: Mr. Fox and Steeleye Span: Electric Folk – The Second Generation

Comment by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 9 January 1971

NOW WE'VE had a chance to hear Mr. Fox and Steeleye Span properly, it is clear that we are already into the second generation of ...

Patto: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 16 January 1971

PATTO ARE better than most rock bands for two reasons – they play without any sense of snobbery (no boring ego jams), and secondly because ...

Patto: Bitter Patto: Two Years Ahead

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

I FIRST met Mike Patto four months ago. With his agent he walked into the MM office, a gangling figure in high green leather boots ...

Charles Lloyd: Why Lloyd Wants To Play With The Stones

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

CHARLES LLOYD doesn't want to be known as the first jazzman to play the rock halls, Fillmore and Avalon. He says that categorization is demeaning, ...

Grand Funk Railroad: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

Grand Flunk Railroad ...

Iron Butterfly, Yes: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

WHAT AN incredible rave-up when Yes and Iron Butterfly took off at the Albert Hall, London, on Monday. Apart from an audience who seemed to ...

Butterscotch Caboose, Rufus Thomas: Memphis

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

Richard Williams in the Soul capital of America ...

Mountain is Moving

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

"I'M FROM New York, but I don't like the scene. Why? Because there is none. At least, it's nothing to do with the music. It's ...

Stone The Crows: London School of Economics

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

MAGGIE BELL, with a lot of help from her friends in Stone The Crows, turned what could have been a disappointing evening at the London ...

The Equals: Black Skin, Blue-Eyed Boys...

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

Mark Plummer talks to EDDY GRANT ...

Iron Butterfly, Yes: Yes and Iron Butterfly: Allies of Rock

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 January 1971

Chris Welch with Yes and Iron Butterfly in Holland ...

Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: MM in Memphis: Cropper Soul Picker Supreme

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

Richard Williams with the first of a series of profiles from America's soul centre... ...

Allman Brothers Band: Idlewild South (Atco)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

A HAPPY and clean sound kicked off with the unison guitars of Duane Allman and Dicky Betts on 'Revival'. ...

Amon Düül (I & II), Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Floh de Cologne, Guru Guru, The Maxwells, Pan (Denmark): Amon Düül II et al: Eurorock

Overview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

Richard Williams on the European bands who are rejecting the traditions of Anglo-American rock. ...

Caroline Coon: The Underground Angel Of Mercy...

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

Michael Watts talks to CAROLINE COON of Release ...

Donny Hathaway: Everything Is Everything (Atco)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

A USEFUL glossary of soul terms occurs during the title track, a warm, friendly if somewhat meaningless piece of philisophy. ...

Badfinger: Fickle Fate Of Badfinger

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

"EVERYONE who interviews us wants to talk about the Beatles. Sure, we were influenced by the Beatles, like ten million other groups. ...

Grateful Dead: American Beauty (Warner Bros)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

THE BEST adjective I can think of to describe the Grateful Dead is "disarming." They're beautiful because, unlike so many bands, they never overwhelm you. ...

Laura Nyro: Christmas And The Beads of Sweat

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

EACH OF LAURA Nyro's four albums has had its own distinct personality. ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: No Place Like England Says Martha

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

"I WANT you to tell everybody what a beautiful audience we had tonight. We haven't been over here in four years. We're professional but I ...

Nico, the cool enigma

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

NICO USED to be a blonde; you can see it on the cover of the Velvet Underground's first album, on a photograph from which her ...

Stevie Wonder: Stevie Freaks Out

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

LAST TIME Stevie Wonder was in Britain he promised that his next album would be the new-style him, with a deeper musical and lyrical feeling. ...

T. Rex: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

MARC BOLAN became a star and T. Rex supergroup on Monday. Over 2,000 jammed London's Lyceum. And they cheered. ...

Van Morrison: His Band And The Street Choir (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

Has Van Morrison eased up? ...

Jackson Browne, Laura Nyro: Laura Nyro: Laura's London Triumph

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 February 1971

Laura Nyro/Jackson Browne: Royal Festival Hall, London ...

The Grease Band, Juicy Lucy, Leon Russell, Status Quo: Leon Russell, the Grease Band, Juicy Lucy, Status Quo: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 13 February 1971

LEON: ROCK SHOWMAN ...

T. Rex: Revaluing the Marc

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 13 February 1971

MARC BOLAN, teased, stimulated and tempted by the midday wine, looned around in the rain and stood in humorous mood viewing the vast hulk of ...

Yes: The Yes Album (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 February 1971

Yes, yes, yes ...

War: Papa's gone to War

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 February 1971

SOON after meeting Dee Allen (real name Thomas Sylvester Allen), and comparing him quickly with the rest of War, you are likely to guess why ...

Neil Young: Neil Gave Everything — And They Asked For More

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 6 March 1971

Neil Young: Royal Festival Hall, London ...

Alice Coltrane: Ptah, The El Daoud (Impulse AS-9196 — import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

Mrs Coltrane (piano, harp). Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders (tenors, alto flutes), Ron Carter (bass), Ben Riley (drums) New York, 26/1/70. ...

Burt Bacharach: Portrait In Music (A&M)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

REMEMBER HOW far-out 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' sounded in '63? All those cliff-hanging stops and starts, and that incredible arrangement... almost as weird as ...

Led Zeppelin: Ireland Unites Under Zeppelin

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

The world's top rock band hits the road — and MM's Chris Welch goes with them to file this exclusive report... ...

Nick Drake: Bryter Later

Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

THIS IS A particularly difficult album to come to any firm conclusion on. For one thing the reaction it produced depends very much on the ...

Alexis Korner: REACTION with Alexis Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

ALEXIS KORNER — guitarist, singer, blues fancier and scholar, and bandleader with a remarkable record as a nurseryman of young jazz talent — sat for ...

The Rolling Stones: This Could Be The Last Time

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

AS STONES BEGIN THEIR LONG-AWAITED — AND POSSIBLY FINAL — TOUR OF BRITAIN, MICHAEL WATTS REPORTS... ...

Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground: Loaded (Atlantic Super)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

The most important album since Tommy? ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Arthur Big Boy Crudup: Roebuck Man (United Artists UAS29092)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

Big Boy in Britain ...

Neil Diamond: Diamond Shining Brightly

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

FOR NEIL Diamond, things are looking good. As a pop singer he has left his mark on both sides of the Atlantic with his sweet ...

James Brown: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

The clockwork king of soul? ...

Manitas de Plata: Little Hands of Silver...

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

MANITAS DE PLATA picked up a guitar autographed by Charlie Chaplin and played some flamenco music in his hotel bedroom. It looked a bit like ...

Van Der Graaf Generator: Oh What A Boar!

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

SATURDAY morning. The Van der Graaf Generator truck speeds and wobbles along the motorway, northbound. It's a clear day, around lunchtime, and we're beginning to ...

The Groundhogs: Split (Liberty LBG 83401)

Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

FROM THE stern inhuman, irrational bloodymindedness of war which served as the subject for Thank Christ For The Bomb, Tony McPhee has turned to anarchic, ...

The Rolling Stones: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

THE ROLLING STONES Circus came to town last Sunday, maybe for the last time. At least for their own sakes it should be. The fire ...

Deep Purple, Keef Hartley, Keith Moon: Various, Drum Bash: Bumpers Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

DEAFENING fun! That was the all-star drum conversation held at London's Bumpers Club last week. ...

Van Morrison: What's So Special About Van Morrison?

Essay by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

Update, 2019. BELOW THIS update is the first of two pieces on Van's early albums. They were commissioned by Richard Williams as my Melody Maker editor, ...

Syd Barrett

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 27 March 1971

STORIES ABOUT Syd Barrett are legion. That he became overbearingly egotistical, impossible to work with. That he was thrown out of The Pink Floyd. That ...

Van Morrison, Them: Van — Them and now

Discography by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 27 March 1971

Update, 2019: This piece continues that on "What's so special about Van Morrison", also here in the RBP archive, commissioned by Richard Williams as my ...

Funkadelic: Lyceum Ban Funkadelic

Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 3 April 1971

FUNKADELIC, THE American group banned by London's Royal Albert Hall, have now been banned from the Strand Lyceum. Promoter John Sullivan — offered Funkadelic by ...

Jeff Beck, Nicky Hopkins, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Rolling Stones: Nicky Hopkins: Have Piano, Will Travel

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 3 April 1971

Michael Watts talks to sessionman supreme NICKY HOPKINS ...

Alex Taylor, James Taylor: James and Alex Taylor: And He Played Real Good For Free

Report by Al Aronowitz, Melody Maker, 10 April 1971

CHILMARK, MASSACHUSETTS.The Island Children's School gave its first annual benefit concert here last January 12 and if you've read The Vineyard Gazette then you know ...

Alan Price, Georgie Fame: Price and Fame: The Name Game

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 April 1971

THERE I WAS sitting interviewing Messrs Fame and Price — or should it be Price and Fame — when this lady walks into the room. ...

David Bowie: Why does David Bowie like dressing up in ladies' clothes?

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 April 1971

A straight answer to Chris Welch ...

Barclay James Harvest, Caravan: Caravan, Barclay James Harvest: The Lyceum, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

Live and well? ...

Humble Pie: Rock On (A&M)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

A MASTERFUL album. While it goes without saying this is their best yet, there is a quality in the performance and production here that sets ...

Genesis: In The Beginning There Was... Genesis

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

GENESIS ARE going to cause outrage and chaos in the coming year. Already they are breaking through with a blend of showmanship and original music ...

Jeff Dexter: Dexter's Job — Creating Good Vibes

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

"WELL, who else could do it? Maybe Jimmy Savile because he's got lots of blond hair as well," replied Jeff Dexter when asked why he ...

John Peel: Unpeeled

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

In the three years since he first won the Top DJ title in the MM Poll, John Peel has been mocked and worshipped. Today he wipes the ...

King Crimson: Zoom Club, Frankfurt

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

AFTER MORE than a year off the road, King Crimson slid quietly back into public performance last week with a hush-hush four-day stint in Germany. ...

Love Story

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

Richard Williams talks to ex-Love drummer Snoopy Pfisterer ...

Osibisa

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

PEACE AND brotherhood, truth and happiness. These are words which crop up constantly in conversations with Osibisa, the creeds by which they attempt to live ...

The Faces: Smiling Faces make it at last

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

STRANGE. PEOPLE keep telling the Faces they've made it at last in this country. Strange because they themselves don't quite know where they stand in ...

The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (Kinney)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

Bands come and go – but the Stones keep rollin' on ...

The Rolling Stones: Stones In Exile

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 April 1971

CANNES is a strange place. It sits on the Cote D'Azur beckoning the rich to part with their dollars, pounds and francs in glorious sunshine. ...

Van Der Graaf Generator: Melody Maker Band Breakdown: Van der Graaf Generator

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

If it's Thursday, it must be Ormskirk. ...

Rita Coolidge: Now The Delta Lady Is Out On Her Own

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

DURING THE Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, Joe Cocker each night would take the microphone and announce "Here she is, our own Delta Lady, Rita ...

George Harrison, The Ronettes, Phil Spector, Ronnie Spector: Ronnie — the voice that brought Spector back

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

BACK in 1963, the Ronettes were three highly-coiffeured teenage girls who swept up the charts on a furious wave of Spector sound. Their lead singer, ...

The Champs, Seals and Crofts: Seals and Crofts alias The Champs

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

HALFWAY UP the bill at the Roundhouse the other Sunday there was this band with a decidedly curious instrumentation. ...

Van der Graaf Generator: Not so much a band, more a meeting place

Special Feature by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1971

THERE'S A Sopwith Camel perched on Peter Hammill's piano, or maybe it's an SE5. I can't see too clearly, because Peter's way down in the ...

Dave and Ansell Collins: 'Double Barrel' — A High Calibre Hit?

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

CRITICS PUT it down, musicians loathe it — and mention reggae to a progressive music fan and a string of abuse will follow. It appears ...

Deep Purple: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

ALTHOUGH it wasn't one of Deep Purple's best nights on Friday, it was certainly one of the best nights of the Camden Festival with London's ...

Emerson Lake And Palmer, Humble Pie: ELP In America

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

BLOOD streaming from his head, a middle-aged man, white, well-dressed, staggered into the headlights of the battered Yellow Cab. The Puerto Rican driver, grinned and ...

Funkadelic: It's Just To Get People's Attention

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

EVER since Keith Emerson set fire to an American flag on the stage of London's Royal Albert Hall, the banning of groups from that particular ...

The Byrds: Byrd Watching (part 1)

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

Roger McGuinn: into the mystic ...

The Byrds, The Kentucky Colonels: The Byrds: Byrd Watching (part 2)

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

THE COUNTRY consonants of Clarence White's guitar have fooled a lot of people — me included — into thinking that the man must have come ...

The Byrds: Colston Hall, Bristol

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

A PINCH of snuff, the eucalyptus stabs the eye. McGuinn fastens the tin and slips it into his suit pocket. The rest of the guy's ...

The Faces: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

IF ANYONE still doubts that the Faces haven't yet "made it," talk to one of the 2,000 or so who visited Thursday night's show at ...

The Groundhogs: A Hog For You Baby

Interview by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

KEN PUSTELNIK is always ready to point out that Tony McPhee, Pete Cruickshank and he are quite ordinary people, and not so long ago there ...

Bobby Keys, The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones: Bobby Keys

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1971

"IT'S BOBBY Keys, the greatest saxophone player in the world," said Mick Jagger. And Bobby smiled modestly towards me. ...

Funkadelic: The Speakeasy/The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

Fun with Funkadelic ...

Laura Nyro: Lady Laura

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

"LAURA WANTS the monitor turned up please." ...

Lindisfarne, Gillian McPherson , Unicorn: Lindisfarne, Unicorn, Gillian McPherson: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

THE HARSH, throbbing music of Lindisfarne generates a degree of immediacy that's uncommon. They are professional and yet there is an inherent roughness that never ...

Terry Reid, Santana: Santana, Terry Reid: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

Slick, smooth Santana ...

Cream, Mountain: The Ascent Of Mountain

Interview by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

MOUNTAIN ARE Felix Pappalardi on bass, Leslie West on guitar, Steve Knight, keyboard, and Corky Laing on drums. ...

The Byrds, The Dixie Flyers, Rita Coolidge: The Byrds, Rita Coolidge: Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

THE BYRDS are like an institution. They seem to have been around as long as the Houses of Parliament with their own particular style of ...

The Dixie Flyers, Rita Coolidge: The Dixie Flyers

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1971

THEY'VE BEEN called the best rhythm section in the States — don't ask me who called them that, but I figure the guy who did ...

The Beach Boys: Beach Boys: A Reappraisal

Retrospective by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

IT'S PROBABLY pouring with rain by now, but the sunny days we were vouchsafed by the Almighty last week prompted me – and almost certainly ...

Buddy Miles: Miles Away

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

Chris Welch talks to a strangely unresponsive Buddy Miles. ...

Buddy Miles: Speakeasy, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

BUDDY MILES at London's Speakeasy. All eyes, ears and cheers are on the sweating, grimacing figure stomping his sticks. ...

Chicago: One Date Only For The Chicago Seven

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

WITH THE news that Chicago will play just one concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on June 1, instead of two as they planned after ...

Nina Simone: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

Nina the leader ...

Paul McCartney: Ram (Apple)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

Mutton dressed as Ram? ...

Dave and Ansell Collins, Desmond Dekker, Alton Ellis: Reggae

Report and Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

"Send a reggae band for my wedding reception" said Mick Jagger. The unpredictable move by a Stone symbolised the final acceptance of the music as ...

Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack: Roberta Flack: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

I KNOW I'VE said it all before, but here we go again: Roberta Flack's concert at Carnegie Hall was so enjoyable. Visually, when she starts ...

Baby Washington, The Intruders, Wilson Pickett: Wilson Pickett: Apollo Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

EX-TEMPTATIONS man, Eddie Kendricks, now solo, was due to open and debut his act at The Apollo but at the eleventh hour he cancelled out saying "the ...

The Band: A Melody Maker Band Breakdown

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 May 1971

FEW ROCK AND ROLL concerts can have been so eagerly awaited as those which The Band are due to play at London's Royal Albert Hall ...

The Band: A Report from Paris

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 5 June 1971

NO DIFFICULTY KNOWING when you've just finished hearing a great rock concert. Because you'll be in the middle of a great crowd of people standing ...

Louis Armstrong: Armstrong The Man...

Memoir by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

THE ARMSTRONG STORY has been generously documented, on records and in print, and I'm doing my bit in the latter category. But I won't say ...

The Doors, Jim Morrison: Jim Morrison: This is the End, Beautiful Friend

Obituary by Al Aronowitz, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

Al Aronowitz on the death of Jim Morrison ...

Heads Hands and Feet, Mott The Hoople: Mott the Hoople, Head, Hands and Feet: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

Mott: Britain's Grand Funk? ...

Procol Harum: Band on a Knife-edge

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

IT WAS RICHARD GOLDSTEIN, I think, in The Poetry Of Rock, who described Procol Harum as an intellectual, ever striving to contain the Steppenwolf within ...

The Who: Civic Hall, Dunstable

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

MOUNTAINS MAY tumble and fall, supergroups come and go, but the Who will always be with us. And while they are they continue to wear ...

Carole King, Danny Kortchmar, The Fugs, James Taylor, Jo Mama: Danny Kootch: Danny Boy

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 24 July 1971

YOU GET this sweaty little record company office and you're issued with the regulation afternoon tea or coffee. Danny Kootch looks suitably bloated by both ...

Wishbone Ash: Hot Ash

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 7 August 1971

STEVE UPTON of Wishbone Ash. What sort of audience did he think the band had? ...

Roxy Music: Roxy in the Rock Stakes

Profile by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 August 1971

A CURIOUS FEATURE of modern rock music is the way it's taken potential artists away from other spheres. Men who might have become poets, painters, ...

The James Gang: Home James: The James Gang

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 14 August 1971

IT'S USUAL procedure to interview Americans as they come into the country – not as they're going out. ...

King Curtis Dead

Obituary by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

KING CURTIS, whose wailing tenor sax was heard on many hit records over the past decade, was stabbed to death on New York's West Side ...

Larry Coryell: Long Distance Larry

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

SINCE HE left Gary Burton and after that four-month stint with Herbie Mann — no one has been in much doubt that Larry Coryell has ...

Randy Newman: Lonely at the Top

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

PEOPLE STILL talk of the press reception for Randy Newman. ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Rev. Gary Davis: Song of a Preacher Man

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

MANY BLACK SINGERS draw an artificial distinction between holy music — gospel — and sinful music — the blues. ...

Sandy Denny: The North Sea Grassman and the Ravens (Island)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

WE ALWAYS knew Sandy Denny had the capacity to make a brilliant record, and we were right. ...

Shirley Collins: No Roses

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

The First Lady Goes Electric ...

The Beatles, George Martin: The Beatles: Produced By George Martin

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

GEORGE MARTIN is probably the most shadowy character in rock and roll history. His influence has been immense, yet few people outside the immediate circle ...

Deep Purple: A Band Breakdown

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1971

OFTEN ABUSED BY critics and disc jockeys, Deep Purple have won through during the past two years to become one of this country's top groups. ...

Jack Bruce, King Crimson, Roy Harper: King Crimson/Roy Harper/Jack Bruce: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1971

JUDGING BY THE weather this week, the title of Saturday's free concert in Hyde Park – "Farewell To Summer" – was a little premature. And ...

Al Stewart: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE to consider Al Stewart without including his lovelife. In those familiar with his songs he has invested his own deeply-felt emotions and something ...

Bullet, Deep Purple: Deep Purple, Bullet: Guildhall, Portsmouth

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

Purple patch ...

Ike & Tina Turner: What You Hear is What You Get (United Artists)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

Torrid Tina ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young: Joni and the Laurel Canyon Mob

Comment by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

SO YOU wanna be a rock and roll star, right? Well, our advice is to head out Laurel Canyon way. Take a tip from one ...

Mountain Climbing

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

THE AMERICAN media has been hammering into people's heads that the solo singer/guitarist/songwriter is "in" and loud, exuberant rock is "out." But, the media forgot ...

Shirley Bassey: The Soul Of Showbiz

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

EVEN BEFORE she stuck out her bottom and waggled it provocatively at the crucial moments on 'Big Spender', yes, even before she and Eartha Kitt ...

Stan Getz: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

THERE CAN'T be anything disastrous in the state of jazz while Stan Getz can still be heard in Soho spinning fine-steel threads of melody from ...

Terry Reid: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

IF YOU think rock and roll died the minute Stephen Stills decided to inflict us with his pains, you better believe that it's alive and ...

Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band: Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East (Atlantic)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

QUESTION: GIVEN 76 minutes 26 seconds of the day to do sweet flaming all, what would you do (a) attend one and a bit funerals ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John and Yoko: A Press Conference at Apple

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 2 October 1971

THERE'S A GLINT of spectacles. Gathering recognition as the sandy hair, short and unfamiliar registers. Take in the smart grey trousers and the conventional shirt. ...

Wishbone Ash: Pilgrimage

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 2 October 1971

WELL, AS you may have guessed, a lot of us have fallen in love with this little band, and there are a load of reasons ...

John Lennon: Imagine (Apple)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 9 October 1971

All we need is Lennon ...

Gilbert O'Sullivan: Working Class Hero: Gilbert O'Sullivan

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 October 1971

WHOEVER WOULD have thought it? Gordon Mills, manager of Tom and Engel, those popular, polished professionals, taking a shine to an odd young Irishman whose ...

Jethro Tull: Rocking In The USA

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 October 1971

This week, Jethro Tull flew out to start their eleventh tour of America. Like other top British Rock acts, they are reaping the rich rewards ...

Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry: What Have They Done To My Roots, Ma? Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley

Comment by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 October 1971

WHEN JOHN LENNON ended a recent epistle to Mailbag with a line saying "LP Winner: I’d like Chuck Berry, please," he wasn’t joking. Modern rock ...

Lindisfarne: It's Tyne Time

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 18 December 1971

"No, we'll never work as hard as this again. It's killing the magic. And it's not doing us much good either" - Si Cowe, guitarist, ...

The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 25 December 1971

SUPERSTARS may come and go but the Kinks keep marching on. They don't change as much as musical styles change around them; not for them ...

Wishbone Ash: Lucky Breaks For Wishbone

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 13 Fall 1971

JOHN PEEL: "I heard Wishbone Ash for the first time, and haven't been so impressed with a relatively new band for a long time. Their ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1972

HERE'S ONE that won't disappoint anybody at all. Suddenly the Beach Boys are back in fashionable favour, and they've produced an album which fully backs ...

George Harrison: The Concert For Bangla Desh

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 January 1972

If you buy only one LP in 1972, make it this one ...

Smokey Robinson: The Way You Do The Things You Do

Essay by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 January 1972

THERE’s a new Smokey Robinson album out in the States, called One Dozen Roses. The natural reaction is to ring E.M.I. and ask them when ...

Steve Peregrin Took: Down in Ladbroke Grove: Steve Took

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 8 January 1972

"You live high in your apartmentSee people turn to machines,I'm scratching hard to pay my rent,I hope to God I die naturally." ...

Rory Gallagher: Music For Belfast: Rory Gallagher

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 8 January 1972

BELFAST GOT A rock'n'roll concert on New Year's Day in the City's notorious Ulster Hall. Heading the bill was Rory Gallagher.  It was the first ...

UFO

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 January 1972

"AH SO, Jim lad." The concept of a Japanese Robert Newton is hard to envisage. Yet UFO will assure you, "Long John Silver has hit ...

David Bowie: Oh, You Pretty Thing: David Bowie

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 22 January 1972

DAVID BOWIE, rock's swishiest outrage; a self-confessed lover of effeminate clothes, Bowie, who has hardly performed in public since his 'Space Oddity' hit of three ...

Can: Tago Mago (United Artists)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

AS DUNCAN Fallowell says in his sleevenotes, Can could not be anything but German. ...

Captain Beefheart: The Spotlight Kid (Reprise)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

THE FURTHER adventures or the Captain, Zoot Horn Rollo, Rockette Morton, Drumbo, and their new friends Ed Marimba and Winged Eel Fingerling are, somewhat surprisingly, ...

Dionne Warwicke: Dionne

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

SHE USED to be Dionne Warwick, and before that Dionne Warrick. The extra letter is important. The rules of numerology dictate it. Just as it ...

Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Stax — 2 LPs)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

Hayes: Doggone Good ...

Neil Young: Harvest

Review by Geoffrey Cannon, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

Harvest is surely come: Geoffrey Cannon previews NEIL YOUNG's new album Harvest, released next month ...

Pink Floyd: The Dome, Brighton

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 29 January 1972

NOBODY WHO'S involved in present day music is going to deny that the Pink Floyd have contributed some classics. But having become accustomed to them ...

Velvet Underground: Gerard Malanga: Screen Test

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

Interview with poet GERARD MALANGA, former associate of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground ...

Helen Reddy: Get Reddy

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

"I STARTED singing my own songs because no one else was saying what I wanted to say," explains Helen Reddy, the Australian born singer who ...

Jerry Garcia: Garcia (Warner Bros.)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

I HAD, I CONFESS, expected something different. Two sides of 'Dark Star Revisited' would have perhaps been a predictable dosage. Instead, we get several very ...

Lightnin' Slim: Gone Fishin'

Profile and Interview by Tony Russell, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

A FAMILIAR blues story is the one of the musician who held his first guitar almost before he clambered out of the cradle. As the ...

Iggy Pop, The Stooges: Night of the Iggy

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

WHO IS IT who smashes a microphone in his teeth, tears flesh from his bare chest, leaps into the audience busting bones in all directions, ...

Emerson Lake And Palmer, Yes: Ready, Eddie? An Interview with Eddie Offord

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

EDDIE OFFORD SITS in his penthouse flat, way above the traffic that thunders down the Vauxhall Bridge Road past Victoria. ...

Roxy Music

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

BINGO IS THE SCENE most nights at the Granada, Wandsworth Road, London SW8. Fruit machines line the foyer and there's a big sign with lots ...

Ry Cooder: Into The Purple Valley (Reprise)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

THE COVER of Ry Cooder's second album features the guitarist and his lady posed in and out of a mid-Forties model Dodge convertible. It's straight ...

MC5: The MC5: Back in the UK

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

THE MC5 don't want to be stars, if you can dig that. They reason that they are there with you to fill the air with ...

Slade: Melody Maker Band Breakdown: Slade

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

  UNLIKE MANY of the groups currently enjoying chart success with hit singles, Slade have been in the game a long time. ...

Colin Blunstone: Like a choirboy with soul

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

COLIN BLUNSTONE is possibly the best singer around. There are reasons. There have to be. ...

J.B. Hutto: Southside Hawk

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

IT'S NOT surprising that there should be more than a trace of Elmore James and Muddy Waters in the playing of J.B. Hutto, described in ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

COMPOSER, MYSTIC, visionary, a prophet for the Age of Aquarius. There he sits in the portrait gallery on the front sleeve of the Sgt. Pepper ...

Kevin Ayers: Fresh Ayers

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

KEVIN AYERS says that there's only one thing preventing the old Soft Machine, St Tropez-style, getting back together. ...

Leonard Cohen: The Cohen songs you'll never hear

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

A remarkable interview with LEONARD COHEN... by Roy Hollingworth ...

Rita Coolidge: Nice Feelin' (A&M)

Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

Lovely Rita ...

Stackridge: 'If McCartney really wants to do something for Ireland why doesn't he stop singing about it and come here?'

Report by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

Stackridge are one of the few bands to take their music to the people in the 'front line' in Ireland, Mark Plummer reports. ...

Steve Lacy: Moon (BYG Actual 52)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

Lacy (soprano), Italo Toni (trombone), Claudio Volente (Clarinet), Irene Aebi (cello), Marcello Melis (bass), Jacques Thollot (drums), Rome, September 1969 ...

Sun Ra & His Solar-Myth Arkestra: The Solar-Myth Approach, Volume 1 (BYG Actuel 40); The Solar-Myth Approach, Volume 2 (BYG Actuel 41)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

Ra's solar myth ...

Syd Barrett, MC5: Syd Barrett: The Madcap returns

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

SYD BARRETT'S new band, Stars, made their strange debut at Cambridge Corn Exchange last week. Roy Hollingworth reports... ...

Tim Hardin, Steve Miller: The Steve Miller Band, Tim Hardin: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

Miller's grinding blues ...

Tonto's Expanding Head Band

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

ONE OF that tiny but slowly-expanding number of albums which points out a genuine new direction for the future is Zero Time, by Tonto's Expanding ...

Badfinger: Finger: Straight Up

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 March 1972

BADFINGER may be underrated in Britain — but in the States they're a bill topping band. Chris Charlesworth reports from New York... ...

Jethro Tull: Thick As A Brick (Chrysalis)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 March 1972

AS THE album is already brilliantly reviewed on the elaborately produced sleeve, there is hardly any point in adding our own comments. ...

Randy Newman: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 11 March 1972

WITH AN awkward shuffle and an embarrassed wave to the adulating audience, Randy Newman left the stage of the Festival Hall, London, on Monday night ...

Manassas, Stephen Stills: Stephen Stills: The Loner

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 11 March 1972

Step aside, open wide. It's the loner. ...

Judee Sill: Lunch And Judee

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 March 1972

SHE HAS JUST been discoursing on her past activities as lerpatologist when her attention was distracted. "That's the same man who was lying on the ...

Iggy Pop, The Stooges: Lock Up Your Daughters, Iggy's Here

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 April 1972

AS MARC BOLAN swung his hips for the benefit of Ringo Starr's camerawork, did any of the 9,000 upturned faces notice the auburn-haired American fifth ...

The Who: (Keith) Moon Probe

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 April 1972

2005 note: As well as being their drummer and resident comedian, Keith Moon was the Who's PR man. Journalists unfamiliar with the group may have ...

Lindisfarne: We Can Swing Together: A Day In The Life Of Lindisfarne

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 26 April 1972

SIMON COWE ordered a pint of cider and told me he hadn't eaten anything for two days. He'd had plenty of cider though. ...

Nick Drake: Pink Moon

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 1 May 1972

JOHN MARTYN told me about Nick Drake in ecstatic terms and so it seemed the natural thing to do, bag the album when it came ...

Wishbone Ash: Ash and Argus

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 May 1972

WISHBONE ASH are one of the nation's better bands. In the search for constant improvement, they have come up with a third album that many ...

Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson: Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

Kris the casual pro ...

Noel Redding: Redding, Willing And Able

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

NOEL Redding looks a bit shell-shocked these days. ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Rev. Gary Davis: Farewell to the Holy Bluesman

Obituary by Karl Dallas, Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

THOUGH I'M not what most people would call a religious man, when I heard that at the age of 76 and after several strokes the ...

The Rolling Stones: Stones Special

Interview by Michael Watts, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

MICK JAGGER talks to Michael Watts... and MICK TAYLOR talks to Chris Welch ...

Dr. John: The Dr. John Story, Part One: Talking 'bout New Orleans

Retrospective and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

DOCTOR JOHN is The Night Tripper, purveyor of Gris-Gris and Voodoo since 1967. ...

Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Boz Scaggs: Bill Graham: Mister Fillmore

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 27 May 1972

Loraine Alterman in New York previews Fillmore, the film about America's legendary rock centre... and talks to its star, super-impresario Bill Graham ...

Roxy Music: Roxy Music (Island)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 June 1972

KARI-ANN STARES, with lustful expectancy, teeth bared and surrounded by frosted deep pink lips. She reclines on a counterpane of silvery satin in a halternecked ...

Roxy Music: The Sound Of Surprise

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 July 1972

PAUL THOMPSON's tom-toms ground slowly to a shuddering halt as Eno's synthesiser simulated the sound of Firestone Wide Ovals being pushed past their limit around ...

Rory Gallagher: Rory on the Road

Report and Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 8 July 1972

RORY GALLAGHER changes out of his striped tee shirt, folds it neatly and places it in his zipper case, exchanging it for an equally familiar ...

Alice Cooper at Wembley

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 15 July 1972

MICHAEL WATTS REPORTS on Friday's sensational — and controversial concert. ...

Roxy Music

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 July 1972

ALMOST a year ago to the week, Bryan Ferry sat in a council flat in Shepherds Bush and explained his timetable for the next year. ...

David Bowie: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 August 1972

MUSIC FROM A Clockwork Orange heralded the spectacular performance staged by David Bowie at London's Rainbow Theatre on Sunday night. "At least it makes a ...

Carly Simon, David Ackles, The Doors, Judy Collins, Love, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Elektra: The House That Jac Built

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

The story of Elektra, one of rock's most influential labels. As told to Loraine Alterman by founder JAC HOLZMAN ...

Frank Zappa: The Wazoo Keeper

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

FRANK ZAPPA is back in Britain for the first time since the attack which nearly ended his career. On the eve of last Saturday's Oval ...

Genesis: The Band Who Want To Be Booed

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

A PARTICULAR quality of certain successful groups has been their ability to create moods, to take an audience a little further than the surface excitement ...

Stone the Crows: Greens Playhouse, Glasgow

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

Crows — home is where the heart is ...

Walter/Wendy Carlos: The Walter Carlos Sonic Boom

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

"There's music in the sighing of a reed; There's music in the gushing of a rill; There's music in all things, if man had ears; The Earth is ...

T. Rex: Will America Learn To Love Marc Bolan?

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

T. REX are making another attempt to win the hearts of young America. But it don't come easy, as MM's Roy Hollingworth reports... ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers, Toots & The Maytals: Reggae: Black Gold of Jamaica

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 September 1972

Reggae – in its more commercial form – has won the battle for mass acceptance, and has gone on to influence rock and soul musicians ...

Sweet: Bitter Sweet

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

We're tired of being dismissed as a teenybop band say the Wig Wam Bam men ...

Duncan Browne, Lou Reed: Broken Reed? Lou Reed, Duncan Browne: Sundown Theatre, Edmonton, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

THE FACT is that his association with David Bowie has done Lou Reed no good at all. Despite the adulation from the audience at Edmonton's ...

The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Slade: Chas Chandler: Slade Driver

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

Chris Charlesworth talks to CHAS CHANDLER, ex-docker, ex-Animal, ex-manager of Jimi Hendrix and now manager of Britain's hottest band, Slade ...

Return to Forever: Chick Corea: Forever Changes

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

...

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks: Dan Hicks Strikes it Rich

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

ROBERT PLANT was the first Dan Hicks fan I ever knew. A couple of years ago he broke up an interview session by playing a ...

David Bowie: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

Can Bowie save New York from boredom? ...

Frank Barsalona Is Probably Rock's Most Successful Agent. His Wife Says It's Because He Really Cares

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

IT'S SUPER being a rock 'n' roll mogul. ...

Jackie Wilson Said...

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

"JACKIE WILSON said… it was reet petite." Now as it happens, Jackie Wilson doesn't really need Van Morrison's approbation. But he's flattered by it all ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band: Some Time In New York City/Live Jam (Apple)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

INEVITABLY, SOME Time is another giant step in the rapid polarisation of opinions concerning the moral and musical stance of John Lennon. ...

John Cale: The Academy In Peril (Reprise)

Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

WITH THIS album, John Cale continues to present a tantalising artistic persona, defying critical attempts to put his work into any concrete perspective. Vintage Violence ...

The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers: Johnny Cash, Carter Family, Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

FOR ONE reason or another, Johnny Cash has a rather fearsome image. It's been tempered in recent times by some of the songs he's written ...

Genesis, Lindisfarne: Lindisfarne, Genesis: Dublin Stadium, Dublin

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

TO BE CASUAL is to be Lindisfarne, but even the most relaxed of bands have a hard time putting over a set of new numbers ...

Max's Kansas City... Yawn

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 7 October 1972

MAX'S KANSAS City stands on Park Avenue South, with 17th Street, New York City, downtown enough to be not so bright, and far less peopled. ...

Queen Elizabeth, Sparks, Suicide, Teenage Lust & the Lustettes: In New York City, Rock has Created Things that Reach from Obscenity to Musical Vomit

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 21 October 1972

New York Report by Roy Hollingworth ...

Raspberries are Blowing

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 21 October 1972

LORAINE ALTERMAN talks to the group that's bringing 'smartness' back to rock ...

Tim Buckley: Greetings From L.A. (Warner Bros/Straight)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 October 1972

AFTER THE gradual progression through Lorca, Blue Afternoon, and Starsailor, one might have expected Buckley to continue with such a startlingly fresh line of development ...

Patto Break Out

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 4 November 1972

NOW YOU'D EXPECT Mike Patto to be sardonic, and embittered after five years in various guises and never really making it. ...

Alice Cooper: Alice Is Still Swinging — By The Neck!

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 November 1972

THE KIDS AT GREEN'S PLAYHOUSE, GLASGOW, were yelling "Alice, Alice, Alice" at the top of their voices in deafening unison as the object of their ...

Island Records: Reggae to Riches

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 November 1972

IF YOU WORK for Island Records, nobody minds if you take your dog into the office every day – or even if it misbehaves on ...

B. Bumble & The Stingers, Kim Fowley, The Hollywood Argyles, The Mothers Of Invention: Kim Fowley: I'm The Most Phenomenal Man In Records!

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 November 1972

KIM FOWLEY'S looking for love. "Well," he says, snuffling into a wad of Kleenex, "I'm real entertaining and I have some nice human qualities...and I'm ...

Bill Evans: Living Time With Evans

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

NONE OF THE other diners appeared to recognise the pianist, but to anyone with jazz inklings he was unmistakable. The long, thick hair, cut page-boy ...

Cat Stevens: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

Bad nerves dog Cat ...

Joni Mitchell: For The Roses

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

MORE SONGS OF transient euphoria and stabbing loss, played out against an ambiguous background of relentless fatalism and constant hope, mingled in approximately equal proportions, ...

Led Zeppelin: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

ROY HOLLINGWORTH reports as Led Zeppelin open their giant British tour... ...

Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson (Mojo)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

NO 45 HAS hit me with more power in the last year than Miss Jackson's 'A Child Of God'. An unambiguous exposé of everyday immorality, ...

Vinegar Joe: Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies (Island)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1972

THERE AREN'T many British groups I'd rather go and see live than Vinegar Joe. That's because they're one of the very few non-cerebral club bands, ...

Ten Years After: Recorded Live

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1973

WHERE IN 1973 will you still hear a band blowing over a chord structure that sounds not unlike 'Cat Squirrel' and song lyrics that refer ...

The Beach Boys: Holland (Brother/Reprise)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1973

YOU HAVE JUST a fortnight to save up before this record hits the stores – and buy it you should, for it contains more fun ...

Tim Buckley: Digging Deeper to the Roots

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1973

IN A WORLD that seems grossly over-populated with singer/songwriters whose crotchets and quavers reflect their personal attitudes and experiences, Tim Buckley stands out like the ...

Philly Days: Cameo-Parkway

Retrospective by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 13 January 1973

Richard Williams reviews the Cameo recordings, recently reissued on two double albums, which made Philadelphia the 'Crap Capital of America' ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: "You laughing at me, boy?"

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 January 1973

GOSFIELD STREET, LONDON, W1: Advision Studios is where Yes create their music and put it on record. ...

Rance Allen, The Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes, Luther Ingram, Albert King, The Staple Singers, Little Johnny Taylor, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas: Wattstax (dir. Mel Stuart, Stax)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

ISAAC HAYES, ROD STEWART and assorted FACES were at the preview of a new soul film. So was MM's RICHARD WILLIAMS... ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds of Fire (America Columbia — import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

McLaughlin: the inner flame leaps higher ...

O'Jays are Okay

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

A GROUP like the O'Jays is, to be honest, only as good as the producers and writers it works with. It may have a lead ...

Stevie Wonder: "Hah-the boy is getting MILITANT! You get back to 'Fingertips' now!"

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

Talking Book is already tipped as one of 73's best albums. Here Chris Welch talks to its creator ...

Billy Paul: The Jazz Soul of Billy Paul

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

IT'S ODD to hear a black singer from North Philadelphia, who topped the US soul and pop charts a few weeks ago, admit that it ...

Wizzard: The Wonderful Wizzard of Wood

Profile and Interview by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

ROY WOOD is one of those rare musicians who has never lost sight of the excitement and imagination that make rock worthwhile. ...

Bette Midler: The Shape (40-22-36) Of Things To Come

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 17 February 1973

Roy Hollingworth meets the divine Miss Midler ...

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Martha Reeves: Martha's Moving On

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 17 February 1973

A FEW WEEKS AGO Martha Reeves cleared out her apartment in Detroit, piled her possessions into a U-Haul trailer, and set off along Route 66 ...

Stevie Wonder: Carnegie Hall, New York

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 17 February 1973

GODAMN IT! You would think the President of a record company would know better — especially the President of Motown Records. ...

Bert Jansch: Moonshine (Reprise)

Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

BERT JANSCH'S music has matured into predictable shapes. The combination of traditional and self-composed songs which makes up the major proportion of his repertoire, the ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: The First Genius of Reggae?

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

BOB MARLEY, slightly-built and quiet to the point of diffidence, is a leader. He's the master of Reggae, the man who's about to give it ...

Leonard Cohen: Cohen, Cohen, Gone: Leonard Cohen

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

"LET'S sing a song, boys. . . . This one has grown old and bitter"– fragment from Songs of Love and Hate ...

David Bowie: Stranger in a Strange Land

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

Aladdin Sane is the punning title of David Bowie's next album. It's more remote, more spacey, than anything he's done before says MICHAEL WATTS, who ...

Donny Hathaway: Donny's Return

Interview by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

NEW YORK — DONNY HATHAWAY hasn't been around for several months, so it was nice to see him back in New York, looking good and recording ...

Timmy Thomas: Tomorrow's Golden Oldie

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 February 1973

IT REMINDED me of hearing Booker T's 'Green Onions' for the first time, all those years ago. You know: that fantastic feeling of listening to ...

Faust and Foremost

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, March 1973

IT IS TWELVE noon, and in the smoky sunshine of a London afternoon a group of German longhairs are unloading a huge Mercedes truck full ...

John Martyn: Solid Air (Island)

Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 3 March 1973

HOW DO you begin to describe a guitarist as sensitive and accomplished as John Martyn? Every new album expands one's appreciation of his ability. ...

Alice Cooper: Spectrum, Philadelphia

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 17 March 1973

THE ROCK WORLD today mourns the death of Alice Cooper, who was accidently killed last night when the safety screws failed on the guillotine he ...

Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 17 March 1973

...is the title of Roxy Music's sensational second album. Roy Hollingworth presents an exclusive preview with comments from Roxy's Bryan Ferry. ...

Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons: Gram Parsons: Parsons Knows...

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 7 April 1973

Gram Parsons, former member of the Byrds and Burritos and now the proud owner of a solo album, talks to Loraine Alterman in New York ...

Roxy Music: Caught in the Act

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 April 1973

GEE, YOU GUYS from Roxy sure do have style. Mmmmmmm, yummy yummy. what I couldn't do to that Bryan Ferry if he dropped around my ...

David Bowie: Cha...Cha...Cha...Changes — A Journey with Aladdin

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 12 May 1973

CHARING CROSS STATION, London, 9.10 pm: And when he arrived they screamed and they cried, and they rushed, and gushed forth and beat their feverish ...

Paul Simon: Here Comes Rhymin' Simon

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 12 May 1973

MM EXCLUSIVE! Paul Simons — due to play British dates next month — talks to LORAINE ALTERMAN in New York ...

Roxy Music In Paris

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 May 1973

STAYING AT THE George V is one of life's great experiences, at least to a traveller who savours his changing environments. ...

King Crimson, Pete Sinfield: Pete Sinfield Has A Nose For Success

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 May 1973

PETE SINFIELD is a poet, and such men do not abound on the music scene. There is Pete Brown of course, and many a lyricist ...

Steve Winwood: 'I'm Gonna Do an Album a Week!'

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 May 1973

IT'S BEEN MANY a long year since Steve Winwood has made impact as an individual on the English rock scene. ...

Steve Winwood, Traffic: Stevie Winwood: 'I'm Gonna Do An Album A Week!'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 May 1973

IT'S BEEN many a long year since Stevie Winwood has made impact as an individual on the English rock scene. ...

Faust: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, June 1973

LONDON'S RAINBOW looked like a Berliner Ensemble production of a rock musical version of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. The stage backdrop had been raised, revealing ...

Michael Des Barres, Silverhead: Silverhead Savage

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 9 June 1973

MICHAEL DES BARRES, the ultimate rock and roll star sits drinking decaffeinated coffee in the health food-come-curio shop on the Portobello Road, London. He's swamped ...

John Mayall: Mayall supremacy

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 June 1973

JOHN MAYALL has been living in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, for four years now, and identifying with California and American people for longer than that. ...

10cc: Rubber Bulletin

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

UNTIL a year ago, Graham Gouldman was going through what he calls his "why not?" period. ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: In The Studio With The Wailers

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

THE ROLLING STONES are upstairs in Studio 1, where they've been for the past five weeks. ...

Humble Pie, Steve Marriott: Humble Pie: Pulling In The Soul Audience

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

THE STORY SO FAR: Steve Marriott, one time leader of pop idols the Small Faces and now boss of "progressive" rock and rollers Humble Pie, ...

Jefferson Airplane: Plane Sailing

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

A LITTLE GIRL on a bicycle, who couldn't have been older than 12, overheard me asking the way to Olympic Studios last Wednesday night. I'd ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra: Music Of The Gods

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

Mahavishnu Orchestra: Free Trade Hall, Manchester ...

Ten Years After: Ten Year Itch

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 June 1973

WHEN DOES a band become a juke-box? And when does it cease to be a creative musical force? These are the questions that have been ...

Boz Scaggs: Big Boz Man: Boz Scaggs

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

BOZ SCAGGS is the cult hero with the strongest claim to wider fame. He’s in Britain all summer to play and record...he talks to MM’s ...

John McLaughlin, Santana: Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu John McLaughlin: Love Devotion Surrender

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

Jamming in the spirit of Coltrane ...

Deep Purple: Who'll Be Purple's New Voice?

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

THE NEWS that Ian Gillan is to leave Deep Purple comes at a time when the group are on the crest of world-wide acclaim. Yet ...

Edgar Winter: How Winter Went Glam and Created A Frankenstein Monster

Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

EDGAR WINTER, his wife and his band live in a 13-bedroom white clapboard mansion at Sands Point, overlooking Long Island Sound. 30,000 dollars a year ...

Fairport Convention: The Banana Convention

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

THE WAY DAVE PEGG sees it, what America needs is Fairport Convention's High Banana Content Programme. ...

Jethro Tull: Crime of Passion

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

IT BEGAN TO OCCUR to me that this was very poor music indeed. ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra: John McLaughlin: Natural High…

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

WITH A BAND playing music as tense and demanding as the Mahavishnu Orchestra's, one might be forgiven for expecting them to be (a) nerve wracked ...

Sly & The Family Stone: Fresh (Epic)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 June 1973

I LIKE A little mystery, don't you? 'Course you do. So here's one: the finished version of Sly's new album, in the shops at last, ...

Andy Pratt: Avenging Andy

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

The name's unpromising, but Andy Pratt could be the next cult hero. He used to play with Edgar Winter, has cut a couple of solo ...

Average White Band: Show Your Hand (MCA)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

Well-above Average ...

Jack Bruce, West, Bruce & Laing: Jack Bruce

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

JACK BRUCE has turned full circle. The best bass guitarist Britain has produced, whose career has merged jazz and rock to the extent where he ...

Peter Frampton's Camel: A Galloping Success In The States

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

PETER FRAMPTON made a flying visit to London last week. But the boss of Frampton's Camel couldn't stay long – too much excitement is happening ...

Slade, Sensational Alex Harvey Band: Earls Court, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

IT'S MONDAY morning and my ears are still ringing. The night before, I'd been among the 20,000 fans who packed London's Earls Court to prove ...

The Osmonds: The Plan (MGM)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

The Os come of age ...

Weather Report: Sweetnighter (CBS 65532)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 July 1973

WEATHER REPORT seems simply to represent a rather elegant waste of the well-known talents of Wayne Shorter. ...

Deep Purple: A New Bassman — But Still No Singer

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 July 1973

"PAUL RODGERS was asked to join us, but there were just too many things in the way. Apart from just the contractual side of it, ...

Dr. John: Doctor John: Doctor Feelgood!

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 14 July 1973

COULD THAT possibly be Mac Rebennack peeping through the Dr. John persona? Just like, say, Sly Stone and Sylvester Stewart. ...

Little Feat, Big Future

Profile by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 14 July 1973

LITTLE FEAT'S Dixie Chicken is possibly the finest rock record to have come from the other side of the Atlantic since the Allman Brothers were unleashed on ...

Allen Toussaint: Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

THEY KNOW, of course, which one is Dr John. The Swiss photographers huddle around the stage, clicking their Nikons like American tourists determined to capture ...

Chet Baker: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

The Return of Chet Baker ...

J. Geils Band: The Boston wranglers

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

THEY HAD said the J. Geils Band was a democracy, and they were right. All six of them are ranged around three sides of this ...

Jethro Tull: A Passion Play

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

IT GIVES ME NO pleasure to report upon this recording. In fact I cannot recall an album by a British rock band that has given ...

Desmond Dekker, John Holt, Dandy Livingstone, Bob Marley & the Wailers: Reggae... The Hits You Never Hear

Report by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

Scores of reggae records sell enough copies to qualify as pop hits. But you won't see them on the charts and you won't hear them ...

Steely Dan's Smart Rock

Profile and Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

"WE LIKE TO think of every song as a composition in itself, a composition in the more orthodox meaning. ...

The Kinks, Sly & the Family Stone, Edgar Winter: The Kinks: Thank you for the days, Ray

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

ROY HOLLINGWORTH adds a sad chapter to the Kinks chronicle ...

Roberta Flack, Freddie Hubbard, War, Jimmy Witherspoon: War, Roberta Flack, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Witherspoon: Shea Stadium, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

War declared at Shea Stadium. ...

The Kinks, Lindisfarne, Sly & the Family Stone, Edgar Winter: Wet City: Sly and Company Live in London

Report by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

LIKE THE WEATHER, the music at London’s White City on Sunday was a mixture of fair and foul. ...

10cc: 10cc (UK)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

There's a rumour going round Death Row... ...

Big Youth: Screaming Target (Trojan).

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

BIG YOUTH is the latest sensation in the Jamaican market for disc-jockeys who improvise spoken lyrics (rhymes, exhortations, etc) over backings tracks. Taking over from ...

Carole King: King Is The Queen

Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

Carole King: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...

Diana Ross: Touch Me In The Morning (Motown — import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

Diana and that touch of drama ...

The Everly Brothers: Everly Brothers: Bye Bye Love

Report by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

IT'S ALMOST eleven years since the first serious rumours suggesting the breakup of the Everly Brothers appeared. What with that, and a much-noted coolness between ...

Genesis: What Genesis Did On Their 'Holidays'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

NOT MANY groups conduct their rehearsals squashed together in a Morris Mini. But if you are in the habit of strolling around the backwaters of ...

Gil Evans: The Vision of Evans

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

NO, SAID Gil Evans, he didn't really want to be interviewed. Not until his new album was ready. But why not come round anyway, just ...

Judee Sill: Heart Food (Asylum)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

JUDEE WRITES and sings beautiful songs, and they are well represented on this second album, which features among its many tracks, 'The Kiss', where her ...

Mott The Hoople: Mott (CBS)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

A PERSPEX cut out face on the sleeve introduces us to Mott The Hoople Mark III, a group with a scarred history whose fifth and ...

Brian Eno, Roxy Music: Roxy Split...

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

"I was cramping Eno's style. Two non-musicians in a band is one too many. I think he'll do very well by himself" — BRYAN FERRY ...

Smokey Robinson: Smokey (Tamla import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

Smokey: a solo set to cherish ...

Van Morrison: Gonna Rock Your Gypsy Soul

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 July 1973

"IT'S SHOWTIME, ladies and gentlemen! And here's the one you've been waiting for – the Caledonia Soul Orchestra with ... VAN MORRISON!" ...

Gryphon: The 13th Century Slade

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 August 1973

"EARLY ENGLISH music? Gah – give us Slade and T. Rex!" Thus one can imagine the reactions of lads and maidens today as they dance, ...

Jethro Tull: Can 72,000 Fans Be Wrong?

Report by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 4 August 1973

I DON'T KNOW how it is in England, but in this country the minute you get too big, too powerful, people start gunning for you. ...

The Rolling Stones Hit The Road…

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 August 1973

...and at every date the promoter is expected to provide 50 security men, five limousines, a doctor, ten dozen roses, two bottles each of whisky, ...

Yes: Keep 'Em Yessing

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 August 1973

"YES ARE LIKE an amoeba. Now an amoeba works on the principle of..do you know, I've no idea how it f***** works!" Jon Anderson grinned, ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers, Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley & The Wailers: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

Wailers fail to catch afire ...

Eric Burdon: Welcome Home

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

THE 'PHONE DOESN'T stop ringing in Eric Burden's room at the Holiday Inn at Swiss Cottage. So many people, explains Katie from Island Records, are ...

Nicky Hopkins: Sixth Stone Rolls Alone

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

THE NEWS THAT the Rolling Stones are to tour next month without their long serving pianist Nicky Hopkins will come as a surprise to those ...

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

WHEN APPRAISING an artist of the stature of Stevie Wonder, there seems nothing worse than to hark back to previous triumphs and make comparisons. ...

Electric Light Orchestra: The Electric Light Orchestra: In The Hall Of The Mountain Lynne

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

"WHEN I LISTENED to Greig's 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King', I thought our version was much heavier." Jeff Lynn wasn't boasting. He was ...

Waylon Jennings: You Gotta Be A Man First, 'Fore You Can Be Anything...

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

Waylon Jennings, the cowboy who finally hit that golden trail. By MICHAEL WATTS in New York ...

Blood Sweat & Tears: New Sweat

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 August 1973

THE WIND of change that spread through Blood Sweat and Tears a year ago is beginning to make itself felt at last. Their forthcoming album ...

King Crimson: Robert Fripp…Super Stud?

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 18 August 1973

"I AM," MUSES Robert Fripp, "already a living legend."The light breeze ruffles his curly locks. He settles back in the plastic garden chair, sips his ...

Steely Dan: Countdown To Ecstasy (Probe)

Review by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 18 August 1973

STEELY DAN'S first album was completely ignored in Britain. Yet it was a masterpiece. Can't Buy A Thrill contained conceptual songs that told stories with ...

New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: The New York Dolls (Mercury — import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 18 August 1973

Dolls: Junior Stones ...

The Rolling Stones: Goat’s Head Soup?

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 August 1973

"GOAT'S HEAD SOUP," said Mick Jagger pacing about the room. "I might change it. A lot of people don't like it. Too bad." A typically ...

Frank Zappa: Past Flops And Future Shocks

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 August 1973

HIS ARMS AROUND a red-haired girl whose ample chest was covered with a Mighty Thor t-shirt, debonair Frank Zappa (32) sank deeper into the couch, ...

The Faces, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 August 1973

"GOOD LUCK Rod!" People like Rod Stewart. And he likes the people. As he stood forming a queue outside ye old Marquee Club (home of ...

Allman Brothers Band: The Allmans are to America now what the Grateful Dead were in '67

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 25 August 1973

NOBODY TALKS at all about the deaths. Gregg seems too spacey, anyway, detached and oblivious behind his shades; maybe a few brief nods of acknowledgement ...

Billy Preston, The Rolling Stones: Billy Preston: The Way Billy Planned It

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

When The Stones hit the road this month BILLY PRESTON goes with them. Here, he talks to MM's MICHAEL WATTS in Los Angeles ...

David Essex: Jesus Rocks On!

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

"Hey, shout summertime bluesJump up and down in blue suede shoes" ...

Jethro Tull: Why Tull Called It A Day

Report by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

JETHRO TULL's manager Terry Ellis this week accused rock critics of "taking advantage of their unassailable position to be abusive." ...

Jo Jo Gunne: Go For The Gunne

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

THE FIRST word out about Jo Jo Gunne raved about their looks – "gorgeous" said those into masculine beauty. An emphasis on appearance always makes ...

Joe Walsh: The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

MAY I TAKE just a couple of seconds to make my position clear? I thought, and still do, that the James Gang were a very ...

Judy Collins: Judy In Disguise

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

Judy Collins film director? The singer – songwriter has taken a year out of her life to make a movie with a strong Womens' Lib ...

Marc Bolan: Why Marc Won't Be Giving Up

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 September 1973

DESPITE the critical savaging that Marc Bolan regularly receives – he ain't gonna do a Jethro Tull and give up. Marc was accused of being ...

War: Declaring War

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

It's a long way from San Diego street corners to gold records. But War are still street people playing street music. MICHAEL WATTS reports... ...

Dobie Gray: Drift Away (MCA)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

THREE PLAYS and this record assumes the kind of easy familiarity usually expected from greatest hits albums. Eleven good cuts, and most of them potential ...

Essra Mohawk: Just Baiting for Laura Nyro

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

THIS IS a slightly strange situation to be in. Over there, in the corner of the room, Sherry Bo Berry, a member of the Cockettes-derived ...

Mott The Hoople: The Ballad Of Mott

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

IAN HUNTER is a great romantic, torn by doubts and secure only in the knowledge that the will to succeed usually bears fruit. ...

New York Dolls: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

Living Dolls ...

Professor Longhair: The Professor of Rock

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

THE PROFESSOR, THEY SAY, influenced just about every musician in New Orleans. And it’s not a claim he’s about to deny. "I taught most of ...

Sandy Denny: Howff, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

SANDY, FROM HERE on you can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. On Monday at London's Howff you did what I've always ...

Elton John: Elton's Finest Hour!

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973

Elton John: The Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles ...

Smokey Robinson: Holy Smokey

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973

Ex-Miracles leader, brilliant songwriter, Motown boss — Smokey Robinson is that rare thing in music: a legend in his own lifetime. He talks to MM's ...

Sandy Denny: Softie Sandy

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973

ALL IN ALL, it's been a funny sort of year for Sandy Denny. She hadn't performed in this country before last Christmas though she's worked ...

Dave Mason: Why Dave Mason Is Trying To Go The Paul Simon Route

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973

THE VERY fat man with a pony tail who sat himself down next to me twitched almost uncontrollably as the Englishman with the red Stratocaster ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: Yoko: How I Rescued John from Chauvinism

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 22 September 1973

DATELINE NEW YORK: A rare interview with a much maligned singer with a fine new album... ...

Beck, Bogert and Appice: Heavyweight Champions Of The World

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

TAKE A LONG guitar lead. Sit as far far away from the studio as possible. And record some of the funkiest sounds ever laid down ...

Ben Webster: Big Ben: Max Jones remembers Ben Webster, who died last week

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

SHORTLY AFTER Johnny Hodges died in 1970, Ben Webster said to me that so many of the great saxophone names had passed. He recited them: ...

Diana Ross: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

DIANA ROSS may be a real superstar, as critics like Derek Jewell assert, but there's altogether too much of the "sooper" in her act for ...

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

AND HELLO Elton John all set to smash a path to the top of the album chart with this superb new collecion of songs. He ...

Art Garfunkel: Garfunkel: Angel Clare (CBS)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

No Art, no heart ...

Joe Walsh: Barnstorming the USA

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

THINGS ARE starting to happen for Joe Walsh. In the corridors of rock and roll where informed people discuss what, where and when, elbows are ...

Cheech & Chong, Crazy Horse, Graham Nash, Neil Young: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Graham Nash, Cheech & Chong: the Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

Neil joins Roxy music! ...

Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band: Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

Allmans: hot rockers ...

The Carpenters: It's Plane Sailing!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

HEAD DOWN THE Santa Ana freeway, turn off on San Gabriel, make a couple of rights and you're in Downey, a right-wing, unpretentious suberb of ...

Yes: Yes Men On Top

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

FLUSHED from their success in the MM Pop Poll, the all-star musicians of Yes held a remarkable summit conference this week. Gathered round the board ...

Doug Sahm: Arise, Sir Douglas is Blowing Up A Storm

Report and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 6 October 1973

THE FUNKY SOUNDS of 'Texas Tornado', Doug Sahm's latest single, blasted out of the stereo in the office of Atlantic Records' co-ordinator of A&R, Mark ...

Duane Eddy: The Guitar Man Twangs Back

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 October 1973

THE FIRST REAL guitar superstar of the rock and roll age sits in an office no larger than a bathroom on North Vine off the ...

Faust, Slapp Happy: Faust: Machine Heads

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 October 1973

THE MACHINES are taking over. My cassette recorder has started talking back at me and a minute ago my typewriter savaged my left hand. And ...

Genesis: Chapter and Verse

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 October 1973

GENESIS have lain dormant throughout the summer, at least as far as the public was concerned. Then came the sensational appearance at Reading Festival, when ...

Iggy Pop, The Stooges: Iggy Pop: Iggy Breaks Out Of His Cage

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 October 1973

IGGY POP swam out to sea, his wiry frame floating over the waves of Manhattan Beach, his dyed blonde head bobbing along the ripples, his ...

Eric Clapton: King Of The Blues Guitar

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 October 1973

WHO IS THIS man Eric Clapton, of whom they speak so highly? Is he the world's greatest guitarist? Is he now a victim of rock ...

Nazareth

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 October 1973

"I'M TELLING ye mon, there was this bird in 'ere and she can't 'ave been more than fifteen mon, and she's telling me she's wearing ...

The Doors, Ray Manzarek: The Doors: When The Music's Over

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 October 1973

HELPING HIMSELF to one of my British cigarettes and inhaling deeply, Ray Manzarek coldly and without emotion spoke about why The Doors finally decided to ...

David Bowie: Bowie's Free For All

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 October 1973

Chris Welch describes the weird and wonderful scenes when Ziggy returned to London's Marquee Club ...

The Nudie Look

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 October 1973

Los Angeles Report by Chris Charlesworth ...

Billy Preston: Rainbow Theatre, London

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

AFTER A shaky start, Billy Preston tore London's Rainbow Theatre apart on Thursday last week, with a little help from his friends. ...

Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds: Giorgio Gomelsky: The Man Who Sold The World

Interview by Max Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

Giorgio Gomelsky was a pioneer of British rock in the sixties. In the second part of an interview with MM he talks about managing Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll and his ...

The Stooges: Iggy & The Stooges: Pop Loses Sparkle: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

LOS ANGELES: How low can rock and roll sink? This is a question that can never be answered as new depths will always be found ...

John Lennon: Lennon Today

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

WHERE DOHENY DRIVE cuts Sunset at the edge of the Beverly Hills estate, there's a tobacconist shop that carries all makes and brands. It's called ...

Slade: America Feels The Noize

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

NO COMPROMISE says Noddy. No compromise at all. America will just have to go crazee, feel the noize and get their boots off Just like ...

The Band: Band Of Gold

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

EVEN THOUGH everyone involved is tremendously excited about the Band/Dylan tour (reported on page one), 1973 still has some time left and The Band have ...

Yoko Ono: Yoko's A No-No: Yoko Ono: Kenny's Castaways, New York

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

NEW YORK: I still haven't figured out what is "inside" everyone that makes them not only want to sing, but to so firmly believe they ...

Doug Sahm: Book of Sahm

Overview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

"You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lotta soul" – 'At The Crossroads' by the Sir Douglas Quintet, 1969. ...

Grand Funk Railroad: Isn't Life Grand!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

THEY said it would never happen. ...

Linda Ronstadt: Don't Cry Now (Asylum)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

LOOKING AS she does, an impossibly cuddly chicklet, it's easy to forgive Linda Ronstadt any musical deficiencies. But this album, in fact her first on ...

Pink Floyd, Soft Machine: Pink Floyd/Soft Machine: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

PINK FLOYD and Soft Machine stunned fans with two sensational shows at London's Rainbow Theatre on Sunday night. It was a splendid evening of rock-co-operation, ...

Roxy Music: Stranded (Island)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

Roxy: an air of lush decay ...

Sly & The Family Stone: The Palladium, Los Angeles

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

HOLLYWOOD: Will he? Won't he? Will he? Won't he? Sly Stone's reputation is too firmly etched for these questions not to be asked when he's ...

The Everly Brothers: Creators Of Country Pop

Retrospective by Michael Gray, Melody Maker, 10 November 1973

THE EVERLY BROTHERS – Don and Phil – first emerged in the rock 'n' roll market in 1957, with a unique harmony-vocal sound, a modern ...

Jackson Browne, Phillip Goodhand-Tait: Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

LOS ANGELES: It would be nice to be able to report in true nationalistic spirit that Phillip Goodhand-Tait swept the audience off their feet in ...

Jackson Browne: Jackson's Song For Everyman

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

JACKSON Browne arrived half an hour late. He'd been figuring out how to repair the plumbing at his house, and had finally succeeded in getting ...

Jimmy Cliff: From Reggae To Riches

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

IT MUST BE almost three years since the last hit record. God, that's an artistic lifespan for many people, but somehow he manages to suggest ...

Sarah Vaughan: Searching For That Natural Soul Sound

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

MARSHALL FISHER, Sarah Vaughan's husband and personal manager, indicated that if I were to call round at the Mayfair Hotel an hour or so before ...

Santana: Spirit Of Santana

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

Carlos Santana is in Britain this week with a new vocalist, a new name and a new energy – thanks to the divine intervention of ...

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Conquering Quiverlands

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

FOR NINE WEEKS now, the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver have toured America with Elton John. Their single, '(I Don't Want To Love You But) You ...

Traffic: On The Road (Island)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

TRAFFIC, ON OCCASIONS, have the ability to sound like the most demanding and mature rock band in the world. Trouble is, each time they've reached ...

Chet Atkins: Country Gent

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

I OWN TWO albums by Chet Atkins, both of which are old and scratched. One features country picking and the other is titled Chet Picks ...

Elton John Steps Into Christmas

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

ELTON JOHN is a happy man as 1973 draws to a close. He has established himself not merely as an elitist's delight and king of ...

Lulu: Honour Lulu

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

"I SUPPOSE I've sold-out, because I do cabaret. Isn't that what they say?" Alan Price said that recently in his dry, laconic way, understanding full ...

Linda Ronstadt: Linda's Liberation

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

WHEN THE film industry was at its peak and the Hollywood Hills beamed down on the Babylon city in its celluloid wrapper, someone decided that ...

Miles Davis: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

WATCHING MILES Davis and his band perform is a fascinating exercise that provides much food for thought. One goes willing to cast out old ideas ...

The Band: Moondog Matinee (Capitol)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

Band of hope and glory ...

New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: Music in a Doll's House

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

From America MM previews the New York Dolls, who start a British tour this week ...

Paul McCartney, Wings: All Paul: Paul McCartney

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

WHEN THE Prime Minister, Royalty or a Rear Admiral makes a tour of inspection of a naval establishment, there is a flurry of activity among ...

Kiki Dee

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

NOTHING IS more satisfying for a successful artist than helping the less fortunate. Elton John has had his chance to set matters aright for at ...

Dawn, Glen Campbell: Live in Las Vegas: Dawn and Glen Campbell

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

"HANG ON tight," said the man in the next seat on the Western Airlines jet. "Landings in Las Vegas are the roughest in the world." ...

Plastic, paper and petrol famine shakes the whole music scene — ROCK CRISIS!

Report by Colin Irwin, Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

ROCK MUSIC is reaching a crisis point. The worldwide energy shortage threatens the future of the entire music industry while rock itself faces a ban ...

Ronnie Lane Changes Face

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

SOME POP stars like to rock. Some pop stars like to roll. But little Ronnie Lane has got the gypsy in his soul. ...

Wings: Band On The Run

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

"IT'S NOT A concept," says Paul McCartney, but there is a thread to Wings' newie Band On The Run. The feeling expressed throughout is one ...

Yes: Tales From Topographic Oceans (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

CHANTING VOICES lead us into 'The Revealing Science Of God', and the marathon Yes epic that has occupied so much of their time throughout the ...

Yes: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1973

A DISTURBING night for a Yes fan at London's Rainbow, when the group unveiled their new work Tales From Topographic Oceans. For despite, the applause ...

Elton John: Belle Vue, Manchester

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 December 1973

FOR THE first time since Bill Haley's motion picture triumph Rock Around The Clock, played at the now-demolished Queen's Cinema, Catford, in 1956, the urge ...

New York Dolls: Band They Love To Hate

Comment by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 8 December 1973

I'VE SEEN the New York Dolls five times in New York, and London's Biba's last week made it six. ...

The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations In The Rain

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 December 1973

The Beach Boys: Convention Centre, Anaheim, California ...

Alice Cooper: A Christmas Chiller

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 December 1973

The great Sherlock Holmes, cleverly disguised as MM investigator Chris Charlesworth, pulls his deerstalker over his eyes and sets forth on his most dangerous adventure. ...

Clarence "Frogman" Henry: Henry's Back For A Hit

Profile and Interview by John Broven, Melody Maker, 22 December 1973

CLARENCE (Frogman) Henry hasn't had a top-selling record for more than 12 years, but he is still managing to pull the crowds in to hear ...

Jimi Hendrix: Wild Man Of The Guitar

Retrospective by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 December 1973

AS A ROCK HERO Jimi was one of the best, one of the greatest. Lying on his back playing flaming guitar with his teeth. Fanitastic! ...

Arthur Lee, Love: Arthur Lee: Forever Changes

Interview by John Tobler, Melody Maker, 29 December 1973

REMEMBER Arthur Lee and Love? Love was the first rock band to sign with Elektra Records, which they did in late 1965. In approximately their ...

Electric Light Orchestra: ELO: Live in Philadelphia

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 January 1974

WE ARE gathered together, ladies and gentlemen, for a recital by that promising septet of young British musicians who call themselves the Electric Light Orchestra. ...

Reverend Gary Davis, Stefan Grossman, Scott Joplin, David Laibman, Joshua Rifkin: Rag, Mama, Rag

Overview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 5 January 1974

IT IS 1974. A young man in patched blue jeans walks to the front of the folk club, a guitar in his hand. He sits ...

Stealers Wheel: Wheel Of Fortune

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 5 January 1974

JOE EGAN used to be in a band called the Mavericks. Nothing much, just a young band from Paisley, a tough industrial town on the ...

Alice Cooper: Alice through the looking glass

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

Shep Gordon worked for firm making clothes for the dead... Now he manages the killer himself, Alice Cooper. Gordon talks to MM New York writer ...

Jackson Browne, Survivor

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

AT NIGHT we sit on the verandah, Myrna and I, watching the bobbing lights of the yachts in the harbour below as the fireflies endlessly ...

The Jackson 5: Jacksons: All You Need For A Hit Is The Right Feeling

Report and Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

MOWEST STUDIOS, the private recording facilities for Motown artists, are located in the heart of Hollywood, directly across the street from a high school's baseball ...

Jobriath: Superstar or Superhype?

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 12 January 1974

"If hype means projecting your artist, I'm going to produce the biggest hype ever" – Jerry Brandt talking to ROBERT PARTRIDGE about his latest discovery, ...

Bette Midler: Bette Midler (Atlantic)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 19 January 1974

THE STATEMENT of Bette Midler's stardom has been pushed so far down our throats now that it's become a truism, yet Bette Midler, her second ...

Genesis: Masked Idol

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 January 1974

PETER GABRIEL, man of a thouand faces, is now also a man of several voices. One at least swoops upwards into the stratosphere, gibbers madly, ...

Phil Ochs: Home Thoughts Of Phil Ochs

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 January 1974

ALTHOUGH I'M typing this in Greenwich Village, New York City, this story really begins 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles. ...

Liza Minnelli: Winter Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 January 1974

Sweet Liza ...

Rick Wakeman: Sentimental Journey

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 January 1974

After two years' work, RICK WAKEMAN'S Journey to the Centre of the Earth will be premiered in London tomorrow (Friday). Rick talks to CHRIS WELCH ...

The Band, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: Planet Waves (Island)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

ANY NEW Bob Dylan album induces a somewhat unnerving emotional response in the reviewer, but the very latest record from Dylan, to be released here ...

Electric Light Orchestra, The Moody Blues, The Move, Spencer Davis Group, Wizzard: Brum Beat

Overview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

"Liverpool today – Birmingham tomorrow. That's the forecast for the beat business in rock music. Yes, the Brum Beat is all set to take over ...

Genesis: Drury Lane Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

GENESIS'S WEEK at London's Drury Lane Theatre, proved that rock and theatre can mix and have a validity outside of mere exhibitionism. The band arc ...

Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman: Gregg Allman

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

GREGG ALLMAN picked up an old Gibson acoustic guitar and allowed his nimble fingers to slide over the six new strings. He tuned it and ...

Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark (Asylum)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

OF ALL THE female writers and singers post-dating Joan Baez in pop music, Joni Mitchell seems to me to have arrived at the most complete ...

Marc Bolan: Bolan's Back!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

MARC BOLAN is a star. Still. However much heavy water has passed under the bridge of rock and roll sighs, Mr B. commands respect. And ...

Michael Nesmith: Mike Nesmith: Monkee in the Countryside

Profile and Interview by John Tobler, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

Do me the gracious favour of not pointing me out as the most talented Monkee ...

Rick Wakeman: Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

SHEER ENTERTAINMENT, that was Rick Wakeman's highly successful solo concert at London's Festival Hall on Friday last week. Rick, the keyboard whizz of Yes, brought ...

T. Rex: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

MARC BOLAN returned to the British stage on Monday night and it was as if he had never been away. There were the fans, mostly ...

Tim Hardin: The Legend of Tim Hardin

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

A CHUNKY, muscular figure. Penetrating eyes. Wispy black hair ever so slightly receding. What the hell is a legend supposed to look like anyway? "The ...

Bachman Turner Overdrive

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, February 1974

AMERICANS tend to pronounce the word "boogie" with one "u" and a couple of "g's". It comes out sounding "buggie" and it's heard a lot ...

The Staple Singers, Pops Staples: MM Staple Singers special: Top of the Pops!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

THE STAPLE SINGERS, who gave one charging show in London on Friday, are one of America's most justly famed gospel groups. They have come a ...

John McLaughlin, Mahavishnu Orchestra: John McLaughlin: It Was Natural Evolution

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

NEW YORK: Although John McLaughlin's decision to disband the Mahavishnu Orchestra came as a surprise in the closing weeks of 1973, further reflections point to ...

Billy Cobham, Mahavishnu Orchestra: Mahavishnu Orchestra: Cobham — it ended in total fiasco

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

LONDON: Love, peace and perfection are difficult enough to attain in society, let alone in music. ...

Mud, Glorious Mud

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

"HYPE, BILGE, lies, rubbish!" These are the epithets often hurled when a band appears on Top Of The Pops weekly, and soars chartward with a ...

Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie: Southern Rock: Under The Sign Of Capricorn

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

DOWN ON COTTON Avenue in Macon, Georgia, lie the offices of Capricorn Records, slotted between a funeral parlour and a beauty salon that's anything but ...

The Staple Singers: From Gospel to Protest

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

IT'S A LONG, long way in space and time, from Drew, Mississippi to the 23rd Floor of the London Hilton. Fourteen years of singing and ...

The Band, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan & The Band: Knocking On Heaven's Door

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

THEY CHEERED and clapped and waved for fifteen minutes even though the house lights were up and 'Greensleeves' was playing through the PA system and ...

Bruce Springsteen: Springsteen Turns On The Heat…

Profile by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

HE STANDS there looking like a cross between Elvis Presley and a reject from Sha Na Na with faint Dylanesque overtones and a battered Fender ...

Humble Pie, Peter Frampton: Dee Anthony: Dee Works!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

From doing impersonations of Al Jolson for 20 bucks a night to managing Humble Pie – that's the story of Dee Anthony. He talks to ...

Electric Light Orchestra, The Idle Race: Electric Light Orchestra: Light And Bitter

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY, FRIDAY: The film man wants to know the running order of the show tonight. ...

Harry Chapin: Short Stories (Elektra)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 February 1974

BY NOW IT should be deemed a case of criminal neglect that Harry Chapin's 'W.O.L.D.' is not in the top ten or even higher, because ...

Allman Brothers Band: Leavell Headed Allman

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

PIANIST CHUCK Leavell is the least heralded member of the Allman Brothers Band, a musician first and a talker second. ...

Blue Oyster Cult: Cult Heroes

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

NEW YORK: They say that heavy rock is on the decline and it's become fashionable to put down bands whose music is based on a ...

David Ackles: Just A Handful Of Songs

Interview by John Tobler, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

DAVID ACKLES has got a great house in Pacific Palisades, a few miles west of Los Angeles, and thereby close to the ocean, although the ...

Maggie Bell: Queen of the Night

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

MAGGIE BELL'S first solo album is with us at last. It's been a lengthy wait and there have been countless rumours concerning who would be ...

Maggie Bell: Ding Dong Bell!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

MUCH LOVED Maggie is back in action, and ringing changes in her career that will reverberate around rock. Miss Bell has been quiet in the ...

Osibisa Reborn

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

HAPPY CHILDREN – maybe. Realistic and dedicated musicians – certainly. For beneath the jolly image of Osibisa, there beat sensitive hearts. ...

Slade: Ambassador Theater, St. Louis, MO

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

ST LOUIS: The wide Missouri River flowed beneath the hotel window and a few paddle steamers, now tourist traps or floating restaurants, were securely tied ...

Status Quo: Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles

Live Review by Harold Bronson, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

LOS ANGELES – Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Rory Gallagher, and Manfred Mann's Earthband all graced the Whisky opening night to welcome Status Quo's second Los ...

Yes: Yes Please!

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 February 1974

AS YES PLAY one of the most prestigious concerts in their career, at Madison Square Garden, New York, this week both their British and American ...

Black Oak Arkansas

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

Black Oak Arkansas are UK bound and MM's man in America, Chris Charlesworth, warns: watch out for the sexiest thing since Jim Morrison ...

Black Sabbath: Sabbra Cadabra!

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

THE GRINDING riff sears through the eardrums, ripping the senses and dulling with monotony. It crashes through the PA system, hurtling itself towards the back ...

Electric Light Orchestra: E.L.O.: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

AS A ROCK band the Electric Light Orchestra are successful enough. They have built a solid following, play value-for-money concerts, and get hit records. What ...

Elliott Murphy, New York Dolls: New York Dolls, Elliott Murphy: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

NEW YORK: A noticeable aspect of the current rock scene here is the number of artists who are very directly influenced by musicians of the ...

Stephen Stills: Carnegie Hall, New York City

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 February 1974

NEW YORK: There's really no substitute for experience in rock music and there are few musicians around with as much experience as Steve Stills who ...

Al Kooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd: Al Kooper: Sweetheart Of The South

Interview by John Tobler, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974

AL KOOPER is presumably in accord with Bob Dylan more often than not, as his playing on some the latter's best albums, like Blonde On ...

Brownsville Station: Smokin' Out America's Slade

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974

FIRST PLACE the tip of the digit finger on the first fret of the third string, then place the second finger on the second fret ...

Manu Dibango: Manu: Breaking Out of Africa

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974

Manu Dibango, No. 1 in Africa, has finally broken through in America. Robert Partridge met him in Paris... ...

New York Dolls: Standing in the Shadow of Rock: Shadow Morton, Pt. 1

Interview by Lenny Kaye, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974

"I don’t consider myself a good producer. I’m one of the best." Shadow Morton, producer of the New York Dolls, talks to Lenny Kaye. ...

Yes: America roars YES!

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 March 1974

Rick Wakeman said it: the MM's Yes concert at Madison Square Garden was the best yet. ...

Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, Roy Wood, The Small Faces, Wizzard: Don Arden: The Hit Man

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

He's been called the Al Capone of pop, and the reputation's, shall we say, a little heavy. A nervous Robert Partridge talks to Don Arden... ...

Ducks Deluxe: Ducks Deluxe (RCA)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

AT LAST the pub rock bands are getting onto record, after months of being scrutinised by A&R men, publicists and journalists. Was it all worth ...

Elvis Presley: Revolt Into Style

Essay by Michael Gray, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

ELVIS PRESLEY. The giant among giants, and yet also that strange kind of comic-book hero, Mr Reverso Man. ...

Lou Reed: Man Of Few Words

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

UP ON THE 37th floor of a Park Avenue office block which faces north and thus commands an extensive view of New York's Central Park ...

T. Rex: Marc Bolan & T. Rex: Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow: A Creamed Cage In August (EMI)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Bolan's teenage dream ...

Mick Ronson: Slaughter on 10th Avenue (RCA)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Ronson: drama and romance ...

Roy Orbison: 1960's Man Of Integrity

Profile by Michael Gray, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

ROY ORBISON seems fated to be Mr. 1960. That's when he began a cascade of hit singles. That's when he became a star in Britain. ...

Steeleye Span: Now We Are Six (Chrysalis)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Span: Six of the best ...

Sandy Denny, The Strawbs: Strawbs featuring Sandy Denny: All Our Own Work (Hallmark)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

GET THE duster out, mother. Clear those cobwebs away, here's one from the archives. The Strawbs and Sandy Denny together recorded in 1968. The first ...

Janis Ian, New York Dolls, The Shangri-Las, Vanilla Fudge: You Can't Make Heroes Out Of Guys In Black Leather Jackets, They Told George 'Shadow' Morton. He Did...

Interview by Lenny Kaye, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Part two of the Shadow Morton story by Lenny Kaye ...

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Hook, Line And Sinker

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 March 1974

"HEY MAN, that was really great. They really hated us out there. There was a guy at the front who kept shouting 'you suck' all ...

Humble Pie: Thunderbox

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 March 1974

STEVE MARRIOTT – hair flying, jaw set at an aggressive angle, knees akimbo and arms flailing over his jutting guitar – is one of the ...

Rick Derringer The Real McCoy

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 March 1974

From 'Hang On Sloopy' to the Winter Brothers – and now Rick Derringer's got a hit US single and album ...

Alan Price: Price Cuts

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 March 1974

IN A ROCK world where folk tend to babble nonsense at the drop of a hat, blither platitudes, and indulge in half-baked philosophising, it is ...

Alice Cooper: Fangs Ain't What They Used To Be

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 23 March 1974

AT THE END of the second evening of this three-day trip to London, after a grueling schedule of interviews for the press radio and TV, ...

Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page: The Power And The Glory

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 March 1974

WHEN THEY showed Antonioni's classic film of the 'sixties, Blow Up, on TV last week, apart from evoking the real or imaginary spirit of "Swinging ...

Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic (Probe)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 March 1974

Steely Dan do it again ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Blue Eyed Soul

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974

BOBBY "BLUE" Bland is on stage now, smiling at Mel Jackson as he takes the microphone from him and swings into 'Reconsider Baby'. Then a ...

Cockney Rebel: Harley Street

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974

"OH LORD please don't let me be misunderstood" was the classic line Eric Burdon sang with the Animals. It could almost have been written for ...

Focus: Changing Focus

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974

FOCUS HAVE been through some changes in recent months, and happily for fans of this Dutch band with an international reputation for fine music – ...

Ella Fitzgerald: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

'THERE'LL NEVER Be Another A You' sang the star and a ripple of appreciation warmed to her. By the end of her set, the ripple ...

Queen: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

FREDDIE MERCURY glares thunderously from beneath the beam of the spotlight. Anger and hostility ooze from his mouth. He pumps his right fist vigorously skywards ...

Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

Night of Wonder ...

Cliff Richard: Palladium, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

WELL, WADDYA know? Ol' Cliff's getting a bit nostalgic in his little-corner of comfy respectability. Surrounded by glam girls kicking their legs up, a massive ...

Jefferson Starship: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

Jefferson Starship in orbit ...

Loggins & Messina: Sailing On

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

DESPITE substantial success in the United States, Loggins and Messina have remained an unknown quantity in the U.K. ...

Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

Nostalgic Nelson ...

Rick Wakeman: Journey To The Centre Of The Earth

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

IN CLASSICAL music terms, this composition might be described as "lightweight" or of "little consequence." But as far as popular music is concerned, Rick's composition ...

Rick Wakeman, Yes: Rick Wakeman: British Groups Have Gone Over The Top

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

The American tour was the last of the long ones ...

Sparks: Bright Sparks

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

IT HAD TO BE said. The gentleman with the black, slicked-back hair, Charlie Chaplin moustache and thoroughly English cricket pullover, in no manner resembled a ...

Steely Dan: Steely Logic

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

ALTHOUGH IT'S quite incidental to the story that follows, let's begin by explaining the meaning of the term Steely Dan. It has nothing to do ...

The Pointer Sisters: That's A Plenty (Blue Thumb)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

Pointers victory! ...

Terry Melcher: Confessions of a Byrd Watcher

Profile and Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 20 April 1974

...or a day in the lives of Terry Melcher, by Jacoba Atlas in LA ...

Eric Clapton at the China Garden

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 April 1974

A TURN UP for the books, and as it transpired, a turn up for the stomachs, when Eric Clapton announced his return to active service ...

Gregg Allman: Carnegie Hall, New York City

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 April 1974

GREGG ALLMAN, the usually shy keyboards wizard, emerges into the limelight at last. Chris Charlesworth was there... ...

Joni Mitchell, Tom Scott & the L.A. Express: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 27 April 1974

THE divine Miss M ...

Mud Slinging

Report and Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 27 April 1974

Mud. They’re a pure pop band, no pretentions, but a lot of fun. Caroline Coon goes on the road with the boys who bridge the ...

Todd Rundgren: Odd Todd

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 April 1974

TODD RUNDGREN loped into Bearsville's offices on East 55th Street the other day with a South American raccoon on one arm and a lady dressed ...

Yes, 5,000 Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 April 1974

"I HEAR we're playing the next gig in My-Rand," said Rick Wakeman, leaning heavily on the bar in the George Cinque Hotel. ...

Andy Williams: Ol' Treacle Voice Is Back

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

Darling of the soap-opera set, Goliath of the balladeer belt, Andy Williams is so very glad to be back in this wonderful country. Caroline Coon ...

Frank Zappa: Apostrophe(') (Discreet)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

Zappa's touch of genius ...

Grand Funk Railroad: Funk On A Grand Scale

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

RINGING EARS are a symptom of excessive listening to loud rock and roll. When the ears tingle after a gig, you know the band in ...

Roger McGuinn: Roger And Out

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

"JEEZ, I HOPE the sound guy is straight tonight." said Al. "The guy who did it last night didn't have a clue. Might wind up ...

Joni Mitchell, Tom Scott: Tom Scott: Great Scott!

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

Michael Watts talks to the men who put jazz into Joni. ...

Waylon Jennings: Honky Tonk Heroes (RCA)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 4 May 1974

INTEREST IN country musicians is currently running high with Charlie Rich in the charts and a whole spate of country albums being released as a ...

Charlie Rich: Rich at Heart

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 May 1974

DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida: You wouldn't catch the Rolling Stones gigging here, or anyone else who's even remotely associated with an anti-establishment following for that ...

David Bowie: Diamond Dogs

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 May 1974

A NEW album release by David Bowie is today looked on with as much awe as a release by the Beatles in the sixties. Later ...

Harry Chapin: Short Stories of Harry Chapin

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 May 1974

SHORT STORIES is the most apt title for Harry Chapin's new album, for Chapin is not so much a singer as a storyteller, an artist ...

10cc: Sheet Music (UK)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

10cc's Music of genius ...

Graham Bond: Pioneer and catalyst

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Chris Welch pays tribute to Graham Bond, who died last week ...

Pete Townshend, The Who: Pete Townshend: March Of The Mod

Profile by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

IT MAY WELL have been pure chance that produced the most visually exciting guitarist in rock. If Peter Townshend hadn't been born with a big ...

Captain Beefheart, Fats Domino, Harry Nilsson, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Tiny Tim, Andy Williams: Richard Perry: It's not difficult to record both Captain Beefheart and Andy Williams

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Producer Richard Perry talks to Robert Partridge ...

Roxy Music: We're Not Killing Ourselves In America

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

BRYAN FERRY was exhausted. Utterly. Not much lounging for the lounge lizard this week. All go. Up at dawn to another city. Another round of ...

Sparks: Kimono My House (Island)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Flying Sparks ...

David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Lou Reed, Mick Ronson: Tony DeFries: Bowie's MainMan

Profile by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Tony DeFries is Mr Big of today's rock —the 70s' Col. Parker. He deals in STARS, the most glittering of whom is David Bowie. He ...

Steely Dan: Get Dan And Get With It!

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 May 1974

Steely Dan: Palace Theatre, Manchester ...

Steely Dan: Band Breakdown: Steely Dan

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 June 1974

STEELY DAN, in their short time together, have been hailed as one of the best bands to emerge from America in a long time. They ...

Duke Ellington: Jazz's First Great Virtuoso

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 June 1974

OFTEN, DURING my years of writing on the MM, I have used a phrase such as "there'll always be an Ellington" or "there's always been an ...

Loudon Wainwright III: Loudon Alone

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 1 June 1974

THE PR MAN in the coffee lounge of the Hotel Russell was anxious about the Loudon Wainwright's appearance. "Is he cleanshaven or bearded." he wanted ...

Maria Muldaur: Sense and Sensuality

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 1 June 1974

MARIA MULDAUR sings of the joy of being a woman — and it's propelled her album into the charts. JACOBA ATLAS reports from Los Angeles. ...

Ronnie Lane's Circus Comes To Town

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 June 1974

"CHAOS!" said Ronnie Lane, crinkling his expressive face into a smile against the sunshine raining on his caravan. "Courage," I thought, gazing at the Big ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: Super Sly

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 June 1974

HE EXTENDED A HAND but looked elsewhere. Who could tell where his eyes focused beneath those silver shades? He gripped and I felt pain through ...

Steve Winwood, Traffic: Stevie Winwood: Sixties Soul Survivor

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 June 1974

"STEVE'S only 25 you know. When people criticise him and say he's not as good as he used to be in the old days, they ...

Brian Wilson: From Surf To Symphony

Profile by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

BRIAN WILSON was 19 years old when, in 1961, the Beach Boys committed his first song, 'Surfin'', to tape. ...

Joe Cocker: Cocker Dies a Death

Report by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

LOS ANGELES — There ought to be some delicate way of putting this, but there really isn't. Joe Cocker opened and closed at the Roxy ...

Elton John: Caribou

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

IS IT AS GOOD as Yellow Brick Road? That will be the cry, where 'ere Elton John fans congregate and exchange notes. ...

Randy Newman: 'I'd Like to Have a Hit'

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

Randy Newman may have an image problem — but he's got an impeccable track record. America's great songwriter talks to Robert Partridge ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Weds on Stage

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

THE EVER-unpredictable Sly Stone married the mother of his nine-month-old son in front of 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday evening. ...

Boz Scaggs: Boz Of The Blues

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 22 June 1974

WE'RE just talking, comparing favourite singers, when Boz Scaggs happens to mention Bobby "Blue" Bland. ...

David Bowie: Birth Of The New Rock Theatre

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 June 1974

A FEW THOUSAND lucky Canadians witnessed a completely new concept in rock theatre last weekend when David Bowie opened his North American tour in Montreal ...

Maggie Bell, Led Zeppelin: Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 22 June 1974

With a background in wrestling, it's not surprising that Peter Grant is cast as a heavy. And as manager of Led Zep, the legend has ...

The Who: 'The Least I Could Do Was Smash a Guitar'

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 June 1974

Chris Charlesworth reviews the Who's return to New York — and talks to Pete Townshend ...

Eric Clapton: Danish Blues Power: Eric Clapton

Review and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 June 1974

"WE WANT Buddy Holly!... I AM Buddy Holly!" ...

Rick Wakeman, Yes: Rick Wakeman: Quitting Was An Obvious Move

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 June 1974

A SQUEAL of tyres, a cloud of dust and Rick Wakeman and wife Ros, drew to a halt outside the "Valiant Trooper," an excellent boozer, ...

Rick Wakeman, Yes: Rick Wakeman: Why I Said No To Yes

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 June 1974

RICK WAKEMAN has a grand design afoot that could result in one of the most extraordinary, epic concerts in ye history of popular music. ...

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Buffy St Marie: Buffy Breaks Away

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 July 1974

"HI, IT'S Buffy St. Marie here. How are you?" The call came through some 48 hours after it was expected, rousing this writer from a ...

Frank Zappa: Outrage And Invention

Profile by Michael Gray, Melody Maker, 6 July 1974

FRANK ZAPPA is the only West Coast musician who emerged in the 1960s without giving free promotion to the California Tourist Board. ...

The Heavy Metal Kids: Heavy Metal Kids: Kid's Stuff

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 July 1974

JUST HOW heavy are the Heavy Metal Kids? They peer at us from advertisements clad in top hats, patched jeans, braces, big boots and flat ...

Another Pretty Face, The Brats, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, The Fast, The Harlots of 42nd St., The Miamis, The Stilettos, Teenage Lust & the Lustettes, Television: New York City Rock: Tacky!

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 July 1974

— that's how the Americans describe those freaky New York bands like Wayne County and Teenage Lust. Chris Charlesworth, guided by photographer Bob Gruen, takes ...

The Band, Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton: A Hero Comes To Town

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 July 1974

PITTSBURGH, PA. – The tint on the TV screen gave the newscaster a peculiarly reddish face, almost as if he was genuinely quite excited about ...

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap: Gary Puckett: How We Split The Gap

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 July 1974

"YEAH I GUESS you could say I was kinda surprised when I got the news. But the funny thing is that I kinda predicted it ...

George McCrae's Last Chance – A Smash

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 July 1974

STRANGE how chance plays its part in the record business. If George McCrae hadn't decided to have one last try at making a hit record ...

Olivia Newton-John, Suzi Quatro: Suzi Quatro & Olivia Newton-John: Dolly Mixture

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 20 July 1974

'What's ladylike?' asks Suzi Quatro. Olivia Newton-John should know – she was amazed in America when the audience ignored that she was wearing jeans on ...

Brian Auger: Straight Ahead Again

Interview by Michael Gray, Melody Maker, 27 July 1974

BRIAN AUGER has been stomping round the commercial radio stations as part of his duty in promoting his latest album Straight Ahead by the Brian ...

Edgar Winter: Great White Wonder

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 July 1974

EDGAR WINTER shoots pool pretty good considering he's as blind as a bat. The green ball gives him trouble because that's the same colour as ...

Emerson Lake and Palmer: England's Robbing Us!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 July 1974

WHEN THE alarm bells ring at "Whyte Eagles," it's not a warning of imminent fire or pestilence, just a reminder to Carl Palmer to turn ...

John Cale: Caged Heat

Profile and Interview by Mick Gold, Melody Maker, 27 July 1974

JOHN CALE is sitting in a preview theatre, cowering in the shadow of the London Hilton to see a screening of this movie hes scored ...

Georgie Fame: Fanning the Flames

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 August 1974

TEN YEARS HAVE elapsed since Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames pioneered a brand of funky jazz in the sweating cellars of Soho and fought ...

Emerson Lake And Palmer: Greg Lake: Rock Will Go Back To Its Roots

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 August 1974

GREG LAKE'S London home is a rare and impressive sight. A light glows outside a town house in a quiet street that takes you back ...

Johnnie Ray: The Nabob of Sob

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 3 August 1974

Long before Beatlemania hit Britain, JOHNNIE RAY was the idol of the screamers and fainters. His highly emotional stage act included breaking down in tears ...

Bad Company

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 August 1974

Bad Company's formation has been a shot in the arm for Paul Rodgers – and he's raving over the band's tour of the States as ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Love The One You're With!

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 August 1974

MILE HIGH STADIUM, as the name implies, is 1,760 yards high. That's a mile above sea level, but even so it sits at the foot ...

The Rolling Stones: Rolling Stones: Jagger – It's Time For A Change

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 August 1974

"SORRY I'm late." "It's all right Mick." "No – it's not all right." ...

The Jackson 5: Madison Square Garden, NYC

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 August 1974

NEW YORK: There's something about Michael Jackson that is almost frightening to behold. How can it be possible for a kid that age to be ...

Johnny Mercer: Hey, Mr Tangerine Man!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1974

The name should be familiar — lyricist Johnny Mercer has written hundreds of hits — 'Moon River', 'Black Magic', 'Fools Rush In' among them. He ...

Yes: I'm Not Jumping Into Wakeman's Boots…It Will Be Different

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 August 1974

"THE TEXTURES are so rich...and they work so fast..." Patrick Moraz slipped a sidelong glance across the top of an amphitheatre of keyboards, a mixture ...

Mike Oldfield: High On The Ridge

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 24 August 1974

Toy gliders, house-hunting and a jam with a harpsichordist in a restaurant. It's all happening on the Welsh Marches where Karl Dallas meets Mike Oldfield. ...

Rod Stewart: I Dream Of A Solo Concert

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 31 August 1974

"ANYTHING I say is not meant to be a blot on anyone's character...or trousers." ...

Flo & Eddie's Mock Turtles

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 September 1974

From the Turtles via the Mothers and T. Rex to their own radio show. Chris Charlesworth meets Flo and Eddie in New York ...

Led Zeppelin: INSIDE PAGE — Exclusive! Zeppelin star opens up to Michael Watts

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 September 1974

Jimmy Page is working hard on a new Zeppelin album and a film of the band shot mostly in the States. But he takes time ...

New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: Broken Dolls

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 September 1974

NEW YORK: The many critics of the New York Dolls will doubtless be pleased to hear that their fortunes recently have spiralled downwards. Unless a ...

KC & the Sunshine Band: KC & Sunshine Band: Let The Sunshine In

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 September 1974

ALTHOUGH it has yet to register in the US Top 100, 'Queen Of Clubs' by K. C. and the Sunshine Band represents the second big ...

Loudon Wainwright III: Loudon Wainwright: I Like To Be Laughed At

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 September 1974

...which is as good a reason as any for Loudon Wainwright to play a role in the weekly comedy TV series, Mash. He spoke to ...

Atlantic Crossing

Overview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

In his latest examination of a major record company, Robert Partridge visits Atlantic — the company that moved from R&B and Otis to rock and ...

Bad Company's Rodgers: No Compromises

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

"MOOOOOVIN' ONNNN." Paul Rodgers stabs forward towards the microphone to deliver the lines pirouetting as he reaches the front of the stage and grabbing the ...

Black Oak Arkansas, Medicine Head: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

Pure hokum — but damn fine! ...

Black Oak Arkansas: "I don't need no thirty tons of drums to play heavy..."

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

Tommy Aldridge, drummer with Black Oak Arkansas, talks to Karl Dallas ...

Hawkwind: How Hawkwind fell foul of the revenue men

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

Chris Charlesworth, exclusively covering Hawkwind's American tour for MM, reports on a major setback for the sonic assassins ...

Leonard Cohen: New Skin For The Old Ceremony (CBS)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

LEONARD COHEN is an artist who worries a great many people. Dismissed on the one hand as pretentious, on the other as a plain old ...

Little Feat: Feat of Strength

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

IT WOULD be difficult to count the number of musicians who have eulogised about Little Feat over the past year. This little known band from ...

Mike Oldfield: I Can't Stand People Who Play Things Blandly...

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

MIKE OLDFIELD and David Bedford looked worried as they started morosely into their glasses of orange juice. It was a measure of their anxiety that, ...

Sparks: Russell — I Hate Kids And Animals!

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

"HI", SAID dapper Ron Mael, rummaging in his shoulder bag. "Here — a present we brought back from Hamburg. It's a marzipan ham." ...

Lindisfarne, Traffic: Traffic, Lindisfarne: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

Terrible Traffic ...

Mabel Greer's Toyshop, The Syn, Yes: Yes: Quick Draw Chris

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 September 1974

CHRIS SQUIRE is like one of those old time marshals who casually patrol the toughest towns in the West. He's ten feet tall, slow movin', ...

Alvin Stardust: Devil in Disguise

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 5 October 1974

Alvin Stardust hasn't looked back since he returned to the charts a year ago. But as Caroline Coon finds out, his 'untouchable' image isn't the ...

Luther Grosvenor aka Ariel Bender: Ariel Bender: Hot Ariel

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 October 1974

Chris Welch meets ex-Mott guitarist Ariel Bender, now going solo ...

Robert Fripp, King Crimson: Robert Fripp: Why I Killed the King

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 5 October 1974

KING CRIMSON finally abdicated last week. But the end came with a whimper, an official statement merely commented that the band had "ceased to exist". ...

David Essex, Adam Faith: Stardust (Dir. Michael Apted)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974

Stardust: the heavy side of pop ...

Alice Cooper: Tee With Alice

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974

Chris Charlesworth has a round – of golf, that is – with Alice Cooper in New York and finds the ghoul of rock is a ...

Bruce Springsteen: Avery Fisher Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974

Hail to the new genius! ...

Herbie Hancock, Minnie Riperton: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 12 October 1974

Coarse Hancock ...

Peter Frampton: Rock Victim

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

THE MAN once dubbed the "Face Of '68" sat in the cafe, quietly reflecting on his home country. He was once the most screamed at ...

The Bay City Rollers: Rollin' with the Rollers

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

HELLO AND welcome to the BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush. There's a lot of excitement... and chaos... here today, as always when they're making ...

Slade: Your Public Is Your Judge

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 October 1974

THEY CAME out of Wolverhampton. Failed skinheads who became the loudest, most aggressive stomping band in the land. A year ago nobody questioned it – ...

Bad Company: Kings Of The Castle!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 26 October 1974

CLEARWELL CASTLE, Gloucestershire, Thursday – Mick Ralphs, clad in blue jeans, tee-shirts with Texas written on the front and dirty white fur-lined coat, hovers around ...

Genesis: The New Face Of Gabriel

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 October 1974

Don't lose hope, Genesis fans! Their tour may be cancelled, but there's a new album on the way. And the new-look Peter Gabriel has given ...

Steeleye Span: How a Goon Came To Play Ukelele

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 October 1974

IT WAS like the coming of a new Messiah. Everyone sat around nervously awaiting the arrival of HIM, the man who was gonna make this ...

Deep Purple: Stormbringer (Purple Records)

Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 November 1974

'Stormbringer'; 'Love Don't Mean A Thing'; 'Holy Man'; 'Hold On'; 'Lady Double Dealer'; 'You Can't Do It Right'; 'High Ball Shooter'; 'The Gypsy'; 'Soldiers of ...

Deep Purple: Angry Young Man

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 November 1974

THE FORTUNES of Deep Purple have taken strange paths over the past 12 months. But changes in line-up and strange stories about their antics in ...

Jan & Dean Ride The Wild Surf

Retrospective by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 November 1974

ABOUT ONE year ago this week Dick Clark, in his infinite wisdom, decided to host a ten year anniversary edition of his TV rock show ...

Sparks: Hometown Heroes At Last

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 2 November 1974

IT WAS a typical day in Los Angeles, hot and smoggy. 18-year-old Jeff exclaimed with glee clutching his autographed Sparks album, "They went to my ...

Labelle: Dinner and cards with Reggie

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

"I REMEMBER the time," says Sarah, "when we toured in England and Bluesology backed us. And Patti used to play cards with Reggie — Elton ...

Pink Floyd: A Galactic Voyage

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

"WELL, we are here and you are here so let's get started," announced a slightly apprehensive but essentially laid back Roger Waters from the stage ...

Pink Floyd: Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

"WELL, WE ARE here and you are here so let's get started," announced a slightly apprehensive but essentially laid back Roger Waters from the stage ...

Queen: A Seventies Bombshell

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

"PEOPLE THINK I'm an ogre at times. Some girls hissed at me in the street...'You devil.' They think we're really nasty. But that's only on ...

Stevie Wonder: Further Fulfillingness

Interview by Wayne Robins, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

STEVIE WONDER had to know: should he, could he, release part two of Fulfillingness' First Finale at the end of November? ...

The Bay City Rollers: Kings Of Pop!

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

IN THE same week that Muhammad Ali regained his heavyweight boxing title, the featherweight crown of pop, too, has changed hands. ...

Alvin Lee & Co: In Flight (Chrysalis)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 November 1974

CLAP YO' hands and stomp those feet, here's some funky music, you can't beat. ...

Greenslade: Greenslade Warming Up

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 November 1974

THERE'S DEVIL'S work afoot in the world of rock (and indeed roll). Wot wiv the price of petrol and motorway chips it's a wonder there ...

Jethro Tull: Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 November 1974

RISE SIR Ian of Flute, for thou hast indeed redeemed thyself. The critics have had their way, the Passion Play has been forgotten and Jethro ...

Pink Floyd: All Wright Now!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 November 1974

IN THE current era, when groups and artists come and go with alarming regularity, the continuing success of the Pink Floyd is a peculiar state ...

Dana Gillespie: Big Girls Don’t Cry…

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974

Dana Gillespie talks to Caroline Coon ...

Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Charisma)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974

I WISH that rock musicians would learn the importance of self-editing. A few golden, miraculous notes, and some choice pithy words are worth all the ...

Baker-Gurvitz Army, Ginger Baker: Ginger Baker: Ginger Recruits An Army

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974

...and they're going into battle shortly with a new album and tour. Ginger Baker, ace drummer and member of the Lagos Polo Club, explains his ...

The Faces: Lewisham Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974

"NOW THIS is serious," said the dazzling figure of Rod Stewart, calling for order. "Me brother and sister are here and I'd like you to ...

The Miracles: Miracles Never Cease…

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 23 November 1974

LOS ANGELES: "I really loved touring with the English groups, back in 1963 and 1964. We used to tour with the Rolling Stones and people ...

Argent Delivery

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 November 1974

ROD ARGENT is a nice chap. Not one of your violent illiterates of rock prone to throwing pints of Guinness over the heads of passers-by, ...

Bruce Springsteen: Lone Star

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 30 November 1974

He laughed when critics called him "the new Dylan". But he stuck to his guns and he's now playing to ecstatic audiences. MICHAEL WATTS in ...

Marc Bolan

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 November 1974

A MYSTERIOIUS lack of bubble seems to be affecting Master Marc Bolan's latest offering, the Zip Gun Boogie, as it is known to those who ...

Johnny Mathis: Mathis: Wearing Sinatra's crown

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 30 November 1974

BACK IN the fifties, before some of today's most fervent rockers were talking, Johnny Mathis was making million-selling hits. He was, in fact, an institution. ...

Ace: Five Aside (Anchor)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

Tex Comer (bass guitar), Fran Byrne (drums). Bam King (rhythm guitar), Phil Harris (lead guitar), Paul Carrack (organ, piano). Producer John Anthony. ...

Bad Company: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

BAD COMPANY were big before they were born. Any band that included Paul Rodgers in its ranks and a bassist with the talents of Boz ...

Billy Swan: Swan Song

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

When Billy Swan cut a solo single, things started to happen — and they kept on happening until he reached the American No 1 spot... ...

Graham Central Station, The Isley Brothers: Isley Brothers, Graham Central Station: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

NEW YORK: Graham Central Station kicked off the show at the Felt Forum last Sunday with their brand of Sly funk They aren't really like ...

The Temptations: Uris Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

NEW YORK: The Temptations at The Uris on Broadway should have been an event — but instead it was a backwards step, just like going ...

Darren Burn, The James Boys, Simon Fisher Turner, Michael Ward, Ricky Wilde, Lena Zavaroni: Whatever Happened To Puppy Love?

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

REMEMBER HOW it was last year? Heathrow Airport swamped by thousands of fans welcoming the Osmonds flying in for a tour of Britain? Hordes of ...

Yes: Relayer (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

Chris Squire (bass guitar), Jon Anderson (vocals), Patrick Moraz (keyboards), Steve Howe (guitar), Alan White (drums), Produced by Yes and Eddie Offord. Recorded on Eddie ...

Nosmo King: Disco Demand: Smashes — by demand

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

MM looks at a new label that's notching up an impressive track record ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

LOS ANGELES: Playing their largest venue in Southern California, the Electric Light Orchestra thrilled a packed Shrine auditorium with its own brand of rock and ...

Eric Clapton: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

Clapton duels with Wood ...

George McCrae: Soul Lib

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

"I TELL YOU... England is the most exciting and beautiful country I have ever seen," says George McCrae, now two and a half weeks into ...

Gregg Allman: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

Greg — mining the blues ...

Harry Chapin: Avery Fisher Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

NEW YORK: The trouble with Harry is that he's such a goddam regular guy. The way he handles himself onstage, for instance. Like a scoutmaster, ...

Stevie Wonder: Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

Stevie Wonder: painting in rock ...

Queen: Freddie Mercury: Queen Bee

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 21 December 1974

THERE'S NOTHING like a dearth of hero-stars to make a media industry writhe with despondency. Film moguls, unable to find successors to Monroe and Gable, ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 December 1974

I DOUBT very much whether Lynyrd Skynyrd, those Southern rock and rollers who take the stage to the strains of a tape of 'Dixie', could ...

The Beach Boys: Stepping Out Of The Surf

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 December 1974

LOS ANGELES; "Last week in Vancouver we sold out the Canadian National Exhibition Hall twice. We had 17,500 for each show and over 5,000 additional ...

The Guess Who: Guess Who's a smash!

Profile and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 28 December 1974

"I WANTED to buy some records, so I went collecting for UNICEF on Halloween and took the money," recalls the 26-year-old lead singer for the ...

Rory Gallagher: Play For Today, Tomorrow You Die

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1975

Rory rocks back to a supersonic reception in California. Harry Doherty is there... ...

Elton John: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1975

MAYBE IT WAS the pre-Christmas spirit or the entire packet of chocolate I had just consumed, but a lump rase in my throat during the ...

Lynsey De Paul: Pop’s Leading Lady

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 4 January 1975

After only three years in the music business, Lynsey De Paul is already a hit. And she’s not yet reached the peak of her talent. ...

The Faces, Strider: Kilburn State, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 4 January 1975

THE FAILURE of a headlining group to earn the expected encore from its partisan fans must be almost unheard-of these days, but Rod Stewart and ...

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra: Up On The Roof

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1975

MAYBE it's a sign of the times, as the Seventies increasingly take on the atmosphere of gloom and uncertainty that pervaded the late twenties and ...

Baker-Gurvitz Army: Baker-Gurvitz Army (Vertigo)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

WHAT BETTER WAY to start a new year than with an album that truly evokes a sense of occasion and excitement. ...

Doobie Brothers: Doobies — With Added Skunk

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

KALAMAZOO: Over thirty guitars, mostly Gibsons, sit on racks in one dressing room and a wooden packing case in another contains suits of clothing that ...

Elton John: "It's Not All Down To Elton..."

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

...he's just part of a band'. And that's the way Elton John's always wanted it, drummer Nigel Olsson tells CHRIS WELCH, in a rare behind-the-scenes ...

Graham Central Station, Larry Graham, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham: Platform For Station

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

OAKLAND: Few people can ever have listened to a Sly Stone record without experiencing a gut feeling as the bass guitar runs through its paces, ...

Little Feat: Real Dixie Chickens

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

LITTLE FEAT come to Europe with a high reputation to live up to. While the Doobie Brothers headline one of the two nights at each ...

Montrose: Montrose Country

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

LOS ANGELES: For Montrose this is their second visit to the UK having played here as support act on a Status Quo tour earlier this ...

Tower Of Power

Profile by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

BY FAR THE biggest ensemble to be visiting Europe on the Warners tour is Tower of Power, the Oakland based blues and soul outfit whose ...

Leo Sayer: Imperial College, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 January 1975

Sayer passes concert test ...

Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks (CBS)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

DYLAN: Seeking gentler ground Special preview of Blood On The Tracks by MICHAEL WATTS ...

Deep Purple's Tommy Bolin

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

A CURIOUS MARRIAGE of convenience. That is how the link between American lead guitarist Tommy Bolin and British speed rock band Deep Purple might appear ...

Doobie Brothers, Little Feat: Doobie Brothers/Little Feat: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

CURIOUSER and curiouser. There was no denying the deserving nature of the ovation that greeted Little Feat the boogie band that plays more music than ...

The Ohio Players: Ohio Players: Ohio Fire

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

With an album racing up the US charts, the Ohio Players are big timers. CHRIS CHARLESWORTH in New York meets the tour de force behind ...

Allman Brothers Band, Duane Allman, Eddie Cochran, Jim Croce, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Gram Parsons, Jim Reeves, Ritchie Valens: R.I.P. Giants – The Dead Certs

Overview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

How dying can be a good career move. ...

Chris Spedding: Spedding to a Goal

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

LIFE CAN GO speeding by as any rock and roller will tell you. When you are as good a musician as Chris Spedding, there is ...

Suzi Quatro: Your Momma Won't Like It

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 January 1975

...but black leather isn't all there is to Suzi Quatro explains KARL DALLAS ...

David Bowie: Cracked Actor (BBC 1)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 February 1975

I WOULDN'T care to examine the merits and de-merits of David Bowie on the strength of last Sunday's Omnibus programme on him. Titled Cracked Actor ...

The Winkies: Kings Road Theatre, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 1 February 1975

BY FAR THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MOMENTS of The Winkies' concert at the King's Road Theatre, London, on Sunday night came during the performances of two ...

Led Zeppelin: Whole Lotta Zeppelin!

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 February 1975

Chris Charlesworth reports from Chicago ...

Barry Manilow: From a Jingle to a Scream

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

Chris Charlesworth in New York meets Barry Manilow, who made Number One in the States with 'Mandy' — and looks set for a hit in ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

LOS ANGELES: At a time when today's music seems to be suffering from forced theatrics, and a lack of talent disguised in glitter and gold, ...

Maggie Bell: Suicide Sal

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

IT'S CURIOUS that Maggie Bell still hasn't got her name up there in lights. ...

Manhattan Transfer: Cafe Carlyle, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

NEW YORK: While nostalgia for the 'fifties seems to have run its course, nostalgia for the 'thirties has taken a jolt in New York with ...

Led Zeppelin: Robert Plant: Recording's No Race For Us

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

WITH WEEKS of the current Led Zeppelin tour under his belt, Robert Plant is feeling the strain. One show has been cancelled because he caught ...

Stomu Yamashta: 24 Hour Man

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

STOMU YAMASHTA was looking pretty chipper for someone who's been getting just two hours sleep a night for the past month. For a man who ...

Syl Johnson: Johnson — A Rough Gem

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

AFTER HIS first visit to Britain, guitarist-singer-songwriter Syl Johnson returned last weekend to his home, outside Chicago. His final gigs were at Barbarella's in Birmingham ...

Alexis Korner: Why Alexis Won't Join The Stones

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

ALEXIS KORNER laughed, his suntanned face creasing up into laughter lines, his body rocking very gently back and forth. "Oh," he said. "No way." ...

Claire Hamill

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

SHE CAME down to London from fields afar, a cute little northern lass who was gonna be Britain's new first lady of rock. They all ...

Don Covay: Hot Blood

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

DON COVAY'S resurrection as an artist was one of the brightest events of last year. His 'It's Better To Have' made number 21 in the ...

Kiki Dee: Kiki: Got The Music

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

Kiki Dee, sitting in the ritzy bar of the Hotel Metropol in Monte Carlo, is looking thoughtfully at the clinking ice cubes which she is ...

Kiss: Kiss and Tell

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

LOS ANGELES: "We sold out two houses in Detroit at 12,000 each and were the biggest thing to hit the city since the Beatles. People ...

Leo Sayer: One Man Band No Longer

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

WHEN LITTLE Leo Sayer does his Michael Crawford impersonation and becomes disaster prone Frank, protective instincts are aroused, and folk cluster around to prevent him ...

Louis Jordan: A First Class Original

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

MAX JONES pays tribute to a fine blues singer/alto player ...

Marlene Dietrich: Wimbledon Theatre, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

MARLENE DIETRICH: what is there left to say about her, except that the Blue Angel is now bluing a little around the edges? But even ...

The Age of Atlantic: Making Tracks, Charlie Gillett (W.H. Allen)

Book Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

Robert Partridge reviews a major new book about one of America's most important record labels. ...

Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin: The Age of Atlantic: Jerry Wexler

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

Max Jones talks to Jerry Wexler, famed producer of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Maggie Bell, among others — and a vice-chairman of Atlantic ...

Geoff Muldaur: Blues Is The Basis

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

You're probably more familiar with Maria — but Geoff Muldaur has an impressive track record of his own, taking in the legendary Blues Project, the ...

Disco-Tex and his Sex-O-Lettes: How Disco-Tex Got Dancin'

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

"MY FIRST single? Ha... ha... ha... that was about ten years ago. Wes Farrell wrote it in his car on the way to the recording ...

Ewan MacColl: MacColl — a true Critic

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

AS LONG as I can remember, there hasn't been a time when Ewan MacColl hasn't had a major project in the offing, which has influenced ...

Martin Carthy: Shearwater (Mooncrest)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

MORE RE-RELEASING of supposed folk classics from Mooncrest, although this one doesn't have quite the same aura as the others that have emerged from the ...

The Bay City Rollers: No Smoking, no Drinking — no Wonder the Bay City Rollers are... Pictures of Health!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

"I'M SORRY, sir, you can't smoke in here." A matronly figure approached a table, where the MM was partaking of sugar-free fruit cake and unsweetened tea, and ...

The Charlie Daniels Band: The South Rises Again

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

Southern bands like the Allmans, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Wet Willie have smashed their way to the top of American rock. Now add a new name ...

Elton John: Baileys Club, Watford

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

THEY DON'T strike medals for rock stars — do they? A pity, because E. John, singer and songwriter of this parish, deserved some kind of ...

Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger: Ewan MacColl: Acoustic is best!

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Karl Dallas concludes his interview with Ewan MacColl ...

Leonard Cohen: Cohen's New Skin

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

LOS ANGELES: "For a while, I didn't think there was going to be another album. I pretty well felt that I was washed up as ...

Queen: Avery Fisher Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Queen steam to new success ...

David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Donovan, The Goodies, George Harrison, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Kenny, Diana Ross, The Rubettes, Ringo Starr, The Three Degrees: Singles from Elton John, David Bowie et al

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Elton gets lost ...

Average White Band

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

AIN'T IT just like the February sunshine to play tricks with the mind? Here I am, sat aboard the Long Island Railroad Express, rattling out ...

Bruce Springsteen: Westbury Music Fair, Jericho NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

NEW YORK: Bruce Springsteen, an artist whose talent has inspired respected critics to fawn like teenage groupies, took over the revolving stage of the Westbury ...

John Lennon: Rock On!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

It's a busy time for JOHN LENNON – hit singles, a new album of oldies and recording with Elton John and and David Bowie. Plus ...

Keith Moon: Moon Beams

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

LOS ANGELES: In the last six months, he's jammed with Ray Manzarek at the Whiskey, played with John Sebastian at the Troubadour and recently, at ...

Roxy Music: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

NEW YORK: Roxy Music's apparent inability to register any real commercial success in the USA can, I feel, be blamed on their refusal to attempt ...

Blue Öyster Cult, The Faces: The Faces, Blue Oyster Cult: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

Faces bring back the fun ...

Yes: Yesterdays (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

Recordings between 1969-1971 including material from Yes and Time And A Word. ...

Caravan, Renaissance: Caravan and Renaissance: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1975

NO DOUBT YOU WILL NOTICED the double page ads in the music press extolling the virtues of Caravan and Renaissance, and pointing to their enthusiastic ...

The Who: Tommy the Movie: Hype-Hype-Hype-Hooray?

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

"TOMMY IS THE GREATEST WORK OF ART the 20th century has produced." So says Ken Russell. He should know: he's just directed the film of ...

Alvin Lee: Going Home No More

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

ALVIN LEE is getting into self-sufficiency. Along with many fellow Britons, alarmed at the daily news, he is determined to make full use of the ...

Don McLean: How A Hobo Could Save McLean From Endless Pie

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

THE BIZARRE tale of a black hobo with one leg who fell from a Dallas bound train in the early part of this century and ...

Harry Chapin: Chapin Up!

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

HARRY CHAPIN, the singer who tells stories rather than sings songs, has recently moved his craft a giant leap forward with the opening of The ...

Jackson C. Frank: Frankly Speaking

Retrospective by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

MM's series on the underrated musicians of yesterday. This week: JACKSON C. FRANK ...

Soft Machine: Parc des Expositions, Paris

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

PARIS. DEAR Comrade. Here is my report on the delegation of British musicians to the rally of French Communist youth in the Parc des Expositions ...

The Chambers Brothers, Kokomo: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 March 1975

Kokomo keep the faith ...

Bad Company: Straight Shooter (Island)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 29 March 1975

BAD COMPANY were the most remarkable success story of 1974. The band hit number one in the American charts with their first album, became headliners ...

Styx

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 March 1975

NO QUESTION about it. Styx were stuck. Their second album had lain on the record warehouse shelves for two years doing nothing but gather dust. ...

Barry Manilow: Troubadour, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Barry becomes a star ...

Gloria Gaynor, Labelle, Barry White: Disco: "Kids Want Something Different — This Is It!"

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

...so says Billy Smith, an expert on New York's booming discos. In a country where radio rules, it's an amazing phenomenon. CHRIS CHARLESWORTH reports... ...

Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins: Dolly Parton, George Jones, Marty Robbins, Barbara Mandrell, Wanda Jackson et al: Country Music Festival, Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Yee-hah for the cowboys! Colin Irwin and Robert Partridge review Wembley's giant country festival ...

Glen Campbell: Rolling Easy

Profile and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

GLEN CAMPBELL, due in Britain next week for a major tour, and with a new album, Reunion, recorded with Jim Webb, talks to Harvey Kubernik ...

Rick Wakeman: Next Stop – The Gods

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

RICK WAKEMAN on ice! It takes a cool nerve to launch a rock extravaganza in an area normally the preserve of pantomimes and hockey, but ...

T-Bone Walker: T-Bone — Showman and Guitar Pioneer

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Max Jones pays tribute to T-Bone Walker ...

Alice Cooper: Alice's Tasteful Nightmare

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

THE NEW Alice Cooper Revue, which opened in Chicago last week and moved on to Detroit and Cincinnati, is yet another step forward in the ...

Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Reprise K 54021)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

Testimony to Toussaint ...

Love Unlimited, Barry White: Barry White, Love Unlimited: Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

Too much love! ...

Joe Walsh: Slowhand Cowboy

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

Top-rated guitarist JOE WALSH – due in Britain in June – talks to Chris Charlesworth in Iowa ...

Minnie Riperton

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

MINNIE RIPERTON is as fizzy as a soda bottle shaken on a hot summer day. Life, it is reassuring to know, can be enjoyed even ...

The Eagles: Eagle Eyed

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

HOLLYWOOD: On a clear day Glenn Frey can see from his living room right out to sea, right across the Pacific to Catalina, the island ...

The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ben E. King, Sister Sledge, The Spinners: The Spinners, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ben E. King, Sister Sledge: Manchester Opera House

Live Review by Idris Walters, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

ATLANTIC'S Supersoul On-Tour '75 (direct descendant from the sixties' Stax/Volt Review) hit the Manchester Opera House after a successful opening night at the Liverpool Empire. ...

Tom Paxton: Something In My Life (Mam)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 April 1975

THIS IS PROBABLY the most undistinguished album Paxton has ever made. Maybe it's no coincidence, but his first album on the same label as Gilbert ...

Al Green: Green Light!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975

Stylistics, Sweet Sensation, Chi-Lites — all top names in the world of sweet soul music. But there's only one boss — AL GREEN. And no ...

Carly Simon: Carly — playing possum

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975

A FEW months ago, with surprisingly little fanfare, Carly Simon, husband James Taylor and daughter Sarah slipped into Los Angeles for what has become an ...

Amon Düül (I & II), Ash Ra Tempel, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream: Kraftwerk et al: Germany invades U.S.!

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975

Three years ago German rock bands like Can and Amon Duul took Britain by storm. Now Kraftwerk are spearheading an assault of new Kraut-Rock groups ...

Tammy Wynette: Truckers' Choice

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 19 April 1975

No-one captures the ideals of Middle America quite like Tammy Wynette. And she's got the hits to prove it — an astounding 24 Number Ones. ...

Cado Belle, Slik: Slik and Cado Belle: Scotland The Rave!

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1975

GLASGOW'S GLAMOROUS art deco pleasure palace, the Apollo Discotheque, seethes with expectant energy, awaiting Slik, a flash four-piece of unashamedly commercial pop ambitions. ...

Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

Way down yonder in New Orleans, ALLEN TOUSSAINT is an ace hitmaker. He's had a hand in such classics as 'Mother-In-Law', 'Land of 1,000 Dances' ...

Bill Monroe: Grand Ole Opry, Newmarket, Suffolk

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

EVERYONE SAID we'd gone to the wrong concert. The second of Monroe's two bluegrass concerts at Newmarket's Grand Ole Opry on Sunday was the one ...

Drums of Rasta: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

THEY START with a simple, slow double beat on the drums. There are between 20 and 30 of them spread across London's Roundhouse stage, all ...

Ella Fitzgerald: Queen of Song

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

Ella Fitzgerald — who has just completed a week at London's Ronnie Scott club — talks to MAX JONES ...

Little Feat: Philosophy of the Feat

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

"LITTLE FEAT are flukes," says Lowell George, "and the flukes just can't be stopped. In the end they balance out the monstrosities of 'formula' music." ...

Richard and Linda Thompson: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

IT WAS a night steeped in nostalgia. One of those occasions when the event was more important and ultimately more memorable than the music. Lots ...

Elton John: Elton's Bitter Sweet Album

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

Chris Charlesworth in New York previews Elton John's new album Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy – and talks to the man himself... ...

Joe Walsh: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

LOS ANGELES: Through his work with the James Gang, Barnstorm and more recently with his solo endeavours, Joe Walsh has earned the respect and recognition ...

Leo Sayer: Leo Raises His Glasses

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

LITTLE Leo Sayer leaned across and asked with his usual charm and courtesy: "Have you got any matches?" A surprising request from a non-smoker, but ...

Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck: Avery Fisher Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

NEW YORK: The pairing of John McLaughlin and Jeff Beck proved to be a guitarist's delight at the Avery Fisher Hall on Wednesday and Thursday ...

Maria Muldaur: Maria's Magic Moment

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

ENCORE time at Stony Brook, Long Island. Maria Muldaur had just finished an impressive set and the kids were yelling out for more of the ...

Desmond Dekker

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975

SEVEN YEARS ago, Desmond Dekker was a raw, gangling boy from St Thomas, Jamaica. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Black Interpreter

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975

NEW YORK: "I hear they're asking Rockefeller to investigate the CIA. Well now, in my opinion that's stupid. Asking Rockefeller what's wrong with the CIA ...

Nils Lofgren: Training To Do A Guitar Flip!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975

NEW YORK: "It's not that I don't like playing with Neil Young," said Nils Lofgren between shots on the pool table in A&M's office last ...

Seals and Crofts: Two's Company

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 17 May 1975

JIMMY SEALS is wearing an extremely smart tweedy outfit like he's an advert for Hardy Amies. He's got those granny spectacles and he leans back ...

Herbie Mann: Discotheque (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

THE STANDARD of musicianship in New York is really quite frightening at times. This is an Atlantic studios session in which Herbie, the flute playing ...

Judy Collins: Judy Fights On

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

Judy Collins – back in the MM chart with a hit single, 'Send In The Clowns' – talks to Chris Charlesworth in New York ...

Wings: Paul McCartney: Abbey Road Revisited

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

WINGS flew over Soho this week. But these were of musical origin and did not belong to the rather grubby pigeons that haunt London's home ...

Dion, Phil Spector: Phil Spector: He's A Rebel

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

THE OCCASION is Professor Phil Spector's guest lecture at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental College record-producing seminar. Last time Phil talked at the school was in ...

Wings: Venus And Mars (EMI PCTC 254)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 May 1975

Wings: shooting stars! ...

ZZ Top: Top Three

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 June 1975

THE TWO guitarists, one long and lean and the other short and cuddly, twizzle forth in a grinding motion that reminds me of a curious ...

Hunter-Ronson, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson: Hunter-Ronson: Till Death Us Do Part

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 June 1975

Forget all the rumours, Hunter-Ronson are still happily married, as they tell Chris Charlesworth ...

Tammy Wynette: Going UP Country

Report by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 14 June 1975

How come a seven-year-old single, re-issued for the fifth time, made it to number one? Robert Partridge gets the full story behind Tammy Wynette's 'Stand ...

Tammy Wynette: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 14 June 1975

THREE MONTHS ago Tammy Wynette was little more than cowboy fodder in Britain, appealing only to a small body of country freaks. But, one smasheroo ...

The Beach Boys, Chicago: Beachago: The Beach Boys meet Chicago

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

PERHAPS THE MOST the most interesting side-effect of the depression in the United States has been the decision of two potential headliners to go out ...

Elton John: I Want To Chug, Not Race

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

IN AMSTERDAM LAST WEEK, while canals evaporated in the heat wave, eight musicians and three singers were stirring the sluggish air with an electric sound ...

Led Zeppelin: John Bonham: Over The Hills And Far Away…

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

GOSSIP IN THE village was running riot. John up at the farm was going to buy The Chequers. The American in the bar of another ...

Joan Baez, Ry Cooder, Jim Croce, John Denver, Arlo Guthrie, Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine: Singer-Songwriters: Back To The Roots!

Overview by Dave Laing, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

In this exclusive extract from a major new rock book, The Electric Muse, Dave Laing investigates the post-Woodstock singer/songwriter syndrome, and charts the rise in ...

Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple: Blackmore: I Was Getting Lazy

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 June 1975

RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S DEPARTURE from Deep Purple comes as no surprise to followers of Deep Purple who have watched their activities closely over the years. For ...

Aerosmith: Fly With Aerosmith

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 June 1975

AMERICAN BANDS USUALLY fall into one of two categories. They are either denim-clad cowpokes, bearded, laidback to the point of collapse, drinking corn liquor from ...

Little Richard's Big Troubles, Part 1

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 28 June 1975

Part 1: Lewisham "TURN THE BAND DOWN!" bawls a lady who may have been a teenager in the '50s. "Turn the bloody band down!" This, and ...

Pacific Eardrum, Big Jim Sullivan: Big Jim Sullivan: Mister Guitar

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 July 1975

From Eddie Cochran to the Bay City Rollers, taking in Tom Jones, the Kinks, the Small Faces and hundreds of others. The career of BIG ...

Captain Beefheart — Pre-Knebworth Interview

Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1975

"SO THAT band is called Mallard, eh? Well, they'd better duck! Just a bunch of quacks!" So quips Captain Beefheart, briefly in town for his ...

Little Richard's Big Troubles, Part 2

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1975

Part 2: Dunstable & the European Saga "IT'S NICE TO LET THEM KNOW that you are not IN THE WAY, that you ARE THE WAY, that ...

Aerosmith: Toys In The Attic (CBS 80773)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975

AEROSMITH BRING hope from America. They're not a new Steely Dan, or even yet another variation on the Doobie Brothers. Yet they are most people's ...

Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry: Putting On The Style

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975

The elusive Bryan Ferry, reviver of oldies and singer with Roxy Music, talks to Caroline Coon In 1971, when Bryan Ferry flew into the ...

Rufus: Chaka: I Feel Sexless on Stage

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975

CHAKA KHAN is a bit like a furry golly. She flops in front of the telly, cheering for Connors at Wimbledon, giggling and proudly displaying ...

John Martyn: Natural Martyn

Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 12 July 1975

March 2020 Note: At the time, I took his final comments as being just a rough Glaswegian joke. Unfortunately, it seems it was no more ...

Average White Band: Cut The Cake (Atlantic)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975

Hamish Stuart (guitar, vocals), Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Onnie Mclntyre (guitar), Roger Ball (keyboards, alto and baritone saxophones), Malcolm Duncan (tenor saxophone), Stephen Ferrone (drums, ...

Colosseum: Jon Hiseman: Why I've Re-formed Colosseum

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975

DRUMS HAVE BEEN rumbling down in darkest South London, underneath the railway arches. Drums and guitars competing with the rumble of trains overhead, and grim ...

Rory Gallagher: Rory Gets The Acoustic Bug

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975

RORY GALLAGHER made two startling discoveries during his week at the Montreux Festival. One was that Swiss beer has remarkably potent characteristics, despite its deceptively ...

Stephen Stills: Stills (CBS)

Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975

I'M SATISFIED with this album, but I wish I could be more enthusiastic as Stephen Stills has both created and had a hand in creating ...

The Chieftains: Montreux Music Festival, Switzerland

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 July 1975

THE CHIEFTAINS MADE much of contemporary rock music sound a shallow fraud, when they took the stage of the Montreux Music Festival in Switzerland last ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Wailin'

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

After two amazing gigs last week in London, Bob Marley is being universally hailed as reggae's first superstar. Karl Dallas watches the Wailers in action ...

Captain and Tennille: Captain Fantastic

Profile and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

IN SEPTEMBER 1973, two Chatsworth residents recorded a song, 'The Way I Want To Touch You'. Subscribing to the Phil Spector school of self-distribution, they ...

Cymande, The Drums of Rasta, Rico Rodriguez: Drums of Rasta, Cymande, Rico & the Undivided: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

IF ANYONE wants to know where the underground is, from which British rock is to get its next and much-needed injection of musical energy, they ...

Hot Chocolate: Choc's Away

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

A CLUTCH of nubile girls are usefully spending their school holidays hanging around outside the Bell Record Company offices in the hope of a glimpse ...

Maria Muldaur: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

THE TROUBLE with Maria Muldaur is that she is so Goddamn talented it could make you sick. At Ronnie Scott's London, she was all the ...

Motörhead: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

HOLES IN THE MOTÖRHEAD ...

Pete Wingfield: Breakfast Special (Island)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

THE ONLY question this album leaves unresolved is why no one thought of recording Pete Wingfield before. ...

Spirit: Spirit of '75

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

Drummer Ed Cassidy talks about the new-look Spirit – and explains why a band of '67 is still hunting the big-time ...

Freda Payne, The Stylistics: The Stylistics, Freda Payne: Cunard International Hotel, London

Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 26 July 1975

THE STYLISTICS came onstage around midnight and, judging by the yawns on many people's faces, it wasn't a moment too soon. London's Cunard International Hotel ...

Billy Preston, The Rolling Stones: Billy Preston: Like a Rolling Stone

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

"We're a family," says Billy Preston of his current tour of the U.S. with the Stones. And in addition to that, he's just released a ...

Duane Eddy: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

THE DOG WAS GREAT! Well, it wasn't actually a dog, it was a man. The one who used to do all the yelps and howls ...

Joe Walsh: Lonely Leader

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

IT'S A BIT disconcerting when you're having a perfectly innocent conversation and the guy you're talking to suddenly brandishes a knife beneath your nose. Not ...

Maria Muldaur: Maria Hangs Loose

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

Maria Muldaur, the American singer who has just completed a highly-successful week at London's Ronnie Scott Club, talks to KARL DALLAS ...

Rod Stewart: Atlantic Crossing (Warner Bros.)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

Producer: Tom Dowd. Musicians include Barry Beckett (keyboards), Steve Cropper (guitar), Duck Dunn (bass), Al Jackson and Nigel Olsson (drums), and Memphis Horns (brass). ...

The Faces, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart: Sorely Taxed

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

The Faces may split ...

Smokie: Smokey: No Smokey Without Fire…

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

THE NEWS that Chinn and Chapman had signed a new band was predictably greeted by the music business with one big yawn. What would this ...

The Stylistics: Sing, Baby, Sing!

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 August 1975

ABUSE COMES too easily. The Stylistics are the masters of sweet soul, the kings of lush sentiment, and the lords of overstated romance. Even their ...

Cannonball Adderley: Cannonball — Sax Supremo

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

Chris Welch remembers Julian Adderley, who died on Friday ...

Cecil Taylor: A Piano is an Orchestra

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

...says CECIL TAYLOR, a controversial figure ever since he erupted at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 with his quartet, but even those who dislike ...

James Taylor: Universal Amphitheatre, LA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

JAMES TAYLOR'S UNIVERSAL Amphitheatre gig, though predictable at times, established new beginnings for the folkster as he returned to the Southland for the first time ...

Johnny Cash: Man In Black

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

ANAHEIM: Forty miles from Los Angeles, Johnny Cash sits in the Royal Inn Hotel. Cash is in town to promote his autobiography, Man In Black, ...

Procol Harum: Palladum, London

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

IT COULD WELL have been two different bands appearing at the London Palladium on Sunday. The first was a shambling, incohesive bunch whose dull, plodding ...

Rick Wakeman: Liszten To Rick!

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

Lisztomania is quite a movie, says Rick Wakeman. He plays Thor in the film, as well as producing the music, and he tells Chris Welch ...

The Meters: Fire On The Bayou (Reprise K45044)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 16 August 1975

Meters set the bayou afire ...

Biddu, Carl Douglas: Biddu's Indian Summer

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

INDIA CONJURES up a variety of images in the mind of the British; steaming curries, turbans and saris, travel by elephant, and an accent superbly ...

Demis Roussos: It's all Greek to Britain

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

COLIN IRWIN talks to Demis Roussos ...

Dr. Feelgood: 1975 Orange Festival, France

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

ON PAPER, Saturday evening looked to be the least attractive evening of the festival but it was, in fact, a triumph for Dr Feelgood, who ...

Eric Clapton: E.C. Was Here

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

HOWEVER ERIC CLAPTON spent his couple of years in isolation from the world, he returned to active performing refreshed and revitalised. ...

Genesis, Peter Gabriel: Genesis to Revelation

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

AS PETER GABRIEL QUITS GENESIS, CHRIS WELCH RECALLS A GREAT BRITISH BAND ...

Genesis, Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel Quits Genesis

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

THE MELODY MAKER last week front-paged the growing doubts about Gabriel's future in the band. Reports, denied by the management of Genesis, indicated that Gabriel ...

Buddy Holly: The Legend Lives On

Retrospective by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1975

"DEAR BUDDY, I have several records of yours and my favourite is 'Oh Boy'. Please send me a picture with your autograph." With the constant ...

The Bay City Rollers: Inside the Bay City Rollers' Camp

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 13 September 1975

"WHEN ANYONE slates us, you can bet they’ve never heard our own stuff – Derek is a brilliant drummer" ...

10cc: We're The Missionaries

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 September 1975

A HATCHET-wielding psychopath was on the loose in the next room. In the circumstances, it was beyond comprehension how Lol Creme could present a gleaming ...

Santana: Guitarists Bore Me To Tears

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 September 1975

OF ALL the great groups to have emerged out of San Francisco since the mid-sixties, Santana have retained a musical credibility that surpasses their home ...

Leo Sayer: Sayer: “L.A. is Music's Capital, New York second, London Only Third”

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 September 1975

"I FEEL I’m at my peak, I’m doing my best work ever now." Little Leo Sayer is back. The location is London’s Cunard International Hotel ...

Jon Anderson, Yes: Yes: When We're Perfect, We'll Stop

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 September 1975

"IT'S BEEN a marvellous year for us, and hopefully it will get even better in 1976, but although we aim for perfection, I hope we ...

Wanda Jackson, George Jones: George Jones, Wanda Jackson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 27 September 1975

GEORGE JONES is one of the major stars of American country music but, without the help of a chart single to attract the MOR audience, ...

The Carter Family, Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 27 September 1975

Cash — the legend lives on ...

Kraftwerk: Synthetic Rockers

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 September 1975

Kraftwerk are happiest when surrounded with technology and artificial items. Karl Dallas reports ...

Jethro Tull: The Jethro Tull Story

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 September 1975

"I want to justify the place on my passport where it says 'Occupation: musician'. I feel that I've not yet really justified that" Harry Doherty ...

The Hollies: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, October 1975

THE HOLLIES COULD EASILY BE DREADFUL. If they were even a quarter-tone out of tune, those three-part harmony choruses, supported by the Sixties pop instrumentation, ...

Art Garfunkel: Art For Art's Sake

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

ART GARFUNKEL cut an odd dash at the Top of the Pops rehearsals last week. Slotted between Pan's People and Mud and closely followed by ...

The Faces, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Bands On The Run From The Taxman?

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

THE PIONEER of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, defined the artist's aims as "fame, wealth, power, and the love of women." Though no one has yet found ...

Black Sabbath: Paranoid

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

IT'S NO MERE coincidence that an Ozzie Osbourne song on the new Black Sabbath album is called 'Am I Going Insane?' Ozzie, who professes that ...

The Isley Brothers: Isley Brothers: Heat's Still On Isleys

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

LOS ANGELES: The Isleys' latest album, The Heat Is On, recently hit number one in America, but for as long as there's been rock and ...

Leo Sayer: Winter Gardens, Bournemouth

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

LEO SAYER IS in danger of losing fans if he persists in forcing his personality on audiences, as he did when his British tour opened ...

Supertramp: 'Tramp On The March

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

FOR ALL THAT has been heard of Supertramp during the past six months, you could be forgiven for doubting their very existence. ...

The Who: Bingley Hall, Stafford

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

LIKE MOUNTAINEERS tottering on the brink of some huge ravine, the Who crashed into their first tour in over two years at the weekend and, ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Tina Turner: Acid Queen

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

"WE TOURED FOR years with all the English groups and I always liked what they were singing about. ...

Black Sabbath: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1 November 1975

FOR SOME bizarre reason, 3,000 kids got off on Black Sabbath's antics at Hammersmith Odeon last Wednesday night. Ozzie Osbourne and cohorts had the fans ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1 November 1975

IF PROOF was needed that Lynyrd Skynyrd have broken Britain's back, then a visit to Hammersmith Odeon on Monday night would have persuaded the harshest ...

Tanya Tucker: Country Girl

Profile and Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 1 November 1975

THE CHOCOLATE-smothered Rice Krispies cup cake lay half-eaten on the plate, neglected after the first bite. Tanya, it seemed, was not in the best of ...

David Bowie: Back With 'Oddity'

Report by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1975

BASICALLY A high-class novelty record, 'Space Oddity', now topping the chart, was first released on 11 July 1969. At the time, the Main Man himself ...

Little Feat: The Last Record Album (Warner Brothers K56156)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 November 1975

Feat on their knees... ...

Roy Wood Entertains At Don Arden's Gaff

Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1975

"I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A DRUM SOLO, but I can't really play them, so I did a John Bonham special instead." (Never mind, Bonzo, ...

Steeleye Span: Steeleye Sold Out?

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 8 November 1975

WHEREFORE art thou, Span? The cry persists: "They've sold out." The denials continue. But Steeleye Span's drift towards "commercialism," especially on the new album, All ...

Cat Stevens

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 15 November 1975

Cat Stevens, after a long personality crisis, has bounced back with a new album and tour. Caroline Coon meets him in Frankfurt ...

The Walker Brothers: Walk Right Back

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1975

IT'S BEEN A hard day in the plush penthouse suite of the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair. The chandeliers in the mirrored hallway have seen a ...

Queen's Evidence

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 November 1975

I'M P---- OFF listening to the bloody album," mutters a weary Roger Taylor, confronted once more with hearing a new Queen album, four months ...

John Cale: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 29 November 1975

THERE IS MUCH FASHIONABLE TALK of John Cale as a significant artist. So far ahead of the herd is he, it is said, that terms ...

Joni Mitchell: The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 November 1975

ON THE INSIDE sleeve of this album, Joni has a short, cryptic liner note stating that the record is "graphically, musically, lyrically and accidentally" a ...

Patti Smith: Poetry in Motion

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 November 1975

LAST MONTH they caught Patti Hearst — and so ended the biggest man (or woman) hunt in the history of the US. ...

The Rolling Stones: So You Wanna Be A Label Boss? Start Your Own Record Label

Guide by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 29 November 1975

"As anybody knows who has read Karl Marx, it is distribution which is important if there is to be any kind of revolution. I'm not ...

Queen: Brian May – The Power Behind Queen's Throne

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

FREDDIE MERCURY steps out of the spotlight, Brian May moves in to seize the opportunity to deliver the most sizzling guitar solo. ...

The Bay City Rollers: Can the Rollers crack America?

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

CHRIS CHARLESWORTH IN NEW YORK ANSWERS THE 64,000 DOLLAR QUESTION ...

Hot Chocolate: Hot on the Trail

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

HOT CHOCOLATE, the faceless men of British pop, leave soon for the real land of hope and glory, America, confident that they will be a ...

Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Bruce Springsteen: John Hammond: From Billie to Bruce

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

John Hammond recalls his 40 years atthe forefront of popular music recording ...

Genesis, Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel: Behind Peter Gabriel's Mask

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

PETER GABRIEL'S departure from Genesis was one of the biggest shocks of 1975 for those who admired, nay loved, the combination of perverse talent they ...

Rufus: Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan (ABC)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

NO DANGER of conveyor-belt soul setting in here, with the incredible Chaka Khan proving that blood and electricity are flowing through her sensual frame. ...

Wayne Shorter, Weather Report: Wayne Shorter: The Sunny Weatherman

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 December 1975

TO SAY that Wayne Shorter looked happy would be the understatement of the year. ...

Ace

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 December 1975

PHIL HARRIS, OF Ace, suddenly perked to attention on the edge of his chair and made a compassionate plea. "We love Britain, 'onest," he craved. ...

Elkie Brooks: Has Elkie Souled Out?

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 13 December 1975

WHEN VINEGAR JOE broke up two years ago, another brilliant British vocalist retired from the road. Elkie Brooks never actually wore the Queen of Rock ...

Geoff Bradford: Jeff Bradford: Bradford Boogies Again

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 December 1975

ROCK MUSIC has taken its toll both of lives and careers, the victims either unable or unwilling to cope with the demands and temptations of ...

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra: Pasadena Uber Alles!

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 December 1975

"ALL OVER Germany the people are freaking out...it's their cool English sense of humour...they have to beat off the groupies with sticks." ...

B.B. King: Lucille Talks Back (ABC ABCL 5149)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

B.B. KING IS back on the lists with an album of his own production on which he plays sophisticated blues, near-blues and one religioso. ...

Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Roberta Flack, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Mick Ronson: Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, Joni Mitchell: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

Dylan's damp squib ...

The Brecker Brothers: Breckers Blow Into The Discos

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

New York's top sessioneers tell Chris Charlesworth of their personal bid for fame ...

Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity (Capitol)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

Kraftwerk: too mechanical ...

The Band: Northern Lights — Southern Cross (Capitol St— 11440)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

The Band is back — almost ...

The Glitter Band: Listen To The Band (Bell)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

DEFINITELY THE surprise of 1975, the album to earn the Glitter Band critical credibility, and deservedly so. If Listen To The Band is an indication ...

Thin Lizzy: The Irish Question

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

DESPITE the homely sentiments echoed in Philip Lynott's 'Dublin' a few years back, Thin Lizzy did leave Dublin, and Ireland. But the fond memories of ...

10cc at Pressure Point

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 December 1975

"YES," SAID Graham Gouldman without any hesitation, "we are deadly serious to break over here." ...

Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias: Nashville Rooms, London

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 27 December 1975

"I LEARNED this one off this old Dutch geezer wot was deaf, dumb, blind and crippled, called Truck Van Rental. It's called 'I Been Down ...

Bobby Womack: Safety First

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 December 1975

BOBBY WOMACK is the kind of guy who lights up a room when he enters, and this suite in the Plaza Hotel is no exception. ...

Hawkwind: Brunel University

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 27 December 1975

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY, Uxbridge, is not usually thought of as a centre of aesthetic excellence, but last Wednesday it took on that most difficult of artistic ...

Ry Cooder: Roots and Branches

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1976

Ry Cooder, cult figure and esoteric guitarist, tells CHRIS CHARLESWORTH in New York why he's now into Tex-Mex music ...

Geoff Muldaur, Leon Redbone: Geoff Muldaur: Geoff Muldaur Is Having A Wonderful Time (Reprise); Leon Redbone: On The Track (Warner Bros)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 3 January 1976

THE LINK between these two artists is by no means absolute, but the somewhat eccentric tastes of each have produced intriguing and offbeat albums. ...

The Band's Robbie Robertson: "The Struggle Has Gone"

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 3 January 1976

ROBBIE ROBERTSON: "We'd been around so long that we couldn't take a name seriously. So we made the first album and we called ourselves the ...

Brand X, Genesis: Collins cleans up with Brand X

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

LET'S GET two things very clear at the outset: one, Brand X is a serious, full-time band, not a spare-time excuse for jamming or having ...

Hound Dog Taylor: a goodtime "rocker"

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

ALTHOUGH he was not a major figure of postwar blues, Theodore Roosevelt Taylor — known professionally as Hound Dog Taylor — was a good representative ...

Bonnie Raitt: Raitt place, Raitt time

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

BONNIE RAITT juggled happily between the various lines on the desk telephone in an office at Warner Brothers' New York headquarters. She seemed to be ...

Status Quo: 'We're Not Musicians — We're Players!'

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

STRIDING into his road-manager's sitting room, Francis Rossi quips, "no comment " and then spins on his heel as if a fast retreat is on ...

The Glitter Band: Farewell Glitter!

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

The Glitter Band's New Year resolution? No more glam-rock. HARRY DOHERTY investigates ...

The Faces, Humble Pie, The Small Faces: The Small Faces

Retrospective by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

WELL – WHAT do you make of it lads? There's Rodney, jetting round the world with his blonde bombshell, the very lovely Britt Ekland. ...

Bert Jansch: An Everyday Story of Funky Folk

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 17 January 1976

NOW THAT Bert has returned from the Continent, where he has been touring these months and more, he will have to find somewhere else to ...

Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw: It Don't Mean a Thing if it ain't got that Swing!

Retrospective by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 January 1976

'SWING IS HERE' was the title of a 1936 recording by Gene Krupa and his All-Stars featuring the molten trumpet of Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge. ...

Ronnie Lane: Country Lanes

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 January 1976

From Face to farmer, Ronnie Lane has never been yer typical star. Now he's thinking of quitting rock ...

Sheer Elegance: By Sheer Chance?

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 January 1976

From obscurity to a hit in two moves...just luck? Not true, Sheer Elegance tell HARRY DOHERTY ...

The Osmonds: The Osmonds by Paul H. Dunn (W. H. Allen, £2.95)

Book Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

Osmonds inside out ...

Charlie Mingus: Charles Mingus: Beneath The Underdog (Penguin paperback 75p)

Book Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

Mingus hits out ...

Emmylou Harris

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

"I WAS NERVOUS but I looked forward to playing overseas because I had this feeling there was an audience for my kind of music, especially ...

Bob Dylan: Jacques Levy: Dylan's Write Hand Man

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

THOSE WHO have already acquired a copy of Dylan's new album, Desire, will have noticed at least one difference between this and other Dylan records ...

Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, The Fania All Stars, Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco, Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria: Salsa Spoken Here

Overview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

Richard Williams introduces the Latin sound that comes into London this week ...

ABBA: Digging the Swedes!

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 January 1976

THINGS WERE so bad in Scandinavia, an MM reader there informed us some months ago, that Abba were regarded as a progressive rock band. ...

Be-Bop Deluxe: Sunburst Deluxe

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 January 1976

BILL NELSON, IF popular opinion is to be believed, is destined to become something of a superstar in the coming year. And the new Be-Bop ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gimme Back My Bullets (MCA 2744)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 January 1976

FOR SUCH A great continent, America has given the outside world very few real rock and roll bands. ...

Status Quo: Rock That Boogie!

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 January 1976

IN THE basement of a South London shop, a group rehearses. They're loud, ever so loud. A rat crawls from behind an amplifier, its ears ...

Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa: Tom Wilson: The Man Who Put Electricity Into Dylan

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 31 January 1976

TOM WILSON is an elegant, very tall (6ft 4in) black American, a former Harvard man who talks a little like Bill Cosby but whose pencil-thin ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Warner Bros. Import BS 2862)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 February 1976

Sisters of mercy ...

Laura Nyro: In From The Cold

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 February 1976

MICHAEL WATTS reports from Connecticut on a long-awaited return... ...

Leon Redbone: Ragtime Cowboy

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 February 1976

AS AGATHA CHRISTIE discovered to her considerable advantage, everybody loves a mystery. The subject of this mystery is Leon Redbone, a musician whom we can ...

Steve Harley Says It Loud: 'I'm Back And I'm Proud!

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 7 February 1976

SO LONG AS the braggadocio who boasts "I'm the greatest" or "I'm a star" continues to climb up the success ladder, sceptics and critics are ...

Scott Walker, The Walker Brothers: Scott Walker: No Regrets

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 14 February 1976

IT'S ONLY mid-afternoon, but the curtains are drawn and the lights are out. The room is in darkness and at first it looks empty. "Hi, ...

Genesis: The Ghost That Haunts Genesis

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 February 1976

YES, PETER IS PAST, but the legacy remains. And Tony Banks, keyboards' player with Genesis, is finding it difficult to swallow that. Peter Gabriel has ...

10cc, Donna Summer, Jane Birkin, Max Romeo, Serge Gainsbourg: Banned — Why?: What Turns Censors On…

Report by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

It's Donna Summer at the moment, but the Beatles, Stones even Lena Horne have all run into radio censorship. So this week, MM examines that ...

C.W. McCall: McCall Keeps On Trucking

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

JUST IMAGINE the scenario: a thousand massive trucks, a petroleum-driven army, hurtling down the highway in a strict convoy formation, all the drivers linked together ...

John Martyn, Danny Thompson: Danny Thompson: Man of Many Parts

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

THE NEWS that Danny Thompson is getting back into jazz will please the many who have missed the big, fat tone of his bass during ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra: Inner Worlds (CBS 69216)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

THE NAKED BODY of John McLaughlin, surmounted by a beaming face, hints, on the album cover, of purity, devotion and honesty. ...

Neil Sedaka: Sedaka's Rocket to the States

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

NEIL SEDAKA does not look like a wealthy entertainer, not even when he's surrounded by the splendour of his rented luxury apartment above Fifth Avenue ...

Burning Spear: Ruby's Dub Gems

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

REGGAE IS in many ways a producer's music. More than any other ethnic music since Twenties hillbilly, it is a music that has been created ...

David Ruffin: Ruffin Walks Back

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

"I ALWAYS believed and prayed that I could express myself and be understood. By having a hit single, a lot of people are hearing me ...

Sailor: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

ABOUT A year ago, Sailor made their live debut in front of about 50 people at London's little Collegiate Theatre. The reaction was mediocre, and ...

Wishbone Ash: Ash's New Leaf

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 February 1976

IT IS NOW ten months since Wishbone Ash packed up their troubles and settled in the USA, choosing a spot in Westport, Connecticut, that is ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Manchester University, Manchester

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 February 1976

Gil's the word! ...

Dobie Gray: Capricorn Rising

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

IT IS, I GUESS, the third time around for Dobie Gray who, at the present moment, is stretched out full length on a bed on ...

J.J. Cale: A Natural Man

Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

The legendary apostle of laid-back rock, J.J. Cale, is coming to Britain for two London concerts next month and his new album and old material ...

Leonard Cohen

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

LEONARD COHEN'S GREATEST Hits is an interesting album to contemplate when one remembers that Cohen was in his mid-thirties when he began to make records, ...

Rick Wakeman

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

"I'M SURE YOU were all as surprised as I was to find that Rick wasn't here, when we arrived tonight..." Brian Lane, manager, smiled uneasily ...

Status Quo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

THE STURICO security team didn't know what hit them. Lined up, muscles flexed, and ready for the worst, they were swamped by denim as soon ...

Archie Bell and the Drells, Donna Summer, The Temptations, Bobby Womack: The Temptations, Donna Summer, Bobby Womack, Archie Bell & the Drells: Radio City Music Hall, New York City

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

NEW YORK: A four-act show always runs the risk of dragging, even when the organisation is as meticulous as it was last Saturday at the ...

Toots & the Maytals: Toots Got Soul

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 March 1976

FIRST BOB Marley and the Wailers. Then, Toots and the Maytals. ...

Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

Womack: it's all over now ...

David Bowie: Ringing The Changes

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

"I'M JUST DOING this tour for the money. I never earned any money before, but this time I'm going to make some. I think I ...

Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

THIS IS THE best set of live performances heard for some time, and it marks the evolution of Peter Frampton into a major rock figure, ...

Slik: Slik Forever!

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

"THE THING IS," confides Billy McIsaac, Slik's 26-year-old keyboards player, "we have a positive attitude to everything." He is speaking with the advantage of hindsight. ...

Thin Lizzy: Essex University, Colchester

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 March 1976

IF THIN LIZZY have spent the past 12 months breaking into first division rock, the next 12 will be spent consolidating their position in that ...

Alan White: Ramshackled

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 March 1976

IT WOULD BE a shame if this album were overlooked because it is ascribed to the drummer in a famous band (Yes) and is one ...

Deep Purple: Empire Pool, Wembley

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 March 1976

THIS REVIEW SHOULD have been written in the white heat of anger after seeing Deep Purple play at the Empire Pool, Wembley, on Friday night. ...

Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page: Past, Presence & Future

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 March 1976

JIMMY ENTERED a whole hour late. But Abe, who was accompanying him, was not in the least embarrassed by the delay. He muttered an obligatory ...

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra: Pasadena Roof Orchestra — Live

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 March 1976

ONE OF MY happiest nights in years was spent in a dark, sweltering and cramped club in Hamburg towards the end of 1975. It was ...

John Denver: Why I Made It

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 March 1976

WITH THE SUNSHINE on his shoulders and the mountain water in his veins, John Denver is an enigma surrounded by moonbeams, a v friendly postman ...

Osibisa: Welcome Home

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 March 1976

NICE TO SEE Osibisa back in the news and making some chart action after a difficult spell when it seemed they had lost their grip ...

Wings: Paul McCartney: Pressure Cooking

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 March 1976

Paul McCartney reveals a new national achievement – the first British cooking on record! – and discusses the proposed Beatles reunion with CHRIS WELCH ...

Toots & the Maytals: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 March 1976

GOD, I JUST can't take it any more! Where is all this incredible music coming from? It's getting more than flesh and blood can stand, ...

Wings: Wings At The Speed Of Sound (Capitol)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 March 1976

PAUL McCARTNEY HAS a brilliant knack of taking an ordinary, daily statement and imbuing it with intrigue. ...

Camel: Moonmadness (Decca)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

IF YOU were haunted by the cry of the Snowgoose last year, and cheered by the success of Camel in the MM's Readers' Poll (they ...

Camel: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

AS BILLY CONNOLLY would say, it was sheer magic, the night Camel broke through into that indefinable sunlit area where a group becomes a supergroup. ...

Donna Summer: Oh, oh Donna

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

DONNA SUMMER had been asked the question before, but that was no reason why I couldn't ask again. ...

Fats Domino: Fats life!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

RESPLENDENT IN sharp chrome yellow suit and diamond-studded rings and things, beaming with the joys of life, and seemingly untired by the series of interviews ...

Maria Muldaur: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

Muldaur flowers ...

Nucleus: Alleycat (Vertigo)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

JON HISEMAN produced this album for Ian Carr, and between them they have certainly got the bite and attack of the current Nucleus without losing ...

Phoebe Snow: Snow Flakes

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

FEW ARTISTS have experienced such a turbulent – yet short – career as Phoebe Snow, whose second album, just released, is already on its way ...

Rick Wakeman: No Earthly Connection(A&M AMLK 64583)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

RICK ORIGINALLY PLANNED an album dedicated to the gods of ancient myth, but shelved that when he became intrigued by the origins of man on ...

Stanley Clarke, Alan White: Stanley Clarke and Alan White: Solo Flights

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

Once, when individual members of a band began to make solo albums, it was a sign that the seams were beginning to split a portent ...

Thin Lizzy: Lizzy Break 'Em Up

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

THERE WE STOOD. Dumb-founded, we stared in stark amazement at the spectacle. It's Liverpool Stadium and the mashed wood strewn around the floor had earlier ...

The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson: Wilson Returns!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

A NEW studio album is in the works, Brian Wilson is back in business and the Beach Boys are planning to visit England in late ...

Bill Bruford, Genesis: Bill Bruford: 'It's all Ringo's fault!'

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 April 1976

THERE HAS been a lot of stunning lately. I was stunned when Peter Gabriel quit Genesis. And stunned once more when Bill Bruford joined Genesis. ...

Camel Over The Moon

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 April 1976

WHEN CAMEL became the MM's Brightest Hope in last year's Poll, it caused organist Peter Bardens a wry smile because he had become "an overnight ...

Led Zeppelin: Presence (Swan Song)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 April 1976

THERE IS A MAN I know, a college lecturer, for whom there is only one rock band. ...

The Hollies: Fun And Magic

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 April 1976

I NEEDED CONVINCING that the legendary Sixties were really the rich, golden colour painted by those lucky enough to have experienced the action. ...

10cc: We Don't Want To Be Superstars…

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 April 1976

IT'S CRAZY, totally unpredictable, this life with 10cc. ...

J.J. Cale: How He Gets His Unique Sound When Playing Live And Recording

Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 17 April 1976

SO FINALLY J. J. CALE MADE IT TO BRITAIN. The sleepy Okie singer, guitarist and master of the recording studio isn't particularly keen on talking ...

Kiss: Destroyer (Casablanca)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 April 1976

WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that the total eccentricity of approach, the gross make-up and the blanket heavy metal music would have eventually ensured that Kiss ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Women in Love

Profile and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 17 April 1976

Like Dylan, the Band and Randy Newman, the songs of Kate and Anna McGarrigle recall America in its pioneer days. With a fine debut album ...

Diana Ross: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 24 April 1976

WHEN WILL THE real Diana Ross sing up and be counted? ...

Genesis: Beacon Theatre, New York

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 April 1976

WITH THE RELEASE of A Trick Of The Tail Genesis demonstrated that, on record at least, they could carry on at the same degree of ...

Peter Frampton: How I Cracked America

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 April 1976

"IT'S ALL QUITE unbelievable really. I don't want to think about it too much. I know it's great and it's made me really happy, but ...

Thin Lizzy: The Thin Man

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 24 April 1976

"I'M A ROCKER. I'm a Roller, too, honey..." Did you know that West Hampstead, London, is within spitting distance of the M1? Phil Lynott lives ...

Graham Parker, The Rumour: Graham Parker & The Rumour: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

WITH SOME justification, Graham Parker is being touted as a major new British talent. But, though I witnessed Parker and his fine band, the Rumour, ...

Ian Hunter: There Are More Important Things In Life Than Hit Records

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

LOS ANGELES: In the afternoon I arrived at his hotel, and for a while we drank red wine and watched I Love Lucy reruns on ...

Jethro Tull: Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die! (Chrysalis)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

ROMANTICISING THE WORKING LAD as a cult hero is a popular theme with rock musicians. They have oft flirted with, or observed at close hand, ...

Maxine Nightingale: Maxine — Right Back At The Top

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

NEW YORK: Maxine Nightingale, who comes from Wembley, seemed neither over-awed nor surprised that her record 'Right Back Where We Started From' was topping the ...

Noel Redding: I Dream Of Jimi

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

"THEY'VE gotta name for you people." Eric Bell settled back in a speeding Volkswagen as we wound through the West Cork countryside, and addressed the ...

Gallagher & Lyle, Robert Palmer: Robert Palmer, Gallagher and Lyle: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

NEW YORK: Looking rather like a male model in a smart grey suit, white shirt and stylishly cropped hair, Robert Palmer brought his brand of ...

Willie Nelson, Billy Swan: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 1 May 1976

Good and bad ol' boys ...

AC/DC: Nashville Rooms, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

AC/DC'S SINGLE 'IT'S A Long Way To The Top', has a lot to answer for. First, since its weird, bagpipe-drone of a break sounded unusually ...

Arrows: Golden Arrows

Report and Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

NEVER IN THE history of rock 'n' roll has it been more difficult for bands to get the exposure they need to break big and ...

Elvis Presley: Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

DESPITE MEDICAL PROBLEMS Elvis Presley's show at the Long Beach Arena proved that he still has the voice and romantic quality that established him as ...

Gentle Giant: Giant Steps

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

RETURNING HOME TO England has always been a bit of a comedown for Gentle Giant. ...

Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

THE ATTENTION which goes into the fundamentals of Gladys Knight's sound, is the key to the tremendous success she's had on her current tour. Which ...

Little Feat: The Roxy, Los Angeles

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 May 1976

In Southern California this year, Little Feat have presented their musical wares opening shows for ELO, the Who and Dave Mason. Consequently, 1976 has seen ...

Boz Scaggs: Scaggs In Silk

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

LOUNGING IN HIS suite at the Pierre Hotel, an opulent home for the wealthy, once owned by Paul Getty, Boz Scaggs completes a picture of ...

Elton John: Here And There (DJM)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

DO NOT FEAR a rip-off, for this is a worthy selection of live performances from two major concerts which will long serve as a reminder ...

Gallagher & Lyle: Gallagher and Lyle: Breakaway Boys

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

GALLAGHER AND LYLE: 'Art Garfunkel's version of 'Breakaway' did us a hell of a lot of good. We were preparing to record the album and ...

Jethro Tull: So Who's Too Old To Rock?

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

. . . certainly not Tull's Ian Anderson, who tells Harry Doherty that change keeps him going. ...

Kiss: Kiss Of Life

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

"I DON'T feel I have to defend myself to you, and I won't take your criticism either. I'd take the criticism of a fan, though. ...

Horslips: Rock in Ireland: Rock in the Dark Ages

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

IF OXFAM WERE to adopt the same stategy towards rock starvation as they do towards the plight of the world's hungry, then one of the ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Beacon Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

NEW YORK: Bob Marley needs an enthusiastic audience to light his particular fire, but his show at the Beacon Theatre lacked this essential ingredient and ...

David Essex: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

FOUR TIMES AT his Earls Court, London, show on Saturday night, David Essex strikingly fused the electric atmosphere of theatre with rock. The effect was ...

ABBA, Silver Convention: Europe: The Future Of Pop?

Overview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

AS IT WAS Stockholm, and as the ever-witty 10cc were playing there, Eric Stewart thought it'd be nice to pay a little tribute to a ...

Kiss: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

MAN, KISS HAD everything; every single effect in the book. They had a perfect lighting system; dry ice; smoke bombs; a fire-eater; a huge lighted ...

Leonard Cohen: Cohen Down the Road

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

GOD'S IN his heaven, all's right with the world. The words, surprisingly enough, came from Leonard Cohen, and he was making the first of several ...

Patti Smith, The Stranglers: Patti Smith: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

Patti Smith: poet cornered ...

The Brecker Brothers, Jimmy Cliff, Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow: Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Cliff: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

Simon's magical living room ...

Slik: Slik (Bell)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 May 1976

Midge Ure (guitar, vocals), Jim McGinlay (bass, vocals), Billy McIsaac (keyboards, vocals), Kenny Hyslop (drums, vocals). Produced by Phil Coulter at Mayfair Studios, London, during ...

Bad Company, Led Zeppelin: Bad Company: Led Zep Join The Company

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 29 May 1976

It was a night to remember...when Robert Plant and Jimmy Page jammed with Bad Company on stage in Los Angeles. ...

David Essex: Essex Dons The Motley Again

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 29 May 1976

DAVID ESSEX: 'I'm going to do a kind of rock revue in a West End theatre. It'll be incredible – I've got so many bizarre ...

Jesse Winchester: Winchester '76

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 29 May 1976

JESSE WINCHESTER is diffident, reluctant to elaborate on the bare essentials of his biography. He was born in Louisiana, brought up in Memphis, studied in ...

The Rolling Stones: Scandal of the Stones

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 29 May 1976

THE ROLLING Stones flopped on the opening night of their six-concert series at London's Earls Court, despite the advantage of a sound system that cost ...

Andrea True Connection: True Story

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

NEW YORK: After the success of Donna Summer's bump and grind discotheque-orientated single, 'Love To Love You Baby', it seems only natural that a girl ...

The Bellamy Brothers: Bellamy Brothers: Flowing Bellamys

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

A CHANCE encounter with Larry Williams, one of Neil Diamond's roadies, during a studio session with Diamond's rhythm section led to the Bellamy Brothers recording ...

Canned Heat: Live At Topanga Corral

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

WHITE PLAGIARISTS almost killed the blues as a vital force in popular music. The perpetual rip-off of Elmore James' phrases, and the piquant cries of ...

Colosseum II: Strange New Flesh

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

THERE COMES a moment during 'Dark Side Of The Moog', when the clamour of the strident arrangement fades away, and Jon Hiseman begins a simple, ...

Gary Wright: Wright At Last

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

AFTER TEN years of trial and error – with eight of them spent in England drifting in and out of Spooky Tooth – Gary Wright ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Hall and Oates: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

IT WAS ONE of those historic, electrifying events that punctuate the cavalcade of rock, one of those nights that fans will long recall..."Do you remember ...

Jon Anderson's Fairy Tales

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

A SPACESHIP, perhaps better described as an earth ship, forms the basis of a bizarre and fantastic story that is the central theme of Jon ...

Little Feat, The Outlaws, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The Who: The Who: Who-ray!

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

"Will the people on the lighting tower please get-off because it's very dangerous and we are afraid that tower might go" – Nicky Horne, Capital ...

Tom Waits: Waits Going On

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 5 June 1976

TOM WAITS, currently appearing at London's Ronnie Scott Club, talks to Karl Dallas. ...

Baker-Gurvitz Army: Baker Gurvitz Army: Hearts On Fire

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 June 1976

NOW REDUCED to four members as Peter Lemer, the keyboard player, has left, the Baker Gurvitz Army are more economically deployed, and where songs require ...

Fleetwood Mac: Mac Bounce Back

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 12 June 1976

THE LAST YEAR has brought Fleetwood Mac a platinum LP – Fleetwood Mac – their eighth album for Reprise records, from which two top ten ...

Janis Ian: Society's Child Grows Up

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 12 June 1976

ONE JOURNALIST WHO knew Janis Ian in 1969 thought she was the snottiest kid he'd ever met, "the cocky, pretentious product of an 'old Lefty' ...

Rod Stewart: A Night On The Town

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 June 1976

IT'S A long way from Gasoline Alley. Young Rodney is up in the world, aye 'appen. He's going out with a classy lady, he's worth ...

The Outlaws: Outlaw Country

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 June 1976

TELL US, O beefy cowboy with a stetson drawn over the eyes and a bottle of Jack Daniels old time malt liquor grasped between the ...

Back Street Crawler: Second Street

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 June 1976

A CAPTAIN Midnight character adorns the cover, but he's no way as snobby as a similarly named person who writes in the Sunday Times. ...

Genesis: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 June 1976

SO MUCH was happening on stage during the first sensational concert by Genesis at Odeon Hammersmith on Wednesday last week, that one needed stereoscopic earsight ...

Steely Dan: Art For Art's Sake…

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 19 June 1976

In the space of five albums in four years, Steely Dan have created arguably the best rock music, and certainly the most erudite, of the ...

War: California Ballroom, Dunstable

Live Review by Tim Lott, Melody Maker, 19 June 1976

CLICK, WHIRR. This isn't a group, it's a living disco. The Jukebox is War. The dive is the California Ballroom, Dunstable. Burly evening-suited men flanking ...

Demis Roussos: Onassis Of Rock

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

TWENTY miles east of the Arc de Triomphe, across the Seine as it meanders north, and a fast drive through grimy Paris suburbs, there looms ...

John Sebastian: Welcome Back With A Half Hour Hit

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

"YES...I can understand that people in England might have felt that I'd given up music or something, but the fact is I haven't at all. ...

John Cale, Judy Collins, Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band, John and Beverley Martyn, Pink Floyd: John Wood: Pioneer of the 'English Sound'

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

THOUGH SOUND recording celebrates its centenary next year, it is only in the past ten to 16 years that studio techniques have reached the present ...

Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus With Jazzboe Abubaka: Tribute To The Emperor (Trojan)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

THIS ALBUM is designed to cash in on the recent mini-tour by the Rastafarian group, and with its colourful sleeve (green, red and gold stripes ...

School's out for rock

Report and Interview by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

Once the colleges were the bastion of the British rock industry – now they're little more than musical backwaters. As classes close for the summer, ...

Gary Wright, Peter Frampton, Yes: Yes, Peter Frampton, Gary Wright: JFK Stadium, Philadelphia

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 June 1976

PHILADELPHIA: As rocket shells burst overhead and mortars roared only feet away, a lone Englishman with a dapper moustache smiled with delight as he stood ...

Brand X: Unorthodox Behaviour

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 July 1976

SO MANY bands have broken up in the past, or experienced ill-feeling within the ranks because some of the members have felt restricted, tied-down, perhaps, ...

Jon Anderson: Olias Of Sunhillow (Atlantic)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 July 1976

An unashamedly romantic solo album that combines grace, taste and power ...

Steve Miller: Flying Like An Eagle

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 July 1976

STEVE MILLER seems to be the kind of guy who would act first and ask questions afterwards, a tough-looking Texan brought up on bands and ...

Genesis, Phil Collins: The Trick of the Tale: Phil Collins Talks

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 July 1976

PHIL COLLINS IS A spry, restless man with seemingly limitless amounts of energy and intense drive. It is this drive that has made him one ...

Aerosmith: Rocks (CBS)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

AMERICA HAS until now avoided a head-on confrontation with the big British production or stage bands. ...

Babe Ruth, Back Street Crawler: Midnight Court: the Lyceum's walking wounded

Live Review by Ed Jones, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

MY GOD, it's like dawn on the second day of the Somme. Lying prostrate everywhere are twisted bodies, obviously beyond the ministrations of medicine. The ...

Alan Parsons: Parsons Knows: The Tale of Alan Parsons and Edgar Allan Poe

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

THE CONCEPT ALBUM, contemptuously rejected by many critics as the great bore of rock, has returned, and this work of producer Alan Parsons, supported by ...

Peter Frampton: How Frampton Came Alive

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

WHAT WAS it about the Fifties that encouraged the birth of so much talent? Was it the result of H-bomb testing or increased sunspot activity ...

Rick Wakeman: Wakeman On The Attack With His Birotron

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

RICK WAKEMAN is one of a very exclusive breed – the International Heroes of the Electric Keyboard. For Rick's meteoric career has been bound up ...

Slik: We're Like A Scapegoat For The Rollers

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 July 1976

TEARS TRICKLE down her 12-year-old cheeks. She's speechless, overcome by the emotion of the moment. She has, after a stubborn battle, won the right to ...

Dave Mason, Elton John, John Miles: Elton John, Dave Mason, John Miles: Schaeffer Stadium, Boston

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 July 1976

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: The sheer pageantry of Elton John's Stars and Stripes bicentennial show here on Independence Day had the power alone to earn a standing ...

Genesis: Apollo Theatre, Glasgow

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 July 1976

HEAT, DUST, smoke, lasers and Genesis combined to turn the Glasgow Apollo into a replica of Dante's Inferno when the band descended on the city ...

Kim Fowley, The Runaways: The Runaways: Runaway Girls

Profile and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 17 July 1976

RUNAWAYS: the Natalie Woods, Brigitte Bardots and Ann-Margrets of rock. ...

Thin Lizzy: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 July 1976

THE PREVALENT mood that hung over this Hammersmith Odeon gig on Sunday night, that this would be the occasion to herald once and for all ...

Aerosmith Rocks — And How

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

PONTIAC Stadium rises out of the Michigan earth like a four-walled town. ...

Blue Oyster Cult: We Copped A Lot From Sabbath

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

EVEN THE hardest of hearts must soften sometime, and so it is with Blue Oyster Cult, whose fifth album Agents of Fortune offers a degree ...

Genesis: Banks Notes

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

GENESIS ARE an enigma, an unknown quantity to the rock business and public at large, mainly because they are among the last of that old ...

Jefferson Starship: Starship's Enterprise

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

ONE BY ONE the group drifts into Wally Heider's recording studio for a mixing session. Marty Balin is absent but his presence fills the air. ...

Jethro Tull: Too Old To Rock And Roll, Too Young To Die

Film/DVD/TV Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

Dull Tull's big mistake ...

John Miles: Learning To Be A Star

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

...

Loudon Wainwright III: Whimsical Wainwright

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

NEW YORK: The smart way to begin a story about Loudon Wainwright III would be to concoct some snappy couplet not unlike those that form ...

Alan Parsons: The Alan Parsons Project: Tales Of Mystery And Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 24 July 1976

FOR THREE weeks I've played this album almost constantly and probably the greatest compliment I can pay it is that it has lost little of ...

Eddie & The Hot Rods: Pier Pavilion, Hastings

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 31 July 1976

BARRY MASTERS, Eddie And The Hot Rods' front man, drove his band down to Hastings from London himself – a sweaty, draining, three hour bang. ...

Starland Vocal Band: Starry-eyed

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 31 July 1976

NEW YORK: As each summer rolls by it brings with it an easily identifiable summer hit which is almost always a catchy vocal treatment of ...

Curved Air, Hawkwind, Status Quo, The Strawbs: Status Quo: Quo Storm The Castle

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 July 1976

Rock festivals in Wales always tempt providence, as many a Marley or 10cc fan can attest. But at Cardiff Castle last Saturday, the sun shone ...

Thin Lizzy: Unlikely Lads With A Lead For Lizzy

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 31 July 1976

THE MAN IN Black from the City Of The Angels, Los Angeles, is still dazed by the unbelievably swift rise of Thin Lizzy and chats ...

Weather Report: The True US Art Form

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 31 July 1976

"PEOPLE ARE beautiful everywhere," says Josef Zawinul. "I think a real open person, I don't care what music he is playing, is going to be ...

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: Alex Harvey: Harvey's History Lesson

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

ALEX, WHAT would your reaction be, apart from grabing me by the throat, if I said the music and image of the Sensational Alex Harvey ...

Brand X: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

IT IS heartening in these disturbing times (as the poet Cedric observed in his massive volume, Away, Dull Cares), to find there are still men ...

Donovan: Flower Child's Second Bloom

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

FEW ARTISTS evoke memories of the Sixties as much as Donovan who, even in this enlightened age, still clings resolutely to the styles that developed ...

John Lennon Gets His Ticket To Ride

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

NEW YORK: John Lennon has won his five-year battle against the immigration authorities in the United States. ...

The Sex Pistols: Punk Rock: Rebels Against the System

Report and Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

JOHNNY ROTTEN looks bored. The emphasis is on the word "looks" rather than, as Johnny would have you believe, the word "bored". His clothes, held ...

The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Jess Roden: The Crystal Palace Garden Party: E.C. Was Here…But Coryell Was Better

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 August 1976

THERE IS an aura of faded grace and decaying dignity about Crystal Palace, set upon the heights of Norwood in South London. Perhaps it stems ...

Emerson Lake And Palmer: ELP: The Show That Never Ends?

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

WHATEVER happened to ELP? One of Britain's most successful and popular bands has been surrounded by a wall of silence as impenetrable as the Kremlin ...

Elton John: He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

THE WHOLE FAMILY was there. Mum, dad and three children all waited patiently by the elevators in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency hotel on ...

Joan Armatrading: Joan Armatrading (A&M)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

REPUTABLE SOURCES assure me that this new record album is, in fact, by the same Joan Armatrading who almost died of fright during her London ...

Joan Armatrading: Burning Like Fire

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

THE SOUTH LONDON side-street is unimposing and still. Neat houses face each other, their windows opaque, like rows of black eyes shielded by the reflecting ...

The Eagles: The Spectrum, Philadelphia

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

SPECTRUM, Philadelphia: You can't get much more Los Angelean than the Eagles. Right down to the faded jeans and slightly wrinkled tee-shirts, the fuzzy moustaches ...

Thin Lizzy: Remembering, Part 1, featuring Eric Bell and Gary Moore (Decca)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

Philip Lynott (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals), Brian Downey (drums), Eric Bell (lead guitar and vocals), Gary Moore (lead guitar and vocals). Produced by Nick Tauber. ...

Widowmaker (UK): Widowmaker: Make — Or Break

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

WIDOWMAKER almost busted up the other week. ...

AC/DC: Marquee, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 21 August 1976

THOSE PUZZLED by the Status Quo phenomenon should beware. AC/DC, from the same rock family, could wreak similar havoc, but they will only realise their ...

Jess Roden: The Jess Roden Band: Jess Keeps His Hat On

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 August 1976

"I JUST couldn't wait to get out of my stage uniform and into a pair of jeans...I may have wasted time, but I sing what ...

Brand X: Band Breakdown : Brand X

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

WHEN YOU consider what a prestige gig of world class it is to play Ronnie Scott's, it may seem surprising, even a touch opportunistic, that ...

Max Romeo and the Upsetters, Bunny Wailer: Bunny Wailer: Blackheart Man/Max Romeo & the Upsetters: War in a Babylon (Island)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

IT HAS been a remarkable year for reggae, a year which has seen the full flowering of the music as a vehicle for social, political ...

Mighty Diamonds, U-Roy, Delroy Wilson: Mighty Diamonds, U Roy, Delroy Washington: Lyceum, London

Report by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

THIS SHOULD be a review of the Diamonds' and U. Roy's appearance at London's Lyceum on Wednesday night, but back here in the tiny ghetto ...

Neil Diamond: Ace Of Diamonds

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

WHAT'S A MIDDLE-of-the-road singer like Neil Diamond doing with the Band's Robbie Robertson? Making a hit album, Beautiful Noise, that's what. The two first met ...

Tavares: Sky High Tavares

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

THOUGH Tavares are scoring for the first time in Britain with 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel', the quintet of brothers has been together as ...

Ted Nugent: Raw Power

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 28 August 1976

FEW ARTISTS have quite as much faith in themselves as Ted Nugent, the Midwestern rocker and former leader of the Amboy Dukes. He is getting ...

Glenn Swings Out — Now It's Funky Shorts

Report by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976

Colin Irwin visits the Lacy Lady in Ilford, where deejay Chris Hill is leading a new disco trend. ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Skyn Flick

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976

"HI. Y'ALL COME in now..." Ronnie Van Zant, two minutes out of the sack, wears a stetson, strengthening the popular theory that he was born ...

The Count Bishops, The Damned, The Gorillas, Little Bob Story, Nick Lowe, The Pink Fairies, Roogalator, Shakin' Street, Tyla Gang: Salut les Punks

Report by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976

Special report from the first European Punk Rock Festival in the South of France by CAROLINE COON ...

Sun Ra

Guide by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 September 1976

WHEN IT comes to buying records, what's a bargain? Probably the best value I ever had was paying a princely 75 pence for a mint ...

Jeff Beck: Live Wired Beck

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

OF ALL the guitar heroes to emerge from the British blues boom of the mid-Sixties, Jeff Beck has been the most slippery to follow. There ...

Manfred Mann: Mann Of The Moment…

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

ARGUMENTATIVE and brittle, Manfred Mann has long been notorious as a man not likely to suffer fools gladly. He has terrorised managers, journalists, publicists and ...

Buddy Holly: Norman Petty: How We Cut the Golden Hits

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

"I THINK," said Norman Petty, carefully selecting his words, "that if Buddy Holly was alive today, he would be on an equal basis with Elvis ...

Pilot: Pilot Change Course

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

David Paton: now one-half of Pilot, a band trying to rid itself of teenybop associations ...

The Bay City Rollers: Dedication (Bell)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

Leslie McKeown, (lead vocals and background), Eric Faulkner (lead guitar, rhythm and acoustic guitars, vocals), Stuart Wood (bass and vocals), Derek Longmuir (drums, percussion, vocals), ...

The Bay City Rollers: Rollers' American Civil War

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

THE STATE TROOPER, with his tall hat perched firmly on a head with very little hair, seemed to be in control. One hand grasped a ...

The Sex Pistols: Club De Chalet Du Lac, Paris

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 11 September 1976

PARIS: The Sex Pistols believed the myth that it all happens in Paris. The fans who drove over specially to see the band's first appearance ...

Crosby and Nash: Crosby & Nash: Central Park, New York

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1976

NEIL YOUNG and Steve Stills may have blown out their tour in a flurry of sore throats and, reportedly, short tempers, but the "other half" ...

Joan Armatrading: Bottom Line, New York

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1976

PERHAPS IF Joan Armatrading had opened for an artist less popular than Richie Havens, her U.S. debut would have been more fruitful. At the Bottom ...

Queen

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 September 1976

BRIAN MAY remembers Queen's first-ever free gig well. It was in London, five years ago, when the band invited 120 people along to a lecture ...

Spirit: Spirit of the Sixties

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 September 1976

RANDY CALIFORNIA: re-formed Spirit after picking pineapples and advice from a fortune teller ...

The Bay City Rollers: Bay City Rollers: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

SOME TIME ago, David Essex remarked that he was fed up with critics reviewing his audiences when they should have been more concerned with the ...

Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie and the Hot Rods: "Punk? — We Just Do It"

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

ENERGY, LIFE, YOUTH, ROCK 'N' ROLL! What are these strange ingredients that have suddenly injected themselves into the creaking old rock scene? "We're just DOIN' ...

Emmylou Harris Makes Up Leeway

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

IT CAME as something of a surprise to learn that Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band were in town last week. To be precise, they ...

Kiki Dee, Queen: Queen: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

AT LAST, the Seventies have arrived, and in majestic style, when, at London's Hyde Park on Saturday, Queen, born of this decade's rock generation, played ...

Roger McGuinn: Bottom Line, New York City

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

NEW YORK: Roger McGuinn is an institution in American rock music and, like all institutions, he seems to crop up at least once a year ...

Supercharge: Charge!

Profile and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 September 1976

Rollers, Quo, Wakeman – just three targets for ace satirists Supercharge ...

Barclay James Harvest: Barclay Bank On The Future

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST: 'If you want to be a musician and play the type of music you want – you've gotta cruise.' ...

Manfred Mann's Earth Band: The Roaring Silence

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

THERE COMES a point in a band's career when the jig is up, and unless all the pieces fit the puzzle, success will scatter to ...

Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Damned, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Chris Spedding, Stinky Toys, The Subway Sect, The Vibrators: Parade Of The Punks

Report by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

THE 600-STRONG line, which last Monday straggled across two blocks outside London's 100 Club in Oxford Street, waiting for the Punk Rock Festival to start, ...

The Band, Rick Danko: Rick Danko: Solo, But Not Alone

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

WITH THE possible exception of Robbie Robertson, the individual members of the Band have enjoyed a remarkable anonymity that belies their status as one of ...

Rory Gallagher: Calling Card (Chrysalis)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

His first venture into the land of overdub and experimentation – and an unqualified success ...

The Who: The Story Of The Who (Polydor)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass, brass, vocals), Keith Moon (drums, percussion), Pete Townshend (guitars, keyboards, vocals). Various tracks produced by Kit Lambert Chris Stamp, Peter Kamerson, Glyn Johns and The Who, from 1966-75. ...

Be-Bop Deluxe: Nelson's Column

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 9 October 1976

"HELLO, I'm the man with two noses....." ...

Aswad, The Cimarons: British Reggae: Prejudiced Vibrations

Comment by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 9 October 1976

ON THE SURFACE it looks as though there has been something of a major breakthrough for reggae in Britain. ...

Cliff Richard: Cliff Brings Good News To Belfast

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 9 October 1976

CLIFF RICHARD wasn't smuggled into Belfast on Saturday night in the back of a furniture van. Nor was his appearance marred by a background of ...

Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie and the Hot Rods

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 October 1976

THE STORY of the Hot Rods is one to warm the hearts of those who still believe in the essential simplicity and drive of rock ...

The Runaways: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 9 October 1976

Runaways — the wild ones ...

Aerosmith: Aero-dynamic

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

HOWARD BUNKER looked down at his instrument panel and spoke softly into the radio. There was no point in looking through the plexiglass canopy, for ...

Penguin Café Orchestra: an English Art Ensemble of Chicago

Profile and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

ONE OF the constant pleasures of hearing new music for the first time is the range of emotions it can evoke: surprise, euphoria, disgust, enlightenment, ...

Rory Gallagher: The Rory of the Crowd

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

RORY GALLAGHER looked ruffled, most annoyed indeed. He cast a reflective eye across the current mode of pyrotechnical wizardry in rock and was not happy ...

The Runaways: You Sexy Things!

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

"AW, C'MON, you guys at the front. Sit down and give the rest of the lads a view of the girls..." And that passionate request, ...

Thin Lizzy: Johnny The Fox

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

THIN LIZZY: Johnny The Fox (Vertigo 9102 012). Phil Lynott (bass, vocals), Brian Downey (drums, percussion), Scott Gorham (lead guitar), Brian Robertson (lead guitar). Produced ...

Aerosmith: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 October 1976

AFTER MANY years studying the phenomenon of the rock concert, I have made a discovery that might well be hailed as a scientific breakthrough in ...

Bob Seger: 31 With A Bullet

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 October 1976

EARLIER this summer, Bob Seger appeared in concert at Pontiac Stadium, a giant indoor arena on the outskirts of Detroit, attracting some 70,000 crazed Michigan ...

Climax Blues Band: Climax Get It Right

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 October 1976

COLIN COOPER and PETER HAYCOCK: 'We're playing more of what people call funk today, but it's all rooted in the blues.' ...

David Cassidy, Mick Ronson: David Cassidy & Mick Ronson: Cassidy Lights Up With Ronson

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 23 October 1976

DAVID CASSIDY is to form a band with Mick Ronson, the British guitarist whose services as a freelance player are much in demand these days. ...

Jonathan Richman: Rock Poet Of Lower Middle-Class Suburbia

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 October 1976

I'm in touch with the modern worldI'm in love with the modern worldI got the radio on(Radio on) ...

Victoria Spivey: Black Queen Spivey

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

Max Jones pays tribute to VICTORIA SPIVEY ...

Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Where There's a Wilko…

Report by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

FEELGOODS' WILKO JOHNSON: 'I work for one hour a day and get paid about £2,000. That's why I want a television in my room.' ...

Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains The Same

Film/DVD/TV Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

THE FOUR members of Led Zeppelin received standing ovations at the premiere in New York last week of their film The Song Remains The Same. ...

Peter Frampton

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

HOW DOES it feel to be a pop star?" The Italian journalist eagerly thrust his microphone at the glamorous vision stumbling out of his limo ...

Peter Frampton: Empire Pool, Wembley

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

"PEDER! Cor what a man," came the strangled gasp from two young chaps in the foremost rows. "Ain't 'ee sexy!" ...

Sailor, Sparks: Sparks: Big Beat (Island);Sailor: The Third Step (Epic)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

SPARKS: Big Beat (Island ILPS 9445). Russell Mael (vocals), Ron Mael (keyboards), Jeffrey Salen (guitar), Sal Maida (bass). Billy Boy Michaels (drums). Produced by Rupert ...

The Clash: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

THE ICA, that home of lively experiment in London's Mall, is fast becoming the badly needed workshop-cum-watering hole for the growing number of jolly ravers ...

Wishbone Ash: Phase 3 for Ash

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

After deserting their homeland to live in the States, they're back — but they've not been forgotten… ...

Bruce Springsteen: The Palladium, New York

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

IT MAY rain or snow, and the temperature in New York might even drop below freezing-point this weekend, but so long as Bruce Springsteen is ...

Climax Blues Band: Victoria Palace, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

AFTER A succession or strangely dissatisfying gigs in the giant aircraft hangars of rock (ie Empire Pool, Wembley), how sweet it was to hear some ...

Orleans: Dance with Orleans

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

FOR A band that was formed virtually by accident one night on a European tour four years ago, Orleans have now come a long way, ...

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes: Southside Of The Tracks

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: Springsteen protege from Asbury, so-named because he sounds like a Chicago Southside blues singer. ...

Stephen Stills: Be A Brother

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

Steve Stills tells Chris Charlesworth in New York why he's touring solo after all these years... ...

Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt: Steve Van Zandt: Miami, Bruce, and Roots

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

LOS ANGELES: Miami Steve Van Zandt has been in Bruce Springsteen's band for over a year now, and also finds time these days to guide ...

Thin Lizzy: Lizzy's Cocky Rebel

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 November 1976

"Cocky Rocky's a rock and roll starGot the talent to take him far..." ...

Chicago: Chicago's 'Comeback'

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

FEW BANDS have enjoyed the stability of Chicago, those rather dull "pioneers of jazz-rock" whose 'If You Leave Me Now' not only tops the charts ...

Climax Blues Band: Gold Plated

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

IT IS AN extraordinary fact that even the most diligent rock researcher can develop a blind spot. They get quite paranoiac about it. ...

David Essex: Home On The Road

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

"THE TIMES they are a-changin" ...and David Essex is changing with them. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Fiery ELP of soul ...

Allman Brothers Band: Elected! Rock and US Politics

Report by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

After Jimmy Carter's victory in the U.S. Presidential elections, Chris Charlesworth in New York investigates the role of rock in American politics... ...

Gordon Giltrap: Visionary (Electric)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

CYNICS STOP here. Rarely has an album invited scepticism so shamelessly as this, where an acoustic guitarist takes on strings, synthesizer, complex arrangements and the ...

Jackson Browne: The Pretender (Asylum)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

THE CHOICE of Jackson Browne's classic 'Late For The Sky', with all its mystique and aura, as soundtrack to the movie Taxi Driver, was no ...

Leo Sayer: Endless Flight (Chrysalis)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Leo Sayer (vocals, harmonica). Ed Greene, Steve Gadd, Rick Shlosser, Jeff Porcaro, Nigel Olsson (drums), Andy Muson, Bill Bodine, Willie Weeks, Bob Glaub, Lee Sklar, ...

Andrew Gold, Linda Ronstadt: Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Gold: Odeon, Birmingham

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Linda warms to a Heatwave ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More From The Road (MCA)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

LYNYRD SKYNYRD are one those bands who, like Rory Gallagher and Dr. Feelgood, will never be able to create the same excitement in the studio ...

Muddy Waters: Muddy's Blues Power

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

AT THE London New Victoria concerts last week, Muddy Mississippi Waters — which is the way McKinley Morganfield announced himself — proved not for the ...

The Clash: Down And Out And Proud

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

THREE WEEKS AGO at London's ICA, Jane and Shane, regulars on the new-wave punk rock scene, were sprawled at the edge of the stage. Blood ...

Peter Tosh: Tosh Spreads the Message

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

"REGGAE IS black. It was held back but you can't keep a good man down. It was just a manifestation but it had to happen. ...

Willie Nelson: The Troublemaker (CBS) and Live (RCA)

Review by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

TWO OLDIES, neither of which add significantly to Nelson's reputation as the leading exponent of the new Texan country music: The Troublemaker, recorded in 1973, ...

Wishbone Ash: New England (MCA)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Andy Powell (guitars, mandolin and vocals), Laurie Wisefield (guitars and vocals), Martin Turner (bass and lead vocals), Steve Upton (drums). Recorded at Mart's Place, Laureledge, ...

Barclay James Harvest: Octoberon

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

I GET the impression from this new BJH album that the band were in a particularly mellow mood when they finally got around to recording ...

Betty Carter: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

A NEW EXPERIENCE awaits the visitors to Ronnie Scott's in London, this week or next, in the extrovert person of Betty Carter, a wholly original ...

Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin: 'It’s a Massive Compromise, Making Films': Jimmy Page on The Song Remains the Same

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

A WARM HANDSHAKE, twinkling eyes and black hair grown thicker than he has allowed for some while – Jimmy Page arrived at his London office ...

John Denver, Starland Vocal Band: John Denver, the Starland Vocal Band: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

NEW YORK: For better or worse, John Denver has changed people's lives. His concerts, in America if not elsewhere, are gatherings of almost religious intensity, ...

Osibisa: Ojah Awake

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

WHEN I sat upon my mother's knee during the years of austerity, being spoon-fed National Health bubble and squeak, and listening to the Light Programme, ...

Electric Light Orchestra: The Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record (Jet)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

Jeff Lynne (lead vocals, lead, rhythm and slide guitars), Bev Bevan (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Richard Tandy (keyboards, backing vocals), Kelly Groucutt (bass, vocals), Mik ...

Thin Lizzy: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

THIN LIZZY have reached that dangerous stage where they no longer nave to be good to provoke a maniacal response from their audience. ...

Junior Murvin: Steal Away With Success

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 22 November 1976

JUNIOR MURVIN’S ‘Police And Thieves’, currently bubbling under the chart and selling up to 1,000 copies a day some five months after its release, a ...

Al Stewart: Coasting With Al

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

AL STEWART, who plays London's New Victoria Theatre on December 2, is now enjoying greater success in America. ...

CBGBs, Max's etc: Underground Overground

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

"PUNK ROCK? What's that supposed to mean? The bands that play at my club aren't punks. They might wear leather jackets, chew gum and try ...

Cliff Richard: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

Cliff: he's nearly rocking ...

The Flamin' Groovies: Flamin' Groovies: Brunel University, Uxbridge

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

"WE WERE into punk a long time ago. but we've cleaned up a bit since then." The speaker was John Wilson, singer with the Flamin' ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Hall and Oates: A Bigger Splash

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

JOHN OATES: 'I find the audiences in Europe more intelligent and receptive – music in Europe and England still retains its mystique and excitement.' ...

Heart: Heart Tremors

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

YOU PROBABLY haven't heard of Heart – apart, perhaps, from their excellent 'Magic Man' single – yet they've soared from obscurity in the States to ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Maureen Paton, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

THE GUITAR HERO stakes is such an overworked concept that it seems almost poetic justice to overact it outrageously to the point of parody. Johnny ...

Lone Star: Lone Star's State

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

THIS MUST MEAN something. Driving home last week-end, I flicked on the radio, to the Alan Freeman Show, and was greeted by a piece of ...

Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Palladium Theatre, NYC

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

NEW YORK Only an artist with the charisma and talent of Nell Young could perform with a lacklustre band such as the current Crazy Horse ...

Noel Redding: Blowin'

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

ROCK LYRICS aren't usually worth printing on the sleeve, but most bands display their adolescent poetry as if Homer played rhythm guitar, and Dostoyevsky was ...

Phil Spector

Comment by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

BY NOW we must all, surely, regard the coming of rock's New Wave as beneficial. Whether the currently fashionable bands prove to be the real ...

The Sex Pistols: Sex Pistols: Rotten To The Core

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

"I had absolutely no interest in singing. I was more interested in being obnoxious." ...

10cc, Colosseum, Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Yes: 10cc, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, ELO et al: Split Ends

Overview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

SOME come, others go, but the name lives on for ever...10cc set no precedent by splitting in half last week, but the decision by Graham ...

ABBA: Arrival (Epic)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

ABBA: Frida Lyngstad and Anna Faltskog (vocals), Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals) with Ola Brunkert and Roger Palm (drums), Janne Schaffer, ...

Jess Roden Band: Drury Lane Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

IT WAS no use. The smartly attired attendant (he may well have been the manager) just could not get the kids to sit down. ...

Bonnie Bramlett, Grinderswitch, The Marshall Tucker Band: Marshall Tucker Band, Grinderswitch, Bonnie Bramlett: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

YIHAAHS RANG in the ears when the cowpokes came to town on Saturday night. Huge beefy men burst out of their jeans and hammered away ...

Queen: A Day At The Races (EMI)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

QUEEN: A Day At The Races (EMI EMTC 104). Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano), Brian May (guitars, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), John Deacon (bass). Produced ...

Steeleye Span: Family of Span

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

"HAVE WE ever come close to splitting? My God, HAVE we! It's very incestuous, our band, y'see. We're all interdependent and to work out your ...

Tangerine Dream: Twilight of the Dream

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

TANGERINE DREAM seem to have strange ideas about off-duty entertainment. ...

The Bee Gees: Nights on Broadway

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 4 December 1976

BEE GEES: "The Beatles influenced us in the early days and before that Neil Sedaka. Now we let Stevie Wonder influence us." ...

Can: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

VIEWED IN isolation, Can's recent singles seem like some kind of sell-out. What, after all, is a "serious" German rock band, whose members include former ...

The Eagles: Eagles: Where Eagles Dare…

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

WHAT'S it like, I asked, being an Eagle? Glenn Frey, a perpetual talker, paused to consider the question and the silence lasted almost a minute. ...

Heart: Oxford Polytechnic

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

IT WAS with a little disappointment that I discovered at the weekend that Heart's stage act isn't as impressive as their debut album, Dreamboat Annie. ...

Jackson Browne These Days…

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

The American singer/songwriter – currently touring Britain – who has made his name by writing constantly demanding, complex and mysterious songs, talks to COLIN IRWIN ...

Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon: Apollo, Glasgow

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

Jackson: after the deluge ...

Ralph McTell: The Anti-Star…

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

SILVER DISCS paper the walls of Ralph McTell's new eight-roomed Putney castle. There's going to be a studio upstairs, he says, directly above where the ...

The Clash, The Damned, The Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: Sex Pistols, Damned, Clash, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers: Leeds Polytechnic

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

Punk! On stage! ...

The Band's Last Stand

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

IT WASN'T easy to book a plane from Los Angeles airport on Thanksgiving to fly up to San Francisco for the Band's farewell live concert ...

The Eagles: Hotel California (Asylum)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 December 1976

Don Henley (drums, vocals), Glenn Frey (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Don Felder (guitar, slide guitar, vocals), Joe Walsh (guitar, keyboards, vocals). Randy Meisner (bass, vocals). Produced ...

Genesis: Wind And Wuthering (Charisma)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 December 1976

Phil Collins (voices, drums, percussion), Steve Hackett (electric guitars, nylon classical 12-string, Kalimba, auto-harp), Mike Rutherford (basses, electric and acoustic guitars, bass pedals), Tony Banks ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Hall and Oates: The Palladium, NYC

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 18 December 1976

NEW YORK: Like it or not, Hall and Oates are currently running the distinct risk of becoming just too perfect for their own good. At ...

Lou Reed: How Lou Saw The White Light

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 18 December 1976

LOU REED, the crafty old rock 'n' roll fox, is alive and kicking. In fact, he's standing in the lobby of the Los Angeles Hyatt ...

Wings: Wings Over America (EMI)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 December 1976

An exhausting triple set which had the making of an exceptional double album ...

Genesis: Wuthering Heights

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 December 1976

THE PUBLIC has a strange image of rock and roll musicians. Most imagine them to be public school educated, with a passionate dedication to the ...

Choralerna, Andraé Crouch: Andrae Crouch, Choralerna: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

ANDRAE CROUCH is a smoother character than the gospel stars who turned our heads around in the Forties and Fifties, his music being as rooted ...

Dionne Warwick is never less than perfect... always incapable of awkwardness

Profile by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

MANY'S THE time that contemporary pop record producers have been compared, in function and power, to film directors. There are, of course, many different kinds ...

Erroll Garner: Musical Magician

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

WRITERS SOMETIMES referred to him as the "Wizard of the Ivories," which is to be expected, and at least one of his EP records bore ...

Freddie King: King of rhythm 'n' blues

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

SOME BLUESMEN are pure country artists, folk musicians really, others are traditional-mixed-with-Chicago, others West Coast, jazz-blues Memphis stylists soul singers and what-have-you. ...

The Carter Family, Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash, The Carter Family: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

VIEW YORK: Johnny Cash is the John Wayne of American music, a gigantic figure who towers above his country contemporaries when it comes down to ...

Little Bob Story, Hooker: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

LITTLE BOB Story is at London's Dingwalls, and the joint is packed to overflowing. They are only letting new people in when and if anyone ...

Patti Smith: Punk Queen of Sheba

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

On stage, Patti Smith changes personality. One night she's Alexander the Great's daughter, the next the Queen of Sheba. But to Caroline Coon (reporting from ...

Status Quo: New Bingley Hall, Stafford

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

BETWEEN SEVEN and eight thousand fans queued for hours in the rain on Sunday, and then were individually frisked before they streamed into the cavernous ...

The Bay City Rollers: Palladium, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

Rollers: it's a riot ...

George Benson: Breezin' with Benson

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 5 February 1977

"HE (MILES Davis) was one of the first smart guys in this industry. I love him a lot and every time I speak to him ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 February 1977

Skynyrd: all guts and fury ...

"Brother" Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, 'Big' John Patton, Jimmy Smith: Record Shops and Hammond B3s

Memoir by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 5 February 1977

RICHARD WILLIAMS Writing every week in the MM ...

Ry Cooder, Flaco Jimenez: Flaco Jimenez: Viva los Accordion

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 February 1977

THE DIATONIC accordion is basically a fairly rudimentary instrument. Like a mouth organ, it plays one note as you pull it out and another as ...

Steve Reich: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 12 February 1977

OSTENSIBLY, the two Steve Reich concerts at London's Roundhouse last Sunday and the Sunday before reversed the natural order of things, starting with a complete ...

ABBA: The Arrival of Abba

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 12 February 1977

On the eve of Abba's British live debut, Harry Doherty looks at the reasons for their amazing success — and asks the rock biz for ...

Boston: More Than a Sensation...

Profile and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

...more like a fairy tale come true, as the band who came from nowhere take off in unprecedented fashion. Chris Charlesworth reports from New Jersey ...

Heatwave: Phewhattascorcha!

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

HEATWAVE, whose 'Boogie Nights' single is moving up the chart, talk to Colin Irwin ...

The Damned: Damned Damned Damned (Stiff SEEZ 1)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

Damned with faint praise ...

Queen, Thin Lizzy: The Year Queen Lizzy Shook America

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

THE WINTER of 1977 was fierce on the East Coast of the USA, a thick layer of snow engulfing the territory between Boston and New ...

Brick, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament, Rose Royce: Underneath Apparent Mindlessness Lurks Astonishing Musicianship

Comment by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 19 February 1977

LOUIS JOHNSON, bass-playing Brother of that ilk, was quoted in a recent Downbeat on the subject of his favourite bassists: "Stanley Clarke... is the baddest ...

AC/DC: Current affairs

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 March 1977

Harry Doherty travels to Cardiff to see how AC/DC are steadily working their way to the top ...

David Bowie, Iggy Pop: Iggy Pop: A new career in a new town

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 5 March 1977

Iggy Pop, touring Britain this week, speaks to MICHAEL WATTS from Berlin. David Bowie's saying nothing... ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna Face the Music

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 5 March 1977

IT WAS once my considerable misfortune to own a part-time job, forced on me by financial hardship, that required knocking on people's doors inviting them ...

The Clash: 'White Riot' (CBS)

Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 19 March 1977

The Clash: there's a riot goin' on... ...

Pink Floyd: Empire Pool, London

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 26 March 1977

GLC fuck-ups at Empire Pool ...

Lou Reed, The Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols: Lou Reed Joins Pistols Furore

Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 26 March 1977

LOU REED claims he has been banned from the London Palladium because of the continuing controversy surrounding the Sex Pistols and punk rock. ...

The Band: Islands (Capitol)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, April 1977

WHEN Isaac Hayes was at the peak of his success, some five or six years ago, he told me of his great ambition to write ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Look At Me Now: The Electric Light Orchestra

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 April 1977

ELO: MORE than a classical gas. "It’s not classical rock. It never has been, but when it started, it needed a name. It had to ...

Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 9 April 1977

The Standard Jim Webb ...

John Coltrane:The Other Village Vanguard Tapes

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 April 1977

The combination of affection, respect and awe in which his fans held the late John Coltrane is given to few people in any walk of ...

Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Slits, The Subway Sect: The Clash, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Slits: Coliseum, Harlesden, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 9 April 1977

THE GRANDLY-NAMED COLISEUM in Harlesden, London, turned out somewhat grander than most people expected. It's no fleapit, more a small local theatre — complete with ...

Van Morrison: Jamming with George Benson

Report by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 9 April 1977

LOS ANGELES: VAN MORRISON made a rare TV appearance on the Midnight Special filmed last Monday at the NBC studios in Burbank. The show, which ...

Sandy Denny: Rendezvous

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, May 1977

THIS IS THE ALBUM we have been waiting for since Sandy left Fairport Convention for the second time at the end of 1975. Over six ...

Elton John: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 May 1977

Elton enthrals ...

Dr. Feelgood: Just What The Dr. Ordered: A New Guitarist To Replace Wilko In The Feelgoods

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 May 1977

IT'S BARDOT'S, Canvey Island, formerly Cloud Nine, former weekly haunt of Dr. Feelgood. It's Thursday, almost midnight, and Wilko Johnson has well and truly joined ...

Television: TV Times

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 7 May 1977

Television's Tom Verlaine talks to Caroline Coon in Houston ...

Tom Waits: Sound Circus, London

Live Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 7 May 1977

THE OBVIOUS question about Tom Waits — is he, or is he not, a phoney? — ought to be perfectly clear, yet was never quite ...

Dr. Feelgood: Sneakin' Suspicion (United Artists UAS 30075)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 May 1977

Epitaph to Wilko ...

Essra Mohawk: Essra (Private Stock).

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 14 May 1977

THE LAST album (on Asylum) was simply called Essra Mohawk. Now, by way of Essra, a title whose warmer, more personal implication is complemented by ...

Thomas A Dorsey: The Father Of Gospel: Thomas A. Dorsey

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Melody Maker, 14 May 1977

He likes his stories does Thomas A. Dorsey, and with a 77-year-old mind in charge of the telling, they do tend to crop up more ...

Dory Previn: Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 May 1977

DORY PREVIN arouses my sympathy, but she doesn't excite my empathy. However much I may agree with what she is telling us about woman's condition ...

Talking Heads: Rock Garden, London

Live Review by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 21 May 1977

IN AN unpretentious, un-hyped way, the Talking Heads' UK debut — two warm-up nights at the Rock Garden, Covent Garden, prior to their tour with ...

Talking Heads: Talking Headquarters

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 21 May 1977

Talking Heads, the latest New York new wave band to tour Britain, talk to Caroline Coon ...

Sandy Denny Pregnant

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 July 1977

SANDY DENNY looked radiant. Yes, one is always supposed to say that about ladies when they're pregnant, but in this case it was true. She ...

Little Feat: In the lap of the gods? "Jeez, I don't know about that"

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 6 August 1977

FORGIVE ME, Father, for I have sinned. I did not genuflect every time Lowell George spliced Fender guitar with bottleneck last night. ...

The Adverts: Reading The Adverts

Profile and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 6 August 1977

THE NEW WAVE scythe has brought about a dual personality in programming for a lot of the more established clubs. ...

Boomtown Rats: The Boomtown Rats (Ensign)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 August 1977

OH CHRIST, what will we label them? Rock 'n' Roll, Rhythm & Blues, Pop/New Wave? All tags apply. But no one alone totally fits the ...

David Bowie, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Generation X, Marc Bolan: Bowie and Bolan Get It On

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, September 1977

"OH THAT'S REALLY Polaroid! You've gotta keep the ending!" David Bowie rocked with laughter and Marc Bolan wiped away the tears that had threatened to ...

Roy Wood: Jazzed-up Wood

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 3 September 1977

TAPE RECORDER OFF, Roy Wood typically loosens up, revealing a few of his franker thoughts. "I've written something like 30 hit songs, you know," he ...

The Only Ones: Ones-off

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 3 September 1977

SOMETIMES you feel so...er, hypocritical. Let me explain. The project in hand was an interview with The Only Ones, who over the last couple of ...

Jonathan Richman: In Love With The Modern World

Profile by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 17 September 1977

On the eve of Jonathan Richman's first British tour, Ian Birch traces his career ...

Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane: The Return of You Know Who: Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 September 1977

PETE TOWNSHEND is back — with a new album accompanied by his old mate Ronnie Lane, and with trenchant views on punk. ...

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 24 September 1977

IT CONFOUNDED all expectations. Cross a children's pantomime with a Charlie Chaplin movie and filter it through a gawky highschool kid who mimes awful ...

Bob Seger: Cruisin' with Seger

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 15 October 1977

Detroit rocker Bob Seger, who starts his first British tour tomorrow (Friday), talks to Harvey Kubernik in Los Angeles ...

Don Williams: Country Boy (ABC)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 October 1977

NOW LET'S get this straight from the outset. I'm a Don Williams fan of considerable ardour, and all the disappointments felt with this album are ...

Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers: L.A.M.F. (Track 2409 218)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 15 October 1977

LET'S DISPENSE with some inevitables. One. Heartbreakers Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan were originally part of, the New York Dolls and, of course, we all ...

Sandy Denny: Sandy Fights Back

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 November 1977

"IF I HAVE TO SING 'Matty Groves' one more time, I'll throw myself out of a window... I'll be doing a lot of stuff from ...

Wire: Men Behind the Wire

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 10 December 1977

HAVE YOU noticed how a new category is being synthesised in the press? It had to happen, now that disillusion with new wave/punk mark one ...

Rockers: Reggae On Film

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 13 December 1977

LISTEN, going to the movies is cheaper than going to Jamaica. Am I right or am I wrong? As Dillinger used to say before he ...

Tom Robinson Band: The Tom Robinson Band: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 December 1977

IT WAS undoubtedly one of the best gigs I have seen this or any other year. The combination of two excellent bands, the Tom Robinson ...

Patti Smith: Easter

Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 1978

PATTI SMITH'S first album, Horses, was a bolt out of the blue, a lightning stab at the very top of the tree, one of the ...

Steely Dan Movie

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 5 January 1978

STEELY DAN WILL compose and perform the title track for FM, which is scheduled to begin filming this week at Universal Studios. Denny Rosencrantz, vice-president ...

The Prisonaires: Five Beats Behind Bars

Retrospective by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 11 January 1978

With doo-wop increasing in popularity, MARTIN HAWKINS reveals the 'inside' story of the Prisonaires, one of the South's finest vocal harmony groups. ...

Sex Pistols: America Learns to Loathe the Pistols

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 January 1978

Michael Watts reports on the Memphis hotel set-up (was it the CIA?); the two suspicious cowboys (were they big-time dope dealers?); the sociologists' poll (where ...

The Sex Pistols: Goodbye — and Good Riddance: The Sex Pistols, Winterland, San Francisco

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 January 1978

Harvey Kubernik's personal view of the Pistols' last U.S. gig at Winterland in San Francisco ...

The Bee Gees, Andy Gibb: How the Bee Gees captured America

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 January 1978

"ONE OF the reasons for the Bee Gees' success," explains Robin Gibb at their rented Benedict Canyon home, "is that we've never used music as ...

Slaughter and the Dogs: Slaughter & the Dogs: Stop spitting, punks

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 January 1978

SLAUGHTER AND the Dogs are not one of the great groups of our time, even by the light of punk rock. But they deserve better ...

Suicide: Suicide (Red Star RS1, import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 January 1978

Suicide is a solution ...

Frank Zappa: Carry On Composing

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 January 1978

No Edgar Varèse trip for Frank Zappa, who's just sold out four shows at the Hammersmith Odeon (not bad for a hippie in '78, eh?). ...

Miles Davis: Dark Magus (CBS/Sony 40AP 741-2, 2 LPs, Japanese import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 January 1978

Dark side of Miles ...

Talking Heads

Report and Interview by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 28 January 1978

Penny Valentine reports from the Talking Heads tour ...

XTC: Middlesex Polytechnic

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 28 January 1978

"HELLO, WE'RE XTC. You're the audience, and this is 'Radios In Motion'." A violent blast of noise collides with your brain, a few pints of ...

David Bowie: From Brixton To Berlin

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, February 1978

Michael Watts reports from the German film set where David Bowie is making Just A Gigolo ...

Blue Öyster Cult: R.U. ready 2 rock?

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 4 February 1978

Blue Oyster Cult's ALLEN LANIER talks to Ian Birch in New York ...

Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 4 February 1978

Cynical Zappa ...

The Rich Kids: Rich Kids: Nashville Rooms, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 February 1978

MIDGE URE made the most telling comment of the night just before the Rich Kids played their deserved encore after a rattling set at the ...

Aerosmith, Kansas, Styx: American revolution: Aerosmith, Boston, Kansas and co.

Overview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

LIKE A FOREST fire, the flames of the new wave roared across the British rock scene, leaving behind a charred and blackened landscape. A few ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Flying Sorcerers

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

Earth, Wind & Fire are the biggest soul group in the world – their albums now go platinum. But Britain will have to wait until ...

Roogalator: Play It By Ear (Do It)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

A JINX HAS to hang over Roogalator, despite their having one of the great names. ...

Kansas: Wayward Sons in Slot Machine City: Kansas

Report and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

TWO DAYS in Las Vegas and your grip on sanity begins to slip. You can even buy a T-shirt there emblazoned with the gem: "I've ...

Devo: We Are Devo. We Are The Next Thing

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

Ian Birch talks to an American band with heavy friends – like Eno and David Bowie ...

Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band: Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band (MCA — Import from Virgin)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

BOSTON (OR should I say Bosstown?) Massachusetts is also undergoing a Modern World Revival. Former inmates like Aerosmith, J. Geils and even the Modern Lovers ...

Blondie on Blondie

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 March 1978

Harry Doherty reports from West Berlin ...

Kate Bush: Bush Baby

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 4 March 1978

2002 Prologue: This interview would have come on the back of an MM editorial conference, Ray Coleman at the helm, sarcastic bastards around the table, ...

Miles Davis, Gil Evans: Gil Evans: Sketches of Gil

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 4 March 1978

At the end of his first-ever British tour, Gil Evans, jazz arranger extraordinary and mentor of Miles Davis, talks to Richard Williams ...

Ian Dury & the Blockheads: Dingwall's, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 March 1978

Down Dury Lane ...

Suicide: Bent on Suicide

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 March 1978

Colin Irwin reports on New York's latest cult success: a weird duo called Suicide ...

Advertising, Blondie, Boyfriends, The (US): Blondie, Advertising, the Boyfriends: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 March 1978

PROOF — IF proof were now needed — of Blondie's vast potential was provided in full during Sunday night's gig at the Roundhouse, London's answer ...

Dire Straits

Report and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 11 March 1978

THEY SEEMED to come out of nowhere: Dire Straits, that is. Suddenly last year London's bitter-and-Number-Six grapevine was buzzing with the name. Everyone wanted to ...

Professor Longhair: I'm A Little Rowdy With My Playing

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

Professor Longhair talks to Max Jones ...

Shirley Bassey: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

SHE REALLY is something special... Our Shirl. In an age of mediocrity, the spectacle of an artist who can do his or her job with ...

Tangerine Dream: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

TANGERINE DREAM got what must surely be the greatest ovation of their career when they played at Hammersmith Odeon last Monday. ...

Boomtown Rats: The Boomtown Rats: the Stars And Stripes Club, Yate

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

The new Rats bag ...

Cheap Trick: the Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 8 April 1978

Cheap and tasty ...

Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson: Kris Kristofferson: Young Blue Eyes is Back

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 8 April 1978

Kris Kristofferson was a hell-raiser. He also grabbed country music by the scruff of its neck and dragged it into the Seventies. Now he's to ...

Professor Longhair: Live On The Queen Mary (EMI Harvest SHSP 4086)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 April 1978

LONGHAIR THE pianist, singer, songwriter and potent entertainer is something of a New Orleans phenomenon. He is (as he said himself in a recent MM ...

The Only Ones, Television: Television, The Only Ones: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 15 April 1978

Chilling Verlaine ...

Nico: Return Of The Pagan Exile

Interview by Maureen Paton, Melody Maker, 29 April 1978

Nico, in London for a one-off gig last Monday and to record an album, talks to Maureen Paton. ...

Tom Waits: Guess You're Waits

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 29 April 1978

FORGIVE the blasphemy, but I reckon God must have been way out of his little box when he deposited Tom Waits among us. Mr. Waits ...

Pere Ubu: The Pere Tree

Profile and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 13 May 1978

Ian Birch introduces Ohio's latest 'overnight sensation', Pere Ubu ...

Helen Reddy: Palladium, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 20 May 1978

THERE IS something about Helen Reddy which just gets up my nose. I didn't know that, mind you, before I went to the first of ...

Queen: Empire Pool, Wembley, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 May 1978

Queen bee ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Themes and Variations on ELO

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 27 May 1978

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's forthcoming British tour, which includes a run of eight nights at Wembley Empire Pool, will be the band's last appearances here ...

Kate Bush: The Kick Outside

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 3 June 1978

2002 Prologue: I remember this interview with massive warmth. I knew me and Kate were obviously getting onside ‘cos this was done at the family ...

Rory Gallagher: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 June 1978

RORY GALLAGHER'S return to London, with two shows at the Hammersmith Odeon at the weekend, emphasized the sway the eternally youthful Irish guitarist holds over ...

Bruce Springsteen: Reborn and Running Again

Report by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 10 June 1978

EVEN BEFORE the two brilliant concerts at the Spectrum earlier in the week, Bruce Springsteen could have been the Mayor of Philadelphia if he had ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 June 1978

HONESTLY, when you find yourself actually applauding the stage at the end of a gig, then you suddenly realise that you've just witnessed a very ...

Graham Parker: Shield

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 June 1978

IT'S THOSE damned shades that frighten me so much. What goes on behind them? Where are his eyes? Has he got eyes? The imagination runs ...

John Cage: National Theatre, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 24 June 1978

THE LIGHTS went down in London's National Theatre and a bearded, slightly stooped guy in blue denims came on, sat at a lecture table and ...

La Düsseldorf: La Düsseldorf (Radar RAD 7)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 15 July 1978

The Kraft of Düsseldorf ...

Brian Eno, Talking Heads: Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings And Food (Sire)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 15 July 1978

David Byrne (singing, guitars, synthesized percussion); Chris Frantz (drums, percussion); Jerry Harrison (piano, organs, synthesizer, guitar, background vocals); Tina Weymouth (bass) and Brian Eno (synthesizers, ...

The Shirts: Dingwall's, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 July 1978

YOU KNOW the feeling. Out comes a new album from a new band and you get so enthusiastic about it that you're falling over yourself ...

Supertramp on the Verge

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 July 1978

July 2002 intro: Supertramp play at Hyde Park this month, a sure sign they have lost none of the fans who made them huge with ...

Brian Eno, Talking Heads: Talking Heads: More words about Eno and art

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 29 July 1978

Ian Birch meets Talking Heads ...

The Clash, Suicide: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 29 July 1978

NO TWO ways about it. All I can do is echo and re-emphasise Chris Brazier's sentiments in MM of two issues ago: the Clash are ...

Jessy Dixon, Paul Simon: Dixon Spreading the Gospel with Paul Simon

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Melody Maker, 19 August 1978

Jessy Dixon, who plays London's Rainbow on September 2, talks to Steve Turner ...

Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young: Blue Note Records: Young, gifted... and Blue

Discography by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 September 1978

Chris Welch examines the legacy of Blue Note, the pioneering label currently being re-promoted ...

Frankie Miller: Dingwall's, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 September 1978

FRANKIE MILLER would have been recognised as a major rock singer with a major rock audience three years ago had it not been for his ...

Allman Brothers Band: Allman Brothers Reform For LP, Tour

Report by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 9 September 1978

THE FOUR SURVIVING members of the original Allman Brothers Band – Gregg Allman, Dickie Betts, Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson – have reformed for ...

Blondie: Parallel Lines (Chrysalis)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 9 September 1978

BLONDIE'S third album seems designed to cater for two distinct requirements: a) to satisfy the near-hysterical cries for the pure pop of the band's debut ...

Blondie: From Blondie With Love…

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 9 September 1978

CLEM BURKE offers a rather intriguing analogy about his band: Blondie are now playing the roles patented earlier this decade by Gary Glitter, T. Rex ...

Punishment Of Luxury: Dishing out Punishment

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 9 September 1978

"It's really crazy to think you've got to get crazy to be happy. I don't think you can be so logical as to estimate your ...

Bryan Ferry: The Bride Stripped Bare

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

WITH HIS USUAL panache (some may say pretensions), Bryan Ferry has taken his album title from a famous work by the surrealist Marcel Duchamp: The ...

Doll By Doll: Entropy Is Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

"If you go walking in the street today/be sure and listen what the young boys say/they know the colour of speed is red/you don't become ...

Emmylou Harris: Profile…Best Of Emmylou Harris

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

UNDOUBTEDLY, Emmylou's success has been to make traditional country music acceptable to a rock audience. She has a lot to answer for, and in a ...

Frank Sinatra: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

"SINATRA IS Sinatra, and this is perfect," someone once wrote about one of his movies. That sentence would, I imagine, sum up the feelings of ...

Keith Moon: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

Obituary by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

SOMETIME IN 1972, when my admiration for the Who was at its most passionate peak, I spent an afternoon at Keith Moon's house in Chertsey. ...

Keith Moon: The White Tornado

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

ON THE RADIO they were playing a tribute to Keith Moon. They put on 'My Generation' by the Who. We heard the line that now ...

Smokie: Exiles On The Reeperbahn

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

LAST NIGHT, IN Hamburg, Smokie played to 6,000 people and tonight they'll repeat the process in the fishing port of Kiel. It brings to an ...

Tammy Wynette: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

SO ENTRENCHED is the tradition of slick showmanship and synthetic sincerity among buxom country goddesses that we should no longer be surprised or nauseated by ...

Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Record Producer

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

Tammy Wynette, over here for a short tour, lectures COLIN IRWIN on how to be an Average Superstar... ...

The Rolling Stones: Back Door Men

Interview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman aren't exactly garrulous types. But behind the... er... stony facade lies a commitment which has kept them pumping up the ...

Yes in New York: Swings And Roundabouts

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

"EXCUSE me, but what are you writing?" I'm just making notes about the concert and I'm trying to listen to the piano player. ...

Yes: Tormato

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

"RELEASE, Release!" is one of the most significant chants on this happy musical event. It is the hook-line on the fastest, funkiest, piece of rock ...

Bette Midler Just Wants to be Loved. It's the Least a Legend Can Expect

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

LOOKING AFTER Bette Midler's career, says her manager and former lover Aaron Russo, is like being the navigator of a plane en route for California. ...

Etta James: Payin' The Cost

Profile and Interview by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

YOU CAN ENJOY Etta James as a throwback to the rockin' Fifties. You can admire her as the apotheosis of Sixties soul performing ghetto clubs ...

10cc, Godley & Creme: Godley & Crème: 'How Do We Get To Be Rich And Famous, Kev?' 'But Lol, We Are Rich And Famous'

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

Fighting their reputation and their record company, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme turn defence into attack. ...

Grateful Dead: Dead on the Nile

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Keith & Donna Godchaux, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Hamza El-Din, Bill Graham, Ken Kesey & The Merry Pranksters, the Sphinx, the ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Skynyrd's First And…Last

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

ROCK 'N' ROLL REQUIEMS usually denigrate rather than enhance the reputation of the deceased, which is as sound a reason as any to approach this ...

Radio Stars: Holiday Album

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

RADIO STARS' aspirations are anything but modest. They have visions of themselves as a major (Hammersmith Odeon-Earls Court-Knebworth) band and Holiday Album is the vehicle ...

The Edge, Peter Gabriel, The Skids, Spizz, The Stranglers: The Stranglers, Peter Gabriel, The Skids et al: Punishment Park

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 September 1978

IF NOTHING ELSE, at least the sun shone undisturbed for the duration of the Stranglers' long-awaited London gig on Saturday afternoon ("They're trying to strangle ...

Brand X: Bristol Hippodrome

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

"BRAKES ARE locked. The steering is jammed!" Peter Robinson wrestled with the steering wheel as he drove like a Dalek around Bristol City centre last ...

Jethro Tull: Live – Bursting Out

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

SECRETIVE lot, Jethro Tull. This "live" double set was NOT recorded at Harold Rumsey's Lighthouse, nor at the Manor, nor on Ronnie Lane's mobile, but ...

Joan Armatrading: Fragile Surfaces And Fast Getaways

Interview by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

IN HER KITCHEN Joan Armatrading washes up the plates from a vegetarian meal we have just eaten. "You wouldn't think," she had said earlier with ...

Linda Ronstadt: Living In The U.S.A.

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

OVER HER PAST few albums and, curiously, ever since she won a wall full of awards, something has been happening to Linda Ronstadt's "interpretative" powers. ...

The Moody Blues, Patrick Moraz: Moody Blues: Yes To The Moodies

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

"I THOUGHT I was God. Then I realised I was just the drummer in a rock 'n' roll band." Graeme Edge and Caligula had the ...

Picture Discs: Pix to Click

Report by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

The latest manifestation of rock & roll collection mania is the picture disc. What it means, as RICHARD WOOTTON explains, is that lots of people ...

Buzzcocks: The Buzzcocks: Pete Shelley is a Sensitive Artist... and Buzzcocks Have no Guilt

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

Every successful new wave band experiences a backlash, and Buzzcockes are no exception. HARRY DOHERTY sympathises ...

Buzzcocks: The Buzzcocks: Love Bites

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

UMMMMM, ON THE cover of their new album the Buzzcocks look yummy enough to wrap up and take home. Love Bites, it's called, but no ...

The Ramones: Ulster Hall, Belfast

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

IT WAS A TRICKY confrontation. John Ramone stepped out of the hotel lift and after a brief moptop nod of recognition dived into the obvious ...

Third World: Journey To Addis

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 September 1978

SINCE THEIR appearance in 1975, Third World have always seemed the most likely candidates to follow Bob Marley through the gates marked Reggae/Pop Crossover. ...

Richard Thompson: The Guitar Hero as Mystic Recluse

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 October 1978

Richard Thompson is one of the world's finest guitarists, but a few years ago he "got cheesed off" and packed it all in. Now he's ...

Jethro Tull: Tull-evision

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 14 October 1978

On Monday night, Jethro Tull became the first rock group to appear live from America on British TV. CHRIS WELCH sat in the control booth ...

Pete Townshend, The Who: Pete Townshend: Picking Up The Pieces

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 14 October 1978

"ROGER AND I have really got to get together and thrash out... not a compromise, but what is really gonna work.  And if we can't ...

Ral Donner: The Great Pretender

Retrospective by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 14 October 1978

Some say that Ral Donner sang in Elvis's post-army style better than Elvis did himself. BILL MILLAR unveils the man behind rock 'n roll's most ...

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 October 1978

WEIRD IS the word that immediately springs to mind; the detached weirdness of viewing a transvestite play hard rock, of being part of an audience ...

Johnny Thunders: Nothing Is Forever

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 21 October 1978

Maybe you sneered at the New York Dolls; so maybe you missed a Distant Early Warning of the new wave. Johnny Thunders is back in ...

Cabaret Voltaire, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Nico, The Pop Group: The Pop Group/LKJ/Nico/Cab Voltaire

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 October 1978

Disorder by juxtaposition. Subversion by paradox. Nothing is as simple as we're told. New feelings. ...

B.B. King: BB King: The Las Vegas Tax Deductible Blues

Interview by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

PETE WINGFIELD played with B.B.King seven years ago, on one of the guitarist's less celebrated albums. They met up again last week – only this ...

Bram Tchaikovsky: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

FOR THOSE CONFUSED, angered and alienated by the Motors' continuing divergence from their original hard rock base, the movements in the Bram Tchaikovsky camp at ...

Ray Charles: Love And Peace

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

IT'S RARE FOR any artist to re-emerge successfully from a long period of musical sterility. Harder still, somehow, for black musicians, whose problems – brought ...

The Sex Pistols: Sex Pistols Bootlegs

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

Sex Pistols: Indecent Exposure (It's A Dirty Business) (Rotten Records – bootleg album)'Anarchy In The U.S.A.'/'Belsen Was A Gas' (Rotten Role – bootleg single). ...

Simon Frith: The Sociology Of Rock (Constable. £7.50; paperback, £3.50)

Book Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

FUN OR PROFIT? ...

The Motors: The Motors Show

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

UNE NUIT A PARIS...The intention behind visiting France with the Motors seemed a good one: the circumspection of their intriguingly varied curriculum could be more ...

The Rich Kids: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

UNTIL THE RICH KIDS get a few things into perspective – the rather misbegotten and amusing attitude, for instance, that their music goes above the ...

Pink Floyd, Rick Wright: Big is Beautiful: Rick Wright

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 4 November 1978

HAVING JUST divested himself of his first solo album, Rick Wright has a second project roaring and ready to go. But he reckons it will ...

Pere Ubu: Dub Housing

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 4 November 1978

A week is a month and you could be forgiven for thinking that the times would catch up with Pere Ubu (and overtake them) as ...

AC/DC: If You Want Blood You've Got It (Atlantic K50532)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

WHAT CAN you say? AC/DC. A live album. An inevitable live album, given the knowledge that they're one of the best heavy metal bands around ...

Aswad: Reggaematic Survival

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

The attention nowgiven to British reggae bandsis largely due to the pioneering work of Aswad, who invented live dub and played alongside the early punk bands. But, ...

James Chance & the Contortions, DNA, Mars, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks: Contortions, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks, Mars, D.N.A.: No New York (Antilles AN 7067 — US import).

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

Manhattan cocktail ...

Dolly Parton: Confessions of a Power Crazed Wig-Model

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

'Ah'd like to think ah've ADDED to what I had before.' With these words, Dolly Parton struck COLIN IRWIN dumb. And she's writing a song ...

Graham Parker: The Venue, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

GRAHAM PARKER was the perfect choice to open The Venue, Virgin boss Richard Branson's new club in the shell of the old Metropole Cinema hard ...

Kate Bush: Enigma Variations

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

2002 Prologue: KATE IS famous now. WELL famous, right across Europe and to celebrate that, EMI are launching Lionheart, the second album, in a castle ...

Pere Ubu: Five Alive in Ohio

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

LAST Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, the bona fide booji were out in force on the street. In America, any event (however minor) is invariably heralded ...

The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope (CBS 82431)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

The Clash: War 'n' pizza ...

O'Jays: The O'Jays: So Full Of Love (Philly Int PIR 86066)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

THIS IS an album that's already had two tracks pulled off as singles. Yet the real prize is lurking on the last track of side ...

Giorgio Moroder, The Three Degrees: The Three Degrees: New Dimensions (Ariola); Giorgio Moroder: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Of Midnight Express (Casablanca)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 11 November 1978

TEN YEARS from now, some Nick Lowe with perfect recall will mimic the sound of Giorgio Moroder; for it defines and will come to represent ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: A Lost Leader? Bob Marley & the Wailers’ Babylon By Bus

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

THE BEST RECORD Bob Marley ever made was the live single version of ‘No Woman, No Cry’. The reasons for its success were complex, but ...

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: Alex Harvey: Absence Makes The Art Grow Older

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

Alex Harvey: The Venue, London ...

Isaac Hayes: Chronicle/For The Sake Of Love

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

IT'S MY CONTENTION that, whatever bizarre circumstances caused the flurry of lawsuits circulating round Isaac Hayes prior to the demise of Stax Records, and the ...

The Bay City Rollers: Strangers In The Wind

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

IT WOULD indeed be wonderful to report that, after a lengthy break, the Bay City Rollers have returned to remind us that they were really ...

The Sex Pistols: Bootleg Albums

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

The Sex Pistols: Gun Control/Live at the Rodeo ...

Tyla Gang: Moon Proof (Beserkley)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

THERE ARE certain musicians whose burden in life is to carry the can for mediocre past. Sean Tyla, late of Ducks Deluxe, is suffering from ...

X-Ray Spex: Germ Free Adolescents

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 18 November 1978

"I WANNA BE A FROZEN PEA!" Does Poly Styrene finally make it? Will she really dehydrate? Does she turn into a Teasmade? Will she... ...

Mike Oldfield: This Is The Year Of The Expanding Man...

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 25 November 1978

What Scientology did for Chick Corea (and John Travolta), Exegesis is doing for mild, retiring Mike Oldfield. He puts the stare on KARL DALLAS ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: P-Funk: Free Your Mind — Your Accountant Will Follow

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 25 November 1978

Pretty soon, the whole Parliafunkadelicment troupe arrives in Britain — led by their founder, the black surrealist George Clinton. VIVIEN GOLDMAN witnessed Clinton's Clones on ...

Joe Ely: Texas Country Rock: Texas Twisters

Overview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 25 November 1978

THE ECHOES of rock get older; and likewise those consumers who, like me, retain an interest in them – rather than giving in to the ...

Bob Harris: The Bomber bales out

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

Carved up by the critics since his tube debut in 1972, Bob Harris is blowing the whistle on his TV career. It wasn't just the ...

Boney M: Babylon By Limousine

Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

"A Colchester farmer on his own accounts for 10,000 of the 400,000 advance orders of Boney M's 'Mary's Boy Child'. George Story heard the single ...

Eric Clapton: The Lost Weekend

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

THE ERIC CLAPTON MOVIE – LOCATION: A darkened Glasgow street, swept by freezing wind. TIME: Friday night, just after the Burns Howf has closed. ...

James Brown: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

The Sex Machine winds down ...

Cabaret Voltaire, pragVEC, Red Crayola, Scritti Politti: Red Crayola, Cabaret Voltaire, Scritti Politti, pragVEC: Acklam Hall, London

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

IN THE collapse of trends, movements — individuals: when they combine, all the stronger. Tonight four bands moving forward, confidently or haltingly, but all with ...

The Jacksons: Destiny

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

THIS IS AN important album for the Jacksons – now five again, with a small letter at least, Jermaine's defection having been balanced by lil' ...

The Police: Outlaws d’amour

Profile and Interview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 2 December 1978

THE POLICE are not punk. The Police are not disco. The Police are not heavy metal. The Police are not power pop. The Police are ...

Albert Ayler: The Village Concerts (Impulse IA-9336/2, two LPs, US import.)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

The beauty of Ayler ...

Alice Cooper: From The Inside

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

ALICE NEVER really was a contender for the world's greatest rock musician or singer (that's why he had to "kill" chickens and babies every night ...

Chic: C'est Chic

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

DISCO, THE People's Music, is the modern blues: the truest expression of a generation's thoughts, bitter sweetness with a backbeat. The old blues celebrated the ...

Dr. John: Dr John: City Lights

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

DR JOHN is clean (and mean) and on the scene; so Hail on Mac 'cause it's a stone fact (y'all), the gritty gumbo hustler's back. ...

Eric Clapton: Portrait Of The Artist As A Working Man

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

IT HAS OFTEN been said that one of Eric Clapton's major problems over the years has been to find his own identity, a role in ...

Judas Priest: Killing Machine

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

THE LEAD SINGER sweats redly, tuffness of the strategic stud decorations unable to blind the look of uncertainty in his eye for the camera as ...

Patrick Adams, Musique: Patrick Adams: The Invisible Dance Master

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

PATRICK ADAMS rides by night as SINE, Cloud One, the Universal Robot Band and Musique. He's a young New Yorker with ineffable self-confidence and a ...

Peter Tosh: The Bush Doctor's Dilemma

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

GAME-RULES for life: tall people have a natural advantage. Or look at it this way: tall people stand out. They're obvious targets. If you're very ...

Public Image Ltd: Public Image

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

"I don't agree with bands who make records to please audiences." (Johnny Rotten.) ...

The Rezillos: Cold Wars

Report and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

"Because Fay and I are going out together, when you have a group argument it invariably gets personal. Things that you dislike about people become ...

Wire: Barbed Wire

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

"We don't need nude tarts to sell records. Thus spake Wire, the most ruggedly uncompromising band HARRY DOHERTY has met for, oh, at least a ...

Disco: Sunday Afternoon Fever

Report by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

THERE WERE two disco dancing championships in London on Sunday. The big one was the World Disco Dancing Championship 1978, sponsored by EMI Dancing and ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic: Funkadelic: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

FUNK CAN never be rendered; only worked through. It's simple and irreducible, a tempo and a feeling that have to be, and have to put ...

Gary Moore: Back On The Streets

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

GARY MOORE is one of the best rock guitarists in the world – a conviction reinforced by his gymnastic feats on his instrument on this, ...

John Cooper Clarke: The Salford Surrealist

Report and Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

A poet and his roots ...

Peter Tosh: Rainbow Theatre/Venue, London

Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

Tosh in monotone ...

Rockpile: Rock Around With Philip Marlowe

Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

THE TROPICANA MOTEL sits disconsolately on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, an area that looks uncomfortable sandwiched in between the clinical sky-scrapers of Century ...

Sylvester: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

SYLVESTER, DISCO'S hermaphrodite darling, delivered one of the best shows in world history last weekend. ...

Metabolist, This Heat: This Heat, Office, Metabolist: Institute Of Education, London

Live Review by Maureen Paton, Melody Maker, 16 December 1978

IF THE people won't come to the laboratory, the laboratory must come to the people. ...

John Cooper Clarke, Elvis Costello, Richard Hell: Elvis Costello, Richard Hell, John Cooper Clarke: Dominion, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

WHAT IS it about Elvis Costello that makes us want to know about his home life? And what is it that makes him cover his ...

Ian Dury: The Quare Fella

Report and Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

BRIAN CASE goes on the road with Ian Dury and the Blockheads in Dublin. ...

Jack Nitzsche, Graham Parker: Jack Nitzsche: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Interview by Joel Selvin, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

Pop legends don't come much more elusive than veteran producer Jack Nitzsche, who apprenticed himself to Phil Spector. After his success with Mink DeVille, he's currently ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, Funkadelic, Parliament: Parliament, Funkadelic, the Brides Of Funkenstein: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

AND LO, when the silver spaceship settled on the Odeon stage, the faces of the assembled glowed like kids when the fairy lights twinkle for ...

Peter Gabriel: The Lamb Brought Down In Paris

Report and Interview by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

ON THE WAY TO Paris to meet a man I've never seen there is a white sign splashed across a motorway bridge: 'Vive Le Proletariat' ...

Sly & Robbie: The Reggae Heartbeat – Freedom Into Form

Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

"Mr. Bassie, please sing your song to me." – Horace Andy, Rasta Rabbi in his own words ...

Throbbing Gristle: D.O.A. (Industrial)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978

THE UNDERGROWTH OF pop...Take the mechanics of the situation as being something like this: you have a multi-million dollar industry, which has established channels whereby ...

Dennis Brown: Words Of Wisdom (Laser)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1979

THE WHITE listener who came to reggae through Bob Marley may have been puzzled by the emergence of Dennis Brown, who at first seems to ...

The Stranglers: Stranglers: Something Better Change?

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 1979

Lots of people would like to start by changing the Stranglers. Surprise, surprise...they've done it themselves. Hugh Cornwell tells HARRY DOHERTY how they've dragged themselves ...

The Clash: Electric Ballroom/Lyceum London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 1979

CLASH GIGS these days aren't the backs–against–the wall experience they used to be. The political tensions and confrontations they once represented are now just so ...

The Only Ones: Even Serpents Shine (CBS)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 1979

SINGLES can often be deceptive signposts for forthcoming albums. When ‘You've Got To Pay’ slipped out a few weeks back, it didn't augur well for ...

Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 6 January 1979

I SUPPOSE I should be grateful to the new Marvin Gaye album for something – I did a very surreal drawing in pencil while wading ...

Marvin Gaye: The Meek Shall Inherit... The Bankruptcy Court

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 6 January 1979

RING out the trumpets! Roll out the carpets! Marvin Gaye’s released his first studio album for two years! I’m tempted to add, Bring On The ...

The Screamers

Profile and Interview by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 6 January 1979

IT’S a truism to say that you have to decide which is real – you or Los Angeles – but like most truisms, it has ...

Dr. John, Lloyd Price: Ace Records: Dealing Aces Vols. 1 and 2

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

THESE TWO volumes, together with the indispensable Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns collection in the same series (Ace CH 9) represent the first time ...

Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones: An Outlaw At The Ritz: Keith Richards

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

In which Keef holds up the price of Smirnoff shares, little Marlon holds up his Dad, Anita Pallenberg holds up the interview, and CHRIS WELCH ...

Horslips: The Man Who Built America (DJM)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

HORSLIPS' RECORDING career has been, to say the least, erratic: moments of inventive brilliance meshed with frequent mediocrity. But, at long last, they have emerged ...

Hot Chocolate: Everyone's a Moneyspinner

Profile and Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

GREAT POPULAR music is generally not a cynical or synthetic product, but something personal to one individual that many, many others find appealing. ...

The Damned, Ducks Deluxe, Rockpile: The Damned, Rockpile, Ducks Deluxe: Venue, London

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

DESPITE THE eleventh hour location change, the Venue was packed. ...

15, 16, 17: Living For The Weekend

Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

15, 16, 17 are the best-known of British reggae's new crop of female vocal trios. ...

Charlie Mingus: Charles Mingus's Sound of Love

Obituary by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

Charles Mingus died in Mexico on January 5, of amytrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He had been in Mexico ...

Mack Allen Smith: The Last Of The Great Unknowns

Profile by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

MARTIN HAWKINS searched the Mississippi delta and found Mack Allen Smith ...

Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear: A Masterpiece after all?

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

EDITOR'S NOTE: A couple of weeks ago, Vivien Goldman trashed Marvin Gaye's new album in these columns. A dissenting voice pleads to be heard – ...

The Jam: A Mod At 20

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

Hope I die before I get old? The Jam's Paul Weller knows he can't write teenage anthems any more. HARRY DOHERTY sympathises. ...

UFO: Strangers In The Night: A Double Live Album (Chrysalis)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

THE LESSON to be learned from this album is undoubtedly that the natural habitat of a heavy metal band is in concert. The proof comes ...

War: Youngblood (MCA)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1979

WAR WAS a multi-platinum album act in America with such classic Top 40 streetfunk singles as 'All Day Music', 'Cisco Kid', 'The World Is A ...

Chic: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 27 January 1979

Cheers for Chic ...

The Who Sell In

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 27 January 1979

ARE THE WHO haunted by ghosts? Is the spectral figure of Tommy now joined by the cackling spirit of Keith Moon? ...

Chic: Est-ce que c'est Chic

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

Yes, it is. For behind Chic's rags-to-Regine's success lies an understanding of style as cool as their musical intelligence. ...

Generation X: Valley Of The Dolls (Chrysalis CHR 1193)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

Style into junk ...

Jimmy Cliff: A Pioneer Returns

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

Jimmy Cliff, wholesome and handsome as a ripening ear of corn, radiates on the couch. The night before, he had made a triumphant return to ...

Roy Hill: Riverside Studios, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

APPROACHING Roy Hill via one sub-Bowie single ('I Like, I Like, I Like') and a first album saturated in unsympathetic production, I was not – ...

Steve Hillage: Live Herald

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

ONE OF THE MOST pleasant incidents I recall from last year was an afternoon spent in a summery open-air cafe in Notting Hill with Steve ...

The Bee Gees: Spirits Having Flown

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

MOST OF the tracks on Spirits Having Flown would fit snugly enough onto Saturday Night Fever. The Bee Gees have stuck to their disco formula: ...

The Mekons: Blows Against Individuation

Profile and Interview by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

The Mekons insist they're just a by-product of confusion. But 'intervention', a.k.a. 'going commercial', looms. ...

Toto: Toto

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN an unholy disaster. A group of Los Angeles session men forming their own band could have been the signal for God-knows-what ...

Van Morrison: These Dreams of You (So Unreal, So Untrue)

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 February 1979

OUTSIDE THE ROYAL GARDEN HOTEL, a blizzard raged. Inside, snowflakes dripped and melted into the plush carpets. Waiters scurried while rich Americans and Arabs mulled ...

Elvis Costello: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

HAS Elvis Costello finally become an Establishment "star," or is he still mounting a concerted attack against the old-fart fortress? Taking the stage at Hammersmith ...

Rough Trade Records: The Humane Sell

Report and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

Rough Trade aim to break down the barrier between the consumers and the consumed. ...

Roy Ayers: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

THE WITTY, sham-fundamentalist introductions of trumpeter John Mosley were not the only examples of crowd manipulation at Roy Ayers' packed Hammersmith appearance. Despite no sets ...

The Pretenders: Moonlight Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

NO APOLOGIES for following Mark Williams' review of the Pretenders at the Moonlight last week with an instant replay. Now is the time to catch ...

UFO: In Search Of Heady Riff

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

In which UFO try for world domination...HARRY DOHERTY followed them round the concert circuit ...

Amanda Lear: Who's Afraid of Amanda Lear?

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

She lived with Brian Jones, and was Salvador Dali's protégé. She took David Bowie to see Metropolis, and watched him turn Fritz Lang into hit ...

The Pretenders: Say a Prayer for the Pretenders

Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 17 February 1979

The way tongues are wagging, though, they might not need them. Mark Williams profiles a Next Big Thing who actually look like delivering. ...

Ian Anderson, Jon Anderson: Shake A Leg, Jock: Ian Anderson, Jon Anderson and the Scottish Ballet

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 17 February 1979

VISIONS OF HIGHLANDERS in hobnail boots and tartan tutus shouting "Hey Jimmy!" were inspired by a rare invitation to drinks with the Scottish Ballet last ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: The Giraffe Looked At Siouxsie

Report by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 17 February 1979

"WHAT DO you think of it, then?" sneered Siouxsie Sioux as we slipped into the Kurfurstendamm, Berlin's notorious main strip, which is like Oxford Street ...

The Heptones: Home of the Hits

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 17 February 1979

THE BIGGEST surprise of the week was the fact that the Black Echoes Reggae Awards started on time. Last year's was a typical reggaematic shambles: ...

Inner Circle: reggae's final breakthrough?

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

Bobby the Em aside, JA roots music has achieved no significant market penetration outside its own country. VIVIEN GOLDMAN suggests that, by 'going disco', the ...

Jack Bruce: Jack's Sound of 1979

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

IT SEEMED like the end of an era when we discovered, last week, that Jack Bruce and the Robert Stigwood Organisation have parted company. ...

Lene Lovich: Bedford College, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

EMERGING FROM the Stiff tour as little more than a suspicious record company packaging job with a clever line in Spanish lace, Lovich is now ...

Art Ensemble of Chicago: Lester Bowie: Gittin' to Know Y'all

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

LESTER BOWIE plays trumpet the way Leo Watson scats. His music is a funfair hall of mirrors with as many straight lines as a switchback ...

John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren, Public Image Ltd, The Sex Pistols: Rotten v. McLaren: No Winner

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

AS JOHNNY Rotten savours his first victory in the Lydon-Glitterbest case, Public Image Ltd. prepare to record a second album with a new drummer, the ...

The Human League: The Cyclic And Random Lyric Organisation System

Profile and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

CARLOS for short. IAN BIRCH talks to the Human League, Sheffield Novorockers with a weakness for torch ballads. ...

The Sex Pistols: The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

"WHAT NEEDS UNDERSTANDING is the state of paralysis everyone is in..." ...

The Skids: Scared To Dance (Virgin)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 24 February 1979

PREPARE yourselves for a thorny contender. The Skids are a relatively new four-piece from Scotland who, apart from their current single 'Into The Valley', have ...

Albert Collins: Ice Pickin' (Sonet)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, March 1979

IN THE game of guitar-hero one-upmanship during the blues boom days of the mid-late Sixties, Albert Collins' was the name to zap 'em with. Through ...

Blondie, Mud, Suzi Quatro, Sweet: Chinn & Chapman: Ballroom Blitz & Hearts of Glass

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, March 1979

Mike Chapman began with Mud and Sweet, disappeared when glitter-rock went cold, and came back to make the new wave palatable for America with the ...

Georgie Fame: Right Now! (Pye)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, March 1979

"WELL, WELL, well, hello there, it's been a long, long time." Doesn't that introduction to 'Funny How Time Slips Away' take you back? I address ...

Manfred Mann: Angel Station (Bronze)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, March 1979

MOST OF us potter through life without any clear aims or objectives. Somehow we imagine that having heaved the cat out of bed and wiped ...

Alternative TV: Vibing Up The Senile Man (Deptford Fun City Records)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

WHEN MARK Perry gave up editing Sniffin' Glue, he started a band that has turned out to be a logical extension of the famous punkzine. ...

Blondie: Fear Of Frying

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

While 'Heart Of Glass' seems about to repeat its British success in America, via the disco connection, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein stay home in ...

Santana: Carlos Santana: Oneness: Silver Dreams/Golden Reality (CBS)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

AS THE sleeve makes abundantly clear, this is Carlos Santana's equivalent of Pete Townshend's Meher Baba solo album: a dedication to Sri Chinmoy, the guru ...

Generation X: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

MEDALS FOR bravery should be struck for Billy Idol and his mates in Generation X. Would you, dear reader, like to stand on a stage, ...

Jimmy C. Newman: Jimmy 'C' Newman: Cajun Music And The Big Beat

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

Jimmy 'Cajun' Newman tells MARTIN HAWKINS: 'Cajun music has two speeds – off, and full-blast'. ...

Sister Sledge: We Are Family (Cotillion U.S. import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

I WAIT for new work by Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in the way that I once waited for the latest items from Phil ...

The Gladiators: Naturality (Virgin/Front Line), Presenting The Gladiators (Studio One)

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

NOT A great week for the Gladiators, all round. First of all, the lead singer, Albert Griffiths, is shattered to learn over the phone that ...

UFO: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

"UFO! UFO!" The chant blasts across the stalls, and security men blench at the prospect of a mass invasion. ...

Van Morrison: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 March 1979

VAN MORRISON has a special kind of communication with his followers that is reserved for only a favoured few. It's not an hysterical or violent ...

Dire Straits: Bottom Line, New York

Live Review by Dave Marsh, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

LIVE, DIRE Straits are precisely what they are on record: a throwback to the kind of unassuming funk that hasn't enjoyed much popularity since Delaney ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White's Band of Hope

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

There's more to America's biggest soul band than bread and circuses. VIVIEN GOLDMAN followed them to Staffordshire to talk about the Bible, spinal fluid, reincarnation, ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

PITY THE poor reviewer covering a show of the astonishing calibre of Earth, Wind & Fire's weekend extravaganza at the Empire Pool. ...

Frankie Miller: Falling In Love (Chrysalis)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

AT ONE time Frankie Miller looked as though he was going to do a Joe Cocker without the intervening period of success. Now he just ...

Joan Armatrading: Apollo Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by Idris Walters, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

HER PEOPLE should market a badge that says, "JA From JA Is For Everyone". The hack was expecting the worst – high feminism on parade, ...

Roxy Music: Manifesto (Polydor)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

AN INAUSPICIOUS time for the old heavy-weight to take the gloves off the shelf and clamber back into the ring? ...

The Scorpions: Scorpions: Lovedrive

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

NOW THAT the new wave has been institutionalised and tamed by the Establishment, heavy metal is once more basking in a glorious and celebrated comeback, ...

Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Sam & Dave, Johnnie Taylor: Stax: The Soul of a City

Interview by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

RICHARD WOOTTON talks to David Porter about the life and tempos of Stax ...

Tom Robinson Band: The Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two (EMI)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

Just Easing The Liberal Guilt ...

The Undertones: Putting On The Anti Style

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

...are the Undertones, Derry's nosethumb to the star system. HARRY DOHERTY helped them bury a few rock myths. ...

Toto: Losing The Studio Tan

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

DAVID PAICH has the grizzly, rough-hewn features of a particularly underhand heavyweight wrestler. The image is blown by a hugely infectious grin that recurs frequently, ...

Bo Diddley: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 17 March 1979

Diddley grandaddy ...

Graham Parker and the Rumour: Squeezing Out Sparks

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 17 March 1979

AS FAR AS I'M concerned, Graham Parker is one of the great rock singers. I'd pay happily for a tape of him singing in the ...

Raspberries: The Raspberries: Best Of The Raspberries (Capitol)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 17 March 1979

THE ONE clever thing that Eric Carmen's earlier outfit did was to put Overnight Sensation out in the summer, the one time the record could ...

MC5, Wayne Kramer: Wayne Kramer Forgets The Motor City

Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 17 March 1979

"SOMETIMES we used to pass the Milan jail when the MC5 were driving to gigs outside of Detroit, and I used to look up at ...

Bill Nelson: The Sound Of Household Appliances

Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

From frayed denim through guitar heroics to novorock, Bill Nelson's career has been plagued by accusations of plagiarism. MARK WILLIAMS listens to the disclaimers. ...

Culture: The International Dub

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

Like Bob Marley before him, Culture's Joe Hill is spreading Jah-message, international-style. But how long can he keep his roots pristine in the hotels and ...

The Beach Boys, Christine Perfect/McVie, Dennis Wilson: Dennis Wilson Loves Christine McVie

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

The Beach Boys love good karma ...

Doll By Doll: Remember (Automatic Record Co.)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

AS OFTEN happens, the rock 'n' roll romance blows hot and then cold before it settles down to a realistic affair. ...

The Cure: Practical Poprock

Profile and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

That's the Cure, the no-image band who do more with less to charismatic effect. IAN BIRCH probed the mystery. ...

The Pop Group: First Steps In The Primal Skank

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

Tribal customs live on, even in the era of Afterpunk. RICHARD WILLIAMS investigates The Pop Group. ...

Albert Collins, George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Thoroughly Bluesy George

Live Review by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

George Thorogood, Albert Collins: Electric Ballroom, London ...

New Barbarians: The Forum, Los Angeles

Live Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 26 March 1979

IN THE foyer of LA's vast concrete amphitheatre, you could buy T-shirts promising "nothing less than ear-to-ear violence" in lettering supposed to resemble dripping blood. ...

Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 31 March 1979

PROBABLY THE only unanswered question by now for most of their followers on this side of The Big Moist, is how they look when they ...

Bad Company: Jogging Back to Happiness

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 31 March 1979

Two years ago, Bad Company lost their collective bottle after a gruelling American tour. CHRIS WELCH hears how it took Paul Rodgers three months to ...

Ivor Biggun, Duffo, The Lurkers, Tubeway Army: Beggars Banquet: Where Taste is a Dirty Word

Report and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 31 March 1979

Nick Austin and Martin Mills are the perpetrators of Duffo, Ivor Biggun and the Lurkers. They may have traded in their Jags for Cortinas. but ...

Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 31 March 1979

PROBABLY THE only unanswered question by now for most of their followers on this side of The Big Moist, is how they look when they ...

The Bee Gees: The Bee Gees, Larry Pryce (Panther)

Book Review by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

Oh what a boring book we see When Larry practises to Bee Gee ...

Bill Haley: The Guardian Of Rock 'N' Roll

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

MARCH 1979, and rock king Bill Haley's in town, almost a quarter of a century since he recorded 'Rock Around The Clock', and 22 years ...

Crass, Poison Girls, The Wall: Acklam Hall, London

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

A SPARSELY attended benefit for the Anarchist Black Cross Cienfuegos Press; a slow night — both the cause and its supporting groups (safely) out of ...

Hunter-Ronson, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson: Hunter-Ronson: Good News From Nowhere

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

Nowhere being the most expensive studio in New York, scene of the Hunter-Ronson comeback with a startling new album. HARRY DOHERTY investigated the Geminian partnership ...

Ian Hunter: You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic (Chrysalis)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

I GROANED when I saw what this record was called. Modish madness and the wrong joke anyway – shouldn't it be "You're Never Alone If ...

Sham 69: Jimmy Pursey: The People's Champ

Interview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

JIM POPS down the betting shop to bung twenty quid on a 10-1 shot in the 3.10 at Newbury, so I give his records the ...

Linton Kwesi Johnson: Roots Inna Inglan?

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

Linton Kwesi Johnson, black poet and activist, sees the Rasta dream of Ethiopian exodus as irrelevant ganja-talk. His life and his art deal with reality: ...

Sparks: Too Much Too Soon Again

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

Sparks discover disco – but did the critics discover it first? HARRY DOHERTY smooths the ruffled curls. ...

Tavares: Madame Butterfly (Capitol)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 7 April 1979

MADAME Butterfly opens with the familiar dance floor sounds – brass riff, flowing strings punched out guitars, tightly strung percussion – but this isn't really ...

Chet Baker: The Price Of A Golden Horn

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

If they gave rebates on overpaid dues, Chet Baker could buy Monte Carlo. BRIAN CASE found the Cool Generation's tragic hero still fighting off the ...

Elvis Costello: Live in New York

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

Palladium & Great Gildersleeve's, NYC ...

Percy Sledge: The Venue, London

Live Review by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

THE SIMPLISTIC idea that the fundamental difference between country and soul in the Sixties was that one music was made by poor whites in the ...

Rachel Sweet: What Rachel Did Next

Report and Interview by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

Rachel Sweet may follow Tanya Tucker's career with particular interest, but she really wants to be Bruce Springsteen. PENNY VALENTINE followed her on a tour ...

The Scorpions, UFO: Scorpions: Stateless and Fighting Back

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

German heavy metallurgists Scorpion, fronted by ex-UFO lead guitarist Michael Schenker, are set to conquer the world the English-speaking one, that is. HARRY DOHERTY talked ...

The Skids: Theme For War Movies and Romantic Losers

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 14 April 1979

THE LOCATION: Basing Street Studios, London.THE EVENT: The World Premiere of 'Masquerade', starring the Skids and produced by Bill Nelson.THE AUDIENCE: The Skids – Richard ...

Thin Lizzy: Black Rose (Vertigo)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 21 April 1979

YOU build 'em up... ...

Badfinger: Airwaves

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

IT'S EASY to acknowledge it in retrospect, but Badfinger were a great band who suffered the classically clichéd fate of being criminally ignored in Britain. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Lone Star Café, New York NY

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

Two nights of Bland magic ...

Dusty Springfield: Theatre Royal, London

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

IT WAS a significant week for Mary O'Brien. Not only did she turn 40 but, after endless cancellations of provincial dates due to sparse ticket ...

Iggy Pop: The Factory, Manchester

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

THE RETURN of the simian from oblivion: a club tour, much heralded by local media, ensures a leisure factory stretched to the limit of its ...

Joe Ely: Down On The Drag (MCA)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

THIS TIME last year Joe Ely played the Wembley Country Festival and toured Britain as Merle Haggard's bemused support. I saw him in the Brighton ...

Light of the World, Players Association: Players Association, Light Of The World: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

"HOW CAN we refuse? We don't do this often — we're studio cats, you know what I mean!... ...

Raydio: Rock On (Arista)

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

IN A YEAR already generous with good R&B albums comes Ray Parker's second release, and it may be the best of all. ...

Red Krayola: Red Crayola: Soldier-Talk (Radar)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

IN A CURRENT context of confusion, Soldier-Talk appears to be a good idea. ...

Sylvester: Stars (Fantasy, U.S. import)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

AS A POP 45, Sylvester's symphonic recasting of 'I (Who Have Nothing)' has been a slow starter. Even coming off the massive crossover success of ...

The Jam: Invasion of the Riff Snatchers

Report and Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

Can a bunch of ordinary guys repeat the British Invasion? IAN BIRCH watches the Jam take on America. ...

Tom Waits: Palladium, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

Doing the Palladium slouch ...

Village People: Go West (Mercury)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

FRONTIER experiments rise and fall, but showbiz pop goes on forever. It's always been that way, and there's nothing to suggest that the Eighties will ...

Dottsy, Freddie Hart, Sleepy LaBeef, Hank Locklin, Tammy Wynette: Wembley Country Festival: The Metropolitan Soap Opera

Report by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

Friendly and polite or mean and bigoted? Even transferred to North London, the country music audience reflects the ambiguous small-town mentality. MARY HARRON heard Tammy ...

Lou Reed: The Bells (Arista)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

WHAT DO you buy when you buy Lou Reed, and do you still need to buy him? ...

National Health: Of Queues And Cures (Charly)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

THE HEALTHY Ones have been through a whole ring-cycle of changes in recent times, with Dave Stewart out and Alan Gowen back in again. We ...

Patti Smith: Wave (Arista)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

WAVE IS a much better record than I expected, but to explain why I'll have to go back a bit. ...

Penetration: Mountford Hall, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

Pauline in the safety zone ...

Robin Scott: Now Pop For Pure People

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

M is for mirror, says Robin Scott, whose single, 'Pop Muzik', realises the potency of the disco/punk fusion. And that mirror reflects the present, he ...

Sleepy LaBeef: Rockabilly's Tower Of Power

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

IF WALT DISNEY had decided to make an animated cartoon of the rock 'n' roll story he would have needed a rockabilly character, and I ...

Sly Dunbar: Sly, Wicked And Slick (Virgin Front Line)

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

REGGAE'S ONE of the youngest contemporary musical forms, but it's growing up fast, and in all sorts of directions. ...

Misty In Roots: The Price Of Hate

Report by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

Among the casualties of last week's confrontation between the police and anti-racist demonstrators in Southall was the Peoples Unite Centre, a haven for local musicians, ...

The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire).

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

FOR SOME reason, this album reminds me of a scene in Kate Bush's live show, the part where she plays a rifle-toting trouble-shooter on 'James ...

Tom Waits: Wry & Danish To Go

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

...

The Who: The Mod Revival, Yes…

Live Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 12 May 1979

The Who: Rainbow, London ...

Ian Dury & the Blockheads: Do It Yourself (Stiff SEEZ14)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

Dury: the tra-la days are over ...

Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty: Loretta Lynn: We've Come A Long Way, Baby (MCA MCF 2881); Conway Twitty: Conway (MCA MCF 2878)

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

WHEN YOU'RE as old and grizzled as these two, making records is more a chore than anything. The routine trip to producer Owen Bradley's barn; ...

Narada Michael Walden: Awakening (Atlantic)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

SERENE MR WALDEN, Sri Chinmoy disciple and erstwhile drummer with the all-clad-in-white Mahavishnu Orchestra, surely knows which side his cosmic bread is buttered. Seems like ...

The Babys: Bringing Up Babys

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

A FEW weeks ago in New York, I saw the greatest transition since Jesus changed the water into wine. ...

The Jam: The Rainbow, London

Live Review by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

FASHION NOTES first. The band, of course, were in their sharp suits, looking less like matching mods, though, than a good old group in uniform. ...

The Who: Vive Le 'Oo

Report by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

After last week's Rainbow triumph the Who continued their return in France at the weekend with an open-air concert and the premieres of their two ...

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Wayne County: Eric's, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 19 May 1979

...and then he was she ...

Bobby Womack: Roads Of Life (Arista)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

THE FORTUNES of gravel-voiced soul vet Bobby Womack have taken a dip of late. ...

David Bowie: Lodger

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

ANOTHER YEAR, another record. Like Burroughs, David Jones, rootless, looks for unconventional commitment: Burroughs found it in junk, control-systems and predatory homosexuality; Jones found it ...

Dennis Brown: Enter A Good Man

Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

Dennis Brown comes of the race of Joseph; and he means that seriously, 'I am Joseph, here to do the things Joseph has done in ...

Gang of Four: Dialectics Meet Disco

Essay by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

This is the year of the second coming of British art-rock – although the new art-rockers won't admit it. MARY HARRON strips away the modish ...

A Certain Ratio, John Dowie, Joy Division, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, John Dowie: Factory Night, Acklam Hall, London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

FOUR DIVERSE samples of current Mancunian Factory products: dopey comedian John Dowie; a cute pop duo called Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark; A Certain Ratio ...

Nina Hagen: Nina Hagen Band (CBS)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

SAY HELLO to the next Euro cult sensation. ...

pragVEC: Eric's, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

pragVEC'S THIRD visit to Liverpool, and a quiet Thursday night at Eric's. A handful of people were scattered around the club to watch Penetration (playing ...

Rick Wakeman: Rhapsodies

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

ONE OF Alfred Hitchcock's most memorable finales comes at the end of Strangers On A Train, when a huge carousel goes into overdrive and runs ...

Albert King, Booker T & The MGs, The Emotions, Pop Staples, Steve Cropper: Stacks of Stax: Stax Releases

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

Steve Cropper/Pop Staples/Albert King: Jammed Together (Stax 3009) Booker T & The MGs: Time Is Tight — The Best Of… (Stax STX 3007) The Emotions: ...

The Moody Blues: It's A Wonderful Life

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

The rich are not like you and me, said Fitzgerald. That's right, Hemingway replied: they have more money. Just in time for cocktails, CHRIS WELCH ...

The Who: Townshend: Still No Touring

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 May 1979

What next for the Who?Roger loved it, but Pete's not so sure...After their French concert last week, CHRIS WELCH eavesdropped on the Who's doubts and ...

Patti LaBelle: It's Alright With Me (Epic)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, June 1979

I GUESS it's all of eighteen years since I first heard 'Down The Aisle' by Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles – and when I put ...

The Cramps: Hoodoo Rhythm

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 9 June 1979

"To see in rock and roll something other than immediate obsolescence demands faith and patience." PENNY KILEY draws a bead on the Cramps, America's rockabilly ...

Madness: Dublin Castle, London

Live Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 13 June 1979

THE NAME says it all. ...

Thin Lizzy: Deutschland Liebt Lizzy

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

Phil and da boyz invade Germany. HARRY DOHERTY went on the sortie and watched Lizzy win over what had once been an alien audience. ...

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

CLEANHEAD MAY have lost his hair, but whisps of Charlie's Wig cluster about his alto. In fact, everything about his performance preserves the flavour of ...

Iggy Pop, UK Subs: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

GIVE IGGY Pop a sense of occasion and he'll rise to it — magnificently. The difference between Friday's concert and the first London appearance of ...

Joni Mitchell: Mingus

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

THE CONCEPT of Joni Mitchell singing Charles Mingus, the late and very great jazzman, is eccentric but not illogical. For her it is the culmination ...

Linton Kwesi Johnson, Rico Rodriguez: Marquee, London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

EVERY REFERENCE to cops getting hurt elicited cheers of approval from a largely white audience on Sunday. Is that the kind of solidarity that back-and-proud ...

Nina Hagen: West Is Best

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

Can Nina Hagen become Germany's most important contribution to radical pop culture since Brecht? CHRIS BOHN learns about growing up on the wrong side of ...

The Isley Brothers: Winner Takes All

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

3 + 3 DON'T MIND they just keep on jamming. Strings and horns? Uh-uh. They just go up to Bearsville. Ernie puts down the drums ...

Ronnie Biggs, Malcolm McLaren, New York Dolls, Sex Pistols: The Rise And Fall Of Malcolm McLaren Part One: Tin Pan Alley Meets An Idea Whose Time Has Come...

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

The Man Who Sold The World ...

Wings: Taking Off At Last

Report and Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

After a lengthy period on the ground, Paul McCartney's redesigned Wings are taking a few exploratory hops. MARK WILLIAMS' verdict: no metal fatigue. ...

Public Image Ltd.: The Factory, Manchester

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 18 June 1979

A Quick One While No-One's Thinking ...

Anita Ward: The Bell Rings and School's Out

Profile and Interview by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

THIS VERY day, 'Ring My Bell' has made it to number one in the British charts. The boys at TK records (who function from the ...

Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones: Consuming Passion: The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers

Profile by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

IT seemed like they were the last gigs of the year. Summer’s coming. Exam requests for DLT, college partings for Anne Nightingale, End of the ...

Dire Straits: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

The end of innocence ...

Herman Brood: Brood Back On The Nest

Report and Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

German rock star Nina Hagen's upset because her Dutch rock 'n' rolling boyfriend, Herman Brood, has disappeared. Will our intrepid CHRIS BOHN track him down? ...

Link Wray: A Link With The Past

Interview by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

Tag; the jet-black hair, dark shades and gaunt Shawnee Indian cheekbones evoke an image of prowling malevolence which was crystallised by 'Rumble' but still some ...

Peter Tosh: Mystic Man

Review by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

I ALMOST didn't make it through the title-track. Two female trios do the I Threes jobs for Tosh, and here their effect is extra-irritating. They ...

Supertramp: The Philosopher and the Realist

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

In Supertramp's first interview for two years, songwriters Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies tell HARRY DOHERTY how their immense success in America has widened the ...

The Cars: Candy-O (Elektra)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

THE CARS emerged last year as pace-setters in the American new wave. The platinum status of their debut album probably surprised the band as much ...

Malcolm McLaren, The Sex Pistols: The Rise And Fall of Malcolm McLaren Part Two: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Go Riding...

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

EARLY IN July, 1978, the office of Glitterbest Ltd. at 90/98 Shaftesbury Avenue, which is the centre of London's Theatreland, received the following letter. ...

Dire Straits: Communiqué From a Washeteria

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 30 June 1979

A million quid from record sales can buy you the love of a multinational, but can it pay for the freedom to wander up the ...

The B-52s: B-52s (Island)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 30 June 1979

Yesterday's Sound Tomorrow ...

John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren, Public Image Ltd, The Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious: The Rise And Fall Of Malcolm McLaren Part Three: Last Tango In Paris — 'Je Ne Regrette Rien...'

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 30 June 1979

WHEN HE WAS LYING, HE WAS MORE INTERESTING THAN MANY MEN TELLING A STORY TRULY. ...

Blondie: Pinecrest Theater, Shelton, Connecticut

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

BLONDIE'S US tour should provide some interesting results when it ends in eight weeks' time. It could, for instance, determine just how willing American audiences ...

Bootsy Collins: Bootsy's Rubber Band: This Boot Is Made For Fonk-n (Warners)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

THE WORLD'S zaniest bass-player is back, whatever the truth of reports about a nervous breakdown; or, as he tells us himself: "I dug the concern ...

Eddy Grant: Living On The Ice Block

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

How far can a black musician control his own destiny in white society? Surprise, surprise, not all the way, says the man in the front ...

Little Feat, Lowell George: Lowell George: The Rock'n'Roll Doctor

Obituary by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

Of all the hundreds of white boys who fell in love with the blues, few used the idiom with such brilliance as Lowell George. Singer, ...

Sylvester: No Business Like Show Business

Essay by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

ON HIS RECORD sleeves, Sylvester is definitely svelte. A pink shirt and a red rose. Spectacles and a cool look, like Arthur Ashe. My favourite ...

The Tourists: The Tourists (Logo)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 July 1979

A DIFFERENT sort of rock album, this, and one that will perhaps confuse many people. The Tourists have a set of values that, on record ...

Billy Lee Riley: Red Hot Riley

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 21 July 1979

The volcanic music of Billy Lee Riley never quite erupted; Martin Hawkins tells how the talent remains hot. ...

Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 21 July 1979

"To talk of life today is like talking of rope in the house of a hanged man." Where will it end? ...

Nick Gilder: Future Love

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 21 July 1979

NICK GILDER does arrange meetings in the oddest places. Our first introduction is sealed amid snow-storms and the threat of frostbite in mid-February Milwaukee. Four ...

The Teardrop Explodes: Teardrops Rising

Report and Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 21 July 1979

Are Teardrop Explodes the best thing to come out of Liverpool since… (oh, you know who)? And where do Echo and the Bunnymen fit in? ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley In His Own Backyard

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 11 August 1979

AS YOU DRIVE through the white-pillared gates into the grounds of 56 Hope Road, the first thing you notice is that the road doesn't have ...

Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Live at Hammersmith Odeon

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 11 August 1979

FIRST OF ALL I’d like to say I’ve always felt ambivalent towards Ian Dury. His work has always been, like his persona, male-orientated without being ...

Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door (Swan Song)

Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 11 August 1979

THE GRAND illusion was popped way back when I was taking my O-levels. Then Led Zeppelin 2 fulfilled the noble function of releasing all the ...

Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, J. D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat: Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt et al: Lowell George Benefit Concert, The Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 11 August 1979

IT'S IRONIC that Little Feat were never adjudged sufficiently commercial to have headlined a concert at Los Angeles' massive Forum, since the place was bursting ...

The Merton Parkas: Deals On Wheels

Profile and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 11 August 1979

The Merton Parkas, the first New Mod chartmakers, tell PAULO HEWITT that life's a lot easier in a Ben Sherman button-down than in a ripped ...

Angelic Upstarts: Someone Else's Fight

Report and Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 18 August 1979

INTOLERANCE FALLS like a heavy pall over the Angelic Upstarts – only they won't lie still and let it settle. Follow them round for a ...

Maria Muldaur: Open Your Eyes (Warner Bros)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 18 August 1979

MUSICIANS WHO return after a hiatus as long as Muldaur's – since the confusion of Sweet Harmony – face several problems, not least over-effort. It's ...

Squeeze: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 18 August 1979

DAVITT SIGERSON was right a couple of weeks ago when he described Squeeze as the new-wave ELO. ...

UK Subs: No Change For UK Subs

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 18 August 1979

Finding that tribal punk is still alive...and kicking ...

Al Green: Tired Of Being Alone

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

Al Green's London concerts last week were a puzzling mixture of the brilliant and the banal – and VIVIEN GOLDMAN discovered that his verbals are ...

Randy Newman: Born Again (Warner Bros K56663)

Review by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

HOW IS IT that Born Again should be Randy Newman's worst album to date, and yet his most marketable? For a start, it is topically ...

The Ramones: You're Not The Same. Are They?

Report and Interview by Van Gosse, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

Will the Spector of big things gone by give the Ramones the platinum sound that has so far eluded them? ...

AC/DC, Nils Lofgren, The Stranglers, The Who: The Who / The Stranglers/ AC/DC /Nils Lofgren: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

NOT ONE OF the great Wembley encounters, we decided, as the car crept another couple of feet in the late Saturday evening jam. ...

Van Morrison: Into The Music (Mercury)

Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 25 August 1979

NOWADAYS, PEOPLE don't so much discover Van Morrison as grow old with him. ...

Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming (CBS)

Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 26 August 1979

DYLAN HAS switched roles once too often. We've followed him patiently through his phases as rebellious folk singer, rock and roll outlaw, musing mystic, contented ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie And The Banshees: Join Hands (Polydor)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 1 September 1979

(IT'S MY party and) I'll mystify if I want to! ...

This Heat: This Heat (Piano Records)

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 1 September 1979

THIS Heat takes you to ten movies in the space of a one-year-old album. ...

Buzzcocks, Gang of Four: Buzzcocks/Gang Of Four: Club 57, New York, NY

Live Review by Van Gosse, Melody Maker, 8 September 1979

THIS IS the year that the New Wave, or at least its more retrograde element, has finally hit the U.S. charts. Everybody English and short-haired, ...

A Certain Ratio, The Distractions, Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Teardrop Explodes: Joy Division/Echo & The Bunnymen/OMD/Teardrop Explodes/The Distractions/ACR: Leigh Valley Festival, Lancashire

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 8 September 1979

Angst in an East Lancs wasteland ...

The Alley Cats, The Bags, Black Randy & The Metrosquad, The Controllers (LA punk), The Germs, The Mau-Mau's, The Plugz, The Screamers, Suburban Lawns, X: L.A. Punk: Pogo-ing On The Fault Line

Overview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 20 September 1979

If Los Angeles is the future, how come its bands all sound so backdated? MARK WILLIAMS puts the case for the defence ...

Cheap Trick: Dream Police (Epic)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

IT'S IRONIC that Cheap Trick, having recorded a song called 'ELO Kiddies' on their debut album almost three years ago, should now be setting themselves ...

Don Cherry: Black Gypsy, Folk Dreams

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

Probably the only person who isn't surprised to find Don Cherry playing on the Slits' tour is Cherry himself. Since his apprenticeship with free-jazz guru ...

Nina Simone: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

NINA SIMONE has never been a comfortable musician to see live. A powerful performer, she is formidably dedicated to her art. It's hardly surprising, then, ...

Richard And Linda Thompson: Sunnyvista (Chrysalis)

Review by Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

THIS THOMPSONS package tour is a fine irony. Its visuals signal a break from the couple's traditional melancholy, replacing it with a sarcastic, partially threatening, ...

Shakin' Stevens: Legend (EMI)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

ROGER SCOTT, Britain's only disc-jockey (no, that's not a misprint – it's a fact) put this into what they call "heavy rotation" last week. It ...

Sun Ra: Squat Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

Panto time with Sun Ra ...

The Photos: Photos Is A Group

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

Does Britain need a Blondie? Will Wendy Wu be on your bedroom wall next month? Is this fair? HARRY DOHERTY discovers why most of Britain's ...

The Police: Reggatta De Blanc (A&M)

Review by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

ONLY A year ago I had to talk the editor of this paper into taking a feature on the Police. I don't recall who got ...

The Revillos

Profile and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

REVILLOS OR Rezillos or...whatever. Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds have got a new set of backing players (?) and some fledgling singers behind them. What ...

Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Survival (Island)

Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

SOME PEOPLE mellow as they get older. Bob Marley gets angrier and wiser. Following the relaxed, self-fulfilled Exodus and Kaya, Survival marks a surprising but ...

The Clash: Clash Bites Apple

Live Review by Van Gosse, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

FIRST time here, in February, the Clash were merely grand. The energy was awesome but the music was more volume than anything else; in the ...

Elvis Costello: Costello Beats Anaesthesia

Comment by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

ELVIS COSTELLO spun the discs for a couple of hours on Radio One's Star Special last week, and the result was the kind of radio ...

A Certain Ratio, The Distractions, Joy Division, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: Factory Records: Food For Thought

Report by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

Lots of people thought that Operation Julie was a bit of an anachronism. Who, in the late Seventies, could be dropping all those tabs? It ...

Gary Numan: Apollo Theatre, Glasgow

Live Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

THE FACE of '79 doesn't belong to a mod, punk, or to anyone so sectarian, but to Gary Numan, and it's time we faced up ...

Ian Gomm: Thinking Out Loud

Report and Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

IAN GOMM is short, not quite stout, and has had his straw-coloured hair fashioned a la mod from the first time it was fashionable. His ...

Nina Simone: Lady Trashes The Blues

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

Nina Simone's concerts are almost as nerve-racking as her turbulent personal life, which makes it easy to see her as a weird, tragic mixture of Billie Holiday and Judy Garland. KARL ...

The Eagles: The Long Run (Asylum)

Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

THE POLITICS of pop have always been anathema to me. I cannot, and will not, shift my allegiances from an underrated or up-and-coming band when ...

The Kinks, Ray Davies: The Kinks: Low Budget (Arista)

Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

THE TROUBLE with Ray Davies is that since he forsook the stark, three-chord spleen of 'You Really Got Me' and 'All Day & All Of ...

Wire: 154 (Harvest)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

WRAPPED IN an abstract minimal geo-deco sleeve (all straight lines and waves, pastel shades), with its own label and a "free" 45, the third Wire ...

The Clash: Clash in NYC - Waiting for Ivan

Report and Interview by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 6 October 1979

ACCORDING TO reports, it was a hot, dead, airless summer in New York City. With nothing much happening on the local music scene, excitement centred ...

Gang of Four: Entertainment (EMI)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 6 October 1979

THE Four are ambitious; and so they accept the process. ...

Eric Clapton: Clapton: Driving Sideways Again

Live Review by Steve Turner, Melody Maker, 8 October 1979

DEAR Eric, On Sunday I came up to Staffordshire to see your warm-up concert with the new band. When you came out dressed in that ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips: Memories of the Way We Were (Buddah); 20 Golden Greats (Motown)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Melody Maker, 11 October 1979

GLADYS KNIGHT has been turned into the spinster of soul. Her generous face seems to invite desertion. Yet with almost maternal dignity, she translates this ...

Buzzcocks, Joy Division: The Buzzcocks, Joy Division: Mountford Hall, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 12 October 1979

OF IMAGES AND IDOLS ...

Jack Clement: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement: The Nut With The Midas Touch

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 13 October 1979

RECENTLY, the successful Nashville-based record producer and songwriter, sometime singer, and failed movie mogul. Jack Clement, made his first visit to Europe. At the age ...

Don Williams: Silence Is Golden

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 October 1979

THE FOYER of London's Royal Garden Hotel is an amusing monument to opulence. Arabs glide around as if they own the place, and they probably ...

Status Quo: Whatever You Want (Vertigo)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 13 October 1979

THE TITLE may be construed in some areas as Status Quo's capitulation to their critics, who've been claiming for donkey's years that the band's appeal ...

Wire: Wider Vision

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 13 October 1979

Wire don't sit comfortably in the publicity man's gullet. They're not easily categorised, seemingly spurning the hype-market. But they do conform in one way; they ...

Buzzcocks, Joy Division: Buzzcocks/Joy Division: Rainbow, London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 17 November 1979

ON CURRENT FORM, Joy Division should have been the best thing happening on Friday night, and the Buzzcocks camp knew it too. Consequently, they treated ...

Little Feat: Down On The Farm (Warner Brothers K56667)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 November 1979

LITTLE FEAT'S final agonies were so prolonged and so well publicised that it's a surprise to discover in Down On The Farm a comparatively coherent ...

Public Image Ltd: Metal Box (Virgin Metal 1)

Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 24 November 1979

Confessions of a pop performer ...

The Small Faces, The Who: A Face in The Who: Kenny Jones

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, December 1979

ZERO HOUR approaches. Soon the Who will be back on stage, and the whole world will be watching. Kenny Jones doesn't mind admitting that he's ...

The Raincoats: New Raincoats Don't Let You Down

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 1 December 1979

Following the sun, Palmolive washed her hands of the Raincoats. But they're back on the road, singing and playing. VIVIEN GOLDMAN took a long time ...

Talking Heads: De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Live Review by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, 1 December 1979

THE apres-gig lig is, as usual, gruesome. ...

The Blues Band, The Inmates, Red Beans & Rice: Basil Brush Didn't Write 'Boom Boom': The R&B Revival in London

Overview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 8 December 1979

Okay, so there isn't an R&B revival around the London clubs – but there are certainly a whole lot of bands borrowing their material from ...

DJ Hollywood, The Sugarhill Gang: The Sugarhill Gang: Freak of the Week

Report by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 15 December 1979

DESPITE A rhythm track that mangles Chic's 'Good Times' (they settled out of court), 'Rapper's Delight' by the Sugarhill Gang has been the season's biggest-selling ...

Blondie: Your Instrument Is Your Body

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 22 December 1979

PEOPLE REMEMBER the face as they see it in photographs, that's axiomatic. And her face possesses that photographic stillness even in life – not as ...

Buddy Holly: The Complete Buddy Holly

Review by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 29 December 1979

NO PROBLEM here. Charly’s compendium of Ronnie Hawkins Toronto out-takes isn’t released until next month (I checked) and, however might the music, their oft-reissued Jerry ...

Blondie, The Knack, Mud, Nervus Rex, Suzi Quatro, Sweet: Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn: Ballroom Blitz & Hearts of Glass

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 29 December 1979

Mike Chapman began with Mud and Sweet, disappeared when glitter-rock went cold, and came back to make the new wave palatable for America with the ...

Mike Oldfield: Boy Genius "Not Broke" Shock

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 29 December 1979

Things haven't been going smoothly for Mike Oldfield. Tours have lost money, expensive gear has been scrapped and he's had a dispute with his label ...

The Clash: One Step Beyond

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 29 December 1979

INSIDE THE CLASH'S new rehearsal studio, under a railway bridge somewhere in South London, Joe Strummer is singing a slow country blues about rolling boxcars, ...

Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers (Imp)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 1980

COSTELLO BUFFS will undoubtedly be familiar with this generously-stuffed collection of His Master's Voices from its previous existence on cassette. On the other hand, they ...

Leonard Cohen: Haunted By Spector: Leonard Cohen

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 5 January 1980

Leonard Cohen’s voyage to the bottom of his soul is over. He’s back on top and is finding rock’n’roll fun too... ...

Judy Mowatt: Black Woman (Ashandan pre-release).

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 January 1980

JUDY MOWATT, apart from being an I-Three (the women who sing behind Marley), is a respected songstress and label-owner down in Jamaica. Her solo album ...

Misty In Roots: Misty: Survival in Jah glory

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 5 January 1980

Survival's the operative-word in Misty's case. Harassed for their prominent role in the Southall immigrant community, in and out of the magistrates' courts, you'd think ...

James Chance: The Contortions: Buy — The Contortions (ZE ZEA 33-002. U.S. import)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 5 January 1980

Let's twist ourselves ...

Adam & The Ants: Ants Out Of Bondage

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 12 January 1980

In which Adam and the Ants reconcile their apparent predilection for S/M with their desire to succeed as musicians without grovelling. PAULO HEWITT passes judgement. ...

Brian Eno, Talking Heads: Brian Eno: Energy Fails The Magician

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 12 January 1980

After spending the last decade redefining rock music, all Brian Eno wants now is an honest job of work and a place to lay his ...

Kate Bush Christmas Special: Kate (BBC)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 12 January 1980

WITH 1979 over and no Kate Bush album in more than a year, a television special by the lady that introduced six new songs was ...

John Foxx, Ultravox: John Foxx: Technological man

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 19 January 1980

It's not the machine that is evil, nor the synthesizer. Man canuse technology and benefit. Nevertheless, John Foxx, the quiet man, still likes to sing. ...

Larry Williams: A Bad Boy Blown Away

Obituary by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 19 January 1980

SOME PEOPLE nurture memories of the first time they copped a feel or saw the New York skyline. For me, it's hearing Larry Williams' 'She ...

The Beat: Rankin' to Riches

Report and Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 19 January 1980

MARK WILLIAMS explodes the 2-Tone myth with the Beat ...

James Blood Ulmer: Tales Of Captain Black (Artists House)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980

IT WON'T be long, I guess, before someone describes James "Blood" Ulmer as "the new Hendrix", so you might as well be forewarned. ...

Paul McCartney, Wings: Paul McCartney: The Yellow Perils Of Paulie

Report by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980

The Nips nabbed Big Macca last week as he allegedly lugged half-a-pound of marijuana through the Japanese customs. Is the naughty 'former Beatle' set for ...

The Passions: Eric's, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980

THE PASSIONS' return to Liverpool was a pleasant surprise after their last visit, when inauspicious circumstances had clouded their performance. And another contrast was provided ...

The Pretenders: Hynde Sight

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980

"I'LL NEVER be a man in a man's world". As the Pretenders' album and single rise in the charts, Chrissie Hynde discusses with old friend ...

XTC: Hurrah, New York

Live Review by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980

Gunboat diplomacy ...

Buggles: The Age Of Plastic (Island ILPS 9585)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

Music for radios ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

THREE GUITARS, three brass, one keyboard and drums and we have the... Next Big Thing. At present Dexys Runners may not have the repertoire that such an ...

A Certain Ratio: 'Looking For A Certain Ratio' (B. Eno)

Interview by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

While 2-Tone revive the fashions of the Sixties, A Certain Ratio are stretching their legs towards the future. In fact, since drummer Donald Johnson joined ...

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Ray Sawyer: Hooked On Country And R&B

Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

RAY SAWYER isn't Dr Hook, but he does have an eye patch – a real one – and a pirate persona. He also had an ...

Flying Lizards: The Flying Lizards: The Flying Lizards (Virgin)

Review by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

WHY DID THE hit maker make an LP? Because it was expected of him. Slips down easy. ...

Nips, The (aka The Nipple Erectors): The Nips: Ain't That a Shane?

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

"ROCK 'N' ROLL is just a load of boring old rubbish. The people who play it think it's so fucking important and it's not. it ...

The Specials: Hurrah, New York NY

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 2 February 1980

Up to you ...

Defunkt: Trax, New York

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 9 February 1980

EVEN THE decidedly old-wave, uptown industry water-hole Trax has caught the Funk Flu that's hit this borough like an epidemic. People are dancing to progressive, ...

Eddy Grant: The Venue, London

Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 9 February 1980

EDDY EARNED his slot in my Militant Section by delivering this rap onstage: "As a black artist here in England I've seen it rough, and ...

Babs Gonzales: Gone — Babs Gonzales

Obituary by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 9 February 1980

BABS GONZALES, who died of cancer on January 23, was one of those frantic Forties bebop hipsters who seem to broom but fractionally ahead of ...

The Selecter: The Selector: Too Much Pressure (2-Tone CDLTT5002)

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 9 February 1980

A GENT FROM a reggae shop asked me what I thought of 2-Tone. He informed me that since the advent of the checkerboard whirlwind, the ...

Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: ...Goes To Washington (Elektra); Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band (ZE)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

Recherchez le chic ...

Joy Division: University of London Union

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

AH, THE HORROR, the horror... where's Colonel Kurtz? Somehow the demented Brando figure is there, spiritually leading the new dance. Like him, today's purveyors have ...

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Bed Jamming Is A Must!

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

While the great "Is Lee Perry Nuts?" debate rages on in JA, ol' Scratch is jiving away in Amsterdam, houseguest of Black Star Liner Records, busy with plans to recreate the universe and hijack the Earth with ...

The Velvet Underground: Pop Art/Art Pop: The Warhol Connection

Report and Interview by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

Like to be a galleryPut you all inside my show— David Bowie, 'Andy Warhol' Some people claim that only James Brown can match Andy Warhol's ...

Dennis Brown: Joseph's Coat Of Many Colours (DEB pre).

Review by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 22 February 1980

Dennis got soul ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Eric's, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 23 February 1980

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES are going to be big. It's the opening night of an important tour, on home ground (almost), and the message is there. It's there ...

The Clash, Mikey Dread, Joe Ely: The Clash, Joe Ely, Mikey Dread: Electric Ballroom/Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Bohn, Melody Maker, 23 February 1980

Fings ain't what they used to be ...

The Lounge Lizards: Orchestrating the Apocalypse

Interview by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 23 February 1980

With the Ayatollah snapping at America's ankles and the World tottering on the brink, the Lounge Lizards reckon they've found the palliative: 'fake jazz'. MARY ...

The Selecter: Survival Inna Suburbia

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 23 February 1980

IT TOOK HIM ages to get the lapel of his jacket off. The scissors kept on cutting the cloth instead of the bits of stitching, ...

Michael Jackson: Michael In Wonderland

Interview by Stephen Demorest, Melody Maker, 1 March 1980

Michael Jackson: "black Sinatra for the '90s" or just looking for an escape to heaven? STEVE DEMOREST gets to talk to him via Janett [sic] ...

Nightmares in Wax: Eric's, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 1 March 1980

IT'S THE Nightmares in Wax's second gig after a long break. The previous week's appearance (at Liverpool's Everyman Bistro) was a disappointment, marred by alcohol ...

The Sugarhill Gang: The Venue, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 1 March 1980

FLASHBACK: October 5, '79, at Barry's Stereo, a small midtown Manhattan record outlet that specialises in those mammoth portable stereo cassette-radio jobs that half the ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Trials of Tom Petty: Petty gets it…

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 March 1980

Washed clean by legal wranglings, Tom Petty is settling down to write good rock 'n' roll songs. "That's all I want to do," he tells ...

James Chance, Defunkt, The Raybeats, James White and The Blacks: Defunkt, the Raybeats, James Chance: Funky, Punky and Chic

Report and Interview by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

The Raybeats and Joe Bowie's Defunkt are working on New York's newest fusion: a post-No Wave music in which James Chance's punk meets George Clinton's ...

Madness in the USA

Report and Interview by Mark Williams, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

Today the UK. Tomorrow the USA? Next week, the world? Are Madness about to get everybody up and dancing again? MARK WILLIAMS sits down and ...

Robert Wyatt: Up from rock bottom

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

Writing letters to political prisoners, listening to Radio Havana, thinking about music... Robert Wyatt hasn't been inactive during his five-year absence from the studios. VIVIEN ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Fab Funbirds

Profile and Interview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

Playing R & B isn't a passport to instant fame and wealth. The Fabulous Thunderbirds play R&B that makes everyone go wild. JOHN PIDGEON caught them in ...

Nightmares in Wax: Bravado and Porn

Profile and Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 22 March 1980

FOR ALL those who saw the Police on tour last summer and hated the support band because they weren't tasteful, here's another band you'll hate: ...

Doug Sahm, The Sir Douglas Quintet: Tex Mex Makes Your Feet Smile

Overview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 22 March 1980

MARTIN HAWKINS uncovers the Tex-Mex mix that gives the roots to the San Antonio sound. It's time to discover the music of Sahm, Fender and ...

Cristina: Cristina (Ze lLPS7004)

Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 29 March 1980

TAKE ONE graduate from a snooty Ivy League College, holding a degree in, say, Abstract Philosophy. Add a dash of new journalism, a patently fake ...

Eric's: An Undignified Death

Report by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 29 March 1980

PENNY KILEY on the demise of Liverpool Eric's — the city's rock 'n' roll heart. ...

B.B. King: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, April 1980

A SLY old dog who knows all the tricks, B. B. King is capable of making you realise that the blues is rather more than ...

James Brown: Studio 54, New York City

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Melody Maker, 17 April 1980

Despite the recent hip upsurge in his popularity, James Brown has for over a year studiously avoided playing a live gig in Manhattan. Pity that, ...

Pete Townshend: Empty Glass (Atco)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 26 April 1980

TO MOST people, it's probably always been obvious that Roger Daltrey was simply Pete Townshend's mouthpiece, the hired vocalist who put the professional gloss on ...

The Cure: Emerald City, Philadelphia

Live Review by Van Gosse, Melody Maker, 26 April 1980

THE CURE HAVE just made their American debut at Emerald City, a huge "rock disco" outside of Philadelphia. Beside Jefferson Starship playing the Roxy, it's ...

Joy Division: From Safety To Where?

Comment by Jon Savage, Melody Maker, 14 June 1980

ABOUT MIDDAY on Sunday, May 18, Ian Curtis was found dead by his wife in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield. Although the exact ...

Chic, Diana Ross: Diana Ross: Diana (Motown STMA 8033)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 21 June 1980

WITH THE combined forces of the Chic Organization Ltd on the record, and with all the songs written, arranged, and produced by the Organization's Dynamic ...

The Specials: Too Much Too Young

Report and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 21 June 1980

PAULO HEWITT joined the Specials Seaside Tour expecting fun and frolics. He found a band grappling with self-doubt and the 2-Tone monster. ...

Steve Hackett: Defector (Charisma)

Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, July 1980

THIS IS THE album we knew Hackett was capable of making: powerful heavy and relevant. It's the first of his four solo efforts to succeed ...

Boz Scaggs: An interview

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 5 July 1980

BOZ SCAGGS graced our fair capital last week, dropping off en route to an Italian beach with his wife and kids. Mindful of the relative ...

Ultravox: Vienna (Chrysalis)

Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 July 1980

HERE'S the first Ultravox album since signing to Chrysalis, and the first since Midge Ure filled the space left by John Foxx. The new lead ...

Billy "The Kid" Emerson: Billy 'The Kid' Emerson: Red Hot And Still Rocking

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 19 July 1980

MARTIN HAWKINS talks to the 'resurrected' Billy 'The Kid' Emerson, a blues legend in his own lifetime. ...

Joy Division: Closer (Factory Records FACT XXV)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 26 July 1980

FROM THE beginning we were always dealing with something special. Joy Division, by the very nature of their set up, could never have been just ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: Kaleidoscope (Polydor)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 26 July 1980

STRANGE TO think that, as the Banshees' contemporaries head off for the fourth or even fifth time in the studio, Kaleidoscope marks only the third ...

Ultravox

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 2 August 1980

Penny Kiley uncovers a smile on the face of the robots, and discovers that synthesizers are just rock'n'roll hardware. ...

Max Roach: Evolutionary Forces

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 23 August 1980

A prime mover in the Bebop era, Max Roach knows all about revolution. He tells KARL DALLAS that revolution without foundation is doomed, and warns ...

Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Art Ensemble of Chicago: Dressing Up To Play

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 30 August 1980

The Art Ensemble's percussionist, Famoudou Don Moye, levels, bevels and revels in costume. BRIAN CASE sits and watches ...

Tymon Dogg: Fiddling Around

Profile and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, September 1980

Tymon Dogg has nothing against success, but he wants it on his own terms, he tells COLIN IRWIN ...

Buzzcocks: A problem in communication

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 4 October 1980

PENNY KILEY talks to the Buzzcocks ...

Kate Bush: Paranoia and Passion of the Kate Inside

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 October 1980

Kate Bush talks to Colin Irwin in Munich... ...

Bruce Springsteen: The River (CBS)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 11 October 1980

LISTENING to Bruce Springsteen's The River is like taking a trip through the rock 'n' roll heartland as you've never experienced it. It's a walk ...

Madness: The Italian Nutty Brigade

Report and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 25 October 1980

All aboard the trans-Europe express as Madness go from Rome to Amsterdam, by Paolo Hewitt ...

John Martyn: Martyn's Identity Papers

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 6 December 1980

ACCORDING to the official biog, John Martyn was born in New Malden, Surrey, but was brought up for the first 15 years of his life ...

The Clash: Joe Strummer Answers The Call-Up

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 13 December 1980

WORKING ON THE theory that if you give him enough rope he'll either hang or save himself, the following pages are left basically for the ...

Pere Ubu: The Art Of Pere Ubu

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 1981

IT'S AN IRONIC twist of fate that Pere Ubu's latest visit to the UK should be prefaced by Rough Trade's reissue of the band's debut ...

Phil Collins: Facing Up To New Values

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 7 February 1981

URPASSING even The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Crossroads in the bus-stop yapping stakes, the national adult pastime of watching Tiswas every morning of ...

Marvin Gaye: For Once In A Lifetime

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 21 February 1981

AFTER NEARLY two hours in that bedroom, Lydia finally gave up. By any standards she'd waited long enough for her Marvin Gaye interview – a ...

The 101'ers: Keys To The Legend

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 28 February 1981

ON THE WAY out of that pub, last Friday afternoon Joe Strummer suddenly gripped my elbow, and propelled me urgently away from the rest of ...

Delta 5, Gang of Four, Pere Ubu: Gang of Four, Pere Ubu, Delta 5: Mountford Hall, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 21 March 1981

Firing on all Four ...

Robert Fripp: Do you want me to sell you an album…or a treatise on neg-entropy?

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 21 March 1981

Robert Fripp lectures Lynden Barber ...

Dave Van Ronk: Van Ronk Remembers

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 March 1981

Karl Dallas discusses asthma, cigarettes and the nature of music with blues veteran Dave Van Ronk ...

Steve Young: Pickin’ with the Renegade: Steve Young

Interview by Richard Wootton, Melody Maker, 25 April 1981

IT’S a depressingly familiar scenario. An American musician who’s acquired a strong cult following over several years with a string of excellent but hard-to-get albums ...

Bruce Springsteen: Not The Me-Me-Me-Me

Report and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 9 May 1981

STACKED on the left of the typewriter are two blank cassettes which should contain the voice of Bruce Springsteen. But like Kevin Rowland and Elvis ...

Kate Bush: 'What I Did On My Holidays' by Kate Bush, As Told To Ian Birch

Interview by Ian Birch, Melody Maker, June 1981

LATE LAST year not even jump leads would have revitalized the Kate Bush batteries. She was so exhausted that she took the only sensible course ...

Black Uhuru

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 6 June 1981

Paulo Hewitt goes to New York and tries to find some common ground with BLACK UHURU's crucial three. ...

Bruce Springsteen: Brighton Centre

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 6 June 1981

TRYING TO WRITE about a Bruce Springsteen concert without reinforcing the man's reputation for scarcely believable stage performances is like trying to cross the Atlantic ...

The Clash: Safe in a European home

Report and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 6 June 1981

STANDING BY the toilet door, the kid recognised him instantly. The hair piled up in a scraggy mess. The white leather jacket. The beautiful punkette ...

Defunkt: Debunking the Funk

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

BOWIE (JOE) beats the Apple and subverts Paulo Hewitt ...

Mike Westbrook: Present use of the past tense

Profile and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

IT WAS AN appropriate setting to meet Mike Westbrook, perhaps the most decidedly English of all jazzmen: an English garden. ...

Tenpole Tudor: Men of a Thousand Swords

Report and Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

Tenpole Tudor stun Colin Irwin. ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: Tuning up the criminal kind

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

BENMONT TENCH remembers the day well. "It was April Fool's Day 1974 when we drove to L.A.," he recalls. At the time, keyboardsman Tench, guitarist ...

U2: Friars, Aylesbury

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 13 June 1981

THEY'D JUST FLOWN IN from the States, seen Springsteen the previous night, and gave Aylesbury a taste of what it's like to be totally wired ...

Defunkt: The Venue, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 20 June 1981

PRESENTING upwardly mobile uptown jazz/funk from New York, Defunkt are a sharp six-piece fronted by the ever-cool Joe Bowie, who plays trombone, conducts the band ...

Echo & the Bunnymen: Knocking on Heaven's gate

Report and Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 20 June 1981

Lynden Barber goes Dutch on a tequila sunrise with Echo and the Bunnymen. ...

Killing Joke: What's THIS For...! (EG Records EGMD5.50)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 20 June 1981

THIS UNLISTENABLE record has very little going for it apart from the spaces between the tracks. This may sound harsh, but let me explain... ...

Siouxsie & the Banshees: Juju (Polydor POLD 1034)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 20 June 1981

Single file Siouxsie ...

Marvin Gaye: Glad To Be Gaye: Marvin Gaye: Apollo Victoria, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 27 June 1981

APART FROM the odd dash of Las Vegas, a little hammed up stage behaviour, and a constant projection of distracting holiday snaps of our hero ...

Ornette Coleman: Focus on Sanity

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 27 June 1981

The legendary innovator ORNETTE COLEMAN at the ballet. Up on his points in bright green tutu is Brian Case. ...

Was (Not Was): Was (Not Was) (ZE/Island ILPS 7015)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 27 June 1981

Was is not the Was that was ...

Rory Gallagher: Life With Last Year's Model

Report and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 12 September 1981

THEY WERE IN Manchester. It was 8:30 in the morning, and the hotel was quiet. The Rory Gallagher Band and their crew were peacefully sleeping ...

Soft Cell: Soft See Cell Warfare

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, January 1982

The Soft White Underbelly of Soft Cell ...

Billy Eckstine: Hot under the collar

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 2 January 1982

BILLY ECKSTINE lets the good anecdotes roll. Notebook: Brian Case ...

The Damned, UK Subs: Dreaming Of A Punk Christmas

Report by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 2 January 1982

"COME HERE," cried an excited Captain Sensible from the corner of the backstage lounge. "I've just discovered what this is like! It's like the Generation ...

J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz: J. Walter Negro: The Writing on the Wall

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 2 January 1982

J. WALTER NEGRO shoots the pump with Paulo Hewitt. ...

The Pretenders, Sandie Shaw: The Pretenders: Dominion, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 2 January 1982

No time to go to sleep ...

Bob Stewart: Tuba, or not tuba?

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 9 January 1982

This could be the age of the tuba players... time for the likes of BOB STEWART. Brian Case is on oom pah. ...

Mike Batt: The composer at the console

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 9 January 1982

Karl Dallas goes Batty with the ex-Womble in a Berlin studio ...

Material, Nona Hendryx: Nona Hendryx: Labelle-d By The Funk

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 16 January 1982

Paolo Hewitt sees eye-to-eye with NONA HENDRYX ...

Imagination: Body Talking

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 23 January 1982

Paulo Hewitt finds the spirit of IMAGINATION ...

Rip Rig And Panic: Warehouse, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 23 January 1982

That's entertainment ...

Herbie Mann: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 30 January 1982

HERBIE Mann came to London with the burden of a hit single that sold three-quarters of a million units, but we shouldn't hold that against ...

New Order: North London Polytechnic, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 30 January 1982

FIRST THE RESOUNDING echo of the cumbersome mythology surrounding this group, then the subsequent, inevitable dismissals and sneers. Now, perhaps for the first time, it's ...

Orange Juice: The Venue, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 30 January 1982

L.O.V.E. Juices ...

The Bluebells, Haircut 100: Haircut 100, the Bluebells: National Club, Kilburn, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 6 February 1982

Today's blow wave? ...

Altered Images, The Human League: Martin Rushent: The Genetic Method

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 6 February 1982

Studio Svengali MARTIN RUSHENT earbashes hungry hack Adam Sweeting. ...

Shakatak: The Royalty, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 6 February 1982

Darkness on the edge of boredom ...

The Fall: Hex Enduction Hour (Kamera)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 March 1982

OF COURSE, YOU don't actually review a Fall LP. You hover in the shadow of the aura and attempt to catch some of the sparks ...

Haircut 100: Favourite Cuts and Pelican Shirts

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 20 March 1982

HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED suffer white line fever. Paulo Hewitt pops the questions. ...

Asia: Asia (Geffen)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

DESIGNED BY computer, hand-built by robots...Completely calculated, thoroughly contemptible, Asia is very bit as hollow, shallow and nasty as anyone had a right to expect. ...

Chelsea: Spring Time for October

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

I DON'T know why it had to happen to Chelsea. Clawed by the press, mauled by the dim-witted forces of fashion, the four-man disaster team ...

Jah Wobble: Wobbling Free

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

ON THE first bright day of '82, two tramp-like figures lounge on a bench outside the South Bank complex overlooking the Thames. The sun is ...

Everything But The Girl, Marine Girls, Tracey Thorn: Marine Girls: On the beach

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

Penny Kiley gets in the swim with the Marine Girls and discovers fishy goings-on in Hatfield. ...

Mothmen: One Black Dot

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

THERE'S SOMETHING invisible about the Mothmen. Oh yes, they've included a picture of themselves here and their names are all written down for inspection...but the ...

Motown: I Hear A Symphony

Overview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

TIMELESS music...a rare and precious thing...hard to find ...even harder to create: that's Motown music when it was in its heyday. It was a music ...

Roddy Radiation & The Tearjerkers: Tears and Radiation

Profile and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 3 April 1982

ONE THING'S certain. Roddy Radiation, with his new band the Tearjerkers, could hardly have travelled further away from the sound, the style, the mood and ...

Angelic Upstarts: Still From The Heart (Zono)

Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 10 April 1982

EXTRAORDINARY. Quite extraordinary. This has got to be the most astonishing thing I've heard in months; a shock so devastating that I'm shaking still. ...

British Electric Foundation: Music Of Quality And Distinction Volume One (Virgin)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 10 April 1982

BRIEFCASES bulging with credentials, the boardroom men of the BEF decided last year to live up to their status as "production company" within the mighty ...

Carmel: Storm Before The Calm

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 10 April 1982

AN INTERRUPTION. You can forget your Bananajamas and their shrink-wrapped kharma, stuff your paedophiliac slobbering over little Lolita Grogan – wipe that saliva away, it's ...

Chron Gen: Chronic Generation (Secret)

Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 10 April 1982

WELCOME TO the chronic generation, and a glimpse into the past, present and future of Chron-Gen on their debut album. ...

Frantic Elevators: Adam's Club, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 10 April 1982

Glad tune rising ...

Altered Images: Pinky Blue (Epic)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

IF THE jolly-jolly blancmange and Jellytot frills on the cover of Happy Birthday didn't, like the kid at the party who stuffed all the eClares, ...

Angelic Upstarts: Mensi's Marauders

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

"COME HERE you!" bellowed Mensi across a crowded and quite respectable lounge bar. The reverberations thundered over the heads of the lunchtime clientele, their salads ...

Anti-Nowhere League: We Are…The League

Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

THERE'S ONLY one League in my life. It's not the Human League, for sure. It's not the Ivy League either, or the League of Gentlemen. ...

Funkapolitan: Funkapolitan (London)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

ON PAPER the chemistry looked fine. Take a young, English funk band with obvious American leanings, pair them off with the cool, experienced hand of ...

Junior Giscombe: Secret Life of a Streatham Soul-Boy

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

Paolo Hewitt rides the Soul Train to L.A. with Junior Giscombe ...

Ornette Coleman: Of Human Feelings (Antilles AN 2001)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

Sounds in motion ...

Squeeze: Sweets From A Stranger (A&M)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 8 May 1982

CELEBRATED FOR their willingness to look the slings and arrows straight in the eye, Squeeze return with more observations and scars from the battle zone. ...

Gang of Four: Songs Of The Free (EMI)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 22 May 1982

AND SO the most highly-evolved piss artists in "rock" came to release their third LP. ...

Miles Davis: We Want Miles (CBS 88579)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 22 May 1982

Miles and miles of smiles ...

Third World: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 22 May 1982

OBVIOUS I know, but it seemed more than a coincidence that Third World should kick off their opening night in London on the first anniversary ...

Scritti Politti: The Sweetest Groove

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 29 May 1982

Everything's gone GREEN, the voice of SCRITTI POLITTI tells Lynden Barber ...

Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (Y Records Y19)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 5 June 1982

OFTEN IN Sun Ra performances I've found myself keeping the faith up to the mark with reminders of the bandleader's pioneering work to avoid concentrating ...

The Go-Betweens, The Raincoats, The Three Courgettes: The Raincoats, Three Courgettes, The Go-Betweens: The Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 5 June 1982

HAVING SUCCESSFULLY thrown off the worst aspects of their twee post-punk amateurism with the release of the refreshing Odyshape last year. The Raincoats took several steps backwards ...

Au Pairs: Sex Without Stress

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 12 June 1982

HOW COULD they have known? The caption under the BBC1 column in the Sunday Times television listings for May 30 was unmistakeable. "6.10. Sense And ...

The Bluebells: Everybody's Somebody's Bluebell

Profile and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 12 June 1982

MATTERS FINALLY came to a head after the show that night. In the cramped dressing room, Ken McCluskey, the Bluebells' harmonica player, picked up a ...

A Flock Of Seagulls: Beaks On Broadway

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

"AND THAT was a Flock with 'Space Age Love Song' here on K-ROQ Los Angeles. For those of you who don't know yet, that's A ...

Attila the Stockbroker: The Ultimate Hooligan

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

STANDING against the kind of pastel sea and sky only seen in Turner paintings and south-coast resorts is a dog-eared set of leather and denim ...

Cabaret Voltaire: Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

SOME shock, this. Hatched in the dreariest industrial crucible, Cabaret Voltaire have always crawled, and snivelled down their own dubious paths, hacking away in their ...

Circle Jerks: Wild In The Streets (Faulty Products)

Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

LOOK, here they come now, swaggering round the corner: mouthfuls of curses; knuckledusters; leathers scraped with the scars of street battle; chains in the pockets; ...

The Gun Club: Gun Fun: The Gun Club: Fire Of Love (Beggars Banquet)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

THE GUN CLUB are direct descendants of a ferociously-subversive rock 'n' roll tradition fired by the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and most successfully embodied ...

Peter and the Test Tube Babies: More Bottle Than Brains

Report and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

Carol Clerk cracks a tube with PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES ...

Rip Rig and Panic: I Am Cold (Virgin)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

THINK OF Rip Rig And Panic and think of wily freedom, wit and dazzle, a flurry of mayhem to disrupt these days of a rapidly ...

This Heat: King's College, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

TRAGICALLY snubbed by both press and public in this country, This Heat may have played their final gig. ...

Tom Verlaine: Slurs From The Front

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 June 1982

Tom Verlaine: The Venue, London ...

Cabaret Voltaire

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 26 June 1982

"THERE'S 70 million people on earth." "Where are they hiding?" ...

Saxon Dregs 'N' Rock 'N' Roll

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 26 June 1982

From the pits of Yorkshire to the industrial might of Seattle, SAXON have taken tea to the world. Colin Irwin earnestly believes it's the new ...

The Business: Heaven Can Wait

Profile and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 26 June 1982

IT SEEMED like a good idea at the time. Meet The Business, knock back a pint or two, set off on a disco crawl...and find ...

Captain Sensible, Dolly Mixture: Captain Sensible & Dolly Mixture: Sense and Sensibility

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

SHE DIDN'T look a day under 75, but she recognised him instantly. Up to her elbows in pie and mash and jellied eels, the woman ...

New Asia: Ian Little: Gateway to Asia

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

CHECK THE scarf then consider all points east. Face more than slightly swarthy, eyes coffee dark, Ian Little could easily turn out to be a ...

Ministry: Ministry of Offence

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

THE AIRPORT at Minneapolis is surprisingly big, considering the town itself is hidden away up towards Canada in the big blank heart of the mid-West. ...

Nikki Sudden: The hippest prince

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

Nikki Sudden discusses hero worship with Penny Kiley ...

Delta 5, Southern Death Cult, Theatre of Hate: Theatre Of Hate, Southern Death Cult, Delta 5: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

THIS IS ALMOST another case of "eat thy words", hard on the heels of Allan Jones' revelatory viewing of the Stones at Wembley. I didn't ...

Donna Summer: Donna Summer

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 24 July 1982

IF THERE's one song that Donna Summer should be singing right now it's our current number one, 'Fame'. Tailor made for her, 'Fame' is glossy, ...

Erazerhead: Teenagers In Lust

Profile and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 24 July 1982

IT WAS in the winter of 1978 that vocalist Lee Drury had his first traumatic encounter with the cruel forces of fate. At the time, ...

Fehlfarben: Before The Deluge

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 31 July 1982

UNDER THE nuclear shadow, something stirs. Looking west, it decides to reject the old men's fear and guilt. If the sands of time are turning ...

The Fits

Profile and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 21 August 1982

Carol Clerk collars confident Blackpool punksters The Fits in a fact-packed foray ...

The Police, Sting: Sting: A Policeman's Guide To Good And Evil...

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, September 1982

YOU MIGHT NOT have noticed, but there's been little activity on the Police front recently. This year, apart from a few sporadic live appearances, has ...

Kate Bush: The Dreaming

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 September 1982

UNDER THE premise that the Great British Public instinctively turns its nose up at anything that's a little unexpected, or which doesn't meet its carefully ...

Culture Club: Kissing To Be Clever (Virgin V2232)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 9 October 1982

The lust patrol ...

Adam & The Ants: Prince Charmless: Adam Ant: Astoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 9 October 1982

LAST YEAR Adam Ant became a Dexys Midnight Runners fan. He went to their shows, always gave them name-checks in the press and even sent ...

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: What's The Word?: Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: The Message (Sugarhill)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 9 October 1982

IN WHICH THE message from the apple-stretching New York would seem to read: don't get caught in a rap rut, move on and expand. Whether ...

Haysi Fantayzee: The Cheeky Double Fantasy

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 30 October 1982

Carol Clerk shouts "Up yer bum!" as she discovers the sexual side of HAYSI FANTAYZEE ...

Joni Mitchell: Wild Things Run Fast

Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 27 November 1982

I LISTEN TO Joni Mitchell's voice these days with a fleeting pang of nostalgia. Flitting from one plaintive note to another, fluttering up and down ...

Shalamar: The Second Time Around

Profile and Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 18 December 1982

LATE LAST March, under the advice of a close friend, Jeffrey Daniels, one third of a group called Shalamar, took a walk down the Kings ...

George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament: George Clinton: The Mad Professor

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 8 January 1983

Paolo Hewitt gets funked by GEORGE CLINTON. ...

Tymon Dogg: Tymon Time Again

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 8 January 1983

Colin Irwin visits the strange world of TYMON DOGG, former Paul McCartney protégé, Clash sidekick, and enemy of Safeway People ...

Sisters of Mercy: The Sisters Of Mercy: The Devils Floorshow

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 15 January 1983

Adam Sweeting unravels the stream of consciousness gushing forth from the SISTERS OF MERCY. ...

Prince Far I & Creation Rebel: Dingwalls, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 19 February 1983

Enough is enough ...

Cocteau Twins: Heavenly Twins

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 19 March 1983

LAST SEPTEMBER a very strange thing happened. Three unknown scruffy Scottish urchins took the indie charts by storm with, a debut album, called Garlands, an ...

Pink Floyd: The Final Cut (EMI SHPF 1983)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 March 1983

JUST PICTURE IT: over on the left there's wacky old Jack-the-lad Tony Ashton bobbing and weaving away beneath his dad's mangy cloth cap like Kevin ...

New Order: Brixton Ace, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 26 March 1983

THE OMENS WERE poor. Judging from the new single, 'Blue Monday', you could be forgiven for supposing that New Order are simply the latest Factory ...

The Farm, The Style Council: Style Council, The Farm, The High V: Empire Theatre, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 7 May 1983

NEW SOUNDS, NO STYLE ...

Robert Wyatt: Diving for Pearls

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 June 1983

Adam Sweeting talks to ROBERT WYATT about shipbuilding, pop music, the Eurovision song contest, and revolutionary ideologies. ...

Howard Devoto, The Smiths, SPK: Howard Devoto, SPK, the Smiths: The Lyceum, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 7 August 1983

WELL, YOU can always hope, can't yer? Fat lot of good that'll do you on a night like this. ...

Comsat Angels: The Comsat Angels: Selling Sheffield By The Pound

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 20 August 1983

UNLIKE BOXING, there is no knockouts when art and commerce enter the ring, though the least we can do is award points. ...

Elvis Costello And The Attractions: Punch The Clock (F Beat)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 1 September 1983

PHEW, for a moment there I thought the penny wasn't going to drop in time. Luckily, after a further batch of circumnavigations of the turntable, ...

Jayne County: Old Queens Never Die… They Just Change Sex

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 24 September 1983

Carol Clerk shows an unhealthy interest in the bodily development of JAYNE COUNTY. ...

Manu Dibango, Gasper Lawal: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 24 September 1983

READING THE music papers in mid-'76, I'd suspected that the touted wave of punk groups resembled nothing so extraordinary as a cross between zealous youth ...

The Fixx: Fixxin' Up

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 24 September 1983

Helen FitzGerald attempts to make sense of THE FIXX — the British band unknown at home who are big news in the States ...

The Go-Betweens: Mysteries of Exile

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 1 October 1983

The GO-BETWEENS come from Australia, but you don't need a visa to love them. Lynden Barber suggests we drop our passport control mentalities and tune ...

Howard Jones: Keeping Up with the Joneses

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 8 October 1983

Helen FitzGerald finds reasons to believe in the musical integrity of synth-pop wiz, HOWARD JONES ...

Bauhaus, Peter Murphy: Peter Murphy: Searching for Satori

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 8 October 1983

Almost two months after the Bauhaus split PETER MURPHY finally breaks his silence and lets his mask slip. Wounded but not beaten, he confides all ...

The Armoury Show: A thriving passion

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 8 October 1983

Stars of this year's Futurama festival, THE ARMOURY SHOW Still don't have a deal, but definitely aren't short of ideas. A progress report on the ...

Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones (Island ILPS 9762)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 8 October 1983

WITH 15 TRACKS, this is sketchbook Waits and indicates the range of his writing gifts. Maybe it's the influence of writing music for movies, but ...

Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Jools Holland, Paul McCartney, Public Image Ltd, Tina Turner: The Tube: Ready... Steady... Um...

Report by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

Helen FitzGerald has a nightmare... and finds herself at the first night of THE TUBE. ...

KC & the Sunshine Band: The Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

Getting on down... down ...

Marilyn: Gentle Men Prefer Blonds

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

Friend of the stars MARILYN expounds on the delights of Chanel No. 5 and pink lipstick to Helen FitzGerald ...

The Smiths: Liverpool Polytechnic

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

WHAT ARE you to think when the group come on stage and start throwing flowers into the audience? On this occasion, a practical response seems ...

Toyah Willcox: Toyah: In the Arms of the Law

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 5 November 1983

The increasingly extraordinary Adam Sweeting tackles the several personalities of the small but determined TOYAH. ...

Eurythmics: Side By Side

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 19 November 1983

Location: Brighton. Subject of adoration: EURYTHMICS. Impressed correspondent: Adam Sweeting. ...

Gardening By Moonlight: Gimme the Moonlight

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 19 November 1983

It's time to take GARDENING BY MOONLIGHT seriously, according to Helen FitzGerald ...

Sun Ra: The Joy of Life

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 November 1983

Lynden Barber hero-worships SUN RA ...

Tears For Fears: Talking in Riddles

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 26 November 1983

Adam Sweeting tolerates the serious posturings of TEARS FOR FEARS. ...

The Birthday Party, Siouxsie & The Banshees: The Birthday Party: Mutiny! (Mute 29); Siouxsie & the Banshees: Nocturne (Polydor Shah 1)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 26 November 1983

TO HELL AND BACK ...

U2: Under A Blood Red Sky (Island Mini LP IMA3)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 26 November 1983

IT WAS only a matter of time before U2 released a live disc of some sort, since gruelling road-work has earned them a firm base ...

Wham!: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 26 November 1983

WHAM! TRAP! ...

Einstürzende Neubauten: North London Polytechnic

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 3 December 1983

THE MAKINGS of an iron foundry litter the stage. Austere men assume Stakhanovite postures, hammers posed momentarily before thundering metal-wards. Sparks shoots crimson from a ...

Fela Kuti: The Republic Of Kuti

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 3 December 1983

FELA KUTI gives Lynden Barber a lecture in African culture. ...

New Order: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 10 December 1983

BLUE COOL ...

Tears For Fears: Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 10 December 1983

THE LIGHT show was the best thing about it. But then a "computerised lighting display" is something to compete with. And if Tears For Fears ...

ZZ Top: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 10 December 1983

A FEW days previously BBC 2 had scored a century with their brilliantly presented tribute to the "Soundies", the juke box visual clips of the ...

Depeche Mode: Crushing The Wheels Of Industry

Report and Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 7 January 1984

SPARKLERS. That's how German audiences display affection and appreciation. Sparklers, plus the odd lone klaxon crying out like a wolf with a peg on its ...

Howard Jones: Civic Hall, Guildford

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 7 January 1984

HOWARD JONES. The real thing or just another keyboard wizard with just enough talent to blaze a fiery but abruptly short trail through our memories ...

Bill Laswell: Baselines (Elektra Musician 60221-1 US Import)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 14 January 1984

I HAD HIGH hopes for Laswell's Baselines but large tracts turn out to be a bit of a pain, I'm afraid. ...

Spear of Destiny: Spear & Loathing

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 21 January 1984

SPEAR OF DESTINY'S KIRK BRANDON bares his soul to Adam Sweeting ...

Heaven 17, Carol Kenyon: Carol Kenyon: Oh Carol!

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 February 1984

Could this be love? Almost certainly. Colin Irwin (drooling reportage) and Andrew Catlin (provider of lascivious images) feign maturity in the presence of CAROL KENYON. ...

Howard Jones: Human's Lib

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 4 February 1984

Undeterred by the psychological disadvantages of being a one-man band and the subject of a national 'paper slur campaign', HOWARD JONES struggles on... to victory, ...

The Redskins: Keeping On And On

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 11 February 1984

Adam Sweeting weathers a storm of political invective from THE REDSKINS ...

Thomas Dolby: The Flat Earth (Parlophone)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 11 February 1984

ANYBODY WHO'D put Magnus Pyke in one of their videos has to be a gimmick merchant, right? Though Thomas Dolby scored a hit in all ...

Julian Cope: World Shut Your Mouth (Mercury MERL 37)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 18 February 1984

LIVING IN a wiggly world! Spanning the sublime and the ridiculous with the ease of the truly uncritical, Julian Cope flies on (among other things) ...

The Alarm: Declaration (IRS IRSA7044)

Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 18 February 1984

DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE ...

Marilyn: The Misfit

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 25 February 1984

Carol Clerk and MARILYN parry ideas about love, life and sex and the single girl. ...

Thomas Dolby: Hyperaction

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 3 March 1984

Adam Sweeting gets all smoochy with Eighties Renaissance Man THOMAS DOLBY. ...

Prefab Sprout: Swoon (Kitchenware KWLP1)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 10 March 1984

SPROUT MASK REPLICAS ...

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Hall & Oates: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 17 March 1984

SWEET SOUL MUSIC ...

Kate Garner, Haysi Fantayzee: Kate Garner: Woman's Own

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 17 March 1984

KATE GARNER used to be known for taking her clothes off. Now she's keeping them on, even in the face of Adam Sweeting. ...

The Clash: The Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 17 March 1984

ONCE UPON a time when we were a little more naive than we like to admit, The Clash seemed pretty important, like they were the ...

The Pale Fountains: Fountains of Youth

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 17 March 1984

Helen FitzGerald swoons in the company of THE PALE FOUNTAINS, back with a new album after a fruitless search for the ideal record producer. ...

Culture Club, Steve Levine: Steve Levine: Before and After Science

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 31 March 1984

Culture Club's producer STEVE LEVINE blinds an inquisitive Adam Sweeting with the new science of recording technology, and explains why he's embarked on his own ...

Marvin Gaye 1939-1984

Obituary by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 April 1984

With the death of MARVIN GAYE, black music lost one of its most eloquent voices. Colin Irwin documents a brilliant but tempestuous career. ...

Was (Not Was): (The Woodwork) Squeaks (Ze Records IMA 10)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 7 April 1984

ALIAS A mini-LP commemorating the finest moments of the (St) Was Bros, the saboteurs of funk. My advice would be to wheel it out, soon. ...

Dead Or Alive: Queen Bitch

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 14 April 1984

Suddenly, yesterday's men Dead Or Alive are pop Stars. Here, flamboyant PETE BURNS tells Adam Sweeting about fame and dressing up. ...

Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: The Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 14 April 1984

THE MOST simple consideration of live performance throws up two basic types; those shows that define musical experience, are the quintessential medium for the music ...

Hanoi Rocks: Danceteria, New York

Live Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 14 April 1984

IT WAS a particularly nasty little flu bug, the sort that devastates every function of the human body and turns you into the most miserable ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: New Junk for Old

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 28 April 1984

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK emerge from the shadows with a new album, Junk Culture. Helen FitzGerald hops on the Sealink to Belgium for a ...

The Blue Nile: Source of the Nile

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 28 April 1984

Helen FitzGerald goes in search of paradise and finds... BLUE NILE ...

R.E.M.: The Carioca, Worthing

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 5 May 1984

HOT NIGHTS IN GEORGIA ...

Ziggy Marley: The Melody Makers: Jah Makers

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 12 May 1984

Colin Irwin meets the MELODY MAKERS, children of the legendary Bob Marley. ...

Art of Noise: State Of The Art: The Art of Noise

Report and Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 19 May 1984

Zang! Zang! Zang! go Lynden Barber's art-strings as he meets pop cryptographers ART OF NOISE.  ...

Carmel: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 26 May 1984

CARMEL COLLECTED ...

New Order: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 26 May 1984

THICK AS THIEVES ...

Terry Allen: Architect's Association, London

Live Review by John Tobler, Melody Maker, 26 May 1984

BEFORE YOU ask "Who?", Terry Allen is the singer/songwriter from Lubbock, Texas, who, unlike the other two internationally known Lubbock musicians, is (a) not dead, ...

The Alarm: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 26 May 1984

SHOUT AT THE DEVIL ...

Kajagoogoo, Limahl: Limahl: I Me Mine

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 9 June 1984

LIMAHL and his ego hold court. Credulous report: Helen FltzGerald ...

Public Image Ltd: PiL: This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get (Virgin)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, July 1984

JUST when you thought you had the bugger pinned down as a spent force, a wasted opportunist and black and white photocopy of a colourful ...

Spear of Destiny: World In Action

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 6 July 1984

KIRK BRANDON is experiencing a new burst of energy with SPEAR OF DESTINY. He braved the mud and bottles at Milton Keynes, he's been playing ...

Jason & The Scorchers: Jason and the Scorchers: Fervor

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 28 July 1984

WITH MUCH contemporary sound becoming more than a tad anaemic (they know who they are), we must turn our eyes to the West for a ...

Bronski Beat: St James' Church, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

SONGS OF PRAISE ...

James Blood Ulmer: The Venue, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

IF, AS IT'S often noted, a week is a long time in pop, how long is four years in avant-jazz-funk? ...

The Boothill Foot Tappers, The Pogues: Pogues, Boothill Foot Tappers: Mean Fiddler, Harlesden

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

IT WAS not a night to be sober. ...

Working Week: Shaw Theatre, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 4 August 1984

WHILE THE nadir of pop's current dalliance with jazz was reached by the terminal twit who mimed a trumpet solo through a saxophone on Ear-Say ...

Psychic TV: Holloway Road, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 18 August 1984

TONIGHT'S UNPUBLICISED appearance of Psychic TV at an old disused music hall off the Holloway Road was some "event". ...

Johnny Thunders: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 1 September 1984

WHEN JOHNNY came marching back to London this time around, he took us all by surprise. ...

New Order: Goldiggers, Chippenham

Live Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 1 September 1984

A VITAL GLEAM ...

Cristina: Funny Girl

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 8 September 1984

CRISTINA may live in luxury, but she's no pampered butterfly, as Helen FitzGerald finds out ...

Jayne County: The Pink Palace, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 8 September 1984

THE FIRST thing Jayne County has to say is "It's a bit short, can't you make it any longer?" And she was only talking about ...

Bronski Beat: Dark Side of the Beat

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

After the haunting 'Smalltown Boy' BRONSKI BEAT take sexual politics right to the edge with their daring new single, 'Why'. In America completing their debut ...

Bruce Foxton: Camden Palace, London

Live Review by Dave Thompson, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

THE EIGHTEEN months since You Know Who finally called it a day have been reasonably kind to Brother Foxton. So he's not quite at ...

Donna Summer: Cats Without Claws (WE A 250 806-1)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

TO BE honest I liked Donna better when she talked dirty to me. They may have been Giorgio Moroder records as much as they were ...

Let's Active: Cypress (IRS IRSA 7047)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

ACTIVATE ...

Marc Almond: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

BOUNCING ON for his first encore, Marc paused, adjusted his shimmering shirt and briefly addressed his kingdom. "Do you think it was a big mistake ...

Orchestra Jazira: Nomadic Activities (Beggars Banquet BEGA 56)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

WANDERING STARS ...

The Style Council, Wham!: Wham! Style Council: Miners' Benefit, Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 15 September 1984

Pit-Head Ballet ...

The Dream Syndicate: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 22 September 1984

AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE ...

Wynton Marsalis: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 22 September 1984

TRUST WYNTON Marsalis to try the most difficult crossover of all. There has been very little successful commuting between jazz and classical music, although the ...

Aztec Camera: Knife (WEA 240 483-1)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

RAZOR SHARP ...

Floy Joy: Into The Hot (Virgin V2319)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

BURNING SENSATION ...

The Go-Betweens: Go-Betweens: Spring Hill Fair (Sire K925179)

Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

TO SUMMARISE the Go-Betweens' appeal would be a destructive exercise, because the core of their charm is a moveable feast. From the lush beauty of ...

Brian Eno, U2: The Life of Brian

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

Helen FitzGerald, the Emerald Isle's most astonishing export, gets all mysterious with ambient whizz-kid BRIAN ENO, who talks about life after the bush of ghosts, ...

Aswad, The High Five, Wah!: The Mighty Wah!, Aswad, High Five: Liverpool People's Festival, St George's Hall, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

The People's Poet ...

Aswad, Wah!: The Mighty Wah!, Aswad, High Five: Peoples Festival, St George's Hall, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 29 September 1984

"THIS IS the first Liverpool gig I've ever enjoyed," announced Pete Wylie at the end of the set, and it was probably the one that ...

Bobby Womack: Poetry in Motion

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 6 October 1984

Lynden Barber puts a face to the music of BOBBY WOMACK, a genuine soul legend who remains virtually unknown to the majority of the Great ...

Depeche Mode: Empire, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 6 October 1984

SOFT SELL ...

Orange Juice: Crystal Palace Bowl, London

Live Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 6 October 1984

THE THRILL OF IT ALL ...

U2: The Unforgettable Fire (Island U25)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 6 October 1984

AT THE HOMECOMING ...

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force: Pink Elephant, Luton

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 13 October 1984

THE CABBIE, waiting in the foyer, hadn't been too impressed. Now it was different when Demis Roussos and Johnny Mathis played here. Sounded just like ...

John Lennon, Julian Lennon, Yoko Ono: Julian Lennon: The Lennon Legacy

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 October 1984

Four years after a madman took out his father, JULIAN LENNON launches his own career in music. In his first major interview he tells Colin ...

The Last Poets: Young Master

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 13 October 1984

Kidnapped heiress Patti Hearst is said to have listened to him incessantly during her captivity and the hip-hop crowd regard him as a guru. His ...

Afrika Bambaataa: Play It Again Bam

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 20 October 1984

Leader of the Zulu Nation. Godfather of hip-hop. Overlord of funk. Black youth guru. Creator of the most influential record of the Eighties. All this ...

Gil Evans: Birth Of The Cool At 72

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 20 October 1984

The film version of Colin MacInnes' classic Fifties novel, Absolute Beginners, has attracted a wealth of talent including Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger and American jazz ...

John Cale: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 20 October 1984

JOHN CALE comes alive! Or, more to the point, returns to churn out his trussed-up, broken-down rock, his stutter-and-collapse persona resting on the barricades of ...

Felt: The Strange Idol Pattern And Other Short Stories (Cherry Red)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 3 November 1984

THERE IS A singular atmosphere to Felt's music. Their dreamy guitar excursions are a pure extension of mood, not intent, and as such have no ...

Wham!: Make It Big (Epic)

Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 10 November 1984

MILD NOISE ...

Motörhead: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984

LEGEND LEMMY ...

SPK: The Politics Of Junk

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984

SPK bang on pieces of metal and go spot-welding. Lynden Barber wants to know why ...

The Smiths: Hatful of Hollow — Empty Promises

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984

THE EMINENTLY QUOTABLE Morrissey said it himself. On the subject of Lloyd Cole, he told Ian Pye: "Lloyd is a tremendously nice person, much more ...

Wham!: The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Bite

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 17 November 1984

In an historic encounter, Colin Irwin confronts WHAM! on such burning issues as sexism, politics, wallyism and taking your shirt off in public. ...

Divine: The Lyceum, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 24 November 1984

"YOU'RE SO UGLY honey, in fact I wouldn't even fuck you with his dick." ...

Manu Dibango: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 24 November 1984

IT TAKES TENOR TO TANGO ...

David Bowie, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols: Julien Temple: The Inner Temple

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 1 December 1984

Wordsmith and sedentary snapper Adam Sweeting interrogates filmmaker and promo video master JULIEN TEMPLE... ...

The Go-Betweens: Camden Palace, London

Live Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 1 December 1984

GOING GONE ...

The Redskins: Red On Arrival: The Redskins

Report and Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 8 December 1984

"TUC LEADER Norman Willis tells Arthur Scargill a few home truths," they said on Channel 4 news last night (and this is the Left Wing ...

The Durutti Column: Without Mercy (Factory)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 8 December 1984

SO MUCH contemporary music strives to conquer eager hearts and incite itchy feet with bombastic crescendoes and prolific sloganeering, substituting the possible with the obvious, ...

R.E.M.: SFX Centre, Dublin

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 15 December 1984

PIONEER SPIRITS ...

Sade: The Jewel In The Crown

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 December 1984

An unlikely star and a reluctant one, but SADE ADU is the most successful female artist of the year. The life and times of a ...

Level 42: Pleasure Principle

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 22 December 1984

Lynden Barber accuses LEVEL 42 of showing off. Mark King stays cool. ...

U2: At The Homecoming: U2’s Unforgettable Fire

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 1985

THIS HAS BEEN a long time coming, and there have been signs of strain. War, U2's last album of new material, was released more than ...

Stiv Bators: Stiv Bator and Michael Monroe

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 1985

STIV BATOR: "THERE'S an old saying in the American Mid-West that whoever you spend New Year's Eve with, you spend the rest of the year ...

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 January 1985

HOMETOWN BOYS ...

U2: The Only Flame In Town

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 5 January 1985

When Adam Sweeting interviewed U2 in France in November, BONO felt he'd left a few things unsaid. So he suggested a rematch in America during ...

Isley Jasper Isley: Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper, Marvin Isley: Broadway's Closer To Sunset Blvd. (Epic)

Review by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 12 January 1985

SNOOKER EVERY time you switch on TV, the predatory growls of British Rail staff upon being asked for assistance, the ludicrously tasteless album sleeves of ...

Microdisney: Microwaves

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 12 January 1985

'Some of you (the Freemason pederasts) may be a trifle confused or even annoyed by the packaging and name of this record. For all your ...

The Thompson Twins: Thompson Twins: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 12 January 1985

YOU TAKE ME DOWN ...

Karl Biscuit, The Durutti Column, Joni Sackett: Durutti Column, Jonie D. Sackett, Karl Biscuit: ICA, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 19 January 1985

THE LIFE IN REILLY ...

The Special AKA: Memoirs of a Survivor

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 19 January 1985

Few artists are entitled to hold their heads as high as JERRY DAMMERS. He hasn't yet managed to free Nelson Mandela, but Dammers has managed ...

Aztec Camera, Everything But The Girl, Orange Juice: Orange Juice/Joolz/Woodentops/Everything But the Girl/Aztec Camera: Brixton Academy

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 2 February 1985

THE BATTLE between pop group and duff PA system Is a common spectacle at London's bigger venues. That the legendary Orange Juice chose to end ...

Simply Red: Goldsmiths College, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 9 February 1985

I'VE ALWAYS wondered what sort of groups have the music industry slobbering over them prior to any form of public acclaim and Simply Red are ...

Mick Jagger, The Redskins: The Tube: Thank God It's Friday

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 23 February 1985

MALCOLM GERRIE is the man behind Tyne Tees' groundbreaking pop TV show The Tube. Lynden Barber went to Newcastle to investigate the programme and its ...

The Bangles: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 23 February 1985

CALIFORNIA DREAMING ...

The Bangles

Report and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 2 March 1985

IF IT'S TUESDAY, this must be Paris. How about Europe so far, girls? ...

The Monochrome Set: Snakes and Ladders

Profile and Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 2 March 1985

Martin Aston plays cards with THE MONOCHROME SET currently clambering chart-wards with 'Jacob's Ladder' ...

Boomtown Rats: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 March 1985

IT'S INTERESTING to speculate how responsible Geldof's recent visibility is for landing the Rats two sold-out nights at this 2,000-seater.  ...

Go West: Judgement Day

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 30 March 1985

PLAINTIFF: H. FITZGERALD DEFENDANTS: GO WEST THE CRIME: HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! ...

Los Lobos: Lords of the Barrio

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 20 April 1985

Suddenly, LOS LOBOS are shaping up to be stars with their LP How Will The Wolf Survive and scorching single 'Don't Worry Baby'. Adam Sweeting ...

R.E.M.: Tales from the Black Mountain

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 27 April 1985

In which a rapt Helen FitzGerald hears stories from the background of MICHAEL STIPE of R.E.M., the Georgia boys who brought mystery back to music. ...

Eurythmics: Be Yourself Tonight (RCA)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 May 1985

AMONG their assimilations, borrowings and treatments, Eurythmics remain outsiders. "I'm a looker, a viewer of things," said Annie Lennox. Their Sweet Dreams album nailed the ...

Eurythmics: The Ministry Of Truth

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 May 1985

AMONG THE CRASH of crockery and the hubbub of tea-slurping customers, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox sit unobtrusively at a table in the Waldorf Hotel. ...

The Fat Boys: Eat To The Beat

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 4 May 1985

Helen 'fat is a feminist issue' FitzGerald gets greedy with the FAT BOYS, who are turning rap into pap... or pop. ...

Dead Or Alive: Youthquake (Epic)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 May 1985

Third degree Burns ...

The Pointer Sisters: Pointer Sisters: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 May 1985

INTO THE HOT ...

Rain Parade: Soft Parade

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 18 May 1985

Drugs? Paisley shirts? Forget it, say L.A.'s RAIN PARADE, currently in Britain courtesy of friendly Island Records. Martin Aston wades through the beads and patchouli ...

The Triffids: Kangaroo Courting

Interview by Lynden Barber, Melody Maker, 18 May 1985

LATE AFTERNOON, the wind’s beginning to whip up a little. Two Triffids sit on the balcony of an Italian cappuccino bar taking in the passing ...

Archie Shepp: Sax in the Afternoon

Interview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 25 May 1985

ARCHIE SHEPP has grown... smarter, smoother, slicker. But he still blows a mean sax. Brian Case shares his cab and a Scotch with the jazz ...

Del Amitri: Del Amitri (Big Star)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 25 May 1985

IT MIGHT not be such a good idea to delve too deeply into Del Amitri's arresting pop because you might be deceiving yourself. Forcing any ...

Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Swiss Franks

Report and Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 25 May 1985

Finally, FRANKIE relaxed and invited Helen FitzGerald to chase them round picturesque Montreux. So what did happen in that brothel in Frankfurt? What do Frankie ...

Stewart Copeland, The Police: Stewart Copeland: The Rhythm Method

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 25 May 1985

STEWART COPELAND has been using his holiday from The Police to go exploring in Africa and make a video and LP called The Rhythmatist. Caroline ...

The Style Council: Our Favourite Shop (Polydor)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 25 May 1985

Shopping spree ...

Agnes Bernelle, Elvis Costello: Agnes Bernelle: Cabaret in Exile

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

The first time AGNES BERNELLE met Elvis Costello she thought he was an accountant. She's also met Marlene Dietrich and Adolf Hitler, nearly. Now, at ...

Freddie Jackson, The Stylistics: Freddie Jackson: Rock Me Tonight (Capitol); Stylistics: Some Things Never Change (Virgin)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

TWO STATE of the art soul releases beckoning the consumer in time for the inevitable summer boom. ...

Stewart Copeland: The Rhythmatist

Review by Dave Thompson, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

COME ON, Stewart!  Personal expression is all very well, and we all know that, beneath those candy floss classics you make with the rest of ...

The Chameleons: The Meaning of Life

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

THE CHAMELEONS have been to hell and back. Or something. Martin Aston nurses them through the agony and looks forward to the ecstasy. ...

Miles Davis: You're Under Arrest (CBS)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 15 June 1985

JUDGING BY the cover shots of Miles looking studiedly dangerous with a sub-machinegun, and judging by the music too, the great man is after the ...

The Style Council: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 June 1985

Top Shop ...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers: Rockin' And Romance (Rough Trade)

Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

IF JONATHAN RICHMAN'S single, 'That Summer Feeling', isn't a hit this year, you can only blame it on the Met Office. Richman, eternal cult figure, ...

Marilyn: Despite Straight Lines (Mercury)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

Praying for sunshine ...

The Monochrome Set: The Lost Weekend (Blanco y Negro)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

FROM SATIRE to pastiche, vintage sardonic witticism to detached irony. ...

The Redskins: The Insanity Clause

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

Back on the road and with their new single 'Bring It Down' receiving accolades from all directions, THE REDSKINS are demonstrating that there's still life ...

'Til Tuesday: Voices Carry (Epic)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

THE PRECISE analogy for 'Til Tuesday eludes me, but stating that I thought that this sort of album only got an American release should convey ...

The Communards: Heaven, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 6 July 1985

GAY'S THE WORD ...

George Clinton, Thomas Dolby: George Clinton and Thomas Dolby: The Nut & The Nerd

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 20 July 1985

We're known as The Nut and The Nerd say George Clinton and Thomas Dolby, now together as DOLBY'S CUBE. Caroline Sullivan met this unlikely pair ...

Samantha Fox: The Best Girls Are Always In The Maker!

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 20 July 1985

Dumb blonde or shrewd businesswoman? Whatever your viewpoint, you've got to envy Sun Page Three girl SAMANTHA FOX. Still a teenager, she stands to earn ...

Aretha Franklin: Who's Zoomin' Who? (Arista)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

SINCE HER Atlantic heyday, critics have bemoaned Aretha's descent into the rhetoric of showbiz glamour. They want her to return to the transcendent flights and ...

Mathilde Santing: Water Under The Bridge (WEA)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

Waltzing Mathilde ...

Nico: Shrink Rap

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

The column that straps the pop wallahs to the psychiatrist's couch. ...

Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto: Stan Getz: The guy from Ipanema

Retrospective by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

Brian Case (grass skirt, hula-hoop) examines the resurgence in popularity of latinate saxman Stan Getz ...

Toyah Wilcox: Toyah: Minx (Portrait)

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 27 July 1985

HAS TOYAH Wilcox left it too late? The removable sticker on the cover — where Ms Wilcox models a nice line in wickerwork baskets on ...

Bernard Fowler, Sly & Robbie: Sly & Robbie: Hand in Glove

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 August 1985

Paul Mathur, scribe about town, ambles on down to the Kensington Hilton to meet Jamaica's supreme rhythm team, SLY DUNBAR and ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE. Rock, reggae ...

Mick Ronson, Sandy Dillon: Sandy Dillon And Mick Ronson: Ronnie Scotts, London

Live Review by Dave Thompson, Melody Maker, 17 August 1985

FIRST some background. ...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik: The Underworld, Croydon

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 17 August 1985

Space race ...

Amazulu: The Exciters

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 24 August 1985

At last AMAZULU have a hit. But can they hang on to their sanity? Caroline Sullivan talks to Claire and Nardo ...

Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye (by David Ritz, Michael Joseph £6.95)

Book Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

BIOGRAPHER RITZ, who was collaborating on a life of Marvin Gaye with the soul singer when events overtook him, was certainly in the cat-bird seat ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: Dexy's Midnight Runners: Don't Stand Me Down

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

COMPROMISE, as Kevin Rowland so sharply observes on the opening verse of this remarkable album, is the devil talking. ...

Neil Young: Legend Of A Loner (part 1)

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

NEIL YOUNG is one of rock's most enduring heroes. From Buffalo Springfield to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to his own brilliant, if erratic, solo ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E: Romance 1600 (Paisley Park/WB)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 September 1985

Fun and games ...

Bobby Womack: So Many Rivers (MCA)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

IS BOBBY Womack, in the words of his song, the only survivor left standing here? Soul has suffered a death rate comparable with early bebop, ...

George Clinton: Some Of My Best Jokes Are Friends (Capitol)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

The joke's on you ...

Neil Young: Legend Of A Loner (part 2)

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

He's back! In part two of Adam Sweeting's definitive epic, NEIL YOUNG explains the gentle art of growing old gracefully. ...

The Membranes: Gift Of Life (Creation)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

MORE SPUNKY misdemeanours from the oddest thing to have come out of Blackpool since the road to Morecambe. Newly signed to Creation, this trio seem ...

Bronski Beat: The rage dissent: Bronski Beat: Hundreds & Thousands (Forbidden Fruit)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 14 September 1985

I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE we should approve of this sort of thing. When a band of status splits up it's general record company policy to ...

Kate Bush: Hounds Of Love (EMI)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

Girl with stars in her eyes ...

Womack and Womack: Soul Wars: Womack And Womack: The Dominion, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

TEXTURING INTIMACIES with the grain of their extraordinary, conflicting voices, Womack And Womack have almost singlehandedly rescued the dramas and gestures of love from the ...

Twiggy: Life Begins At 35

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

Helen FitzGerald cancels several modelling assignments to meet Lesley Hornby, alias the delectable TWIGGY. Once the Sixties clothes-peg, she now has a new single, 'Feel ...

The Fat Boys, The Weather Girls: Weather Girls: Big Girls Don't Cry (CBS); Fat Boys: Fat Boys Are Back (WEA)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 21 September 1985

Fat is a feminine issue ...

Hüsker Dü: Hüdü Gurus

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 28 September 1985

"WHAT KIND of strings do you use on your axe, man?" ...

Cecil Taylor: Into The Hot

Overview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 5 October 1985

CECIL TAYLOR isn't easy listening, but he's unique in remaining committed to pushing back the boundaries of jazz at a time when his former contemporaries ...

Nona Hendryx: The Heat (RCA)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 October 1985

FROM HER early days with Labelle doing cover versions of the likes of 'Won't Get Fooled Again', to her collaborations with Talking Heads, Bill Laswell ...

Miles Davis: Golden Miles

Overview by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 19 October 1985

MILES DAVIS has been one of the single most influential figures in the history and development of modern jazz, not only through his playing and ...

Big Star, Alex Chilton: Alex Chilton: Alex's Wild Years

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 2 November 1985

If anybody can really claim to be a living legend, ALEX CHILTON is the guy. From the Box Tops to Big Star to the booze, ...

Julie Burchill: The 'Sweetest Girl'

Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 2 November 1985

JULIE BURCHILL has torpedoed more sacred cows than a pop star has brain cells, though she likes (among other things) Sade and the Maker. Caroline Sullivan ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Psychocandy (Warners)

Review by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 23 November 1985

THE NEGATIVE VIBES ...

Charlie Watts Big Band: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 30 November 1985

PARTY TIME AGAIN ...

Simply Red: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 30 November 1985

AND SO the controversy continues. Inflammatory statements rage about our ears as the Mancunian soul-revivalists stand their ground and weather the cries of derision that ...

Sun Ra & his Arkestra: The Fridge, Brixton, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 30 November 1985

IN A VAIN attempt to create something approaching a jazz boho ambience, someone had covered the walls of the Fridge with arty French slogans. One ...

Microdisney: Disney Times

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 7 December 1985

Helen FitzGerald charts the dogged progress and gradual rise of the two misfits CATHAL COUGHLAN and SEAN O'HAGAN, better known as the heart of MICRODISNEY. ...

Rain Parade/Snakes Of Shake/Ring Of Roses: LSE, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 28 December 1985

THIS WAS AN evening of contrast. The Snakes Of Shake look and sound like they were born in a town in the Midwest of America, ...

Alex Chilton: Feudalist Tarts

Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, Summer 1985

LIFE has gone full circle for Alex Chilton. Seventeen years old in 1967, up to New York City from hometown Memphis where he fronted the ...

Joni Mitchell: Dog Day Afternoon: Joni Mitchell

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986

THEY'VE ALL all been coming out of the woodwork this past year, the artists who'd never deign to speak to anyone - ole Neil, Dylan ...

Half Man Half Biscuit: TV And Biscuits

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986

'The Continuous Cremation Of Hattie Jacques' is a song by Birkenhead phenomenon HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT, championed by Peel and already local celebrities. Penny Kiley ...

Peter Stringfellow: The Peter Principle

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986

With his glittering night club The Hippodrome, working class entrepreneur PETER STRINGFELLOW seeks to bring glamour into everybody's life. But, asks Frank Owen, is he ...

The Redskins: Central Polytechnic, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986

THE ONLY soul we got tonight was the pre-gig tape, sublime Seventies slices of Billy Paul, Fontella Bass, Womack... Personally, I was grateful — I ...

Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister: Twisted Sister: New Year's Dee

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 4 January 1986

DEE SNIDER, fang-toothed leader of outrageous HM maniacs TWISTED SISTER lets his tongue gallop over a few topics suggested by Helen 'Tape-deck' FitzGerald. ...

Art Pepper: The Art of darkness

Retrospective by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

His story is a 'feast of rape, voyeurism, compulsive masturbation and armed robbery'. Brian Case on the legend of former drug addict, jailbird and sax ...

Cameo: Single Life (Club)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

THE MANDATORY credit to God is featured in the small print on the sleeve of Cameo's eleventh album and, when you consider how many cruddy ...

Kurtis Blow: America (Mercury)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

BLOWING OUT ...

New Order: Shaming The Nation

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

With last year's album Low-life, NEW ORDER finally laid the ghost of Joy Division and emerged as one of this nation's saving graces with a ...

Thin Lizzy: Phil Lynott 1951-1986

Obituary by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 11 January 1986

Colin Irwin chronicles the rise and inevitable downfall of Phil Lynott, who died at the weekend. ...

Michael Nyman: Time Waits For Nyman

Interview by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 18 January 1986

Boffin, composer, systems musician, egghead and man with boring trousers MICHAEL NYMAN performed his soundtrack for A Zed And Two Noughts at the ICA last ...

Penelope Spheeris: The Hollywood Killers

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 January 1986

Director PENELOPE SPHEERIS has worked in music video and on Saturday Night Live and made the L.A. punk movie The Decline Of Western Civilisation. Her ...

Ray Parker Jr.: Sex & The Single Man

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 18 January 1986

As you might expect, RAY PARKER JNR made a huge fortune from his Ghostbusters film theme. But he hasn't given up on music. His new ...

The Icicle Works: In At The Deep End

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 18 January 1986

Have THE ICICLE WORKS suddenly become hip? Do they actually have something to say? Penny Kiley thinks so. ...

Morgan Khan: Flag Day

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 25 January 1986

StreetSounds supremo and entrepreneur of the modern dance MORGAN KHAN thinks the Welfare State sucks, that charity begins at home and that the Union Jack ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Members Only (Malaco)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 1 February 1986

MEMBERS' ENCLOSURE ...

Full Force: Full Force (CBS)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 1 February 1986

SIX RATHER burly black men dressed in tattered wealth and screaming about the street. Awesomely unpleasant haircuts, little sense and yet... ...

John Lydon: The Primal Yawn

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 8 February 1986

John Lydon, a cartoon character no longer, is back with a single which looks like being a bit of a hit, and an album called ...

LL Cool J: Radio On: LL Cool J: Radio (Def Jam)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 8 February 1986

LABEL OF THE MOMENT Def Jam's first album release in this country is the debut of the newest star in the hip hop firmament, 18-year-old ...

The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Def Jam: Escape From New York

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 8 February 1986

New York's superhip Def Jam label has burst upon the Great British Public via a distribution deal with CBS. Frank Owen, tireless beatbox gumshoe, endured ...

Cherrelle: Cherelle: High Priority (Tabu)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 February 1986

MID-EIGHTIES Soul-By-Numbers can be so tiresome. You'd have to be a dolt to think that more than 20 per cent of today's claptrack claptrap merchants ...

Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin (Epic)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 22 February 1986

WHEN I MET the editor of Kerrang! the other week, I asked him why he liked heavy metal, assuming that here, at last, was someone ...

Elvis Costello: The Costello Show Featuring the Attractions & Confederates: King Of America (F-Beat)

Review by Nick Kent, Melody Maker, 22 February 1986

CROWNING GLORY ...

Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal: Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 8 March 1986

IN THE LATEST edition of Monitor, Chris Stubbs suggests that soul music's fading calling card is now sex music. And it's certainly true that the ...

Thrashing Doves: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 8 March 1986

"DOES ANYONE here remember Biba's Basement in High Street, Kensington?" asks the singer of The Thrashing Doves towards the end of their set. God, despite ...

Ariwa Posse, The Mad Professor: Ariwa Posse and The Mad Professor: The Wild Bunch

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 March 1986

Keen young sociologist Frank Owen grabs a stetson and pursues ARIWA POSSE and their mentor THE MAD PROFESSOR. Reggae will never be the same again. ...

Betty Wright: Getting It Wright

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 March 1986

BETTY WRIGHT is back with 'Pain', but she doesn't feel any because she's got religion. Frank Owen is in two minds. ...

Mantronix: Heaven, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 March 1986

NEW FRONTIER ...

David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Working Week: Absolute Beginners

Special Feature by Brian Case, Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 22 March 1986

AT LONG last, it's almost here. Poor old JULIEN TEMPLE has been working on his movie of Colin MacInnes' novel Absolute Beginners apparently since the ...

Husker Du: Candy Apple Grey

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 22 March 1986

LISTENING TO THIS vast, volatile music, up in its power and space, I suddenly realised that these attributes are the precise opposite of the experiences ...

Mantronix: Mantronix: The Album (10)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 March 1986

NOISE NEVER never never annoys you know. Mantronix go for the paintstripper approach, burning away electro's lesser indulgences and leaving hard core hip hop of ...

Mantronix: The Hardcore Life

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 22 March 1986

Dr Frank Owen returns with the backbeat on MANTRONIX, another pair of boys from the land of hip-hop. Is this finally the end of live ...

The Cramps: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 22 March 1986

The Living Dead ...

Kurtis Blow: A Blow-By-Blow Guide To Rapping

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 April 1986

At the ripe old age of 25, KURTIS BLOW is the Godfather of Rap. Here, he takes Frank Owen through his personal step-by-step guide to ...

Art of Noise: The Art Of Noise: In Visible Silence (China Records)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 April 1986

SO it's THE Art Of Noise now is it? Addition of the definitive article does not hide an alarming slump into powerpop abandon and things ...

Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction: Gossips, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 19 April 1986

MIND BENDERS ...

Garry Bushell: The Most Evil Man In Pop

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 10 May 1986

Scourge of the Looney Left, creator of Oi and prime exponent of the dreaded 'Sunspeak', GARRY BUSHELL makes a clean breast of it to Prof ...

Ivor Cutler: Bloomsbury Theatre, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 24 May 1986

FUNNY PECULIAR ...

Public Image Ltd: John Lydon: Apocalypse New

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 24 May 1986

SOMEBODY told me John Lydon liked a drink. And this was indeed a large crumb of comfort. Suddenly, it was possible to establish some common ...

Pop Journalism: Write or Wrong?

Overview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 24 May 1986

Is it pop we're disillusioned with, or pop journalism? Is Paul Morley the curse or the saviour of the scribbling classes? Frank Owen takes a ...

Pulp: Rock Garden, London

Live Review by Martin Aston, Melody Maker, 24 May 1986

AN ODDBALL bunch, Pulp. A National Health-spectacles climbing frame inside a second-hand suit with a blissful deep-throated voice like a dark angel or at least ...

Last Exit: Bill Laswell's Last Exit: Paradiso, Amsterdam

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 31 May 1986

SUCH IS Fourth World Funker Bill Laswell's anonymity that few of us know which of this combo was actually him. It turned out to be ...

Pulp: Canine Revenge

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 31 May 1986

Pulp are from Sheffield and make rather outrageous records. Paul Mathur talks to them of dogs, wheelchairs, Nazis and baked beans. ...

World's Famous Supreme Team: Rappin' (Virgin)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 31 May 1986

LIKE Old Mr Grace being wheeled in at the end of Are You Being Served? World's Famous Supreme Team are something of the grandaddies of ...

Imagination: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 June 1986

FOR ME, the high point of the set by this precision-dancing disco collective was the moment when Leee slipped off his gold lame jacket to ...

Lydia Lunch, Sonic Youth: University Of London Union

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 7 June 1986

HUMBLE PIE time. Just when I'd neatly dismissed them from my mind as Grand Funk Railroad with a degree in Modern Art and a copy ...

The Replacements: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 7 June 1986

A SECRET shame, this weakness of mine for The Replacements. Their beery rowdyism and refusal to take nuthin' serious represents everything I abhor and their ...

Last Exit: Really Free

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 14 June 1986

AS if he hasn't got enough on his plate, what with producing Motorhead and Fourth World funking all over the place, BILL LASWELL's gone and ...

The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead (Rough Trade)

Review by Nick Kent, Melody Maker, 14 June 1986

THIS IS NEITHER the time nor the place to indulge in trivial banter; suffice to say that The Smiths' peculiar career manoeuvres, which have caused ...

Vanity: Skin On Skin (Motown)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 14 June 1986

VANITY BELONGS to The Tribe Of Diana, that growing band of performers kneeling at the feet of Ms Ross and wondering how it is that ...

Samantha Fox: Tittle Tattle

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 21 June 1986

No more Sammy's tits on page three! Unthinkable! More Sammy songs on Top Of The Pops! Even more unthinkable! While the world wrings its hands ...

Fad Gadget, Frank Tovey: Cult Heroics: Frank Tovey

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 June 1986

No longer Fad Gadget, his sights firmly focused on Saturday Superstore, FRANK TOVEY tells a skeptical Simon Reynolds that he’s out to corrupt the youth ...

Younger Than Yesterday

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 June 1986

All this talk about indiepop, about the death and resurgence of an underground, an alternative to chart pap. But is there really life beyond the ...

Gil Scott-Heron: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 5 July 1986

NORMALLY, I HATE protest pop, especially the born-again Methodism of the likes of Bragg and Moore with that heavy evangelical tone. So why do I ...

James: London School of Economics

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 5 July 1986

A HALL THE size of our front room, dug deep in a warren of classrooms. It brought an evening of quippy po stutter, some smallish, ...

Sandie Shaw: Liverpool University

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 July 1986

A GIRL CALLED SANDIE ...

The Faces, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart, The Faces: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 12 July 1986

BIG NOSE STRIKES AGAIN! ...

Zapp: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 July 1986

ZAPP LIVE were perhaps the most extreme spectacle I have ever witnessed, with both band and audience abandoning inhibitions more extensively than at any rock ...

Hip Hop: Nasty Boys

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 July 1986

Simon Reynolds ventures down hip hop's mean streets and finds something nasty lurking in the shadows — something that guilt-ridden white liberals might prefer to ...

Run-DMC: Run DMC: Raising Hell (London)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 19 July 1986

BOYS FROM THE COUNTY HELL ...

Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Hashim, Lovebug Starski, The Real Roxanne, Roxanne Shanté: UK Fresh '86: Fresher's Ball

Profile and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 19 July 1986

Out of the subway and into the charts, hip hop is stronger than it's ever been, with dazzling new talents like LL Cool J and ...

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 2 August 1986

BLACK 501s and Joseph sweatwear. London popsoul that sounds kinda like latter-day Animal Nightlife or early Wham! or one of those other clubland consortiums. A ...

Lol Coxhill, Fred Frith: Fred Frith, Lol Coxhill, Liam Glenocky: London Musician's Collective, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 August 1986

THE LITTLE audience gathers. Fred Frith, veteran ferryman between rock and the avant-garde has rolled up to perform a few odd jobs in the improvisation ...

Trouble Funk: Town & Country, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 August 1986

TROUBLESHOOTERS ...

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Glamour Pussies

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 9 August 1986

Just when you thought the charts revolved around aging old crones, and the drab indie circuit offered the only alternative, along come CURIOSITY KILLED THE ...

Chip E., Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson: Chicago House: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, Part 1

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 16 August 1986

In the first of two instalments, Atlantic-hopping Frank Owen introduces DJ International, home of CHICAGO HOUSE music, the finest club beat of the moment ...

Gwen Guthrie: Money Matters

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 August 1986

GWEN GUTHRIE, currently burning 'em up with 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent' explains to David Stubbs the genesis of 'Fly Girl' ...

My Bloody Valentine: The Clarendon, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 16 August 1986

MY BLOODY Valentine are young and awkward and dear to the heart, their nervous system centred on Colm's ferocious rhythmic vigour as, embarrassed by having ...

Candi, Darryl Pandy: Chicago House: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, Part 2

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 23 August 1986

At the centre of the House stands the figure of the deejay. But the Chicago Sound is not all cross-fading, mixing and sampling, as Frank ...

Material: Secret Life (Jungle)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 23 August 1986

STRANGE TIMING for this double album retrospective, considering how totally the alternative scene has renounced the ambitions of 1979-82, all the rhetoric about Eurofunkactivism, Sex, ...

Schoolly D: Schoolly D (Schoolly D Records)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 23 August 1986

SCHOOLLY D is from Philadelphia and appears to be some kind of hoodlum, with an unhealthy interest in the status trinkets of high life, drugs ...

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Heaven, London

Live Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 30 August 1986

CAT DANCERS ...

Frank Chickens: Educating Frank

Interview by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

Mixing kimonos with pink socks, FRANK CHICKENS are the ultimate culture shock. Now they sometimes forget they're not English and are firmly intent on changing ...

Smiley Culture: Pop-up Toaster

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

Colin Irwin takes a trip into childhood with Tulse Hill's favourite son, SMILEY CULTURE. ...

Working Week: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

NOW YOU HAS JAZZ! ...

Run-DMC: Run DMC: Serious Rap Attack

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 13 September 1986

With their Raising Hell tour putting the frighteners on many a major American town and their Rapping Metal single, 'Walk This Way' scaring the pants ...

Fields Of The Nephilim: Shoot It Up: Fields of the Nephilim

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 13 September 1986

THE FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM – hardly a moniker you can shoot from the hip. They wear Stetsons and describe their music as "Spaghetti Metal!" ...

Just Ice: Sleeping Bag Records #1: Sleeping Around

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 20 September 1986

In New York City, centre of sexual paranoia, Frank Owen tracks down JUST ICE, Sleeping Bag recording artist and hip hop's numero uno misogynist guy ...

The Chameleons: Strange Times

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 20 September 1986

HOW DO YOU handle the restrictions of being a straight rock band? You avoid perpetrating the obvious, divert energies down peculiar and radical directions, deviate ...

Talulah Gosh: Ladybirds & Start-Rite Kids

Report by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

Is there more to jumble-sale chic than saving precious pennies? Simon Reynolds thinks so and spots an asexual revolution unfolding within the indie scene. So ...

Mary Coughlan: Angel With Dirty Phrases

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

Seductive on vinyl, scathing in the flesh, MARY COUGHLAN tames the wild rover in Prof. Colin Irwin. ...

Dinosaur L, Arthur Russell, T La Rock: Sleeping Bag Records #2: Sleeping Around

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

Last week Frank Owen unearthed the warped machismo of JUST ICE. Now, in the second part of his investigation into SLEEPING BAG RECORDS, he corners ...

The Smiths: Home Thoughts From Abroad

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

While THE SMITHS tour America, controversy still rages over their single, 'Panic'. Does the refrain 'hang the deejay' really harbour racist tendencies? Frank Owen tracks down ...

David Bowie, Chic, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers: Nile Rodgers: Man of the Moment

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 4 October 1986

Buddies with Bowie, big pals with Duran, mate of Al Jarreau, is there no-one NILE RODGERS doesn't know? Adam Sweeting charts the changing life and ...

This Mortal Coil: Shadow Play

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 4 October 1986

THIS MORTAL COIL have been called everything from post-punk pioneers to precious studio purists. Simon Reynolds meets IVO, the man behind the whole thing, and ...

Cameo: Word Up (Club)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 11 October 1986

SWEET TALKING GUY ...

The Chameleons: Strange Days

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 25 October 1986

"THE THING is, you can always get upset about things which you are physically incapable of doing anything about. So if you think about yourself, ...

Full Force, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Full Force/Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 November 1986

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU ...

Just Ice: Justice And The Law

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 November 1986

Hard core rapper JUST ICE is out on bail following a murder charge. Frank Owen talks to him and investigates the background to the case ...

Schoolly D: Triumph Of The Ill

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 15 November 1986

SCHOOLLY D arrived in Britain for his tour with BAD with a fearful reputation. He was reputed to take a Magnum along to interviews, once stalked the streets with ...

We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 15 November 1986

They sing! They dance! They make jokes! They play with bar-bells! They dye their hair! They talk in Brummy accents! They've got a new single ...

Big Audio Dynamite, Schoolly D: Big Audio Dynamite/Schoolly D: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 22 November 1986

BEAT ROOTS ...

Debbie Harry: Rockbird (Chrysalis)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 22 November 1986

FIVE YEARS is nigh on an eternity in pop, and Debbie Harry has returned to a changed world — a world in which the Lower ...

Pet Shop Boys: Disco (EMI)

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 22 November 1986

THE ART of the re-mix was perhaps debased forever by the whole Frankie fleece-the-punter exercise. Re-mixes have subsequently come to be cold-shouldered to isolated corners ...

The The: Infected (Epic)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 November 1986

THE CANKER & THE CURE ...

Fela Kuti: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 29 November 1986

COSTUME DRAMAS ...

The Communards: Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 29 November 1986

YOU KNEW as soon as you saw the big vases of flowers on each side of the stage that this wasn't going to be a ...

Mantronix: Sonic Assassins

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 6 December 1986

To hip hop or not to hip hop, that is the question. With their new album, Music Madness just in the shops, Frank Owen travelled to NYC, home of MANTRONIX, to ...

Bodines,The, New Order: New Order, The Bodines: Verdun Auditorium, Montreal

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

CANADIAN CLUB ...

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 ...

The SOS Band: SOS Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

WE WEAVE a path through the wellie-wearers, unable to grasp how speechlessly bad this is. The beauty is beaten into beastliness and enjoys the experience; ...

The Pogues: The National, Kilburn

Live Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

"WE WANT CAIT, we want Cait," chanted the barmy army at the front rather ungraciously before it all began, and I have to say I ...

The Beastie Boys, Oran "Juice" Jones, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Slayer: Def Jam: License to Thrill

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 20 December 1986

RICK RUBIN and RUSSELL SIMMONS are the creative mavericks behind the outrageous antics of THE BEASTIE BOYS and RUN DMC and a whole host of ...

Oran "Juice" Jones, Run-DMC, Slayer: Def Jam #2: World Domination Enterprises

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987

In the second part of his investigation into DEF JAM records, the world's hottest label, Frank Owen charts the careers of RICK RUBIN, RUSSELL SIMMONS, ...

Microdisney: Crooked Mile (Virgin)

Review by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987

OR ... Camping It Up With The Cops, the Disney's third album, their first with a major label and the first to really wrap their ...

Salt 'N' Pepa: Salt-N-Pepa: Femme Fatales

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987

If you thought rap was misogyny central, listen up. SALT-N-PEPA are bitchin' back on behalf of the gals. Frank Owen gets an earful. ...

Tashan: Chasin' A Dream (Def Jam)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 3 January 1987

THE ADULT NET ...

The Shamen: Raga Rockin' Out

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 ...

A-ha: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

WHEN 3,000 prepubescent girls scream, pop analysis tends to gust into the dumper. Really, the scream is the only important thing, the moment when puffballs ...

Microdisney: In From the Cold

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

Fed up with indie rigours and rituals, MICRODISNEY have signed to a major, but have they sold their souls? Helen Fitzgerald looks at a new ...

The Gap Band: Aerobic Ancestors

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

THE GAP BAND have been doing it since the year dot. Paul Mathur seeks the secret of eternal success ...

Womack And Womack: Starbright (Manhattan)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 10 January 1987

Rhyming Couplets ...

The Pop Tarts: Downtown: Life After Death

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 17 January 1987

Downtown New York is where people are famous for being famous, but you're only famous if you're on the guest list. Downtown is the home ...

Berlin, Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Berlin: G-Mex Centre, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 17 January 1987

MR HOLLY Johnson is right, shooting stars never do stop, more's the pity. Instead they tumble entropically to the back of beyond, hollering, hooting and ...

The Valentinos, Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack, The Valentinos: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 24 January 1987

WOMACK AND WOMACK AND WOMACK ...

Anita Baker: Heaven Can Wait

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 31 January 1987

ANITA BAKER, the new queen of soul, discusses the dos and dont's of the bigtime with a sympathetic Caroline Sullivan. ...

Salt-N-Pepa: Salt 'N' Pepa: Hot, Cool And Vicious (Next Plateau)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 31 January 1987

THE SPICE IS RIGHT ...

Big Audio Dynamite: V For Victory

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 7 February 1987

Another tour, another single, another video and still BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE are special. Chris Roberts had dinner with MICK JONES and discovered sense and sensitivity ...

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.  ...

The Judds: Give A Little Love (RCA)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 February 1987

GIVEN THE choice between listening to a country LP — any country LP — or one by some exceeding obscure indie outfit who are distinguished ...

The Style Council: The Cost Of Loving (Polydor)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 7 February 1987

A REMARKABLE fellow, this Paul Weller. It's a strange journey he's made over the last decade, but stranger still is that he's managed to take ...

Luther Vandross: The Language of Love

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 February 1987

So what does LUTHER VANDROSS, sex god to millions, do on a date? Does he even date at all? And what the hell happened when ...

Madhouse: 8 (Paisley Park)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 21 February 1987

ASYLUM OF NUMBERS ...

Sheila E.: Sheila E: Sheila E (Paisley Park Records)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 28 February 1987

WHAT A strange place Paisley Park must be! It's as if the accoutrements of Sixties head culture synthesized with Seventies body culture to produce an ...

Stump: Twist & Shout

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 28 February 1987

STUMPTHE BAND THAT REACHES THE PARTS OTHER BANDS WOULDN'T WANT TO REACH STUMPA NOISE YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER GET SIGNED TO A MAJOR STUMPDAVID STUBBS DOES SOME ...

Tom Verlaine: Labours of Love

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 14 March 1987

TOM VERLAINE SWERVES THIS WAY AND THAT TO AVOID THE LOGICAL, BOTH ON AND OFF RECORD. CHRIS ROBERTS USES HIS NEW ALBUM, FLASH LIGHT, TO ...

U2: The Joshua Tree (Island)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 March 1987

WHEN I THINK of U2, I don't think of America, I don't think of stadia, sweat, pumping fists, auxiliary hair. I think of fresh air, ...

Public Enemy: Hip Hop Wig Out '87: Public Enemy – Def Not Dumb

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 21 March 1987

In the first of a series of reports from New York, Frank Owen steals the rhythm of the moment as he surveys hip hop's newest ...

Janet Jackson: Complete Control

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 March 1987

"WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I USED TO TALK TO THE ANIMALS... THEY'RE GOOD LISTENERS, AND I ALWAYS FELT THEY UNDERSTOOD." SO SAYS JANET JACKSON, IN ...

Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One, The Skinny Boys: Hip Hop Wig Out '87 #2: The Big Chill — Skinny Boys and Scott La Rock

Interview by Frank Owen, Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 March 1987

IN THE SECOND REPORT FROM NEW YORK ON HIP-HOP'S LATEST ULTRA-NOW TALENTS, SIMON REYNOLDS SURVEYS THE MONSTROUS AND MIND-BLOWING TALENT OF THE SKINNY BOYS WHILE ...

The Bangles: Globe Trotters

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 28 March 1987

The Bangles seem permanently on the road. Carol Clerk met up with them during a London stop-over to get all the scam on Prince, old ...

Cutmaster DC, King Sun: Hip Hop Wig Out '87 #3: The Harlem Shuffle — King Sun and Cutmaster DC

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 4 April 1987

IN THE THIRD OF OUR REPORTS on rap's now explosion of new talents, Frank Owen journeys to Harlem to bring you the news on happening ...

Arthur Russell: Echo Beach

Profile and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 11 April 1987

YOU MAY KNOW ARTHUR RUSSELL FOR HIS WORLD OF ECHO ALBUM. THEN AGAIN, YOU MAY REMEMBER DINOSAUR L OR THE NECESSARIES OR... WELL. FRANK OWEN TAKES US ON A TRIP ...

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Filthy Rich These Cat Chaps

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 April 1987

Too naughty to be teeny-boppers, CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT are nonetheless attracting attention for all the trad reasons – goodlookers, dressers, er mates of Paula ...

Happy Mondays: Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Can't Smile (White Out) (Factory)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 April 1987

BLUR. The boys from Happy Mondays skitter past us on the rob down the Arndale. Loose limbs and flares kick dust into everybody's eyes. ...

The Go-Betweens: Tallulah (Beggars Banquet)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, May 1987

AS THE chief dreamboat Forster sighs at yet another of life's improbabilities, as the waggish McLennan makes some more compelling assumptions, as these roguish Go-Betweens ...

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Keep Your Distance (Phonogram)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 May 1987

101 USES FOR A DEAD CAT ...

Happy Mondays: The Rock Garden, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 May 1987

HAPPY MONDAYS is where the repetition-repetition-repetition of post-Velvets jangle-drone meets the repetition-repetition-repetition of '70s funk. Imagine a cross between the Blue Orchids and Hamilton Bohannon, ...

Wire: The Ideal Copy

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 May 1987

WIRE are pure luxury. Here are a bunch of superior sound technicians with an immaculate grasp of the sculptural and architectural possibilities of rock, who ...

Arthur Russell: The Kitchen, New York NY

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 May 1987

RUSSELL, A fiery chameleon of a man, a nervous splutter of contradictions and paranoia, seems available to all interpretations and answerable to none. World Of ...

Schoolly D: Philadelphia Story

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 9 May 1987

ON THE EVE OF HIS BRITISH TOUR AND WITH A CRACKING SECOND ALBUM ON THE WAY, SCHOOLLY-D SHOWS FRANK OWEN AROUND HIS HOME TOWN. PICS: JANETTE BECKMAN ...

Bad Brains, The Bambi Slam, The Stupids: Bad Brains/Bambi Slam/The Stupids: Clarendon, Hammersmith, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

SLAM DANCE ...

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: Spanish Fly (CBS)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

NO ORCHIDS here. Already sounding like the year before last's thing. Full Force's puppets can't manage any swirls or blooms to match their one Shannonesque ...

Schoolly D: Saturday Night (Rhythm King)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

ENGLAN' y'say? Meldy Maka? Well, I don't know if I rilly wanna get involved in alla this... how much?... ah, maybe I gotta coupla minutes. ...

Schoolly D: The Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey

Live Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

"AN ULTIMATE character," is how David Stubbs has labelled Schoolly-D. Bad, badder, baddest, and baddest most ill. "My name is Schoolly-D and I'm running amok. ...

Swing Out Sister: It's Better To Travel (Phonogram)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

HOW DELICIOUS that a wee sleakit trio like Swing Out Sister can elicit such rage from the young sociologists of rock criticism. And for what? ...

The Replacements: The Rebel Yell

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

Describing their relationship to pop as being like 'a dirt road through an emerald city', The Replacements get Simon Reynolds all hot under the collar ...

Cookie Crew, The Three Wise Men: The Three Wise Men, Cookie Crew: Rhythm and Bruise

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

SOMETHING IS STIRRING IN DEEPEST SOUTH LONDON IN THE SHAPE OF RHYTHM KING RECORD LABEL ARTISTS THE COOKIE CREW, WHO FORM THE FEMALE HIP-HOP ASSAULT ...

Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One: DJ Scott La Rock And KRS 1 (aka Boogie Down Productions): Criminal Minded (B-Boy Records)

Review by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 23 May 1987

BRONX AGE MEN ...

Run-DMC: Run DMC: Homeboy's Home Truths

Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 23 May 1987

ON THE EVE OF THEIR BRITISH TOUR, RUN DMC EXPLAIN TO FRANK OWEN THE STRENGTH OF SILENCE, THE POWER OF GOOD EXAMPLE AND THE WAY THE HISTORY ...

Swing Out Sister: Panacea Pop

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 23 May 1987

SWING OUT SISTER have made an album of pretty pop trifles. Ian Gittins asks if this is enough. ...

Danielle Dax: Return Of The Wolf Girl

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

DANIELLE DAX, A FREE SPIRIT AND A PRETTY STRANGE LADY, EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF 'INKY BLOATERS' TO A MIGHTILY IMPRESSED CHRIS ROBERTS. ...

Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (EMI)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

SO YES, alright, I did have a teenage crush on Diana Ross. No two ways about it. But now that I'm 20 I can be ...

Laurie Anderson: Moving Image

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

STILL AVOIDING CATEGORISATION YEARS AFTER HER 'O SUPERMAN' HIT, LAURIE ANDERSON TELLS JONH WILDE ALL ABOUT HER MOVIE, HOME OF THE BRAVE. ...

Sonic Youth: Sister (Blast First)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

SONIC YOUTH is the itching, striving sound of a literate rock group struggling to assassinate their own intelligence, to unseat the mind's mastery, and achieve ...

T La Rock: Lyrical King (Fresh Records)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

IT'S MR T (La Rock)! ...

The Lounge Lizards: No Pain For Cakes (Antilles)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

AT THE ICA last year, I was disappointed by the Lounge Lizards. The pianist's fringe, the languid horns, the bath of cigarette smoke, I could ...

Go West: Boys Wonder

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 6 June 1987

Good lads and all that but are Go West any more than the sum of pop's mediocrity? David Stubbs takes a gander ...

Guns N' Roses, Jane's Addiction: Guns N' Roses: The Subterraneans

Report and Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 6 June 1987

Something's crawling from the gutters of Los Angeles, something bright and proud and bad, something making claims on setting a scene. Jonh Wilde took a ...

The Beastie Boys, Run-DMC: Run DMC/The Beastie Boys: Brixton Academy, London/Brighton Centre

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 6 June 1987

PHALLUS & FALLACY ...

LL Cool J: Top Of The World

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 13 June 1987

WITH BIGGER AND DEFFER, HIS SECOND LP, LL COOL J HAS INFLATED THE BOUNDARIES OF MEGALOMANIA. FRANK OWEN MEETS THE SELF-ACCLAIMED WORLD'S GREATEST RAPPER TO ...

The Housemartins: Rough Rumours

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 13 June 1987

HOUNDED BY THE FLEET STREET RAGS, THE HOUSEMARTINS ALMOST THREW IN THE TOWEL AT THE TURN OF THE YEAR BUT NOW THEY'RE BACK WITH WHAT ...

Frankie Knuckles: Groovemaster No.1: Frankie Knuckles

Profile and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 20 June 1987

IN 1980, Chicago was the centre of the anti-disco campaign that was, at that time, sweeping America. Two local DJs, Steve Dahl and Jerry Meier, ...

The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu: 1987 — What The F**k Is Going On (The Sound Of Mu)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 20 June 1987

LICENSED TO THRILL ...

The Young Gods: The Young Gods

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 20 June 1987

ONE OF THE LITTLE MYTHS about Pop 1987 is that "there's nothing happening, is there?" For me, 1987 has consisted of a deluge of brilliance ...

Yo! Bum Rush Foucault!

Special Feature by Simon Reynolds, David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 20 June 1987

B-BOYS, Yo-Boys, listen up good, cos a new sound's rappin' up the neighbourhood! Yo, it's the Maker's very own rappin' post-structuralist, the chin-scratchin' semiotician about to ...

Husker Du: Why Aren’t They Massive?

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 27 June 1987

IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, the Replacements play me a tape of Husker Du’s live appearance on The Joan Rivers Show. It’s more than a little mindblowing. ...

The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu: Physical Graffiti

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 4 July 1987

THEFT, NOISE, FUN, SEX... UH... THEFT... THE JUSTIFIED ANCIENTS OF MU MU HAVE JUST PUT OUT AN ALBUM WITH A SWEAR WORD IN THE TITLE ...

AR KANE — an interview

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 July 1987

EACH WEEK we hurl a batch of New Names at you. Perhaps it's not surprising that you wilt under this constant attrition, cease to believe ...

Guns N' Roses: Appetite For Destruction (Geffen)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 25 July 1987

OF COURSE they're dreadful. What's more surprising is that so many members of the press, who on most other days of the week could be ...

Kim Wilde

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 1 August 1987

Wide-eyed and reckless, Kim Wilde has discovered sex. At least, she writhes a bit on the vid of the new single. Paul Mathur talks dirty ...

Terence Trent D'Arby: The Great Contender

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 August 1987

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY isn't modest. But, as he's quick to point out, he has very little to be modest about. Two hit singles, a number ...

Prince, Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Revolt Into Style

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 August 1987

WENDY & LISA USED TO BE PART OF PRINCE'S REVOLUTION. NOW THEY'RE STORMING THE BARRICADES WITH A SOLO CAREER. PURPLE RAIN OR JUST A DAMP ...

Anthrax, Bon Jovi, Ronnie James Dio, Metallica, W.A.S.P.: Bon Jovi/Dio/Metallica/Anthrax/W.A.S.P.: Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 29 August 1987

MATALLIC KO ...

Primal Scream: No More Yesterday

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 29 August 1987

Primal Scream look back to look forward. Simon Reynolds retracts a few statements but still argues the toss. ...

10,000 Maniacs: In My Tribe (Elektra)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 5 September 1987

TRIBAL MAGIC ...

Anthrax: Whoops Apocalypse

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 September 1987

ANTHRAX ARE ANTI-VIOLENCE, ANTI-NUKE, ANTI-DESTRUCTION. BUT THEIR MUSIC IS VIOLENT, LOUD, AGGRESSIVE AND BRUTAL. SIMON REYNOLDS ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE THESE CONTRADITIONS. ...

Pet Shop Boys: Actually (Parlophone)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 5 September 1987

ACTUALLY BRILLIANT ...

Trouble Funk: Trouble Over Here (Island)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 September 1987

GO-GO limps on. Go go has flopped so many times now (the movie was a disaster, the Pepe jeans tie-in a farce) and each time ...

Eric B. & Rakim: Eric B & Rakim: Paid In Full (4th & Broadway/Island)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 September 1987

AFTER GO-GO'S burial come murmurs of the death of hip hop. Has it seized up? Why has the string of rap egos and attendant DJs ...

Michael Jackson: Bad (Epic)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 12 September 1987

WAX WORKS ...

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 ...

Def Leppard: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 19 September 1987

WHAT A sorry charade this is. Stuck for jokes I am, as the Lepers churn out their wall of John Bull nothingness to the adoring ...

R.E.M.: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 September 1987

A LAPSED believer is born again. ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Rock City, Nottingham

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 September 1987

ONCE IN a while, a band produce a performance that glows with pop's heady desire, thrills to the core and makes you reconsider all your ...

Five Star: Between The Lines (RCA)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 26 September 1987

HANG ABOUT, I'm still picking the lumps of Crunchie from my Hampsteads, still salivating over the last Five Star squalls, still worrying over the way ...

Hue and Cry: Ronnie Scotts, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 26 September 1987

"YOU'D find more soul in a billiard-ball," muttered some disgruntled passer-by and, despite myself, I wondered whether to shit, scream or scram. ...

The Fat Boys: Crushin' (Urban/Polydor)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 26 September 1987

EVEN IN their days as a one-gag band, playing Sham 69 to Run DMC's Pistols, the Fat Boys were immensely (and I do mean immensely) ...

The Smiths: How Soon Is Now

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 26 September 1987

Simon Reynolds, long-time fan of the Smiths, sheds a tear at their sudden demise and examines the successes and failures of one of the most ...

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!" ...

Cameo: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 October 1987

The Funk Absurd ...

Public Enemy: Strength to Strength

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 17 October 1987

PUBLIC ENEMY PLAY BRITAIN IN NOVEMBER AND SIMON REYNOLDS TAKES A LONG HARD LOOK AT THE SURVIVALIST PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SOME OF THE TOUGHEST NOISE OF ...

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 ...

Eric B. & Rakim: Eric B & Rakim: Bought and Sould

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 November 1987

WITH A HIT ALBUM AND THE TOP 30 SINGLE, 'PAID IN FULL', ERIC B & RAKIM HAVE FINALLY FOUND SUCCESS WITH THEIR UNCOMPROMISING BRAND OF ...

Happy Mondays — Funk Disc Location

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 28 November 1987

UNTAMED AND UNRELENTING, Happy Mondays have still managed to carve out splinters of ordered funk from their fractured pop chaos. Ian Gittins struggles through a ...

Public Enemy: Shoot-Out In The Fantasy Factory

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 28 November 1987

Public Enemy have been hailed as hip hop's hardest hardliners. Jonh Wilde joined them on tour to discover the sense and nonsense behind their no-holds-barred ...

Dinosaur Jr: Shock Treatment

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 December 1987

DINOSAUR ARE AT THE VANGUARD OF THE NEW GUITAR NOISE THREATENING TO RUPTURE THE CONVENTIONAL FABRIC OF ROCK. SIMON REYNOLDS MEETS THE RELUCTANT VOICES BEHIND ...

Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy: Public Enemy/Eric B And Rakim: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 December 1987

PUBLIC NUISANCE ...

The Young Gods: The Immaculate Inferno

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 December 1987

THE YOUNG GODS produced the most incendiary music of 1987. They are rock's real unforgettable fire, a new flame on the horizon. David Stubbs flew ...

New Order at Wembley Arena

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 19 December 1987

MOMENTS in love when love is not a three-ring circus but a fork-tongued serpent, when bliss rhymes with lice and diandry is a girl's best ...

INXS: The Kick Inside

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

THEY'VE CONQUERED THE WORLD BUT STILL CAN'T WOO THE CRITICS. INXS ARE AN ENIGMA. CAROLINE SULLIVAN PONDERS THE RIDDLE WITH MICHAEL HUTCHENCE,'THE SEXIEST MAN IN ...

Leonard Cohen: Crocodile Tears

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

LET'S TALK misconceptions. Like the one about Cleopatra being Egyptian (she was Greek), Christmas being a time for giving (take take take), Ben Elton and ...

Marc Almond: The Astoria, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

WHERE HAVE these vulpine goths acquired their taste for this Brechtian melodrama? A brush with The Collected Isherwood? ...

Simple Minds: Barrowland, Glasgow

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

IMAGINE Rangers and Celtic combined, against Leyton Orient, for charity, in a hall the size of the Electric Ballroom. That's the sort of boiling partisan ...

Sinead O'Connor: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

SO, NINA SIMONE'S 'My Baby Just Cares For Me' – the clubland secret, the cult trophy – went High Street provincial, Top Ten Top Shop. ...

The Sugarcubes: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 January 1988

LIKE EVERYONE else. I expressly came to worship, to be defeated, to drench their names in a prolix of hopelessly imprecise euphoria. Unhappily, though, it ...

The Triffids: On The Ice

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 9 January 1988

THE TRIFFIDS HAVE GRABBED CRITICAL ATTENTION WITH THEIR CALENTURE ALBUM AND A REPUTATION FOR REINVENTING ROCK IN ALL SORTS OF WIGGLY WAYS. PAUL MATHUR GRABS ...

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Lee 'Scratch' Perry: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 January 1988

SOMETIMES there are concerts that leave your mind so thoroughly evacuated, that the only way to galvanise your diminished sense of being is to work ...

Scarlet Fantastic: Phantasmagoria

Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 January 1988

ARE SCARLET FANTASTIC LEADERS OF THE NEW GLAM MOVEMENT OR MERELY HIPPIES DRESSED IN SATIN AND SEQUINS? CAROLINE SULLIVAN SEPARATES THE MAGIC FROM THE MANIFESTO. ...

Loop, Pussy Galore: Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 23 January 1988

FASTER PUSSYCATS KILL KILL KILL ...

Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave: Lizard of Oz

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 23 January 1988

AFTER A YEAR AWAY, NICK CAVE RETURNS FROM THE WILDERNESS WITH ANOTHER LADELFUL OF PEARLS AND PESSIMISM. CHRIS ROBERTS MEETS THE MAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING ...

My Bloody Valentine: The Excellence of Ecstasy

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 30 January 1988

WHERE SHALL WE BEGIN? "When we first started we had this image thing, right, all Sixties haircuts and really setting out to do the pop ...

Prefab Sprout: All The Way To Memphis

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 January 1988

THE BEARD HAS gone. Yes, squeamish sartorial onlookers will be relieved to note that Paddy's shrubbery has been shorn, that his shapely chin now positively ...

Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin: Robert Plant: The Song Remains The Same

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 30 January 1988

Over the past three years Led Zeppelin have been used and abused by everyone from The Cult to the Beastie Boys. On the eve of ...

Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 6 February 1988

AND IT SEEMS like they never went away. The Pere Ubu revival has burst through like mushrooms in your airing cupboard, and somehow, this re-release, ...

Aztec Camera in Love

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 13 February 1988

Aztec Camera have just completed their first tour for four years and are gradually steering their way back into the nation's heart and soul. Paul ...

All About Eve: The Garden Of Eden

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 20 February 1988

WITH A DEBUT ALBUM AND A NATIONAL TOUR ABOUT TO EXPLODE, DREAM LOVERS ALL ABOUT EVE TEACH CHRIS ROBERTS ABOUT JEAN COCTEAU, CILLA BLACK, OPTICIANS, ...

Stump: The Chaos Chorus

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 20 February 1988

IT'S BEEN 12 MONTHS SINCE STUMP LAST RIDDLED THE WORLD WITH RIDICULE, AND THIS WEEK HERALDS THE RETURN OF THE BARED TORSO AND THEIR OFF-THE-BEAM ...

LeVert, O'Jays: The O'Jays, LeVert: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 20 February 1988

TWO GENERATIONS of soul — neither of which, on this showing, could work on a building of love or tear your playhouse down, or any ...

The Wedding Present: Best Defence

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 27 February 1988

THE WEDDING Present were born in 1985, achieved the level of quite exciting, and now have had greatness thrust upon them with worrying prematurity. Recent ...

Megadeth: So Far, So Good... So What! (Capitol)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 5 March 1988

THE DEATH MACHINE ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chilli Peppers: The Clarendon, Hammersmith, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 March 1988

SO THE Clarendon faces closure, and yes it's a sad day for rock, another step in the drawn-out death of the London gig circuit, and ...

Scritti Politti: Enigma Variation

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 March 1988

Break out the dictionaries and Post-Structuralist text books, pop's most perfect intellect, GREEN GARTSIDE, is back with a new SCRITTI POLITTI single ready for release ...

Morrissey: Songs Of Love And Hate

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

I THINK I'VE MET THEM ALL NOW. For me, there are no more heroes left. And no new ones coming along, by the look of ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

SO THIS is where all the funk went. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have triumphed in a medium I thought you could only blunder in ...

Sinead O'Connor: Olympic Ballroom, Dublin

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

THE IDEA of pretending it was Hazel without her wig or Tom without the gags struck me as an astronomical corker for about a minute, ...

Talking Heads: Naked

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

LOOPHOLES AND repression being what they are, an Alabama county recently admitted that according to local legal dictates, it was illegal for any baby in ...

The Pixies: Surfer Rosa (4AD)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

"WHERE IS my mind?" smirks huggable Black Francis, and you can't help but rattle your jewellery. If "bloody your hands on a cactus tree/wipe it ...

Morrissey: Songs of Love and Hate, Part 2

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

"Did that swift eclipse torture you?/A star at 18 and then – suddenly gone/down to a few lines in the back page/of a teenage annual/oh ...

Pere Ubu: The Tenement Commandments

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

BEAMING BACK FROM HIS ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, DAVID THOMAS LEADS PERE UBU'S MANIC WALTZ INTO THE DANGER ZONE. DAVID STUBBS TRACKS DOWN THE REFORMED AND REVITALISED ...

Morrissey: The Last Of England: Morrissey: Viva Hate (HMV)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

FOR TOO LONG, a faction around here feels, the fey, blithe Morrissey has been allowed to saunter through pop history unchecked, fawned upon even — ...

The Pixies: Speaking In Tongues

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

THE HOLLERING IS ALL. The Pixies are what's left when all the frustrations and absences that once prompted rock'n'roll into being have faded away or ...

Throwing Muses: House Tornado

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

"I SEE too deep and too much." (Henri Barbusse: "L'Enfer".) "Blood becomes a foreign substance." (Kristin Hersh.) ...

Throwing Muses: Storm Troupers

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

THROWING MUSES' REBUILDING OF POP'S DARK SIDE IS WINNING THEM LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS. PAUL MATHUR AMBLED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO TALK TO SINGER KRISTIN ...

Salt 'n' Pepa: Look Ma Top Of The World

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 26 March 1988

SALT 'N' PEPA WILL DO ANYTHING TO HAVE EVERYTHING. WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE, 'PUSH IT', ACCELERATING UP THE AMERICAN CHARTS IT LOOKS AS THOUGH THEIR ...

T'Pau: The Fame Game

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 26 March 1988

FOLLOWING THE PHENOMENAL SUCCESS OF 'CHINA IN YOUR HAND', T'PAU HAVE LEAPT FROM THE PAVEMENT TO THE PENTHOUSE. WHAT IS THE SECRET OF THEIR SUCCESS? ...

Was (Not Was): Freakshow

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 26 March 1988

"BOBBY Maggot was a big attorney/Through the courtroom down to hell he'd journey/Baldheaded piece of garbage that he was/He'll defend you if your money's honest/Do ...

Butthole Surfers: Swamp Things

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 April 1988

THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS ARE THE MONSTER SOUND OF THE EIGHTIES, A SWELLING CULT WHO PULL THEM IN IN DROVES AND HAVE TO TURN AWAY JUST ...

S'Express: Full Theme Ahead

Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 2 April 1988

DO YOU EVER get to see daylight, Mark? ...

Mantronix: Man Trap

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 9 April 1988

DAVID STUBBS MEETS MANTRONIX TO DISCUSS VOICES IN THE MACHINERY, STROBE FLASH, THE DECLINE OF HIP HOP, THE TRIUMPH OF ELECTRO-FUNK... AND SUNDIALS. ...

Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, MC Shan: Cold Chillin' Records: The Big Chill

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 April 1988

COLD CHILLIN' HAVE COMPILED A ROSTER TO CHALLENGE DEF JAM'S HIP HOP SUPREMACY. CAROLINE SULLIVAN MEETS A TRIO ON THE WAY TO THE TOP ...

10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant: 10,000 Maniacs: Merchant Banquet

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 23 April 1988

WHILE 10,000 MANIACS ARE UP, UP, AND AWAY, SINGER NATALIE MERCHANT IS IMMERSED IN SOME GRAND DIVERSIONS OF HER OWN. SHE TAKES A SPRINGY STEP OFF THE UP ESCALATOR TO ...

The Darling Buds: Move Over Darlings

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 23 April 1988

SOWING SEEDSSO WE WON'T compare them to a summer's day, then. Summer days are the longest, the most languorous. The Darling Buds are flecked with ...

Fairground Attraction: The Human Touch

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

WITH THEIR DEBUT SINGLE, 'PERFECT', STORMING INTO THE CHARTS, FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION AREN'T QUITE THE OVERNIGHT SENSATIONS THEY MIGHT APPEAR. CAROLINE SULLIVAN CHARTS THEIR PROGRESS ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Jesus & Mary Chain: Barrowlands Ballroom, Glasgow

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

APOCALYPSE NOW! ...

Microdisney: Liverpool Polytechnic

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

HAVING RECOVERED from Edward Barton screaming at us that he's got no chicken but he's got five wooden chairs, seeing Microdisney was yet another shock. ...

The Primitives: The Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

IN MY FAR off youth, I was once most insulted when a friend dismissed 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' as "Bubblegum". The good thing about ...

The Shamen: Mind Over Matter

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

GETTING INTO A LATHER OVER THEIR LAGER (OR IS IT VICE VERSA?), THE SHAMEN ARE SETTING NEW STANDARDS IN PSYCHEDELIA. IAN GITTINS SCRATCHED THEIR IRRITATION. ...

Voice of the Beehive: Girls at our best

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 May 1988

IF VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE ARE THE LAST WORD IN GIRLY POP, HOW COME THEY CALL EACH OTHER RAY? CAROLINE SULLIVAN SETS OUT TO SCRAP ...

Felt: The Pictorial Jackson Review (Creation)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

SPACED ODDITY ...

Ofra Haza: Yemen They Couldn't Hang

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

AFTER ERIC B AND RAKIM ABDUCTED HER EXOTIC VOICE FOR THEIR HIT SINGLE 'PAID IN FULL', EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT OFRA HAZA SOUNDS LIKE. CAROLINE SULLIVAN ...

Prince: Lovesexy (Paisley Park)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

LEXICON OF LOVE ...

Roger Troutman, Zapp: Roger Troutman: Empires & Dance

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

SIMON REYNOLDS WAGS CHINS WITH ROGER TROUTMAN, THE MANDARIN OF SURREAL FUNKSTERS ZAPP, AND DISCOVERS WHY SCRITTI'S GREEN WAS SO DESPERATE TO RECORD WITH THE ...

The Pixies, Throwing Muses: Throwing Muses, Pixies: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 14 May 1988

BATTLE OF THE BANDS ...

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince: He's The D.J., I'm The Rapper (Jive)

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., ...

Band of Susans: Repeat & Frayed

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 May 1988

AT THEIR UTMOST Band of Susans make one of the most spiritual and uplifting rock sounds around. ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 28 May 1988

AS SIMON Reynolds said last time they tripped over here, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are totally WRONG. This alone makes them great. The mix ...

Sinead O'Connor: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 June 1988

PRIVATE CONFLICTS ...

Throbbing Gristle: Astoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 June 1988

NEVER GO back. So why is he doing this, the inspired maniac? Just to show there's still air in his lungs? Chris & Cosey are ...

Melissa Etheridge: Places in the Heart

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 July 1988

AMID THE PRESENT GLUT OF FEMALE SINGER-SONGWRITERS, MELISSA ETHERIDGE IS PROVING HERSELF ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE PACK. PAUL MATHUR COMES OVER ALL ACOUSTIC AND ...

David Byrne, Hugo Largo: David Byrne With Les Miserables/Hugo Largo: Cambridge Theatre, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 July 1988

EVEN BEFORE THE safety-curtain rose to reveal David Byrne sitting on a tree stump, there were some willing highlights. ...

David Bowie: Lets Dance!: David Bowie With La La La Human Steps: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 9 July 1988

BEAUTY will be compulsive or not at all. ...

Bros: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

"I NEED a drink," my fellow Brosette whimpers urgently. It's the deafening interval 'tween set-end and encore. For an hour he'd gamely stood his ground, ...

Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Thomas Dolby, Wire: Depeche Mode, Wire, Thomas Dolby, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: Rose Bowl, Pasadena CA

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

WIRE HAVE probably not played to 100,000 people in total as they've skimmed their precious stones across the edges of a strange pop history. And ...

Al Green: Heaven Up Here: Al Green: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

WHAT WAS I saying about letting the shiver do all the work? Just the other day? Oh me, oh my. Al Green, The Last Soul ...

John Lee Hooker: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

EVERYONE SHOULD have three favourite bluesmen. It should be made compulsory. Like not wearing clothes in Central London. Or scraping the sides of Porches with ...

Cindy Lee Berryhill, Living Colour: Living Colour, Cindy Lee Berryhill: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

LUST FOR LIFE ...

The Wild Swans: Return of the Swan

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

In 1982 the Wild Swans looked set for something special. Instead they split up. Now Liverpool's finest have reformed. Jonh Wilde witnesses the resurrection. ...

Was (Not Was): Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

TWO JEWISH comedians backed by the JBs. There — that's as close as anyone will ever come to describing the Wases in seven words. Unless ...

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 ...

The Sundays: The Falcon, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 3 September 1988

AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY He got creative. . . The Sundays are the most beautiful thing I've heard since I was one year old. Something ...

David Lee Roth: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 September 1988

A DAVID Lee Roth concert is perhaps the only place on the face of the earth where boys who look like traffic accidents can get ...

Metallica: ...And Justice For All (Phonogram)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 September 1988

THE KILLING MACHINE ...

Avo-8, The Darling Buds: The Darling Buds, Avo-8: Fulham Greyhound, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 September 1988

BLOOMS BURIED ...

The Triffids: Dominion, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 September 1988

THE NEW VENERATION ...

Anthrax: Thrash Landings

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 17 September 1988

WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE, 'MAKE ME LAUGH', ANTHRAX CONTINUE TO LEAD THE HARDCORE CHARGE AGAINST TRADITIONAL HEAVY METAL. SIMON REYNOLDS HITCHES A RIDE ON THE ...

Michael Jackson: The Bowl, Milton Keynes

Live Review by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 17 September 1988

THE SUMMER'S grand parade of American megastars has finally come to an end with the last great gasps from Michael Jackson. And so, now, must ...

Suicide: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 17 September 1988

DEAD ON THEIR FEAT ...

The Wedding Present: Blackbird Leys Park, Oxford

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 September 1988

THE SENSE of community, the sense of belonging, kids all clasped together under one benevolent corporate banner — no wonder festivals didn't dry up and ...

The Darling Buds: Beyond The Valley Of The Blondes

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 24 September 1988

BudismTHERE ARE SOME people, believe it or not, who don't like The Darling Buds. They don't recognise this music as the very Taj Mahal of ...

Eighth Wonder: Absolute Beginners

Profile and Interview by Julian Henry, Melody Maker, 28 September 1988

Patsy Kensit is 17 and has landed the lead role in the new Julien Temple movie Absolute Beginners. But she also fronts the hippest new ...

Foetus Interruptus

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 1 October 1988

ONE EXPLODING BUNDLE OF BURNING HATE, JIM THIRLWELL AKA CLINT RUIN AKA FOETUS INTERRUPTUS EXPLAINS TO JONH WILDE THE DISGUST THAT GREW INTO HIS NEW ...

Harry Crews: Wrecking Crews

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 October 1988

Harry Crews are an all-woman band featuring Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch. They're destined to "combust after the next three days". But ...

Jane's Addiction: Over The Top

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 8 October 1988

ONE QUARTER THE SWEET, ONE QUARTER MC5, ONE QUARTER GANG OF FOUR AND ONE QUARTER THEMSELVES — THAT'S HOW JONH WILDE SEES HIS IDEAL JANE'S ADDICTION. THE ...

Soho: Lager Frenzy

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 ...

Fishbone: Truth and Soul (Epic)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

FISHBONE'S PROBLEM is obvious. They're rooted in bitter redundancy and are trying to please too many of the people too much of the time. At ...

Level 42: Staring At The Sun (Polydor)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

LEVEL 42 make me feel bad. They make me feel like I'm being as predictable as they are — and it's true. But what can ...

My Bloody Valentine: Suicide Kisses

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

A YEAR AGO, MY BLOODY VALENTINE WERE LINGERING IN SECOND DIVISION INDIE ANONYMITY. THEN THEY RELEASED THEIR EXTRAORDINARY YOU MAKE ME REALISE LP AND SUDDENLY ...

U2: Rattle And Hum (Island)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

THE LORD'S PRAYER ...

Harold Budd, Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Daniel Lanois: Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Harold Budd, Daniel Lanois: Music For Films (Land)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 22 October 1988

LET'S NOT mince words; most of these ambienceurs are a fraud, trying to sell us insubstantial ideas that aren't worth listening to by simply turning ...

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: Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (Fontana)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 22 October 1988

BOOM THE BASE ...

Deacon Blue: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 5 November 1988

I'LL BET whoever signed Deacon Blue thought they were signing the next Prefab Sprout. ...

Salt 'N' Pepa: Sat 'N' Pepa: The Showstoppers

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 5 November 1988

'To Know Us Is To Love Us' claim Salt 'n' Pepa, one of rap's most unlikely success stories, whose A Salt With A Deadly Pepa ...

Happy Mondays: Vile Bodies

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 12 November 1988

In Manchester "shit" means great. Yet a year after Happy Mondays' shit debut album, Squirrel And G-Man, some critics have already written off the band. ...

Loop: Preying Mantras

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 November 1988

Loop's free-falling acid rock is now a luring black hole, sucking in a host of trance disciples. Their new single, 'Black Sun', and forthcoming tour ...

Wet Wet Wet: The Memphis Sessions (Phonogram)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 12 November 1988

IN A RECENT Wx3 feature in The Observer's Section 5, Simon Reynolds concluded that the Wets' perpetuation of soul music's traditional values is "an unhelpful ...

Bomb The Bass: Smiley's People

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 3 December 1988

THE PHENOMENAL SUCCESS OF BOMB THE BASS THIS YEAR HAS USHERED IN A PLETHORA OF DJ CUT RECORDS WHICH ARE NOW ASCENDING THE CHARTS. EVERETT ...

The Membranes, My Bloody Valentine, The Sperm Wails: My Bloody Valentine, The Membranes, The Sperm Wails: Boston Arms, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 December 1988

"THERE IS no second encore." Sometimes, the humblest of phrases can take on unlooked-for importance. There is no second encore. What can I say? For ...

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Elysees Montmartre, Paris

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 17 December 1988

TONIGHT THE Angel saw the Ass, and still isn't convinced. ...

The La's: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 17 December 1988

THURSDAY, A PACKED Marquee. Onstage, four anoraky boys with jangling guitars. Mick Mercer's idea of Nirvana; my idea of no good reason to miss Neil ...

1988: Acid House

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. ...

Rick Astley: Wembley Arena

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988

POOR LITTLE PUP. So keen to please, yet so reviled by the over-15's. Some bleak midnights, he must wonder: "What did I ever do to ...

The Sugarcubes: Sugarcubes: Yule Never Björk Alone

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988

THE SUGARCUBES' BID FOR WORLD DOMINATION IS ALMOST COMPLETE. FOR CHRISTMAS THEY'LL BE RETURNING HOME TO ICELAND TO START RECORDING THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE LIFE'S ...

Suicide: The Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988

SUICIDE'S dispassionate sheet ice of sound is a freezed-up fusillade, a remorseless puncturing of steel-hard cymbals by a psychotic, pneumatic drill. Entirely emptied of the ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: The Jesus And Mary Chain: Brixton Academy

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988

FOR TOO LONG, this was the doldrums, the Reid brothers meandering through the dry ice as if it were a miserable February fog in Brechin. ...

Diamanda Galás: The Demon Diva

Interview by Mark Sinker, Melody Maker, 7 January 1989

As the AIDS epidemic spreads and all pop can do is turn a blind eye, Diamanda Galas is the only singer left to stand and ...

Morrissey: Civic Centre, Wolverhampton

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 7 January 1989

MORRISSEY COMES to the Midlands to play eight songs, two of which receive their first airing tonight, and only 1,700 followers adorned with the Stephen ...

New Order: The Almighty New Order

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 7 January 1989

New Order: G-Mex Centre, Manchester ...

Ciccone Youth: The Whitey Album (Blast First)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989

NEXT to the brittle plangency and luminous, labyrinthine depths of Daydream Nation, the first (and last?) Ciccone Youth album is an irrelevance. ...

Diamanda Galás: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989

DIAMANDA GALAS' AIDS trilogy Masque Of The Red Death draws a mixed bunch to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on New Year's Day — 50 per ...

Fishbone: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989

SCALING HEIGHTS ...

Jane's Addiction: Embassy Theatre, Los Angeles

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989

IN THE LARGER-than-life (and therefore, strictly speaking, lifesize) city of Zen yuppie angels and drive-by crucifixions, it is New Year's Eve. At nine Perry Farrell ...

The Sundays: Sunday's Best

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 14 January 1989

Late last year, Chris Roberts stumbled upon the Sundays playing a support gig in one of London's many watering holes. Stunned by their brilliance, he ...

Big Country: Talk About The Passion

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 21 January 1989

Big Country are on tour again, playing to more people in bigger places, taking Peace In Our Time to the masses. Ian Gittins catches up ...

Edie Brickell: Star Gazing

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 21 January 1989

WITH A TOP 10 SINGLE IN HER NATIVE AMERICA, EDIE BRICKELL AND HER NEW BOHEMIANS LOOK SET TO MAKE A HUGE IMPACT IN 1989. CHRIS ...

Jane's Addiction: The Big Fix

Profile and Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 21 January 1989

THEIR HARD ROCK LP, NOTHING'S SHOCKING, CONVERTED MANY TO THEIR CAUSE. THEIR OUTLANDISH APPEARANCE IS ATTRACTING COMMENT WHEREVER THEY GO. THEY'RE DUE HERE FOR A ...

Throwing Muses: Hunkpapa

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 21 January 1989

"I HAVE two heads." Kristin Hersh starts Hunkpapa with these words. ...

New Order: Technique (Factory)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 28 January 1989

IT BEGINS. IT THUMPS with glee, it swirls with lackadaisical intensity. "You're much too young to be a part of me, you're much too young ...

The Darling Buds: International, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 28 January 1989

FROM SIMON Reynold's held-back vituperative vitriol to Chris Roberts' rapturous rivers of rhapsodies, there's no denying the sheer weight of wise or wondrous words that ...

Throwing Muses: Daughters Of The Fatherland

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 28 January 1989

THEIR HUNKPAPA ALBUM IS WIDELY REGARDED AS THEIR MOST ACCESSIBLE YET. THEY'RE SOON TO TOUR BRITAIN WITH THE SUNDAYS. THEIR CARD TRICKS ARE CRAP. DAVID ...

Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 4 February 1989

THE MESSY BEAT Angels were well and truly bushed after a week of post-Dali wassailing, but the sight of Edie Brickell's band was as startling ...

Mel & Kim, Pet Shop Boys: Phil Harding and Ian Curnow: Production Lines

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 4 February 1989

PAUL MATHUR TALKS TO PHIL HARDING AND IAN CURNOW, KEYWORKERS IN THE SAW HIT FACTORY ...

The Shamen: In Gorbachev We Trust (Demon)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 4 February 1989

THE SHAMEN may indeed, as Steve Sutherland said, be a band whose time has come. For over three years now they've been drilling away, obsessed ...

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 ...

Anthrax: Anti-Metallurgists

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 11 February 1989

ABOUT TO TOUR BRITAIN WITH LIVING COLOUR AS SUPPORT, ANTHRAX TELL DAVID STUBBS HOW THEY PLAN TO BE AS BIG AS U2 WITHOUT SELLING THEIR ...

New Model Army: Happy Families

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 February 1989

On the eve of their British tour, and with 'Stupid Questions' their highest-ever chart entry, New Model Army take time out in Strasbourg to explain ...

Poison: The Call Of The Wild

Report and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 11 February 1989

'EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN' WAS NUMBER ONE IN AMERICA OVER CHRISTMAS. THE OPEN UP AND SAY...AHH! LP CRUISED INTO THE US TOP 10 AND ...

Nasty Rox, Inc., Pop Will Eat Itself: Pop Will Eat Itself/Nasty Rox Inc: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 February 1989

NASTY ROX INC look like slobs but have a beat which cuts it. Their rock/hip hop amalgam makes all the right moves, yet never manages ...

Boy George, Culture Club: Boy George: Culture Shock

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 18 February 1989

THREE YEARS AFTER HIS DRUG-INDUCED DOWNFALL, TABLOID VILIFICATION AND COMMERCIAL FAILURE, THE GOLDEN BOY OF EIGHTIES POP HAS FINALLY MANAGED TO REBUILD A SOLO CAREER. ...

Happy Mondays, Kit: University of London Union, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 18 February 1989

LAUGHING MAD ...

Pulp: Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 18 February 1989

PULP HAVE splashed this strangely since 1979. That's 10 years of comic tension, a decade of bizarre normality. Pulp wear wing-collar shirts borrowed from Man ...

The Darling Buds: Confetti Junction

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 18 February 1989

Saturday11:20 IT'S SATURDAY MORNING kiddie time, and The Darling Buds are shining out of the telly. After Bruno Brookes and the Red Arrows display team, ...

Crazyhead: Travel Writers

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 25 February 1989

AFTER SUPPORTING IGGY POP AND SPENDING ALMOST A YEAR ON THE ROAD, THE GREBO GURUS TELL IAN GITTINS HOW A DIRTY, SCRUFFY BUNCH OF ROCK'N'ROLLERS ...

Gaye Bykers On Acid: Stewed To The Gills (Virgin)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 25 February 1989

STEWED TO The Gills is not a total pile of doggy-doo. This comes as a shock. You expect a mess, somehow, from the Bykers, with ...

My Bloody Valentine: University of London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 25 February 1989

TRANPOSED. There we are then. There's a new one for you. A new one for me, anyway. You will have to be forgiving but I ...

Spacemen 3: Playing With Fire

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 25 February 1989

REVOLUTION, purity, love, suicide, accuracy. These are the key words according to Spacemen 3.1 consider them eternally interesting words, don't you? Let's just leave them ...

Prince, Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Sisters Of The Revolution

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 4 March 1989

PRINCE'S FORMER SIDEKICKS, WHOSE NEW SINGLE,'ARE YOU MY MAYBE' IS SELDOM OFF THE MAKER TURNTABLE, THIS WEEK RELEASE THEIR SECOND ALBUM, LAYERED AND IMPOSSIBLY RICH ...

Mary Margaret O'Hara: Discreet Enquiries

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 11 March 1989

MARY'S MISS AMERICA WAS LAUDED AS ONE OF THE MOST STARTLING AND FRESH ALBUMS OF '88, SHE MESSED UP HER LIP-SYNCH ON THE 'BODY'S IN ...

Mudhoney: Sub Pop, Sub Normal, Subversion!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 March 1989

SUDDENLY SEATTLE IS THE CENTRE OF ALL THINGS GRUNGE. EVERETT TRUE TRAVELS TO THE HOME OF THE ANTI-HITS TO MEET MUDHONEY WHO RECENTLY TRADED SONGS ...

De La Soul: 3 Feet High And Rising (Tommy Boy/Big Life)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989

THE DAISY AGE    ...

Hot House: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989

THERE ARE, oh, a thousand or so people in London who know that Hot House have nothing to do with Chicago, or with Liam O'Maonlai ...

Lush: Japanese Whispers

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989

A RUSH OF BLOOD? Lush are nearly as good as their name, which is high praise indeed. ...

Rick Astley: Le Zenith, Paris

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 March 1989

SO THIS IS what we're supposed to be getting so angry about. Tonight is my first proper pop concert, and it's bizarre. They're screaming! At ...

American Music Club: Psycho Thriller

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 March 1989

MARK EITZEL, OF American Music Club, a self proclaimed 'fuckin mess', a man who's spoken before of being 'doomed to sing' and living in terror ...

Anthrax, Living Colour: Living Colour: Colour Shifts

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 25 March 1989

LIVING COLOUR'S LAST ALBUM, VIVID, IS STILL RIDING HIGH IN THE US CHARTS. THE BLACK ROCK COALITION STARS HAVE JUST SUPPORTED ANTHRAX ON THEIR RECENT ...

Anthrax, Living Colour: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 1 April 1989

FAVOURITE COLOURS ...

Swing Out Sister: Dog Day Afternoon

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 1 April 1989

TWO YEARS AGO THEY HAD TWO TOP 10 SINGLES AND A NUMBER 1 ALBUM. THEN THE TRIO OF SUAVE POPSTERS DISAPPEARED. CAROLINE SULLIVAN REPORTS ON ...

De La Soul: Space Cadets

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. ...

Deacon Blue: The Reluctant Tourist

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 8 April 1989

AFTER THE SUCCESS OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, RAINTOWN, AND A STRING OF HIT SINGLES INCLUDING THE RECENT 'WAGES DAY', RICKY ROSS AND HIS BAND LOOK ...

Half Japanese, Moe Tucker: Moe Tucker/Half Japanese: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 8 April 1989

THEY’RE ALL HERE tonight, convened in a spirit of slackwitted sentimentally: Morrissey (summoned, rumour has it, by the "great lady" herself, who admires his work), ...

The Last Poets: ICA, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 8 April 1989

WORDS FLY LIKE bullets from a scatter gun. They call Jalal Nurridin the "Godfather of Rap", but he's much more than that. ...

The Stone Roses: Bad Loon Rising

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 8 April 1989

CHARTING A SIMILAR COURSE TO HOUSE OF LOVE, SINGER IAN BROWN NOW RECKONS HIS MANCHESTER-BASED BAND'S FORTHCOMING ALBUM WILL PROVE HIS BAND ARE THE BEST ...

Happy Mondays: Madcap Laughs

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 15 April 1989

IAN GITTINS JOINS THE MANCHESTER REPROBATES ON THEIR TOUR OF IRELAND AND WITNESSES MAYHEM, MADNESS AND BAFFLING BRILLIANCE. ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: Preaching To The Perverted

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 15 April 1989

BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, THEY'VE DONE AND SAID A LOT OF DUMB THINGS AND SOMETIMES COME ACROSS AS JUST A BUNCH OF PILLOCKS. BUT POP ...

Fishbone: The Panic Picnic

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 22 April 1989

IAN GITTINS JOINED L.A.'S GANGLAND WARRIORS ON THE ROAD IN THE UK AND FOUND THAT BEHIND THE RAUCOUS SOUND AND WRECKLESS ATTITUDE LIES A GROUP ...

The Wedding Present: From Russia With Love

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 22 April 1989

How have four normal people from Leeds become the most successful indie band of the late-eighties? Why have the trusty punksters just released an album ...

Dinosaur Jr., Lunachicks: Dinosaur Jr, Lunachicks: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

APATHY IN THE UK ...

Hurrah!: Rico's, Greenock

Live Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

IT WAS weird enough choosing Greenock to begin a tour in, but THIS place is ridiculous — mirror balls, purple flashing lights, tacky plastic finishing ...

New Model Army: Henry Moore Gallery Forecourt, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

THE PERFECT setting fora New Model Army open air bash: a drab, dull, grey, freezing cold afternoon in a rain-pelted northern town. The drizzle washes ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: This Is The Day... This Is The Hour... This Is This! (RCA)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

DEAF CON ONES ...

Simple Minds: Street Fighting Years (Virgin)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

THE HIGHER GROUND ...

Gregg Allman: The Gregg Allman Band: Just Before The Bullets (Fly CBS)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

SO BROTHER Duane was perhaps the leading exponent of slide guitar, his virtuoso expertise gracing the grooves of Clapton's finest hour and a half, Layla ...

The Telescopes: The Falcon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

IN THIS HUMID HELL-HOLE of a venue, snuck bizarrely in the back of the tavern's toilets, my glasses mist up repeatedly, and I'm forced to ...

Wendy And Lisa: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

WOMEN IN unison. A glaring gaggle. A terrifying prospect. Wasn't it in fact Dorothy Parker, theoretically one of their own, who wrote, "I hate women. ...

Yazz: City Hall, Sheffield

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989

THE NEWS Of The World was uppermost in my mind as a deafening, amphetamined version of the Batman theme presaged Yazz's arrival. Did you see ...

Bonnie Raitt: Nick Of Time (Capitol)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

BONNIE RAITT was a compatriot of Janis Joplin's; the pair were the Sixties' premier hard-drinking, hard-loving white blues chicks. Raitts's music has continued in this ...

Frank Sidebottom: 13:9:88 (In Tape)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

SO WHAT do you reckon will be the first significant movement in Pop Music in the Nineties? Dreampop? Crotchquake? Stone Rose Psychedelia? Nah. The one ...

The Mission, Pete Wylie: Hillsborough: You'll Never Walk Alone

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

IN THE WAKE OF THE HILLSBOROUGH TRAGEDY, THE MISSION, PETE WYLIE, MICK JONES AND THE LA'S PERFORMED AT LIVERPOOL'S ROYAL COURT THEATRE TO RAISE MONEY ...

Peter Case: The Man With The Blue Post Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar (Geffen)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

PETER CASE'S debut album arrived in 1986 and the applause was thunderous. One could be forgiven for thinking that the new Bob Dylan had finally ...

Pussy Galore: Dial M For Motherf***er (Product Inc)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

PARTY LINE ...

Swans: The Burning World (MCA)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

ASHES TO ASHES ...

The Godfathers: More Songs About Love And Hate (Epic)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 13 May 1989

THE GODFATHERS should be reminded that the noise of now is about plumping for one extreme or the other. More Songs is yet another half-way ...

The The: Detonation Time

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 14 May 1989

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THE THE'S 'THE BEAT(EN) GENERATION', MATT JOHNSON NEXT WEEK RELEASES HIS NEW ALBUM, MIND BOMB. JONH WILDE HEARS TALES OF GOOD ...

Fields Of The Nephilim: Attractions Fatalist

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

THE THING I most enjoy about Carl McCoy is his refusal to jump through the traditional music industry hoops. ...

Inspiral Carpets: Surface Tensions

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

IF THE WEDDING PRESENT ARE SMITHS' FANS SECOND FAVOURITE GROUP, THE INSPIRALS ARE PROBABLY THIRD ON THE LIST. EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE MANCHESTER BAND LOST THEIR SINGER ...

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 ...

Screaming Trees: Buzz Factory (SST)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

SCREAMING TREES' last album, Invisible Lantern, curdled my milk of human kindness two months ago with its lacklustre production and half-hearted nods to the Sixties. ...

Swing Out Sister: Kaleidoscope World (Fontana)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

SWING OUT SISTER, not so long ago, were the ultimate cool chart act for the late Eighties. They had haircuts, melodies and polo necks with ...

The The: Mind Bomb (Epic)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

MIND BLOWING ...

Tin Machine: The Tin Machine: Danger Signs

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 20 May 1989

WITH THE HELP OF HIS NEW BAND, DAVID BOWIE HAS AT LAST RECORDED AN ALBUM THAT REDISCOVERS THE DANGER AND EXCITEMENT THAT ONCE ESTABLISHED HIM ...

Cookie Crew: The Cookie Crew: Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 May 1989

WITH TITLES like 'Black Is The Way', The Cookie Crew envince a compelling need to have their say, to disseminate informative missives on a whole ...

The Feelies: T&C 2, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 27 May 1989

FEEL NO EVIL ...

The Stone Roses: ICA, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 27 May 1989

STONED LOVE ...

The Sundays: The Warehouse, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 27 May 1989

THE SUNDAYS' SECOND COMING is so utterly majestic, so unquestionably celestial, so distinctly holy, that it is too good. They are too good to be ...

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 ...

The Shamen: The Pleasure Principle

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 June 1989

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OFTHEIR LAST ALBUM, IN GORBACHEV WE TRUST, THE EXPLOSIVE PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORERS HOPE TO EXPAND THEIR HORIZONS WITH THEIR NEW MINI-LP, PHORWARD. IAN ...

The Stone Roses: Shooting From The Lip

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 3 June 1989

THE STONE ROSES are the latest instalment in the resurrection insurrection. ...

Bobby Brown: Goodbye Cruel World

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

THE ALL-SINGING, ALL-DANCING WUNDERKIND IS CURRENTLY THE FASTEST RISING STAR IN AMERICA WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM DON'T BE CRUEL. AT ONLY 20 HE IS SET ...

De La Soul: The D.A.I.S.Y. Chain Gang

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

DAVID STUBBS FLEW TO NEW YORK TO MEET THE TRIO WHO'RE RADICALLY CHANGING THE IMAGE OF THE RAPPER AND WHOSE DEBUT ALBUM, 3 FEET HIGH ...

Edwyn Collins: The Return of Fast Eddie

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

AFTER FIVE YEARS IN THE ROCK'N'ROLL WILDERNESS, FORMER ORANGE JUICE MAIN MAN EDWYN COLLINS IS BACK WITH HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM, THE HIGHLY-ACCLAIMED HOPE AND ...

The La's: Interview with the La's

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

THE LA'S ARE NOTHING if not perfectionists. After two years work they've just completed their debut LP - no wonder they look knackered as they ...

Prince, Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples: Time Waits For No One (Paisley Park)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

NINETEEN EIGHTY nine has been a year for bumping into old friends, what with the spate of reissues, relaunched careers, and general rehabilitation. Back in ...

Neneh Cherry: Raw Like Sushi (Circa)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

RAW CUTS ...

Soundgarden: The Mutate Gallery

Profile and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

EVERETT TRUE MEETS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE METAL MARAUDERS TO ESCAPE FROM THE SUB POP LABEL, WHOSE NEW SINGLE, 'FLOWER', SOUNDS LIKE DAS DAMEN COVERING BIG ...

Baby Ford: Revolution Baby

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 June 1989

WITH TWO HITS UNDER HIS BELT AND A TECHNO-HOUSE VERSION OF T. REX'S 'CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION' RELEASED THIS WEEK, BABY FORD LOOKS SET TO ...

Birdland: Power Glide

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 17 June 1989

TOURING THE COUNTRY, TEARING 'EM APART, BIRDLAND ARE FULFILLING THE POTENTIAL MM NOTICED IN THEM EARLIER THIS YEAR. IAN GITTINS JOINS THE YEAR'S MOST HYPERACTIVE TOUR AND ...

Edie Brickell: Bohemian Rhapsodies

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 17 June 1989

SINCE THE RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM SHOOTING RUBBER BANDS AT THE STARS LAST YEAR, EDIE AND HER BAND HAVE SHOT TO FAME IN THE ...

Pussy Galore: Sex Kittens

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 17 June 1989

IS THEIR NEW ALBUM 'DIAL M FOR MOTHERF***ER' THE LAST WORD IN ROCK, A MOVE TOWARDS THE MAINSTREAM OR A SICK JOKE? IAN GITTINS SPEAKS ...

Texas: New Morning, Paris

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 24 June 1989

I DON'T know if I can get across to you just how depressing it is to be standing, sweating in a tiny Parisian jazz club ...

LL Cool J: Walking With A Panther (Def Jam)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 1 July 1989

RUMOUR HAD it that this was a bad record — as in crap, not bigger and deffer. Rumour was wrong. ...

Throwing Muses: Southampton University

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 1 July 1989

MID-AFTERNOON on a Saturday the snap decision is taken to leg it down to Southampton (wherever that might be) and find the first night of ...

Greil Marcus

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 8 July 1989

IN 1977, GREIL MARCUS PUBLISHED MYSTERY TRAIN, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF ROCK CRITICISM EVER WRITTEN. HIS NEW BOOK, LIPSTICK TRACES: A SECRET ...

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 ...

The Primitives: Red Dawn

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 8 July 1989

TC: "Poor innocent me. And all this time I thought you were a bona fide blonde."Marilyn: " I am. But nobody's that natural. And incidentally, ...

Miracle Legion: The Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 22 July 1989

MIRACLE LEGION don't fulfill any of the obligations of my current agenda, being neither a total gross-out bludgeon nor a comatose drift. 'Storyteller' doesn't strike ...

Dolly Parton: White Limozeen (CBS)

Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 29 July 1989

IF YOU NEED proof that we're dealing not with a mere singer, but a legend — nay, an icon — here it is: thrashy Class ...

Primal Scream: The Ivy League

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 29 July 1989

It's been two years since we last heard from Bobby Gillespie's indie darlings, but the Galswegian Motormouth is finally back with a new single, 'Ivy ...

The Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 29 July 1989

COCKS OF THE WALK ...

N.W.A.: Street Hassle

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. ...

Primal Scream: The Hacienda, Manchester

Live Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 5 August 1989

LAST TIME I saw Primal Scream they seemed in their death throes, wheezing and spluttering like a fine vintage car struggling to get up a ...

Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Satisfy Yourself

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 5 August 1989

AFTER THEIR JUICY FRUIT AT THE BOTTOM LP GOT THE ECSTATIC REVIEWS IT SO RICHLY DESERVED, IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WENDY AND LISA ...

The Family Cat: Purrfect Timing

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 12 August 1989

Of all the new bands attracting attention this summer, the Family Cat look among the fittest to survive. Everett True brushes up on a few ...

Nirvana: Bleach (Tupelo)

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, ...

Bros, Debbie Gibson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 26 August 1989

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ...

Primal Scream, The Telescopes: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 26 August 1989

IS THAT my true love I see on stage, or am I watching New Faces? The time has come to add my thrup-tup-ha'pennorth to the ...

The Sugarcubes: Reykjavik, Iceland

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 26 August 1989

ICE CREAM ...

Jayne County: The Duchess Of York, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 2 September 1989

FLASHBACK TO 1977. Punk rock sets England ablaze and in a sweaty club somewhere near you a transvestite called Wayne County shrieks "If you don't ...

S'Express: Social Moores

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 ...

The Primitives: Before The Crash

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 2 September 1989

Lazy 86-88. Paul: "WELL, THE FIRST FOUR SONGS ARE crap for starters! That first record goes for £30 now, those four songs made up our ...

The Sugarcubes: The Art of Contradiction

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 2 September 1989

IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE CHRIS ROBERTS FIRST HEARD 'BIRTHDAY' AND PLUCKED BJÖRK AND CO FROM OBSCURITY. NOW THEY'RE THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE DECADE, ...

Transvision Vamp: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 2 September 1989

VAMP COLLECTING ...

Inspiral Carpets: Zap Club, Brighton

Live Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 9 September 1989

SPIRAL TAPS ...

New Order: The Reading Festival

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 9 September 1989

NEW ORDER have to be blinding, have to be gorgeous and maverick and wise, if we're to leave with any sense of napalm in our ...

Simple Minds: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 9 September 1989

KERR-RAP ...

Holger Czukay, David Sylvian: David Sylvian: Words of the Shaman

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 September 1989

THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION FOR DAVID SYLVIAN, BUT HE'S NOW IN A NEW COLLABORATION WITH HOLGER CZUKAY AND A ...

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 ...

Inspiral Carpets: The Inspiral Carpets: You Batter You Bet

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 16 September 1989

WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE 'FIND OUT WHY' AT NUMBER ONE IN THE INDIE CHARTS, THE INSPIRALS' BID TO RIVAL FELLOW MANCUNIANS HAPPY MONDAYS AND THE ...

Eazy-E: Eazy-Duz-It (Ruthless/Island)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 23 September 1989

SUPERBAD ...

Johnny Marr, The Smiths, The The: Johnny Marr: Escape from Strangeways

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 30 September 1989

THIS WEEK, THE THE'S WORLD TOUR FINALLY HITS BRITAIN. ANDREW MUELLER JOINED THE TOUR IN AUSTRALIA TO TALK TO MARR ABOUT HIS ROLE AS ROCK'S ...

Godflesh: Streetcleaner

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, October 1989

IT'S a superb name. Perhaps only Blind Idiot God is more emblematic of the late Eighties state of anti-consciousness. Not so much because of the ...

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 ...

Kate Bush: The Sensual World (EMI)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 14 October 1989

"WHEN LAUREN WAS a small girl, she would stand in the field and call the cats. One by one they would come to her through ...

Nirvana: Bleached Wails

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 October 1989

Everett True Thrashes It Out With The Latest Wizards From Seattle's Sub Pop Label Who Arrive In Britain Next Week ...

Mudhoney: Mudhoney (Glitterhouse)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 28 October 1989

THE BLITZ PARADE ...

The House Of Love — Building Sights

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 28 October 1989

LAST YEAR, they were everyone's band of the moment. Their debut album and singles like 'Christine' received the highest accolades. This year the band released ...

N.W.A.: Shot By Both Sides

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 ...

Fugazi: A Tension Spans

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 ...

Felt: Too Much Monkey Business

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 9 December 1989

THE RECENT ME AND A MONKEY ON THE MOON LP WAS FELT'S LAST SHOT, THE COMPLETION OF A 10-YEAR PLAN, THE PRE-DESTINED END OF THE ...

Lush, Pale Saints: Pale Saints, Lush: Warehouse, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 December 1989

Saint Errant ...

The Stone Roses: Bonfire of the Inanities

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 December 1989

When The Maker put Ian Brown and his reluctant heroes on the cover six months ago, they were regarded as just another bunch of hopefuls. ...

Soul II Soul: Songs In The Key Of Life

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 16 December 1989

WITH A STRING OF SUCCESSFUL SINGLES AND A STUNNING DEBUT ALBUM, SOUL II SOUL HAVE SPEARHEADED THE DANCE REVIVAL OF THE LATE-EIGHTIES AND LOOK LIKE ...

Fields Of The Nephilim: The Nod Corner

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 23 December 1989

THE MOMENT IS breathtaking. One minute, he's Nod, drummer of Fields Of The Nephilim, chatting placidly of a pint of Flowers Best. Next minute, he's ...

Lucinda Williams: Annadale Hotel, Sydney

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 6 January 1990

MICK FROM Weddings Parties Anything and Jon from Paul Kelly's Messengers are The Indigo Boys, the support act, and something I miss entirely except for ...

The Jungle Brothers: Jungle Brothers: Done By The Forces Of Nature (WEA)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 20 January 1990

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE ...

Loop: A Gilded Eternity (Situation Two)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 20 January 1990

IT'S CLEAR now that Loop peaked with their magnificent brace of EPs in 1988, Collision/Thief Of Fire and Black Sun/Mother Sky. Last year's Fade Out ...

The Sundays: School's Out

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 January 1990

OVER A YEAR AGO, the Maker discovered the Sundays and created the biggest media storm since we first put the Sugarcubes on the cover. Their ...

Tanita Tikaram: The Sweet Keeper

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 27 January 1990

THE CONNECTION between pop stars and new towns in the Eighties – someone should have done a thesis on it. We had Depeche Mode in ...

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. ...

Cowboy Junkies: Horse Latitudes

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 24 February 1990

"MOST OF THE SONGS, there's a grain of hope in there. The characters are always striving for something else. They're in a situation which is ...

Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Tad: Screaming Trees, Nirvana, Tad: Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 3 March 1990

IT SEEMS incredible people still miss the point of Tad. Most (heavy) rock bands play for the sheer hell of it, and, sure Tad do ...

The Fall: Funfair For The Common Man

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 March 1990

IN A CHEAP INDIAN RESTAURANT IN LONDON'S BRICK LANE Mark Smith's eyes begin to glint. His bony figure leans forward and stiffens. From deep in ...

Alex Chilton: London University

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 10 March 1990

WHAT BECOMES a legend most? Taking drugs helps. Being renowned for a certain volatile temperament that involves smashing up studio consoles and putting your hands ...

Depeche Mode: Violator

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 10 March 1990

DEPECHE MODE have always been the poor relations of New Order and Kraftwerk, offering pedestrian, sometimes inconsequential variations on the electro-pop theme. Their simplified interpretations ...

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 ...

The KLF

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 ...

Nirvana, Tad: Tad and Nirvana: The Larder They Come

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 March 1990

This was a tour not for the faint-hearted. Everett True witnesses the chaos & carnage caused by Tad & Nirvana as they rampaged through the ...

De La Soul, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: Jazzy Jeff And Fresh Prince/De La Soul: Superstars Nightclub, Toronto

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 24 March 1990

IT'S LIKE stumbling back in time. As yet another rap package rolls across the land of the Mounties, De La Soul find themselves in the ...

The Associates: Wild and Lonely

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 24 March 1990

THE FIRST TIME I heard the Associates was when I saw 'Party Fears Two' on Top Of The Pops. It was one of those moments ...

A Guy Called Gerald, Happy Mondays: Happy Mondays and A Guy Called Gerald Hit the Northern Lights

Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 30 March 1990

They came, they saw, they got wrecked and the police were called. Last week, Andrew Smith travelled to Reykjavík with both bands and witnessed scenes ...

Beats International: Let Them Eat Bingo (Go! Discs)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

DEAD BEATS ...

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.: New Funky Nation (Island)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

BROTHERS IN ARMS ...

David Bowie: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

"I thought I'd play a couple of numbers from the Tin Machine album... wait, wait, where are you going...come back!" ...

Digital Underground: Sex Packets (BCM)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

WOSSIS? A hip hop concept album? It most certainly is, but before you reach for the barf bag get a load of this concept. Sex ...

Fugazi: Repeater (Dischord)

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 ...

Ride: The Daydream Stampede

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

Three months ago, no one had heard of Ride, yet now they're fast becoming the most sought-after band in Britain, providing positive proof that music ...

Tom Verlaine: The Wonder (Phonogram)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 31 March 1990

"COMING UP behind me like a high speed train was the New York City new wave, Verlaine and Hell," — Felt, 'Mobile Shack'. ...

Grace Jones: "Born To F*** — I should get a tee-shirt saying that"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 7 April 1990

THE ICE QUEEN MAY BE MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO MELT HER IMAGE AND BECOME MORE FEMININE, BUT SHE WAS STILL HARD ENOUGH TO BURY ...

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 ...

Public Enemy: Fear of A Black Planet

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 21 April 1990

BACK IN BLACK ...

Adeva: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 28 April 1990

IF YOU WERE there, you'd know. Even if you weren't, you could imagine. The sight of Adeva's generously proportioned body squeezed into a microscopic black ...

My Bloody Valentine: Glide on Time

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 28 April 1990

MY BLOODY VALENTINE are sitting in the basement rehearsal studio they've just rented. I am wandering around upstairs walking into lots of offices and insisting ...

Salt-N-Pepa: Salt 'N' Pepa: Short Back and Asides

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 28 April 1990

SALT 'N' PEPA are about to curl up and dye. The first of their chain of Salt 'N' Pepa beauty salons will soon open at ...

Faith No More: Charge Of The Fright Brigade

Interview by Neil Perry, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

DESPITE DRINKING, SCREWING, BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF EACH OTHER AND ENJOYING THEMSELVES FAR MORE THAN IS SAFE AND HEALTHY, FAITH NO MORE ARE ON ...

Inspiral Carpets: Leeds University

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

MAGIC CARPETS ...

James: Striking The Motherlode

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

SINCE THEIR EXPLOSIVE BEGINNING IN '83, JAMES' CAREER HAS HAD ITS VIOLENT UPS AND DOWNS. FROM THE GIDDY SUCCESS OF INDIE NUMBER ONES TO RUMOURS ...

Kylie Minogue: Docklands Arena, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

KYLIE UNLIKELY ...

Bosho, Curlew, Miracle Room, Marc Ribot, Sonny Sharrock: Marc Ribot, Sonny Sharrock, Curlew, Bosho, Miracle Room: The Knitting Factory Tour, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

THE KNITTING FACTORY is downtown New York's hip crucible of new music, where improvisers like John Zorn and Fred Frith play on the same bill ...

The Quireboys, Burning Tree: Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Penny Kiley, Melody Maker, 5 May 1990

ON STAGE, support band Burning Tree are exhibiting the mellow, melancholy side of heavy rock and hints of the pop-rock crossover potential that the Quireboys ...

Peter Murphy: Deep (Beggars Banquet)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 12 May 1990

PETER MURPHY knows what time it is. He's clocked the hippy-gumbo dancing hordes, seen the shaggy clothes and witnessed the wazzy smiles. He's even checked ...

Pussy Galore: Historia De La Musica Rock (Rough Trade)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 12 May 1990

REVOLUTION SUMMER ...

Wire: Manscape (Mute)

Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 12 May 1990

THE FLIES in the ointment return. Formed at the onset of punk, Wire's art school background was far removed from the council estate mentalities of ...

Lenny Kravitz: All You Need Is Love

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 19 May 1990

Lenny Kravitz is well on his way to becoming an international rock superstar. But is he really anything more than a hippy throwback with a ...

The Blue Aeroplanes: Preparing for Take Off

Report by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 19 May 1990

AFTER THEIR LONG SPELL AS UNDERNOURISHED LEADERS OF THE AVANT-GARDE, THE BLUE AEROPLANES FINALLY LOOK SET TO ENTER THE MAINSTREAM WITH THE RELEASE THIS WEEK ...

Bark Psychosis: Cube, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

DOGS IN SPACE ...

Blur: Pop Club, London

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. ...

James: The Corn Exchange, Cambridge

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

THE INORDINATELY beautiful riverside buildings, rather middle England airs and homicidal cyclists of Cambridge are 150 miles and several worlds south of Manchester. The only ...

Kurtis Mantronik, Mantronix: Mantronix: Cashing In Or Selling Out?

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

ONCE THE PREMIER PIONEER OF ELECTRO, MANTRONIK'S LATEST WORK HAS BEEN SUSPICIOUSLY COMMERCIAL. ANDREW SMITH THINKS THE GREAT MAN HAS SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE ...

Mötley Crüe: Entertainment Centre, Sydney

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

THAT T'CRÜE'S latest single, 'Kickstart My Heart', is from the title down a towering work of dumbo rockin' genius must surely be unarguable. Like Guns ...

Peter Murphy: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

IT'S WHEN I burst out laughing and everyone looks at me like I'm insane that I realise what a tragic, inopportune night this is. Just ...

The Chimes: Ringing In The Changes

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

WITH THE TOP 10 SUCCESS OF THEIR COVER OF U2'S 'I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR', THE CHIMES LOOK SET TO JOIN SOUL ...

The Darling Buds: Petal Music Machine

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

POP SAID "BECAUSE we're in Newport and because we're in love and because the sun is shining and everyone has disappeared, lost among the flowers, ...

The Stone Roses: Where Angels Play

Report by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

It may not seem it to non-believers, but it's been a mighty long time since the Stone Roses last played a gig. That was at ...

Cameo: Cod War

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

ANDREW SMITH TALKS TO LARRY BLACKMON ABOUT POP'S LACK OF CODPIECES, THE AMERICAN DRUG PROBLEM, NWA, HOUSE MUSIC, THE BAND'S NEW SINGLE, 'I WANT IT ...

Guru Josh

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 ...

Metallica: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

METAL FATIGUE ...

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 ...

Pussy Galore: Kittens of Distinction

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

THEIR NEW ALBUM, HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA ROCK, CONTAINS SONGS LIKE THE QUAINTLY-NAMED 'ERIC CLAPTON MUST DIE' AND PROVES THAT PUSSY GALORE ARE STILL THE ...

Victoria Williams: Swing The Statue! (Rough Trade)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

THREE YEARS ago, Victoria Williams emerged with a debut set of 13 songs which invited us to revise and re-define our notion of folk music. ...

Alan Vega: Deuce Avenue (Musidisc)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

I PLAYED this when I was feeling flippant and swinging and it sounded boring. Then I played it while undergoing one of my Chiswick's-answer-to-Greta-Garbo phases ...

James: Gold Mother (Fontana)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

FOOL'S GOLD ...

Mazzy Star: Ghost Riders in the Sky

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

HAUNTING, SENSUAL AND DESOLATE, MAZZY STAR'S SHE HANGS BRIGHTLY IS ALREADY A STRONG CONTENDER FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR. EVERETT TRUE TALKS TO ITS AUTHORS, DAVID ROBACK ...

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 ...

Prince: Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

LAST WEEKEND, PRINCE'S 'NUDE' WORLD TOUR KICKED OFF IN STADION FEIJENOORD IN ROTTERDAM. JON WILDE WITNESSED THE SPECTACULAR, AS THE WORLD'S GREATEST LIVING SONG AND ...

The Stone Roses at Spike Island

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 June 1990

When The Stone Roses announced their plans for a gig at Spike Island the concert was eagerly heralded as the event of the year. Everett ...

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 ...

Bobby Brown: Star Gazing: Bobby Brown: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990

BOBBY BROWN may be less obsessively single-minded than Prince (he doesn't write/produce/sing/play every last note on his records), and Michael Jackson surely beats him jewel-encrusted ...

The Chimes: The Chimes (CBS)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 June 1990

MIKE PEDEN and James Locke have a canny knack for making Gaelic soul sound intuitive. It helps to have a singer like Pauline Henry, of ...

Holly Johnson: Hollelulah! (MCA)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 23 June 1990

HOLLY DAZE ...

Mark Lanegan: The Winding Sheet (Glitterhouse)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 23 June 1990

WE KNOW very little about Mark Lanegan except that he's the singer with Screaming Trees and that this, his first solo album, is a magnificent ...

ROIR

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. ...

Tad: Portsmouth Polytechnic

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 23 June 1990

WEIGHT WATCHING ...

Teenage Fanclub: A Catholic Education (Paperhouse)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 23 June 1990

TEENAGE LAMENT ...

Pet Shop Boys, Dusty Springfield: Dusty Springfield: Reputation (EMI)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

THE TROUBLE with this album is we know too much about Dusty Springfield to be convinced by the impassioned outpourings that the Pet Shop Boys ...

Felt: Bubblegum Perfume (Creation)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

WHEN IT COMES TO individuality and wilful peversity, Lawrence's only rival is Prince. In ten years he guided Felt through ten LPs and ten singles, ...

New Kids On The Block: Step By Step (CBS)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

WHAT IS SO odious about New Kids On The Block? Why are they so uniquely dislikeable? Is it the disturbingly cynical way they blunted rap's ...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik: The First Generation (Jungle)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

EVEN THE press release, once a glittering example of how to flaunt what you only very disputably have, have bashfully clammed down to a tail-between-the-legs ...

The Boo Radleys: Ichabod And I (Action)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 30 June 1990

FORGET THE sub-Uriah Heep title and think "further re-invention of the dreampop whirl". Sound interesting? Read on. ...

Concrete Blonde: Bloodletting

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 14 July 1990

HOW TOUGH is Johnette Napolitano? Maybe here's a clue. Bloodletting, as Mat Smith noted, is an intensely personal LP, cruelly close to her, but for ...

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 ...

Bananarama: Girls Together Outrageously

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 28 July 1990

Ten years on from their ramshackle beginnings, BANANARAMA are the most successful female pop group in the world. They've got wit, flair and great shoulders. ...

Flesh For Lulu: The Dome, London

Live Review by Nicky Charlish, Melody Maker, 8 August 1990

FROM The intro, 'Slide', onwards, we're into a festival of high-speed, thumpy noise, delivered in a style that's a crazy cross between 'Floodland'-era Sisters Of ...

The Pixies: Tyranny And Mutation

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 10 August 1990

A PIXIES album that isn't drenched in murder, mutilation, death, crucifixion, blood, evil and barbarism? It's hard to imagine, but that's exactly what the band ...

The Pixies: Bossanova (4AD)

Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 11 August 1990

ONE THING that's always bugged me about The Pixies is the universal acclaim for their LPs – how come no one ever gripes about the ...

808 State, Andrew Weatherall, Coldcut, D Mob, M People, S'Express, William Orbit: Remixing: The DJ's DJ

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, ...

World of Twist

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 18 August 1990

MOST ENIGMATIC and downright peculiar of the 1990 Manchester shockwave are World Of Twist. All they have in common with their Manc contemporaries is that ...

Deee-Lite: Slipped Discodelia

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 25 August 1990

A Russian, a go-go dancer and a Japanese DJ is hardly the combination you'd expect to be making the most exciting dance sounds around but, as ANDREW ...

Gene Loves Jezebel: Astoria, London

Live Review by Nicky Charlish, Melody Maker, 25 August 1990

THAT'S funny! A few seconds ago, I was in Charing Cross Road. Now I'm in Kensington Market. But, of course, there's a simple explanation. This ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

EMPEROR'S NUDE CLOTHES ...

S'Express: Altered States

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

MARK MOORE, the man behind chart terrorists S'Express, is a man of mystery, a svengali with scarcely any profile. SIMON REYNOLDS tracks him down to discover ...

Tackhead: Imported Goods

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

To the average pop fan, Tackhead are an overnight sensation but, as ANDREW SMITH discovers, there's a history and prime pedigree to this radical dance ...

The Fall: Prole Art Threat

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 1 September 1990

Now in their 14th year, Manchester's the Fall are still operating on rock's margins, still refusing to adhere to any consensus. But how will one ...

Living Colour: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

ACTUALLY, Living Colour are quite frequently exhilarating. I mean, two days previously they'd cheered up an otherwise dismal early Reading Sunday. But that was just ...

Napalm Death: The Wailing Ultimate

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

Despite years off personnel traumas and line-up changes, NAPALM DEATH are still the same extreme noise terrorists they were in the mid-'80s. With their third, ...

Ocean Colour Scene: The Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

OCEAN REIGN ...

Shack: The Duchess Of York, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

SHACK APPROACH the popular song like a long-lost prodigal, giving it a big hug and a "great to have you back". Formed from the ashes ...

Swervedriver: the Duchess Of York, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

THE MAJOR cool nature of this gig (the much-touted Chapterhouse in support) can be judged by the amount of serious hip-talk going on. A bloke ...

The Young Gods: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990

ARMAGEDDON HAS arrived. Eco-disaster and chemical apocalypse are upon us. The sky will fall on our heads. We're all going to die. And it's going ...

The Waterboys: That Sinking Feeling: The Waterboys: Room To Roam (Ensign)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 15 September 1990

OH DEAR. Let's establish this from the start. This is not The Waterboys' record we've been waiting for. This is not the way we wanted ...

The Human League: Romantic Antics

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 September 1990

THE HUMAN LEAGUE are back among us, more serious than ever, not for a last gasp, but completely reinvigorated and rewired – after what ...

Adamski: Spaced cadet

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 22 September 1990

EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE of Adamski's skinny ass right now. So crammed is his schedule, I'm eventually made to feel very lucky indeed to be ...

The Lemonheads: Evan Dando: Whole In One

Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 22 September 1990

"Came to the end once again/Start over now, just can't win/Do it all again
Gotta learn to fight ... /Slide right to the bottom 
Climb back ...

LL Cool J: Knocked Out Loaded

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 22 September 1990

After the critical and commercial disappointment of Walking The Panther, LL COOL J is back on more typically outrageous form with his new album, Mama ...

Slayer: I Talked With A Zombie

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 29 September 1990

As Britain trembles with anticipation of the "Clash Of The Titans" tour, Ian Gittins meets the metal monsters and hears tales of death, despair and ...

Ride: Nowhere (Creation)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 6 October 1990

BEFORE WE start, one thing: 'Dreams Burn Down', eh? What a stormer! Breathtaking, sickening, walls collapsing all around you and oh look the gazelles are ...

The La's: Scouse Honour

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 13 October 1990

With rave reviews greeting their debut album release you'd think THE LA'S would be dead chuffed. So how come BOB STANLEY encounters a band drinking ...

Bleach (UK): Bleach: The Cube, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 October 1990

SWEET AND SCOUR ...

Jah Wobble's Arabian Knights

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 ...

The Pixies Facing The Fire Squad

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 November 1990

The pixies are the best band on the planet. Discuss. ...

Cranes: Indecent Obsessions

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 November 1990

YOU WANT TO know how I feel when I listen to Espero, the new three-track EP from Portsmouth's Cranes, right? You want to know whether ...

The Replacements

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 November 1990

This year, singer, downtrodden writer and all-round wasted boozer PAUL WESTERBERG has given up drinking, abandoned his band and is trying to look on the ...

L7: V is for Vixcore

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 1 December 1990

Are L7 really Californian white trash bitches from hell or is EVERETT TRUE just having another wet dream? It's best you read on... ...

Swervedriver: Chrome Sweet Chrome

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 1 December 1990

This year, Creation broke the mould and signed their very first kick-ass rock'n'roll animals – a hard-edged, bone-rattling death machine called SWERVEDRIVER. With their second ...

Butthole Surfers: The Butthole Surfers: Deeper & Down

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 8 December 1990

AFTER OVER A YEAR OF SILENCE, the Butthole Surfers have re-emerged only to suffer the indignity of being topical. With uncanny punctuality, their cover of ...

Nirvana: Heaven Can't Wait

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 ...

Vanilla Ice: Licensed To Chill

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 15 December 1990

Having enjoyed Number One success on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Ice Ice Baby', VANILLA ICE, on the eve off the release of his ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Glory Days

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 22 December 1990

1990 could well go down in the rock almanac as the year The Charlatans stole the initiative from The Stone Rose. While the figureheads of ...

Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey (CBS)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 Spring 1990

MARIAH CAREY is a very very pretty girl and she has a very very wonderful voice and her debut album is an absolute dog. Comparisons ...

Cop Shoot Cop: The Falcon, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

BANG TO RIGHTS ...

Edwyn Collins: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

THERE ARE those who hold that to fully appreciate the mastery of Edwyn Collins one should be fully conversant with every nuance of his decade-long ...

EMF: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

TRUE BELIEVERS ...

Mazzy Star: Give 'Em Enough Hope

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

Mazzy Star's debut album, She Hangs Brightly, was voted one of the Top Ten albums of 1990 by the Maker writers. This year they look ...

Chris Isaak: Only The Lonely: Chris Isaak: Wicked Game (WEA)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

"You can hold yourself back from the suffering of the world: this is something you are free to do and is in accord with your ...

Prefab Sprout: McAloony Tunes

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

Prefab Sprout's latest album, Jordan: The Comeback, was lavished with even more praise than their previous two classics, and their European dates are inspiring the ...

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 ...

Test Dept.: Test Department: Subterrania, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

A GUY strolls in playing bagpipes over the hymn 'Jerusalem'. Two more people arrive and pick up huge bass drums, the type you'd expect to ...

Blur, Soup Dragons: The Soup Dragons/Blur: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 5 January 1991

FASHION: the question is, do you follow it or skirt round it? It's picked the bill, filled the venue and dressed the punters. Ignore it ...

Denim: The Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

JEAN GENIUS ...

Dinosaur Jr.

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

After a year of rumours about Dinosaur splitting and retiring from music altogether, J Mascis finally returns with a major label contract, a new single, ...

Gang Starr: Step Into The Arena (Cooltempo)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

JAZZ U LIKE IT ...

Malcolm McLaren, The World Famous Supreme Team: Malcolm McLaren Presents The World Famous Supreme Team Show: Round The Outside! Round The Outside! (Virgin)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

BETWEEN '76 and '84, all sorts of well-intentioned people used to credit Malcolm McLaren with suss, wit, subversive intelligence and the enviable ability to manipulate ...

Silverfish: Fat Axl (Wiiija)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

HOOK, LINE AND STINKER ...

The Associates: Popera

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

ONCE UPON A time (the early '80s), there was something called "new pop". For about a year Morley's pipedream of a chartbusting music that combined ...

Frank Sinatra: The Godfather Of Swing: Frank Sinatra: The Capitol Years (Capitol)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 12 January 1991

"HEY KIDS, dig the first takes/Ain't that some interpretation/When Sinatra sings against Nelson Riddle strings/Then takes a vacation" (Van Morrison: 'Hard Nose The Highway') ...

Denim

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 19 January 1991

"I KNOW THAT this is the right time for Denim — I've spent a year plotting. It has to happen now." ...

Mark Eitzel: Dark Side of the Loon

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 26 January 1991

"YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER JUST LEFT. He made me laugh, he said Americans don't like having their photo taken and I'd better act for the camera. I ...

My Bloody Valentine: All Hail the Future!

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 26 January 1991

For three years, the Valentines were accused of being Mary Chain rip-offs, but the Top 40 hit Glider EP scotched that and now bands like ...

A Tribe Called Quest: Storm Warnings

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 2 February 1991

Besides achieving Top 20 success with their new single, 'Can I Kick It?, A Tribe Called Quest have also been heavily involved with the re-recording ...

Tanita Tikaram: Say Halo Wave Goodbye

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 9 February 1991

AS EVERY HAIRDRESSER worth their shears will tell you, a radical change of hairstyle usually heralds an equally radical shift of persona. Tanita Tikaram's new ...

Mercury Rev: Yerself Is Steam

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

AT LAST, one of those rare records that revolve along once in a blooming moon and have something new to struggle to say. You have ...

Crazy Horse, Neil Young, Sonic Youth: Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Sonic Youth: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

THE WILD FRONTIER ...

Soho: Goddess

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

TOO OFTEN Goddess falls lamely into Belinda Carlisle territory, still reeling from the fallout of the disco trance/dance pulse of the early Eighties. Too often ...

The KLF: Pranks for the Memory

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

They can't help having hits, they can't come to terms with fame and they can't keep out of trouble! DAVID STUBBS witnesses THE KLF's dawn ...

Throwing Muses: The Real Ramona

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

THIS IS pretty much exemplary. The best band on 4AD/ SnubTV Records by several million miles have finally come up with an album that kicks ...

Heavenly: The Satanic Verses

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 23 February 1991

WIDELY REVILED by the macho rock press in their previous incarnation as Talulah Gosh, Heavenly are trying to live down their former reputation for cuteness ...

The Lemonheads: The Longhorn, Stuttgart

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, March 1991

NICE CHAPS. I realise that this in itself isn't much of a recommendation when it comes to making music which fires the belly and fills ...

Scritti Politti: Intellectual Hooliganism

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 2 March 1991

"SO YOU USE the language of dreams and you toy around for the micropolitical effect of the goosebump. I like that – the goosebump as ...

Slowdive: Younger than Yesterday

Interview by Bob Stanley, Melody Maker, 2 March 1991

"A LOT OF BANDS are so precious about influences, thinking they're massively original. I don't think we are." ...

Ride, Slowdive: Forever Now: Ride/Slowdive: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 9 March 1991

RIDE, perhaps, are just too much. Too soon, too quick, too assured, too contemporary, too praised, too openly derivative to even be insulted by being ...

Throwing Muses: The Mayfair, Glasgow

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 March 1991

THE GIRL flogging copies of Ablaze! fanzine by the door got it right first time as I stumbled out trying to cope with my feelings ...

Fields Of The Nephilim: Graveyard Shifts: Fields Of The Nephilim

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 23 March 1991

Does the release of their new live album, Earth Inferno, mark the end of an era for Fields Of The Nephilim? Why does Carl McCoy ...

Massive Attack: Massive: Blue Lines (Circa)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 30 March 1991

RHAPSODY IN BLUE ...

Transvision Vamp: Wendy's Boat Comes In

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 March 1991

Shy, unassuming Wendy James and her pop terrorists TRANSVISION VAMP are back from a year's sabbatical with a new single and a big box of ...

The God Machine, The Rockingbirds, Silverfish, Sun Carriage, Th' Faith Healers, Therapy?: They Came, They Saw, They Camdened!

Report and Interview by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 6 April 1991

While all the major record company A&R men are scouring the country oop North for the next Happy Mondays, a revolution was spawned in Camden, ...

Ice Cube: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 13 April 1991

DRY ICE ...

The Doors: Jim Morrison: The Anatomy Of Madness

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 13 April 1991

This year's superstar is a bloated, bearded would-be poet who died 20 years ago. SIMON REYNOLDS investigates the dark influence and deep fascination JIM MORRISON ...

Adrian Sherwood, On-U Sound System: On-U Sound: Circus Attractions

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 13 April 1991

This week, the On-U Sound takes its show on the road with 36 acts and five hours of murderous rhythm every night. IAN GITTINS joined ...

The Lemonheads

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 13 April 1991

THEY'RE NOT doing themselves any favours, putting out another cover version. ...

Bleach (UK): Bleach: Camden Palace, London/Flip Your Wig, Brighton/Jericho Tavern, Oxford

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 April 1991

MAN OVERBOARD! ...

Alexander O'Neal: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 April 1991

YOU KNOW, I've never been laughed at by so many people for coming here tonight, to which I can only respond — your problem is ...

The Levellers: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 27 April 1991

EVERY TIME this band set foot on a stage they turn into more of a revelation. No mean feat, considering The Levellers spend their life ...

The Replacements: The Marquee, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 27 April 1991

SHAKEDOWN! ...

Bruce Springsteen: Palais Des Sports, Lyons, France

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 2 May 1991

COME ELECTION time, even the President of France must sometimes have to make speeches. And when the President makes a speech, nothing gets in his ...

AC/DC: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 4 May 1991

BRILLIANT, brilliant, f***ing brilliant!!! Ignore all those bands you read about in Sidelines: if you don't love AC/DC, you don't like Rock. They're that fundamental, ...

Blur: The Astoria, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 4 May 1991

RED ALERT ...

Curve: New Cold Dreams

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 4 May 1991

It's all happened very quickly for Curve. Six months ago, they were languishing in obscurity. Then their Blindfold EP turned them into Buzz Of The ...

The Doors: Paul Rothchild: Open Doors

Retrospective and Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 4 May 1991

As producer of nearly all of The Doors' albums, PAUL ROTHCHILD knew Morrison and the band better than anyone else. TOM DOYLE relives the invention ...

Happy Mondays, Jane's Addiction: Jane's Addiction/Happy Mondays: Madison Square Garden, NYC

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 11 May 1991

IT MUST HAVE seemed an inspired notion to pair these unabashed champions of drug culture, but inside sources tell me that it's turned out to ...

MC Hammer: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 May 1991

GOD OF THE HAMMERS ...

Gang Starr: Posse Galore

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 ...

The Orb: The Warehouse, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 18 May 1991

OUT OF ORBIT ...

The Real Milli Vanilli: The Moment Of Truth (Chrysalis)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 18 May 1991

QUICK, RESERVE me a large box with a photo and a pun! ...

De La Soul: Malice In Wonderland

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 May 1991

With their new album, De La Soul Is Dead, the founders of the hippy hop movement have turned their back on peace, love and positivity. ...

Manic Street Preachers Take No Prisoners!

Interview by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 1 June 1991

Guitarist Richey carving the words '4 REAL' into his forearm with a razorblade last week was just the latest stunt from this year's most contentious ...

Primal Scream

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1 June 1991

BOBBY GILLESPIE reckons that his new single, 'Higher Than The Sun', will revolutionise pop in the Nineties in the same way as the Pistols' 'Anarchy ...

Flowered Up: Moles, Bath

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 8 June 1991

BUDDING STARS ...

Pet Shop Boys: Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 June 1991

TENNANT'S EXTRA ...

The Fatima Mansions: Fatima Mansions: Limelight Club, Belfast

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 June 1991

ANGER, as at least one iconic sneer has already correctly asserted, is an energy. It stimulates, inspires, propels, compels. Our contemporary pop climate is, make ...

Hole

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 15 June 1991

CALIFORNIAN band HOLE sit around my Hollywood hotel room in various degrees of drunkenness. ...

James Brown: Startime

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 June 1991

THIS FOUR-CD mega-anthology reveals that there are actually two James Browns. The first is JB the patrician and patriarch: the disciplinarian who fined his musicians ...

Mercury Rev: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 June 1991

IT SEEMS LIKE A SMALL ETERNITY since indie America last puked up a truly ear-boggling band. The innovators of the late Eighties have become a ...

Anthrax, Public Enemy: Anthrax: Bohemian Rapsody

Interview by Neil Perry, Melody Maker, 22 June 1991

When metal meets rap in the form of ANTHRAX and CHUCK D, there's bound to be some trouble. NEIL PERRY hears about the fight for ...

Killing Joke: Armageddon Outta Here

Report and Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 22 June 1991

The millennium is coming and Jaz Coleman is waiting. On the eve of the Joke's latest UK tour, he talks to CAROL CLERK about white ...

Kirsty MaCcoll: Electric Landlady (Virgin)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 22 June 1991

VERILY AND forsooth, but there is no mess sorrier than that made by the naturally supremely agile coming a clumsy cropper. ...

Vanilla Ice: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 6 July 1991

WHAT IS IT that makes Vanilla Ice simultaneously a great among pop's icons and one of its classic punchlines? I suspect it's the Robert Van ...

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 ...

Consolidated

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 13 July 1991

CONSOLIDATED ARE the new militants of American rock. Their debut album, The Myth Of Rock, agitated against rock’s regressive impotence, its spurious rebellion and disengagement ...

The Cranberries: Old Trout, Windsor

Live Review by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 13 July 1991

ONE DAY, quite soon maybe, you'll get to hear the whole story. Part of it will be about how one sophisticated London gent took it ...

Chapterhouse: Pillow Talk

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 20 July 1991

Into the dressing room of the Manchester International comes a figure in tight yellow tartan flares. "The chicks love these strides, man. Ha ha. Anyone ...

GWAR Is Hell: GWAR: The Dome, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 July 1991

THE IDEA BEING THAT the bloke in the spiked chainmail and extended cod-piece gets to chop off the heads off all his various enemies — ...

Kraftwerk: Barrowlands, Glasgow

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 20 July 1991

THEY SMILE. That's the first surprise. Dressed in black, the four Kraftwerk-ers briskly stride on stage to take their places behind the giant computer consoles ...

L.F.O.: LFO

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 20 July 1991

LFO are a perfect example of the kind of thing that makes fogeys furious. They hit the charts from nowhere while still in their teens, ...

Manic Street Preachers: Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 20 July 1991

CAN YOU FEEL IT? A creeping paralysis accompanying every advance in the obese accumulation of "good music", a seeping slide into the mire of eclecticism. ...

Morrissey: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 27 July 1991

THE LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT ...

The Orb, Primal Scream, Andrew Weatherall: Primal Scream: The Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 August 1991

KNOCKED OUT LOADED ...

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 ...

Bomb The Bass: Unknown Territory (Rhythm King)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 17 August 1991

WE NEED a new category – something like "progressive dance", or prog funk – to describe the new post-aciieed groups like 808 Slate, Bass-O-Matic and ...

Spiritualized: Young, Gifted and Tongue-Tied

Interview by Jim Arundel, Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 17 August 1991

JASON PIERCE is the man who makes Marcel Marceau seem positively gobby. You'd get more anecdotes out of a house-brick, they told us as we ...

AC/DC, The Black Crowes, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Queensrÿche: AC/DC, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Queensrÿche, Black Crowes: Monsters of Rock, Castle Donington, Leicestershire

Live Review by Neil Perry, Melody Maker, 24 August 1991

METAL FATIGUE ...

Mercury Rev

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 24 August 1991

MERCURY REV's debut album has been hailed as one of the albums of the year. SIMON REYNOLDS talks to the band in New York about ...

Sonic Youth: Young At Art

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 24 August 1991

As they prepare for their appearance at this weekend's Reading Festival, Veteran art rock terrorists talk to Johnny Robb ...

Slowdive: Dive Bomb: Slowdive: Just For A Day (Creation)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 31 August 1991

WHEN SLOWDIVE gave us their astonishingly lovely eponymous debut single in last December, it sounded, to these ears at least, like the most auspicious debut ...

All About Eve: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 7 September 1991

EVE ANGELICAL ...

EMF: Cornwall Coliseum, St Austell

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 7 September 1991

BELIEVABLE! ...

Guns N' Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Skid Row: Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, Nine Inch Nails: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 7 September 1991

APPETITE FOR INSURRECTION ...

PJ Harvey: White Horse, Hampstead, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 7 September 1991

THIS TIME next year you're going to wonder how you lived without PJ Harvey. It sounds clichéd, I know, but even the toughest Maker boys ...

The Cranberries: The Underworld, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 7 September 1991

FRUIT OF THE GLOOM ...

Electronic — Beat Surrender

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 14 September 1991

WITH THE RELEASE of 'Feel Every Beat' from Electronic's highly acclaimed debut album, Paul Lester meets Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr to discuss sadness, sexiness, ...

Nirvana: Nevermind (DGC)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 14 September 1991

HEAVEN UP HERE ...

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 ...

Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I (Geffen)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

THERE'S TWO schools of thought about Guns N'Roses. For some they're "the most dangerous band in the world"; for others, their brand of "danger" is ...

Nine Inch Nails: International 2, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

LOOSE SCREWS ...

Pavement: CBGB'S, New York NY

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

CURRENTLY THE focus of much cultish enthusiasm, Pavement exemplify all that's groovy and all that's grievous about American underground rock right now. ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Pumpkin Iron

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

SMASHING PUMPKINS look set to continue the trail-blazing guitar magic first pioneered by Jane's Addiction. CATHI UNSWORTH discovers why the Chicago-based band think Prince should ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Underworld, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

AMERICAN bands are popular because they come over here and kick serious ass. Smashing Pumpkins are from Chicago and they prove more than our expectations ...

Julian Joseph, Sun Ra: Sun Ra, Julian Joseph: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

HAVING accelerated towards a state of whiteout in the late Sixties with the antics of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra, a state beyond ...

British Electric Foundation, Scritti Politti: Green Gartside and B.E.F.

Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 5 October 1991

BEF (THE PART-TIME preoccupation of former Heaven 17 bods second Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh) have just released a Music Of Quality and Distinction ...

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 ...

Miles Davis 1926-1991

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 October 1991

JAZZ TRUMPETER Miles Davis, who died last week in Santa Monica, was a 20th century genius on a par with Picasso in that he was ...

Public Enemy

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 12 October 1991

What’s the bond between rap and metal? What’s the ‘black holocaust’? Why are Public Enemy angrier than ever? SIMON REYNOLDS meets CHUCK D to discover ...

The Field Mice

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 12 October 1991

DETERMINEDLY INDIE and doggedly downbeat, The Field Mice explain to Dave Simpson how they're getting bigger by staying small. ...

The House Of Love's Guy Chadwick

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 October 1991

If there was ever any doubt that it’s tough at the top, one need only look at what happened to GUY CHADWICK. Feted, eulogized, deified ...

Stereolab

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 26 October 1991

Stereolab are onstage. There are seven of them tonight; five male (two guitars, bass, drums and keyboard) and two female (singing). They are supporting, so ...

Talk Talk: Tech Talk

Interview by Cliff Jones, Melody Maker, 26 October 1991

For every minute of music you hear on TALK TALK'S new album, Laughing Stock, there's an hour of music abandoned. CLIFF JONES talks to MARK ...

The Cranberries: Eire To The Crown

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 October 1991

After months of anticipation, the Cranberries are finally releasing their debut single. Everett True travelled to Limerick to find out more about the much-heralded Irish ...

My Bloody Valentine: Loveless (Creation)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 November 1991

VALENTINE DAZE ...

Nirvana: Station To Devastation

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 November 1991

On their recent European tour, Seattle's masters of chaos, Nirvana, managed to set their tour bus alight, upset the Pogues and The Ramones, piss into ...

Slayer: Always Crashing In The Same Carnage

Interview by Neil Perry, Melody Maker, 9 November 1991

Are SLAYER Satanic High Priests who revel in gore or misunderstood philanthropists to a nihilistic generation? NEIL PERRY joins them in the London Dungeon and ...

Hole: California Screaming

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 23 November 1991

From out of Nowhere, California, to topping the English independent charts and headlining London, HOLE have been one of the year's most talked-about bands. A laughable hangover of the post-Sub Pop ...

Michael Jackson: Dangerous (Epic)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 30 November 1991

KING OF FLOP ...

Hole: Whole Lotta Love: Hole: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 30 November 1991

WHAT THE F*** is happening now? ...

Nirvana: Kilburn National, London

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, December 1991

THE ONLY EXPLANATION is that a lot of people didn't realise how angry and alienated they really were. Once in a blue moon, a group ...

Shut Up and Dance: Raving Mad

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." ...

William Orbit/Bassomatic: Inner Space

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 4 January 1992

It's four in the afternoon, which is a bit early in the day for William Orbit, especially as he awoke with a migraine. ...

Babes In Toyland: The Astoria, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 January 1992

IF WE'RE TO have anger in rock, then let it boil like this. Babes In Toyland's fury is intimidating. They were never more than a ...

Suede: Underworld, Camden, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 11 January 1992

OH MY WORD. Proud survivors of a transformation, Suede stalk the Underworld stage like a snarling, growling rock beast. Now one guitarist lighter, they've compensated ...

Therapy?: Three-Prong Attack

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 11 January 1992

The terrible trio from Belfast tell CATHI UNSWORTH all about their new Pleasure Death LP and why they are fascinated by the sound of vacuum ...

Des'ree: Positive Vibrations

Interview by Sally Margaret Joy, Everett True, Melody Maker, 18 January 1992

She's the complete antithesis of the rock'n'roll bitch from hell. She is inspired and inspirational, optimistic in a climate of despair. She draws her strength ...

Jonathan Richman: Having A Party With… (Cheree)

Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 18 January 1992

SINCE Modern Lovers '88, Richman's career appears to have run to seed, each subsequent release an ever fainter reminder of the days when his idiosyncratic ...

Anthrax, Public Enemy: Read My Apocalypse: Public Enemy/Anthrax: The Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 18 January 1992

IF POWER is a turn-on and intelligence is an aphrodisiac, then Public Enemy are surely one of the sexiest groups on the planet. ...

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. ...

Manic Street Preachers: Drags to Riches

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 25 January 1992

Sacrilege! The Manics are re-releasing a single! SIMON PRICE watches the Welsh wastrels get all tarted up for a video and gives them grief over ...

Pearl Jam: Sticky Fingers

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 25 January 1992

Inspired by the boundless, new American rock of Nirvana and Soundgarden, PEARL JAM explain to CATHI UNSWORTH why their primitive approach is the way to ...

Teenage Fanclub: Club Rules

Interview by Cliff Jones, Melody Maker, 1 February 1992

When Teenage Fanclub step into the studio, the rules are simple: use old guitars, old amps and old recording equipment "to make a record we ...

The Sugarcubes: Joyriders On The Storm

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 1 February 1992

"The shock of the renewed" is how ANDREW MUELLER magnificently greets Stick Around For Joy, The 'Cubes' return to the forefront of the fray. Hang ...

Daniel Johnston: Tell Laurie I Love Her: Daniel Johnston: Artistic Vice (Shimmydisc)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992

"EVERYTHING is so much better/Now that we are back together/I did what I had/To make you mine" ('I Feel So High') ...

Chumbawamba: 69 Club, Wolverhampton

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992

CHUMBAWAMBA leap on stage and say "We're Chumbawamba and we're from Leeds". ...

Ian McCulloch: Africa Centre, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992

SO MAC'S BACK. Again. ...

PJ Harvey: Sex and Bile and Rock and Roll

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992

IT'S SUNDAY AFTERNOON, grey and bitter and it looks like rain. Your flatmate, Lisa, and her gangly boyfriend, Ben, are in her room. They're burning ...

The Divine Comedy

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992

SETANTA HAS PROVED to be a prolific nurturing ground for new talent lately, with acts like Power of Dreams, Into Paradise and the Frank and ...

The Nymphs: Nymphs: The Asylum Siren

Report and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 February 1992

When singer Inger Lorre first heard Patti Smith, she knew she had to become a rock'n'roll star. When she heard the Velvet's 'Heroin'. She got ...

PM Dawn: The Reality Gap

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 15 February 1992

They've been nominated for a Brits award as Best International Newcomers, and their new single, 'Reality Used To Be A friend Of Mine', is a ...

Pearl Jam: Fjord Fiestas

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 20 February 1992

Like Nirvana and Jane's Addiction before them, PEARL JAM look set to become this year's big US rock event. With Top 20 single 'Alive', they've ...

Shakespears Sister: Idol Fantasies

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 20 February 1992

With their single, 'Stay', high in the charts and their astonishing video fuelling pub conversation throughout the land, PAUL LESTER meets SHAKESPEAR'S SISTER, learns about ...

Massive Attack: Wheeling In The Years

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 22 February 1992

BRITAIN IS CRAP, we decide over lunch in a Bristol restaurant where we're waiting for Massive Attack. The food is cold, the service is virtually ...

Primal Scream: The Ritz, New York NY

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 29 February 1992

Days Of Future Past ...

Ride: We Can Be Zeroes: Ride: Going Blank Again (Creation)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 29 February 1992

AND YOU THOUGHT Nowhere was one of the worst album titles of all time! You almost have to hand it to them for having the ...

Chic: Le Freak Scenes

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 14 March 1992

As massive an influence on modern dance as Kraftwerk and James Brown, CHIC have finally come back after years producing records for likes of Madonna ...

Curve: The Bend Of The World As We Know It

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 March 1992

Their single 'Faît Accompli' is storming the Top 20, their debut album's waiting to make a bigger splash and even John Lydon likes them. Is ...

Gallon Drunk: Tonite... The Singles Bar (Clawfist)

Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 16 March 1992

ONE FOR THE ROAD ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Lost In Spice

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 21 March 1992

CATHI UNSWORTH travelled to Liverpool to join the Peppers on their current UK tour and found out just how the band's mammoth jaunt around the ...

Soundgarden: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 March 1992

CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP, swallow swallow grimace. The sound of a music journalist eating his own words. Good job my writing's normally so tasteful. Yum. Gobble ...

Barry White: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 28 March 1992

BARRY WHITE has based an entire career on his notion of himself as a 100-horsepower love machine. ...

Lou Reed: The Velvet Undertaker: Lou Reed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 28 March 1992

A CURSORY listen to Lou's latest, Magic And Loss, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tragic Old Toss might have been a better title. ...

Primal Scream: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 4 April 1992

BOBBY DAZZLER ...

Curve, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Shakespears Sister: Alan Moulder: Alan Be Praised!

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 18 April 1992

As the man behind Curve, Ride, the Valentines, JAMC and more, producer ALAN MOULDER doesn't seem to be able to put a button-pushing finger wrong. ...

Flowered Up: Crocus Pocus

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 ...

Saint Etienne

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 April 1992

THE PRODUCT ...

L7: Astoria, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, May 1992

L'S BELLES ...

Metallica: The Lords of Loud

Report and Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992

Ever since 'Enter Sandman' crashed into Top 10s around the world, Metallica have been reaping the dividends of a decade of scorched earth-style metal. CATHI ...

Ofra Haza: Kirya (eastwest)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992

IGGY POP? As if Eldritch wasn't unlikely enough — Iggy f***ing Pop? This lady's agent doesn't lack imagination. What next? A guest spot with GG ...

David Bowie, Def Leppard, Extreme, Bob Geldof, Guns N' Roses, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Metallica, George Michael, Liza Minnelli, Robert Plant, Spinal Tap, Lisa Stansfield: Various Artists: The Freddie Mercury Tribute, Concert For Aids Awareness, Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992

IT'S, UH, KINDA TRAGIC ...

Leatherface: Minx (Roughneck)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 8 May 1992

WHEN DID it happen? When did Frankie Stubbs, gravel-gargling bruiser with a heart of gold, relinquish his past as an underdog-for-all seasons, and become a ...

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 ...

Jane Siberry: Rhyme and Seasons

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

"It's not art, it's a power struggle. It captures me and I capture it back," says Jane Siberry at the start of one of her, ...

Radiohead: Totally wireless

Interview by John Harris, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

Fresh outta Oxford come RADIOHEAD hoping to use the might of a major label to get their guitar squall onto the air-waves and squeeze out ...

PJ Harvey, Stereolab, Th' Faith Healers: Stereolab: Switched On; Th' Faith Healers: L' (Too Pure); Various Artists: Too Pure — The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

PURE POP FOR NOW PEOPLE ...

Suede: Afrika Centre, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

THOSE OF you by now wearied of the periodic meanders up the garden path you have made at this paper's behest will read this, as ...

They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18 (Elektra)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

THE COVER features a squid, a satellite and a whale. Yup, They Might Be Grating are back. Think of all the ugliest expletives you could ...

Adamski: Naughty (MCA)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

HE'D HAD his day almost the moment he appeared, hadn't he? ...

Aphex Twin: Double trouble

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

He's a wild ravin' boffin who makes all his own instruments. He's THE APHEX TWIN and he's Techno's first maverick genius. According to ANDREW SMITH, ...

Baby Ford: BFORD9 (Transglobal)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

NAPPY TALK ...

Birdland: New Cross Venue, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

LET ME tell you a story. The last time I saw Birdland, they filled the Brixton Academy (the support band were some bunch of nohopers ...

Bomb The Bass, Brand New Heavies: Waterfront, Norwich

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

THE FIRST live appearance by Bomb The Bass since the Gulf War temporarily rendered theirs the least diplomatic and commercially astute moniker extant is delayed ...

D:Ream: JFK Bar, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

WHILE DAVID "Headhunter" Mellor is never likely to draw himself away from rucking at footy and quaffing at the opera for long enough to acknowledge ...

Derrick May & Associates: Relics (Transmat/Buzz)

Review by Push, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

MAY'S DAZE ...

Gang Starr: Daily Operation (Cooltempo)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

FURTHER AND further out we go... ...

L7: Maiden LA

Report and Interview by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

To get on L7's shitlist, all you have to do is be a member of the Moral Majority or dis women. To get off the ...

Melissa Etheridge: Never Enough (Island)

Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

OH OH. Bare flesh alert. In an unintentional but uncanny facsimile of PJ Harvey's NME cover shot, Melissa Etheridge stands on her album sleeve in ...

Saint Etienne: St Etienne: Brighton Centre East Wing

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

KITSCH OF DISTINCTION ...

Tracy Chapman: Matters Of The Heart (Elektra)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 16 May 1992

I'M ALWAYS prepared to be surprised. I like surprises, me. If, for example, Tracy Chapman made an album — not a terrifically surprising event in ...

Arrested Development: 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of... (Cooltempo)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992

IMPOUND WE TRUST ...

The Fatima Mansions: Fatima Mansions: Valhalla Avenue (Kitchenware)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992

THOR BLIMEY ...

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, ...

Stereolab: Peng! (Too Pure)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992

STEREOLAB, to me, were always one of those anonymous State Of The Art bands which so needlessly cluttered up the pages of the music press, ...

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: The Riot Stuff

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 23 May 1992

An uneasy truce hangs over America in the aftermath of the LA riots. Is there worse to come or has the anger, for the moment, ...

Bikini Kill: Revolution Girl Style Now (Bikini Kill)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

"Stop the j-word jealousy from killing girl love/Encourage in the face of insecurity." (Bikini Kill) ...

Faith No More: Angel Dust (Slash)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

AND "DUST" IS FOR ALL ...

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 ...

Guns N' Roses: Guns N'Roses: Knockin' On Britain's Door

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

As GUNS N'ROSES' gigantic European tour kicks in and their single, 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door' storms the Number One slot, the most talked-about band in ...

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 ...

Spectrum: Soul Kiss (Silvertone)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

SONIC: THE EDGE HOG ...

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

HIP HOP HOORAY ...

Tom Waits: Night On Earth (Island)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 May 1992

NOT A new album as such, but the soundtrack to the new Jim Jarmusch movie, which stars, among others, Winona Ryder, Giancarlo Esposito and Beatrice ...

The Fatima Mansions, Microdisney, U2: Fatima Mansions: Putting the Catalan among the pigeons

Report and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 6 June 1992

What can CATHAL COUGHLAN and BONO possibly have in common? ANDREW MUELLER flew to Barcelona to discover why the acerbic lead singer decided to support ...

Gathering of the Tribes

Report by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 6 June 1992

Castlemorton was the site of the biggest illegal rave to date. But, as SIMON REYNOLDS discovered, it was only a prelude to what's to come ...

U2: Let There Be Satellite: U2: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 6 June 1992

THE ROOM IS SPINNING. U2 are detonating 'Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World'. Bono, doing a passable imitation of the Lord's Anointed, swanks ...

Soundgarden: Horticulture-Shock

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 6 June 1992

Soundgarden provide proof positive that you can be a successful metal band without being sexist and racist dickheads. Seattle's finest have already conquered the US ...

Buffalo Tom, Pavement, Sebadoh: Buffalo Tom/Pavement/Sebadoh: The Cattle Club, Sacramento

Live Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

ERIC IS STRANDED alone onstage behind his drum kit. Sebadoh have been announced but it's clear that the rest of the band aren't even in ...

Galliano: The Event, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

JUST WHAT is it that's kept Galliano out of the charts? The Occult? Dodgy bar codes? Freak weather conditions? Every other funker, from the Young ...

Michael Brook: Zoo Aquarium, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

MICHAEL BROOK is a Canadian music theorist with an impressive list of past collaborators. He's worked with Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, U2 and Sinead O'Connor, ...

Radiohead: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

THEY'RE ALL elbows and angst, are Radiohead. They want to gouge their mark so deep into us yet don't truly know How To Do It. ...

Suede: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

PRETENTIOUS? CHAMOIS? ...

The La's, The Popguns, Spitfire, The Sultans of Ping FC: The La's, Sultans Of Ping FC, Spitfire, The Popguns: Sussex University Carnival, Falmer

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

SOMETHING HAS to happen to the Popguns soon. I've never pretended they were great favourites of mine, but every time I hear them, I'm taken ...

Derrick May: Godfather of Techno: Derrick May

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 June 1992

These are weird times for techno. It dominates the chart and provides the soundtrack to thousands of blissed-out lives, but there are battles building up ...

Inner City, Kevin Saunderson: Inner City

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 20 June 1992

"DETROIT IS in a bad way. Recession, depression, whatever you wanna call it. There's a lot of crime, a lot of people out of jobs. ...

Prince and the New Power Generation: Sporthalle, Hamburg

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 June 1992

Prince and the New Power Generation arrive in Britain this week to play a record stint of Earl's Court. SIMON PRICE taught the great man ...

The Lemonheads: It's A Shame About Ray

Review by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 26 June 1992

WHAT DO THE Lemonheads want from you? Unlike Nirvana, who want to raise your awareness, or Buffalo Tom, who want you to feel the hurt, ...

Deee-Lite: Dreams Burn Down

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 June 1992

DEEE-LITE are daffy, kooky, Day-glo disco dollies who put the fun into funk. Or are they? PAUL LESTER finds out. ...

The Family Cat: Furthest From The Sun

Review by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 27 June 1992

"BUT AT LEAST they're enthusiastic," winced my conscience after I'd been rendered spiritually paraplegic by this album after the fifth listen and had to bite ...

Belly: Colonic Youth

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 4 July 1992

Tanya Donnelly and I have met before. She was a nervous, skittish platinum blonde then who kept leaving the room to be ill, clutching her ...

Inner City: Praise (Ten)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 4 July 1992

JUST LIKE KEVIN ...

Moose: XYZ

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 July 1992

YOU KNOW, MAYBE the Scene wasn’t so bad after all. Sure, it churned out rapture by rote, but grunge has similarly turned rage into a ...

Arrested Development: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 11 July 1992

THE PROPS: wooden trunks and barrels. Suspiciously trim sacks marked "Beans", "Wheat", "Coffee". An olde-style Western Pacific railway board and a steamboat placard. A clothesline ...

Evan Dando, The Lemonheads: Lemonheads

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 July 1992

JULIANA SCREAMS. SHE SOUNDS PETULANT, ANNOYED FRUSTRATED: "I JUST WANT A BIT PART IN YOUR LIFE! I JUST WANT A BIT PART IN YOUR LIFE!" ...

Nirvana: 'In My Head, I'm So Ugly'

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 18 July 1992

In the frankest and most comprehensive interview he's given since Nevermind blasted Nirvana into the rock super league, Kurt Cobain talks to EVERETT TRUE in ...

Pavement: Some Enchanted Evenings

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 18 July 1992

The post-Nirvana deluge of grunge guitar bands is threatening to stifle rock. Only a handful of genuine mavericks and freaks are holding out against the ...

Spinal Tap: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 July 1992

THE VERTEBRATE ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE ...

Nirvana: Come As You Aren’t: Nirvana at Isle Of Calf Festival, Oslo

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 25 July 1992

THEY DON'T DESERVE THIS. Forget any reports you may have heard that rock is alive and kicking. The world’s only credible arena rock band is ...

Nirvana: Crucified by Success?

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 25 July 1992

In the second part of his exclusive NIRVANA interview, Everett True meets the band in Stockholm and finds Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl ...

Urge Overkill: Life Is A Dry Martini

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 25 July 1992

Chicago's URGE OVERKILL are so cool, they don't even sweat. Some dunderheads think they they're a retro joke, but Dean Martin's a fan of their ...

Throwing Muses: Red Heaven

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 August 1992

"I DON'T have a driving ambition to be famous myself but I think the songs would eat me alive if I didn't let them go." ...

Bob Mould, Sugar: Sugar: Big Rock Candy Mountain

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 8 August 1992

Sugar are Bob Mould's New Band. Bob Mould used to be in Husker Du. Without Husker Du, maybe Nirvana would never have happened. Andrew Mueller ...

Michael Jackson: The Man In The Mirror (hyuk, hyuk): Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Sally Margaret Joy, Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 August 1992

WE'VE SEEN JESUS, kids. And he ain't a pretty sight. ...

Ice Cube, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Lush, Ministry, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Lollapalooza 2: One Nation Under a Groove

Report by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 August 1992

It's Glastonbury on wheels, a mobile Reading, the lovechild and legacy of ex-Jane's Addiction frontman and all-round chap, Perry Farrell. It's LOLLAPALOOZA, in its second ...

Ian Dury, Flowered Up, Madness, Morrissey: Superannuation Terrorists: Madness/Morrissey/Ian Dury & The Blockheads/Flowered Up: Finsbury Park, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 August 1992

THE TEE-SHIRT READS "Madstock"; the reality sporadically veers from such cheery celebration. Somewhere in the fun and the frolics, the grubbiness of moronicism smears the ...

3rd Bass, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Brand New Heavies, Gang Starr, Jamalski, Kool G Rap, Main Source, The Pharcyde: The Brand New Heavies: Rapper's Delight

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 ...

Therapy?: The People's Champions

Report and Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 15 August 1992

Last year, it was Nirvana who stole the show at Reading and look where they are now — topping the bloody bill, that's where. This ...

808 State: Madchester United

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 22 August 1992

The city's clubs are being dosed down by violence, the scene has fragmented and the music's moved on. ANDREW SMITH visits the new 808 STATE ...

Mudhoney: In Seattle there is? Mudhoney

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 22 August 1992

NIRVANA may have niched the sales, Soundgarden may have filched the fans, Pearl Jam may have plundered the plaudits but if you really wanna get ...

L7: Babes In Boyland

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 29 August 1992

In last week's Great Metal Debate, L7 just couldn't f***en believe there are people out there so moronic that they can't tell these gals from ...

Suede: What's a Nice Band Like You Doing in a Field Like This?

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 29 August 1992

Since we scooped the lot and put SUEDE on the cover of MM back in April, the world has started falling at their feet. SIMON ...

Bjorn Again: Tribute Bands: Send In The Clones

Report by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 29 August 1992

What the hell's going on? BJORN AGAIN are on at Reading, ABBA are more popular than they have been for years and tribute bands devoted ...

Carmel: Good News (EastWest)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

HOW DOES one combine good taste in all its repulsive manifestations with the desire to expose corruption and general street-level decay? F*** knows, but Carmel, ...

Happy Mondays: Yes Please! (Factory)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

NO THANKS ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: The Looks Or The Lifestyle (RCA)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

POPPIE CROCK ...

Brand New Heavies: The Brand New Heavies: Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1 (Acid Jazz)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 5 September 1992

YES! WHAT a brilliant simple, obvious idea! Why, you Have to wonder, has nobody thought of it before. Well, somebody did; a crew name of ...

Bark Psychosis: Ghosts In The Machine

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 26 September 1992

0 minutes 01 seconds 'Scum' begins. ...

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Axe of Faith

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 September 1992

THE DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY don't piss about like most groups who claim to be 'political'. The Disposables just get on down and do something ...

Leatherface, Therapy?: Therapy?, Leatherface: The Grand, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 3 October 1992

BALM BEFORE THE STORM ...

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. ...

Marc Almond: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 10 October 1992

NIGHT IN SHINING AMOUR ...

The Shamen: Up Yer Arsenal!

Report by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 October 1992

Fiddling with their jockstraps, lacing up their boots, THE SHAMEN face the Gooners at Highbury and come away with a 0-0 draw. DAVID STUBBS joins ...

Saint Etienne: St Etienne: Let's Be Avenue!

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 17 October 1992

I wanted to talk to St Etienne because I don't like their records as much as everyone else seems to. I don't believe that they're ...

The Shamen: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 17 October 1992

CHAS N'RAVE ...

Gallon Drunk: Pissed as Beauts

Profile and Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992

They've put quiffs and Hawaiian shirts back on the map. They've been compared favourably to the mighty Birthday Party. They like making one mutha of ...

Madonna: Erotica (Maverick)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992

PORN TO RUN ...

Neneh Cherry: Homebrew (Circa)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992

CHERRY BOMB ...

The Orb: Sphere and Loathing

Report and Interview by Push, Melody Maker, 24 October 1992

THE ORB are on the road and mayhem reigns. PUSH joins in the jollities ...

Denim: Jean Genius!

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 7 November 1992

Lawrence (no surname) spent the Eighties in "art underground" band, Felt. Now he's back in DENIM, with a record crammed full of Seventies pop hooks ...

Pavement: Fasten Your Safety Belts And Assume Crash Positions. We Are Now Entering The Terminally Strange World Of... Pavement

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 14 November 1992

Their brilliant abstract guitar pop has lit up the year like a beacon of unpredictable genius and their new 'Watery, Domestic' single is another glorious ...

Ministry: Live at the End of the World!

Report and Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 November 1992

The Lollapalooza tour and the Psalm 69 album have turned MINISTRY into industrial metal superstars, the only band of their kind big enough to play ...

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: The Disposable Heroes Of Hipoprisy: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail

Report and Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 14 November 1992

Last week's American election was the most dramatic in recent history. For the first time in a generation, there was a chance that the Republicans ...

Big Black: Steve Albini: Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 21 November 1992

Big Black (1981-1987) were one of the most influential bands of the Eighties. Industrial music, 'skronk' rock, New York noisecore, British indiepop, Nirvana, Ministry, Suede, ...

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 28 November 1992

CHANNEL ZERO. Middle-class family with airbrushed children steps out of a Volvo. Mother takes one look at me and shouts "You need Jesus!" Torn between ...

A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, New Order: Factory R.I.P.

Report by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 December 1992

FACTORY RECORDS, arguably the most influential record label of the Eighties, fell into the hands of the Receiver last week — after months of speculation ...

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 Auteurs: A Novel Approach

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 5 December 1992

Failed ice-cream man Luke Haines of the Auteurs wants to rescue you from mindless grunge, and sees his heart-stopping new single, 'Showgirl', as a mini-screenplay. ...

Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love: All You Need Is Love: Face to Face with Kurt and Courtney

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 19 December 1992

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love are the most controversial rock couple since Sid and Nancy. Critics of their relationship have cast Courtney as a scheming, ...

Pulp: Lower Refectory, Sheffield University, Yorkshire

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 19 December 1992

IT HASN'T BEEN a great year for the pop iconoclast. For most of '92, prime movers from Ashcroft to Robinson have defined themselves by the ...

The Cure: Robert Smith's Wish List

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 December 1992

FIFTEEN years on, THE CURE are post-punk's hardy perennial. Of all their peers, they're virtually alone in making it to stadium level without pandering or ...

Jamiroquai

Report and Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1993

AFTER LESS than a year in the recording business, Jason Kay, the man who is Jamiroquai, has developed an understanding with the press. They are ...

James: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 2 January 1993

LAUD JIM! ...

Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love: Kurt and Courtney: Love and hate and the whole damned thing

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 January 1993

In the concluding part of our exclusive interview, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love attempt to explain the truth behind their controversial relationship and how distorted ...

Uncle Tupelo: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 2 January 1993

RELATIVE VALUES ...

Brand New Heavies: Town & Country Club, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993

MY MOTHER warned me about getting into cars with strangers. Perhaps she should have also told me about the dangers of accepting voyages into strange ...

Compton's Most Wanted: Music To Drive By (Epic)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993

LAST TRAIN TO SOUTH-CENTRAL ...

Flowered Up: Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993

STEM'S THE BREAKS ...

Ride: Smile (Creation)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993

PERHAPS MORE than any of their contemporaries, Ride encapsulate all that is right and wrong with the English music scene as she now is, or ...

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?" ...

Free Kitten: Question: Whaddya Get if you Cross Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth with Julie Cafritz of Pussey Galore? Answer: Free Kitten

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 16 January 1993

FREE KITTENEXACTLY 12 MONTHS AGO, blonde terrorist Kim Gordon of avant-grungers Sonic Youth and white panther Julie Cafritz, once the glamour and guitars in Pussy ...

Belly: Star (4AD)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 23 January 1993

A Womb Of Their Own ...

Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur Jr: Where You Been (Blanco Y Negro)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 23 January 1993

TYRANNOSAURUS WRECKS ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: We're Not Serious Artists

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 23 January 1993

THE GIGTHE FIRST-TIME I see Pop Will Eat Itself, It is nine o'clock on Wednesday, Clint is wearing baggy white pyjamas, Graham is fiddling with ...

Radiohead: ULU, London

Live Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 23 January 1993

TRANSISTOR LOVERS ...

Front 242: Live Target (Guzzi)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993

LET ME hear you say thud. Now let me hear you say it for 74 minutes. Hold it there. That'll do. How much do you ...

Jamiroquai: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993

JAZZ, FOR FUNK'S SAKE! ...

Superchunk: On The Mouth (City Slang)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993

KISS THIS ...

Ween: Pure Guava (Elektra)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 January 1993

NOTES FROM the underground... ...

Stereo MCs: High and Mighty: The irresistible rise of Stereo MCs

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 6 February 1993

Are they Prince times six? A Sly & The Family Stone for the Nineties? The best "new" dance band in Britain? ANDREW SMITH flies to ...

Wendy James: This Year's Model: The Second Coming of Wendy James

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 6 February 1993

The last time we spoke to WENDY JAMES, she made a lot of typically outrageous claims for herself. She would be the biggest name in ...

Dr. Dre: The Chronic (Atlantic)

Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 20 February 1993

IT'S OFTEN been said that if NWA's last LP had a saving grace, it was Dr Dre's eerie and innovative production work. As far as ...

Radiohead: Pablo Honey

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 February 1993

THEY SAY we're repressed, us Brits, don't they? So the cliché goes — brilliantly personified by the encounter between Basil and Mme Peignoir in the ...

Huggy Bear: The Revolution…

Comment by Everett True, Melody Maker, 27 February 1993

Ever since HUGGY BEAR released their debut EP, Rubbing The Impossible To Burst, the band have been educating, irritating and agitating with their confrontational "girl ...

Blood Sausage, Huggy Bear, Linus: Huggy Bear: Will Not Be Televised!

Report by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 27 February 1993

friday 9.40pm: one of the herd at The Word ...

PM Dawn: Get Blissed, Destroy

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 27 February 1993

Reality used to be a friend of theirs — now PM DAWN, the world's leading manufacturers of delicious hip hop soul, hate it with a ...

Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear: Huggy Bear/Bikini Kill: Our Troubled Youth/Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! (Catcall)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 6 March 1993

REBEL GRRRLS ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: At Weird's Bar And Grill (RCA)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 6 March 1993

SURPRISE, SURPRISE. The point of a Pop Will Eat Itself gig (of which this is a record) isn't, God forbid, the music, it's the sense ...

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

Live Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 6 March 1993

WHAM BAM, THANK YOU, GLAM! ...

Ice-T: Home Invasion (Rhyme Syndicate)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ...

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 ...

Pavement: Surreally Saying Something

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

In America, pavement don't seem any more surreal than drive-in burger joints, gun-toting grocers and Manhattan cable TV. ...

Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear: Riot Grrrl: The Riot Girls And Bender Boys Tour

Profile and Interview by Sally Margaret Joy, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

It really is happening! The Daily Star said so! Yup, one year after The Maker first reported on this new phenomenon, the whole world has ...

Stereolab: Space Age Bachelor Pad Music (Too Pure)

Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

"BASICALLY, I want to change the world. I want to make people think about how they live every day, shake them a bit." ...

System 7: 777 (Weird & Unconventional/Big Life)

Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993

THOSE OF you with reasonably tolerable faculties or recall may remember my late '91 review of System 7's first album, (Are you taking the piss, ...

American Music Club: 'Club for Zeroes'

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 27 March 1993

AMC MAKE MUSIC for losers, loners, early-hour fuck-ups and late-night wasters. Perfect for us, really. ...

Pink Floyd Meet The Orb: David Gilmour and Dr. Alex Patterson

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 27 March 1993

JUST ABOUT everything anybody has ever told you is wrong. Take, for a very mundane example, the music you listen to. Most likely, there are ...

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 ...

The Breeders, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, L7, Nirvana: Nirvana: Cobain't That Peculiar

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 24 April 1993

Last week, Nirvana, L7, The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy and The Breeders staged a massive benefit for Bosnia at San Francisco's Cow Palace. Everett True ...

Aphex Twin: The Six Lives Of Richard D. James

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

APHEX TWIN you already know. Or at least you should do — he's been described as the hottest bleepmaster on the block, been dubbed 'The ...

New Order: Republic (London)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

ST BERNARD TO THE RESCUE ...

Nirvana: Cow Palace, San Francisco

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

LET'S GO BACK a few years. Rock – as an innovative and thus creative form – is dead. I'll temper that. Rock, as created by ...

Saint Etienne: Saint No Mountain High Enough

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

Who do SAINT ETIENNE think they are? One minute they're just the weekly music press' favourite pop group, the next they're working with Kylie and ...

The Fall: 15 Years Of Fame

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

THERE'S SOMETHING TREMENDOUSLY reassuring about the fact that The Fall, and Mark E Smith, exist. ...

The Orb: The Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993

BALL OF CONFUSION ...

Mick Harvey: Alta Maria & Vaterland (Mute)

Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 8 May 1993

MICK HARVEY once claimed that he "didn't know how to play". A typically modest aside from a man who's played a major part in three ...

Royal Trux: Royal Trux (Domino)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 May 1993

FOR TRUX SAKE ...

Sheep On Drugs: King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow

Live Review by Calvin Bush, Melody Maker, 8 May 1993

HERE ARE some of the things you should never do at a Sheep On Drugs show: faint with pleasure, give birth, applaud, offer up flowers/puppy ...

Band Of Susans: Uptown Bar, Minneapolis

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

THE FIRST three names which come to mind upon encountering Band Of Susans are (i) George Gershwin, (ii) Helmet and (iii) Blast First, circa '88. ...

Blur: Modern Life Is Rubbish (Food)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

CONTEMPORARY FAULT – ADJUST YOUR MIND-SET ...

Morrissey: Beethoven Was Deaf

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

BEETHOVEN WAS indeed deaf. And, Lord, upon looking at the CD panel and realising that after a full prison stretch of maudlin warbling that there ...

Radiohead, Strangelove, Superstar: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

BAD RECEPTION ...

Reverend Horton Heat: The Reverend Horton Heat: Lynn Eusan Park, Houston; Emo's Lounge, Houston

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

A DAY ON THE ROAD WITH… ...

The Verve: A Lad In Spain

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

Verve were last year's second most likely contenders for world domination after You Know Who. At which point they threw several spanners in the works ...

Gallon Drunk, PJ Harvey: PJ Harvey, Gallon Drunk: Bristol University

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 22 May 1993

HARVEY'S BRISTOL SCREAM ...

Suede: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 22 May 1993

THIS IS happening with our permission. We wanted it to happen. We virtually willed it to happen. Suede are this season's singing saviours because we ...

Manic Street Preachers: Manic… depression!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 29 May 1993

This is the MANIC STREET PREACHERS' first interview of 1993. That's the good news over with. Now for the bad: RICHEY believes that "ninety per ...

Moose, Stereolab: Stereolab, Moose: Conway Hall, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 29 May 1993

TONIGHT'S A Nicaraguan Solidarity Benefit and the vibe is definitively mid-Eighties. I haven't stood beneath a poster of Che Guevara while eating falafel out of ...

Tindersticks: Camden HQ, London

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 29 May 1993

INTO THE WOODS ...

The Verve: Verve: Manchester University

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 29 May 1993

TUNE IN, TURN ON, WIGAN OUT ...

Mark Burgess: The Witchwood, Ashton-under-Lyne

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 30 May 1993

SO HERE IS is, then, Mark Burgess, former singer with the Chameleons, the great lost '80s band who prompt more letters to the Maker's Info ...

Curve: Radio Sessions (Anxious)

Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 5 June 1993

THE TROUBLE WITH a lot of these session albums is that they don't appear to offer you anything tastier than slightly less slick versions of ...

Janet Jackson: Luscious: Janet Jackson: Janet (Virgin)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 5 June 1993

IT can be done. Pop music in 1993 can be big, beautiful, frisky, proud, mellow, brash, subtle, motivating, sassy, plush and irresistible. Janet Jackson is ...

Metallica: "Good Day For A Battle"

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 5 June 1993

Metallica, the titans of terse doom-metal, return to the UK this weekend, on the final leg of an epic tour that has taken them to ...

Belly: The Exploding Gastric Inevitable

Interview by John Harris, Melody Maker, 12 June 1993

Indie sex kitten, superstar, classic songwriter, gender traitor, fairy tale princess — these are just some of the inevitable praises and insults levelled at TANYA ...

East 17: Sex Induction Hour

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 June 1993

East 17 are the Take That it's okay to like, the pop-rap posse from Walthamstow admired by alternative types and screaming teenies, and — fact ...

Suede: The Best New Band In America?

Report and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 19 June 1993

SUEDE have already proved themselves in the UK, both critically and commercially. The next step is for the fab four to cross the Atlantic and ...

Stereo MCs, U2: Stereo MCs: Zooropean Sons

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 26 June 1993

Stereo MCs are already one of the biggest (dance) bands in Britain. By the end of the summer, after touring Europe with U2, unarguably the ...

The Pastels: 10 reasons to love… The Pastels

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, July 1993

1. "PASTELISM IS a force of good. It's a network which brings together formerly isolated and scattered geographically people. It's about networking, empowering, making people ...

One Dove: Doors of Perfection

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 3 July 1993

ONE DOVE have been hailed as the future of epic, melodic dance music, blending classic pop melancholia with club beats to produce a sound that ...

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 ...

Boredoms: Metro, Chicago

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993

NEXT TO ME stands Corey (Touch & Go), mouth agape. Next to him is Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), bobble hat bobbing deliriously. A few kids scatter-dance, ...

Steve Beresford, Jimmy Carl Black, Eugene Chadbourne, Lol Coxhill: Eugene Chadbourne and Jimmy Carl Black: The Bass Clef, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993

MY TASK is to review two absolutely legendary figures (growing to four by the evening's end) who have laughed in the face of mainstream music ...

Gallon Drunk, PJ Harvey: PJ Harvey: The Academy, New York NY

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993

FROM GRUNGE'S "castration blues" to the glutinous gloom of Come/Red House Painters/Mazzy Star to tonight's support band Gallon Drunk (with their cliché-encrusted homage to Nick ...

Huggy Bear, Skinned Teen: Ready Teddy Go: Huggy Bear/Skinned Teen: Notre Dame Hall, London

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 10 July 1993

BREAKING THE SILENCE following the white-hot furore surrounding them earlier in the year, Huggy Bear are a band under pressure. For some, they are the ...

Hole: The Price of Love?

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 17 July 1993

...but what's it all about? SIMON PRICE listens as COURTNEY LOVE fills him in on the (w)Hole picture. ...

M People: M-People: La Villette, Paris

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 17 July 1993

THE 20TH anniversary party for Europe's premier radical newspaper, Liberation, and even Pepe Le Punk would have been silenced by the fun. ...

Blood Sausage, Skinned Teen: Skinned Teen, Blood Sausage: The Dome, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 17 July 1993

NEW KIDS IN TOWN ...

Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Suede: Suede: The Grand, Clapham, London

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 24 July 1993

THERE'S A JARMAN... WAITING IN THE WINGS ...

Juliana Hatfield: No Fun Girl Three: The Juliana Hatfield Three: Become What You Are (east west)

Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 31 July 1993

SHE'S KIND OF complicated, our Juliana. Like in the way most people are complicated. ...

Depeche Mode, Sisters of Mercy: Depeche Mode/Sisters of Mercy: National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 7 August 1993

"THAT'S IT THEN," bellows the portly juggler, with some relief, on the train back to civilisation. "Done The Mode. Tick that one off." ...

Max Jones, 1917-1993

Obituary by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 14 August 1993

IT WAS ALWAYS impossible to tell Max Jones, who died this month aged 76, anything about jazz that he didn't already know, or indeed get ...

Alex Chilton, Big Star: Big Star: 'Whatever Was There, I Drank It Or Took It...'

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 21 August 1993

...So says Alex Chilton, inspirational genius behind Seventies legends BIG STAR, whose brief but influential career embraced three classic albums and more drugs, booze and ...

BMX Bandits: Kylie Unlikely

Report and Interview by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 21 August 1993

One day last week, THE BMX BANDITS — those hardy Scottish indie perennials — got caught up in a rather bizarre incident involving diminutive Antipodean ...

East 17, Sybil, Take That, Utah Saints, Worlds Apart: Take That, Utah Saints, Worlds Apart, Sybil, East 17: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 28 August 1993

"TAKE THAT are the best group in the whole world. So there!" ...

The The: Slow Emotion Replay

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 28 August 1993

The very mention of THE THE inspires visions of musical doom, fretful soul-searching and a general air of unreconstructed gloom. But does MATT JOHNSON really ...

D:Ream: The Area, Paisley; Tunnel Club, Glasgow

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 4 September 1993

D:REAM HAVE released two singles to date. Both have penetrated, if you'll pardon my French, high into the Top 20. It seems Britain's club kids ...

Smashing Pumpkins: The Metro, Chicago

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 4 September 1993

GRUNGE LITE? ...

Cocteau Twins: Dreams of Consciousness

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 11 September 1993

ROBIN IS NOT HERE today. He is housebound with chicken pox, "covered in spots from head to foot, it's fucking terrible. I got it from ...

Iggy Pop: Empire States: Iggy Pop: American Caesar (Virgin)

Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 11 September 1993

WHERE THERE ARE the glowing embers of a fire to be stirred, you can trust Iggy Pop to be first with the gasoline. ...

Moby: In Trance As Mission

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 11 September 1993

By now, you must all know about Moby, the techno nutter who's a Christian vegan, doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs. And you'll have heard ...

Radiohead: The Garage, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 11 September 1993

SO F***ING SPECIAL ...

U2: Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 11 September 1993

THE BRITISH Royal Family would need to perish en masse in a satanic suicide pact to generate half the press that Zoo TV's long-awaited Irish ...

Curve: Present Intense

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 18 September 1993

Curve's new album, Cuckoo is a blood-curdling riot of pain and paranoia. So, it would seem, are Curve's lives. As CAITLIN MORAN finds out when ...

The Melvins: A Melvins Primer

Profile and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 October 1993

Once, MELVINS were the loudest, heaviest and slowest band on the Pacific West Coast, loved by few, feared by many. For years, they devastated audiences ...

Dannii Minogue: At Home With... Dannii Minogue!

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 2 October 1993

Antipodean chart star! In the Melody Maker! Are you gonna argue 'bout it? No? Good. In the first off four special features, we send an ...

Babes In Toyland: Forum, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 2 October 1993

TOYS R U.S. ...

Cranium HF: Skulled Workers

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 ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Cardiff University

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 2 October 1993

BILLY, DON'T BE A HERO ...

Madonna: Damsel In Distress?: Madonna: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 October 1993

"DO YOU think she's lonely?" The question comes halfway through a butt-bumping take on 'Deeper And Deeper'. ...

Curve: Diary of an LP: Curve

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 9 October 1993

In the second of an occasional series, TOM DOYLE takes a sneak look at the day-to-day making off an LP. This time, DEAN GARCIA talks ...

Letter Of The Week: The Beauty of Words

Readers' Letters by Neil Kulkarni, Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 9 October 1993

Letter of the Week ...

Shampoo: Side By Peroxide

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 9 October 1993

SHAMPOO are two alien teen snitches/Queen Bitches from Planet Peroxide who recently beamed down to south-east London. Their mission? To annoy the holy shit out ...

24 Hours Of MTV Hell

Report by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 16 October 1993

SIMON PRICE endures the full horrors off 24-hour MTV. Could YOU handle it? ...

MTV Times

Comment by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 October 1993

SIMON REYNOLDS casts a critical eye over MTV and what it stands for and comes to some surprising conclusions ...

Spin Doctors: Doctors Orders

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 16 October 1993

At the open air theatre on the THE sun-blasted campus of San Diego State University, the golden-limbed teens in the box-fresh sneakers and blue and ...

Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Cafe (Fontana)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 23 October 1993

FRASER JOLLY GOOD MELLOW ...

Mazzy Star: Don't Talk Just Bliss

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 23 October 1993

Mazzy Star may make beautiful records, but they also make terrible interviewees. Chris Roberts extracts some sense from their silence and decides that the US ...

Teenage Fanclub: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 23 October 1993

It's that occasional series again: this time, a peep at the diary of TEENAGE FANCLUB's Raymond McGiniey during the making of Thirteen. TOM DOYLE is ...

Kate Bush: Heaven’s Kate: Kate Bush

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 6 November 1993

ENGLAND MY LION HEART KATE BUSH AN ENGLISH original. In 1978, that wavering, starburst voice seemed to come out of nowhere, but only because it's ...

Juliana Hatfield, The Lemonheads: Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield: Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 13 November 1993

Evan Dando likes to avoid relationships. Juliana Hatfield is a self-confessed virgin. And yet, whatever their sexual orientation, Ev and Jules are indieland's second most ...

Aphex Twin

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 27 November 1993

Aphex Twin is unusual. He likes tanks. He hates sleeping. And he pours tea on his cereal. SIMON REYNOLDS meets the rave-age Mozart in a ...

Nirvana: The Coliseum, New York City

Live Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 27 November 1993

IF THERE WERE any doubts that Nirvana had truly connected with America's rock heartland, the sight of the crowd tonight dispels them. It's a sea ...

Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear (Motown)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 1 December 1993

ALMOST SILENTLY, Motown have finally issued this all-but-forgotten masterpiece on CD. ...

Cowboy Junkies: Pale Sun, Crescent Moon

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 11 December 1993

COWBOY JUNKIES have long been masters of understatement, their holier-than-wow, whispering glass elegies sliding slowly down the walls of heartache, all good taste and honey. ...

Jamiroquai: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 11 December 1993

THE CAT IN THE HAT ...

The Boo Radleys: Learning To Walk

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 December 1993

AT THE HEIGHT of The Scene That Celebrated Itself, The Boo Radleys — The Doo Badleys, as they were chucklingly known down The Syndrome — ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa RIP

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 December 1993

FRANK ZAPPA, who died last week at the age of 52, has long been regarded as one of the most important figures in rock, a ...

The Breeders, Nirvana: Kurt Cobain and Kim Deal: Sleepless In Seattle

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 25 December 1993

For a concert spectacular to be broadcast worldwide on New Year's Eve, MTV went to Seattle, where they'd but together a bill featuring Cypress Hill ...

Nirvana, Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam Versus Nirvana: The Final Countdown

Essay by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 December 1993

IF NUMBERS COUNT for anything, Pearl Jam wiped the floor with Nirvana. In its first week of release, Vs sold five times as many copies ...

Robert Wyatt: Going Back A Bit - A Little History of Robert Wyatt (Virgin)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1994

AT LAST, a long-overdue anthology of stuff and nonsense by one of the great eccentrics of English art-rock, Robert Wyatt. A miscellany of bits and ...

The Stooges: Stooges Reissues

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1994

The Stooges (Elektra)Fun House (Elektra) FUN HOUSE is, no contest, the greatest rock'n'roll album of all time. And its prequel, The Stooges, is the tremor ...

Wire Reissues

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1994

Pink Flag (Harvest/EMI)Chairs Missing (Harvest/EMI)154 (Harvest/EMI) ...

Elasticagate!

Interview by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

PETER PAPHIDES thought he was on a simple assignment to secure an exclusive ELASTICA interview. Little did he bank on the whole of Essex wanting ...

Huggy Bear: The Powerhaus, Islington, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

SHOULDN'T HUGGY Bear have split up by now? ...

Katch 22, KRS-One: KRS One: Return Of The Boom Bap (Jive); Katch 22: Diary Of A Blackman Living In The Land Of The Lost (Kold Sweat)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

KRS ONE IS, to all intents and purposes, Boogie Down Productions, although his late partner, DJ Scott LaRock, still oversees his work, "despite what others ...

The Verve: Verve: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

VERVE ARE stoned immaculate. Yeah, we have to talk drugs here. It's stupid not to; as stupid as people who've never taken E chucking in ...

Boy George: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 15 January 1994

"IT'S NICE to be appreciated on your own manor," croaks George, choked up at the waves of love crashing over him, "cos there was a ...

Kristin Hersh: Hips And Makers (4AD)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 January 1994

PELVIS IS KING ...

Mark Lanegan: Holy Spirit

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 15 January 1994

MARK LANEGAN, singer with Screaming Trees, America's premier country-grunge act, has just made a solo record which is even better than his band's stuff. Which ...

Cop Shoot Cop, Gunshot, Therapy?: Therapy?, Cop Shoot Cop, Gunshot: Coventry University

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 15 January 1994

SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED ...

Underworld: Brixton Academy Megadog, London

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 15 January 1994

HADES AND GENTLEMEN ...

µ-ziq: Tango N'Vectif (Rephlex)

Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

THE WAGES OF SYNTH ...

Afghan Whigs, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists: Astoria, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

IN THE week that Melody Maker celebrates the seductive nature of the dance beast, Kim Salmon And The Surrealists remind me exactly why rock is ...

Alice In Chains: Jar Of Flies/Sap (Columbia).

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

DAY OF THE SHACKLE ...

D:Ream: Day D:Ream Believer

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

It's fitting that club champions D:REAM stand proudly at the top of the singles chart in the week that Melody Maker celebrates the power and ...

Elastica: Esquires, Bedford

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

HALFWAY THROUGH this supposedly low-key warm up for Elastica's appearance on The Word, Justine apologises for the amount of coverage the band have been getting. ...

One Dove: Country'n'Techno

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

ONE DOVE perfectly sum up the New Eclecticism — they're a dance band who love C&W. This is why they are now poised to make ...

Ultramarine: Heaven, London

Live Review by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

THE CHAP next to me looks as though he's trying to squeeze the juice from a lemon using only his buttocks. This is a sight ...

Underworld: Going Overground

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 ...

Goldie: Welcome To The Jungle

Overview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

What is JUNGLE? And where does it fit into the new dance scheme? SIMON REYNOLDS reports ...

Manic Street Preachers: All That Glitters…

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

It's been eight months since The Maker met the Manic Street Preachers, and they haven't cheered up in that time. On the eve of a ...

Royal Trux: Blood On The Trux

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

In 1990, ROYAL TRUX released Twin Infinitives, a double album once described as one of the 'most hallucinatory avant-rock sprawls ever'. Then they got even ...

The Boo Radleys: Tivoli, Dublin

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

COMING UP GIANT-SICED ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Pros And Cons

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

Remember THE CHARLATANS? Pop idols of the baggy era, responsible for such sublime moments as 'The Only One I Know'? Whatever happened to them? Well, ...

Tricky: Dodgy Geezer

Interview by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 29 January 1994

At last count Tricky owes me two stereos and an eardrum. Yup, when the bassline to 'Aftermath' thunders into your life your woofers are history, ...

Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr., The Lemonheads, Radiohead: Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade: How To Record Rock Guitar

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 5 February 1994

Producers Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade have made a career out off getting excellent guitar sounds to tape, lending their skills to the likes of ...

Snoop Doggy Dogg: Ruff Justice

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 5 February 1994

SNOOP DOGGY DOGG is America's most controversial performer, taking the street-tuff credentials of previous gangsta rappers to new extremes of 4 Realness. His album, Doggystyle, ...

Carleen Anderson, Young Disciples: Carleen Anderson: Soul Mother

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 12 February 1994

  CARLEEN ANDERSON is a former Young Disciple, James Brown's god-daughter, and the creator of one of 1994's first great singles. DAVID BENNUN hears her life ...

Pavement: R U Ready 2 Unrock?!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 12 February 1994

PAVEMENT have mutated from being the weirdest band on Planet Pop to the '94 version of Easy Listening Gods, Steely Dan. EVERETT TRUE meets mainman ...

Hole, Courtney Love, Nirvana: Courtney Love: Hole in One

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 February 1994

Hole are, to all intents and purposes, Courtney Love. And Courtney Love is a one-woman spite factory, spewing out bile and savaging anyone who dares ...

Cypress Hill And The New US Rap

Report by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 19 February 1994

IN AMERICA, rap is big, big business. ...

Snoop Doggy Dogg: The Equinox, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 19 February 1994

SNOOP IS in the house, and so are we, finally. The pre-match build-up is a work of art, a triumph of modern mythology and marketing. ...

Cypress Hill: The Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 February 1994

'POOL 'N' THE HILL ...

Elvis Costello: Brutal Youth (Warner Bros.)

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 26 February 1994

PRAY TO GOD that Elvis Costello never writes a song about you and relationships. Rather Mike Leigh or Ken Loach documents you, rather a fly ...

The Fall, Inspiral Carpets: Insprial Carpets and Mark E. Smith: Manchester United

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 26 February 1994

Inspiral Carpets team-up with Mark E. Smith! For a one-off collaboration called ‘I Want You’! Psychedelic optimism meets psychedelic miserabilism! ...

Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Warp)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 5 March 1994

The prodigious, prolific and increasingly eccentric Richard James brings us two and a half hours of his unique muse. SIMON REYNOLDS is bewitched on our ...

M People: People Get Ready!

Report and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 5 March 1994

M PEOPLE are the darlings of hip clubbers and pop kids alike, recent Brits winners, and THE crossover band from club culture who can simply ...

Tool: The Boathouse, Norfolk, Virginia

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 5 March 1994

RARELY HAVE a band been as misunderstood by their audience as Tool playing provincial America. If the seething, drunken mass of dubious humanity that turn ...

Aphex Twin: 'Phex And Drugs And Rock'N'Roll

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 March 1994

APHEX TWIN is the first superstar of ambient, the crossover King of innovative pop. Which is why Seefeel, Saint Etienne, The Boo Radleys, Curve, hell, ...

Primal Scream: SCREAMADULLICA – Primal Scream: Give Out But Don't Give Up (Creation)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 26 March 1994

Pre-modernism! Culture pundits reckon art, architecture and literature are all trying to return to classical values. Why should rock be left out? Primal Scream wanna ...

Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie: Prophet Or Dead Loss?

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 2 April 1994

Primal Scream’s new LP, Give Out But Don’t Give Up, has split the voters. Some think it’s retro-rockist rubbish, others believe it’s the ultimate good-time ...

Jeff Buckley

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 April 1994

DESPITE WHAT WE read in the live pages, many gigs these days are sterile, perfunctory affairs. Bands arrive, playing the roles they're comfortable with and ...

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain 1967-1994

Obituary by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 16 April 1994

In Bloom — The Musical Legacy of Kurt Cobain ...

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain: I Hate Myself And I Want To Die

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 April 1994

AND SO, to quote his mother, the only person who appears to have been actively concerned about his well-being in the last few days of ...

Blur: Park Psychosis — Blur: Parklife (Food /EMI F00D10)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 23 April 1994

Strike a light, guvnah. For thair fird al-bum, BLUR, the bin lids' faverits, 'ave gorn awl Lahn-dun on us, and no mistake. SIMON PRICE gave ...

Bark Psychosis, The Levellers, Loop Guru, My Bloody Valentine, Transglobal Underground: Your Culture Under Siege: Criminal Injustice

Report and Interview by Carl Loben, Simon Reynolds, Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 30 April 1994

For decades, squatting, free festivals and illegal parties have played a vital role in alternative pop culture. The Criminal Justice Bill — which has been ...

Blur: This Is The Modern World?

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 7 May 1994

BLUR believe themselves to be the most modern of bands, a four-man amalgamation of Nineties Britain. DAVID BENNUN reckons they're clever throwbacks, feeding on a ...

2 Unlimited: Double Dutch

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

2 UNLIMITED, the Amsterdamsters who introduced the word 'technotechnotechnotechno!' into the language, are — no contest — the biggest pop group in Europe. SIMON PRICE ...

Snoop Doggy Dogg: Afro American: Snoop Doggy Dogg: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

THEORY HAS IT that an artist gets the audience he deserves. So what the f*** the theory would make of Snoop Doggy Dogg at Brixton ...

Blur: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

BLUR's Parklife is selling by the truck load, has loads of fabulous tunes on it and is really very good. TOM DOYLE talks to producer ...

Pulp: The Octagon, Sheffield

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

SPRING BONK HOLIDAY ...

Sleeper: Sheer Tart Attack

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

PC is shite! The The NWONW bands just need a good shag! Meat-eating is cool! Meet LOUISE WENER of fizzy power-poppers SLEEPER, who tells DAVE ...

Massive Attack, Martina Topley-Bird, Tricky: Tricky & Martina: Slack Magic

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

Remember Massive Attack's languid, smoky, shuffling, bluesy 'Unfinished Sympathy'? Former MA maverick TRICKY has done it again, with the languid, smoky, etc, etc 'Ponderosa'. DAVID ...

The Beastie Boys: Beastie Boys: Ill Communication (Capitol/20 tks/60 mins/FP)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

When the BEASTIE BOYS first hit, they changed the face of pop, dragging hip hop into white culture. Needless to say, the results were controversial ...

Blur: Civic Hall Wolverhampton

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

THE (CL)ASS OF '94 ...

The Boo Radleys: Boo Radleys: The Garage, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

POP'S YOUR UNCLE ...

Fun-Da-Mental: Moseley Dance Centre, Birmingham

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

BRUM RUSH THE SHOW! ...

The Auteurs: Simply The West

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

THE AUTEURS make witty, literate, even barbed and bitchy pop. None of which explains why mainman LUKE HAINES is dressed like an extra from some ...

Tindersticks: Amsterdam (This Way Up WAY3299 9 tks/45 mins/£5/No MC)

Review by Jim Arundel, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

PLAYED AT Zane-bothering volume in the Review Room, it's almost like being there. Amsterdam, last February 8, I mean; dope smoke up your nose, sticky ...

Future Sound Of London: Lifeforms (Virgin V27722 19 tks/93 mins/FP/Double)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 28 May 1994

It's been a long while since FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON led us, entranced, to 'Papua New Guinea'. Now they've captured that long while on disc. ...

Green Day: Dookie (WEA 9362-45529-2 14 tks/40 mins/FP)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 28 May 1994

LIKE A hardcore Hailey's Comet, Green Day have a habit of popping up every couple of summers with an LP stuffed with blazing guitars, bright ...

The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, The Stooges: Nick Kent: Hack From The Brink

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 28 May 1994

Wanna find out where MM acquired its taste for livid purple prose? Then let PAUL LESTER introduce you to legendary rock journalist NICK KENT, whose ...

Pantera: Butt Reaction

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 4 June 1994

Before PAUL LESTER travelled to Detroit and came into contact with PANTERA, currently America's fastest, loudest, most popular and OTT speed metal band, he looked ...

Pulp: Non Stop Erotique Cabaret

Report and Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 4 June 1994

"I WAS WONDERING", says Jarvis Cocker. "There was a baboon in the top floor of a flat behind where we played in Paris last night." ...

Lush: Automobile For The People

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 18 June 1994

LUSH are back! Cue multiple VATs and strawberry daiquiris. But no! Lush's hard-drinking, hard-socialising days are behind them. They've gone all introspective and solemn. And, ...

McAlmont: Splash Club, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 25 June 1994

THREE YEARS AGO this month, an unboxed demo tape marked only "Thieves" arrives at The Maker offices. ...

The Beastie Boys: The Filofax Of Life

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 25 June 1994

Beastie Boys have recovered from years of being f***ed about by record companies to build their very own self-contained business empire. They've also just made ...

Future Sound of London: The Future Sound of Technology

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 25 June 1994

For Brian Dougan and Gary Cobain, THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON is the medium for pushing the frontiers of studio recording, live performance and video ...

The Beastie Boys, Luscious Jackson: Beastie Boys, The Goats, Luscious Jackson, The Brotherhood: Astoria, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 2 July 1994

HOUSE OF HOROWITZ ...

Stereolab: Separation Terrorists

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 July 1994

Subversive MOR may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it’s the best available description of Stereolab’s new single, ‘Ping Pong’, the most brilliant example ...

The Prodigy: Touched By The Hand Of Prod

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 July 1994

"So I've decided to take my work back underground... to stop it falling into the wrong hands." ...

Gene: The Paradise Club, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 August 1994

CHROMOSOME IS WHERE THE ART IS ...

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 13 August 1994

PECULIAR. GORKY'S are from Wales, and they sing in a mixture of Welsh and occasionally English. Apparently, the Welsh language often skips out vowels and ...

Prince: Come (Warner Brothers 9362-45700-2/10tks/49mins/FP)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 August 1994

There's no getting round it. Prince's new album is, explicitly, all about eating pussy. Beavis & Butt-Head would explode. SIMON PRICE needed a good hosing ...

Oasis: Certainly Probably: Oasis: Definitely Maybe (Creation)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 August 1994

OASIS — Don't Believe The Hype? Well, that depends on whether you've been waiting for a Nineties dream hybrid of The Beatles and The Stones, ...

American Music Club: 'I'm An Ant'

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

Yup, Sultan of Sorrow and Mr Low Self-Opinion Mark Eitzel of American Music Club — arguably the most exquisitely miserable band on the planet — ...

Frank Black, Cypress Hill, Flaming Lips, Gang Starr, Hole, The Lemonheads, Pavement, Transglobal Underground, The Verve: Cypress Hill, Lemonheads, Verve, Hole et al: Reading Festival

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

READING.It's like acid; once you've tried it you swear you'll never be back for more, and yet you always are. Perhaps it's because this festival ...

Fun-Da-Mental, Ice Cube, Kitchens of Distinction, Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream, Pulp, Radiohead, Reverend Horton Heat, Senseless Things, Terrorvision: Primal Scream, Radiohead, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers et al: Reading Festival, Berkshire — Saturday

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

ON A REMARKABLE autumn's day on which Chelsea go from to two down to three up at Leeds, Everett True gets hospitalised because he's too ...

Collapsed Lung, Cop Shoot Cop, The Jesus Lizard, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Henry Rollins, Senser, Stabbing Westward, Therapy?, The Wildhearts: Reading 94 Sunday. Main Stage

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

WOKE UP. No longer in hospital. Cool. Thought I'd check out this "rock festival" stuff. ...

American Music Club, Jeff Buckley, Candlebox, Dig, Echobelly, Morphine, Scrawl, They Might Be Giants, Tindersticks: Reading Festival, Melody Maker Stage

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

SO HERE I am, it's 12.15pm, the f***ing cab driver's turfed me out onto the street. I've got miles to walk to the flamin' festival ...

Shed Seven: Taking The Peseta? Shed Seven: Change Giver (Polydor 5236152/4/1 11 tks/47 mins/FP)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

So, are Shed Seven just four loud-mouthed lads with a terminal Mozzer fixation, a bunch of chancers from York hellbent on giving Oasis a run ...

Ice Cube / Gravediggaz: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 10 September 1994

TRY AND tie down hip-hop with yer baggage and it always finds a way to bust loose. Never mind asking "Has Rap Gone Too Far", ...

David Gray: Flesh (Hut 8 39770 24 10 tracks/45 mins/FP)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

FLESH. HONEST title. Bare, bloody, real and sweaty. Neat choice from a man apparently on an endearingly Quixotic solo crusade to rescue the idea of ...

Blubber, Elastica, Shed Seven: Elastica, Shed Seven, Blubber: Zap Club, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

ALL RICH kids should be in bands. Consider it a duty. ...

Grant Lee Buffalo: Bad Moon Rising

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

GRANT LEE BUFFALO'S new album, Mighty Joe Moon, is a raging apocalyptic masterpiece, a cinematic evocation of America sinking ever-deeper into lunacy, massacre and madness. ...

Gravediggaz: Dead Dead Good

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

GRAVEDIGGAZ are into black magic. They want to dig up your mental graves. They list ways to commit suicide on their debut LP, Niggamortis. Hmm, ...

Gravediggaz: La Mort the Merrier — Gravediggaz: Niggamortis (Gee Street GEECDH 17tks/54mins/FP)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

Rap: reflecting the brutal realities of life for urban American blacks or providing ghoulish and vicarious thrills for the eavesdropping cultural tourist? Maybe both, suggests ...

Luscious Jackson: The Jackson Thrive — Luscious Jackson: Natural Ingredients (Grand Royal/Capitol 7243 8 28356 22 14tks/46mins/FP)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

So In Search Of Manny was the sassiest, coolest record called 'Jackson' since Off The Wall. But, you're gagging to know, can Luscious Jackson do ...

Massive Attack, Portishead: Trip Hop Don't Stop: Massive Attack and Portishead

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

Imagine a cross between ambient and hip-hop. Imagine a Brit version of Cypress Hill or Gravediggaz's spooky Gothic Hop. Imagine the sound of 'bombs exploding ...

Wu-Tang Clan: The Forum, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

KARATE KICKS ...

Downset, Pantera: Pantera, Downset: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

VISIBLE PANTERA LINE ...

Suede: "Nothing Can Stop Us Now"

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

When Bernard Butler left SUEDE, many assumed it was all over. Far from it. On the eve of the release of the long-awaited Dog Man ...

The Auteurs, Gene, Sleeper: The Auteurs, Sleeper, Gene: Zap Club, Brighton

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

LUKE OF NATURE ...

Tony Bennett: Taj Mahal, Atlantic City NJ

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

IMAGINE GOING to see a man old enough to have been old at the birth or rock'n'roll, singing ballads inside a gigantic hotel with more ...

The Fugees, Honky, Transglobal Underground: Transglobal Underground, Fugees, Honky: The Zap, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

THE GEE SPOT ...

The Sabres of Paradise, Andrew Weatherall: Weatherall Storms

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

ANDREW WEATHERALL has towered over the British club scene since he first found fame as a DJ in the acid house explosion. He created 'Loaded' ...

Arrested Development: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 1 October 1994

IT TAKES A while, but I finally work out what it is they remind me of. ...

Kylie Minogue: Kylie Minogue (Deconstruction)

Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 1 October 1994

WHY HAS THIS perspex bubble, this one-way mirror, this empty shop window, this unfilled gilt frame, this unformed lust, this shapeless beauty, this Kylie, become ...

Oasis: Diary of an LP

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1994

Seven different studios played host to OASIS as they attempted to record their debut album, each witnessing its own catalogue of disasters. CLIFF JONES traces ...

Shampoo: Sheer Tart Attack

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 1 October 1994

Hey, everyone, meet SHAMPOO! They've had three debut singles! The last one sold over 150,000 copies! They're not lesbians! They talk in their own secret ...

A Guy Called Gerald: Jungle Heritage

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 8 October 1994

SIMON REYNOLDS reports on the cyber-black world of A GUY CALLED GERALD. ...

Manic Street Preachers: Culture, Alienation, Bordeaux and Despair: Manic Street Preachers: The Barbey, Bordeaux

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 8 October 1994

Only a couple of weeks out of hospital, and Richey James is back on a stage, scarred, skinny, bloodshot, but still beautiful. It's a dangerous ...

Elastica: From Hype To Eternity

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 October 1994

ELASTICA were voted Best New Band in our Readers' Poll almost before the band had released a note. Why? Because you could tell just by ...

Radiohead: Old Gaol, Abingdon

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 8 October 1994

THE FIVE YOUNG men lounging about in the hotel bar after their storming sell-out performance seem to be having the time of their lives. They're ...

Echobelly: Get Yer Sonya Ya's Out!

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

You may have read about ECHOBELLY before, but you won't have — seen them clambering on a roof in Manchester! Watched them in a courtroom ...

A Guy Called Gerald, LTJ Bukem, Dillinja, DJ Hype, General Levy, MC Navigator, Roni Size and Reprazent: It's a Jungle Out There...

Overview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

Ask yer proverbial suburban kid on the street, and chances are they won't be into Blur, Suede, Nirvana or Oasis — they'll be hardcore JUNGLE ...

Sinead O'Connor: Diary of an Album

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

With all the demos recorded in a single night's session, it was inevitable that SINEAD O'CONNOR'S Universal Mother would be recorded and mixed simply and ...

The Cramps: Torch Songs

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

The Arch-Uberfuhrers of Satanic Rockabilly Camp aka The Cramps are back! With their best album for eight years! Talkin' 'bout the ejaculatory properties of rock'n'roll! ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The East Wing, Brighton Centre

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

JON SPENCER has something he would like to tell us all about. ...

Suede: Raw, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 22 October 1994

TEENAGE FANCLUB ...

Nirvana: Postcard From The Edge: Nirvana: Unplugged In New York (Geffen)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 29 October 1994

When Nirvana embarked upon MTV's Unplugged session last year, no one dreamed it would be their last-ever album. Now, handicapped as it is by the ...

Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Jewell, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Various Artists: Murder Was The Case (Death Row/lnterscope 6544-92484-2 15 tks/74 mins/FP)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 12 November 1994

HOMIE-CIDAL MANY ACTS A new Snoop Doggy Dogg record? Yes and no and a whole lot more. Murder Was The Case is an extremely violent 18-minute ...

Hole, Veruca Salt: Mississippi Nights, St Louis, MO

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 19 November 1994

SWEET'N'SOUR ...

Menswear: The New Squad Of New Mod

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 November 1994

IT HAS BEEN DECIDED, already, that Menswear are going to be famous. All the stars (well, Shampoo and Pulp) turned up for their debut gig ...

Beck, Sebadoh: Beck and Sebadoh: It's Saturday, It's Two O'Clock and It's... Slackerjack!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 November 1994

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Get BECK, the blue-eyed, wigged-out Californian space baby whose slacker anthem 'Loser' topped the American charts, ...

Jewell, The Lady of Rage, Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound: Murder Dre Wrote

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 26 November 1994

DR DRE's G-normously successful DEATH ROW label is being hailed as a Motown for the Nineties. SIMON PRICE meets eargasm addict THE LADY OF RAGE, ...

Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dogg: Watch Out, Beagle's About

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 26 November 1994

SIMON PRICE meets SNOOP DOGGY DOGG, the Most Famous Rapper On Earth, whose murder trial comes up in three months, and asks him about Life ...

Huggy Bear: Erotic Bleeding: Huggy Bear: Weaponry Listens To Love (Wiiija/Famous Monsters Of Filmland)

Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 3 December 1994

Forget the Riot Grrrl politics — if you must. Huggy Bear are/were a brilliantly confrontational punk rock band, much-maligned and misunderstood. Much like JOHN ROBB, ...

Autechre, L.F.O.: LFO, Autechre: Leisure Lounge, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 December 1994

IN PURSUIT OF ABANDON... ...

MTV OD

Report by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 10 December 1994

The MTV European Music Awards happened last week. You might have seen them on the telly. Lots and lots of famous stars winning prizes for ...

Prince: The Legendary Black Album (Warners 9362-45793-2)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 10 December 1994

BETWEEN THE critically revered Sign O' The Times and the underrated psychedelic funk feast of Lovesexy came The Black Album, withdrawn from release by Prince ...

Massive Attack: The Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 17 December 1994

ASSAULT AND FLATTERY ...

Blur: Darklife

Book Excerpt by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 24 December 1994

Blur had a brilliant 1994 — their album, Parklife, entered the charts at Number One and spent the rest of the year blaring from every ...

Come: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, Spring 1994

Rarely has the Recommended star at the top of a review been so icily ironic. Because, reckons David Bennun, if Come's brutal rhythm'n'bruise says anything ...

Flying Saucer Attack: Further

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 1995

  SOME THINGS you should know about Flying Saucer Attack. They're the Bristol based duo of David Pearce and Rachel Brook, and their records are released ...

Veruca Salt: Saline of the Century

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 7 January 1995

Since the release of their brilliant debut single 'Seether', VERUCA SALT have become the fastest rising band on the indie scene, both here and in ...

The Stone Roses: Diary of an LP: the Stone Roses' Second Coming, Part One

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 14 January 1995

After years of rumour and speculation, THE STONE ROSES Second Coming album has finally made it into the shops. TOM DOYLE travelled to Rockfield studios ...

Method Man, Redman: Redman: Dare Iz A Darkside/Method Man: Tical (Def Jam/Island)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 14 January 1995

REDMAN'S Whut? Thee Album came out around the first Cypress Hill's and for those that investigated it was even more blunted to the bone, streaked ...

Sleeper: Wener Takes All

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 14 January 1995

1995 is set to be SLEEPER's year. The latest leading lights in the ongoing resurgence of Britpop brightened up last year with a string of ...

The Stone Roses: Diary of an LP: the Stone Roses' Second Coming, Part Two

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 21 January 1995

Following last week's look at life with THE STONE ROSES during the making of Second Coming, producer SIMON DAWSON takes TOM DOYLE track by track ...

Massive Attack: Overland Attack

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 21 January 1995

Massive Attack made one of the great
 albums of the Nineties with Blue Lines. It took
 them three years to make the equally captivating Protection, ...

Leftfield: On Your Marks, Get Set, Gauche: Leftfield: Leftism

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 21 January 1995

Who the f*** are LEFTFIELD? Giant pandas of techno positivism, faceless bores who had a hit with Johnny Rotten, or VR sex pervs? Don't bother ...

Portishead: Give Good 'Head

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 January 1995

From a tiny town outside Bristol came last year's best album, the piercing, lovelorn and sexy-as-f*** Dummy by PORTISHEAD. EVERETT TRUE meets the band to ...

A Guy Called Gerald, Dreadzone, Global Communication, µ-ziq, Renegade Soundwave: µ-Ziq, A Guy Called Gerald, Renegade Soundwave, Global Communications, Dreadzone: The Rocket, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

TECHNO PRISONERS ...

Gene, Supergrass: Astoria, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

THE NINE O'CLOCK SNOOZE ...

Hole: Selina's, Sydney

Live Review by Mark Mordue, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

OH YEAH, smash it up, baby, smash it up. This is Courtney Love's night, history standing on her great long legs, a f**k-you attitude. ...

Menswear: Mod-U-Like

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

"THE THING IS, we won't let anyone down." ...

R. Kelly: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 February 1995

VIBE DA JOINT ...

Supergrass: More Cock Than Doodle-Do

Interview by David Bennun, Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 February 1995

Oxford's SUPERGRASS put the POP! into apoplexy and inject hyper-charged glam into the Nineties Brit guitar thrill. Plus! Their second single — and first hit ...

L7: Three Steps to L7

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 11 February 1995

L7 used to be the enfants terribles of US rock, all randomly-strewn sanitary towels and gravity-defying knickers. No more! Now they're Yank Grunge's very own ...

A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology (Juke Box JB2 13tks/70mins/FP)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 18 February 1995

Freaked out by the photocopier? Frightened of the fax machine? Fascinated by both? Don't worry, our relationship with technology is necessarily double-edged – and it's ...

EMF: In Knob We Trust

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 18 February 1995

These Animal Men, eat your heart out! Beatbox popsters EMF were Number One in America when their average age was 20, they were on the ...

Morrissey: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 18 February 1995

The Boxer Beat ...

Radiohead: Apollo, Oxford

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 25 February 1995

America Beckons  ...

S*M*A*S*H: Another Love (Song)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 25 February 1995

THEIR ONLY REAL ALBUM WAS SHITE. You'd almost forgotten they existed. But, according to IAN WATSON, their latest "mini-LP" proves they can still write songs ...

Sleeper: The Venue, Edinburgh

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 25 February 1995

IF NOTHING ELSE, it's one of the better conjuring tricks of the age. Sleeper, as a musical entity, are resolutely standard issue, yet are hailed ...

PJ Harvey: Yeovil! Bum Rush The Show: PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love (Island)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 25 February 1995

From Somerset with love? It came from the west. It sounds like the Deep South. Polly Harvey's third LP proper is one scary place to ...

Fleetwood Mac: Tusk

Retrospective by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 4 March 1995

IF ANYONE remembers Fleetwood Mac's Tusk at all, it's as the surprise flop sequel to 1977 Rumours. A soft-rock masterpiece (gorgeous melodicism charged with the ...

Slash: Snake Some Action

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 4 March 1995

Slash is probably as close to a rock'n'roll animal as we've got. He's also a rock'n'roller with a lot of animals – specifically cats and ...

Suede: Introducing the band techs

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 4 March 1995

Behind every guitar hero, there's a guitar tech sorting out his inputs from his outputs. TOM DOYLE meets the men who help put Suede on ...

The Beastie Boys: Super Fly Guys

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 4 March 1995

The Beastie Boys made MM's Album of the Year in 1986. That was pretty cool. And for about 12 months their unique brand of juvenile ...

The Bluetones, Supergrass: Supergrass, The Bluetones: Caught By The Buzz

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 10 March 1995

Have you heard the new Maker motto? They're On The Cover On Tuesday, They're In The Chart On Sunday! First Portishead, then Sleeper, and now ...

Faith No More: King For A Day… Fool For A Lifetime (Slash)

Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 11 March 1995

Faith No More apparently expect us to take their funk-metal Queen-isms seriously. Not CAITLIN MORAN. When the shit hits the fan, they just make her ...

Luscious Jackson: The Jackson Four

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 March 1995

LUSCIOUS JACKSON are four luscious (Janet) Jackson-goes-hip hop Noo Yawk fly girlz whose scratchy white rap has been described as The Breeders-play-The Sugarhill Gang. SIMON ...

Pop Will Eat Itself: No One Likes Us, We Don't Care

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 11 March 1995

SO NO ONE likes Pop Will Eat Itself, and they don't care. Not strictly true, of course – after all, they've enjoyed a good dozen ...

Prince: And The Bland Played On: The Artist Formerly Known As Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 March 1995

THIS could be bad. Why? ...

EMF: Ballroom Blitzed! EMF: Cha Cha Cha (Parlophone)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 18 March 1995

EMF are famous for putting citrus fruits up their foreskins and getting drunk. For some peculiar reason, DAVID BENNUN doesn't think this, in itself, is ...

Garbage: Life is Modern Rubbish

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 18 March 1995

You may not have heard of GARBAGE, but you WILL have heard of Butch Vig, the God who produced Nirvana's Nevermind. And now you're going ...

PJ Harvey, Tricky: PJ Harvey/Tricky: Barrowlands, Glasgow

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 18 March 1995

IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to get a fix on these two artists. That this is one of THE tours of the year is indisputable. But the ...

A Guy Called Gerald: Wicked Guy!

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

A GUY CALLED GERALD is at the forefront of junglist innovation and future-shock technological experimentation. A guy called SIMON REYNOLDS joins him in virtual space. ...

Dick Dale: Pulp Dick Shone

Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

DICK DALE, man. Dick f***ing Dale. He's the King Of Surf Guitar. He taught Hendrix everything he knew. He breeds lions. They played his music ...

Elastica: Twang Twang, You're Cred!

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

This week, ELASTICA’s debut album has achieved the greatest double whammy of critical and commercial success since Parklife and Definitely Maybe, final proof that Britpop’s ...

Moby: Whale Of The Century

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

MOBY's epically eclectic new album, Everything Is Wrong, is more than just a dance album — it's a dance album which wants to Change The ...

Slick Rick: NO CELL OUT! Slick Rick: Behind Bars (Def Jam/lsland 523 847-2/11 tks/40 mins/FP)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

'The greatest living American poet bar none'? 'Hot-kniving the shit of God'? Oh, we know what you're thinking, children. Just another bleedin' baaad-boy banged up ...

Red House Painters: Ocean Beach (4AD)

Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

WELL THEY say the abused always turns into an abuser... and if men who whine about the weather, their ex-girlfriend(s), their f***ing mothers and how ...

The Orb: O Is For Orb

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

THE ORB, the first band since Pink Floyd to transfer ambient noodling and stunning visuals from clubs to stadia, return this week with a new ...

Tindersticks: The Tindersticks' Second Album

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 25 March 1995

TINDERSTICKS are conceivably the most "critically acclaimed" band of all time. And oh look, here comes David Bennun. He's a "critic". He's going to "acclaim" ...

Tupac Shakur: A Load Of Bollock: 2Pac: Me Against The World (Interscope)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 1 April 1995

Ner-ner, ner-ner slammm!!! And another one! Is 2Pac (sorry, make that 1Pac) just the shot in the balls rap so sorely needs, or a monorchid ...

Elastica: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 8 April 1995

It was a long journey from simple demos in '92 to Number One album in '95, but producer MARC WATERMAN was there piecing together ELASTICA's ...

Radiohead: Medium Wavering

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 8 April 1995

Radiohead: The Forum, London ...

Juno Reactor, Traci Lords: Traci Lords: 1000 Fires (Radioactive RARD11211 10 tracks/55 mins/FP)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 8 April 1995

Let's be perfectly frances here — our Traci may be famous for a lot of things, but musical talent is not one of them. Shame, ...

Prince: 0(+>: Glam Slam At The Astoria/The Emporium, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 15 April 1995

OOH! AAH! 0(+>! ...

Janet Jackson: Sheffield Arena

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 April 1995

IN PRINCIPLE, of course, any member of the Jacksons should be the recipient of thunderous applause just for existing: they are, after all, the most ...

Pavement: Wow! That's What I Call Music...

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 15 April 1995

PAVEMENT are the Lords of Lo-Fi, the Sultans of Slacker. They hate Smashing Pumpkins and their songs are unlistenable chunks of abstract strangeness. Basically, they're ...

Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord DIS90CD 13 tks/44 mins/FP)

Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 6 May 1995

FUGAZI are the unsung heroes of the American underground, busting out of the Washington projects on a white hot punk rock tip in a straight ...

Oasis: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 6 May 1995

JESUS pigf***ing c***bubble Christ on a three-way tandem, this is a great moment in life.   ...

Scott Walker: Tilt (Fontana 526858/9 tks/57 mins/CFD/LP/MC/FP)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 6 May 1995

SOMBRE, GOOD people, does not begin to describe it. Doubtless you'd expect this from the former leading fight of the Walker Brothers, but, aside from ...

Supergrass: Lycanthropissed-up!: Supergrass: I Should Coco (Parlophone)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 May 1995

A scary rock 'n' roll wolfchild who roams the streets, high on drugs and booze, in search of whatever cheap thrills the night has to ...

TLC: Natural Burn Jillers — TLC: CrazySexyCool (LaFace)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 May 1995

TLC are three Scary Betties if ever we saw 'em. Arsonists, sexual predators and New Jill Swing superstars whose CrazySexyCool is Swingbeat Record Of The ...

PJ Harvey: Bataclan, Paris

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 May 1995

SCARLET IT BLEED ...

Babes In Toyland: The Boardwalk, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 27 May 1995

I MISS Ligament cos (I was gonna come up with an excuse as contrived as my mate, who was late for school one day cos ...

Jeff Buckley: Orgasm Addict

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 27 May 1995

"There is no name yet for the places he or his voice can't go..." They said that about Sixties archangel Tim Buckley and they're saying ...

Pulp Diction

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 May 1995

Starring: JARVIS COCKER as THE JUNKSHOP ROMANTIC STEVE MACKEY as THE PLAYBOY RUSSELL SENIOR as THE ALIEN CANDIDA DOYLE as THE CARE BEAR KID NICK ...

The Verve: live at Manchester Roadhouse

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, June 1995

YEAH, we know that Richard Ashcroft can talk a good campaign and that The Verve are the nearly men of the great northern rock thing, ...

The Fall, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Phil Spector, The Stone Roses, The Verve, XTC: John Leckie: A Desk Job

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 3 June 1995

Fifteen years of experience has carried producer JOHN LECKIE from a-song-a-day sessions with John Lennon, to hours spent pouring over the endless noodlings of The ...

McAlmont & Butler: The Band That Likes To Play... 'YES'!

Report and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 3 June 1995

DAVID McALMONT used to be in the lavishly praised but commercially unsuccessful THIEVES. The he formed the even more lavishly praised, though still commercially unsuccessful, ...

Suede: New Tower Generation: Suede: The Empire Ballroom, Blackpool

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 3 June 1995

I'D ARRIVED WITH half an idea that maybe Suede had stopped mattering, that they'd wandered off into irrelevance, thanked for the memories but not really ...

Radiohead: Head Cases

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 10 June 1995

Radiohead's The Bends is one of the albums of the year. We already know this. We also know that Thom Yorke is the next richeykurt ...

Supergrass: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 17 June 1995

From four-track bedroom demos to finished masters. SUPERGRASS' debut LP, I Should Coco, has been guided by the hand of producer SAM WILLIAMS. TOM DOYLE ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Chain Reaction

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 17 June 1995

"I MUST REMEMBER," says Jim Reid, "never to come here again." ...

Toerag Studios: 'Rag Against The Machine

Report and Interview by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 17 June 1995

If you dig the sound off an unfettered rumble — be it Jon Spencer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dick Dale or The Sex Pistols — then ...

Björk: Björking Girl

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 24 June 1995

NOW HERE'S what you know
 about Björk. She's tiny, elfin, mad as a rabbit, childish, arty, trendy and Icelandic. ...

Foo Fighters: Foo Do You Love: Foo Fighters: Foo Fighters (Roswell/Capitol)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 24 June 1995

Nirvana may have been heroes to many but they never meant shit to some. And, overburdened though it is by the weight of recent history, ...

Lee Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra: Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood: The Limelight, New York NY

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 24 June 1995

HOW DOES this grab you, darling? Nancy Sinatra, in her infamous black leather boots and a perfect blonde bouffant, centre stage for the first time ...

Tricky

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 24 June 1995

"I had this psychic drawing done," says Tricky, sucking greedily on the first of the four joints he's to consume in the next hour. Behind ...

Mobb Deep: The Infamous... (BMG/RCA 07863664882 16 tks/67 mins/FP)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 1 July 1995

I WASN'T expecting this. ...

The Chemical Brothers: Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Melody Maker, 1 July 1995

H2SO4 REAL! ...

Ned's Atomic Dustbin: Brainbloodvolume (Furtive 478330 11 tks/41 mins/FP)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 15 July 1995

TRASHED! We asked NEIL KULKARNI to review the new NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN LP. Instead, he's written one very long sentence, and one very short one. Well, ...

Public Enemy: The Greatest Rap Band In The World... Ever!

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 15 July 1995

PUBLIC ENEMY are still the fastest, fiercest, radicalest hip hop act on the planet, still trying to right wrongs, fight the power and change the ...

The Verve: Northern Soul Asylum

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 15 July 1995

The Verve have split the voters ever since they appeared in '92 as The Band Most Likely To after Suede. Some loved their experimental prog-rock ...

Bushwick Bill: Phantom Of The Rapra (Rap-A-Lot/Noo Trybe V0SS91)

Review by Cathi Unsworth, Melody Maker, 22 July 1995

"Honky can't stop what honky started/A ghetto is what you made" — 'Mr President' ...

Therapy?: Penetration Terrorists

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 29 July 1995

THERAPY? ALMOST lost their minds back there, OD'ing on women and drugs. So they changed – no more cartoon punk behaviour for them. Instead, as ...

Goldie: Judge Dread

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 5 August 1995

GOLDIE is being called the Jimi Hendrix of jungle, the charismatic centre of an extraordinary new music. His debut album, Timeless, is a hugely inventive, ...

Blur: The Return Of The Fab Four

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 12 August 1995

That rumble at the earth's core can only mean one thing — BLUR are back! With new single, 'Country House', out in ten days and ...

Wu-Tang Clan: Fear of a Black-Belt Planet

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 12 August 1995

In the last two weeks. Method Man and Gravediggaz have divebombed into the British charts. At last, Staten Island's utterly insane-in-the-membrane WU-TANG CLAN — Horrorcore ...

Wu-Tang Clan: The Island, Ilford

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 12 August 1995

SHAME ON THE NUH! ...

The Stone Roses: "Coming" In The Eire: The Stone Roses: Féile '95, Cork

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 August 1995

OH YEAH; some other people played as well. Damon hung around all weekend so he could see Elastica play (aww, sweet); Terence Trent D'Arby insists ...

Blur: The Return Of The Fab Four: Part Two

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 August 1995

Last week, BLUR talked long and hard about, well, everything, really. Everything, that is, except new LP The Great Escape, the R.E.M. date at Milton ...

Skunk Anansie: "We're Clitpop, not Britpop"

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 19 August 1995

Anger. Energy. Passion. Aggression. And that's just the journalist after spending a day with Skunk Anansie, the angriest, most Hi-NRG, in-yer-face, passionate and aggressive live-and-direct, ...

Ash: Better Cremate Than Ever?: Ash: LA2, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 2 September 1995

IT'S POURING OFF ME. Pure f***ing rage. See, the enemy isn't hoary rockers. It isn't Britpoppers, soul-sincerity dullards or synthetic chart popsters, although they all ...

Money Mark: Organ Blinder — Keyboard Money Mark: Mark's Keyboard Repair (Mo'Wax MW034 20 tks/39 mins/FP)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 September 1995

You may not know it, but you've already chilled to Money Mark's Starsky'n'Hutch keyboard grooves on the last Beastie Boys record. Now he's kickin' it ...

Blur: Colditz A Knockout!: Blur: The Great Escape (Food)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 9 September 1995

If you thought 'Country House' meant BLUR were playing it safe, you haven't heard The Great Escape. Damon has laced his tales of commuter belt ...

Stereolab: Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On Volume 2) (Duophonic D-UHF-CD09 13tks/65mins/FP)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 9 September 1995

WEIRD SCIENCE: By now, Stereolab's Marxis elevator music ('Ping Pong') and francophone Krautrock should have flirted with your consciousness. So here's your chance to catch up with their ultra-sexy ...

The Boo Radleys, Charlatans, The (UK), The Chemical Brothers, Neneh Cherry, Brian Eno, Goldie, Terry Hall, The Levellers, Orbital, Portishead, Stereo MCs, The Stone Roses, Suede, Terrorvision: War Child

Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 9 September 1995

IAN WATSON talks to the bands who are contributing to the Help album and how this project compares to pop's last major charity initiative, the ...

Cypress Hill, Ice Cube: Cypress Hill: Do Believe The Hype

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 16 September 1995

CYPRESS HILL's self-titled debut album changed the face of hip hop. Their second, Black Sunday, was the rap crossover LP of the early Nineties. But ...

Skunk Anansie: Sunburnt And Paranoid (One Little Indian TPLP55 11tks/42 mins/FP)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 16 September 1995

RODENT TO NOWHERE The nation is divided into people who hate SKUNK ANANSIE for the wrong reasons (they appeal to liberal guilt) or love them for ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Fake That and Party!

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 September 1995

THE CHARLATANS are Number One! That's not a value judgement — it's a fact! This week, the band many had written off as ex-baggy no-marks ...

The Flaming Lips: Clouds Taste Metallic (WEA 9362-45911-2 13 tks/48 mins/FP)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 16 September 1995

THE FLAMING LIPS are to rock what René Higuita is to goalkeeping. EVERETT TRUE salutes the band who arrive at obvious pop songs via the ...

The Bluetones: Feeling Supersonic, Here Comes 'Bluetonic'!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 23 September 1995

THE BLUETONES have neatly dodged 'new Stone Roses' tags to become the first, and arguably the best, Britpop band from Hounslow. EVERETT TRUE reckons they're the ...

Blur: The Floral Hall, Eastbourne

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

ESCAPE TO VICTORY ...

Echobelly: Let's Get It On

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

Read this, it's great! ECHOBELLY, who are Number Three at the time of going to press with their new album, On, have a habit of ...

Oasis: What's The Story (Morning Glory) (Creation CD C-CRE189P 12tks/50mins/FP)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

TALE ENDING?After effortlessly conquering all our hearts with their singles-stacked, stellar debut, Oasis now face the K2 of their career, that difficult second album. Question ...

Mobb Deep, Redman: Redman/Mobb Deep: Digbeth Institute, Birmingham

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

TWO GIGS separated by a fortnight, linked by a common grievance. As illustrations of the two ways a hip hop gig can go, they're pretty ...

The Boo Radleys: Look Back In Languor

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

THIS IS THE FOURTH FEATURE on The Boo Radleys of '95, but they're worth it — especially with their brand new single, 'From The Bench ...

John Peel, Pulp: The Jarvis & John Show!

Report and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

This Saturday, JOHN PEEL will interview JARVIS COCKER on Radio 1FM and play tracks from PULP'S forthcoming album. ANDREW MUELLER goes to Peel Acres to ...

Garbage: Singin' In The Rain

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 7 October 1995

GARBAGE, the band formed by Nirvana producer Butch Vig, are like a black cloud looming over the fluorescent landscape of current pop and their current ...

Marion: I Hate Myself and I Want to Cry

Profile and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 7 October 1995

Culture Of Despair alert! Since their rise to prominence, MARION have lost their friends and gained loads of ghoulish groupies. IAN WATSON tries to cheer ...

Menswear: Nuisance (Laurel 828 676-2 12 tks/50 mins/FP)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 7 October 1995

YOU SWE@R IT WELL Skinny f***ers. Scenesters. Suits. Star Trek. Trainers. Cheekbones. Aggro. Sex. Drugs. Rock. Roll. Menswear. No wonder PAUL MATHUR loves them ...

Cast: Dull and Duller — Cast: All Change (Polydor 12 tks/47 mins)

Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

If the current boom in anything involving jangly melodies played on big Rickenbacker guitars means we have to listen to ultra-conservative, imagination-free trad porridge from ...

Menswear: 'We're Bringing Back the Generation Gap'

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

Oh, how they laughed when MM plucked MENSWE@R out of obscurity and put them on the cover in February. The laughter stopped when the Swe@r ...

Northern Uproar: "The Teenage Oasis"

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

NORTHERN UPROAR are the latest rock 'n' roll delinquents from Manchester. JOHN ROBB — who produced the B-side to their debut single! — hails the ...

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: All Rapped Up, No Place to Go — Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: E. 1999 Eternal (Ruthless 4810382 17tks/68mins)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

Around these parts, we like a touch of evil. Artistic, mind. And one of the things that really fuels our tool is gangsta rap. Inventive, ...

Burt Bacharach: Bacharach to the Future

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

As grey-haired, 67-year-old composers go, Burt Bacharach is pretty f***ing cool. Paul Lester interviews the melodic inspiration behind Oasis, Stereolab and Pulp. ...

Coldcut: Journeys By DJ (Music Unites JDJCD8 29tks/74mins)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

THE SLICE IS RIGHT Their dazzle may have been eclipsed by newer brilliant stars, but Coldcut never left the party, they just went off on an ...

R.E.M., Radiohead: R.E.M./Radiohead: Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, CT

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

SCARY 'MONSTERS' AND SUPER 'CREEPS' ...

Sleeper: Digbeth Institute, Birmingham

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

INDIE IS IN Birmingham. Indie goes down a rapturous storm. Indie makes everyone happy tonight. Indie is lovely. Indie is the fleetfooted reduced to leadboot ...

Cypress Hill: Temple Of Boom (Ruff House 15 tks/67 mins)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 28 October 1995

CYPRESS HILL. Music for marijuana-addled bores and Top Cat fans, or what? Or what, gibbers DAVID BENNUN, as we stretcher him out of the Temple ...

Radiohead, R.E.M.: Radiohead: Shiny Unhappy People*

Report and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 28 October 1995

*Only kidding. RADIOHEAD aren't solely responsible for the Culture Of Despair. But they are prone to the occasional spot of miserabilist navel-gazing, and they have ...

Pulp: Working-Class Heroes: Pulp: Different Class (Island)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 October 1995

Jarvis Cocker, sexual outlaw, professional eccentric, godlike television personality and master of idiosyncratic dance steps you already know and adore. SIMON REYNOLDS heralds the entrance ...

Foo Fighters, Nirvana: Foo Fighters: The Chosen Foo

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, November 1995

THE FOO FIGHTERS Melody Maker interview takes place in the lobby of some swank hotel in Madrid, Spain. Outside, gun-toting cops keep the hookers at ...

Oasis: Where Were You... When We Were Getting High?

Report by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Last weekend at London's Earl's Court, OASIS played the biggest indoor concerts ever held in this country. PAUL MATHUR brings us all the backstage gossip ...

TLC: Phoenix from the Flames

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Controversial New Jill megastars TLC are one of the biggest bands on the planet right now... and they're bankrupt. It's a long story, but SIMON ...

Madonna: Um, Forgettable: Madonna: Something To Remember (Maverick/Warners)

Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

She's trying to get all sophisticated in her old age, isn't she? Record company supremo, new cultured, metropolitan image, and a collection of her slower, ...

The Bootleg Beatles, Oasis: Where Were You... When We Were Getting High? Oasis: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Last weekend at London's Earl's Court, OASIS played the biggest indoor concerts ever held in this country. In this four-page special, PAUL LESTER reports on ...

Daft Punk: Astoria, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 18 November 1995

IT'S A GREAT NAME, obviously. Daft Punk are a young French duo who support the Chemical Brothers and come as close as is feasibly possible ...

Tha Dogg Pound: Dogg Food (Death Row 17 tks/72 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 2 December 1995

TO CRITICISE G-funk for being lazy is a bit like dissing water for being wet, but the latest product to stagger blinking from the Death ...

The Cardigans: Swedish of the Day

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 2 December 1995

If you like St Etienne, Stereolab and Dubstar, you'll love THE CARDIGANS, Sweden's leading sugar-pop weirdos. SIMON PRICE hails their happysad music. ...

Green Day: Everybody Verts

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 16 December 1995

Green Day's major label debut LP sold more than Nevermind, Vitalogy, Monster and Zooropa. Their new one isn't doing too badly, either. Andrew Mueller meets ...

GZA, Method Man: Method Man, GZA: Def Jam 10th Anniversary Party, Equinox, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 16 December 1995

DEF AND BLINDING ...

Astrud Gilberto: The Jazz Cafe, Camden, London

Live Review by David Hemingway, Melody Maker, 23 December 1995

MAYBE THE crux of the matter is that we should constantly review and re-interpret our own definitions of cool. ...

East 17: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 23 December 1995

WE FOUR KINGS OF ORIENT ARE… "a joy-bomb doused in every single conceivable bodily fluid in the rainbow". ...

Pulp: Upper Class

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 23 December 1995

Forget Blur vs Oasis — this was PULP's year. Two Number Two singles, a Number One album, triumphant festival appearances, the MM hacks' LP and ...

Flying Saucer Attack

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, Fall 1995

THE SETTING is spot on — a pretty Putney park near the Thames, on a gorgeously sunny day in almost-September. White clouds scud across oceans ...

Afghan Whigs

Profile and Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1996

BEYOND BEDLAM strikes me as a good place to start. We are not dealing with half-assed melancholia here. Nor are we dealing with the chaos ...

Beck To The Future

Profile and Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1996

Isn't BECK the slacker king and self-proclaimed 'Loser'? So how come he's the hardest working man in showbiz? Why has Noel Gallagher chosen new single ...

Garbage: The Road To Hell

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1996

"FRIED." "Deep-fried." "Crispy." "Lo-fi." "Super lo-fi." ...

Kenickie: 'We Think We're Bulletproof!'

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1996

...and KENICKIE may well be right. The coolest, funniest, sharpest, rockingest all-girl-and-boy band in Britain to The Maker out for a night on the tiles and left ...

Manic Street Preachers: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 13 January 1996

THE MANICS HAVE made a career out of keeping the most impossible of promises and breaking the simplest of trusts. They said they'd split up ...

Lush: Singled Out

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1996

In 1990/91, LUSH were the original Female Fronted Rock Band, godmothers of Sleeper, Elastica and Echobelly, all spiky guitars and Oxfam glamour. Then Suede and ...

The Chemical Brothers: The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 20 January 1996

Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands aka THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS are the Stooges of techno — freaky, raw and seriously hip. Like The Orb, The Prodigy, ...

David Toop: Toop Guru

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 27 January 1996

For 25 years, DAVID TOOP has been writing about making music that breaches all musical boundaries. Now he's compiled a CD that sets out to ...

Kelli Hand: On A Journey (K7 10tks/67 mins)

Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 3 February 1996

KELLI HAND is a very cool woman from Detroit, home of a particular electronic techno inspiration, which has, in the past, been credited as the ...

Tortoise: Shell On Earth

Profile and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 3 February 1996

The new TORTOISE album, with its radical approach to rock, dub, trip hop and avant-Techno, will blow your mind. SIMON REYNOLDS heralds the future ...

The Bluetones: We Have Lift Off!

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 10 February 1996

When Melody Maker first put THE BLUETONES on the front cover last September, most people wondered who the f*** they were. Now, of course, everybody ...

Denim: Jean Genius — Denim: Denim On Ice (Echo)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 24 February 1996

Lawrence, the man with a bizarre fabric fetish, is back, and he's railing against the kind of fantastically trivial stuff no one else has given ...

Supergrass: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 24 February 1996

Almost exactly a year ago, when The Maker put them on the cover for the first time, SUPERGRASS were pop's likeliest lads, cheeky young upstarts ...

The Fugees: Fugees: The Score (Ruff House, 7tks/78mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 2 March 1996

THE SPECIALIST rap press is giving mad love to Fugees at the moment. ...

Pulp: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 March 1996

The Good Sex Guy ...

Supergrass: Interrogation Terrorists

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 2 March 1996

Last week, we gave you The Return of SUPERGRASS. This week, we open psycho-bible The Book of Questions and fling some brain-frazzling enquiries at The ...

Blur In America

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 March 1996

BOSTON. IT'S COLD. Covered in snow. Twee. In the rarefied, tourist part of the city centre, fairy lights twinkle on the gaudy exterior of Doc ...

Ride: Eight-legged Snooze Machine: Ride: Tarantula (Creation)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 9 March 1996

Who will mourn RIDE, now gone the way of all flesh? Not NEIL 'Bites Yer Legs' KULKARNI, that's for sure ...

The Fugees: Fugees: Subterania, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 9 March 1996

BLUNTED BY SUCCESS ...

Plastic Fantastic: Plastic Explosive

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 9 March 1996

YOU'VE WITNESSED THE HYPE, read the manifestos, joined in the controversy; now, at last, you can hear the music. Plastic Fantastic release their first single ...

Cast: Skunk And Disorderly

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 March 1996

Ever been to a CAST gig? Total entertainment. Ever been to Amsterdam? Druggy hedonism meets sensual abandon. So what happens if you put Cast and ...

Denim: Ice Pops

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 16 March 1996

Imagine Pulp, doomed to make obscure concept LPs about Seventies glam rock for all eternity. That's DENIM. Funnily enough, Denim are on the road with ...

Take That: That's All Folks!: Take That: Greatest Hits (RCA)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 23 March 1996

That That have split. David Bennun laments the passing of the "greatest pop group in the world" ...

Pulp: Fame Fatale

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 30 March 1996

So Jarvis Cocker is innocent. But that doesn't mean he's got off the hook — we still want a word or two with Michael Jackson's ...

Foo Fighters: Have We Got Foos For You

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 6 April 1996

Foo Fighters are back with a new single, 'Big Me', and a fresh determination to not let adulation force them into a Nirvana–type corner. Melody ...

Bikini Kill: Stars and Gripes: Bikini Kill: Reject All American (Kill Rock Stars)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 6 April 1996

BIKINI KILL. Prime movers in 1992's Riot Grrrl scene. Agitators, manipulators, punk rockers, irritants. They're back! And EVERETT TRUE still loves 'em ...

Chic: Bernard Edwards 1952-1996

Obituary by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 4 May 1996

BERNARD EDWARDS of CHIC died last week. Paul Lester celebrates the life and work of a massively influential musician, producer and songwriter ...

Moloko: I Should Moloko

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 May 1996

Jarvis Cocker predicts big things for them. Rock'n'roll bible The Independent called them Britain's best new band. Clearly, the dizzyingly eclectic MOLOKO can't fail ...

Black Grape, The Boo Radleys: Better Red Than Dead

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 May 1996

This week's FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Manchester United isn't a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that. SIMON PRICE ...

Apollo 440, The Bluetones, Blur, Dodgy, Elastica, Gene, Massive Attack, Northern Uproar, Oasis, Pulp, Reef, Robbie Williams: Britpop Football Special: Ooh-aah, Rossit-ah!

Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

Martin Rossiter as Eric Cantona? Liam Gallagher squaring off against Damon Albarn? Robbie Williams and Steve Pulp in the same footie team? No, you're not ...

Dodgy: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

THE WORDS that come to mind are the ones uttered by Eric Cantona to an adoring Leeds crowd after winning the League Championship in 1992. ...

Ice-T: Gangsta's Parad-Ice — Ice-T: Ice-T VI: Return of the Real (Virgin 21 tks/74 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

We like ICE-T, rap's renaissance man. He doesn't give a shit ...

George Michael: Joyless Division — George Michael: Older (Virgin 11tks/59m ins)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

With his new album, GEORGE MICHAEL has less to do with Simply Red or the Wets than he does Radiohead or the Manics. ...

µ-ziq, Orbital: Orbital, µ-ziq: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

Well-Rounded ...

Rancid: Rank Account

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

The American ska-punk noise of RANCID is more intelligent than your average dumb thrash racket ...

Slayer: Undisputed Attitude (American 15tks/35 mins)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

HERE'S A CONCEPT to make your blood curdle. Slayer, the undisputed kings of thrash metal stupidity, cover a cranium-crushing selection of top hardcore punk tunes. ...

Soundgarden: 'We're not dead yet'

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

Kurt may be gone and grunge may have copped it, but SOUNDGARDEN live on, louder and fiercer than ever, ready to blow the likes of ...

Ben Folds Five: Splash Club, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 1 June 1996

IF IT makes you feel better, think of Ben Folds as a visiting alien. He's travelled to our planet in peace, hoping to exchange ideas ...

Ice-T: Subterania, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 1 June 1996

TRACE RELATIONS ...

Super Furry Animals: LA2, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 15 June 1996

KILLER WALES! ...

Ben Folds Five: The Men From U.N.C.O.O.L.

Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 20 June 1996

BEN FOLDS FIVE are on a mission (impossible) to make Seventies radio pop so hip it hurts ...

Beck: Odelay (Geffen)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 22 June 1996

BECK is back. But is the slacker guru's new opus a celebration of eclectic musical styles or just an aimless shambles? ...

Funky Porcini: Funki Porcini: Love, Pussycats & Carwrecks (Ninja Tune 12 tks/68 mins)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 22 June 1996

PUSSY GALORE: Tranquil trip hop, crystal clear jungle and salacious sex. FUNKI PORCINI has it all ...

The Divine Comedy: Champagne Casanova

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 22 June 1996

THE DIVINE COMEDY are this year's finest purveyors of unlucky-in-love pop — this year's Pulp, in other words. Which makes mainman NEIL HANNON, the new ...

The Mike Flowers Pops: A Groovy Place (London 10 tks/35 mins)

Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 22 June 1996

MY INSIDER from the world of 'ardkore E-Z Listening informs me that Mike Flowers is "faux", but pleasant enough if you're whammed off your tits ...

808 State: Castlefield Amphitheatre, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 6 July 1996

IS THIS THE way the future's really meant to feel? Or just 20,000 mutants standing in a cobbled amphitheatre? Either there's an extremely mad scientist ...

Kenickie: The Zap, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 July 1996

COULD I just get this out of the way? I mean, Kenickie are wonderful for what they are, not what they aren't, but I'd just ...

Screaming Trees: Ashes To Ashes

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 13 July 1996

WE'RE LUCKY Screaming Trees, peers of Nirvana, are still here, given mainman Mark Lanegan's excess-all-areas past. We're especially lucky because the Trees have just recorded ...

Super Furry Animals: "We've never taken acid"

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 July 1996

…So why is Super Furry Animals' new video set in a multi-coloured chemistry lab? How come their ancestors wore pointy hats on visits to castles? ...

The Divine Comedy: Up the Dante — The Divine Comedy: Casanova (Setanta)

Review and Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 July 1996

Did the world misunderstand THE DIVINE COMEDY'S last LP? Now it's been reissued, and it's time to think again ...

Nas: Written Out — Nas: It Was Written (Columbia 14tks/59mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 13 July 1996

NAS is one of rap's supreme lyricists and vocal stylists. A pity, then, that his new album isn't worthy of his talents ...

The Lemonheads: Car Button Cloth

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 19 July 1996

NO RADICAL new departures for Evan, then. No jungle. No trip hop. No techno. No baggy. No "slo-fi", even. Thank f*** for that. A band who ...

Slayer: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 20 July 1996

THRILL KILLER CULT ...

The Prodigy: Prod Almighty

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 July 1996

'Firestarter' has made THE PRODIGY the nation's favourite alternative alternative band: Chris Evans doesn't play them, they refuse to do Top Of The Pops, and ...

The Prodigy: Torhout Rock, Bruges

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 20 July 1996

I DON'T WANNA reiterate the usual boring Belgium jokes — I've had better times in Bruxelles than I've ever had in, say, Paris, but the ...

Dog Eat Dog (punk and rap): Dog Eat Dog: Astoria, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 27 July 1996

WHO DO you think is more punk rock? The committed mohawk who lives on a steady diet of superfast hardcore tunes and fronts a troupe ...

Sebadoh: King's College, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 27 July 1996

EMPIRE OF THE DEFENCES ...

The Pharcyde: The Forum, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 3 August 1996

IT'S A SHAME ABOUT CABARET ...

My Life Story: Jake's Progress

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 10 August 1996

More Pulp than Pulp, more divine than The Divine Comedy, the 12 members of MY LIFE STORY now bring you '12 Reasons Why'. Glory beckons. ...

Dodgy: What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding?

Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 24 August 1996

People thought DODGY were barking when they turned down an offer to play with Oasis at Loch Lomond and Knebworth. But they had more serious ...

The Auteurs: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, September 1996

PITY POOR Luke Haines, a man weighed down by the burden of talent. It's odd to think that this sneering bundle of cynical intelligence was ...

DJ Shadow: Endtroducing... (Mo'Wax 13tks/64mins)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

Tricks of the Shade ...

Kula Shaker: K (Parlophone)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

I'VE JUST BEEN informed by that porridge-faced wanker, Simon Mayo, that Kula Shaker are "the next Oasis". Of course, the obvious questions don't even get ...

Lewis Taylor: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

OH DEAR. Mick Talbot's here. Perhaps as an innocent punter, perhaps as an Emissary from Pope Paul Weller. My only fleeting concern with "white soul ...

Smog: Sorely Mist — Smog: The Doctor Came At Dawn (Domino 10 tks/39 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

Misery is no fun. SMOG know it. And express it perfectly ...

Spring Heel Jack: Versions (Trade 2, 7tks/48 mins)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

VERSIONS Comprises Spring Heel Jack's crafty reworkings of the mechanical masterpieces which made up their godlike recent 68 Million Shades... album. It marks the point ...

Suede: Virgin Megastore, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

UP FOR IT ...

Tracy Bonham: The Borderline, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

THE DUST mite is a disgusting little beast, preying on dead and rotting skin cells abandoned by the progress of life. Tracy Bonham, on the ...

Moby: Animal Rights (Mute 12 tks/54 mins)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

MOBY WAS responsible for 'Go', not just one of the few techno/pop crossover hits to endure in the affections of non-dance aficionados but also one ...

Oasis: They Thought It Was All Over

Report by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

THE ANNOUNCEMENT came on Friday, 24 hours of nail-biting drama. Oasis, after all, were not going to split. ...

Flying Saucer Attack, Tortoise: Tortoise, Flying Saucer Attack: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

SOMEWHERE IN the paranoid corners of your mind, there are scientists trying to claim this music as their own. They erect cages of solemn reason ...

Josh Wink: Winx: Left Above The Clouds (XL 28 tks/74 mins); Josh Wink: A Higher State Of Wink's Works (Manifesto 7 tks/43 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

DREAD PRESIDENT Clean techno crusty JOSH WINK is a star now. Why? ...

Chuck D: D-Termination

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 28 September 1996

CHUCK D is back with a new solo album and a new mission — to destroy gangsta rap. The Maker listens in ...

3 Colours Red, Heavy Stereo, Super Furry Animals: Furry Tale of New York

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 28 September 1996

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Take Melody Maker out to New York with three of CREATION RECORDS' brightest new bands — 3 COLOURS ...

Soundgarden: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 28 September 1996

PERFECT. AS only the superficial can be. ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Bang! Bang! You're Cred

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 5 October 1996

They're rude, they're raw, they love rock'n'roll, they're The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Just don't call them cabaret, that's all ...

Baby Bird: Ugly Beautiful

Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 October 1996

The first Baby Bird-as-a-band album is hideously lovely... ...

Radiohead: Creep Show: Radiohead: The Tramshed, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 19 October 1996

IN THE CORNER of this wretched party for the beautiful people hangs a photograph of Thom Yorke, pointing an accusing finger around the room; he's ...

DJ Shadow: The Penumbra of the Beast

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 26 October 1996

The way Portishead took dance into uncharted territories in 1994, the way Tricky took chances in 1995, so DJ SHADOW is pushing back the envelope ...

The Fugees: Ready Or What?: The Fugees: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 November 1996

THREE NUMBERS. Over some 40 minutes prior to the encore, that's all they manage to play. Three numbers in full. And two of them are ...

Mazzy Star: Starred For Life: Mazzy Star: Among My Swan (Capitol)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 2 November 1996

Mazzy star's new album sounds exactly like... Mazzy Star. Which is a blessing. ...

The Chemical Brothers: The Lucifer-y Freak Brothers: The Chemical Brothers: The Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 2 November 1996

THE BOY ONSTAGE looks surprisingly calm and bright eyed. He gazes out at the mass of seething bodies, hunches his shoulders in a quietly at-one ...

Aphex Twin: The Clink, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 9 November 1996

WHAT... what... what the fuck is going on? Frenzied breakbeats and oppressive bursts of synth are emanating from the front of the venue, but the ...

Kenickie: Kamikaze! Karaoke! Kenickie!

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 9 November 1996

KENICKIE may barnstorm through life like kamikaze karaoke kids, but there's sadness in their madness ...

The Stone Roses: The Long Goodbye

Memoir by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 November 1996

After their disastrous performance at this year's Reading Festival, the general consensus was that THE STONE ROSES should do the decent thing and split up. ...

Tricky: Pre-Millennium Tension (Island, 10 tks/42 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 9 November 1996

2000 A SPACED ODYSSEY ...

Screaming Trees: Riverside, Newcastle

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 16 November 1996

FOR A gig you might've expected to be a pissed–up, beery slop, all bum–notes and chaos, it's all in the subtleties of feel. This is ...

Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur: The Future Hound of Gundom: Snoop Doggy Dogg: Tha Doggfather/Makaveli: The Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 16 November 1996

Snoop's poised defiance and masterful Gangsta cool, posthumous crap from 2Pac ...

Dr. Dre: The Dre Today: Dr. Dre Presents: The Aftermath (Interscope/MCA)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 30 November 1996

Don't be fooled by his past, DR DRE is a one-man Motown, a pop perfectionist for the 21st Century ...

Suede: Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 7 December 1996

STARSPOTTING. Robbie Fowler. Good. Hollyoaks cast. Bad. After the gig, back at the hotel, I get in the lift. Brett Anderson's pressing the button for ...

Sparklehorse: LA2, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 14 December 1996

REIN STORM ...

Pamela Des Barres: No Holds Barres

Interview by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 19 December 1996

Carol Clerk reports on the latest book from groupie supreme, Pamela Des Barres ...

Manic Street Preachers: "Everything Must Go!"

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 21 December 1996

'...Apart from the Super Furries album, and the Suede and Boos ones. Oh, and ours wasn't bad...' Since THE MANICS won MM's Album Of The ...

Kenickie: Underworld. London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 4 January 1997

FLU, FLU, wretched, bastard flu. Wobbly, shaky, queasy arsehole flu. A touch of the sniffles, a grope of catarrh, a 50-quid hand job of nausea. ...

Placebo: LA2, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 4 January 1997

BRIAN GIGS ...

Kenickie: To Hell With Teen Spirit

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 11 January 1997

KENICKIE may be young, they may use guitars, they may be supernaturally exuberant. But they are not, repeat NOT, a teen punk band. With their ...

Suede: Saturday Night Fever

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 January 1997

Last year's resurrection of SUEDE was almost as impressive a Lazarus job as the Manics' — a Number One album, two hit singles, and the ...

Tricky: Hanger 11, Tel Aviv

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 18 January 1997

FRONTIER BASHING ...

Coldcut, DJ Krush: Coldcut & DJ Food Vs DJ Krush: Cold Krush Cuts (Ninja Tune/CD only)

Review by Keith Cameron, Melody Maker, 1 February 1997

CHILLER ON THE LOOSE ...

The Roots: Illadelph Halflife (Geffen)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 1 February 1997

HIP HOP RULE NUMBER 4080: "live" instrumentation and hip hop don't mix. Hip hop rule Number 4081: except for The Roots. The exception, the exceptional, ...

Blur: Blur (Food/Parlophone 14tks/57mins)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 8 February 1997

Get this. BLUR have gone lo-fi. They're slumming it. And they might just have made their finest album to date... ...

Foo Fighters, Placebo: Placebo & Foo Fighters: Hallo Spaceboys

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 15 February 1997

THE SETTING: Placebo's dressing room, backstage at Madison Square Garden. David Bowie is halfway through his 50th Birthday Concert. Two of his special guests are ...

Republica: Ready Or Not…

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 February 1997

 ...here they come! REPUBLICA, that is, the UK post-punk techno-pop band who are currently taking America by storm ...

Ben Folds Five: It's Hip to be Square

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 8 March 1997

No guitars. Stevie Wonder cover versions. Three boys steeped in musicals. What are BEN FOLDS FIVE like? ...

Daft Punk: Plastique Fantastique

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 29 March 1997

It's taken a while, but mainstream America is finally welcoming dance music with open aims. Now they're going crazy over the Chemicals and are poised ...

Wu-Tang Clan: Clan-destined: Wu-Tang Clan: The Rocket, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 3 May 1997

OK, YA WANNA KNOW what the new LP sounds like, right? Oh, man, oh Jesus, it's the bomb, baby. It's incredible. It's the LP that's ...

Faithless: Faith, Hope And Clarity

Profile and Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 May 1997

FAITHLESS are successfully grafting poetry, intelligence and stoner philosophy onto their floor-filling euphoric dance. Dare you follow?                                                        * ...

Gabrielle: The Dome, Brighton

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 3 May 1997

"DREAMS", she ruins. It's extended, distended, f***ed-over — sacrificed upon the all-consuming altar of crowd participation. ...

U2: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 3 May 1997

SLOW DEATH IN VEGAS ...

Mogwai: Ten Rapid (Jetset 9tks/33 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 10 May 1997

MONSTER CRAZY! ...

Beck: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

BECK TO THE FUTURE ...

The Beautiful South, Big In Japan, The Bootleg Beatles, Dodgy, Holly Johnson, The Lightning Seeds, Manic Street Preachers, Smaller, Space, Stereophonics: Manic Street Preachers, Beautiful South et al: Hillsborough Justice Concert, Anfield, Liverpool

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

96 REASONS WHY ...

Smog: Pea Super! Smog: Red Apple Falls (Domino 9 tks/43 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

You might not want him living next door to you, but Bill Callahan, aka SMOG, is surprisingly fine company... ...

Placebo: Barrowlands, Glasgow

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

GLASGOW KISS ...

Plaid, Squarepusher: Squarepusher, Plaid: The Blue Note, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

APHEX TWIN is blocking the bloody stairs. Paul Hartnoll out of Orbital is getting crushed and Björk is lost in her own little world down ...

Supergrass: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

LIFE'S A SNITCH? ...

Talvin Singh: The Blue Note, London

Live Review by Ngaire Ruth, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

HOW ARE all the people in this queue going to get into a place that small? ...

The Prodigy: Festimad, Madrid

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

MADRID FOR IT!! ...

The Seahorses: Put An Annelid On It: The Seahorses: Do It Yourself (Geffen)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 24 May 1997

Question A: What the hell does John Squire think he's doing? Question B: Why is he doing it with THE SEAHORSES? Oh dear… ...

Ghostface Killah, Method Man, RZA, Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-Tang Clan: Martial Lore

Special Feature by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 24 May 1997

Public Enemy's fall from grace left hip hop without a heroic focus. Enter WU-TANG CLAN, a crew from Staten Island whose ever-changing line-up has produced ...

Blur, The Levellers, Mark Owen, The Prodigy, Stereophonics, Symposium: Alive and Kicking

Report by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 31 May 1997

Sunday sunshine and a celebrity soccer shoot-out! A brace of top pop stars recently puffed their way around the pitch in a charity match. Some ...

Marilyn Manson: Freak Showmanship: Marilyn Manson, Brixton Academy: London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 31 May 1997

YOUNG BOYS. HALF-NEKKID. COVERED IN MAKE-UP. GULP. It's heaving in here and I can't tell if it's down to a pilgrimage of worship or just ...

Wu-Tang Clan: Forever (Loud/RCA 28tks/120mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 31 May 1997

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY Have the WU-TANG CLAN just made the greatest hip hop album of all time? ...

Body Count: Astoria, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 7 June 1997

ICE AND A SLICE ...

The Jungle Brothers: Jungle Brothers: Raw Deluxe (Gee Street 11tks/52 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 7 June 1997

SEVEN YEARS is an eternity in hip hop. Cliché. Seven years is nothing in hip hop. Truth. It doesn't feel like it's been seven years ...

Monaco: Music For Pleasure (Polydor 10 tks/53 mins)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 7 June 1997

Push aside those past glories. Sweep up those laurels. Here comes Peter Hook with MONACO. Can they make the grade? ...

Hanson: The Kids Are All Bright!

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 June 1997

Their single is catchier than a cold sore and it's everywhere this summer. America's teen-tastic HANSON leapt straight outta nowhere into the Number One spot ...

Spiritualized: Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Dedicated 12tks/7O mins)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 14 June 1997

It's been a long, strange trip for Jason Pierce, and with the new album from SPIRITUALIZED, it's getting stranger and lovelier by the minute... ...

Travis: Brave Free Travis!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 21 June 1997

Forget irony, glibness and surface gloss — TRAVIS have. They're bursting with belief and unembarrassed about wearing their hearts on their sleeves. And they're going to be HUGE ...

En Vogue: Style Be There: En Vogue: EV3 (east west)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 21 June 1997

Forget the bargain basement girl power of The Spice Girls — EN VOGUE are sexier, sassier and downright funky… ...

Echo & The Bunnymen, The Prodigy, Smashing Pumpkins: Glastonbury: Where Were You While We Were All Getting Dry?

Report by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 5 July 1997

So, you are back home again, tucked up in bed, bad dose of the snivels. Your shoes are f***ed, your bones a bit soggy. Well, ...

Ben Folds Five: The Wax Inspectors!

Report by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 20 July 1997

Jeez, the things you find out when you take an American band — BEN FOLDS FIVE — to a London tourist attraction — Madame Tussaud's ...

Cast, Travis: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 26 July 1997

ONE LONE balloon bobs over Brixton Academy's mad-for-it crowd. It flicks and twists its playful way across the room, through the strands of blue light ...

Michael Jackson: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 26 July 1997

All You Need Is Glove ...

David McAlmont: What The Butler Didn't See!

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 2 August 1997

Victimised as a child, DAVID McALMONT took years before realising he could sing. Then when he met his musical match, former Suede guru, Bernard Butler, ...

Meredith Brooks: Claws-out Bitchin' Pop

Profile and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 9 August 1997

MEREDITH BROOKS talks a lot. She lives in LA. She doesn't do sugar, cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. ...

Portishead: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 16 August 1997

'HEAD OVER HEELS ...

Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: The Notorious Zig-A-Zig-Ah!

Profile by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 August 1997

THERE'S NO ducking it. The Spice Girls are undoubtedly the most successful British teenypop act. Their album, Spice, has sold over seven million albums in ...

All Saints: Post Spice Hip-Hop

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 23 August 1997

THERE ARE certain things in life you can be sure of. Rain on Bank Holidays, never having enough money, Alan Shearer getting injured when it ...

Cornershop: When I Was Born For The 7th Time (Wiiija/All formats)

Review by Paul Moody, Melody Maker, 6 September 1997

THINK BACK. Remember when dissing Morrissey mattered, Huggy Bear were considered to be avant-garde situationists and Tony Parsons was happily sounding the death knell on ...

Coldcut: Heat to the Beat: Coldcut at 333, London

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 6 September 1997

"HOW COLD can Coldcut get?" When sweat is dripping off your nose, your T-shirt has stuck and the most strenuous thing you've done is light ...

U2: Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 6 September 1997

Mart For Art's Sake ...

Coldcut: Let Us Play (Ninja Tune 13 tks/77 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

Coldcut have come up trumps with a new album full of kitsch delights — and it's bloody good fun too... ...

Gravediggaz: The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel (Gee Street 15tks/63mins)

Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

GRAVEDIGGERS, morbid souls who don't usually have much to say. Gravediggaz, however... ...

Travis: Looking Good, Feeling Sublime — Travis: Good Feeling (Independiente 12tks/49mins)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

TRAVIS have it all: the songs, the passion and now an album to adore... ...

No Doubt: Over And No Doubt?

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

No Doubt have went from garage band to worldwide stardom. But is it the end of the band as we know it? We join them ...

Laika, Radiohead: Radiohead, Laika: Bridlington Spa

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

YORKE SHOW HOST ...

Simon Raymonde: Blame Someone Else (Bella Union 12 tks/55 mins)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

EVERY NOTE trickles into your ears like the tongue of a gorgeous stranger. Sorry, but that's honestly what it's like. ...

Travis: It's Getting Better Manhattan!

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 13 September 1997

They're Noel's favourite band and are soon to support Oasis on their tour. We traveled to New York to see what makes people love TRAVIS... ...

Dannii Minogue: Dannii: Girl (Eternal 10 Tks/56 Mins)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 20 September 1997

"DANNII, DEAREST," come the plummy tones of an Eternal Records exec. "Could you step in here a moment?" ...

Marilyn Manson: Alternative Cult Star

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 20 September 1997

He's seven-foot tall and rips his stomach to shreds with a half-broken bottle on stage. But, heh, he's still little Brian to his mum. We ...

Kylie Minogue: Kylie Minogue (deConstruction 12tks/50mins)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 27 September 1997

Mission impossible: With yet another musical direction has Kylie finally found her niche? ...

Green Day: Stick 'Em Up, Punks!

Interview by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

Those loveable American punk rockers GREEN DAY are back. We join them in Milan to find out if they're still punk at heart. Guess what? ...

Loop Guru: Mental Guru!

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

As UK techno's second wave engulfs America, we join 806 STATE, SYSTEM 7, BT, GROOVERIDER and our hosts LOOP GURU on the Big Top Tour, ...

No Doubt, Symposium: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

A DEAD CERTAINTY ...

Oasis, the Verve: Earls Court, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

THURSDAY ...

Oasis: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

TICK. TOCK. The giant clock behind Noel, who is 29 years old, and Liam, who is 24, runs steadily backwards. There's always been a big ...

Portishead: Portishead (GO! Beat 11tks/50 mins)

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

GLOOM, GLOOM, SHAKE THE ROOM! It's dark, it's gloomy and it's brilliant. Yep, PORTISHEAD are back ...

Robbie Williams: Life Thru A Lens (Chrysalis)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

"WHAT'S HE ever done that's actually been any good?" ...

Robbie Williams: University of East Anglia, Norwich

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 10 October 1997

WELL, I'd shag him. And if you believe the tabloids, I already have. And been indicted in the hedonistic disruption of a man who lives ...

Catatonia: The Hit-Man And Her

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 11 October 1997

Cerys from CATATONIA is on first name terms with hit men while the rest of the band are into mafia-type shenanigans. Blimey! Best not call ...

Hole: My Body The Hand Grenade (City Slang)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 October 1997

COURTNEY LOVE reigned supreme in 1995 – and didn't we know she knew it. Now, with the release off a new album, well, it's all ...

Louise: Young, Gifted and Back!

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 11 October 1997

Yep, she's here again. When we asked who was the lass with the most class, LOUISE shot to the top of our sex poll. Now ...

Lo Fidelity Allstars: Lo-Fidelity Allstars: Allstars In Your Eyes

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 18 October 1997

LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS are gonna be massive. Who says? They do. And we agree. We join them on the UK tour everyone will claim to have ...

Louise: Woman In Me (EMI 16tks/69 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 October 1997

NOW KIDS, when you say "Sexiest Lass In The World" ...do you mean "Most Symmetrical"? Or "Most Unblemished"? Or "Most Likely To Wear A Pencil ...

Natalie Imbruglia: Fluff-free pop goddess

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 18 October 1997

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA is teasingly biting her lower lip. I'd really love to join her. She has perfect hair, crystal clear eyes and the kind of ...

The Fall: Levitate (Artful)

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 24 October 1997

AFTER 20 years, nine labels, 22 line-ups and one ballet, the Fall hit us with Levitate, their 30th album. Yup, that's 30 albums. Nevertheless, with ...

3 Colours Red, Bush: Bush, 3 Colours Red: SFX Centre, Dublin

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 25 October 1997

BETWEEN ROCK AND A TIRED PLACE ...

Missy Elliott: Supa Dupa Fly

Review by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 25 October 1997

MISSY "Misdemeanour" Elliott has been an invisible but insistent pivot of the pop world. ...

Alabama 3: Olympia, Dublin

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 1 November 1997

THESE ARE the sort of men my mother warned me about as a small child, and — metaphorically, at least — they want me to ...

Finley Quaye: LA2, London

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 8 November 1997

HOW IS IT that this cherub before us can be Tricky's uncle? ...

Kylie Minogue: A Redesign for Life!

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 8 November 1997

She used to be in Neighbours, then came the pop career then Nick Cave then the bloody Manics! Now KYLIE is Indiekylie and she's cooler ...

Spice Girls: The Spice Is Right: Spice Girls: Spiceworld (Virgin)

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 8 November 1997

You've quaffed the cola and scoffed the crisps — now read the review ...

Catatonia: Tipsy Narco: Catatonia: Warwick University, Coventry

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 8 November 1997

YOU LEAVE more alive than you came. You leave with your secrets not just repeated but monumentalised. You never wanna leave. Catatonia are better. ...

Daft Punk: The Astoria, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 20 November 1997

UNDERGROUND/OVERGROUND, spectacle/black-out, in-yer-face/faceless, pop/music. Dance has to make its choices. Either it believes in its own unique power, rejecting stages, identification, authenticity and the audience/artist ...

Foo Fighters: Foo Man Chew

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 November 1997

In our occasional Tour Diary series, we find out why Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS always chews gum onstage, loves punk rock and why he ...

Hanson: Combat Pop!

Interview by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

Well, we couldn't take them out on the piss all night, could we? We take HANSON to Laser Quest in Reading and zap their little ...

Mark Owen: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

BOOM, BAH-kaddah, boom-kaddah-dakka-dah, screeee!!! ...

DJ Shadow, Radiohead, Teenage Fanclub: Radiohead, DJ Shadow, Teenage Fanclub: International Arena, Cardiff

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

TO DAI FOR! ...

Rakim: The 18th Letter (Universal 17 tks/58 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

HE IS the resurrection. From 1987 to 1992, Rakim was every hip hopper's MC choice, the rapper's rapper, responsible (forget Eric B — the man ...

Hanson: Snowbored! Hanson: Snowed In (Mercury 11 tks/42 mins)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

So, is HANSON'S second album — devoted to the spirit off Christmas — a cracker... or a whopping great turkey? ...

Soundgarden: A-Sides

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 22 November 1997

IT SEEMS LIKE Soundgarden's rich and fruitful career falls into two distinctive camps, reflected quite clearly on this, their first post-split release. ...

All Saints, Natalie Imbruglia: Saints And Sinner: All Saints: All Saints (London)/Natalie Imbruglia: Left Of The Middle (RCA)

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 29 November 1997

OK, they're pretty, cool and main players in the New Pop Explosion but do they have any songs? ...

The Verve: The Boston T-Shirt Party!

Report by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 29 November 1997

Welcome to the beauty of the new soul rebels. We join THE VERVE in America and discover the Wigan warriors are ready to take on ...

Natalie Imbruglia: Shredded Treat!

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 13 December 1997

Why NATALIE IMBRUGLIA? Because her debut single 'Torn' is f***in' brilliant, and she's gorgeous and she drinks! Wahey! We invite Nat out for a beer ...

The Prodigy: Prodigy: G-MEX, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 13 December 1997

YOUR MUSICAL memory of tonight is reversed; I walked backwards as they got worse. To pin the Prod down, pin down why they still offer ...

Salt-N-Pepa: Condiment-al as Anything

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 December 1997

And you thought Girl Power was a new thang? Oh no, SALT-N-PEPA invented it a decade ago. The Maker catches up with the trio in ...

3 Colours Red, All Saints, Goldblade: All Saints, 3 Colours Red, Goldblade: Can't Cook, Won't Cook

Interview by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 20 December 1997

The search for the spirit of Christmas. Eating 'n' drinking: Ben Myers ...

Campag Velocet: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 January 1998

WELL, YOU can sack your Skunk Rock epithets for starters. Sure, there's a movement going on, a rumble that takes in not only the band ...

The Candyskins, My Life Story: My Life Story, the Candyskins: Astoria, London

Live Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 3 January 1998

HMMPH. THE Candyskins. Who would have believed it? Just over a year ago I saw them in a dingy pub in Luton. They were indie ...

Oasis, Supergrass: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 3 January 1998

DURACELL-ING THEMSELVES SHORT? ...

Alabama 3: The Garage, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 10 January 1998

SOUTHERN MUTHAS DO HAVE EM! ...

Idlewild: Eye-up Idlewild

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 10 January 1998

Idlewild, Edinburgh's best kept secret, will floor you with their brain rushing brand of noise pollution ...

Stereophonics: Cardiff University

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 10 January 1998

KELLY'S HEROES ...

Bernard Butler: Upstairs At The Garage, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 24 January 1998

BERNARD'S GOT a reputation. Grumpy, petulant sod, chip on his shoulder big enough to end a potato famine. But, in the Suede heyday, he used ...

Catatonia: New Adventures In Sci-Fi

Profile and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 24 January 1998

CATATONIA's last single was about "mobs" — no it's sci-fi doodlings! We hotfoot it to Wales and ask them what the hell's going on ...

Kristin Hersh: 12 Bar Club, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 24 January 1998

KRIST ALMIGHTY! ...

Regular Fries: Rheingold Club, London

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 24 January 1998

A CHIP SHOT ...

Kristin Hersh: Strange Angels

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 31 January 1998

WHERE AM I? What am I doing here? Relax... Kristin Hersh will unravel your knotted mind. ...

Manic Street Preachers: Richey Edwards: Vanishing Point

Report by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 31 January 1998

It's now three years since Richey James disappeared — and he's still "The Most Sadly Missed" in The Maker Polls. We trace his early, confused ...

All Saints: Saint Misbehavin'!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 7 February 1998

If you believe the tabloids, ALL SAINTS are a bunch of tune-nicking, three-in-a-bed romping, manager-bashing, Spice Girl wannabes. But is that bollocks? We join the ...

Catatonia: International Velvet (blanco y negro 12 tks/45 mins)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 7 February 1998

POP SMART! In just 45 minutes, CATATONIA prove why The Maker stuck its neck out and gave them their first national cover... ...

Stereophonics: Be Herr Now!

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 14 February 1998

Voted Best New Band in The Maker's Readers' Poll, Stereophonics are set to seriously f*** up 1998. We join them in Berlin and hear how ...

Grandaddy: The Monarch, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 21 February 1998

A LESSON in not listening to The Man, who would have you believe that bands like Grandaddy, stretching their thrift-store synths way beyond their limits ...

Shed Seven: The Italian Mob!

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 28 February 1998

All we wanted was to have a few laughs, japes and capers in Venice. But oh no, SHED SEVEN say they're now serious musicians. Aha, ...

Dust Junkys: Done & Dusted (Polydor) **½

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 7 March 1998

ENTER PLANET DUST ...

Tortoise: TNT (City Slang)

Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 7 March 1998

THE PROBLEM with prog rock was that it didn't actually progress anywhere; musical frontierism was merely a smokescreen for some of the most wanky follies ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Water Rat, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 28 March 1998

THERE HAVE always been four steadfast rules regarding the Jesus And Mary Chain live experience. They don't talk, they never smile, they'd rather die than ...

James: Manchester Apollo

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, April 1998

IT'S LIKE Last Night Of The Proms without the flags, pomp, and dubious patriotism and with infinitely better music. To my left, the first of ...

Bernard Butler: People Move On (Creation)****

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 4 April 1998

YOU KNOW the story. March 25,1992 and there in block capitals, the stuff legends are made of: "Suede – The Best New Band In Britain". ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: The Jesus And Mary Chain: Snaps Crack-Ups and Strop!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 4 April 1998

To find out if THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN are really "cracking up", we meet them in a pub with three photos from the past ...

Janet Jackson: Fondle With Care: Janet Jackson: Ahoy, Rotterdam

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 25 April 1998

IT'S WHEN THE camera catches the screen and doubles her back to infinity. It's when she's frozen silent by the spotlight, in the teeth of ...

Beck, The Verve: The Verve, Beck: Haigh Hall, Wigan

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, May 1998

HAIGH DUDE! ...

Diamanda Galás: Malediction And Prayer (Mute) **½

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 2 May 1998

WITH A voice akin to Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf and Shirley Bassey, yet with a distinctly goth-baroque slant, Galás is something of a unique entity. ...

Propellerheads: Metropolitan University, Leeds

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 2 May 1998

'HEADS THEY LOSE? ...

Garbage: Version 2.0 (Mushroom)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 9 May 1998

LET'S GET MUCKY! ...

The Chemical Brothers, Cornershop, Beth Orton, Primal Scream, Finley Quaye, Run-DMC, Roni Size and Reprazent: Run DMC, Chemical Brothers, Roni Size et al: Creamfields, Winchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 9 May 1998

It's a Cream come true! We join the madness that's CREAMFIELDS in Winchester with Primal Scream! Cornershop! Roni Size! Run DMC! The full bloody monty! ...

Girls Against Boys: Freak*on*ica (Geffen)

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 16 May 1998

UH-OH. IT'S that corporate record thing. After many years riding the subways of an ultra-cool underground, first as Soulside, then as Girls Against Boys and ...

Jeff Buckley: Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk) (Epic)

Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 16 May 1998

YOUR INITIAL thoughts as you listen to this — the first posthumous release from mercurial troubadour Jeff Buckley (who drowned in the Mississippi last May) ...

Sonic Youth: A Thousand Leaves (Geffen)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 16 May 1998

Leaf It Out! ...

Symposium: On The Outside (Infectious) *

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 16 May 1998

DEAD AND BURIED? ...

Dana International: Eurovision: Hanging Out at the Euro Shenanigans

Report by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 23 May 1998

WE WUZ robbed. Christ, not the UK, I mean Belgium. Did you hear the gorgeous Melanie Cohl's gasping sigh of Saint Etienne-style cine-pop, 'Dis Oui' ...

Royal Trux: Garage, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 23 May 1998

TONIGHT, EVERYONE wants to be a cowboy, a hustler, a rock'n'roll star. There's an accentuated swagger to the crowd; drinks are ordered and ferried with ...

Grandaddy, Super Furry Animals: Super Furry Animals, Grandaddy: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 23 May 1998

CREATURE COMFORTS ...

The Beta Band: International Student House, London

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 23 May 1998

THEY'RE THE ONE FOR US ...

Tricky: Angels With Dirty Faces (Island)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 23 May 1998

Cherub Thumping! ...

Elliott Smith: Either/Or (Domino) ****½

Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 30 May 1998

THE FIRST thing you'll hear is a slight whisper, a lone voice sighing with warm-hearted devotion. Then a few similarly sensitive souls will chip in, ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Adore (Hut)

Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 30 May 1998

BILLY'S THE KID ...

Tricky: The Forum, London

Live Review by Ben Myers, Melody Maker, 30 May 1998

PRE-MILLENNIUM TEDIUM ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 6 June 1998

SMASH'N'DRAB ...

Girls Against Boys: ULU, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 20 June 1998

THE SATANIC VERSUS ...

The Jungle Brothers: Jungle Brothers: Metropole Hotel, Cork

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 20 June 1998

A FEW YEARS back, while the world fell as one for the deftly jazzy, pro-Afro delights of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, ...

Kenickie: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 20 June 1998

HEY, LITTLE rich girl, where did you go wrong? The 'Nick should never have moved to London. Left home, met all these glittery chuckleheads, built ...

Lo Fidelity Allstars: Lo-Fidelity Allstars: The Cockpit, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 June 1998

THAT'S BLOWN IT! ...

Puressence: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 20 June 1998

STAR DATE 2048. The Devolved People's Republic of Failsworth launches the first charter flights to the moon, a civilian enterprise inspired by local heroes Puressence's ...

Elliott Smith: Acoustic Splendour

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 27 June 1998

CATEGORIES and pigeonholes and genres. They sure make our job easier. Everyone fits neatly in somewhere. Elliott Smith isn't too sure. ...

Garbage: Go On, Manson

Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 11 July 1998

SHE MAY LOOK like an angel, but behind the exterior lies and acidic tongue, waiting to be unleashed. We meet Shirley from GARBAGE on the ...

Carl Cox: Ambassador Of Dance

Interview by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 18 July 1998

"IT WAS either this, or scaffolding." Carl Cox, perhaps the biggest DJ on earth, in more ways than one, is relaxing in the Italian morning ...

The Beta Band: Gringo Stars

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 25 July 1998

Take an explosive mix of the Primals, The Verve and Billy Smart and, voila!, THE BETA BAND: proof that UK music is fighting fit and up ...

theaudience: Crowd Trouble!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 25 July 1998

THEAUDIENCE have it all.The big-mouthed gorgeous singer and the melody-packed tunes most bands would blow up a granny for. We meet them in Oxford and ...

The Bluetones: The X-rated Files: The Bluetones

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 1 August 1998

MARK MORRISS lifts up his shirt and winces. It's not a pretty sight – a jumbled wash of red, black and blue, like a colour ...

Elliott Smith: Roman Candle; Elliott Smith (Domino)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 August 1998

PORTLAND, OREGON singer/songwriter Elliott Smith is the man responsible for this year's most vital album release, the mesmerising Either/Or. Imagine a more focused Sebadoh or ...

theaudience: theaudience (Mercury/eLLeFFe)

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 15 August 1998

THEAUDIENCE have sure ruffled some feathers in the short time they've been around. They could have slipped under the wire unnoticed; instead, they've added an ...

UNKLE: Psyence Fiction (Mo'Wax)

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 22 August 1998

SCI-FI ALLSTARS ...

Hole: Celebrity Skin (Geffen)

Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 5 September 1998

COURTNEY LOVE is performing the most outrageous and unexpected act of an outrageous, unexpected life: surviving. Her rewriting of 'Miss World' on Hole's last tour ...

Ash: We Are The Resurrection

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

The original Bratpoppers, ASH, are back! We meet them in Sweden and hear about Ian Paisley, the nuclear-tastic new album and Charlotte's death-threats ...

Black Eyed Peas: Behind The Front (Interscope) ****

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

EVERY ONCE in a while, some little sweetie in Hiphopsville receives one too many Valentines and gets all gooey on our asses. People generally think ...

Elliott Smith: Elliott Gold: Elliott Smith: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

WE'RE A sad bunch of buggers, us lovers of soothing, emotional country rock. ...

Courtney Love, Hole: Hole: Kith and Skin

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

She's still angry, still got the "fire in her belly", still craving world domination for HOLE. We load up the tequila and discover that a ...

Jurassic 5: ULU, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

PREHISTORY IN THE MAKING ...

Canibus, Cypress Hill, Gang Starr, Wyclef Jean, Public Enemy: Public Enemy, Cypress Hill et al: Smokin' Grooves Tour, Key Arena, Seattle

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 12 September 1998

TOKE THAT AND PARTY! ...

PJ Harvey: Is This Desire? (Island)

Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 26 September 1998

IT NEVER rains, it pours. The release of Is This Desire?, PJ Harvey's fifth album, comes hot on the heels of releases by such former ...

Republica: Ace of Pace

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 September 1998

REPUBLICA are now so successful that Cher asks permission to copy Saffron's hairstyle. We talk to them about their lengthy climb to the top, fame, ...

Depeche Mode: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, October 1998

CITED BY MANY electronica artists as an early influence, Depeche Mode began life as chirpy synth-poppers in the early '80s before moving into superb clangers ...

Fun Lovin' Criminals: Mob Rule!

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 October 1998

Supermodels on their Ds, Norweigan brandy parties, British pop star girlfriends "kickin' Swedish ass": it's all part of the Fun Lovin' Criminals' life on the ...

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia) ****

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 3 October 1998

IF, SAY, Embrace were to sit around in the studio talking about paper rounds and puberty and stuff, they'd never dream of recording snippets and ...

Idlewild

Profile and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 17 October 1998

THROUGH THE idle pre-gig chit-chat, four lads wend their way from the rear of the venue towards the stage. As the singer politely picks his ...

Catatonia: The Sex Files!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 24 October 1998

Virtually unknown a year ago — 12 months later Cerys Matthews is voted the sexiest woman in rock in a Maker poll. How'd that happen!? ...

Eric B. & Rakim: Eric B & Rakim: Paid In Full: Platinum Edition (Island) *****

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 31 October 1998

IN THE LATE EIGHTIES, Eric B & Rakim were, simply, the coolest sonic and lyrical innovators hip hop had ever seen: street-level poets and musical ...

Robbie Williams: Robbie Fowl!: Robbie Williams: I've Been Expecting You (Chrysalis) **

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 31 October 1998

SINCE Life Thru A Lens appeared last September, a lot has happened to fat Bob. Mind you, a lot happened to him before Life Thru ...

Radiohead: Meeting People Is Easy

Film/DVD/TV Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 14 November 1998

...

Eels, Pulp: Pulp/Eels: Hereford Leisure Centre

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 17 November 1998

HAPPY! SAD. H-h-h-happy! Sad. You know those theatrical mask things, one with a smile big enough to house a Manic's packed lunch, the other with ...

Ash Dish The Dirt

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 28 November 1998

Did you know Tim's nickname at the scouts was "Timmy Testicle" or that Charlotte guzzles Vodka? We make each member of Ash leave the room ...

RZA, Wu-Tang Clan: RZA: The Digital Revolution

Interview by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 28 November 1998

One minute RZA's producing the Wu-Tang Clan, the next he's writing as his alter ego Bobby Digital, then he's off to star in the movies. ...

Massive Attack: London Arena, London

Live Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 19 December 1998

THE VICTORIOUS BIG ...

Natalie Imbruglia: The People Who Shook the World in 1998, March: Natalie Imbruglia

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 19 December 1998

"WHEN YOU wish upon a star," sang some old bloke many, many years ago, "make no difference who you are." And, boy, did he know ...

Elliott Smith: ULU, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 2 January 1999

CRITICS AND musicians love him. He can do no wrong. And that's when you get suspicious. That's when you start to wonder if something so ...

Marilyn Manson: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 2 January 1999

"GIG OF '98" isn't speaking the same language. A "happening" leaves you when it's over. No, this, this trip, this frenzy, is a national event. ...

The Dirty Three, PJ Harvey: PJ Harvey, Dirty 3: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 2 January 1999

RELIGHT MY DESIRE! ...

Sebadoh: Sculpture Club

Interview by Stevie Chick, Melody Maker, 9 January 1999

Gone are the days when SEBADOH records were the lowest in fi. We meet them in London and hear about their shiny new pop direction ...

Ed Rush & Optical: Quantum Drum'n'Bass

Interview by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 30 January 1999

IN CONTACT, Jodie Foster climbs into the capsule, straps herself in, and mentally prepares for the impending voyage. The aliens have kindly given Earth/the US ...

Hole: Sleepless in Seattle

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 January 1999

It's million-selling records, a 24-hour media circus and a limo in every city for HOLE, but does Courtney Love want even more success? Oh yes... ...

Stereophonics, Tom Jones: Tom Jones and the Stereophonics

Profile and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 1 March 1999

LOOKING OUT across the affluent Silverlake area of Los Angeles stretching out below us, this is not your usual house. Perched high on a hilltop, ...

Britney Spears: Baby One More Time (Jive)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 6 March 1999

I WOULDN'T, actually. Jailbait. Pastels. Popsox. Mall rat. Sure, all the obvious jokes cover up the fact that this is a document of pure venality. ...

Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays: What The World Is Still Waiting For?

Retrospective and Interview by Jack Barron, Melody Maker, 13 March 1999

It was the scene that produced some of the best bands the world had ever seen. Now, with the Happy Mondays reforming end The Stone ...

Dot Allison, One Dove: Dot Allison: Experimental Breakbeat Diva

Interview by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 20 March 1999

THERE HAVEN'T been many Dots in pop — Dot Cotton from EastEnders has yet to commit to vinyl — so when you hear the name ...

Eminem: Subterania, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 10 April 1999

20 Minute Party People ...

All Saints: Gangster Grippin': All Saints: Opera House, Blackpool

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 1 May 1999

"IS Blackpool in the house?" The dreadlocked DJ isn't making too much sense, but the little girls with the whistles don't care. ...

Marc Almond: Open All Night (Blue Star)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 1 May 1999

OK, LET'S GET this straight: Nick Cave is a respected ex-Goth with no hit singles. Marc Almond has had five hit singles, was responsible for ...

Roots Manuva: Brand New Second Hand (Big Dada) ****½

Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 1 May 1999

UK HIP HOP is only ever any good when it doesn't try to copy Americans all the time. A prodigious talent like Roots Manuva has ...

The Funky Four + 1, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Spoonie Gee, The Sugarhill Gang, Trouble Funk, West Street Mob: Various Artists: Sugarhill Club Classics (Sequel)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 1 May 1999

IMAGINE, IF you will, "The Bible" performed in rhyme by young men in baseball hats. Breakdancing. It would have gone something like this. ...

3 Colours Red: Evel Superstars!

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

3 COLOURS RED are drinking, throwing up and rocking the hell out of the USA. And they've met Evel Knievel! But make no mistake, they're ...

Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner (Epic)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

I.D. HIGH! ...

Elliott Smith: Alas Smith And Moans

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

On the road in the US, we find the unassuming ELLIOTT SMITH still likes a drink, has put drugs behind him, but can't manage a ...

Groove Armada: Blissful Beats

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

MOST PEOPLE would have a raft of tunes. Andy Cato and Tom Findlay go one better. They're ain't called Groove Armada for nothing, you know. ...

Sleater-Kinney: The Garage, London

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 May 1999

"BUT SHE sounds just like Cher," my companion beseeches me, as Sleater-Kinney run through the fine, staccato 'The End Of You' — Corin Tucker's voice ...

Cast: Magic Hour (Polydor) ***

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

CAST, BLESS them, have always been pissing in the wind. Why does it seem to go Pete Tong for our Eighties heroes? Well, here's one ...

Elliott Smith: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

AT FIRST, THE hushed, respectful, masses can't believe their eyes. They've come to sit and worship at the feet of the man who redefined sensitive, ...

Happy Mondays: 192-Hour Party People

Report and Interview by Jack Barron, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

The Kings of hedonism HAPPY MONDAYS have just completed their triumphant eight-date comeback tour. We joined them on the road to hear about their slightly ...

Korn: Scream Of The Crop

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

Korn's angst-ridden Jonathan Davis is the nearest thing America has to Richey Manic. We meet him on the road in the States and hear tales ...

The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin (WEA)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

THIS IS WEIRDCORE ...

Melky Sedeck, The Roots: The Roots, Melky Sedeck: Astoria, London

Live Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

R&B. WE HATE that schmaltzy shit, don't we? Well, no, not when it's as sassy and spiritually uplifting as Melky Sedeck. ...

Atari Teenage Riot: 60 Second Wipeout (DHR)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 May 1999

YOU'D BE well advised to fasten any seat belts before listening to this one. There is a quiet bit... but then the record starts. And ...

Moby: Killer Wail

Interview by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 22 May 1999

Rave/punk crossover genius MOBY is known as the most clean-living and politically correct pop star an the planet. The Maker met him in a karaoke ...

Travis: The Man Who

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 May 1999

SO SECOND ALBUMS are supposed to be difficult, then? Maybe someone ought to tell Travis, because The Man Who sounds like a thundering triumph. ...

Sebadoh: Psychobabble: Sebadoh's Lou Barlow

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 29 May 1999

He'd consider making a necklace from his toes, when he's dead he wants his body to be cut up and distributed to people... And he's ...

Basement Jaxx, Ed Rush & Optical, Norman Jay, Danny Rampling, Underworld: Homelands

Report by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 5 June 1999

Orbit's minute-by-minute descent into delirium ...

Pavement: Terror Twilight (Domino)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 5 June 1999

TO BE both catchy and unhummable takes some doing. Indeed, only the Brookside theme tune has previously approximated the concept. Pavement, however, are the dons. ...

Spring Heel Jack: Treader (Tugboat)

Review by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 5 June 1999

NOW UP to their fourth d'n'b album, Spring Heel Jack's John Coxon and Ashley Wales are nothing if not prolific. The orchestral artcore of There ...

Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla (Creation)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 5 June 1999

A MAXIMUM HIGH ...

Lauryn Hill: Evening News Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 12 June 1999

EX OFFENDER ...

Britney Spears: Psychobabble

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 19 June 1999

"Psychoanalyse me, baby, one more time," she asked, and so it was that Britney Spears ended up on the Psychobabble couch ...

GZA/Genius: Beneath The Surface (MCA)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 17 July 1999

YOU'VE BEEN WU-TANGOED ...

Cay, Muse: Muse/Cay: Make Mine A Double…

Report and Interview by Carl Loben, Melody Maker, 31 July 1999

There's nothing we like better than brilliant new bands. So what could beat joining a booze-fuelled double-bill of MUSE and CAY on the road? ...

Gomez, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Stereophonics, Robbie Williams: Robbie Williams, Gomez, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Stereophonics: Slane Castle, Dublin

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 4 September 1999

RELIGHT MY EIRE! ...

Hepburn: Bug Night Out!

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 18 September 1999

Worried that they mere a little, y'know, pop, we take HEPBURN to an indie club in Manchester, get flirted with, discover all about their rampant sexuality ...

Pavement: Fluttering to Deceive

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 18 September 1999

Since lo-fi gods PAVEMENT have a passion for horse racing, we take them to the local William Hill for some gambling tips... But is everything ...

A, Ash, Feeder, Gay Dad: Ash, Feeder and Gay Dad: Indie Hard IV — With a Vengeance

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 25 September 1999

Well, Bruce Willis might have spanked Jeremy Irons' butt in the end, but this time the Yanks face a far more serious threat. We join ...

Macy Gray: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 2 October 1999

CRAZYSEXYCOOL ...

Limp Bizkit: Is This Metal's Answer To Puff Daddy?

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 9 October 1999

The Maker gets rapping with LIMP BIZKIT's Fred Durst, the ex-tattooist who has become the most powerful man in metal and a big name in ...

Blink 182: Enema Of The State (MCA) *****

Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 16 October 1999

BOTTOMS aren't supposed to have hot shots of water blasted up them. They're not really supposed to dribble toxic effluent into a pool of bowel-cleansed ...

Coldplay

Profile and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 23 October 1999

Passionate angst rock ...

Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 23 October 1999

IT'S A SPARKLY autumnal London morning. In a back road off Oxford Street, a band are huddled in a radio production company recording an interview ...

Gomez: Barrowlands, Glasgow ****

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 27 October 1999

IT ALWAYS happens like this. You send your wee boys off to college, or indeed to war, and they come back big, strapping men. Yeah, ...

Embrace: Psychobabble: Embrace

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 27 October 1999

One wants to be microwaved, the other's ready to shoot a cow. Get on the couch, EMBRACE fellas! ...

Sigur Rós: This Week's Best New Band is... SIGUR RÓS

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 10 November 1999

STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL SOUNDSCAPES ...

Placebo: "We're falling apart at the seams"

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 17 November 1999

BRIAN MOLKO tells us about Internet porn, his festival experiences and the third PLACEBO album in the Melody Maker Interview ...

Blink 182: Potty By Nature

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 24 November 1999

Skate-punkers BLINK 182 come clean on snot, boobies and why they're not the bad boys of rock ...

Royal Trux: Flapper & Firkin, Birmingham

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 1 December 1999

F***, F***, f***, f***. Try and get hold of the feeling, try and lash it down in blood and spunk just why this did what ...

Sigur Rós: Haskolabio, Reykjavik, Iceland

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 1 December 1999

IT'S A sound that feels like it's been travelling through the universe for a million long, lonely years. It starts somewhere in the middle distance, ...

Supergrass: "It Felt Really Smart to be Doing it Again"

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 22 December 1999

A BLINDING THIRD ALBUM. A WORLD TOUR. COLLABORATIONS WITH THE MUPPETS AND ALI G. ALL IN A YEARS WORK FOR SUPERGRASS, AS GAZ COOMBES TELLS ...

Oasis: Noel Gallagher: Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants track by track

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, January 2000

...

Super Furry Animals: "I like the idea of creating cultural havoc"

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 19 January 2000

Wide open spaces, mountains and free-thinking cultural revolutionaries — no wonder SUPER FURRY ANIMALS love Spain's Basque country. What's more, the feeling's mutual. ...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 1: From Rain to Definitely Maybe

Retrospective by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 19 January 2000

With Oasis' return imminent, the first instalment of our four-part history of the band traces their rise, from the Noel-free live debut to the era-defining ...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 3: From Noel's Brief Exit to Be Here Now

Retrospective by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 2 February 2000

The third instalment of our four-part history of Oasis charts "the tabloid years", when they became more famous for their actions than their music. ...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 4: From The Masterplan to Go Let It Out

Guide by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 9 February 2000

In the final part of our Oasis history, we recall the departures of Bonehead and Guigsy and look forward to Standing On The Shoulder Of ...

Travis: I Was Sitting in Bed, Just Crying

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 5 April 2000

THE TRAVIS interview ritual is now, it seems, set in stone. You can ask whatever you want, whenever you want, but first you must bond. ...

Korn: "I once did coke off The Bible"

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 17 May 2000

Before Korn's huge shows this week, we got them to tell us their favourite tour stories. It's not all fruit up drummers' arses and drugs. ...

John Lydon, The Sex Pistols: Johnny Rotten on the Sex Pistols' 20 Wildest Moments

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, June 2000

With The Filth & The Fury coming your way, John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten, recalls how the Sex Pistols became the most exciting band ever ...

John Lydon: Psychobabble: John Lydon

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, June 2000

NOTE: When the Filth and the Fury film was released in 2000, Lydon agreed to do three press interviews, of which Melody Maker, for some ...

Graham Coxon: The Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 11 July 2000

MAYBE THE whys and wherefores don't matter. Maybe it's pointless trying to figure out the real reasons for people coming here. Nobody could really have ...

Coldplay: 'Brightness and Hope and Devotion'

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 19 July 2000

THAT'S COLDPLAY'S MOOD, POST-'YELLOW'S' GLORIOUS SUCCESS. WE MEET THE BAND WHO ARE FAST PROVING HOW NICE GUYS CAN FINISH FIRST ...

Muse: Around the World in 50 Dates

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 23 August 2000

...BUT IT'S NOT ALL FUN ON THE ROAD WITH MUSE. HERE THEY TELL US ABOUT THEIR WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL HIGHS AND LOWS ...

Dope Smugglaz Allstars: Toke Implosion: Dope Smugglaz Allstars

Report and Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 6 September 2000

THERE ARE some moments in life when you have to take a good look around. Some moments that hurt when you pinch yourself because, in ...

Limp Bizkit: Master Of Paris!: Limp Bizkit: Salle Maubert Mutualite, Paris *****

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 13 September 2000

WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE of a war zone. It's us versus them, love against hate, the frenzied adrenalin rush of excitement facing up to the ...

Dilated Peoples: 'Hip-Hop Culture Has Suffered. We Want To Reverse That'

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 4 October 2000

IT'S NOT JUST PUNK AND METAL THAT ARE KICKING OFF STATESIDE — SO IS HIP-HOP AS DILATED PEOPLES TELL US ...

Clinic: Smells Like Surgical Spirit

Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 25 October 2000

CLINIC TELL US WHY THEIR RUMBLING, AVANT-GARDE INDIE CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEW LEVI'S AD IS NOT SELLING OUT... ...

Dr. Dre, Eminem, N.W.A: Dr. Dre: 10 Reasons Not To Forget About Dre

Comment by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 15 November 2000

THOUGHT DR DRE HAD SLIPPED OUR MINDS, DID YA? NOPE — US MUTHAF***AS WERE JUST ACTING LIKE WE HADN'T REMEMBERED THE HIP-HOP POWERHOUSE. HERE'S WHY ...

Marilyn Manson: "I suffered for Columbine, but everyone's responsible"

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 20 November 2000

No stranger to guns, Marilyn Manson tells us about Columbine, Courtney and Holy Wood in the Melody Maker interview ...

Queens Of The Stone Age: We Pride Ourselves On Giving You A Night You'll Never Remember

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 29 November 2000

WE JOIN QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ROCK'S ULTIMATE HEDONISTS, ON THE ROAD IN THE UK FOR TALES OF DRUGS, DRINK AND ONSTAGE PENIS SHRINKAGE. ...

OutKast: This week's best new band is… Outkast

Profile and Interview by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 6 December 2000

INCENDIARY HIP-HOP MISCHIEF ...

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