NME
Pat Boone: Why I Became A Beatnik
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, March 1962
PAT BOONE fans who saw last week's NME pictures of him at the Royal Film show won't see him looking so clean-cut in his latest ...
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, April 1962
PUZZLING, isn't it, that no one has thought of an award for the wives of hit parade stars — to be presented when they inspire ...
Ketty Lester: New to the Charts: Ketty Lester Sang 'As Herself' To Notch Hit
Profile by Alan Smith, NME, April 1962
A SUDDEN decision to sing "in my own style" has brought instant success for chart newcomer Ketty Lester, whose 'Love Letters' stands at No. 27. ...
Rick Nelson: Ricky Nelson: Now Ricky's Name Change Is Official!
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, April 1962
'YOUNG WORLD' is probably the last disc by Ricky Nelson you'll see in the NME Charts – but don't panic. At 21 Ricky has no ...
Live Review by Alan Smith, NME, May 1962
NEW SHADOW MAKES LONDON DEBUT ...
John Leyton Phones Alan Smith From Munich To Say: Filming In Germany Is Dangerous
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1962
(But It Could Make Me A Star In America) ...
Anthony Newley: I'm Worried About My Discs: I Still Need Hits admits Tony Newley
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1962
ANTHONY NEWLEY smoothed out a crease in the trousers of his tuxedo suit, sipped from a large mug of Shepperton film studio tea and looked ...
Connie Francis: Connie Will Rock For Britain!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, August 1962
THERE'LL BE no more weepie-weepie songs from Connie Francis once her current hit 'Vacation' leaves the charts... for Connie is to record special future releases ...
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, August 1962
Acker's Happy With His Vocal Success ...
Sam Cooke: Sam Ploughed Money Into Act
Profile by uncredited writer, NME, October 1962
SAM COOKE is currently one of America's hottest disc properties. Since he scored his first hit with 'You Send Me', Sam has had a pretty ...
Beatles, The: Newcomers To The Charts: Liverpool's Beatles Wrote Their Own Hit
Profile by Alan Smith, NME, October 1962
MAKING THEIR NME Chart debut with 'Love Me Do' this week are the Beatles, a vocal-instrumental group who hail from Liverpool, the birthplace of such ...
Crystals, The, Phil Spector: The Crystals: New to the Charts — Six Girls With Two Names!
Profile by Alan Smith, NME, December 1962
SO VAST is the American disc scene that quite often an artist or group can get high into the charts without anybody here knowing much ...
Little Eva: Alan Smith Says 'Welcome, Little Eva'
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, February 1963
THE GIRL who put a new twist into the twist – Little Eva – arrives in London today (Friday) for her first tour of Britain. ...
Beatles, The: You've Pleased-Pleased Us Say The Beatles
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, February 1963
THINGS ARE beginning to move for the Beatles, the r-and-b styled British group which crashed back into the NME Chart this week at No. 17. ...
Tommy Steele, Tornados, The: Alan Smith On Film Sets With The Tornados and Tommy Steele
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, February 1963
A HAUNTING theme-tune echoed across the stage of a dingy London theatre on Tuesday morning, as film cameras turned on that "Globetrotting" hit group, the ...
Judy Garland: Judy Cried At Herself
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, March 1963
"BRITAIN IS A home from home to me," said Judy Garland recently. "I remember my career was at a low ebb back in 1950 and ...
Beatles, The: Beatles Almost Threw 'Please Please Me' Away
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, March 1963
THE BEATLES opened a copy of the NME and gazed proudly at the Charts when 'Please Please Me' hit the top recently. It was a ...
Gerry & The Pacemakers: New to the Charts: Gerry, Pacemakers from Beatle-land!
Profile by Alan Smith, NME, March 1963
CRASHING into the NME Chart this week comes another beat name from Beatle-land, Liverpool's Gerry and the Pacemakers. Gerry is featured vocalist on 'How Do ...
Gerry & The Pacemakers: Gerry And The Pacemakers Reveal Their Success Secret: 'We Let Go!'
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, April 1963
"UND JETZT," said Gerry (of the Pacemakers), "ein wünsche für..." The rest of his announcement was drowned by a burst of good-natured jeering from the ...
Beatles, The: Throat Sweets Keep Us Going Say Beatles!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, April 1963
A NEVER-ENDING supply of throat sweets is one of the secrets behind the continued success of the Beatles, who come crashing into the NME Chart ...
Live Review by Alan Smith, NME, April 1963
MIKE BERRY burst into the second half to the throbbing beat of 'La Bamba'. Close on its heels came his current release 'My Little Baby' ...
Billy J. Kramer, Beatles, The: Billy J. Kramer Adds To Liverpool Chart Invasion!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, May 1963
FIRST THE BEATLES, then Gerry and the Pacemakers. Now a new Liverpool name, Billy J. Kramer, looks set to take the NME Chart by storm ...
Andy Williams Explains Why He Didn't Do A Palladium TV
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, May 1963
ANDY WILLIAMS settled back into a deep armchair at London's Dorchester Hotel. "I couldn't appear on Sunday Night At The Palladium," he said, "because of ...
Billy J. Kramer: Singing Was Forced On To Me!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, May 1963
BILLY J. KRAMER sat back in his manager's London office and looked thoughtful as the bubbles settled on top of his cup of hot tea. ...
Everly Brothers, The: Phil And Don Everly Put Up A Fight
Report and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1963
NOBODY could say the fortunes of the Everly Brothers have been at their highest just lately, but the boys are determined to put up a ...
Lesley Gore: The Singing Rebel
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1963
IT'S THE BEATLES' favourite disc of the moment and it's sung by a 17-year-old American girl who had a genteel upbringing in the sedate neighbourhood ...
Searchers, The: The Searchers: Searchers Paid £40 To Make LP
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1963
THE SEARCHERS might not be in the NME Top Ten this week – making an amazing jump from No. 24 to No. 5! – if ...
Beatles, The, Paul McCartney: Close-Up on Paul McCartney, a Beatle
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, August 1963
I WENT roof-climbing with the Beatles – up a rickety wooden ladder, over drainpipes, and past the huge chimney-pots of London's plush Washington Hotel. The ...
Cilla Black: Cilla Is Knocked Out By New Disc!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1965
KEITH ALTHAM meets a sun-tanned singing star and discovers... ...
Seekers, The: The Seekers: Seekers Are Goon Fans
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1965
"HELLO Folks!" That Spike Milligan salutation would seem highly appropriate to open an article about Australian folk singers, The Seekers, who attribute a great deal ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Animals In America
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1965
ERIC BURDON v. Cassius Clay might sound like an unlikely title bout but Eric informs me that it was almost reality when the Animals were ...
Hollies, The: The Hollies: Hollies Get Into No 1 Hit Mood
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1965
"IT'S GREAT to be Number One – you can't get much lower than that!" shouted Graham Nash, as the Hollies invaded the NME offices on ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1965
STRAIGHT from his long run up the North Pier, Worthing, Tom Jones arrived bleary-eyed and bewhiskered in his dressing room at Ready, Steady, Go! to ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1965
BACK from a hectic five-day promotional tour of France I found Sandie Shaw and composer Chris ('Long Live Love') Andrews seated at a piano in ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1965
MARIANNE FAITHTULL frightens me to death. She is cool, confident, clever and highly successful. The kind of beauty you meet at a party, regulate yourself ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks' Peter Quaife
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
THERE IS a touch of the "Paul McCartneys" about Peter Quaife of the Kinks. Like Paul he plays bass, and like Paul he is the ...
Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw: Sandie Shaw and Adam Faith
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
ADAM GOT the Rolls out and with Sandie Shaw and I in the back we drove along Tooting Bec Broadway searching for a fish and ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
MY NEW disc will be issued in mid-April! I'm being backed by Buster Meikle, Humble Garwood, Pigmy Halliday, Lem Lubin, Count Moules and Sweat Moeller. ...
Marianne Faithfull: Marianne Never Does What A Pop Star Should
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
SHE HAS a pert, child-like face which darts out at you from a cascade of fine, fair hair. The face seems to be concentrated into ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Kinks' Ray Davies
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
RAY DAVIES is the King Kink. He composed all their hits and although there is no official leader in the group, Ray is the driving ...
Dave Berry: Surfing, What's That?
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
"SURFER" DAVE BERRY, as his publicist Andy "Wipeout" Wickham is now pleased to title him, phoned me from his home in Manchester. Needless to say, ...
Peter and Gordon: Peter & Gordon Are Poles Apart
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
BEFORE THEIR trip to Japan and the Far East I lunched with Peter Asher and his sparring partner Gordon Waller, and a more unlikely combination ...
Animals, The: Eric Burdon, Animal Trainer
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
CLAD in a black track suit, zippered to the neck, and still wearing his carpet slippers, the chunky figure of Eric Burdon lay writhing on ...
Donovan: I'll Quit After Two More Years
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1965
GIPSY DAVE sat in Donovan's dressing room playing a strange instrument – a leg off a Queen Anne chair strung with one guitar string. ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1965
MANFRED MANN (not to be confused with the group) is often cynical, outspoken and sometimes frank to the point of being rude. He is also ...
Marianne Faithfull: Marianne Meets Dylan And Baez
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1965
THE COLOURFUL combination of Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithfull, Joan Baez, John Mayall and "a nice fat man called Albert" (Dylan's manager) met to dispose of ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1965
I CAN'T say that it came as a surprise to find that – after three cancelled appointments with Them – they were not at the ...
Peter and Gordon: Peter & Gordon Push Elvis, Everlys
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1965
SQUATTING in my waste-paper basket, crunching a wafer biscuit and gulping a carton of cow juice, last Friday evening, sat the finest unpaid publicity man ...
Yardbirds, The: The Yardbirds: Yardbirds Don't Like Own Hits
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1965
IN THE middle of a field in Windsor sat Yardbirds' vocalist Keith Relf dressed as an Elizabethan page with plumed hat and a huge silk ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: American Walkers Love Wild Wild Fans
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1965
THERE are fifteen mirrors in one bedroom; a cavalry sword on the wall; a marble bust of nobody in particular on the mantelpiece; an enormous ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Kinks Back To Abnormal
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1965
FOLLOWING Dave Davies' recent cymbolic headache and the Kinks withdrawal from their tour, there's been wild speculation about their future. I met them last Friday ...
Yardbirds, The: Yardbirds Question Time
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1965
THE YARDBIRDS were in no mood for pulling punches when I called on them in their dressing room at the Ready, Steady, Go studios in ...
P.J. Proby: I'm Still The Greatest
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1965
LOOKING rather like a refugee from a Biblical nightmare, P.J. Proby – with beard and shoulder-length hair – loped down the corridor from Top Of ...
Sandie Shaw, Jackie Trent, Adam Faith, Val Doonican: Eve Taylor: Queen Bee Of Show Business
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1965
EVELYN TAYLOR – affectionately, respectfully, jealously and irreverently known as the "Queen Bee of Show Business" – has a loud voice, grey hair and the ...
Fortunes, The: The Fortunes: Fortunes Have Got Their Own Troubles
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1965
'YOU'VE GOT YOUR TROUBLES' and the Fortunes have certainly got their own as I found out when I spoke to them recently. "Our greatest problem ...
Marianne Faithfull: Baby Halts Marianne's Plans
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1965
"BABIES are taking over," Marianne Faithfull informed me. "My little 'third party' is going to prevent me going to the U.S. or Mexico as I ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: John Lennon Slams The Critics
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, August 1965
JOHN LENNON shouted for food, then turned to me in the vast, near-deserted auditorium of Blackpool's ABC theatre. In two hours he and the rest ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: The Stones Hit Back
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1965
I WENT to see the big, bad Rolling Stones during their first-ever performance at the London Palladium last Sunday. ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Eric Burdon Turns Author
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1965
STAND by for Eric Burdon, author. I've just been going over some of the roughs that Eric is preparing for his first book (publisher wanted). ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1965
"I NEVER intended to be a singer," confessed Sonny, when I found him squatting on the stairs in the corridors of a BBC Theatre in ...
McCoys, The: The McCoys: McCoys Are America's Wildest Group
Profile and Interview by Alan Smith, NME, September 1965
...says ALAN SMITH ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Scott Walker Interview
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1965
HIS MOTHER CALLS him "the madman." His manager, agent and publicist call him all kind of things when he disappears for days without telling anyone ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1965
SONNY struck back last week! When I phoned him at his home in Los Angeles recently, I got him out of bed at five o'clock ...
Fortunes, The: Fortunes Admit It: They Use Session Boys!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1965
THE FORTUNES go on record as the first group I have met who have had the honesty to admit they use session musicians on their ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Stones Hit Back
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1965
TEATIME with the Rolling Stones in the Ready, Steady, Go! canteen proved most entertaining. David Jacobs was the conversational target to start with. Keith Richard ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Animals Want to Wax a 'New Tracks' EP
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1965
I PICKED up Eric Burdon at the BBC Maida Vale studios at 11 last Friday morning. ...
Peter and Gordon: Peter & Gordon Kill Split Rumours
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1965
IF PETER and Gordon look just a little untidy when they appear on your TV screens in the Lennon-McCartney Spectacular at Christmas, you can put ...
Beatles, The, Moody Blues, The: The Beatles, The Moody Blues: Odeon, Glasgow
Live Review by Alan Smith, NME, December 1965
Beatles terrific... and rest of bill ...
Walker Brothers, The: We're Sure Glad We Came Here, Say Walker Brothers
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, 1966
THEY ARRIVED in Britain in February, 1965, because they felt that to achieve success in Britain was more important than doing so in the States. ...
Gary Walker (Leeds), Walker Brothers, The: Gary Walker
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1966
"EVERYONE IN the Business will hate it," Gary declared. "And especially the good singers. It should sell about two million copies — at which point ...
Kinks, The: Kinks Go For Spider Sound
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1966
THE MYSTERIOUS Spider Korner who plays "seven" string guitar and "roams the world", is the musical influence behind the Kinks' next single, Dave Davies revealed ...
Fontella Bass: British Trip Caused Heartaches For Fontella
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1966
AS A RESULT of her recent British visit I found that sensitive "soul" Fontella Bass suffering from a big back-ache and a little heartache just ...
Spencer Davis Group: Spencer Davis: He's Deep, Very Deep
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
SPENCER David Nelson (his father was a paratrooper!) Davis soared in my estimation last Friday when he sent the Rolling Stones' chauffeur-driven Austin Princess to ...
Spencer Davis Group: The Spencer Davis Group: Steve Winwood — Modest Wonder Boy
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Steve Winwood "the boy wonder" in the Spencer Davis group (lead vocals, guitar, piano, vibes and drums) is a modest – but "colourful" character! ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones : Neurotic Bird Song
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
AN INTERVIEW with the Rolling Stones is something to go to with mixed feelings. The prospect of being confined in a small office off Baker ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: Walkers' Great Bodyguard!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
IN STRODE the most enormous pair of grey jeans in the World and stood next to Scott Walker (a mere six foot) making him look ...
Beach Boys, The: Beach Boys' Fame Just Grew and Grew!
Interview by Ann Moses, NME, February 1966
THE FIVE Californian Beach Boys – Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine – began their music career with little intention of ...
Spencer Davis Group: Muff Winwood: Shy Guy
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
BASS guitarist Muff (in memory of "Muffin The Mule") Winwood is the Spencer who hides in the toilet when the photographers are about! ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Animals Took Liberty With Prison Song
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
"WE TOOK A terrible liberty with 'Inside Looking Out'," admits Eric Burdon. "It's the first number we've recorded without a tune. It originates from a ...
Sandie Shaw, Mindbenders, The, Jonathan King: The Mindbenders: Danger From Clippy!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1966
AS I APPROACHED the Mindbenders' dressing room down in the vaults of the BBC-TV Centre, a young lady hurtled out of an adjacent ladies' room ...
James Brown: Two Sides of James Brown
Report and Interview by Ann Moses, NME, March 1966
JAMES BROWN. Such a plain name – they call him Mr. Dynamite. They are one person. But there are two faces to the entertainer. Thousands ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
AN INTENSE person, who is over sensitive to criticism of his work, I found Scott Engel (Walker) more than a little irked by Eric Burdon's ...
Yardbirds, The: Yardbirds Split!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
THE YARDBIRDS ARE to split – but only on disc! In the group's dressing room at Ready, Steady Go last Friday I spoke with manager ...
Kinks, The: Kinks Don't Mind 'Formby Quartet' Tag
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
IN A LARGE WHITE house in East Finchley with an orange door (which he says is "red"), in a room with orange walls and an ...
Who, The: The Who: Who Are Going Around In 'Circles'
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
FOLLOW this closely – this is the saga of the group that is running around in "Circles" – who else but the Who? ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: Great To Be Alone At No. 1
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
"IT'S GOOD to have it all to ourselves at the No. 1 spot this week," said Scott Engel when I spoke to him on Tuesday. ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones Have Reached Peak At Home
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1966
BRIAN JONES returned last week from his Australian-American exploits with innumerable albums by Ravi Shankar (an Indian citarist) and wearing his full-length Kangaroo coat. He ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones in Paris
Report by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
LIKE THE PIED PIPER the Rolling Stones call the tune in France and wherever they drive in Paris their two long, sleek, black limousines are ...
Yardbirds, The, Who, The: With Who And 'Birds At Paris Allez-Oop!
Report by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
READY, Steady, Allez-oops, from the Locomotive in Paris last Friday, was largely held together by the efforts of the Who and the Yardbirds, who were ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: Walker Hostility On The Wane
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
BEING misunderstood is a full-time occupation for Scott Engel. As the Walker Brothers' reputation soars, so Scott manages to over-exercise his incredible talent for putting ...
Spencer Davis Group: 'Somebody' Makes No. 1 — But Too Quickly For Spence!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
THAT WELL-known chart topper and expectant father ("If it's a bloke I'm going to call him Gregory") and man about Potters Bar – Spencer Davis, ...
Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel: Paul Simon: Now They All Want Paul Simon Songs!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT influence in popular music today, since the emergence of that well-known Lennon-McCartney firm, seems to be the mini-sized music-maker Paul Simon, who ...
Lovin' Spoonful, The: The Lovin' Spoonful: Nice, Abnormal Spoonful!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
JOHN SEBASTIAN, twenty-one-year-old composer and singer of the Lovin' Spoonful's latest hit 'Daydream', which is currently No. 4 in America, arrived at the group's Pye ...
Manfred Mann: NME Chart Proves Manfreds Wrong
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1966
DOWN AMONG the devil worshippers at the BBC Top Of The Pops studio last Thursday afternoon was Paul Jones, that disturbing combination of schoolboy charm ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
DAVE DEE, DOZY, Beaky, Mick and Tich are a gift to mediocre comedians who fall about making "unpunny" remarks like: "Oh, yes, 'Wavy Lee, Drunken, ...
Bob Dylan: Dylan's Press Reception
Report by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
HAIR BRISTLING about like a Fijian suffering from a severe electrical shock, wearing a blue suede jacket and white striped trousers, Bob Dylan meandered into ...
Small Faces, The: Steve Marriott: I'm A Raver, Not A Singer
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
THE SMALL ("ah! – aren't they cute?") Faces are doing BIG things on the pop scene. Their third big hit, self-penned and called 'Hey Girl', ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Complex and Intricate
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
"THE BEACH Boys' ambassador in tennis shoes," as their publicist Derek Taylor so aptly describes new group member Bruce Johnston, surfed into the Waldorf Hotel ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich: Focus on BEAKY and DOZY
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
BEAKY (real name John Dymond) is the gaunt-faced rhythm guitarist with the group whose sinister looks contradict his "matey" nature. He has a fund of ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Mick Will Be Ernie In New Film
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
I GOT Stoned again last Friday by Messrs. Jagger and Richard, but am happy to report myself unscathed – it only hurts when I laugh! ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Focus on MICK…and TICH
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1966
MICK began his musical career banging about on biscuit tins, inspired by Bill Haley records like 'See You Later Alligator'. "I just listened to the ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Troggs Politeness
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1966
THE TROGGS, who have a monster hit with 'Wild Thing', are still new and enthusiastic enough to be excited by the glamour and attention injected ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Could 'Don't Bring Me Down' Be Last Animals' Disc?
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1966
Out of chaos came their 'best technical' recording, but Keith Altham gets a feeling – quite unofficial – that it might be, but hopes it ...
George Martin, Beatles, The: The Beatles: Ringo Played Cards As Others Sang 'Paperback'!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1966
...reveals GEORGE MARTIN, the Beatles' recording manager, in an interview with Alan Smith. ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Kinks Keep To Humour On Discs
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1966
WHAT with the new tattooed Kink; Ray Davies sniffing aesthetically into a brown paper bag; Bongo drums, metronomes, flute pumps and golf balls being bandied ...
Mamas and The Papas, The: The Mama and the Papas: The Morning after the Beatles' Night Before
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1966
THE FIRST THING you discover about the Mamas and Papas is that they are not – although Papa John is married to Mama Michelle. The ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: My Broken Tooth — by Paul McCartney
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1966
I HAVE interviewed Paul McCartney travelling in a car at speed. Battling up a crowded flight of stairs. In a smoky billiards room. On the ...
Jonathan King, Walker Brothers, The: Scott Walker: Scott Walker Hits Out Again
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
FRANK SINATRA is back in the pop pillory, but the big surprise is that chucking the rotten eggs is not Mick "Paint Him Black" Jagger, ...
Elvis Presley: Paradise Hawaiian Style
Film/DVD Review by Alan Smith, NME, July 1966
Presley's usual (Hawaiian) style ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Kinks Calm Over No. 1 News
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
RAY DAVIES lifted the plastic lid covering his salad and viewed the mayonnaise disgustedly. "Oh, no – I hate ketchup!" he sighed and probed disdainfully ...
Jimmy Page, Yardbirds, The: The Yardbirds: Why I Left and Why I Joined
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
"I'M A BIT TOO old at twenty-three for all those screaming kids leaping about. I don't really think I'll be missed in the group – ...
Simon & Garfunkel: Too Many Releases 'Kill' Simon And Garfunkel 'Rock' Single
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
IN AUGUST, 1965, an album titled The Paul Simon Song Book was released by CBS featuring the composition 'I Am A Rock'. In September a ...
Troggs, The: Troggs Have A Lot To Go Wild About
Report by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
REG PRESLEY and his band "barn" into the NME Chart this week with the highest entry — 'A Girl Like You' (No. 19) composed by ...
Elvis Presley: Paradise Hawaiian Style – NME Readers Reply
Readers' Letters by uncredited writer, NME, July 1966
B. UYDER, Sheffield: Why should Alan Smith (NME last week) have to apologise to Elvis fans for saying what he thinks of his new film ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Jagger Phones From America
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
LAST FRIDAY Mick Jagger, the suppressed Stone, rang me at home from Missouri, where the group is in the middle of their U.S. tour. ...
Beatles, The: John Lennon: 'A Subconscious Urge To Get Above People'
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1966
Beatle Dreams by Alan Smith ...
Elvis Presley: Elvis, Usually Surrounded By Girls, Is Now Encircled By Controversy
Report by Alan Smith, NME, July 1966
SOME Of Elvis' staunchest British fans want to boil me in oil again. Another suggests I lower myself into a spin-dryer and turn it on. ...
Beatles, The: Paul McCartney: 'I Get Caught Out In Street In Underwear!'
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1966
Beatle Dreams by Alan Smith ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Troggs Went Wild Over Fan Slur
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1966
THE TROGGS are "wild things" this week and the man responsible for raising the wrath of the West Country group is singer-journalist-composer-student and good all-round ...
Andrew Loog Oldham, Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stone Oldham: Talented, Insulting, Outrageous
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1966
ROLLING STONES manager Andrew Loog Oldham is on the move and as usual with this ubiquitous personality ("The Beach Boys' new single is not dedicated ...
Alan Price: 'Lili' Is A Fun Tune
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1966
HAVING proved that it takes a worried man to sing a worried song with 'I Put A Spell On You', Alan Price has accomplished a ...
Paul and Barry Ryan: Ryans Feel Established
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1966
I ARRIVED nearly an hour late at Harold Davison's Regent Street office for my interview with Paul and Barry Ryan due to freak monsoon weather ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Double-Top Troggs In America And Britain!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1966
LAST WEEK the Troggs were in the enviable position of being No. 1 in England with 'With A Girl Like You' and No. 1 in ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1966
CLIFF BENNETT, that well-known Cockney about Uxbridge, has made a welcome return to the NME Chart, courtesy of Lennon and McCartney's 'Got To Get You ...
Small Faces, The: Steve Marriott: Everyone's 'Luv' And 'Mate'
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
SHOULD Steve Marriott ever chance to meet royalty it would be safe to assume that within five minutes he would be calling them "luv" and ...
Troggs, The: The Astonishing Troggs Do It Again!
Report by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
THOSE astonishing Troggs have done it again! At the little Olympic studios, concealed in a small mews off Baker Street, during an incredible session Larry ...
Sonny & Cher: They're Pop's Most Lovable Couple
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
IT'S THAT 'Little Man' again and bouncing back into the NME Chart this week at No. 18 comes popdom's most lovable couple, Mr. and Mrs. ...
Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers: Cliff Bennett
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
AS CLIFF Bennett and the Rebel Rousers rocket their way up the NME Charts courtesy of Lennon and McCartney we questioned the leader about his ...
Small Faces, The: Small Face Kenny Keeps Quiet
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
KENNY JONES is the lost Face. Like a great many group drummers he has been placed in the background and prefers to remain there. ...
Small Faces, The: Small Faces: Mystery Man 'Plonk' Lane
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
RONNIE PLONK LANE, bass guitarist and grand old man of the Small Faces at the age of 20, is the group's "Mysteryman." "Mystery" is Plonk's ...
Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: Mac's Flu Is Permanent!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
"MAC"-FACE (Ian McLagan) says he was born in "Houns-low-on-mud" on May 12, 1946. of an Irish mother and a Scottish father, and he and his ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Stones Reveal Secrets
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
LAST THURSDAY I went to see "Molly Richard" and "Sarah Jagger" – names Keith and Mick have been called since their famous photograph advertising the ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: A Clever Singer Never Loses His Voice
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1966
THE WALKER-Troggs-Dave Dee popathalon (33 dates must make it a marathon tour) starts running at East Ham Granada tomorrow (Saturday), so last Monday I taxied ...
Who, The: The Who: Drummer Moon On Zither, Double-Track Tuba, On Who LP
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
IN AN Italian restaurant off London's Soho last Thursday, which boasts on the menu, "hilarious waiters and spaghetti alla vongole on Sunday" there was baby ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: New Pop Generation's Revolution Is At Hand
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
IN FLANAGAN'S bar off Kensington High Street, Keith Richard, Brian Jones and I were being watched – by two bartenders in Edwardian dress and grey ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
ACTION stations for Sonny and Cher. In a transatlantic phone call from his home in Encino, Sonny told me that their first film, Good Times, ...
Four Tops, The: NME Chart News Woke Up The Four Tops In Record Time!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, October 1966
THE PHONE rang eleven times in Room 3055 at New York's Hilton Hotel before Lawrence Payton roused himself from his slumbers and dragged it towards ...
Troggs, The: Troggs: Trogg-Men Ridicule Song Ban
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
FOLLOWING AUNTIE BBC's policy of giving The Troggs' new single, 'I Can't Control Myself' the cold shoulder with only restricted airplay, that land "down under" ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Come Into Brian Jones' New Hideaway!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
A ROLLING STONE in his own environment is a revelation. Brian's new home incorporates his liking for the dramatic with his taste for the antique. ...
Hollies, The, Graham Nash: Hollie Graham Nash Finds His Face!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
THE HOLLY WHO has found his face is Graham Nash. For too long the Hollies have been written about as "the faceless wonders of pop" ...
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1966
"THE First is last and the last is first but the first, the second and the last are the Cream," so reads the perplexing handout ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Soft-hearted Reg Presley
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
REGINALD MAURICE BALL is a soft-hearted ex-bricklayer born in Andover on June 12, 1943, who reads the Daily Mirror, is particularly sensitive to anything which ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Burdon's New Animals Not Set Yet
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
SPEAKING this week to Eric Burdon, that well-known "Freak-about-town" (since "Freak-out" music is having a considerable influence on our Animal), he revealed to me that ...
Spencer Davis Group: Feuding Spencer Davis Group
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
LAST Thursday at Shepherd's Bush Top Of The Pops studio there was the strange case of the group who did not appear to be talking ...
Beach Boys, The: Beach Boys Sensational Visit
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
MY FIRST MISTAKE was trying to escape from London airport on Sunday morning, through approximately a thousand fans, with drummer Dennis Wilson, whom I later ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Beach Boys' Crazy Last Night!
Report by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
AMONG those getting in each others' way in the Beach Boys' dressing room at Hammersmith Odeon on Monday night were publicist Derek Taylor (minus moustache), ...
Hollies, The: The Hollies: For Certain Because (Parlophone)
Review by Keith Altham, NME, November 1966
HOLLIES MIX MOODS ON LP ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Eric Burdon Meets New Lennon And Harrison
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
EVERYONE is talking about the new Animals. But few have spared a thought for the new Eric Burdon with "bluesynite," the wonder ingredient which enables ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Kinks Have Problems
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
CONSIDER, if you will, the disturbing fact that Ray Davies wants to be Walt Disney; Dave Davies is turning into a saxophonist; Pete Quaife is ...
Troggs, The: Troggs Caged In Berlin Zoo!
Report by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
ERIC BURDON, who is so devoted to the birds in London's St. James's Park, would love it here on the twelfth floor of the Berlin ...
Spencer Davis Group: The Spencer Davis Group: Spencer Davis Played On Church Steps!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
HERR SPENCER DAVIS is a top pop person in Germany, firstly because the young people like the group's earthy, exciting sound, and secondly they like ...
Who, The: The Who: Who's For A Merry Xmas!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
WHO'S FOR a merry Christmas, then – if we are to judge by their seasonal bounce up into the NME Top Twenty this week with ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Future Of The Kinks
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, December 1966
BUSY DOING "nothing much" just prior to Christmas was Kink Mick Avory (an occupational hazard with this group at present) at his home in West ...
Donovan: All Things Bright and Beautiful
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
At new Wimbledon home DONOVAN talks about shape of things to come ...
Jimi Hendrix: New To The Charts: Wild Jimi Hendrix
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
THE MAN for whom the words "Wild One" were invented has hit us! Jimi Hendrix, 22, from Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., courtesy of ex-Animal Chas Chandler ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Between The Buttons (Decca)
Review by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
The STONES' LATEST ALBUM, reviewed track-by-track by Keith Altham with special comments by Mick Jagger ...
Scott Walker, Walker Brothers, The: Scott Walker: Chaos For Scott
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
SCOTT ENGEL, the man likely to be more miserable than most in 1967, was in the highest spirits when I found him at his apartment ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Trogg-Maker Reveals Secrets
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
LARRY – "Lawrence" to his friends – Page is the one-man organisation behind the phenomenal success of the Troggs. Lawrence is the group's business manager; ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Jagger Scorns Critics
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1967
THOSE naughty Rolling Stones – the ones who write wicked things like 'Let's Spend The Night Together' – wouldn't go on the nice man's roundabout ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1967
THIS IS THE Cream interview which got loose in London – ran wild over their publicists' office – finally plunging from the depths of Mao ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Our Fans Have Moved On With Us
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1967
LET US consider that unique phenomenon – the Rolling Stones' public image! ...
Hollies, The: The Hollies: Elvis Inspired Hollies Hit
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1967
INFLUENCES behind the latest Hollies hit, 'On A Carousel' include Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and "Doddy". At least these were some of the inspirations which ...
Monkees, The: The Monkees' Front Man
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1967
DAVY JONES – the little Monkee with a big heart – arrived via Nassau last week wearing a battered black top hat, purchased from a ...
Monkees, The: The Monkees: Monkee Davy Talks About The Beatles
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1967
"GEORGEP AULJOHNRINGO," our very own pop monster, has now grown to that exalted position where it is a kind of sacred cow whom none may ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1967
WHENEVER returning from interviewing Donovan these days I feel that I've been the subject of a Sunday School treat. He surrounds himself with such nice ...
Live Review by Keith Altham, NME, April 1967
WE WERE WELL and truly blitzed with "mini-happenings" on the Walker Brothers’ tour opening night, at Finsbury Park Astoria last Friday, when Jimi Hendrix literally ...
Jimi Hendrix: Hendrix IS Out Of This World
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1967
EVEN HIS EX-ANIMAL MANAGER NEEDS A SPLIT PERSONALITY! ...
Jimi Hendrix: Question Time with Jimi Hendrix
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1967
THE REAL JIMI HENDRIX is now beginning to emerge from behind that skilfully placed publicity screen of early days when success was too fragile to ...
Scott Walker, Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: Why The Walker Brothers Split Up
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1967
"I WANT to make it clear that it was not solely my decision to break up the Walker Brothers, but for the first time in ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: No Beards for Dave Dee & Co!
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1967
ROLLING Stone Brian Jones once described himself as "a straight Ernie." And the same might be said of Dave Dee. An "Ernie," I was assured ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1967
TONY HICKS is the young Hollie (21) who has just move into a neat new little mews house of Knightsbridge. ...
Procol Harum: I Knew Procol Would Be A Success
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1967
says KEITH REID the man who created the group – to ALAN SMITH ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1967
"SOMEONE has just shot our gardener – I can't speak to you just now. Come up tomorrow," invited a harassed John Phillips, of the Mamas ...
Scott Walker: Scott Keeps One Step Ahead
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1967
AND SO the moving singer, having moved — moves on. Scott Walker is still one jump ahead of the fans in his pursuit of privacy. ...
Scott McKenzie: I'm No Professional Flower Child
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1967
"I AM NOT A professional flower child," stressed Scott McKenzie over the transatlantic phone wire. "I'd rather carry a flower than a gun. But I ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones: Interviews with Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1967
THE NEW MUSICAL Express versus Michael Philip Jagger – Friday, August 4,1967 in his managers' chambers of high appeal – New Oxford Street, London, – ...
Dave Davies: Kink Dave Embarrassed by 'Clown' Hit
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1967
WITH THE solo success of 'Death Of A Clown' times are a changing for Dave Davies. He is both delighted and nervous over the success ...
Alan Price: 'Jack' a Now or Never Hit
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1967
"IT WAS really a question of now or never," was how Alan Price referred to his composition 'The House That Jack Built', over lunch in ...
Jimi Hendrix: Hendrix Admits Lamp Is A Bit Smoky
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
TIME TO TUCK the tiny tots up and put them safely abed with a nice Monkees' record! Why? Because "the electric bogeyman" is back in ...
Traffic: Uncontrollable Traffic
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
KEITH ALTHAM pins down a highly elusive group... ...
Marianne Faithfull, Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones Starting To Mellow
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
THE TIMES THEY have a-changed, as Bob Dylan predicted – and with them – the Rolling Stones. There was a time when one approached a ...
Animals, The: The Animals: Question Time With....Eric Burdon
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
IT SHOULD, OF course, be Eric Burdon and the "anything but the Animals," because this new group has about as much connection with the original ...
Traffic's British Stage Debut Was Well Worth Waiting For
Report by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
TRAFFIC HAVE been a long time getting it all together but last Sunday's debut at the London Saville proved that it has been well worth ...
Scott Walker Hides Away In A Gloom-World
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1967
BIG LOUIE is the first person you meet when calling at the secluded terrace house, off London's Regent's Park — the latest home of Scott ...
Traffic's Dave Mason — Pop Face Of 1967
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
REMEMBER the teenage idol – all liquid eyes, milk teeth, Cupid's bow and simply oozing with the wonder ingredient, sex appeal? Eyes right and you ...
Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: Travel is A Nightmare
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
THE SMALL FACES – most often through no fault of their own – find great difficulty in getting from place to place, i.e. interviews, photographic ...
Move, The: The Move Don't Care About Top Billing
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
THANK goodness for Carl Wayne of the Move! It is a long time since I have found anyone new to the scene so pleasant, co-operative ...
Mamas and The Papas, The: The Mamas and The Papas: The Big Mamas And Papas Mystery
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
NOW YOU see them – now you don't! The Mamas and Papas have cancelled their projected concert at the Royal Albert Hall on October 30. ...
Herd, The: The Herd Take Over As Screamers' New Idols
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
MY CONTENDER as the man "most likely to get ripped to pieces by hysterical females" in 1967 is Peter Frampton, the seventeen-year-old vocal-guitarist with the ...
Who, The: The Who: Who Ready To Hit You With New Ideas
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1967
AFTER six weeks with "the last Schmaltz" it is good to find the Who back in the charts with a new single, 'I Can See ...
Sandie Shaw: Her Anatomical Assets
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1967
PROVING quite conclusively that she has legs right up to her shoulders, Sandie Shaw wearing her self-designed string mini dress (or was it a vest?) ...
Ray Davies, Kinks, The: Ray Davies
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1967
THERE is something of the smoking volcano about Ray Davies. Six foot of suppressed quietly spoken, quietly smiling and quietly watching! It is what some ...
Cream, Bonzo Dog Band: Taking the Saville By Storm: Cream
Review by Nick Logan, NME, November 1967
THE soaring, singing guitar, the elegant artistry of Eric Clapton... a tortured Jack Bruce jerking out the blues like a puppet stitched by machine ...
Troggs, The: The Troggs: Love Saves Troggs
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1967
HERE COMES the pop phoenix again! Arising from what so many cynics thought were their own ashes, the Troggs now have their sixth smash hit ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1967
I WENT several rounds with Eve Taylor and Sandie Shaw over dinner last Friday, where among other things we discussed her performance at last week's ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request
Review by Keith Altham, NME, December 1967
KINDLY RAISE YOUR hands in the air. Empty your mind on to the desk and your brains into the ash-tray. Now let us see what ...
Review by Keith Altham, NME, December 1967
TRAFFIC IN the City may have come to a stand-still due to the recent rail dispute, but Traffic in the charts is still moving full ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: The Banned Stones Cover
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, 1968
It is ‘We’ against ‘Them-and They’ time again in the Rolling Stones’ life, as they run head-on into another fracas with the ‘oldies’. This time ...
Sonny & Cher: Sonny and Cher: We're In Love, That's The Secret Of Success
Memoir by Keith Altham, NME, 1968
IT WAS ON July 31, 1965, that a stocky little man dressed after the fashion of an Eskimo bounced across the reception hall in London ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1968
TRAFFIC is now on the move again but as a trio. So it was that I scaled the eight flights to drummer Jim Capaldi's Earl's ...
Rolling Stones, The, Charlie Watts: The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1968
ROLLING STONE CHARLIE WATTS TAKES OVER MANSION OF FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY! ...
Plastic Penny: Put Scratch On Record
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1968
A PLASTIC penny for your thoughts then, or to be more precise, tuppence-worth in the shape of vocalist Brian Keith and organist Paul Raymond who ...
Small Faces, The: Small Faces Shatter Old Image
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1968
THAT'S my body you're laughing at!" said Ronnie Lane indignantly, having removed his shirt to reveal a torso which could have given Charles Atlas a ...
Foundations, The : Alan Smith Finds Foundations An Unusual 'Bunch'
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, February 1968
THE BEATLES had it. So did Gerry "Engelbert Humperdinck" Dorsey, the Four Tops and Tom Jones. I'm talking about faith — an artist's faith in ...
Small Faces, The: Small Faces Sink Australia
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1968
THE ABOVE head-line was sarcastically suggested by Ronnie Lane, who declared after the group's recent trip down under –"they would even have accused us of ...
Otis Redding: Otis New Hit His Greatest Tribute
Comment by Alan Smith, NME, March 1968
DURING HIS all-too-brief lifetime, Otis Redding was respected by the world of music — and virtually ignored in his own home town of Macon, Georgia. ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Beach Boys Meet Elvis
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1968
THE BEACH Boys meet Elvis! Beach Boys tour with London Philharmonic Orchestra? Bruce Johnston sings Lennon and McCartney! Beach Boys to do rock 'n' roll ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Dave Dee: Dave Dee Whips Up Fans
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1968
ALL this "Marquis de Sade" and "Kiss of the Whip" bit is somewhat wasted on Dave Dee! He's about as kinky as a pint of ...
Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: At Home With Face Steve...What An Experience!
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1968
TO VISIT the Thameside abode of Small Face Steve Marriott is something of an experience — to put it mildly! Come with me and you'll ...
Small Faces, The: Small Faces Thought ‘Sunday’ Too Much Of A Joke
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1968
ONCE more unto the magic cave – better described as Andrew Oldham’s emporium from whence all things Immediate happen – and the office where I ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1968
ONE-HIT-WONDER groups have been coming and going ever since pop music began but one group likely to stay the pace are the four Londoners called ...
Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake
Review by Keith Altham, NME, June 1968
The Small Faces new album Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (Immediate), apart from being encased in the first circular sleeve I have ever seen, is a ...
Equals, The: Equals Stunned By No. 3 Hit
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1968
EVEN THE Equals can't believe an old half-forgotten track like 'Baby Come Back' could have boosted them from nowhere right up into the big money-earning ...
Herd, The, Scott Walker: Scott Walker, The Herd: The Dome, Brighton
Live Review by Keith Altham, NME, June 1968
GREAT SCOTT! That's my immediate reaction after seeing and hearing Scott Walker break through the scream barrier last Friday evening at the Brighton Dome. The ...
Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart: Standing Ovation For Jeff Beck
Report by June Harris, NME, June 1968
THE GREATEST thing happened in New York last Friday. On his first performance in this country, Jeff Beck became a star. Even in his Yardbird ...
Dusty Springfield: Dusty Says 'I Want To Hit Back'
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD would, I was informed, like to "hit back!" Now this did not sound like the fun-loving lass I knew of old. A skilfully ...
Monkees, The: The Monkees: Question Time With Monkee Davy
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
BEFORE Davy Jones completed his famous disappearing trick and returned to America, I joined the hordes of reporters and photographers waiting to see "Mighty-Monkee" at ...
Richard Harris, Jimmy Webb: Richard Harris Talks About Jim Webb
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
On transatlantic phone to NME's Keith Altham ...
Small Faces, The: Small Faces: We're Getting Better Ideas
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
HAVING nipped smartly into the No. 1 best selling album slot with Ogdens Nut Gone Flake, the Small Faces are now deservedly considered big wheels ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Nine Hits In A Row
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
WHEN I arrived at the Lime Grove TV studios it was to find that Tich, Mick, Beaky, Dozy and Dave Dee (how about that for ...
Jimi Hendrix: Jimi Brings Manager's New Club Roof Down!
Report by Keith Altham, NME, July 1968
JIMI HENDRIX literally brought the roof down on the opening night at his manager's club, Sergeant Peppers in Majorca by the simple expedient of ramming ...
Live Review by Ann Moses, NME, August 1968
NEWPORT FESTIVAL FAILURE ...
Kinks, The: The One-up Kink: Raymond Douglas Davies
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1968
RAYMOND DOUGLAS DAVIES, as he now insists on being referred to, is one who excels in the unexpected and the slightly bizarre. He is probably ...
Doors, The, Jefferson Airplane: The Doors/Jefferson Airplane: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Derek Grant, NME, September 1968
THE RUMOURS were flying. Doors drummer John Densmore was missing. The groups were arguing as to who would go on first. There was some speculation ...
Amen Corner: Amen Andy Is New Teen Idol
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1968
JUST as everyone was beginning to think that the day of the teenage idol was over, another young 'god' has come quietly and modestly upon ...
Joe Cocker: John And Paul Send Their Thanks To Joe
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1968
"WITH A Little Help From Our Friends" Lennon and McCartney, 23-year-old Sheffield born, Joe Cocker makes a welcome appearance in our charts this week with ...
Herd, The: After Big Split Herd Out Of Exile
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1968
YOU MAY NOT have seen much of the Herd recently since their self-imposed retreat following a dispute with managers Howard and Blaikley, but I have ...
Crosby Stills and Nash: Crosby Stills & Nash: Splitting Holly Graham Forms Group That Isn't
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, December 1968
TO THE MOSCOW Road, London W.2., where Mr. Graham Nash had news and views and also the company of Mr. David Crosby and Mr. Stephen ...
Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, The, John Lennon, Who, The: Rolling Stones: The Greatest Show On Earth
Report by Keith Altham, NME, December 1968
THE ROLLING STONES put in some overtime last Wednesday when they spent 17 hours working on their telethon production of The Rock and Roll Circus ...
Scott Walker: Scott His Own Worst Enemy
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, 1969
SCOTT WALKER is a super talent who will probably never become a Super-Star because he will defeat himself or maybe more simply he will deliberately ...
Simon & Garfunkel: Film Graduation For Simon, Garfunkel
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, 1969
"THE Graduate, the film which features ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ has given Simon and Garfunkel the kind of status in America that the Beatles have now," their ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, Fall 1969
THE MOVE are a sometimes thing. In the past three years the group have given us precisely one album and seven singles which can hardly ...
Tony Joe White: Tony Joe, Elvis, and Polk Salad Annie
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1970
TONY JOE WHITE was one of the first of the new school of Southern singer/songwriters – along with Jerry Reed, Joe South, Leon Russell, Dough ...
Elvis Presley: International Showroom, Las Vegas
Live Review by Ann Moses, NME, February 1970
KING ELVIS RULES VEGAS AGAIN. New songs and old in his act after his first night including 'Proud Mary', 'Walk A Mile In My Shoes', ...
Bob and Marcia: 'Why Marry? Our Way's Okay' says Bob Smiling While Marcia Frowns
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, March 1970
Reggae stars in London ...
Creedence Clearwater Revival: John Fogerty: An 80 Buck Bummer Made Us Start Learning
Interview by Ann Moses, NME, March 1970
"THEY SAY that true love travels on a gravel road... that one cannot understand joy without having felt sorrow... that one does not know sweet ...
Creedence Clearwater Revival: John Fogerty (continued): I Gave Up Note-making a Year Ago
Interview by Ann Moses, NME, March 1970
The second part of Ann Moses' long rap with John Fogerty, lead singing star of Creedence Clearwater Revival, takes the form of a frank Ask-In ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: Let It Be (Apple)
Review by Alan Smith, NME, May 1970
NEW LP SHOWS THEY COULDN'T CARE LESSHave Beatles sold out? asks NME's Alan Smith ...
Glen Campbell – Former Beach Boy and Elvis Guitarist!
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, June 1970
IT MAY NOT be generally known that Glen Campbell is a former member of the Beach Boys... that he was once a brilliant session guitarist ...
Nancy Sinatra, Osmonds, The: Nancy Sinatra, The Osmonds: Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas NV
Live Review by Ann Moses, NME, August 1970
FRANK SINATRA played host to 500 members of the Press to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Caesar's Palace and his daughter Nancy's opening. ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Can Do All The Tamla Jobs —
Interview by Ann Moses, NME, September 1970
– but still finds time for his golf! ...
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass (Apple)
Review by Alan Smith, NME, December 1970
Loads of talent, and yet... ...
Interview by James Johnson, NME, February 1971
SIXTY-FIVE year old blues-man Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, whose songs 'That's Alright Mama' and 'My Baby Left Me' were hits for Elvis Presley back in ...
Equals, The: 'Black Skins' Could Be Equals' Biggest In The States
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, February 1971
LEADER-SONGWRITER Eddie Grant lives and breathes the Equals, whose fat, pumping 'Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys' single is at No. 19 in this week's NME ...
Report by Alan Smith, NME, March 1971
Why Beatles ended in a sordid mudbath.It isn't coincidence that these solo singles have just been released, says Alan Smith ...
Ray Stevens: 'Bridget The Midget' Man Says Religious Lyrics Will Be Next Big Thing
Interview by James Johnson, NME, March 1971
People are getting sick to death of the 'put-the-world-to-rights songs' ...
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, May 1971
NME's Alan Smith endeavours to interview this week's chart toppers ...
Paul McCartney: Paul And Linda McCartney: Ram (Apple)
Review by Alan Smith, NME, May 1971
Alan Smith assesses the McCartney Ram album and sums up with... PAUL, WHAT A MESS YOU'VE MADE OF IT! ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Doing The Rounds For Publicity
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, July 1971
He knows it, I know it – the next Lennon album is the greatest says Alan Smith ...
Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Paul McCartney: At Home With The Lennons, Part 2
Interview by Alan Smith, NME, August 1971
In which John burns down the Beatles 'cause he loves 'em ...
Eric Burdon, War: Eric Burdon: War Was Too Soft For Me!
Interview by Ann Moses, NME, August 1971
ERIC BURDON ANSWERS QUESTIONS FOR ANN MOSES IN HOLLYWOOD ...
Review by Alan Smith, NME, September 1971
JOHN SINGS LONG TRACK ABOUT PAUL ...
Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood: Lee Hazlewood: We Only Record For The Fun Of It
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1971
THREE YEARS ago, Lee Hazlewood tired of writing and producing Nancy Sinatra – split to Stockholme to carry on his interest in film work – ...
Shirley Bassey: State Of The World Means 'Kids' Can Now Relate To Me Says Shirley Bassey
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1971
UNEXPECTED, but marvellous – and Shirley Bassey puts down her latest recording success, 'For All We Know' down to a change of style, which she ...
Sandy Denny: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1971
PERHAPS I was expecting too much from Sandy Denny, or maybe I wanted too much, but I'm afraid her concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall ...
Groundhogs, The: The Groundhogs: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1971
OUT Of the many gigs I've seen Groundhogs play, their concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday was easily one of the best. Perhaps ...
Traffic: The Gaumont, Worcester
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1971
TRAFFIC: THEY NEVER PLAY THE SAME TWICETour review by TONY STEWART ...
Al Green, Bill Black Combo, The: Al Green: Now Green Smashes The Big Memphis Monopoly
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, October 1971
MEMPHIS HAS long been accepted as capital city of rock 'n' soul, but to the casual fan this means just Elvis on the rock side ...
Pentangle: The Five Sides of Pentangle
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1971
PENTANGLE'S RISE in popularity has been unobtrusive but definite. They play a unique and compelling blend of styles spanning the world of jazz, blues, country, ...
Carole King: How Carole King Became Queen...
Profile by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1971
IN MANY ways, and for many reasons, it took Carole King a long time to record her first album, Writer, in 1970. As a writer ...
Velvet Underground: Lowdown on the Underground
Profile and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1971
Tony Stewart reports on the 'mysterious' Velvet Underground – a super-hip cult based on four reluctant 'intellectuals' ...
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, November 1971
DESCRIBING Larry Williams as a "great unknown" might raise a few eyebrows for he had a hit with 'Bony Moronie', a rock 'n' roll classic, ...
B.B. King: 'I Owe My Popularity To The Beatles. They Started The People Towards Really Listening...'
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, November 1971
GUITARIST-SINGER B. B. King, at 45 the toast of many young musicians, arrives at London Airport next Friday (19) to appear in London and Bristol ...
Quintessence: Peace... Love... And Success Without Sell-Out
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, November 1971
FOR QUINTESSENCE, 1971 must go down as one of the most successful years in their history – they have been going through a period of ...
Status Quo: Bubblegum Has Stuck To Status Quo, And It's A Stain They Need Ridding Of
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, December 1971
IMAGES FOR bands are acquired, changed, but seldom forgotten – and such is the case with Status Quo. Underrated yet very talented, over a period ...
Al Green: You're Never Alone With Al
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1971
THERE WAS no chance of Al Green getting tired of being alone when Decca Records welcomed him to Britain with a turkey and Christmas pud ...
Ann Peebles: Will Princess Ann Be Queen
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, 1972
ON THE distaff side, soul music has produced a long run of superb girl singers and these soul sisters have found it far easier to ...
Big Mama Thornton: The Hound Dog Howler Who Inspired Janis
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1972
IN THE DEEPEST depths of Transatlantic's Marylebone High Street (London) headquarters there's a wire cage which looks like Death Row in your favourite neighbourhood prison. ...
Sandy Denny Breaks Her Silence
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1972
After playing a Greta Garbo role for three months, the leading lady of British folk comes out of her shell to talk to Tony Stewart ...
Traffic: The Grech Traffic Report
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1972
A RECENT trip to America proved to be a traumatic period for Traffic. ...
Bloodstone: The Bloodstone Sound Spectrum
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1972
THERE'S BEEN a growing flood of black American artists to these shores over the past few years, and more and more of them have decided ...
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1972
WITH AIRFORCE, Ginger Baker succeeded in providing the rudiments of the Afro-beat. Consciously he wanted to go back to the roots of highly percussive music, ...
Dave Mason Gives New Meaning To That Old Cliché 'Doing My Own Thing'
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1972
DAVE MASON arrived at Heathrow Airport last Wednesday about a quarter of an hour earlier than planned, and even if the TWA chick hadn't tipped ...
Stevie Wonder: Audiences Will Accept New Things From Me, Says Stevie Wonder
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1972
MUSICAL BARRIERS are tumbling down – that's the reckoning of Stevie Wonder, currently on another 20-date European tour. "Audiences used to have a pre-conception of ...
Stevie Wonder: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Danny Holloway, NME, January 1972
STEVIE WONDER is the first artist to make Motown work for him rather than vice-versa. He has full control over his music and has acquired ...
Jefferson Airplane, Papa John Creach: Papa John Creach: Papa John Makes It With Rock
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1972
THE ONE-TIME phenomenon of young white rock musicians playing on records by old black blues musicians has become a commonplace thing. ...
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, January 1972
ON THE day I was to meet David Bowie at his home in Beckenham, Kent, I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard ...
Bloodstone, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield, Bloodstone: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1972
WITH THE Curtis Mayfield/Bloodstone show, the Rainbow Theatre proved conclusively that the Albert Hall has lost its place as the capital city of bad acoustics. ...
Pink Floyd: Electric Chaos, But Just Great
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1972
Tony Stewart at the debut of Pink Floyd's new masterpiece. ...
David Bowie: Hunky Dory (RCA Victor)
Review by Danny Holloway, NME, January 1972
Bowie at his brilliant best ...
Interview by James Johnson, NME, February 1972
OF ALL the heavy German bands Can are perhaps the most interesting and could prove the most influential. Next month they tour Britain and, judging ...
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, February 1972
Outspoken Danny Holloway series ...
Frank Zappa: Zappa On Rock, Porn And Blues
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1972
HE LOOKS a bit like an identi-kit picture of our own most infamous anarchist Guy Fawkes, this much-vaunted, often-maligned rock guitarist who more than anyone ...
Captain Beefheart: The Spotlight Kid (Reprise)
Review by Danny Holloway, NME, February 1972
THE CAPTAIN is back with this latest album of Space Blues and poetry in motion. ...
Marc Bolan, T. Rex: Marc Bolan: A Weird Kid With No Friends
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, February 1972
Outspoken Danny Holloway series ...
Frank Zappa on Death, Rock Writers, Money
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1972
ZAPPA IS NOT renowned for his appreciation of rock writers and their work, and he makes his point quite forcibly on the subject. ...
Pink Floyd (part 1): 'Things Just Somehow Happen To Us — We Don't Plan'
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1972
SIX YEARS ago an evening with Pink Floyd resembled a riot, with bottles, glasses and verbal abuse being hurled in their direction. ...
Stevie Wonder, Bags Of Chips And Clapton
Report and Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, February 1972
NME calls in at all-night recording session ...
Pink Floyd (part 2): Simple But Not Banal
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1972
LAST WEEK, NICK Mason talked at length about the evolution of Pink Floyd up to the Atom Heart Mother stage. The policy of the band ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1972
TOMMY HUNT is a name you'll be hearing a lot of if the best laid plans of the entertainment business don't go astray. More than ...
Isaac Hayes: The Aloof Mystique of Isaac Hayes
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1972
...but he's part of the people in his gold-plated Rolls Royce ...
Michael Jackson, Jackson 5, The: Michael Jackson: Schmaltz or Genius?
Comment by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1972
In his day perhaps they thought Mozart was a hype ...
Joe Cocker: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Live Review by Lenny Kaye, NME, March 1972
Cocker On Stage – A Big Let-Down. A Disillusioned Lenny Kaye Reports New York Opening ...
Harry Nilsson: Come Out, Harry, The Time Is Right
Report by Keith Altham, NME, March 1972
NILSSON filled Trident studios with old people to help record 'I'd Rather Be Dead' for his album. The song is a "lively, up-tempo number about ...
Captain Beefheart: A Trip Into The Mind Of The Spotlight Kid
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1972
RECENTLY MOVED FROM his desert domain in Lancaster to the remote forests of oceanside Eureka in Northern California, The Captain, at a comfortable 31, is ...
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1972
AS A PRELUDE to the good captain, a ballerina dressed in white, with a crown to match, did her stuff, followed by a belly dancer ...
Sandy Denny: Sandy and Band, Coping Cheerfully
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1972
FROM THE outside the Denny residence in Fulham looks a place of tranquility. Inside, though, a different story prevails. As Watson the huge Airedale lumbers ...
Interview by James Johnson, NME, April 1972
ACCORDING to Judee Sill: "Out of the mud grows a lotus". In other words something beautiful comes from something unpleasant. The phrase applies well to ...
Deep Purple: Victims Of Their Own Fame
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1972
DEEP PURPLE'S new album Machine Head comes to you courtesy of the Rolling Stones' redoubtable studio manager Ian Stewart who saved their famous mobile recording ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Dead Come Alive
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1972
IT'S TAKEN a long time for the Dead to get themselves back over here. They probably made it more by good luck than good judgment. ...
Temptations, The, Carla Thomas: The Temptations, Carla Thomas: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, April 1972
IF ELVIS himself had stepped onstage at the Hammersmith Odeon on Friday he could hardly have created more excitement than the Temptations stirred up with ...
Dr. John From Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1972
DR. JOHN'S contributions to pop music have been highly original and creative. Even if he claims that all the credit is due to the music ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1972
KEITH ALTHAM probes the laughing facade of Britain's most famous face. Couldn't his influence be put to better use? ...
Jimmy Savile: Puppet of Pop? (part 2)
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1972
PERHAPS IT IS a pity if this feature, which is largely Savile talking under stress gives the impression I dislike the man. I do not. ...
Wilson Pickett On African Soul
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, May 1972
WILSON PICKETT is back — as big and brash as ever, and if his press reception this past week at WEA Records (nee Kinney) is ...
Stone The Crows: Les Harvey — A Rock Tragedy
Obituary by Roger St. Pierre, NME, May 1972
LIFE AS a rock star isn't all glamour. It's a hard, gruelling existence which too often can end in tragedy. ...
Joe Cocker: The Joe Cocker Ritual Sacrifice
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1972
WE APOLOGISE for the slight reduction in Cocker-power but it now looks as though normal service has been resumed following the one year strike (respite) ...
Dr. John: Dr John: The Mind And Music Of A Delta Voodoo Rocker
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1972
ACCORDING to Dr. John almost everything started in New Orleans, from rock and rail to rhythm and blues to himself. ...
Osmonds, The: The Osmonds: They're Enough To Make You Scream…
Report by Keith Altham, NME, May 1972
LAST FRIDAY at High Noon it was 'teen time' at London's Churchill Hotel, where those Beetle-haired Monkee-faced and indecently wholesome Osmond Brothers (You have probably ...
Profile by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1972
THE BEST NEWS of last week was that Johnny Winter, after a year in medical exile, was once again alive and functioning, and due to ...
Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
I SAW the first night of the Dead's four concerts at the London Lyceum last Thursday. where they were ever so good for ever so ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
I AM, it should be emphasised, a Beach Boys freak from way back, to 'Wendy' and 'Surfin' U.S.A.', through Pet Sounds to Surfs Up, and ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: With Love And Good Vibes part 1
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
THE BEACH BOYS are the most successful and oldest working rock and roll band on the road today and this is a crucial year in ...
Electric Light Orchestra, Move, The: Move Over For The ELO
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
THE FIRST love in Roy Wood's life is obviously his new 10-piece mini-orchestra, the ELO, but meanwhile the Move are apparently still alive and very ...
Lou Reed: A Voice From The Underground
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1972
ONCE HE wore black, tinselled clothes and was a human screen for movies. He sang and wrote about evil characters; sometimes happier ones. But always ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: With Love And Good Vibes part 2
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
THE FINAL part of Keith Altham's interview with Beach Boy Mike Love. Last week Love talked about the group's involvement with transcendental meditation. Now he ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: The Forum, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Danny Holloway, NME, June 1972
WEEKS PRIOR to their Los Angeles date, the entire population in L.A. was struck by Stones fever. Tickets went quick and 350,000 people had to ...
Staple Singers, The: The Staple Singers: Soft Sounds That Burn Deep
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, June 1972
JAMAICAN SINGERS have yet to follow up their undoubted success in Britain with a similar impact in the States but neverthelless reggae is making a ...
American Spring: Mrs Brian Wilson
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
MARILYN WILSON and her sister Diana Rovell, are American Spring, and their first album is very much a family affair, because her famous husband Brian ...
Cliff Richard: The Peter Pan of Pop
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972
POOR OLD Cliff is still a bit too good to be true for most people – the Peter Pan of pop, and a Christian to ...
Chi-Lites, The: The Chi-Lites: The Windy City Sound
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, June 1972
IF ANY outfit holds serious aspirations to usurping the Temptation's crown as the world's leading soul group then it must surely be Chicago's Chi-Lites who ...
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, June 1972
IN TOWN TO RECORD HURRICANE'S HIT, AND KNOCKED AND ROBBED IN A LONDON STORE, MAMA CASS TALKS TO FRED DELLAR ...
Led Zeppelin: The Forum, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Danny Holloway, NME, July 1972
LED ZEPPELIN appeared in concert at the Los Angeles Forum on Sunday night without a support act. It was definitely for the better as far ...
George Harrison et al: The Concert For Bangla Desh
Film/DVD Review by John Pidgeon, NME, July 1972
THE CONCERT for Bangla Desh, an Apple/Twentieth Century-Fox release, produced by George Harrison and Allen Klein and directed by Saul Swimmer, opens at the Rialto, ...
Alexis Korner: Kornering The Market
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1972
ALEXIS KORNER has been for so long at the heart of rhythm and blues in Britain, and touched off so many groups who have gone ...
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, July 1972
SMOKEY ROBINSON is a hell of a lot more than just a giant of soul or Motown. For more than a decade, his original and ...
Jimmy Cliff: The Harder They Come (dir. Perry Henzell)
Film/DVD Review by John Pidgeon, NME, July 1972
"The oppressors are trying to keep me downMakin' me feel like a clown" ...
David Bowie: David at the Dorchester: Bowie on Ziggy and other matters
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1972
THREE CHANGES of dress and a kiss from Lou Reed. The waiters were horrified. ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1972
THIS WAS one of the few gigs I can remember where all the acts deserved a full-length review to themselves. The teaming of Reed, Gnidrolog ...
T. Rex, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart: Never A Dull Moment/T. Rex: The Slider
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1972
TEENAGE TEARDROPS... Or, would you buy a used riff from these men? ...
Stooges, The, Iggy Pop: An Initiation Into Iggy Pop
Profile by Nick Kent, NME, July 1972
For those who think Bowie a trifle lame... ...
Love, Arthur Lee: Arthur Lee: On Life and Love
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, August 1972
IT WAS easy to see that the sands of time had shaken this poor boy pretty hard. Twenty-seven-year-old Arthur Lee strolled into A&M's Hollywood offices ...
Free, Emerson Lake And Palmer: ELP Plus Tull in Dirty Raincoats, and How Free May Drop the Name
Report by Keith Altham, NME, August 1972
WATCHING EMERSON, LAKE and Palmer play a concert with Free in the middle of a raging typhoon in Tokyo with Carl Palmer performing an incredible ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1972
WITHIN a year of its composer Bill Withers taking it high up the American chart, 'Ain't No Sunshine' has become firmly established as a soul ...
Van Morrison: Where Is The Restless Lion Now?
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, August 1972
I'M AFRAID that the Van Morrison you know, may not be quite the same person as the one I envisage. ...
T. Rex: Marc Bolan: On Love, Hate and the Press
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, August 1972
MARC BOLAN may not be one step ahead of the shoe-shine, but he has certainly been slandered, libelled, heard words you've never heard in the ...
Sam Cooke: Who Remembers Him Now? Sam Cooke
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1972
"NOT 'ALF Sam Cooke's been an influence on me," Rod Stewart was saying in his NME interview last week, adding that the inclusion of 'Twisting ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1972
Aretha at her greatest ...
David Bowie, Roxy Music: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1972
GOING TO THE Rainbow these days is definitely an outing, an excursion, something of a treat. Unfamiliarity breeds respect, and though the cheerful hippies who ...
Bo Diddley: Hey! Bo Diddley: The Man Whose Sexuality Was Too Much For America
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1972
Diddley Freak Charles Shaar Murray, in the presence of the main man... ...
Aretha Franklin: Amazing Grace (Atlantic)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1972
THOUGH IT HAS received wide critical accalim Aretha Franklin's latest album, the double set Amazing Grace, is far and away the least commercially orientated she ...
Mary Wells, Cecil Womack: Mary Wells And Her Guy Still Making Hits
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1972
IT WAS PAST five in the afternoon but Mary Wells was still fast asleep, recovering from the rigours of her whistle stop British tour and ...
Bill Withers: Morale Music For The People In The Ghetto
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1972
A TELEPHONE CABLE that runs off the edge of Britain, down under the Atlantic, and up again into the heart of North America to St. ...
Frank Zappa: Fearless Frank Tells What He'll Lay On You At The Oval Concert
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, September 1972
IT'S THE Frank Zappa show ... starring Larry The Dwarf with his guests Suzy Creamcheese, Ruben Sano, and Willie The Pimp. ...
Yes: Close To The Edge (Atlantic)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1972
Meaningless magnificence from Yes? ...
Leo Sayer: Who's like Dylan, Cocker, Rodgers And Rod? Leo Sayer
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1972
LEO SAYER is Patches — Patches is Leo Sayer — described by his mentor as "the Huckleberry Finn of Rock", but fortunately he is good ...
Roxy Music: The kind of example we wish to set our parents?
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1972
THE CHAMPAGNE was flowing freely when I interviewed Phil Manzanera, guitaring personality of Roxy Music, in freefall at twenty thousand feet over the English Channel ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1972
PUTTING MARC Bolan into perspective is no easy matter because he refuses to fit into any recognisable category. On the surface it could seem that ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1972
FIRST THE facts: Greasy Truckers are basically two people who wish to be known as Melvin and Fanny Hotrock (We all have our problems, I ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1972
Mr. Beck we salute you ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1972
THE SIGNS were there once again at what was in effect just another one-day festival that a bummer was to be had by one and ...
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1972
HAWKWIND ARE ONE of the very few "Underground" bands to make the big time almost entirely on their own terms, without any real concessions to ...
Report and Interview by John Pidgeon, NME, September 1972
KEEP ON ROCKIN' is in town, and so is the rock film revolutionary who created this celluloid spectacle of Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1972
JUST WHEN IT seemed that all the excitement, glamour and sparkle were going out of rock – along with the anger, vulgarity and vitality which ...
Jerry Butler, Allen Toussaint: Jerry Butler and Allen Toussaint: The Spice Of Life
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, October 1972
IT'S NOT so long since soul albums were merely collections of singles, plus a few make-weight tracks. ...
Johnny Cash: Hard Cash To Cleanse Your Soul
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, October 1972
IT'S 7.30 P.M. at the backstage entrance of the Albert Hall and strange things are happening. It's Wednesday, the second of Johnny Cash's performances at ...
Roxy Music: Ferry Interesting Roxy
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1972
Bryan Ferry stunning in gold trimmed black pyjamas and matching shades, greeted me from where he reclined, half-submerged beneath a heap of scented fanmail, on ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1972
JUST BEFORE THEY left for their current U.S. tour, NME took the three founder members of Family on a nostalgia-tinged trip back to their Leicester ...
Review by Keith Altham, NME, October 1972
I'M STILL TRYING to unscrew my head after listening to Santana's new album, Caravanserai (CBS). One side features sheer technical brilliance. The other side, wow... ...
Black Sabbath: Satan, The Bomb And Geezer's Dreams
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1972
CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY looking for flames ...
Jeff Beck: Beck Looks Back (part 1)
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, October 1972
Page and Zeppelin, Stewart, the old band and the new... ...
Jeff Beck: Beck Looks Back (part 2)
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1972
Beck, Page and bad vibes ...
Liberace: Magic Moments In Showbiz Schmaltzville
Report by Nick Kent, NME, November 1972
Mean teen NICK KENT (along with Abe and Ruby from Wisconsin and Tom and Ethel from Phoenix) meets LIBERACE ...
Hawkwind: Cosmic Calypso And Sonic Surprise
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1972
UNLESS YOU'RE DEAF, dumb and blind, or alternatively haven't been keeping up with the music press, you will know that Hawkwind embark this week upon ...
Joe Cocker: They Put Me In The Same Cell As A Bank Robber And A Murder Suspect
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1972
IT SEEMS that life is still intent on batting Joe Cocker about the head with all the subtlety of a navvy driving a tin-tack into ...
Roxy Music: All This and Eno Too… How Can They Fail?
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1972
T.S. ELIOT, MUSING upon a takeaway Chinese meal once asked: "is true art dead?", while over at the pinball machine Little Richard picked his nose ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, November 1972
IT SEEMS THAT, despite a few "huns in the sun", that good old heavier-than-air machine Led Zeppelin is still flying high. And with their first ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, November 1972
DRIVING OUT of London in his sparkling red Citroen, bound for Manor Studios, Oxfordshire, John McCoy talked about his girl Claire Hamill in a manner ...
Jackson 5, The: The Jackson Five: Five Pranksters Puppets
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1972
TAUNTS THAT the Jackson Five are nothing more than carefully manipulated puppets just aren't borne out by the facts. Five minutes in the company of ...
Kraftwerk, Nektar, Amon Düül, Can, Faust: Krautrock: Germany Calling
Overview by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1972
The first in-depth examination of the strangest rock scene in the world ...
Otis Redding, Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers: A Rock Tragedy
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1972
WHEN BERRY Oakley died two hours after crashing his motorcycle on November 11, another chapter was added to the succession of tragedy which seems to ...
Overview by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1972
BOMB BLASTS AND THE BEAT: PART TWO OF IAN MACDONALD'S DEFINITIVE SURVEY OF GERMAN ROCK ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1972
LOU REED WITH COLOURED GIRL DAVID BOWIE... ...
Popol Vuh, Amon Düül, Faust: Krautrock: Germany Calling #3
Overview by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1972
From Amon Düül to Faust's new sound-world ...
Led Zeppelin (part 1): A Whole Lotta Rock 'N Roll
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, December 1972
IT'S WAY past the midnight hour and the room at the Angel Hotel, Cardiff, is starting to look a trifle the worse for wear since ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Stones In The Sun (part 1)
Report and Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, December 1972
All-night rock; drug rumours; new album. Danny Holloway reports. ...
Merry Clayton: The Triumphant Acid Queen
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1972
MERRY CLAYTON is the girl who stopped the show at the London Rainbow performance of Pete Townshend's rock opera Tommy earlier this month. Even the ...
Led Zeppelin (part 2): Hail Hail Rock 'N Roll
Report by Nick Kent, NME, December 1972
Nick Kent on the Zeppelin on-stage spectacular ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Stones In The Sun (part 2)
Report and Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, December 1972
JAMAICA IS a country of convenience – which means nobody's going to put themselves out for you, unless it's convenient for them. ...
Kevin Coyne: New London Theatre, Drury Lane
Live Review by Miles, NME, 1973
Without doubt one of the most powerful presentations I’ve ever attended. When it was over Kevin was drained, his band was drained, the audience was ...
King Crimson: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, 1973
IT'S A ROCK concert evening and the stalls are filling to the accompaniment of music played over the public address system. A review-functionary takes his ...
Joni Mitchell: A Tender Dignity
Guide by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
ONE DAY, many years ago, Al Kooper went home with a blonde Canadian chick who used to hang out with the Blues Project. In the ...
David Bowie & The Spiders from Mars: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
ZIGGY PULLS THE SQUEALERS ...
J. Geils Band: Live — Full House (Atlantic)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
THERE COMES a time in each man's life when he needs to have his brain tissues reduced to absolute smouldering wreckage. ...
Traffic, Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood: Steve Winwood: Winwood (U.A. Import).
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1973
WHAT A strange world it is. A couple of years ago this same double set was released in America, and swiftly withdrawn following objections – ...
Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton & Pete Townshend: Go Get 'Em Eric
Interview by Bill Phillips, NME, January 1973
BILL PHILLIPS previews the CLAPTON comeback concert – and talks to PETE TOWNSHEND ...
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1973
ALTHOUGH OUR entry into the European Economic Community is being saluted with umpteen art forms and rock concerts in the capital, perhaps the greatest – ...
Poco: A Good Feelin' To Know (Epic).
Review by Nick Kent, NME, January 1973
I KNOW a lot of city-boy cynic rock writers like to put down this band, pointing out how lightweight they are and how they come ...
Traffic: Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory (Island)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1973
COME ON NOW, put away the hammer and nails and the coffin; save them for a much lesser band than Traffic. Agreed, over the last ...
Roxy Music: The Man Who Put Sequins into Middle Eights
Interview by Nick Kent, Ian MacDonald, Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
The BRYAN FERRY interview, in which the Roxy mastermind meets IAN MacDONALD, CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY and NICK KENT ...
Chuck Berry: Green's Playhouse, Glasgow
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1973
TONY STEWART REPORTS FROM GLASGOW OH THE FIRST BERRY CONCERT ...
Jeff Beck, Faces, The, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart: The Scarecrow Harlequin
Overview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
STRANGE AS it may seem, there was a time when Rod Stewart used to hide behind Jeff Beck's amplifiers and only come out front if ...
Blue Mink: Out of Preaching Bag
Profile and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, January 1973
UNTIL THE advent of Blue Mink and hits like the current 'Stay With Me' and 'Melting Pot' — which established them a couple of years ...
Prince Buster: Reggae Part 1: Jamaica
Report by Danny Holloway, NME, January 1973
WHENEVER I've gone home to America in the past couple of years, the question I'm always asked is "What's happening in England?" And okay, I ...
J. Geils Band: The J. Geils Band: Hard Drivin' Sweet Soundin' Rock and Roll
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1973
TAKE A LOOK at the cover of the first J. Geils Band album on Atlantic. The sleeve itself simply contains two plain, no-nonsense black-and-white photographs ...
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1973
IF YOU TAKE a certain measure of pride in staying fully in touch with the Music Press (where trends bend and fashions flourish), the question ...
Nina Simone: Emergency Ward (SF 8304)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1973
LOGGING A BIG pop hit sometimes does more harm than good to artists who previously had a rather specialist appeal. ...
Yoko Ono: Approximately Infinite Universe (Apple)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1973
INASMUCH AS the Lennons have spent four years trying to turn self-dramatisation into an art-form, the criticism of indulgence so often aimed at them seems, ...
Discography by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1973
ONE OF THE best of a large number of good British bands to emerge in 1967, Family were for about 18 months the most exciting ...
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1973
SO WHAT'S this? Joe Cocker talking to the Press? Can it be Sheffield's own recluse-superstar, the man who returned from the Godforsaken land of Rock'n'Roll ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1973
ONE ONLY HAS to mention the name Traffic these days and somebody'll grunt, groan and lower their eyes, dismissing the subject. Undeniably, the group have ...
Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore: Scotty Moore: The Man Who Launched A Thousand Licks
Interview by Norman Jopling, NME, January 1973
PEOPLE AROUND at the time Elvis first made it claim that guitarist Scotty Moore was the musician most responsible for "The Elvis Presley Sound". Moore ...
Greyhound: Reggae Part 2: Reggae in Britain
Report by Danny Holloway, NME, January 1973
WHEN LABOUR IN England was becoming hard to come by during the 1950s, enticing proclamations were urgently sent to the West Indies. "Your Mother Country ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Holland (Warner)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, January 1973
DESPITE MY better judgment, I temporarily dropped my rock n' roll-cynic persona, used when confronting 90 per cent of what is going down in music ...
Elton John: Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player (DJM)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
WELL, WHADAYA know – another fine Elton John album. Despite sneers, calumny and general foulness, the former Reg just keeps on writin', playin', singin' and ...
David Bowie: Goodbye Ziggy And a big hello to Aladdin Sane
Review and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1973
Two days in the life of David Bowie - A rare interview and a preview of his new album... ...
Brian Eno, Roxy Music: A Flight of Fantasy: Eno
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
ENO'S PLAYBOY bachelor flat in mystical Maida Vale possesses a decor that is God's own gift to a journalist caught for a good opening paragraph. ...
Isaac Hayes: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
ISAAC HAYES, they tell me, is the leading light of the new black life-style. Black Moses, yet. ...
Roberta Flack: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, February 1973
MAJESTIC, CERTAINLY, with a voice as clear as crystal – but I'm afraid to say that Miss Roberta Flack, in concert, is something of a ...
Roy Harper: The Original Hippie
Report by Jonh Ingham, NME, February 1973
"I'LL COME back and see you, but I'm not getting smashed. I'm 24 and feeling it.""That's all right Robert, neither am I. We'll stand in ...
Isaac Hayes: The Man They Call Moses
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, February 1973
IMAGES DON'T come much heavier than that surrounding Isaac Hayes. But take away the dark shades, the heavy chains, the robes, the immense mink coats, ...
Beck, Bogert and Appice: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
WERE LOTS TO be drawn for the identity of the world's most crazed rock guitarist, you better believe the result would contain the name of ...
Sweet: The Sweet Soft Underbelly of Rock
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
FUNNY how moods change – there we all were...the Sweet and myself...in the bar, having a few drinks, sharing a joke or two y'know, getting ...
Beck, Bogert and Appice: Rock 'n' Roll Vandals
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
"HEY," SAID Jeff Beck a trifle slyly, tilling his head to one side and allowing a patently nasty leer to edge its way across his ...
Uriah Heep: The Heep Bombard Frankfurt
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1973
SATURDAY IN FRANKFURT, Western Germany, and Hans and Monika have pooled their Deutsche Marks to go and see Uriah Heep in concert. It's been a ...
Doug Sahm: Doug Sahm and Band (Atlantic)
Review by Danny Holloway, NME, February 1973
DESPITE WHAT some people may say to the contrary, the most significant thing about it is NOT the fact that Bob Dylan crops up for ...
Derek & The Dominos: In Concert (RSO)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
QUESTION NUMBER One: how do you follow up a masterpiece? ...
Bette Midler: Just A Working Class Girl Living Out Her Fantasies
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
BETTE MIDLER, the Divine Miss Bette Midler, is a star. Ahmet Ertegun, man of wealth and taste, and head of Atlantic Records, believes it; Aaron ...
Elton John: The Fightin' Side of Elton John
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, February 1973
ELTON JOHN SITS cornered on his sumptuous settee, talking about the comic strip character he portrays. And as if to emphasise the image, he's wearing ...
David Bowie: Lookin' Back, David Bowie: Sinister Odyssey Through a Treacherous Landscape
Overview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
RIGHT NOW David Bowie's albums are the subject of more close and obsessive study than anybody else's since the days when hippies all over the ...
Report and Interview by Charlie Gillett, NME, February 1973
CHUCK BERRY. To a fan, the name sparks off a warm smile. After that depending on how old he or she is, the first song ...
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show: Sloppy Seconds (CBS)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
NOW DON'T get me wrong. I ain't no weenybop, but I have to admit that I really dig this Dr. Hook album here. Hell, I ...
Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds Of Fire (CBS)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1973
THE INNER Mounting Flame was a very extreme record: extremely fast, extremely dazzling, extremely lyrical, extremely passionate. If you go along with Robert Fripp's "Head ...
Chuck Berry part 2: How Many Comebacks?
Interview by Charlie Gillett, NME, February 1973
AS WE TALKED, Berry looked over a copy of Golden Decade Vol. 2 and ran his eye down the sleeve discography, commenting on some of ...
Focus, Jan Akkerman: Jan Akkerman: A Poor Relation Comes Good
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1973
IN A SMALL OFFICE at the Manchester Hardrock, reeking of stale beer and dirty ashtrays, Jan Akkerman is struggling to light a cigarette. Outside, where ...
David Bowie: Gay Guerillas & Private Movies
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
ALRIGHT, so you're a rock singer out of Beckenham, Kent called David Bowie and you're hotter than a stolen atom bomb packed with pictures of ...
Eric Clapton, Who, The: Pete Townshend part1: The True Saga Of Clapton's Rainbow Gig
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
IF YOU TURN up at the famous Track office in Soho's historic Old Compton Street, you're sure of a big surprise – there's a glitzy ...
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, February 1973
HE COMES ON stage with Slade like an over-decorated, perambulating Christmas tree – smothered in silver-stars, gold and glitter from head to toe – but ...
David Bowie: Lookin' Back Part 2, in which Murray looks at Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust
Overview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1973
AFTER MAN Who Sold The World came Hunky Dory (RCASF 8244), with its Garbo cover-pose and its extraordinary range of mood and sound. The hard ...
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1973
THE MARQUEE MAY be an ace gig as far as groups are concerned but, for audiences, it can be most uncomfortable – particularly when the ...
Back Door: Just Who Do Back Door Think They Are?
Profile and Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1973
ONE OF the peripheral pleasures of a thriving music scene is being able to tell your friends about this great unknown group you've just discovered. ...
Led Zeppelin: The Zeppelin Road Test
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
"ROBERT PLANT QUITS showbusiness and joins National Dairies. There's a good headline for you. Print that as a news item in your paper, O.K.?" ...
Rita Coolidge: The Lady's Not For Sale (A&M)
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, February 1973
ONE OF the bright young kids in the NME office played 10 seconds of each cut on side one, heard not a sound, and chucked ...
Alice Cooper: Billion Dollar Babies (Warner)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1973
YOU'VE GOT to hand it to Alice Cooper and the boys – they know just when to pump out another album for the kids to ...
Report by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1973
WHEN FOUR people have given rock one of its biggest facelifts, it's natural they should never be far apart. So in the same way that ...
Faust: The Sound of the Eighties
Comment by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
A LOW buzzing sound, at first almost subliminal, emanates from a position somewhere between the twin stereo speakers. It wavers, hesitantly, from side to side ...
Who, The: Pete Townshend part 2: If The Who Split We'd Really Have To Own Up
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
PETER TOWNSHEND is an amiable sort of dude. He sits in Track Records' office, with booze and dog to hand, and talks about anything that ...
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1973
THE FIRST ENCORE at the Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, started with Jim Capaldi up front, his face pressed hard against a microphone to ring out ...
Birds, The, Jeff Beck, Faces, The, Ronnie Wood: The Complete Works of Ronnie Wood
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1973
REMEMBER A BAND called the Birds? Nope friend, I do not mean the Byrds, Bobby Dylan's old honchos from Los Angeles, nor am I alluding ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1973
IT'S EASY TO detect a strong jazz influence in Billy Paul's vocal on 'Me And Mrs. Jones'. The reason is simple enough. Paul, now 35, ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
IT'S BEEN nearly 18 months since we heard anything new from Paul Butterfield. In 1971 he released Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin' which was, ...
Incredible String Band, The: The Incredible String Band #1: Eight Years On
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
THE INCREDIBLE String Band, in various forms, have been playing for eight years and have recorded 13 albums, including two doubles and solo sets by ...
Cornell Dupree: The Boss Guitar of Cornell Dupree
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1973
CORNELL DUPREE's name will mean nothing to the general public, but those who scan LP sleeve credits will recognise him as one of America's busiest ...
James Brown: He Ain't Slowing Down
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1973
SOUL BROTHER Number One leaned back in his chair, adjusted his robe, and expounded: "Back in 1969 King Records didn't want to know. They said ...
Thin Lizzy: And Now A Drop Of The Real Hard Stuff
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1973
THIN LIZZY would like it known that while they're delighted with ther hit single 'Whisky In The Jar' it shouldn't be confused with the 100 ...
James Brown: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
SOUL BROTHER Number One's in town, and the James Brown Revue's gettin' down and gittin' it on at the Rainbow. Bop through to the stalls ...
Eagles, The: The Eagles: Takin' It Easy
Profile and Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, March 1973
IN A COMFORTABLE Chelsea flat, Texan Glenn Frey is looking a bit depressed as he sits surrounded by a pile of the latest rock albums ...
Osmonds, The: The Osmonds: Ever Thought Of Stringing Jimmy Up On Stage?
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
HAVE YOU heard? Donny Osmond's in town – along with big brother Alan – and the secret weeny bopper jungle telegraph knows where he's going ...
Steeleye Span Versus The Time Warp
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
SOUND TECHNIQUES studios in Chelsea is not exactly the most luxurious of settings for musical activity. Boards, speakers and tape reels are scattered fairly haphazardly ...
King Crimson: Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Island).
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
A NICE RECORD of pleasant, middle-of-the-road music which should prove a great favourite with everybody's mum and dad this Easter. Bill Bruford's whistling has improved ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: London Sessions (Mercury).
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, March 1973
IN SOME ways, it hardly matters what this record sounds like. It's the idea that counts. If everything works out more or less to plan, ...
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon (Harvest).
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1973
SINCE THEIR performance of this work at the Brighton Dome last year, when, due to technical hitches, the piece fell apart half way through, the ...
Clyde McPhatter: Atlantic Masters (Atlantic)
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, March 1973
WELL, IS SINGING coming back or not? The signs are, maybe yes. Billy Paul, for instance, and the Chi-Lites, Stylistics, and Detroit Emeralds. ...
David Bowie: The Revolution Is Here
Essay by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
IN THE NINE months since he broke through to mass recognition, David Bowie has had more written about him than most rock artists will in ...
Deep Purple: Who Do Purple Think They Are?
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1973
IN CONTEXT, WE'RE AS VALID AS ANYTHING BY BEETHOVEN. ...
Incredible String Band, The: The Incredible String Band #2: Scientology and the Incredibles
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
MacDONALD: Was there any consistent philosophical or spiritual attitude behind the group's work during the Elektra period, or were you just tossing in anything you ...
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: The Funny Side of Dr Hook
Profile and Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, March 1973
DR. HOOK were unexpectedly thrust to popularity via their international hit 'Sylvia's Mother' last summer. The strange thing is, people were buying the song and ...
Coasters, The: The Coasters: Atlantic Masters (Atlantic).
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, March 1973
HOW CRUEL fate is. At the very moment that Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller are proving themselves to be perfectly tuned in to 1973, with ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys #1: The Perfect Wave
Discography by Jonh Ingham, NME, March 1973
"I love to make records that my friends like to hear." – BRIAN WILSON ...
King Crimson, Claire Hamill: King Crimson/Claire Hammill: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
ON SUNDAY night, at that big weird place in Finsbury Park, Messrs. Derek Moss, Bart Brassert, Don Wilton and Rodney Frock most certainly did not ...
Pretty Things, The: The Pretty Things: Still As Strong As Bo Diddley's Guitar Arm
Report and Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, March 1973
FEEL THE svelte red leather. Take in the expensive walnut dashboard surrounding the precision instruments; the speedo flicking between 70 and 80. Experience the full ...
Dr. John: Dr John: In The Right Place
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, March 1973
Out of the swamp, into the chart? ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
THERE ARE A large number of people in the music business who would be delighted to hear that Roxy Music had blown it. Their sudden ...
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen: Hot Licks, Cold Steel and Truckers Favorites (Paramount)
Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, March 1973
IT WAS like driving through an infinite oven, the sun dancing in cool water-mirages across the four-lane asphalt. Wayne wiped the sweat from his brow. ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys #2: The Exiles Return
Discography by Jonh Ingham, NME, March 1973
THE SECOND and concluding part of Jonh Ingham's retrospective look at the Beach Boys covers the '66 to '73 period. ...
Elton John: Sundown, Edmonton, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
I WAS counting the number of fainting chicks pulled up out of the audience. After the 38th, I gave up. ...
Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Shaw Theatre, London
Live Review by John Pidgeon, NME, March 1973
IRONICALLY the Sutherland Brothers' first 'major'' London gig since teaming up with Quiver was opened by an acoustic duo, as if to remind the audience ...
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1973
THE BECK, BOGERT and Appice album is completed and virtually upon us, and it leads us to two inescapable conclusions. The first is simple: man ...
Rod Stewart, Faces, The: Rod Stewart: Oo La La
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, March 1973
I AM DEATH. Huddled in my anorak. Alone and palely loitering in the stalls of the empty Rainbow Theatre. I am miserable with cold in ...
Little Feat: Dixie Chicken (Warner Bros.)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1973
SINCE SAILIN' Shoes, the group's last album, asthmatic Pachuco bass-player Roy Estrada, formerly of The Mothers, has departed to join Captain Beefheart under the pseudonym ...
Procol Harum: So Who Loves Procol Harum?
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1973
WHO LOVES Procol Harum? Not England, it seems. Apart from a tough faction of loyal devotees, this isle has said cheerio boys. ...
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1973
ATTENTION PLEASE. For the next few weeks, Britain will have the chance of witnessing 'live' one of rock's most creative and significant guitarists. ...
Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmaltzson
Report and Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1973
STUDIO ONE at De Lane Lea studios in Wembley is a massive room; big enough to hold close to a 50-piece orchestra. Most of the ...
Faces, The: The Faces: Ooh La La (Warner Bros.)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
FIRST THERE'S this rolling piano lick, then in comes Ronnie Wood's guitar. Nice tough chording, anchored down with a bent note descending to the root ...
Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Best Of… (Vanguard)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
BUFFY SAINTE-Marie is one of the special ones. She's one of the few performers guaranteed to move me to tears, and side two of She ...
Roger Daltrey, Who, The: Roger Daltrey: Who Does What In The Who
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1973
WHAT'S HAPPENED to the Who? Pete SHOULD be writing and recording for the Who. John Entwistle SHOULD be concentrating on the Who's future, but he's ...
Black Sabbath: To Knock OR Not To Knock The Rock
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, April 1973
WHEN IT COMES to obvious targets for critical assassinations, then Black Sabbath are sitting ducks – very loud, very basic, very brash. And now at ...
Captain Beefheart: The Beef Of The Matter
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1973
DON VAN VLIET and his orchestra are here for their third British tour. The current line-up of The Magic Band features Zoot Horn Rollo (first ...
Diana Ross: Rapping with Lady D
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
THE DISTINGUISHED-looking old gentlemen in the red braided uniform accepts my coat with an expression of mild distaste and ushers me into the Pine Room ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
Bye-bye, Ziggy. It was nice seeing you, and I hope you'll keep in touch. Hello, Aladdin Sane, make yourself at home. David Bowie's new album ...
Steeleye Span: Parcel of Rogues (Chrysalis)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
IT WOULD be considerably more than a pity if Steeleye Span, that most English of bands, have to become superstars in the States before really ...
Steve Miller: Miller's Hard Grind
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1973
STEVE MILLER'S concerts at London's Rainbow theatre last year were two of the most pleasant gigs of 1972. Since he'd never played here before, Miller ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
BACKSTAGE at Bristol, and everything is panic and turmoil. Steeleye Span's support act hasn't arrived half-an-hour before show-time. Jo Lustig, Steeleye manager, is standing with ...
Traffic: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1973
DEAR MR. FANTASY played us some tunes, something that made us all happy. No, it was more than that. All of us at the London ...
Roxy Music: The Dome, Brighton
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1973
GROUPS TOURING Britain are expected to put on that little bit extra for their London dates on the simple score of the probable presence of ...
Report by Nick Kent, NME, April 1973
THE MAN from the customs – a surly-looking Negro – eyed me suspiciously for a full ten minutes, and checked and rechecked my baggage and ...
Tyrannosaurus Rex, T. Rex: T. Rex: Where Now, Elemental Child?
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
ONCE UPON A time there was Tyrannosaurus Rex. In the days immediately following flower-power, rockanroll music was getting very sweaty around the edges. What with ...
Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, April 1973
"I'D BEEN nursing the idea for Roxy since my last band," says Bryan Ferry, "since 1964-65. Obviously, when I stopped with the other band I ...
Roberta Flack And All That Jazz
Interview by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1973
DANNY HOLLOWAY talks, in New York, to the lady who made the big transition from jazz to mass acclaim. ...
Profile by Danny Holloway, NME, April 1973
IF YOU asked someone who, apart from Elvis, has contributed the most to rock and roll, he'd probably say Chuck Berry, Little Richard or Jerry ...
Roxy Music: Ultra Pulp Images On The Video-Cassette Of Your Mind
Profile and Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, April 1973
THE FIRST COSMIC rock law of the seventies is this: "Everybody is a star". To which the answer is: "So what?". Roxy Music, undeniably, have ...
Lou Reed: The Sinatra Of The 70's
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, April 1973
LOU REED SURE is a card. The day before this interview was supposed to take place, an associate of mine phoned up the Reed management ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1973
BY NOW, most people know that Fanny are one of the best rock bands currently functioning. Their albums, particularly Charity Ball (their second, but the ...
Speedy Keen: Speedy Words and Speedy Keen
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, May 1973
JOHN 'SPEEDY' KEEN is the rock and roll war-horse who wrote 'Something In The Air' for Thunderclap Newman. He's recovered from that – scarred of ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1973
JON HISEMAN is sitting in a Viennese coffeehouse on a bright Sunday morning, and talking about the four-piece rock band he formed earlier this year. ...
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, New York Dolls: New York: The Dark Side Of Town
Report by Nick Kent, NME, May 1973
THE GRAFFITI IN the toilets at Max's Kansas City is abysmal. It's the only word that comes to mind – there's not one subversive scrawl, ...
Profile by Ian MacDonald, NME, May 1973
CREATOR OF one of rock's two most distinctive bass styles (the other being Paul McCartney's), Jack Bruce has, during the course of a long and ...
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1973
IT BECAME Friday night in Birmingham on a Friday morning in London – when I listened to this live Heep set. ...
Focus: Focus And The American Hell
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1973
MIDNIGHT was our cue to quit the Swiss restaurant and return, like five Cinderellas, to our hotels. It wasn't a case of trembling at the ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: California Dreamin'
Report by Nick Kent, NME, May 1973
IT WAS ALL a California Vision come to life. Pure and simple. Speeding down from the Hollywood Hills, leaving behind all the emaciated refugees on ...
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
ANGIE BOWIE is a gas. She really is. She's sitting between Cherry Vanilla and an ice-bucket at a table in the colossally elegant main dining ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Fresh (Epic)
Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, May 1973
SLY IS an interesting enigma. Top soul dj-turned-musician, he singlehandedly influenced the course of soul music with a sound that owed more to acid than ...
Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin' Simon (CBS)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1973
LISTENING TO an album twice through the No. 1 studio sound system at CBS is not the best way to hear a new set. Nor ...
Hatfield And The North: New Band on the Old Road…
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, May 1973
PIP PYLE, Phil Miller, Dave Stewart, and Richard Sinclair have been on the road a few years between them. ...
Roy Buchanan: The Guitarist's Guitarists' Guitarist
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1973
THE WORD is out and the message is self-explanatory. Buchanan, they say; Roy Buchanan, they mean. And if you've missed this paean that's currently ringing ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1973
"AND WHEN he arrived they screamed and they cried, and they rushed, and gushed forth and beat their feverish feminine fists into..." FORGET IT! This ...
Hawkwind: Space Ritual Alive At Liverpool Stadium And Brixton Sundown (United Artists)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1973
WELL, THESE COSMIC tacos ain't about to make you wet yourself, but it's still a fact that, contained on these four sides, are the very ...
Judge Dread: Working Class Hero And The Robin Hood Of Reggae
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, May 1973
NICK KENT SPECIAL interview (snigger, snigger) with the man who's rude (snigger) but heaven forbid – not crude ...
Profile by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
WHEN HE'S playing nice, you couldn't possibly hope to hear more creative or more exciting rock guitar playing than that of Jeff Beck. He was ...
Steeleye Span: So Who ARE These Limeys Playing Folk Music?
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
IT TAKES approximately 11 hours to fly from London to Los Angeles. You get off the 'plane, and the heat fills your lungs like a ...
David Bowie: Total Sensory Overload
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
Following the controversial London Earls Court gig, Charles Shaar Murray and photographer Joe Stevens check out Bowie on tour – and find a riot goin' ...
Eagles, The: The Eagles: Desperado (Asylum)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
IT IS ARGUABLE that the test of a fine example of any genre is to consider the extent to which it transcends its category. Our ...
Flo & Eddie: Flo and Eddie: Flo & Eddie
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1973
MR. HOWARD KAYLAN and Mr. Mark Volman are a somewhat literal-minded pair. When they originally left the protectve aegis of Frank Zappa to strike out ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, May 1973
"I'M AGELESS," said David Bowie in a recent interview – and these 21 tracks from the very earliest days of his career point up the ...
Eric Burdon: Back On Stage… The Charlton Heston of Rock
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1973
Eric Burdon has been absent from the rock scene — but never gone. He’s made more comebacks than Jesus... and now he’s making another. And ...
Suzi Quatro: This Is Suzi Quatro. She's Heavy
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1973
ON THE HORIZON of Charles Street, London, or more precisely in the RAK Record Company offices, is a Star. Her name is Suzi Quatro. Five ...
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1973
Will Slade break America or will America break Slade – that was the question being resolved by the Noddy Holder Experience as they ...
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
LEON WANTED US TO LIVE IN HIS HOUSE...WE WEREN'T INTERESTED NEEDLESS TO SAY ...
Jefferson Airplane: 30 Seconds Over Winterland
Review by Nick Kent, NME, June 1973
THERE'S REALLY nothing quite as dead as the recent past – for further proof just dig out those old Jefferson Airplane albums currently collecting dust ...
Lou Reed: A Walk On The Wild Side Of Lou Reed
Comment by Nick Kent, NME, June 1973
"I HAVE ALWAYS thought it would be kinda fun to introduce people to characters they maybe hadn't met before, or hadn't wanted to meet, y'know. ...
David Bowie: The Bowie Experiment
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
THIS IS ONE OF those restaurants where quiet good taste just screams its presence. You just know that they have pheasant under glass, and that ...
Roxy Music: Last Tango In Amsterdam
Report by Nick Kent, NME, June 1973
BEING A ROCK writer isn't so bad. Quite often you get to go down to a nice hotel, get a few drinks, maybe even a ...
Silverhead Training For The Heavyweight Stakes
Report by Nick Kent, NME, June 1973
THE SIGN on the marquee outside the Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Blvd., L.A., read: "Welcome Silverhead." Well, not quite: the 'a' was missing after ...
John Entwistle: John Entwhistle: Rigor Mortis and the Happy Funeral
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1973
THE ROOM is deathly silent, apart from the occasional rumble of a stomach going by. We are gathered together on this day for a belated ...
Fleetwood Mac: The Fleetwood Mac of Today
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, June 1973
FLEETWOOD MAC have been through a lot of changes since the club days. What began as a straight blues band has progressed into new musical ...
Gilbert O'Sullivan: Gaumont, Ipswich and Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1973
Big G and the Scream Machine ...
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
"I DON'T EVEN like Led Zeppelin," the girl in the black velvet jacket and hotpants said petulantly as she bummed a cigarette off an acquaintance ...
Johnny Nash: My Merry Go Round (CBS)
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, June 1973
LISTENING TO this record the first time through is as frustrating as trying to see a beautiful woman through a steamed-up window. But the third ...
Jefferson Airplane: Just An Exercise At Being Repulsive?
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
"WE ARE all outlaws in the eyes of America," sang Grace Slick from the stage at Woodstock. God, it must be fun to be a ...
Junior Campbell, Marmalade: Junior Campbell: Hallelujah Campbell
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, June 1973
JUNIOR CAMPBELL is one artist with a hit single who you won't find on stage. After 10 years with Marmalade, he's content to take things ...
Led Zeppelin: Robert Plant — And That Below-The-Belt Surge
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
A HOT AND sticky Friday afternoon in L.A. Nine stories over Sunset Boulevard, Robert Plant takes Roy Harper's Lifemask off the stereo in his hotel ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1973
"KING EDWARDS are a really heavy smoke," the publicist is saying, "but Manikins and things like that are all right". The advice is aimed at ...
Medicine Head: The Unknown Celebrities
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1973
AT A DELIGHTFUL pub in Twickenham on Saturday eve, Medicine Head's Peter Hope-Evans sat drinking a glass of Lowenbrau. The perpetual grin across his face ...
Todd Rundgren: A Wizard, A True Star
Review by Nick Kent, NME, June 1973
BOY, IS THIS a great record. I love it and that's saying a lot seeing as I don't seem to like that much of anything ...
Alice Cooper: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1973
LET'S ASSUME, just for the purpose of arguement, that you're a sensitive soul filled with love for your fellow humans, and that you really get ...
Fairport Convention: Fairport And The Mysterious Lady
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1973
"FOTHERINGPORT CONFUSION", states Trevor Lucas with a wry smile. That's his pet description of the present Fairport Convention. After all, the band comprises part of ...
Allen Toussaint, Producing the New Orleans Feel
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, July 1973
QUESTION: What could Alvin Lee, Frankie Miller, Mac 'Dr. John' Rebennack, Robbie Robertson and Lee Dorsey possibly have in common? Answer: Allen Toussaint. ...
Brinsley Schwarz: Beware of the Rock Machine: Brinsley Schwarz
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, July 1973
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ are playing nice clean rock 'n' roll these days – but they're wary of getting caught up in that rock 'n' roll machine. ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1973
SEEMS LIKE only yesterday that Family returned from America, wheezing and coughing about the sheer enjoyment of their tour. And quite a number of Family ...
David Bowie: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1973
THERE ARE crowds of kids outside the hall, waiting for Stardust to limousine into view. And for them this is all three times as real, ...
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Dr Hook: Sylvia's Mother Meets Durty Cindy Lou…
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1973
WE ALL KNOW the famous American rock venues, don't we? We've all heard of the Forum in L.A., the Academy of Music and Madison Square ...
War: The Battle Against 'Unlove'
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, July 1973
THIS IS the story of war declared but not yet unilaterally. Approximately two years ago, when the American 'jazz-rock-blues-soul' band appeared in the U.K. with ...
John Martyn: The Stormbringer Comes Into The Sun
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1973
"Love me with your head and heart.Love me from the place it starts;Love me from your head and heart.Love me like a child." ...
Horslips: Well You See, There Was These Five Irishmen...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1973
TONY STEWART reports the long, involved story of Horslips ...
Brian Eno: Eno: Of Launderettes And Lizard Girls
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1973
...and things that go bump in Ladbroke Grove. Nick Kent stakes out Eno's closet ...
Edgar Winter: Just A Friendly Texan
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1973
STEVE PAUL'S in a good mood right now. He's just been informed that West Side Story is playing somewhere in London and already he can ...
Pointer Sisters, The: The Pointer Sisters: The Pointer Sisters
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1973
ANITA, RUTH, JUNE and Bonnie Pointer come to us with the fervent recommendations of seemingly everybody in America. But with the best will in the ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1973
SINCE THE Beatles re-created the album market with Sergeant Pepper we've become used to the idea that the best of rock'n'roll is invariably found in ...
King Crimson: Latest Shade of Crimson
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1973
SOME REPORTS from America suggested that King Crimson's recent tour had bombed completely. Others maintained that everything had gone according to plot and that audience ...
David Bowie: Bowie-ing Out at The Chateau
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1973
CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY WITH THE MAIN MAN IN FRANCE. WORK ON NEW PROJECTS, REPORTS MURRAY, IS GOING AHEAD DELICIOUSLY IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT ...
Albert Hammond: Moroccan Strip Clubs To All American Boy
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1973
DESPITE THAT rich, drawling brogue and songs like 'It Never Rains In Southern California', Albert Hammond is no American. As it happens, he was born ...
Smokey Robinson: Miracles And Meditation
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1973
IT'S JUST on a year since Smokey Robinson split from the Miracles to spend more time as an executive of the Motown Corporation. Now, he ...
Genesis: The Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Andrew Tyler, NME, August 1973
IT'S A LITTLE dishonest using the same strokes to hammer Genesis as are periodically used against Yes. But there you go. Such is the nature ...
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1973
CAN YOU AFFORD TO LAUGH – AND MISS OUT ON 10CC? ...
David Bowie: Tight Rope Walker At The Circus
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1973
THE CHATEAU D'HEROUVILLE is probably the only recording studio in the world boasting a resident chef who does Charlie Chaplin impressions at suppertime. Trouble is, ...
Who, The: The Who: Bang A Gong The Who Get It On
Report by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1973
THE MAN across the road didn't really understand why Keith Moon was standing in the pouring rain, beating on a Paiste gong outside the Who's ...
Status Quo: Enjoying A New Status
Report by Tony Stewart, NME, August 1973
TONY STEWART GOES SWISS WITH STATUS QUO, WHO ARE BIG BUSINESS THERE ...
Stackridge: Lummy Days Are Over, Stackridge Move On…
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1973
ONCE BILLED as the Almost Greatest Show On Earth, those remarkable young men from the West Country known collectively as Stackridge are currently at work ...
Nazareth: So You Wanna Stay A Rock 'N' Roll Star?
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, August 1973
DAN McCAFFERTY has no pretensions. As he sits chain smoking in his manager's flat – a mere Rolls Royce-throw away from London's Hyde Park Corner ...
Alice Cooper, Lou Reed: Bob Ezrin: The Square And The Faggots
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, August 1973
"DETACHMENT. Yes, that's it exactly. We were both talking about that. Lou said last night: 'This album is an exercise in detachment and apathy'. I ...
Tony Joe White: Home Made Ice Cream
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1973
I'VE HAD a healthy respect for the work of Tony Joe White for quite some time now, and it is because of the excellence of ...
Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers: Brothers And Sisters
Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1973
IT MUST have been just at the point where the Grateful Dead has started to tarnish their once peeless charisma as the magic band that ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1973
NOW THIS is a little more like it. Of course, it would be ludicrous to expect a sudden reconciliation with the original classic Byrds feel ...
King Crimson, Robert Fripp: Robert Fripp: Head, Heart and Hips
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1973
ROBERT FRIPP doesn't give many interviews – which is silly because he's a shrewd, witty, and engrossing man who, when he's not sitting on a ...
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, August 1973
SO YOU'RE a dues-paying rock 'n' roll star with a couple of weeks to kill and you decide to flit off to Ahmadnagar and hang ...
Genesis: The Man Behind The Mask
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1973
THE MUSIC world rarely awakens before noon, but I met Peter Gabriel at the unlikely hour of 9.30 a.m. Genesis, having finished their Selling England ...
Genesis: No Exodus Yet for Genesis
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1973
"OBVIOUSLY we're out of the public's attention – but we come back that much stronger; some bands seem afraid to take time off; they feel ...
Hot Chocolate: Chocolate Brown
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1973
THERE IS absolutely no getting away from the fact that it was an excessively hot and sticky afternoon. Sweaterama incarnate. Clothing stuck unpleasantly to the ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1973
"ZAPPA'S IN TOWN," they said. "Wanna go along and talk to him?" Oh sure, sez I, always glad to have a chat with Frank. So ...
Mott The Hoople, New York Dolls: New York Dolls/Mott The Hoople: Felt Forum, NYC
Live Review by Michael Gross, NME, August 1973
THE EVENING SIMPLY reeked of promise. Mott the Hoople, the Anglo glamour band of the moment, billed with New York's very own Dolls. ...
New York Dolls: The Guys In The Dolls
Report by Michael Gross, NME, August 1973
THE BACK room of Max's Kansas City is generally bathed in a pink glow of lighting effects. Depending on how much liquor you've consumed, it ...
New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: The New York Dolls (Mercury Import)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1973
THE NEW YORK Dolls are trash, they play rock 'n' roll like sluts and they've just released a record that can proudly stand beside Iggy ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1973
I COULDN'T find the name 'Dobie Gray' in any of the rock encyclopaedias. Presumably after 'The In Crowd' he became one of those half-forgotten names ...
Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, Yardbirds, The: Session Star: Jimmy Page
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
JIMMY PAGE is as wary of discussing his formidable past as he is talking to the press in the first place. ...
Robert Fripp, King Crimson: Robert Fripp: The Sexual Athlete
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1973
ROBERT FRIPP paused in a virtuoso display of cross-picking on Francisco Tarrega's 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra', the interlude music he'd chosen between the two parts ...
Black Sabbath: Sabbath Days Of Rest
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1973
Forget witchcraft, forget heavy metal – Tony Iommi is laying back in his luxury pad, listening to the Carpenters and Sinatra ...
Jaki Whitren: The I Don't Want To Be A Star Star
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1973
NOT THE USUAL pub or press office for interviewing this newcomer. Oh no. For Jaki Whitren — CBS have put their money where their faith ...
Frank Zappa: Penguins in Bondage and Other Perversions
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1973
WHERE WERE WE? Oh yeah, Frank Zappa. Anyway, ol' Frank is sitting in his hotel room above Kensington, discoursing on this and that and demonstrating ...
Kilburn & The High Roads: Kilburn and the High Roads: Hardened Criminals Plan Big Break-Out
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
AT LEAST, THAT'S THE WAY THEY LOOK. BUT THEY'RE GOING TO BE BIG: NICK KENT ON THE ROAD TO SUCCESS WITH KILBURN AND THE HIGH ...
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, September 1973
BARBARA CHARONE TAKES THE HIGH ROAD WITH BABE RUTH. ALL THE WAY TO WICK, CAITHNESS – A MERE CABER-TOSS FROM JOHN O' GROATS. AND DISCOVERS ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1973
THIS INTERVIEW had the most ordinary of beginnings. David Byron and Uriah Heep's Press Miss and myself left the other four members of the band ...
Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry: Party Fun From an Old Poseur
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1973
AT NOON PRECISELY, on a colourless day, I pressed the bell-push of Bryan Ferry's chic Earl's Court flat. Fifteen minutes later I was still ringing. ...
Lou Courtney, Howard Tate: Howard Tate and Lou Courtney: The Blues and Dance Men
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, September 1973
TWO ARTISTS of widely different appeal, Howard Tate and Lou Courtney both deserve inclusion in this series because although only modestly successful even in the ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Goat's Head Soup
Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
FIRST COMES the riff. It's like 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' 'cept it's slowed down so it sounds like it's being played on horse tranquilliser. Ominous and ...
Candi Staton: Foxy Lady Of Soul
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, September 1973
RIGHT FROM the days when Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ida Cox and later the ladies Holliday, Vaughan, Fitzgerald and Washington ruled the blues/jazz roost there ...
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, September 1973
THIS PIECE might easily be subtitled "How to operate with ice-cool expediency without ruffling your cosmique mantle." But that would definitely be rushing things. ...
Alan Price: That Lucky Old Price
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, September 1973
THERE'S still much of the flat cap rocker about Alan Price. At his best he's a kind of cross between Randy Newman and Jackie Charlton ...
Jethro Tull: The House That Jethro Built
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1973
IT NOW SEEMS rather incongruous to think back on Jethro Tull as veterans of the Great 1968 Blues Boom, right out of the same scene ...
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, September 1973
IF ALL THE world were a movie set, the Japanese artist could have married her rock star and lived happily ever after in the East ...
Billy Preston: God Planned It Good
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, September 1973
AFTER YEARS spent as a session man for an astonishing roster of star names the Beatles, the Stones, Barbra Steisand, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam ...
Carpenters, The: The Carpenters: Summer Sweethearts
Overview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
If it's muzak you're looking for, look no further... ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Stones-On-The Road Special
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
THE LADY behind the amps, staring hazily at Billy Preston and his band performing on stage, looked elegantly damaged. Half of her face was covered ...
Report by Keith Altham, NME, September 1973
Keith Altham gets a sneak preview at the next original Slade Album ...
Mick Taylor, Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Dead Goats And Other Delicacies
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1973
THE CURRENT European tour has again given us all the opportunity to dogmatically state that the Rolling Stones are indeed the greatest rock 'n' roll ...
Judy Collins: In Through The Other Door
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1973
TRANSATLANTIC phone calls can be a precarious undertaking at the best of times. But on this grey Wednesday afternoon, as successive international operators tried vainly ...
Deep Purple: Purple, Introducing The…Err…Unknown Mr. Coverdale
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1973
PURPLE RECORDS took the press down to Clearwell Castle on the Welsh-English border last week to meet their new singer boy. The name of this ...
Beck, Bogert and Appice: The Axeman Cometh
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1973
IT JUST GOES to show that things ain't always what they seem. Bopping down Savile Row in the general direction of Apple Studios (ah, Apple! ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1973
THE FIRST TIME I saw Slade I thought they were dreadful. It was that memorable night at the Lanchester Arts Festival when Chuck Berry cut ...
Genesis: Selling England By the Pound (Charisma)
Review by Barbara Charone, NME, September 1973
GENESIS FANS unite, stand proud and be counted; get ready to say 'I told you so' to all those people who have been doubting your ...
Righteous Brothers, The: The Righteous Brothers: Two By Two (MGM)
Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, September 1973
INCREDIBLE, They may not have been black, they may not even have been soul music (though to my mind they were), but nobody could deny ...
Focus: At The Rainbow (Polydor)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1973
LIVE ALBUMS basically attempt to recreate a concert atmosphere with favoured musical pieces by the band in question and sycophantic noises from the audience. ...
Suzi Quatro : You Don't Have To Be A Dyke…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
I FIRST ran into Suzi Quatro late last year. She was a nice, bouncy little American chick who played bass, wrote songs, was forming a ...
Brenda Lee: Mmmmm…Sweet Nuthin's
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, October 1973
WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA, Monday: "To make the most of the things you were born with...Think Big." ...
Kinks, The: Ray Davies: Doggie Tricks And Bizness Licks
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, October 1973
THIS IS THE TRUE STORY of a street dog and his best friend – an incorrigible pair who get to see each other only on ...
Bruce Springsteen: Was Bob Dylan the Previous Bruce Springsteen?
Interview by Steve Turner, NME, October 1973
"RANDY NEWMAN is great but he’s not touched. Joni Mitchell is great but she’s not touched. Bruce is touched... he’s a genius!" Manager Mike Appel ...
Roger Daltrey, Who, The: The Who: Triumph And A Threat
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1973
IT HAPPENED TO THE BEATLES, BUT IT WON'T AFFECT THE WHO. AND ROGER DALTREY NOW PREPARES TO DO THREE YEARS HARD LABOUR ...
Gram Parsons: The Superstar Who Didn't Quite Make It
Obituary by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
GRAM PARSONS somehow never quite got to be the nationally-touted superstar he deserved to be, which is possibly as much his own fault as anyone ...
Report and Interview by John Pidgeon, NME, October 1973
John Pidgeon reports as, ever so slightly, America begins to quiver... ...
John Denver: Farewell Andromeda (RCA)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
Y'KNOW IT'S somehow comforting to know we've got a guy like John Denver to kick around. ...
Fairport Convention: Nine (Island)
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1973
I'VE BEEN trying for some time not to like a Fairport Convention album. After the endless catalogue of disaster and misfortune, it seemed vaguely unnatural ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
JUST WHEN you think your ex-idol has slumped into a pitiful display of gross terminal self-parody, Lou Reed comes back and hits you with something ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
"WE GOT a great new single comin' out," says Suzi Quatro from the depths of a rather predatory-looking brown armchair in Mickie Most's office at ...
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, October 1973
THE MUSIC world rarely awakens before noon, but I met Peter Gabriel at the unlikely hour of 9.30 a.m. Genesis, having finished their 'Selling England ...
Rory Gallagher: Full Blooded Gallagher
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1973
DURING A RECENT trip to America I was able to watch Rory Gallagher work at that musical pit of iniquity known as 'The Whisky A ...
Lindisfarne: How Wee Wee Music Went Down The Drain
Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1973
LAST WEEK I heard the new Lindisfarne album, provisionally titled Don't Rip It...I'll Take It By The Yard with sleeve complete and scheduled for release ...
Brian Eno: Happiness Is A Warm Jet
Report by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
...BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE LATEST RECORDED WORK OF MR. BRIAN ENO, LATE OF ROXY MUSIC, AND FEATURING BLANK FRANK, FRIEND OF THE MASSIVE MASSIMO ...
David Cassidy: Real Cool Cassidy
Report by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
I ALWAYS FIGURED secretly that David Cassidy was a cool guy. ...
Persuasions, The: The Persuasions: Big Legs 'n' Bad Asses
Profile and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, October 1973
WE'RE BACKSTAGE at Birmingham's Odeon, logjammed into a feeble grey van – a constable and sergeant at the controls – and now we're going to ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1973
FAUST IV is the chronological successor of So Far (The Faust Tapes being from the period of the transparent album) and, as such, represents the ...
Neil Young: Time Fades Away (Warner-Reprise)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
NEIL YOUNG didn't really have too much to say after the days with the Buffalo Springfield. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
I GUESS I ought to be grateful to Status Quo. If I hadn't heard this album, I wouldn't have thought of writing the "Heavy Metal" ...
Lovin' Spoonful, The: The Lovin' Spoonful: Golden Spoonful (Polydor Twosome)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
JOHN SEBASTIAN was the best P.R. man that hippies ever had. ...
Moody Blues, The: Moody Blues: Saints Or Sinners?
Interview by Keith Altham, NME, October 1973
SO THE Moody Blues have just finished then cathedral-rock tour of Europe and Britain – their first British dates for over a year. As usual ...
Judy Collins: July Collins: Easy Times Come Hard
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1973
JUDY COLLINS TALKS TO BOB WOFFINDEN ON MUSIC, FILMS, PEACE AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FURTHER POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT ...
Don McLean: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1973
AFTER RECEIVING one of the warmest receptions that it's possible for a sepulchral Albert Hall audience to give there can be no doubt about either ...
McGuinness Flint: McGuinness Is Still Good For You
Profile and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1973
McGUINNESS FLINT should now be regarded as an emerging new band – and an exceptionally good one at that. But instead they're being cautiously measured ...
Garnet Mimms: The Mysterious Fade-Out Of Garnet Mimms
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, NME, October 1973
JIMMY HELMS has a fair rendering of 'I'll Take Good Care Of You' competing in the chart stakes right now, but soul freaks who can ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1973
THE GOLDEN AGE Of Rock is almost universally assumed to have been in full swing between about 1954 and 1959, following which, according to every ...
Stephen Stills: Behind The Malicious Rumours
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, October 1973
EVER SINCE he wrote 'For What It's Worth' Stephen Stills has had his share of criticism. And oddly enough it's often been more personal than ...
Groundhogs, The: Tony McPhee: Who Will Save McPhee
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1973
What makes a respected guitarist ditch his axe for the complete Rick Wakeman multi-keyboards trip?Tony (T.S.) McPhee tells Tony (T.J.) Stewart... ...
Troggs, The, David Bowie: David Bowie: Zigs and Troggs and Backless Nuns
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
IT DOESN'T MATTER who's playing. The Marquee's always a drag on Saturday nights. It's hot, crowded, uncomfortable, and noisy, and it poses a severe visibility ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Up Against The Wall and Other Seedy Tales
Report by Nick Kent, NME, October 1973
WEST BERLIN has to be the absolute lowest, scuzziest dive sprawled out within the bounding perimeters of Western Capitalist Society. ...
Don McLean: Playin' Favourites
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1973
AN ALBUM of other people's songs from someone who's written a few celebrated ones of his own? Yes, this is Don McLean laying bare his ...
Who, The: The Who: Four-Way Pete
Review and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1973
TOWNSHEND'S Quadrophenia is a rather daunting proposition. Another Who double-album rock opera? About a kid called Jimmy? With a massive booklet of grainy monochrome tableaux ...
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1973
Faust: The Guildhall, Plymouth ...
Al Stewart: Of Simon, Seers And Ages Past
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, November 1973
IF YOU'RE in New York at the end of the seventies, don't drink any water – because it's liable to be poisoned. ...
Don McLean: One Of Mammy's Boys
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1973
DON McLEAN on the traumas of 'instant' success and the virtues of Al Jolson's act...not to mention, of course the incredible Perry Como and Bing ...
Neil Young: The Naked Cowboy Fresh Out Of Beans
Essay by Andrew Tyler, NME, November 1973
EXPERIMENTS IN college dormitories with electrodes, erectoids and heat-meters show that the most consequential moment of a stripper's act is just prior to the panties ...
Pete Townshend, Who, The: Pete Townshend: Who's Jimmy?
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1973
IN THE SECOND LEG OF THE TOWNSHEND-MURRAY TALKABOUT, PETE TELLS ALL...AND MORE. ...
Faust: We're Just Trying To Be Here Now
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1973
Faust: Rainbow Theatre, London ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, November 1973
Grateful Dead: In the Wake of the Flood (Grateful Dead records, Import) New Riders Of The Purple Sage: The Adventures of Panama Red (CBS, Import)America: ...
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, November 1973
THIS TIME around, Slade are making a dent in the American market. Armed with a new record company and determined to knock 'em dead, the ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1973
IN A WAY, Roxy Music's original ambiguous stance – the Chinese Box thing that was probably their most enticing quality – always fought against their ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, 1974
A FINE RECORD. And that sentence goes first because the fact that a band as perfectly poised as Steely Dan can reach their third album ...
Fleetwood Mac: New Singer and A New Sound
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1974
NEW FLEETWOOD MAC singer Dave Walker says his move to the group from Savoy Brown has given him a feeling of liberation. He claims it ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1974
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE the importance of ritual.Most rock bands have a certain schtick that's always part of the show, something the audience knows that it's gonna ...
Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1974
"I TELL ya, mate, just wait till Bryan Ferry gets onstage – 'is face is goin' to look like a fuckin' cancered lung". ...
John Lennon: Please, Your Majesty, Can Our John Have A Free Pardon?
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, January 1974
Heavy breathing over the phone as ANDREW TYLER gets the lowdown from LENNON in L.A. Genius is police harassment, says the Walrus ...
Mott The Hoople: Memoirs of a Street Punk
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1974
IAN HUNTER knows a thing or two about being a rock 'n' roll star. ...
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: The Man Who Twisted Himself
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1974
COVER VERSIONS have long been the bane of the rhythm and blues field of music. During the 'Fifties, the major record companies kept their ears ...
Band, The, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan & The Band: Night of the Zimmerman
Report by Barbara Charone, NME, January 1974
CHICAGO, ILLINIOS – land of Lincoln, booming metropolis of the Mid-West, heart of Middle America. Not as sophisticated as New York, nor as small as ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1974
WOWEE, that Alice Cooper is certainly a funny fellow an no mistake. ...
Band, The: The Band: Moondog Matinee
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1974
WHATEVER REASON you might tender to explain the artistic atrophy that has overtaken Dylan, it's beginning to seem as though his old cronies, The Band, ...
Ringo Starr, Wings: Paul McCartney: Band On The Run/Ringo Starr: Ringo
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1974
RINGO STARR is a wonderful person. His new album proves it. ...
Faces, The: Rod Stewart & The Faces: Live Coast To Coast/Overture And Beginners (Mercury)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1974
LADIES AND gentlemen, a study in disintegration.When the Faces began their current incarnation, their boozy looseness helped to add some riotous vibes to a tight, ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1974
SANTANA WERE always a good group, even though debs and deadheads liked them and played 'Soul Sacrifice' endlessly at boring Friday night Strand-ups. ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1974
THERE WAS a curious smell in the Belle Vue Hall, Manchester. ...
Golden Earring: New Wax From Earring
Profile and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1974
"WE'RE JUST AVERAGE REALLY", SAYS GEORGE KOOYMANS, GUITARIST WITH GOLDEN EARRING. TONY STEWART LENDS AN EAR TO A TOUCH OF DUTCH ...
New York Dolls: Dead End Kids On The Champs-Elysées
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1974
"NOW JOHN LENNON... y'know, that song 'Gimme The Truth'?" The Dolls' David Johansen's cracked Brooklyn drawl appears from the side of his mouth while a ...
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1974
SOUL MUSIC and the blues have boundaries which are largely indefinable — a factor which has allowed many artists to straddle the two. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1974
YOU WILL soon be told that this cat is going to be the big breeze in 1974. Receive this piece of information with sceptical, though ...
Brian Eno: Everything You'd Rather Not Know About Eno
Interview by Chrissie Hynde, NME, February 1974
IT WAS WITH a certain apprehensive curiosity that I first noticed the brown lace-up shoes. He displayed a normalcy that I just couldn't trust. After ...
Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Bros. Band: Dead Or Alive?
Essay by Nick Kent, NME, February 1974
IS IT ENOUGH TO LOVE YOUR MOTHERS, HATE FAGGOTS AND RIDE A MOTOR CYCLE? WELL, PLAYING A LITTLE MUSIC OCCASIONALLY HELPS, SAYS NICK KENT, WITH ...
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, February 1974
EVEN THOUGH it's so bloody cold, everyone wants to know what happens to John Osborne's loathsome soldier hero in the end. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1974
COME TO THINK about it, I always did rate Gladys Knight very highly. ‘Take Me In Your Arms and Love Me’ especially was one of ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1974
THE COVER of this album has real style. Bonnie Raitt is photographed in one of those cavernous early-twentieth century railway stations, slumped in a large ...
Isley Brothers, The: The Isley Brothers: 3+3 (Epic)
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1974
BLACK MUSIC is currently well entrenched in the process of mixing recent rock forms into the standard sound of soul, a process in which the ...
Bob Dylan: Remember Those Fabulous Sixties? An NME Consumer's Guide to Bob Dylan
Guide by Mick Farren, NME, February 1974
Enigma, prophet, fink or sell-out? MICK FARREN looks back over Dylan’s recorded career at a time when argument over the artistic worth — or lack ...
Man: This Is The Man Band. In 6 Years They've Had Six Lineups. It Looks Like This One May Do It
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1974
TRANSLATED FROM THE HERO'S TONGUE BY CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY, WHO'S ABOUT AS WELSH AS A NICE JEWISH BOY CAN GET THESE DAYS... ...
Joni Mitchell, Tom Scott: Joni Mitchell and Tom Scott: Lost Innocence with a Rock and Roll Band
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, February 1974
JONI MITCHELL, no longer an innocent folkie, has turned her back on the garden for rockier pastures. Yep the times certainly are changing. ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1974
Planet Waves has so far been received with resounding critical acclaim. Robin Denselow in The Guardian describes it as "an album that ranks with Blonde ...
Bob Dylan: An NME Consumer's Guide to Bob Dylan, Part 2
Guide by Mick Farren, NME, February 1974
CONTINUED FROM PART 1 ...
Linda Ronstadt: Ronstadt Country
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, February 1974
TIME WAS when being a country music fan was difficult going. You could secretly dig people like Dolly Parton or Charlie Rich but it wasn't ...
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1974
NICK KENT slinks unobtrusively into the back-room for something a little stronger ...
10cc: Have You Seen A More Boring Picture Of A More Bored Looking Bunch Of Creeps?
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1974
WOW, HEAVY STUFF, MAN. BUT LOL CREME, THE SMALL ONE, SAID IT. NICK KENT, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS NEITHER BORED NOR BORING — IN ...
Carpenters, The: The Carpenters
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, February 1974
PEOPLE ARE always saying that the real modern age miracle is how you can fly London to Furt-frank and stand a penny on a table, ...
Edgar Broughton Band, The: Edgar Broughton
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1974
SHED A TEAR or, if you will, a small sympathetic whimper, for The Edgar Broughton Band. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1974
NEW LINE-UP time, folks. As all you well-informed young people will have been aware for nigh on a full season, Ian Gillan has left to ...
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
Essay by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1974
IF YOU'D played this to an average record-company executive at the beginning of '73 and told him it would become the year's best-selling rock LP ...
Roger McGuinn: Spacemen in my garden
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, February 1974
ROGER McGUINN has been around a long time. Way before the Byrds, he was with the Chad Mitchell trio – superstars of the Peter, Paul ...
Steely Dan: Walking Slow, Drinking Alone, And Moving Swiftly Through The Night…
Profile and Interview by Wayne Robins, NME, February 1974
WERE SITTING drinking Campari in the Angry Squire in Seventh Avenue on a dull sweltry Sunday night, watching the sippers and swallowers drift through a ...
Todd Rundgren: A Wizard, A True Star and Todd
Essay by Andrew Tyler, NME, March 1974
SHOO AWAY, Todd, and stop filling my head with this blue vinyl trash because it turns my head to glass and I'll never see light ...
Black Oak Arkansas, Blue Oyster Cult: Blue Oyster Cult/Black Oak Arkansas
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1974
THIRD TIME down 52nd and 6th, and this guy from The Process is still trying to accost you with his pamphlets and spectre-of-doom rap. ...
Marc Bolan, T. Rex: Marc Bolan: Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (EMI)
Review by Andrew Tyler, NME, March 1974
I WAS HOPING the spangled dwarf was going to pull off something approaching musical competence just so as I could do my small bit to ...
Live Review by Chrissie Hynde, NME, March 1974
Music to build empires ...
Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers: Marquee Club, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1974
CHILLI WILLI and the Red Hot Peppers are gonna save your soul. They're the only band in the country specialising in funky country, an area ...
Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Stephen Stills: CSN&Y: Euphoric Acoustic Good Guys Hit The Dylan Trail
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, March 1974
"WELCOME AMERICAN Dairymen" read the hotel display-board and beneath it, in smaller letters, "Welcome Stephen Stills Group". Upstairs overlooking Chicago in just another hotel room, ...
Blue Oyster Cult: Tyranny And Mutation (Columbia Import)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1974
WELL, HERE it is then: volume two of Sandy Perlman's boys' collective voyage in the S.S. "Cosmic Greaser Speed-freak" towards strange new worlds of murk ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1974
Seven years in the shadow of Diana Ross ...
Hatfield And The North: Hatfield And The North
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1974
TO BE BLUNT, Hatfield And The North have missed the boat. What they're doing on this record, admirable as it may be in itself, is ...
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, April 1974
NICK KENT traces the Rise and Fall of The Satin Jacket...and generally walks it like he talks it into the land of 'Rock Chic.' ...
Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett: The Cracked Ballad of Syd Barrett
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, April 1974
The summer of '67 went up like a psychedelic mushroom-cloud – and some of the fall-out's still coming down. Brian Jones was casually snuffed out, ...
Report by Mick Farren, NME, April 1974
The Hawkwind 1999 party rolls across the plains of America, dealing in cosmic vibes and - more important in the eyes of the Chicago denim ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1974
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Friends: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (United Artists)Dillards: Tribute To The American Duck (United Artists)Country Gazette: Don't Give Up Your ...
David Bowie: The Scruffy Little Failure who became David Bowie
Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, NME, April 1974
Ken Pitt, Bowie's former manager and the only man In the world who's lived with both Bowie and James Dean, reflects on the days before ...
Graham Nash: Return of the Manchester Mind Wrestler
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, April 1974
CONSIDERING the wastage rate in the higher echelons of rock 'n' roll, it's not difficult to accept as the norm a situation in which an ...
Eddie Cochran: He Shouldn't have Used The Car 'Cos He'd Been Workin' Late
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, April 1974
But he did – and, fourteen years ago this Easter, EDDIE COCHRAN died of multiple injuries when a tyre blew out. MICK FARREN traces the ...
Ten Years After: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1974
TEN YEARS AFTER just don't cut the bread. I find it hard to recall just when I heard a more boring, bored and listless performance. ...
MC5: Kramer Climbs Back From MC5 Wreckage
Report by Mick Farren, NME, April 1974
NEW BAND AND A NEW IMAGE: Mick Farren in Detroit ...
Grateful Dead: Lookin' Back: The Grateful Dead
Retrospective by Nick Kent, NME, April 1974
Whatever happened to the Cosmic Dream? Part 45 (13th Hexagram) ...
Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground: 1969 Live
Review by Chrissie Hynde, NME, April 1974
IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT. I'm alone and all I don't wanna do is keep leafing through this copy of Vogue I got in my mits - ...
New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: Too Much Too Soon (Mercury)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1974
Sloppy seconds ...
Groundhogs, The: Groundhogs: Groundhogs Best 1969-1972
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1974
FATHER, I HAVE sinned. Though the words may echo through my remaining days on this doomed planet, though I be haunted through eternity by these ...
Dr. John: Dr John: Anytime, Anyplace
Review by Charlie Gillett, NME, May 1974
Chance discovery yields delightful work ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: Silly Charlie and the Not-So-Red-Hot Pepper
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1974
Will Ringo get the mums? Can George hold the mystics? Who was the Walrus? Is Charles Shaar Murray a loony? Only the last question need ...
Sparks: Nouveau Riche Sweet Young Brats Strike Sparks
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, May 1974
TALK ABOUT BEING short changed! The way I heard it, these Sparks whizz-kids take great pride in escorting the press cognoscenti to the finest hostelries ...
Graham Bond: The Death Of Graham Bond
Obituary by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1974
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS before his death two weeks ago, Graham Bond phoned the NME offices. He sounded purposeful, optimistic, enthusiastic, and full of energy. ...
Monty Python's Flying Circus: Monty Python: Hi There, Tiger!
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, May 1974
THE DUNBLANE HYDRO bestrides a cemented hillock just five miles across freeway and dale. ...
New Riders of the Purple Sage: Home Home On The Road
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1974
IT WAS Greil Marcus who founded what has since become known as the "What-is-this shit?" school of rock criticism. ...
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, June 1974
Death has always been big business as a perverse form of entertainment. In the 18th Century, public hangings had similar pulling power to Emerson Lake ...
Tim Buckley: How a Hippie Hero became a sultry Sex Object...
Interview by Chrissie Hynde, NME, June 1974
...and had a simply devastating effect on the glands of a certain Chrissie Hynd [sic]. ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1974
"IT GETS ON my tit when people start talking when I'm listening to music, so when I'm at 'ome I always turn the sound right ...
Live Review by Steve Turner, NME, June 1974
Randy Newman: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London ...
Black Sabbath, Black Oak Arkansas: Black Sabbath/Black Oak Arkansas: Black Power
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1974
IF JIM DANDY'S PANTS were any tighter they'd have hair growing out of them.Fringed suede jacket, fringed suede boots, and those white satin pants. Now, ...
David Cassidy: Terminal Fandom
Report and Interview by Chrissie Hynde, NME, June 1974
IN "FREE" ADULTS, mass frustration breeds war. In "free" teenagers, mass frustration breeds rock phenomena. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1974
YEAH, KING of the Laid-Back and all that bananas, but it goes a little deeper than that – cos, even though he probably spends more ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1974
ONE THING you gotta admit about Steve Harley, and that is that he does the funniest interviews since Marc Bolan. He even opens up Cocky ...
Richard Thompson, Richard and Linda Thompson: Richard and Linda Thompson: Life without Fairport
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1974
RICHARD THOMPSON wrote 'Meet On The Ledge', in case you'd forgotten. On that basis alone the man would be due a certain portion of immortality. ...
Stomu Yamashta: Stomu Yamash'ta: He Say "Not Really"
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1974
A VERY CURIOUS thing happened to me about 15 months ago. There I was, coming on home about two o'clock one Saturday morning feeling a ...
Randy Newman: Aw, forget it. Just ask me my favourite colour…
Profile by Steve Turner, NME, June 1974
Randy Newman says he’s not an over-indulgent cynic. He also says he’s sick of folks asking him silly questions. After all, Dylan’s said he likes ...
San Francisco: Who needs music when we've got the Zebra?
Report by Mick Farren, NME, June 1974
IT WAS A bad times for San Francisco. It was spring, but whereas in most places this is greeted with some joy – with snows ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1974
Take a holiday, Elton. Take two. ...
Kinks, The, Butts Band, The: The Kinks; The Butts Band: The Palladium, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1974
GIVE THE Kinks album a review and you bear the responsibility for Ray Davies' crying for the next three days, I'm told. ...
Rock on TV: Old Grey Whistle Test
Report by Mick Farren, NME, June 1974
Meanwhile, in a small, cramped studio, dedicated men wrestle desperately with obsolete equipment in a noble attempt to produce meaningful rock TV for 800 quid ...
Heavy Metal Kids, The: Heavy Metal Kids: Heavy Metal Kids
Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1974
THERE WAS a time, way back in the middle of the sixties, when the British mod-Motown bands were all growing their hair and going psychedelic, ...
Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield: Gladys Knight: Claudine (Original Soundtrack)
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1974
IT MUST have seemed a good idea. Amalgamating the talents of Buddah stablemates Gladys Knight and Curtis Mayfield for the sound-track of Claudine. ...
Tangerine Dream: Exclusiv interview mit Tangerine Dream
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, June 1974
They were in Oxfordshire, mixing it at the Manor and sunbathing with scantily clad ladies in the presence of fully clad FRED DELLAR, who here ...
Budgie: Rapping with a Burke from Budgie
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1974
...is extremely difficult, seeing as he's not the slightest bit interested that The Album has made the charts. In fact, he couldn't care less. What's ...
10cc: Viability Of New Marketing Techniques Illustrated
Interview by Steve Turner, NME, June 1974
What's this? A band with no image. They'll never shift the vinyl, insists STEVE TURNER firmly. But 10cc prove that there's more to the art ...
Dr. Feelgood: Doctor Feelgood: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1974
IT'S NOT often that the jaded, booze-soaked crowd that throng Dingwalls dancehall bring an almost unknown band back for three encores. ...
Laura Nyro: The Five-Year, Five-Album Span Of High-Pressure Creativity
Overview by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1974
"Nights in New York street angels running down steps into the echoes of the train station to sing..." ...
Leonard Cohen: Depressing? Who? Me?
Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, NME, June 1974
Nervous? Tense? So’s Leonard Cohen. In fact, he’s so miserable he’s even given up suicide. Steve Turner attempts to pin down the Beautiful Loser himself, ...
Band, The, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: Before The Flood
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1974
AN APPOSITE QUOTE from Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (the town preacher talking): "Oh Lord, can we truly accomplish this great task – or are we ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1974
WHY DO people make albums? There are probably three reasons: ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1974
OL' COCONUT Bonce is back. Elton Schmelton himself in the too, too solid flesh, still opening up interview sessions by walking into the room at ...
Andy Mackay: In Search Of Marcel Proust
Interview by Chrissie Hynde, NME, July 1974
IN TERMS of the rock machine they were chronologically burned out from the start. Who but a pack of literary looneys could have survived falling ...
Utopia, Todd Rundgren: Todd Rundgren: Thank God for Todd
Live Review by Michael Gross, NME, July 1974
Todd Rundgren: Central Park, NYC ...
Hawkwind: Dorkwind in Dutchland
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1974
JUST OVER a year ago I went up to the Cambridge Corn Exchange to get my first ever taste of Hawkwind live. ...
Be-Bop Deluxe: Be Bop Deluxe: Axe Victim
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1974
IT'S GREAT to be right in there on the first still-to-be-perfected artistic utterance of A Truly Great Group To Be. That old warm self-congratulatory glow ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1974
EVER SINCE the Allman Brothers came howling out of Macon, Gorgia, and Texas graciously gave Johnny Winter and Janis Joplin to the world, Southern rock ...
Supremes, The: The Supremes: Anthology
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1974
I NEVER COULD understand why so many Rock Critics (sic) couldn't stomach The Supremes. ...
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, July 1974
FRED DELLAR. Nothing strange about that name is there? It's sort of, well, homely, Comforting. And he lives in Badger's Walk, too. A far cry ...
Robert Wyatt: Join The Professionals, Form A Rock Band…
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1974
YEAH, WELL – Robert Wyatt (fact) drummed with Soft Machine, led Matching Mole, and fell from a fourth-storey window in Maida Vale early last year, ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1974
Take one midget, add a small guitar, wind him up and hear him talk ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1974
COUNTING MATCHING Mole's first album, this is Robert Wyatt's third solo record. It echoes his previous ventures in being a strong statement of mood, but ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1974
I'VE ALWAYS HAD me suspicions about Johnny Cash. ...
Grateful Dead: The Exhumation of The Dead
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, August 1974
They've been slagged, slated, abused, and misused – most often in these very pages. But Hell hath no Fury like a Dead fan scorned, and ...
Crosby Stills Nash and Young: A Stadium Fulla People An' Neil Young's Dog An' No Fist Fights
Report and Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1974
TIME DOES indeed fade away. Four years and lots of solo albums later, 52,000 fans are sitting in the Milwaukee baseball stadium on a Sunday ...
Be-Bop Deluxe: 1974 was Last Year’s Thing
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1974
...so what about the Sound of ‘75, man? Could it even be BE-BOP DELUXE, already? (We knock ‘em down and then we build ‘em up ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Preservation Act 2
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1974
THE MAIN OBSTACLE between a rock song-writer and Major Form (as ye olde musickologists have it) is Objectivity. ...
Gryphon: Medieval Knight Jousts At Rock Press Knaves
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, August 1974
RAY HARRYHAUSEN, as anyone who's seen The Golden Voyage of Sinbad will attest, knows all about strange creatures. So if he says that a Gryphon ...
Eric Clapton, Yvonne Elliman: Yvonne Elliman
Interview by Barbara Charone, NME, August 1974
How come a lady who'd never played rock music in her life has recently been doing so with RSO record star Eric Clapton? ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: Alex Harvey
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1974
Pain-wracked Glasgow octogenarian fights tooth decay, endorses anarchy ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1974
RIGHT NOW NEIL YOUNG is in kind of an invidious position. On The Beach is his equivalent of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band album in terms ...
Fugs, The: Lookin' Back at The Fugs
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, August 1974
... a word of thanks to the guys who made all this decadence, vulgarity and debauchery possible. ...
Jimmy Buffett: Living And Dying In 3/4 Time
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, August 1974
JIMMY BUFFETT will never be a rock'n'roll star. ...
Henry Cow: Gerroff An' Milk It
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1974
CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY wanted to call it 'How I listened to HENRY COW – and lived' ...
Robert Palmer: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1974
I ALWAYS felt more than a little sorry for Robert Palmer when he was in Vinegar Joe. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1974
Rock verite — the Beatrix Potter way ...
Harper's Bizarre: The Best Of Harpers Bizarre
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1974
THE TRADITION of the American pop/soft-rock interpretative/performing outfit, apparent now in the Pointer Sisters and Three Dog Night, goes back into the '60s (and ultimately ...
Byrds, The, Roger McGuinn: Roger McGuinn: A Man's Gotta Do...What A Man's Gotta Do
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1974
NIK COHN seemed to have it pretty well summed up in his Byrds caption for Rock Dreams: "The Byrds weren't so much a band as ...
Jimmy Cliff: Skanking In Exile
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1974
I'VE BEEN living in Stoke Newington for about six months. The area's one of the most cosmopolitan in North-East London, with an immigrant population that ...
Lorraine Ellison: Lorraine Ellison
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1974
THE STORY so far: in 1966 Lorraine Ellison made one vast contribution to popular mythology with 'Stay With Me, Baby', unquestionably a classic (maybe this ...
Alice Cooper: Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1974
Alice's absurd achievements ...
Hawkwind: In The Hall Of The Mountain Grill
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
DON'T TELL anybody, but yours adoring thinks that he's finally got this bunch sussed. ...
Crosby Stills and Nash, Crosby Stills Nash and Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: So Far
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
Gormlessly groping ...
Billy Preston: The Busiest Soul In Showbusiness
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, September 1974
THANKS TO his prodigious session-work, as well as his own tours, Billy Preston is one of the most frequent American soul visitors to our isle; ...
Roxy Music: Discovery Of Amazing Corporate Hippie
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1974
EDDIE JOBSON is quite a cute little cookie. ...
Robert Wyatt: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
EVEN THOUGH the gig was due to start at 8.30, Drury Lane had started to clog up with earnest-looking hippies nearly two hours before the ...
Toots & The Maytals: Toots and the Maytals: In The Dark
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1974
This, Toots, was made for dork-ing ...
Jefferson Airplane: Don't Just Do Something, Stand There…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
UP GOES the window and out comes the head. ...
Grateful Dead - How the hell do ya play them five-hour sets without slinkin' off for a leak?
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
Yes, it's an interesting one isn't it? I mean, five hours...that's a long time, and well...camels are different of course, so really it must be ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1974
THE LATEST saga in the Great American Singer/Songwriter Conspiracy, Jewish Division, in which Cohen and King are chief protagonists. ...
Jimmy Castor Bunch, The: Jimmy Castor: The Everything Man
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1974
SUBTLE ONE, that title. See, in the centre of the sleeve there's a picture of the dude who is presumably Jimmy Castor wearing a standard ...
Scott Walker: Walker Scott We Had It All
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, September 1974
WE HAD IT ALL is the country album Walker's been planning for sometime. And it's country the Walker way, sophisticated and on velvet. Del Newman ...
Vanilla Fudge, Beck, Bogert and Appice: Vanilla Fudge: From Pizza to Fudge
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
SO WHAT did happen to Beck, Bogert and Appice?Well, the mean moody and magnificent one is being mean, moody and magnificent in various studios and ...
Report and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1974
Sickness and diseases may bring you down, and FAIRPORT CONVENTION have had more than their share, but they always come back for more. BOB WOFFINDEN ...
Lou Reed: Sally Can't Dance (RCA Import)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1974
"Life is such monotony/Without a good lobotomy" – Roy Harper ...
Neil Diamond: Gold Diamond Vol. 2
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1974
ALTHOUGH IT'LL never get to the situation where the ramifications of his use of Room 109 are being discussed, the time is probably just about ...
Neil Merryweather: Space Rangers
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1974
THIS GUY'S got to be kidding. ...
Kiki Dee: The Life Story Of A Hot Girl
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1974
I'LL SHOOT you a few names. Dusty Springfield – okay on that one? Susan Maughan – yeah? Then how about The Caravelles? Louise Cordet? Ethna ...
Robert Fripp: Something Is Stirring Down At Wimbourne
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1974
IT'S NOTHING to do with egos, you know, this final dissolving of King Crimson. No, there's something of a much grander design — somewhat rather ...
Frank Zappa: Relax, Frank. We Ain't No Liggers. A Few Of Us Just Came To Join In…
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
WHY IS Stephen Stills not smiling? To be more precise, why are those noble, rugged features sporting an expression roughly equivalent to that of a ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1974
"A VINDICATION of the South?" Hey Randy – y'all gon' lay A CONCEPT ALBUM on us? Yeeee-haw! ...
John Lennon: Walls And Bridges
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
IT'S A FINE, warm day here in London, Johnny. What's the weather like in New York? ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1974
THE PREVIOUS two albums by this final King Crimson lineup have never been as hysterically self-conscious in their obvious adventurousness as the first four studio ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1974
MARTHA AND The Vandellas never really made the grade. ...
Frank Zappa: Roxy And Elsewhere
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
CAPSULE REVIEW for the Busy Reader: if you like Apostrophe and Over-Nite Sensation better than any of Uncle Frank's other efforts, then ooze into your ...
Pretty Things, The, Maggie Bell: Maggie Bell, The Pretty Things: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
OKAY, FIRST things first. When Maggie Bell's done a few more gigs (and maybe even a couple more rehearsals) with her new band, then there's ...
Roxy Music: Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1974
Fairbanks triumph at ersatz Nuremburg rallies ...
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
"ON OUR first American tour," says Ricardo Kemprini, famed Italian bass player, "the agents put us on the bill with everybody and his dog, right? ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: The Impossible Dream
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
ALEX HARVEY has just released the first rock and roll comic book. ...
Johnny Bristol: Hang On In There, Baby
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1974
HEY, THIS cat's a whole lot better than Barry White. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1974
AN IRRATIONAL prejudice: Given a choice between the sound of New York and the sound of New Orleans, I'd always go for the former. If ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
IT MUST BE something of a bringdown for Pete Atkin that so much of the critical interest in his albums is focused on his collaborator, ...
Black Oak Arkansas: Hot And Nasty
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
ACTUALLY Atlantic are taking a hell of a chance with this album. In case you haven't yet glommed the cover in your local, it's a ...
Robert Wyatt: I Played Robert Wyatt At 78rpm And Saw God
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
THERE'S SOMETHING extra special about green suede boots. A certain devil-may-care attitude, a touch of fearless dandyism combined with a sense of the earthy and ...
Meters, The: The Meters: Funk From The Crescent City
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, October 1974
THERE'S ALWAYS been something unique about New Orleans music, whether it's the jazz of Louis Armstong, the boogie-woogie blues of Champion Jack Dupree, the lopping ...
Gong: Look! There's A Pothead Pixie Arriving
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1974
THERE'S A lot of musicians around that are going to be kissing Mike Oldfield's dirty underpants. The success of Tubular Bells has almost certainly uncovered ...
Supertramp: Crime Of The Century (A&M)
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, October 1974
OWN UP – you'd written Supertramp off, hadn't you? ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1974
DON'T WORRY. This is not as that first peek at the multi-stellar sleeve credits may have suggested, the Greg Lake contribution to the Arts for ...
Commodores, The: The Commodores: Machine Gun
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, October 1974
THE COMMODORES, a sextet who compare roughly with Kool And The Gang and the Ohio Players, appeal to me in a limited way. ...
Ivor Cutler: Dandruff (Virgin)
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, October 1974
I REMEMBER the time when you got seven tracks on each side of an album. Over the years, the quantity has been steadily decreasing and, ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1974
IS THERE life on Uranus? Dunno. Things were pretty quiet last time I looked. On the other hand, Tony Defries' little redhead has a new ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1974
IF YOU WANTED to be crass you could say that the main features that made Buddy Holly a legend were that, first, he was the ...
Bobby 'Blue' Bland: Bobby Bland: Dreamer
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, November 1974
ONE DAY last week I tuned into Noel Edmunds and I heard it – and fell back into bed. ...
Jeff Beck: Music And Cars And Sex…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1974
A DIGESTIVE BISCUIT is poised, somewhat uneasily, a few inches away from Jeff Beck's, celebrated nasty leer. ...
Can: They Have Ways Of Making You Listen…
Profile by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1974
ONE NIGHT IN NOVEMBER 1969 the phone rang in Irmin Schmidt's Cologne home. Schmidt got out of bed to answer it and found himself talking ...
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, November 1974
THINGS COULDN'T really have got off to a worse start for Sparks. First their coach broke down in Barnsley – of all places – which ...
Tangerine Dream: Is This The End Of Rock As We Know It?
Interview by Max Bell, NME, November 1974
EVER HEARD of a group who would rather not be visible to their audience and let the music work on its own? Seems peculiar even ...
Hatfield And The North: Hatfield & The North
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1974
IN A LAND and a business where quickfire hype and quickfire playing are adjudged almost twin brothers, Hatfield And The North are very much on ...
David Bowie: Mr. Bowie Has Left The Theatre
Report by Mick Farren, NME, November 1974
NEW YORK'S Radio City Music Hall, with its elaborate art deco Thirties interior, must be the ideal place to present a David Bowie show. Unfortunately ...
Barry White - Can't Get Enough
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, November 1974
THE TITLE TRACK has just left the British and American top thirty. The album itself is resting at No. 1 on the US album charts ...
Frank Zappa: How To Write, Sub, And Lay Out A Frank Zappa 'Lookin' Back', part 1
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1974
"LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING. You've got our recordings, you've seen us work a few times, you interviewed me three or four times, you've read a ...
Maria Muldaur: Waitress In A Donut Shop
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1974
MARIA MULDAUR'S got class – no argument about it. It may have been a long, hard climb, but she is now receiving the attention she ...
Frank Zappa: How To Sub And Lay Out A Frank Zappa Lookin' Back Part 2
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1974
"PERHAPS THE most unique aspect of the Mother's work is the conceptual continuity of the group's output macrostructure. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, November 1974
DARYL HALL and John Oates are acquiring something of a cult following in this country. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1974
CAN AL GREEN recover his credibility and save the world after all?, is the theme of today's programme. ...
Pretty Things, The: The Pretty Things: Silk Torpedo
Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, November 1974
IT GIVES you faith to know that through all the impermanency and transience of this beast we call rock, The Pretty Things soldier on. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1974
ONE GOOD album deserves another, they say — but that's as maybe. What we have here is John Lennon's maxim of "never change a winning ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1974
IN WHICH two culture heroes find themselves well and truly on the artistic skids. ...
John Sebastian: Speak Up Ya Creep!
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1974
THERE ARE certainly more than one or two among us who suspect that John B. Sebastian has long since gone right over the top; that ...
Hawkwind: The Regular 'Wind Miracle
Report by Mick Farren, NME, November 1974
NEW YORK just doesn't seem to be the place for Hawkwind. ...
Delfonics, The: The Delfonics: Developments In The Delfonic Dilemma
Profile and Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, November 1974
MENTION THE Philly sound, and people will start thinking about The O'Jays, Billy Paul, The Intruders or The Three Degrees. ...
Elton John: Ms. Streisand & The Pants of John
Report and Interview by Richard Cromelin, NME, November 1974
LOS ANGELES. – It was a busy week for Elton John: a couple of hours in the DJ chair at KMET radio, a tennis game ...
Fanny: Unnnghhh! Grunt, Slurp…
Report and Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, November 1974
LETS BE SEXIST for a coupla paragraphs. ...
Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, November 1974
HONESTLY, HAVING even to think about Jeff Airplane/ Starship/whatever these days is getting to be a bore. ...
Frank Zappa: How To Complete The Subbing And Layout Of A Very Long Frank Zappa Lookin' Back, Part 3
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1974
THE ALBUM and movie of 200 Motels erupted late in 1971. Both received near-unanimous critical meat-axe jobs and both were ignominious commercial failures. United Artists, ...
Brian Eno: ANNOUNCEMENT: Texans like steak, oil-wells, large hats and Eno…
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1974
WELL, I SUPPOSE we should start as we intend to continue. So come along, Eno, how does it feel to be just regarded as Good ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Hello Bruce, this is Bruce, Bruce
Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, December 1974
GIVE BRUCE Johnston credit; he isn't put off his chosen path easily. ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, December 1974
BACK IN JUNE I made one of my regular midnight creeps to Dingwalls in Camden Town with the main purpose of getting drunk. ...
Steeleye Span: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1974
IT WAS not one of Steeleye's better gigs – perhaps the Rainbow doesn't suit them. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
A LOT OF people are going to be highly disappointed with this album, Lee's first with the new but not improved Love. Not that he ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
COINCIDING with their decision to reform comes this compilation of Moby Grape, not a greatest of hits but a personal faves number allotted to Bill ...
Eric Clapton: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Steve Turner, NME, December 1974
THURSDAY NIGHT marked the final gig in the third of Eric Clapton's post-hibernation tours and in conjunction with the Wednesday night concert, the first time ...
Profile by Bob Fisher, NME, December 1974
Some things turn me on...like the way you might say a word or the way you wear your hair and have a certain smile on ...
Stooges, The, MC5: MC5/Stooges: Panic in Detroit
Report by Mick Farren, NME, December 1974
THOSE FUN lovers from the motor city, the Stooges and the MC5, are winding up for another rampage. Of course, we've heard tales like this ...
Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
BRYAN FERRY is worried. To be more exact, he's apprehensive. Well, wouldn't you be with the eyes of the rock world watching your every move ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wally: Lynyrd Skynyrd/Wally: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1974
CLOSE ONE, you know. I mean, after Lynyrd Skynyrd had played their first few numbers it was decided that this might have to be a ...
Johnnie Allan: The Promised Land …… And How To Get There: Oval Records
Report by Charlie Gillett, NME, December 1974
Inside looking out; CHARLIE GILLETT, who has started his own record label, Oval Records, reports from the other side of the fence on the processes ...
Rick Wakeman: Beers of the World
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1974
"ON OUR rider for the tour of America – for the seven of us – we had twelve six-packs of Budweiser, two bottles of tequila, ...
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
CONTRARY to popular belief, Santa Claus – alias Saint Nicholas – is alive and well and living in Amsterdam. ...
Gong: You See A Lot Of Frenchmen With Berets... But Not Too Many With Fried Eggs On Their Heads
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1974
GONG'S HOTEL in the Avenue de Wagram in Paris is directly opposite the Salle Wagram where they are due to gig tonight. It should take ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1974
THERE'S NOTHING more disappointing than finding one's teenage heroes crumbling ineluctably into middle-aged mediocrity. Hari Georgeson (as he often refers to himself) is on a ...
Otis Redding: A Legend During His Lifetime, Or Only After His Death
Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1974
The former, argues ROGER ST. PIERRE, in this appreciation of OTIS REDDING, who died seven years ago this month – the Boss Man soul music ...
Gary Glitter: Ballroom Dancing With The Big G
Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
GARY GLITTER is sensibly ensconced in a very old fashioned smart hotel where the only thing liable to disturb his peace-of mind is a nutty ...
Edwin Starr: The Thespian Anglophile And The Motown Machine
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, December 1974
EDWIN STARR has a rather special place in the British soul scene, since none of America's top soul acts can match his record of some ...
Bryan Ferry: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
THE ALBERT HALL is teeming, brim-full with the beautiful awaiting the first solo airing of his master's voice in the Capital. ...
Fumble, Rock Bottom: King's Road Theatre, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
ON SUNDAY, at the ratty end of Chelsea, the King's Road Theatre opened its doors for a double bill of rock'n'roll; pretty disastrous it was ...
Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Alan Stivell: The New Face Of Ethnic Music
Overview by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1974
Are Steeleye Span last year's thing? Is Alan Stivell just a Celtic showman? And where is Richard Thompson now that Bob Woffinden needs him most ...
Dr. Feelgood, Hawkwind: Hawkwind and Dr Feelgood On Tour
Report by Mick Farren, NME, December 1974
THE START OF a tour is never really any great cause for rejoicing. It's the end of a tour that is usually all fun and ...
Santana: Latin Limbo Dancing Over Hot Coals
Retrospective by Max Bell, NME, December 1974
OF ALL the really big American bands perhaps Santana remain the most enigmatic, the least publicised – yet, ironically, enduring the test of time and ...
Alvin Lee: Alvin Thrills the U.S. Army Freaks
Report and Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, December 1974
ALVIN LEE is a deceptive character. He's never really worked at making his presence felt in the way Rod Stewart or Elton John have done, ...
Buddy Holly: Never Mind The Lubbocks, Here’s Buddy Holly & The Crickets : 20 Greatest Hits
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1975
THE ROCK and roll of the ‘50s produced three incomparable all-rounders equally adept and influential as signers, composers and guitarists. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, January 1975
Black is busting out all over ...
Donovan: Portrait Of The Artist As A Desert Rat
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
– a small, furry, herbivorous animal, which possesses the happy knack of elusiveness. Just like DONOVAN, in fact, who's so elusive that even CHRIS SALEWICZ ...
Faces, The: The Faces: Kilburn State, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
"YES, MY PEOPLE, you make me strong," sighed the Golden Catarrh with a de rigeur flexing of the neck muscles as The Faces knocked into ...
Cher, LaBelle: LaBelle: It Happened In Hollywood
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
IT HAPPENED in Hollywood.To be precise it happened on The Cher Show. ...
Righteous Brothers, The: The Righteous Brothers - Give it to the People
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
ANOTHER ILLUSION SHATTERED. ...
Mick Ronson - Play Don't Worry
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
DUNNO ABOUT YOU, but from where I'm sitting it seems as though you can't go on saying that someone has potential for too long unless ...
Doors, The: The Doors: Strange Days
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1975
WAS THIS ALBUM WEIRD? You bet yer snakeskin mitts it was. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, January 1975
RELUCTANTLY, ONE MUST admit that Aretha Franklin has now lost her crown as America's top female singer to Miss Knight. Gladys and her Pips have ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1975
IF YOU LIKED the instant, stylised commercialism of 'Pinball', with its dilettante finger poppin'; then the album of that name might be just up your ...
Bryn Haworth: Let The Days Go By
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1975
SO UNASSUMING IS Bryn Haworth's Let The Days Go By that I was initially tempted to dismiss it as just another singer/songwriter effort, but having ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1975
SCAFELL PIKE ARE a four-piece, three guitars and piano, who confine themselves to British traditional song and seem to specialise in sea shanties. Given that, ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
A CURIOUS ONE indeed is Wally's first album. You know, I listened to it the appropriate five or six times and each play only highlighted ...
Essay by Nick Kent, NME, January 1975
Question: what well-known biped possesses an upper-register vocalic system, is pleasant to look upon, and is almost universally misunderstood and/or patronised? Answer: any Rock 'n ...
Jan & Dean: Jan and Dean: You Don't Come Back from Dead Man's Curve
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, January 1975
Mick Farren talks to Dean Torrence ...
Soul (Style): Baggy Trousers Will Not Be Admitted
Report by Bob Fisher, NME, January 1975
THE STYLISTIC rivalry between soul fans in the North and South of England has been well publicised. But what magazine odes to regional soul tend ...
Report by Mick Farren, NME, January 1975
That’s SOUL TRAIN, a TV showcase not only for the cream of US soul acts, but for the stuff-struttingest most fashion conscious kids on the ...
Mike Oldfield and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Tubular Bells
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1975
AS IT ALREADY appears that every other person in Great Britain possesses a copy of this much-venerated work, I doubt if it's necessary to explain ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
I CANNOT THINK of any legal way in which the Baker-Gurvitz Army can be prevented from Becoming Huge, so maybe there's something to Adrian Ben ...
Ozark Mountain Daredevils: It'll Shine When It Shines
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1975
THINGS ARE STIRRING in Jefferson City, Missouri. It'll Shine When It Shines is The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' second album and mighty fine it is too. ...
Kiki Dee: I've Got Music in Me
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1975
THIS ALBUM RIDES out with a crescendo of powerful, robust rock, as the band and Kiki pull out all the stops. The song in question, ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
IT'S JUST ANOTHER of the great Woodstock fallacies. Let's face it, aside from the Who, Havens, and lovable John B. Sebastian it was those nice ...
Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1975
POSTING HER way to a real left-field hit is Gloria Gaynor with 'Never Can Say Goodbye' which sounds like a revived 45 but isn't. ...
Dave Cartwright: And Now, Half An Hour Of Masochism
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, January 1975
BY THE TIME this article gets into print, Dave Cartwright will have bitten his fingers down to the knuckle or gone prematurely grey. He worries, ...
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1975
Which is a slick way of saying The Package Tour She Lives She Breathes She Is Reborn. You remember the Package Tour, eh kids? It ...
Grand Funk Railroad: Grand Funk - All the Girls in the World Beware
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
...I GOT TAR on my teeth but I don't care/I got dark brown stains in my underwear... ...
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, January 1975
HERE'S A NICE fresh pizza, straight from our favourite Italian baking firm, manufactured live and steaming at gigs in Toronto and New York, last August. ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
NOW THE FACTS are these: 7-Tease is a concept album; 7-Tease is a massive made-in-Nashville production; 7-Tease is also The Album Of The Stage Show. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
ONE DAY WHEN it was raining, I swore a great and terrible oath. ...
Kinky Friedman: Kinky Friedman
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
ONE LEARNS FROM the customary reliable sources-from-which-one-learns things that Kinky Friedman's original ideas for the title of this album included "Come Back Little Kinky" and ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
THE ONLY THING wrong with Sun Secrets is that Eric Burdon should have made it six years ago. ...
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, January 1975
HMMM...NOT BAD. Quite a jazz lady actually – mind you she's got her sights on that kind of bluesy, folksy, nostalgia-filled hinterland that's proved so ...
Suzi Quatro: For Your Information, She Happens To Be A Lady
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
"ALISTAIR...CAN YOU go through your solo again and count exactly how many bars you need for it?" ...
Wizzard, Roy Wood: Roy Wood: Yeah Roy, But What Do You Sound Like?
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1975
THERE WAS the time that Roy Wood shoved his jeans in the washing machine and ended up with one very wet, very tattered and very ...
Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, January 1975
STUDENTS OF the currently emergent Miami Sound will have noticed the proliferation of album credits, both as writer and musician, for one Willie Hale. ...
Three Dog Night: Greatest Hits
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1975
IT WOULD BE an amusing little taskenheimer indeed for some rock-oriented socio-anthropologist to work out exactly why Three Dog Night were at one time The ...
Soft Machine, Wilde Flowers, The: Soft Machine, part 1
Retrospective by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1975
CLASS OF '61 at the Simon Langton School, Canterbury – an exclusive, private establishment for the sons of local artists and intellectuals. Very free, emphatically ...
Linda Ronstadt: Heart Like A Wheel (Capitol)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1975
LINDA RONSTADT is a remarkable Country Rock singer who sells plenty of records, with Capitol reportedly shifting 150,000 copies of this new one in the ...
Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks (CBS)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, January 1975
Fate on the Skates ...being an exclusive peekaboo into the head of R. ZIMMERMAN via his latest LP of pop songs. Consultant Psychiatrist: NICK KENT ...
Dr. Feelgood: Down By The Jetty (United Artists)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, January 1975
BOYS, BOYS now what did I tell you about being "too ethnic"? ...
Syl Johnson: Barbarella's, Birmingham
Live Review by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
MOST OF the soul artists who do the one-nighter round of the UK and USAF bases have some kind of hit going for them, or ...
Bruce Springsteen - The brilliant, the awful and the bumfluff shuffle
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IS an excellent rhythm guitarist, which just about compensates for the fact that he grows a terrible beard. ...
Bob Pegg: The Strains Of The Life Of A Non-Superstar
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, February 1975
IN 1972 Bob and Carol Pegg parted company and their band, Mr. Fox, one of the most individual folk-rock outfits, terminated its existence. ...
Thin Lizzy: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, February 1975
IT WAS WITH thunderous welcome that the dynamic Thin Lizzy returned to London last Saturday, winning many new fans and "wowing" old ones in a ...
Ohio Players, The: Ohio Players: Fiery, Freaky and Funky
Profile by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
CURRENTLY THE HOTTEST item on Billboard's album chart is The Ohio Players Fire (Mercury). Phonogram must have burnt their fingers in the rush get it ...
Profile by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
"LIFE BEGINS AT forty," they say, so 1975 maybe the year in which Little Milton finally breaks out of the Chitlin circuit – that long ...
Doobie Brothers: In Defence Of The Doobie Brothers…
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1975
IT IS, PRIMARILY, totally incorrect and irrelevant to give the Doobies an out-of-hand dismissal simply because their role as bill-toppers over Little Feat at the ...
Soft Machine, part 2: The End of an Ear at the Proms
Retrospective by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1975
IN LAST week's issue, Part One recounted the history of the Softs from their schooldays to the break-up of the group following the recording of ...
Steeleye Span: Commoner's Crown
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1975
STEELEYE SPAN ALWAYS deliver on time. Commoner's Crown is the fourth offering from the Mk. III line-up in a little over three years, and they've ...
John Holt: Reggae In The Moonlight
Review by Roger St. Pierre, NME, February 1975
ETHNIC REGGAE'S TRADITIONAL image has been of rough raw-edged sounds, but Jamaica has always had just as strong a strain of ultra-smooth ballad-styled sounds. ...
Bo Diddley - Bo's a Lumberjack!
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
THE WHOLE THING about Bo Diddley was that he was by far the weirdest and craziest musician ever to come out of either blues or ...
Mike Oldfield: Tom Newman: The Man Who Taped the Tubular Bells
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, February 1975
WHEN IT COMES to tape, who better to talk to than the guy who did the 2,000 over-dubs on Tubular Bells, engineer Tom Newman? ...
John Cale: Cale and Eno Horror Story…
Interview by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
CO-STARRING ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL CHOIR ...
Mike Heron, Nico: Nico/Mike Heron: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1975
NICO DOES RATHER have an ability to polarize her audiences, you know. ...
Nick Drake: Requiem For A Solitary Man
Obituary by Nick Kent, NME, February 1975
ON OCTOBER 25th, 1974, at approximately six in the morning Nick Drake, a 26-yearold singer/songwriter, died from an overdose of Typtasol, an antidepressant, in the ...
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE Don Covay made with this album was in making 'It's Better To Have' track one, side one. ...
Elvis Presley: The Promised Land
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
IT HAS ALWAYS been accepted as an article of faith by ladies and gentlemen in the critical profession that Elvis Presley is not dead. ...
Flying Burrito Brothers: Sneeky Pete Kleinow
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
SNEEKY PETE KLEINOW looks like you'd expect a veteran pedal-steel player to look. Green shirt with an elaborate marijuana-leaf motif emblazoned there-on, neatly pressed, white ...
Leiber and Stoller: Jerry Leiber And Mike Stoller: By Royal Appointment
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, February 1975
THE SCENE IS the Dorchester Hotel, one of the last vestiges of Britain's Imperial splendour and we've just been refused admission to the restaurant for ...
Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias: Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, February 1975
The very serious business of trying to be funny: An assessment of ALBERTO Y LOST TRIOS PARANOIAS by MICK FARREN ...
Ducks Deluxe: Man in the Moon, London
Live Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, February 1975
THE DUCKS ARE one of the few '70s bands that have the power to redefine rock and make it a vibrant life force once more, ...
Blue Oyster Cult: Blue Öyster Cult: That's Right, Another Bunch Of Neo-Fascist Heavies
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
"We're pain, we're steel, we're a plot of knives...we're obsessed with the technology of matter...our symbol is a swastika substitute..." ...
Flamin' Groovies, The: The Flamin' Groovies: Grease; Alive Forever! (More Grease)
Review by Jonh Ingham, NME, February 1975
SOME OF YOU may remember The Flamin' Groovies. ...
Albert King: I Wanna Get Funky
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
I WANNA GET Funky is the best album I've heard all year. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
AHA! ESSRA Mohawk, formerly plain ol' Sandy Hurvitz. You may remember her as the original Uncle Meat in F. Zappa's late sixties circus until she ...
Alice Cooper: The Man Who Ate Alice Cooper
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
Yes, once again CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY, Regius Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, Trash Aesthetics, and Hohner Super Vamper, leaps forth with a mouthful of scintillating verbosity ...
Gene Vincent: Po' White Punk from the Pool Hall
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, February 1975
MICK FARREN traces the career of GENE VINCENT, the Rock 'n' Roll star who didn't sell out his audience or his origins. ...
Elton John: The Life And Times Of Elton John, part 1
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
Part one: how the sand kicked in his face turned to gold-dust after all ...
Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
IT'S A SOMEWHAT perplexed Chi-Lites who recently embarked on their second and most extensive UK tour of Clubs and Cabaret. ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers: Today Central Poly – Tomorrow The World?
Report by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
"I'VE ONLY GOT the five shirts, so I just take 'em off and leave them to dry. It's no good washing them too much, they ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
ONLY ONE OBJECTION to this album, so let's put it right up front. ...
Bobby Womack: I Can Understand It
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, February 1975
CALLED IN America Greatest Hits, this album simply illustrates the unsatisfactory position that Bobby Womack finds himself in in England. Hitless. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, February 1975
THE AVERAGE WHITES broke the ice with their second album and Kokomo will be the first of the beneficiaries. ...
Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1975
ETHYL'S FRIGID AS an eskimo pie, she's cool in bed/she oughta be, 'cuz Ethyl's dead... ...
Tom Rush - Ladies Love Outlaws
Review by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
IN THE PAST Tom Rush has been hailed as a great interpreter, someone who can lift a number by nuance and feeling. His latest album ...
Raspberries, The: The Raspberries - Starting Over
Review by Max Bell, NME, February 1975
I DON'T KNOW why but it always seems odd when American groups try to sound English, although the reverse is quite acceptable. ...
Impressions, The, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions: Big Sixteen
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, March 1975
IT'S PLEASING to see Anchor pushing out this classic compilation, as it's been unavailable for several years. It was originally issued on the old HMV ...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1975
BETTY WRIGHT IS, as they say, a lot more than just a pretty face. She's also got a voice that's stacked with burning southern soul, ...
Elton John, part 2: They Laughed When I Stood Up To Play The Piano
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
NME: Earlier, you said that when you first met Taupin his lyrics were somewhat influenced by the Flower Power fad. It was a period when ...
The Kids Are Not Necessarily Alright
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, March 1975
Or how the '70s has seen a limp-wristed sell-out of the ideals of the 60s. MICK FARREN discusses the way the Uncle Toms of Teendom ...
Chuck Berry: Rancid and Smutty (Apologists Only)
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1975
Chuck Berry: Lewisham Odeon, London ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
AIN'T NO GETTING round it: 10cc make brilliant records. ...
Tim Buckley: Greetings From LA
Review by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
WAY BACK IN the dim and distant, old Tim had to sing for his supper, along with the likes of Steve Noonan and Jackson Browne, ...
Claire Hamill: Stage Door Johnnies (Anchor)
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1975
CLAIRE HAMILL'S AGED 24 if you take notice of the inaccurate bumf from Anchor Records, but considerably younger than that – about 20 – if ...
Tim Buckley: Greeetings From L.A.
Review by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
WAY BACK in the dim and distant, old Tim had to sing for his supper, along with the likes of Steve Noonan and Jackson Browne, ...
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, March 1975
"STEELEYE ARE A jumped-up lot – we've had a standing challenge with them for six months now and they've never taken it up." ...
Milk 'n' Cookies: Mlk'n'Cookies: Sweetness & Light With Milk & Cookies
Interview by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
IF I TOLD you that the latest band to ride the grapevine from New York to London, Milk'n'Cookies, are three guys from the affluent suburban ...
Elton John part 3: Maybe It's Because I'm A Socialist…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
TELL US, El, what is Rock all about? Having a bloody good time. When I was a kid and went to see those Larry Parnes-Billy ...
Richard and Linda Thompson: Do You Wanna Be A Star?
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1975
IT WAS ONE of those large Edwardian houses in London's Hampstead, just off the main road. Like most of the others, it had been converted ...
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1975
THIS WAS THE one that mattered for the Kiki Dee Band, and they made sure it counted. ...
Chuck Berry: Chuck Has Been Leaving The Stage For 20 Years
Report by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1975
They weren't complaining – they were awestruck ...
LaBelle: Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir?
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
"THE RE-VO-LU-SHUN...will not be televaaaaaazed," declaims Patti LaBelle, staring into the audience from the stage of the Congressgebouwe in the Hague. ...
10cc: The Punk And I or Two Jews Blues
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
...In which two nice young men of Hebraic extraction (LOL CRÈME and CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY) engage in heated debate about 10 c.c.'s collective attitude. Or ...
Moments, The, Shirley & Co.: Shirley & Co. and The Moments: The Carpenters Are My Real Faves
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, March 1975
Al Goodman, A & R man for All Platinum label. So what are you doing on the Soul page with Shirley & Co., Al? ...
LaBelle: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1975
THE PROVERBIAL BREATH of fresh air. ...
Genesis: Gabriel's Cosmic Juice
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
"I believe in getting art out of the galleries and onto the streets. Status Quo are so cultural, so Wagner..." ...
Lou Reed, Alice Cooper: Nick Kent – A Limey in LA #1: Hey Man, You With A Gwoop?
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1975
Speech impediments are the thing in Los Angeles this year. There are quite a lot of naked men jumping out of bushes – whereas more ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
READING THE CREDITS and titles to Franco Battiato's Clic you'd be forgiven for thinking that here was just the latest example of technoflash absurdia masquerading ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, March 1975
WHERE have all poppa's heroes gone? Living in New York, every one. A hard city by reputation, but presumably it has its compensations for someone ...
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, March 1975
"HE'S LIKE ONE of the little folk – a lovely, lively leprachaun, with an enormous musical talent and sense of humour to match." ...
God is Alive and Well and Living Off Rock'n'Roll...
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, March 1975
Unfurling his roadmaps for the soul, MICK FARREN, Bachelor of Divinity of this parish, slumps grimly over his flea-ridden Olivetti to bang out the sandwich-luncher's ...
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1975
PETE SAGE'S FUR-TRIMMED cap and hunched stance give him something of the aura of a demented Moroccan camel trader as he relaxes into the flow ...
Uriah Heep, King Crimson: Uriah Heep: Ex-Crimson Bass Man Seduced
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1975
JOHN WETTON JOINS HUMBLE WEALTHY HEEP ...
Jonathan King: A Rose in a Fisted Glove
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1975
WHEN JONATHAN KING first manifested his presence upon this already sufficiently troubled planet he was able to masquerade as a genuinely provocative presence, mainly because ...
Blue Oyster Cult: On Your Feet Or On Your Knees
Review by Max Bell, NME, March 1975
FIRST OF ALL let me tell you about the art work that John Berg has concocted for the Blue Oyster Cult's most extreme venture to ...
Mighty Clouds of Joy, The: Hey You, Get Onto The Mighty Clouds Of Joy…
Comment by Bob Fisher, NME, March 1975
...and discover the undiluted gospel fervour and emotional commitment you thought black music had lost. ...
Ronnie Lane: Seedy Lad Discusses Tent Collapse
Interview by Jonh Ingham, NME, March 1975
SOMEWHERE IN the hinterlands of this once-proud isle, in a medieval pub which has beams wallpapered with matchbooks proclaiming the existence of "Joe's Cafe", Ronnie ...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, April 1975
"WHERE ELSE BUT in America could a person own a Rolls-Royce, an Eldorado Mark IV, a Mercedes limousine, an estate in Long Island, an apartment ...
Lou Reed at the Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
THERE'S AN ILLUMINATED sign outside the Hammersmith Odeon that says: "It's all too much. Lou Reed in Concert." Wry humour or someone taking a subtle ...
Report by Nick Kent, NME, April 1975
ALSO INCLUDES: The Dog That Ate The Dog That Ate Los Angeles ...
Tangerine Dream: Rubycon and Alpha Centauri
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1975
IF I'VE ASSESSED the vibe correctly, it would seem that the appropriate critical response to Tangerine Dream is to dismiss Edgar Froose, Chris Franke and ...
James Brown: Reality and Breakin' Bread
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, April 1975
A WORD OF advice. Never attempt to review James Brown product whilst the records are actually playing. It's impossible either to write or type when ...
Johnny Mathis - The Heart of a Woman
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
JOHNNY BRISTOL'S RISING reputation as an ace producer hasn't, as far as I can see, resulted in any really solid product to back up the ...
Rick Wakeman: The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1975
The Cadbury capers, part 1: the management requests you leave your brain at the door ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1975
THIS ALBUM worries me.It worries me because so much of the music here is so blatantly lacklustre compared with the exhiliratingly high standards already set ...
Rock and Western Films: My baby useta love western movies...
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, April 1975
OVER CHRISTMAS THE BBC showed The Magnificent Seven – and gave us a very forcible reminder of how great an effect western movies have had ...
Ringo Starr: Everyone One Of Us Has All We Need…
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, April 1975
SOMETIMES your friendly neighbourhood interviewer is allowed to conduct his interview in a small room with only the interviewee and a tape, recorder for company. ...
Tangerine Dream: 1983 — A Synthesiser I Will Be
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1975
Do TANGERINE DREAM, wizzkids of organic electronic rock, play their instruments?Or do the instruments play them? ...
Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson: Hunter Ronson at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1975
SHUCKS. TO THINK it's well over a year now since I last saw Ian Hunter and the whole Hoople caboodle in this very same theatre ...
Report by Nick Kent, NME, April 1975
...in a tune-up room on the last night of the Faces' 1975 LA gigs? Why, the closing aria in D from 'il Cavalleria Rusticana', of ...
Winkies, The: Winkies - Winkies
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1975
AND SO, AS if to pinpoint that they'd stuck a ring through the collective nose of every other pub rocker when it came to osmosing ...
Iron Butterfly - Scorching Beauty
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
SEEMS LIKE 1968 all over again, doesn't it? ...
Dictators, The: The Dictators - The Dictators Go Girl Crazy
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
PSSST. WANNA BUY a dirty record? ...
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1975
IN WHICH CHARLIE Rich, understandably exhausted after a twenty year struggle to Make It, manages to record one side of an album and then runs ...
Phil Manzanera: Head hunting in darkest Acton
Interview by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
YOU'VE GOT TO be quick to catch a Manzanera. No sooner has it left America than it's off to sunny Hawaii to sojourn, returning home ...
Steve Harley at the Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
INSIDE THE HALL you could tell it would be one of those nights. Row upon row of bowler-hatted disciples clutched onto their Harley scarves in ...
Byrds, The, David Crosby, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Crosby Stills and Nash: David Crosby
Profile by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1975
IT STARTED with trademark objects, really. When The Byrds got their hit with 'Mr Tambourine Man', Jim McGuinn established himself as the one with those ...
Report and Interview by Bob Fisher, Roger St. Pierre, NME, April 1975
From the great lost soul label of Atlantic it came, writhing with synchronized funk, its many black heads chanting and wailing. Nothing like it had ...
Loudon Wainwright III - Unrequited
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
THE WORST THING that ever happened to Loudon Wainwright III was being branded The New Dylan, kiss of death to any self-respecting artist who hopes ...
Sweet: The Sweet: No Longer Unfashionable
Interview by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
ROCK SNOBBERY. THAT'S what it is. A prevailing attitude that anything commercially successful in terms of the charts must therefore be top-twenty hype, not suitable ...
Al Green: Eaten Something Funny Al?
Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, April 1975
"L.O.V.E. SPELLS LOVE," says Al Green on his current NME chart rider of the same name, while according to Jimmy Witherspoon's current US hit, it's ...
Syl Johnson: A Whole Lot Of Whiplashes And Scars…
Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, April 1975
NOT MANY artists hot on the US Soul charts have had the apprenticeship of Syl Johnson. ...
Jeff Beck, Edgar Broughton Band, The, Pink Floyd: British Psychedelia: More Zits Than Hitz…
Guide by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1975
It's dream-time in Compilationsville once again, amigos. This week CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY does his worst to induce EMI into issuing Volume Two in his discocartography ...
Pete Atkin and Clive James: Pete Atkin And Clive James: From Little Atkins Great Oak Trees Grow
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1975
A fearsome encounter between two of the foremost minds of a Generation...uh...two of the most cerebral Rock Critics afloat...um, two of the most Accomplished Raconteurs...the ...
Grand Funk Railroad: Grand Funk at Wembley Stadium
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1975
LORD, LORD, WHY hast thou forsaken me? ...
Anne Murray: Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, April 1975
THE DIFFICULTY OF categorising Anne Murray as a singer – is she pop, country, soul or strictly MOR? – was probably the main reason for ...
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, April 1975
Mothers albums nestle amongst the legal papers. A stereo system has been set up in front of The judge. The scene is Law Court Seven. ...
Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, April 1975
IF ALLEN TOUSSAINT ever wants to make the great album he's obviously capable of, he'd be best advised to first take a year's sabbatical from ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1975
KANSAS ARE THE latest group to hoist the Dixie flag, though thankfully they don't seem anxious to broadcast the fact that "the South is gonna ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, April 1975
JUDY COLLINS HAS recently completed a movie about a female symphony conductor. ...
J. J. Barnes: The Groovesville Masters
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, April 1975
DESPITE A couple of very successful tours of the Midlands and the North, JJ seems dogged by bad luck. ...
Pink Fairies, The: The Pink Fairies: Looking Back
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, April 1975
A thrilling tale of Ladbroke Grove, loose aggregations, hanging out, and falling about – recounted in loving detail by an actual participant in those glorious ...
Bob Dylan: The Basement Tapes (CBS)
Review by Mick Farren, NME, April 1975
THE STORY goes that Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the fastest gun of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, distraught at the death of his beloved Lizzy Siddons, had a ...
Chairmen Of The Board: Chairmen of the Board
Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, May 1975
IT WAS THE Chairmen of the Board's umpteenth tour of the UK, but this time round, the venues were a little classier, with week long ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: Alex Harvey - Thou shalt have no other punk before me…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1975
AND NOW, ALEX Harvey, your starter for ten. What is rock and roll? ...
Bees Make Honey: The Kensington, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, May 1975
BACK AT THE Kensington, the pub they first opened up to rock music, Bees Make Honey gave a storming set as usual. ...
Steeleye Span at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, May 1975
THIS WAS STEELEYE'S loudest gig, a fact which may or may not indicate the shape of things to come. ...
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, May 1975
DEKE AND I are talking hurriedly about limited omniscience when it occurs to me that this is a very melancholy Man indeed. ...
Mickey Jupp: The Lost Legends of Southend Rock
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
Down where the fag-end of London slopes into the sea, there lies the forgotten land of Southend, home of the whelk stall and source of ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
THE GRAPEVINE WHISPERS Billy Joel is going to be a superstar. ...
Emmylou Harris: Pieces of the Sky
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, May 1975
THIS IS AN album that has been quite eagerly anticipated, mainly because of the reputation Emmylou Harris built for herself with her participation as co-vocalist ...
Amboy Dukes, The: The Amboy Dukes - Journeys and Migrations
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
THIS MOST RECENT collection of The American Amboy Dukes, taken from the first three albums, is strictly one for masochistic archivists. Amusement value only. If ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1975
WELL, IT LOOKS as though they're here to stay. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1975
LET'S GET ONE thing straight right up front. ...
Iggy Pop, Stooges, The: Iggy Pop: The Mighty Pop vs. the Hand of Blight
Special Feature by Nick Kent, NME, May 1975
Never before told! The story of a brilliant monster called IGGY POP, whose life and countless near-demises have provided Rock with one of its most ...
Interview by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
TEN YEARS AGO Love made their first album for Elektra, and it's available for next to nothing as a cut-out now. Times change but Arthur ...
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, May 1975
THE WHO, THE Small Faces, Spencer Davies and their ilk were the bands that got written up in the history books, but the true stars ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in Edinburgh
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1975
THOUGH IT'S UNDOUBTEDLY a contradiction in terms, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band are both slicker and rougher than they used to be. ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1975
Slicker and rougher ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind and Fire
Profile by Bob Fisher, NME, May 1975
LIKE EVERY OTHER sub genre of soul seems to do, the current blockbuster – jazz-funk, bump-funk, party street-dance, or whatever you care to tag it ...
Bachman Turner Overdrive: Bachman-Turner Overdrive - And this isn't all they do
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1975
"WHEN I'M TRYING to do a solo, I'll try and play what Jeff Beck would play, or I'll try and play what Eric Clapton would ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
THE FIRST TRACK on John Cale's Slow Dazzle is so excellent that I played it eight times before I could bring myself to continue. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, May 1975
'SUPERNATURAL Thing Pt. 1' marks the first occasion on which Ben E. King has hit the American Top twenty since 'Don't Play That Song' in ...
Barry White: Villa Park, Birmingham
Live Review by Bob Fisher, NME, May 1975
THERE'S BEEN some controversy about the prices on Barry White's English gigs – £5 was the top price at Birmingham. ...
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1975
COVENT GARDEN HAD its second major rock venue re-opened last Thursday for a series of regular concerts by bands not big enough to warrant an ...
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, May 1975
WHY SHOULD DON McLean have chosen to open his Albert Hall-concert – and with it his first British tour for eighteen months – with his ...
Bill Monroe: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, May 1975
BILL MONROE IS the main-man of bluegrass music, a veteran innovator whose recording career spans 40 years. ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1975
I'M HUNTING THROUGH the cartridges in the glove compartment of Chris Squire's '63 Rolls Royce as we head out of Liverpool towards the M62 and ...
Exciters, The: The Exciters - Dark Clouds Over the Black Country
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, June 1975
INTERNAL DISSENSION IS the bane of any cult, and though the Northern Sounds soul movement might seem healthy from the outside, in reality it's torn ...
John Cipollina, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Man: John Cipollina
Interview by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
JOHN CIPOLLINA, he's the real thing. Smallish, wiry, hair tied back, nicotine stains up to his elbow and the confident loquaciousness of a man who ...
Sailor - No sex please we're Russo-Nordic
Profile by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
TWO HAIRDRESSERS, a parachutist and a tortured poet; a band called Sailor, dressed in nautical gear, including a Ruskie prince and a member of the ...
Television, Patti Smith: Down In The Scuzz With The Heavy Cult Figures
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1975
C.B.G.B. is a toilet. An impossibly scuzzy little club buried somewhere in the sections of the Village that the cab-drivers don't like to drive through. ...
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1975
There is no mention of brown rice on this page. Persian rugs and health food in general? Well, OK...yeah, but not in any harmful quantity. ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: Wild Honey and Friends
Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
IN THE GRAND old tradition of milking every last drop from The Beach Boys' catalogue comes this double coupling of the '67-'68 albums Wild Honey ...
Henry Cow: In Praise of Learning
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1975
IT HAS been said that rock has lost its vision. It has also been suggested that the current drought of spectacular things to behold in ...
Candi Staton, Bettye Swann: Candi Staton and Bettye Swann: Broken Hearts, Do Right Women
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, June 1975
EVERY TIME I hear Bettye Swann's pained 'Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me' I'm so moved I want to go and punch that ...
Loudon Wainwright III - at Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
YOU MIGHT HAVE noticed that Loudon Wainwright III has been in Great Britain recently, completing the second lap of his tour; you might have noticed ...
Georgie Fame: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1975
WHILE APPRECIATING THAT what George Fame and his occasional Blue Flames are delivering is white rhythm'n'blues and not soul, it's perhaps unfortunate that he chose ...
Report and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1975
Vegas on 8 cheeseburgers a day...or a bitch-in with Nashville's men of steel in Gay Paree. Which would you prefer? ...
Eddie Cochran: The Very Best of Eddie Cochran (15th Anniversary Album)
Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1975
I SUPPOSE WITH Showaddywaddy up in the singles chart with 'Three Steps to Heaven', and the 17-year-old version of 'C'mon Everybody' once again bubbling under ...
Curtis Mayfield: America Today
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1975
THREE YEARS AGO, Curtis Mayfield was one of the golden boys of New Wave soul, having broken with marketing formats (The Impressions) and joined the ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
UNLESS PAVLOV'S DOG prove to be a figment of Sandy Pearlman's crazed imagination, then their debut album must make them great white hopes for the ...
Smokey Robinson: Smokey's Backatcha
Profile and Interview by Bob Fisher, NME, June 1975
MOTOWN announced the retirement of William "Smokey" Robinson in January 1972. ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1975
"I WAS BORN to fly higher, born to stand where I'm standing now/Basking in the light of the neon fire/As it burns my useless body ...
Al Kooper - Al's Big Deal and Unclaimed Freight: An Al Kooper Anthology
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1975
AL KOOPER IS good at lots of things. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1975
IN WHICH JOHNNY Cash meets up, quite casual-like, with the '70s and discovers that even though they don't really have a whole lot in common, ...
Cher, Tammy Wynette: Cher: Stars/Cher's Greatest Hits; Tammy Wynette: The Best Of Tammy Wynette
Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1975
IN MANY WAYS Cher and Tammy Wynette make up the two facets of the Cosmopolitan philosophy, that candy coated version of feminism that seems to ...
Beach Boys, The, Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 1
Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1975
THE INCIDENT MUST HAVE occured a little over a year ago. Paul McCartney, complete with the inevitable Linda, had just flown into Los Angeles – ...
Gay and Terry Woods: Backwoods
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1975
AFTER BEING INITIATORS in the early development of English folk/rock – a period which culminated in their helping to form the Steeleye Span's first cup-winning ...
Van Der Graaf Generator: In and Out of The Box
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, June 1975
INTROSPECTION. THAT'S WHY your face is on the floor and you're listening... doo dee dum doo. The French are good at it. French rock crowds ...
Neil Young: Tonight's the Night: Play It Loud and Stay in the Other Room!
Interview by Bud Scoppa, NME, June 1975
NEIL YOUNG isn't out to win any popularity contest. Just as he reached the top of the heap three years ago with the huge-selling Harvest, ...
Beach Boys, The, Eagles, The: The Beach Boys and The Eagles at Wembley Stadium
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1975
"HI, WE'RE THE Eagles from Los Angeles." Well that was a fact as predictable as the set those five gentleman dished up, a kind of ...
Beach Boys, The, Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 2
Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1975
PET SOUNDS was about to be released when Derek Taylor was taken on The Beach Boys' pay-roll. 750 dollars for dealing with the group's publicity. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, June 1975
THIS ALBUM REPRESENTS Joan Baez's volte-face; after the years of diatribe and tireless dissemination of political views by every available channel, her records included, she's ...
Stax - The Stax Story - Volumes I & II
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, June 1975
SINCE THE 32 tracks collected here were cut after the 1968 Stax/Atlantic split it would be unwise to take the over-all title of this two-record ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones - Made in the Shade and Metamorphosis
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1975
ECONOMICS: When a famous big-time rock and roll band reaches that particular special point in its year when it's time to pack the clean socks ...
Pete Seeger: Together In Concert
Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1975
PETE SEEGER HAS just about every credential it's possible for a folk singer to have without actually being dead. ...
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, July 1975
ELVIN BISHOP'S place in the scheme of post-Beatles US Rock has been pretty much undervalued over the years. This is probably owing to his uncanny ...
Dionne Warwick: Worries of the Warwick sisters
Interview by Roger St. Pierre, NME, July 1975
WE'RE A LONG way on from 1964 and 'Walk On By' but, despite the profusion of instantly forgetable records Dionne Warwick has turned out since ...
Little Richard: Lewisham Odeon, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1975
THE DEBUT DATE of Little Richard's UK tour at the half empty Lewisham Odeon was little short of a disaster. Possibly the person least to ...
Larry Coryell: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1975
YOU COULD tell it was Jazz night at Dingwalls. ...
Beach Boys, The, Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 3
Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1975
EARLY MARCH 1975: The clapper-board reads "The Last Beach Movie – The Brian Wilson Story" Take 96, and our camera zooms in on the exterior ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1975
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (AKA Don Van Vliet) moves in sufficiently mysterious ways for me to believe that Zoot Horn Rollo (aka Bill Harkleroad) may just possibly ...
Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan: Skunk Hunting In W1
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1975
THERE'S A delicately detailed brass rubbing of Burlington House above the bed-head in room 420 at the Inn On The Park. Some rock musicians would've ...
Todd Rundgren: Man, Myth Or Rabbit?
Interview by Max Bell, NME, July 1975
THE BOY FROM Upper Darby is pressed into the corner of a Blake's Hotel settee. He looks so much like a very glum rabbit that ...
10cc, Steeleye Span, Man: Man, Steeleye Span and 10cc at Cardiff Castle
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1975
DEKE LEONARD IS getting incoherent. ...
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1975
THE FIRST WORD of this review is "deteriorate." It means to Lose Your Magic. ...
Righteous Brothers, The: The Righteous Brothers - Sons of Mrs. Righteous
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1975
IT REALLY DOES seem that the greater part of the Righteous Brothers was their uncle Phil Spector. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1975
MY H.A.L. PRINT-OUT on Ron Wood sez that his guitar-playing veers from the sublime to the ridiculous (i.e., his playing on Rod Stewart's solo albums ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1975
MENTION THE name Keith West to anyone and odds on they'll say "Teenage Opera" and not much else. ...
Decameron: On The Eve Of A New Album
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, July 1975
DECAMERON lyricist and front-man Dave Bell is articulate but quietly spoken. ...
Wings: Paul McCartney: …No Not Really In A Way Actually As It Happens…
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1975
VENUS AND MARS ARE LATE. The sandwiches don't care, though. Even though they're the same day's vintage – fresh, soft white bread-triangles housing excerpts from ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: The Lyceum, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1975
"HEY, MON... WHAT are all these whites doin' here? They not here last time the Wailers play..." ...
Overview by Steve Turner, NME, July 1975
NME raises its bleary-eyed head to peer at the wacky world of Press receptions. Or how to get some not-so-cheap publicity. ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones: Tour Of The Americas 1975
Report by Mick Farren, NME, July 1975
The Usherettes at the Los Angeles Forum all wear short Roman tunics, and calf-length, white mid-sixties style boots. The outfit gives them the looks of ...
John Lennon's battle with the US Immigration Department
Report by Andrew Tyler, NME, July 1975
JOHN LENNON, IN his battle of wits with the US Immigration Department, is looking less like the stoical pre-doomed crazy of old, and more like ...
Wilson Pickett - Join Me and Let's Be Free
Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1975
FIRST OF ALL you have to picture the scene. There he stands, up to his elbows in stagnant water, a faraway look in his eyes, ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1975
TOYS IN THE Attic, is Aerosmith's third record. No one here knows that much about Aerosmith, except that they're a straight-ahead Eastern seaboard band with ...
Bobby Womack - I Don't Know What The World Is Coming To
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, July 1975
FROM 1964, FOLLOWING the death of his mentor Sam Cooke, to 1969, when he finally began to record under his own name, Bobby Womack was ...
Lenny Bruce: The Law, Language And Lenny Bruce (Phil Spector International)
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1975
ABOUT EIGHTEEN MONTHS or so before Lenny Bruce died, he formed a loosely defined business relationship and a close friendship with Phil Sector. On the ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1975
NAT HENTOFF really should know better. Having, in the past, written liner-notes for the very best (Davis, Trane) he now finds himself eulogising the "scope ...
David Bowie: Watch Out Mate! Hitler’s On His Way Back
Interview by Anthony O'Grady, NME, August 1975
"WE THINK WE'VE got an audience," says the spokesperson in the Bowie suite. "We're pretty sure the operator will be listening in." ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
"BASICALLY, YOU'RE TALKING about a lorry driver who was thrust into it because he had a number one for seven weeks." ...
David Bowie: Did We Use Him? Did We Abuse Him?
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
Well, he's acting like we did, so maybe there's something in it. Two recent and much-maligned Bowie albums are herein re-evaluated for your reading pleasure... ...
Steve Hillage: On The Banks Of A Fish Dinner
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1975
"The fish really get off on it man...it's their whole trip"... New angle on Gong's STEVE HILLAGE – the world's leading exponent of Fish Rock. ...
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1975
THERE'S NOTHING NEW about black anger. It's run through the whole of black music from the blues onwards, finding perhaps its most forthright expression (in ...
Maria Muldaur: The Effect Is Underwhelming
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
Maria Muldaur: Ronnie Scott's, London ...
Flamin' Groovies, The: The Flamin' Groovies: Acid Hurt My Brain
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1975
WHEN, TOWARDS the tail-end of 1969, the Flamin' Groovies' first Epic single 'Rockin' Pneumonia' crashed the American Hot 100 at No. 27 (with a bullet), ...
Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, NME, August 1975
"Marty Wilde was managed by Larry Parnes – 'They don't call me Parnes, shillings and pence for nothing' – who entered rock as Tommy Steele's ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers - Chocs Away
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
THE KURSAAL FLYERS' entry into the Wonderful World Of Wax is neat, tidy, restrained, unobtrusive, and extremely well-behaved, more like a third album than a ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, August 1975
"WHITE ROCK", OBSERVED CSM last week in his Wailers review, "lays its beat on you; the Wailers' music allows you to find your own rhythm ...
Four Tops, The, Jackson 5, The, Supremes, The, Junior Walker & The Allstars: Tamla albums round-up
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS. The Supremes' new LP is a winner. ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
THE FIRST THING that hits you when you see Be-Bop Deluxe in their current incarnation (or, for that matter, listen to said incarnation's Futurama album ...
Camel, Michael Chapman: Fairfield Hall, Croydon
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1975
KUH-RAAAACKKK!!!! ...
Heavy Metal Kids, The: The Heavy Metal Kids: 'I Useta Strong It…'
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1975
'But we're much tighter now.' ...
Junior Walker & The Allstars: Junior Walker
Interview by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
CONSIDERING THAT THEY'D only checked in at 4 a.m. that morning – that they hadn't been notified of our appointment for an interview – and ...
Procol Harum: The London Palladium, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1975
One senses that Gary Brooker could well fancy his chances with Joan Bakewell. ...
101'ers, The: The 101'ers: Hope & Anchor, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, August 1975
THE CELLAR OF Islington's Hope and Anchor is hardly the place to keep cool, calm and collected on one of the hottest nights of the ...
Ben E. King - The Ben E. King Story
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
ATLANTIC, YOU'RE NOT fooling anyone. ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: The Kinks Live at Kelvin Hall
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
IT'S AMAZING. BY now, Pye must've incorporated virtually every track The Kinks ever cut into one or other of their multifarious compilation albums, and in ...
James Brown - Live at the Apollo Vol.1
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
EVERY SO OFTEN an album comes along that is more than just another good, bad, or indifferent release from the artist concerned. ...
Max Merritt: It's Almost Like Art…
Profile and Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, August 1975
IT'S GOOD to be sitting in a pub courtyard with the pleasingly craggy Max Merritt. ...
Brecker Brothers, The: The Brecker Brothers: Everythin's All White
Profile by Roger St. Pierre, NME, August 1975
...
Stevie Wonder - Blind, Gifted and Loaded
Report by Bob Woffinden, NME, August 1975
THERE HAS BEEN an official silence about Stevie Wonder's plans since he publicly announced in March last year that he was to retire in 1976 ...
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1975
WHERE THE HELL is Lou Reed?Good question, if a trifle academic, but eminently suited for whiling away times in the coach by discussing. ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
WANDERING HOMEWARD WITH this album tucked under my arm I was unexpectedly accosted by three ripe young ladies who seemed to want to get to ...
Andy Pratt: Nobody Knows My Name
Profile by Vivien Goldman, NME, August 1975
HAVE your albums been deleted? Do they even refuse to take them at second-hand shops? Are you even now living off the dole, wondering where ...
The Selling Of Reading Festival
Report by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1975
THE SUN was westering in a haze of towering cumulus, fire-orange against midnight black, filling the still air with speckled light, as we came over ...
Windsor/Watchfield Festival: The Smallest Story Ever Told
Report by Andrew Tyler, NME, August 1975
Meanwhile...out west on Windsor's High Chaparral, a wandering hippie couple in search of the Ultimate Alternative Festival are waylaid by a pack of journalists hungering ...
Report by Mick Farren, NME, August 1975
MICK FARREN visits the Notting Hill Carnival ...
Report and Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, August 1975
LEO KOTTKE'S come a long way from St. Louis – now he's got more stories to tell than British Rail has stale rolls... ...
Roger McGuinn: Urban Spaceman Metamorphoses Into Plumber
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, August 1975
ROGER McGUINN’S return to the Los Angeles Troubadour could be described as something of a minor triumph. With Steve Love, Richard Bowden, Greg Attaway and ...
Isley Brothers, The: The Isley Brothers: Churnin' of Fraternal Funk
Retrospective by Cliff White, NME, August 1975
From mock gospel to hypnotic energy, via an engagement with Jimi Hendrix and a 16-year track record that few groups can emulate; CLIFF WHITE charts ...
Roger McGuinn - Roger McGuinn and Band
Review by Mick Farren, NME, August 1975
IT'S BEEN A fair old while since anyone pointed the finger at Roger McGuinn and accused him of pumping out high energy rock and roll. ...
Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: Riding the Rails and Marty Robbins: Gunfighter Ballads
Review by Mick Farren, NME, August 1975
OKAY, SO HERE are two special double album packages from CBS that feature two of the world's greatest exponents of country and western melodrama. ...
Duane Eddy: Bailey's, Leicester
Live Review by Bob Fisher, NME, September 1975
YET ANOTHER rock 'n' roll legend is stalking the stages of the club circuit and on July 14 he trod the stage of Bailey's, Leicester. ...
Fatback Band, The: The Fatback Band: Yum Yum
Review by Bob Fisher, NME, September 1975
"MY NAME is Yum Yum, Gimme some!" ...
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1975
DAEVID ALLEN GOT out of it this year. Out of the VAT-race, to be more precise – and let's keep the double-entendres under control, eh? ...
Kraftwerk: The Final Solution To The Music Problem?
Interview by Lester Bangs, NME, September 1975
In the beginning there was feedback: the machines speaking on their own, answering their supposed masters with shrieks of misalliance. In the music of KRAFTWERK we ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
AS SUNDAYS GO, this promised a real party. Wake up for Charlie Gillett's Honky Tonk on BBC Radio London and then down to the Roundhouse ...
Wigwam: In Finland They Get Drunk
Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1975
When the sun won't set and you can't get to sleep, what do you do?In Norway they play the violin.In Sweden they kill themselves. ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
LEAPING ONTO THE dance floor of American's all-pervasive disco, Simon recovered from a slump in popularity by intoning "Get down, get down" about fifty-nine times ...
Moments, The, Chi-Lites, The: The Chi-Lites: Half a Love and The Moments: Sharp
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1975
IF IT WERE ONLY for All Platinum's second certifiable classic – The Moments' 'Dolly My Love' – this group's new album would need to be ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, September 1975
"DENNIS BROWN," announces Trojan manager Webster Shrowder From the sleeve of the man's album, "is one of my favourite artists, who I put in the ...
Dave Mason and Streetwalkers at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
SOME NEED WIRES and some need strings, but Dave Mason don't use none of those things. Instead he hitched himself onto the back of his ...
Supremes, The: The Supremes at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, September 1975
NEXT TIME YOU have the opportunity, check out Motown's Anthology of Diana Ross and the Supremes' Greatest Hits. Unless you're an avid fan whose every ...
Chi-Lites, The: The Chi-Lites at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
AFTER AN HOUR or so of the kind of entertainment that tempts freeloading reviewers to demand their non-existent money back, any halfway-decent act is a ...
Supercharge: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
SUPERCHARGE CERTAINLY HAVE something to celebrate. They've just signed a five year record contract, and are probably hoping to be very rich one of these ...
Jive Bombers: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
THERE'S ALWAYS A good time to be had at the 100 Club. ...
Orchestral Soul: So When Was the Last Time You Saw a Black Cello Player?
Overview by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
SOUL: the emotional part of man's nature, or the seat of the feelings or sentiments.SOULFUL: of, or expressive of, deep feeling or emotion. ...
Natalie Cole: Meet Nat Queen Cole
Profile by Bob Fisher, NME, September 1975
WITH 1975 almost certain to establish itself as a most uneventful year for soul, it's refreshing to come across a 45 by a newish singer ...
Buddy Holly: The Rocker Next Door with the Mail-Order Axe
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, September 1975
IN A frame of reference where you might think of Elvis Presley as an idol and Little Richard as a hero. Buddy Holly has to ...
Johnny Nash: Tears On My Pillow
Review by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
ANYONE WHO CAN cheerfully sing "be careful how you hold her, please don't even scold her, she's my cream puff" either deserves a hefty kick ...
Frank Sinatra: The Reprise Years
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, September 1975
YEARS IS JUST one enormous sampler really – a fifty-track, four album, boxed set containing cuts from nearly every album Sinatra's made for Reprise since ...
Howard Werth And The Moonbeams: King Brilliant
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
AUDIENCE WERE ALWAYS a band which threatened massive stardom. That they never made the final breakthrough wasn't for want of trying. They made four excellent ...
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, September 1975
"ANYONE WHO KNOWS my work" said Bob Calvert earnestly, "would realise that however bad they might think it is, it's all intentional." ...
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1975
On the fifth anniversary of his death (Sept. 18, 1970) a personal view of the Titan Axeman ...
Rolling Stones, The: Robert Greenfield: A Journey through America with the Rolling Stones
Book Review by Mick Farren, NME, September 1975
I FEAR THIS book may be the one that could finally O.D. the reader on rock writing, particularly that flat, conscientious, detailed, post-Truman Capote style ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind, Fire, Dry Ice and Conviction
Interview by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
MAURICE WHITE, of the above qualifications, talks to CLIFF WHITE (no relation) about the New Thing in soul music. ...
Santana: Carlos Santana: I Can Almost Materialize... If I Think Real Hard…
Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
...be still for I bring peace, love, and a new Santana line-up. ...
Disco-Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes, Susan Cadogan: Leicester
Live Review by Bob Fisher, NME, September 1975
APART FROM the flash of inspiration provided by the Birmingham band Muscles, the evening ranked as one of the most musically boring I have ever ...
Santana, Earth Wind and Fire: Santana and Earth Wind and Fire at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
ONE OF THE ironic features of Columbia's prestigious double billing, Earth Wind And Fire/Santana is that in America right now the kudos for star spot ...
Max Merritt And The Meteors: White Hart, Willesden
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
A FEW YEARS ago, when I was employed in a South London certain department store, I worked with a couple of globetrotting New Zealanders who ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: Alex Harvey: Delivered From The Jaws Of Death
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1975
...We proudly present the intrepid ALEX HARVEY, fresh from being restrained from swimming in the shark tank and currently engaged in entertaining the young people ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1975
FOR ALL PRACTICAL purposes, Phoenix is Labelle's third album. Forget anything prior to Pressure Cookin': those albums were by some other people and are of ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
THE LATEST IN a long line of good albums from the largely ignored Bob Seger sees him returning to Muscle Shoals, scene of the Back ...
Ohio Players, The: The Ohio Players - Honey
Review by Cliff White, NME, September 1975
EARLIER THIS YEAR Ralph 'Pee Wee' Middlebrook, trumpeter with The Players, admitted in an interview "now we've made it after all that scuffling I suppose ...
Howard Werth And The Moonbeams: Howard Werth
Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
"SEE, THE 'THE' is actually a joke, an abbreviation of the first word. It's not really 'King Brilliant' it's '...King Brilliant' that we ever got ...
Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1975
"THE THING ABOUT concept albums is that they're never done successfully except mine of course," So speaks modest avant garde composer David Bedford, Virgin luminary ...
Live Review by Fred Dellar, NME, September 1975
ONSTAGE ARE FUNGUS, five beards in search, of folk-rock fame... and they're singing in Dutch. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT Sean Tyla, late of Ducks Deluxe, is one of the finest and most distinctive rhythm players in town. ...
George Jones, Wanda Jackson: George Jones and Wanda Jackson at Hammersmith Odeon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
THE FOYER OF the Hammersmith Odeon was like Middle America gone London town, except the folks were mostly British and there wasn't a stetson to ...
Doors, The: The Doors (part 1): The Hunting of the Lizard King
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, September 1975
Visionary? Poet? Revolutionary? Or was he simply a narcissist with a drink problem? Either way he created a considerable legend. In the first of a ...
Starry-Eyed And Laughing: Starry-Eyed and Laughing - Thought Talk
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
WHILE AMERICAN COUNTRY Rock bands seem to spring up from everywhere, there has yet to be one from these shores who really convince. ...
Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
DEPENDING ON WHERE you part your hair, the Grateful Dead are either the finest rock'n'roll band in the world bar none... or else they are ...
John Cipollina, Man: Man and John Cipollina: Maximum Darkness
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1975
WHEN JOHN Cipollina's visit to England was announced earlier this year I made a conscious effort not to check him out. ...
Doors, The: The Doors Consumers' Guide, Part 1
Discography by Max Bell, NME, October 1975
"There are things that are known and things that are unknown; in between are the doors." ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers: Kingston Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, October 1975
THIS WEEK THE Kursaal Flyers waved a fond farewell to the London pubs with two rip-roaring nights at the Newlands in Peckham, and now the ...
Johnny Cash: The Gospel According to J.C.
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1975
IF I'D never heard of Johnny Cash and someone came up and described him to me, I can't think of any other entertainer, short of ...
Sylvia Robinson, Shirley Goodman: All Platinum Records: My Wife, The President…
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1975
IT'S NICE AND cool and dark in the back room of the bar, and you can sit in your booth and nurse a beer and ...
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, October 1975
VICTOR JARA sang songs for the people of Chile. In 1973, in the Santiago boxing stadium, a soldier cut off Jara's fingers before six thousand ...
Doors, The: The Doors (part 2): Incident in Miami
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, October 1975
...and JIM MORRISON'S FINAL DECAY. Fame may have made him crazier but the money hardly affected him – all it meant was he could buy ...
Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1975
INSTANT OPINION: BLOOD On The Tracks apart, Still Crazy is the best album you're likely to hear all year. ...
Doors, The: The Doors Consumers' Guide, Part 2
Guide by Max Bell, NME, October 1975
"This is the strangest life I've ever known" ...
Esther Phillips: Laissez-Faire in Bouffant Hair
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, October 1975
ESTHER PHILLIPS doesn't get too knocked out when she scores with a hit single. ...
Report by Vivien Goldman, NME, October 1975
Up T’NORTH, they don’t like London journalists snooping about. Still, this was a special occasion at the shrine of the " Northern Soul Scene." So ...
Bruce Springsteen: The Sprucing Of The Springbean
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1975
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Man, Myth or Monster? CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY reports from Houston, Texas ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, October 1975
OKAY, SO YOU'VE heard it all before: ...
Crickets, The: The Crickets: Back In Style
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1975
BUDDY HOLLY SO overshadowed The Crickets that one tends to forget that they went on to produce some very creditable work on their own after ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1975
REMEMBER WHEN YOU were young, listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes by torchlight? ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1975
I THINK IT was Lester Bangs who put forward the proposition that people who went to Black Sabbath concerts derived their pleasure from ingesting massive ...
Bert Jansch: 'Bert Jansch? Not Still Going, Is He?'
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, October 1975
Certainly he is, still alive and well and producing records; rumours of his retirement have been exaggerated. ...
Review by Miles, NME, October 1975
THE SLEEVE of this album, unhelpfully enough, doesn't give the history of these tracks, which are taken from the 500 plus hours of 16-track tape ...
Baker-Gurvitz Army: Watford Town Hall, Watford
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1975
THE HONEYMOON MAY have ended for the Baker-Gurvitz Army at the end of their first British tour in the early Spring. ...
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1975
IT BEGINS LATE, of course. ...
Motorhead, Blue Oyster Cult: Blue Oyster Cult, Motorhead: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1975
Heavy metal fatigue ...
Dr. Feelgood: The Slaughterhouse 4: Dr Feelgood and Mr Freud (Cert X)
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1975
MICK FARREN in the Abattoir with The Greatest Local Band In The World ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: I See The Bloodbath That Was Hamburg
Report by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1975
When a band start slashing each other's wrists before gigs you know they're confident. TONY STEWART applies the tourniquet to LYNYRD SKYNYRD on the eve ...
Elton John: Rock Of The Westies
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1975
FACT: ELTON JOHN is one of the nicest people ever to touch ground while walking. ...
Ginger Baker: “People Thought We Were Only Good For One Album. But We Made Another. So There”
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
Yes, success is getting a little nearer ever year for the BAKER GURVITZ ARMY! Report by CHRIS SALEWIZ ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
WELL, TO BE quite frank I thought they were fairly dreadful. ...
Freddie King: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
A NIGHT TO remember. "It's Blues time, ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome Freddie King." ...
Report and Interview by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
SO WHAT ABOUT The Snow Goose at the Royal Albert Hall, then? ...
Crosby Stills Nash and Young: CSNY: Graham Nash & David Crosby
Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, NME, November 1975
It’s hard to pin down the seventies. We're already half-way through and still there’s no significant characteristic about which we’ll be able to reminisce in ...
Al Jarreau: We Got By (Reprise)
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1975
HERE WE have a black singer/songwriter who's into heavy introspective lyrics which he puts across in a distinctly original manner. We'll get to his singing ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1975
THIS ONE'LL SORT out the liggers. ...
Outlaws, The: The Outlaws - The Outlaws
Review by Max Bell, NME, November 1975
CLIVE DAVIS COULD sell Chesty Morgan a subscription to Mark Eden. Consider previous adventures of his with Copperhead and the Rowan Brothers, two acts who ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
SHAVED FISH is all of John Lennon's post-Beatle singles scooped up and dumped onto one album, spiced up with a few relevant album tracks and ...
Brewer and Shipley: Welcome to Riddle Bridge
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
MIKE BREWER AND Tom Shipley are just plain lads at heart, from Oklahoma and Ohio. ...
Cliff Richard: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
A GIANT TUPPERWARE party. ...
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
"BEAT ON the brat, beat on the brat, beat on the brat with a baseball bat..." ...
Herman's Hermits, Dave Clark Five, The, Searchers, The: The Sound Of '64
Retrospective by Steve Turner, NME, November 1975
WHEN 'GLAD All Over', the third single by The Dave Clark Five, hit number one in Britain in January of 1964 it offered the media ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
THIS IS IT funk y'allThis is it right hereThis is it do ya hear me girlsAnd well they can't do it forya no nastier than ...
Ozark Mountain Daredevils: The Car Over The Lake Album
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
FOR A BUNCH of guys who are supposed to be averse to leaving their country ranch in Missouri for the hustle of the cities, the ...
Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart: Bongo Fury
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1975
THE STORY SO far. ...
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, November 1975
FRESHERS' WEEK IS a great time to visit Dublin's Trinity College. ...
Bob Dylan: Plymouth Memorial Hall, Mass. USA
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
BOB DYLAN'S ROLLING Thunder Revue hit the Plymouth Memorial Hall at 8.20 p.m. on Tuesday November 4.That's Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, by the way, and it ...
Dr. Feelgood: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
DEFINITELY a weird one. ...
Report by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
IT'S SATURDAY night, a good ten minutes after closing time. Down at the Hope and Anchor in Islington landlord Fred Granger is going quietly berserk, ...
Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, November 1975
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN says he just writes down his impressions of stuff whereas here in Hollywood, Calif., there are people in from New York who believe ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Rolled Gold
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1975
DECCA RECORDS, even though their past form on the subject of Rolling Stones albums is not immaculate, have now produced what is undoubtedly the definitive ...
Jimi Hendrix: Midnight Lightning and For Real
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
AND THE GHOST walks once more. ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1975
THERE WAS a time, I guess it must have been a couple of years ago now, when the J. Geils band were being hailed as ...
John Cale: Paradiso, Amsterdam
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
EUROPE'S MOST DECADENT capital: inflatable paramours dangling like trussed chickens in the windows of the sex shops, hookers in their shop windows, the smack centre ...
Emmylou Harris: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1975
THE OTHER ROLLING thunder revue stole into town last week. ...
Captain Beefheart: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
DON'T BELIEVE WHAT your mother tells you kids, there really is a Legion of Super Heroes. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
WHEN SASSAFRAS FIND the right single, they are going to be huge. ...
Gong: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, November 1975
THE HALL was packed. It was the kind of audience that likes to jostle like mad for the first half of the set, blast a ...
Report by Cliff White, NME, November 1975
TEN YEARS AGO Britain was set to become the R&B capital of the world. Between 1962 and '67 we were visited by so many legendary ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1975
FIRST ALBUMS THIS good are pretty damn few and far between. ...
Rory Gallagher: Against The Grain
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
DO YOU realise that Against The Grain is Rory Gallagher's seventh album since he split Taste? ...
Nosmo King: Northern White Soul: Nosmo King
Interview by Cliff White, NME, November 1975
A TALK WITH Steve King... er no... Nosmo Jameson... er... oh, Nosmo King, that's it. A talk with Nosmo King.* ...
Interview by Miles, NME, November 1975
YOU WON'T GET all sweaty or break a leg while listening to Tangerine Dream, but you will not be unmoved. You see, they haf vays ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
There is no truth in the rumour...that there is any truth in the rumour. So, alright you guys, what's to look so glum about? ...
Frank Sinatra: Palladium, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1975
ENFORCED AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION – that's what this "black tie" demand on the ticket is. Imagine reading "gauche gaucho" on Roxy tickets or "sequined jockstrap" on ...
Dr. John: Cut Me While I'm Hot and Hollywood Be Thy Name
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, November 1975
"DOCTOR JOHN THE Night Tripper, he's the King of New Orrlins". ...
Johnny Cash: Look At Them Beans
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1975
I FEAR JOHNNY Cash has turned his back on progress once again. ...
Temptations, The: The Temptations: House Party
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1975
IT'S COMFORTING TO have a few acts that you can rely on to keep supplying the goods, and The Temps certainly do deliver. ...
Yvonne Fair: Ths Story of Y: Yvonne Fair
Interview by Cliff White, NME, December 1975
That's "Y" for "Yvonne." YVONNE FAIR that is, Soul Veterenne and Dominatrix. Cringin' CLIFF WHITE listens to some old sounds, discovers a new kick and ...
Weather Report: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1975
TO MYSTERIOSO OR not to mysterioso – that was the question facing Weather Report last Thursday at nine p.m. ...
Back Street Crawler: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, December 1975
SOME UGLY MOMENTS here. ...
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1975
ONCE UPON a time in the early '60s when everybody suddenly started getting paranoid about advertising men, and half the people you met were convinced ...
Pretty Things, The: The Pretty Things: Greatest Hits 1964-1967
Review by Mick Farren, NME, December 1975
FOR A SHORT time, around the London clubs and art school dances, back in 1964, it seemed as though the Pretty Things might just unseat ...
Band, The: The Band: Northern Lights — Southern Cross
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1975
I'M UP AGAINST a deadline on this one, having to hurry – which is bad enough without having to respond fairly to a group operating ...
Elvis Presley: Pictures Of Elvis
Review by Mick Farren, NME, December 1975
THERE CAN BE little doubt that the Elvis Presley Sun collection was a compilation of some of his finest work. ...
Staple Singers, The: The Staple Singers: Let's Do It Again
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1975
IF MAYFIELD'S lyrics are anything to go by, this film must be whole lots of scenes of funky loving in which they do it again ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1975
IF EVERYONE HAD a pair of disco turntables as well as a telly, this record might sell a million. ...
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1975
WANT TO HEAR a shaggy dog story? O.K. Once upon a time there was a completely unknown band who were so exciting that ABC Records ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1975
HERE COMES ONE of the strongest reggae albums of this year, lately available only on import in specialist shops and now rushed out in Britain ...
Miracles, The: The Miracles: City Of Angels
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1975
WHAT A LETDOWN. ...
Climax Blues Band: Stamp Album
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1975
I'M SICK AND tired of bloody good bands. ...
Chris Farlowe: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, December 1975
HE'S REALLY ONLY back on the road to squeeze every last drop of success from his reactivated hit 'Out Of Time'. That's what you're expecting ...
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1975
LAST TIME PAUL Simon toured in Summer '73, he used a South American group, Urubamba, and an American gospel quartet, the Jessy Dixon Singers (Jessy ...
Cat Stevens: Bingley Hall, Stafford
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1975
THE HEROIC singer-songwriter begins solo: a white-shirted, dark-trousered speck of religious experience at the end of the cattle barn. The Laura Ashley winsome-ness of 'Moon ...
Steeleye Span: Making Sense Of Original Sin...
Report and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1975
IN BRITAIN we voted to stay in. In Eire and Denmark they voted to go in. In Norway the public answered the call to European ...
Roogalator: A More Satisfying Musical Climax With... ROOGALATOR
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, December 1975
NICK KENT feels the hot breath of London's hottest new band brush his ear, and appraises the fine and diverse arts of Roogalation. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1975
OVER ONE HUNDRED Santana fans coughed up the full twenty pounds for this triple live album when it first appeared on import. ...
Linda Lewis: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, December 1975
IT WAS A cold foggy night and there was a brass monkey sheltering in my hallway as I went in search of a Hansom to ...
Kilburn & The High Roads: Hope & Anchor, Islington, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, December 1975
AMONG CERTAIN CIRCLES, Ian Dury has gained a reputation as one of rock'n'roll's losers. ...
Overview by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1975
We kid you not.What else happened?Remarkably little actually. ...
Profile by Fred Dellar, NME, December 1975
THERE WAS A time when the Dutch folk scene just mirror-imaged that of Britain. For every traddie rendering 'Lord Randall' or 'Twa Corbies' at Loughborough ...
Bob Dylan: DYLAN does his first radio interview in eight years, and still manages to say nothing
Report by Miles, NME, December 1975
THE NEWS OF A RADIO interview with Bob Dylan, who rarely does such, caused Dylanologists, fans and degenerates to take up their trannies recently to ...
Rod Stewart, Faces, The: The Faces Dossier: An Everday Saga Of Mick&Rod&Keef&Ron&Mac
Report by Max Bell, NME, December 1975
MARCH, 1973. ...
Mr. Big: Mr Big: A Yob In A Support Band Is Something To Be
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1975
BIRMINGHAM – DICKEN IS your archetypal hardcase punk. Shortish. Face slightly disrupted from the original mould. Oxford accent. ...
James Brown: Everybody's Doin' The Hustle/Dead On The Double Bump (U.K. Polydor)/Hot (U.S. Polydor)
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1975
J.B. reforms the Famous Flames, says hello to '57 ...
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Harold Melvin: Wake Up Everybody
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1975
WHEN IS A group not a group? ...
Emmylou Harris: Emmylou's Four Star Hotel
Review by Barbara Charone, NME, January 1976
THE ELITE HOTEL is a swell place. It's best to travel there by car on a hot, sunny day with the windows rolled down, a ...
Strawbs, The: The Strawbs: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
AFTER AN ABSURDLY dramatic entry, this much loved male sextet took their places with a white suited Dave Cousins in the limelight. ...
Rumour, The: Rumour: Newlands Tavern, Peckham
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, January 1976
ARE THE Rumour really Pub-Rock's first Supergroup? Some people would tell you so, and they would have their reasons. ...
Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart: BLLLAAAaaaaahhhhh
Memoir by Miles, NME, January 1976
Actually, it didn't work. However, something that did work was the re-uniting of THE CAPTAIN and FRANK ZAPPA a few months ago for a tour ...
Van Dyke Parks: Clang Of The Yankee Reaper
Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
VAN DYKE PARKS is one of those people who are usually regarded as either genius or idiot. ...
Ringo Starr: Blast From Your Past
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1976
THE REASONS WHY Ringo has chosen this moment to release a Greatest Hits album are perhaps two-fold: ...
Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
EXPERIMENTAL AND AVANT-GARDE music, by its very nature, exists mainly in the fringe area of private pressings, such as the Musica or George Avakian productions ...
Cat Stevens: A Cat Stevens Spiritual Tours Vacation
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1976
RONALD BIGGS, the last of the Great Train Robbers still not in captivity, was finally run to ground by the Daily Express in a Rio ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, January 1976
THE RECORD came into the office round about lunchtime. At approximately three forty-five, I went into the review room, turned on the stereo and put ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1976
POOR OLD TODD'S taken a lot of stick of late, not least in this paper, for adhering to his mystical mind games in the face ...
David Bowie: Station To Station
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1976
"A sixty thousand word novel is one image corrected fifty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine times"– Samuel R. Delaney ...
Ronnie Lane: Can Rock Survive The Holocaust?
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1976
RONNIE LANE'S up in town today. Been up from the farm in Monmouthshire for about a week now. ...
Queen: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1976
IT'S DIFFICULT, YOU know, keeping up with all the fickle shifts in credibility and acceptability. ...
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, January 1976
IT'S ALL A far cry from Alfred Jarry. ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Schoolboys In Disgrace
Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
I LIKE THE KINKS a lot, but have to say that this album is a pretty uninspired collection of product. ...
Interview by Lenny Kaye, NME, January 1976
HIS HAIR IS short, coloured black and closely cropped, though not unnaturally so. He wears a red T-shirt and his body, which has fluctuated from ...
Ace, Graham Parker: Graham Parker: Southampton University, Southamption
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, January 1976
YOU CAN PICTURE the scene – it's the same one that goes down on the first night of every major college tour; equipment trouble, late ...
Decameron: Greenwich Borough Hall, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
THE GREENWICH BOROUGH Hall is on Peyton Place, and inside Decameron, have a problem. ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers: Brunel University, London
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, January 1976
THE ONLY REASON I KNOW for the Kursaal Flyers not to be as popular as sliced bread is that their first album was so badly ...
Elvis Presley: Okay, Kids... Which Twin is the Real Elvis?
Report by Mick Farren, NME, January 1976
"I'm gonna go infiltrate the International ELVIS PRESLEY Fan Club Convention", said MICK FARREN. ...
Ian A. Anderson: The Curse of the Lone Grinner
Profile and Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, January 1976
IF YOU bought a copy of a 1969 Island sampler called You Can All Join In, you'll probably remember the cover shot, which depicted most ...
Howlin' Wolf: ...Howlin’ for The Wolf
Retrospective by Cliff White, NME, January 1976
"I was just a country boy, glad to get some sounds on wax" ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1976
ARGUABLY, THERE IS no more exciting rock artist to listen to than one whose time has come; one whose art (not to mention attitude, appearance, ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, January 1976
In which BOBBY BARE, country singer of the '60's re-emerges with a bunch of Shel Silverstein songs and a socialism as potent as Keir Hardie's; ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, January 1976
SINCE HE split with The Animals and the Rock 'n' Roll mainstream to home in on the craftsmanship of Randy Newman, Price's career has seen ...
Country Joe & The Fish: Country Joe McDonald: Paradise With An Ocean View
Review by Mick Farren, NME, January 1976
Gimme a W, gimme an H, gimme an A, gimme an L... ...
Faces, The, Rod Stewart: Rod Stewart: It's My Party and I'll Pose If I Want To
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1976
THE GLAMOUR Twins were simply passing through, pausing at London Heathrow en route to Paris from Los Angeles. Still the newshounds contrived to be close ...
Sweet: The Sweet: Top of the Pops
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1976
OH, YOU know, it gets so very confusing. What with the fickleness of all these rock writers and the constant need to come across with ...
Fania All Stars, The: The Fania All Stars: Live
Live Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
A TERRIBLE HANGOVER and a record comes under the front door. I pluck up the courage to put it on (the cover has such loud ...
Ron Geesin: Cockpit Theatre, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
DRESSED IN RED shorts and jersey with white sneakers, Ron Geesin looks like a combination of Elton John and Alexander Solzhenitsyn but has the crazed ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, January 1976
Too many holiday brochures getting you down – let some real sun into your home... ...
Kraftwerk: Exceller-8, Radio-Activity
Review by Miles, NME, January 1976
EXCELLER 8 IS a 'best of album taken from the three Vertigo albums that Kraftwerk have released in this country and it's a good selection ...
10cc: The 10cc Fine Art Collection
Interview by Andrew Tyler, NME, February 1976
In which the Fab Four pick their Fabbest Fourteen to illustrate the ascent of sweetness, light, and the Technological Aesthetic to the neanderthal world of ...
Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, February 1976
Commander Cody: Good timin' in the Ozone zone ...
Blackbyrds, The: The Blackbyrds: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1976
BETCHA DIDN'T know there's such a thing as Black-byrdomania. Neither did I until this concert, when a quietly slumbering stalls suddenly became a heaving sea ...
Henry Cow: London School of Economics, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
SOMEHOW HENRY Cow all seem slightly amused to be on stage. This is one of the many communications going on between them, but mostly they ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: Kursaal Flyers: Surely This Band Is Too Young To Die?
Profile and Interview by Chas de Whalley, NME, February 1976
PAUL SHUTTLEWORTH'S Secret Ambition is to become a member of Equity, the Actors' Union. "Trouble is though," he told me, "You can't just pay your ...
Junior Byles: From the Dread Depths of Despair
Report by Penny Reel, NME, February 1976
JUNIOR BYLES emerged as the supreme talent of the year, if not of the decade. His moving 'Bur O Boy' was without peer. ...
Be-Bop Deluxe: Arty Smarty Or Just The Guitar Hero Next Door?
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1976
THE SAME sign as Hendrix: Sagittarius. Into Hank Marvin, Duane Eddy, Wes Montgomery, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and BB King. And Jimi Hendrix. ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1976
LAST AUTUMN, IN a move that marked a complete departure from previous practice, Joan Baez went out on the road in the States with a ...
Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
I DON'T UNDERSTAND it. Carole has gone back to recording demo discs again. ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth Wind & Fire: Gratitude
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1976
PROOF AT LAST that EWF deserve all the acclaim that's been heaped on them in the last couple of years. ...
Overview by Miles, NME, February 1976
With a rose clenched between his teeth, the man they call EL MILES infiltrates the heady, exotic world of the Strand Lyceum, where trousers are ...
Gladys Knight: The Best Of…, A Little Knight Music, Gladys Knight And The Pips
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1976
DON'T BE MISLED – The Best Of... actually refers to the best of Gladys and the 'Pips' Buddah output, but such is the strength of ...
Isley Brothers, The: The Isley Brothers: Twist And Shout, Super Hits
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1976
SOME RECORDINGS CRY out to be reissued. In fact they never should have been deleted in the first place. Others should never even have been ...
Quicksilver Messenger Service: Solid Silver
Review by Max Bell, NME, February 1976
YOU MAY REMEMBER Quicksilver Messenger Service as one of the most enigmatic West Coast bands from the acid-soaked sixties, and not just because they never ...
Julie Driscoll: Julie Tippett (Driscoll): Sunset Glow
Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
IN 1970 Julie Driscoll married Keith Tippett, the modern composer, and entered the mysterious other world of contemporary music. ...
Salsoul Orchestra, The: The Salsoul Orchestra: The Salsoul Orchestra (Epic)
Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
I ASKED Paul Atkinson, who decides these things at CBS, why he was releasing this album here. ...
Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, February 1976
RONEE BLAKLEY was the star of Robert Altman's Nashville, if you remember, the film that was universally condemned by the inhabitants of Music City U.S.A. ...
Toots & The Maytals: The Man Who Would Be God
Interview by Penny Reel, NME, February 1976
JAH TOOTS: "...tracks on my new album? Well, there's 'Reggae Got Soul' – that's the title track, you know – 'Never Go Down', 'Dog War', ...
Steve Hillage, Gong: Gong: Demise Of Teapot Heralds New Obscure Era
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1976
We proudly present GONG Now, in which assorted Gauls and other Foreigners explain (sort of) certain radical changes and new concepts which may extend the ...
Clancy: Kingston Polytechnic, London
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, February 1976
FOR A BAND which has been going for something like two-and-a-half years, which has survived the pub circuit and come out the other side, and ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, February 1976
WE ALL KNOW about Lynyrd Skynyrd. As barroom brawlers go, they don't come quite as gross as these six Southern redneck bruisers wired on Coors, ...
Toots & The Maytals: Toots Hibbert: The Man Who Would Be God
Profile and Interview by Penny Reel, NME, February 1976
Rasta revelations courtesy of FREDERICK "TOOTS" HIBBERT of Toots and The Maytals, who'd rather incarnate here and now than talk about old times with PENNY ...
James Last: Last of the MORicans
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1976
Forget that Kaspar Hauser. JAMES LAST – or "Hansi" if you prefer – is the real Enigma of modern Germany. TONY STEWART investigates. ...
Speedy Keen: Y'Know Wot I Mean?
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1976
ONE IF THE many things of which any court of law would instantaneously acquit Speedy Keen (along with singing in a thunderous bass voice and ...
Sex, Drugs And Violence In Rock: The Sexual Language Of Rock Part 1
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1976
"Eddie please write me one line,Tell me your love is only mine,Please Eddie, don't make me wait so long,You left me last September,To return to ...
David Bowie: Spiders from Mars
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1976
"We've still got the Bowie costumes. We can wear those.""Yeah, Dave was really into duffle coats for a hour and a half in them days." ...
10cc: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1976
THE MUSIC IS exactly as you'd expect it really. More or less. ...
Live Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
I LIKE GOING to concerts at L.S.E. because the audiences there are such fanatics. Such was the case with National Health, the audience being exceedingly ...
T. Rex: Lyceum Ballroom, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, February 1976
BORN TO BOOGIE, or born to Waltz? The story of an ageing teendream with the cheek to book himself into London's Lyceum Ballroom, without a ...
Kokomo, Kursaal Flyers, The: Kokomo/Kursaal Flyers: Guildford
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, February 1976
A VERY strange billing, Kokomo as support to the Kursaal Flyers. Now that seems to say something about relative popularity and the length of time ...
Maria Muldaur: Sweet Harmony (Warner Brothers)
Review by Miles, NME, February 1976
"BECAUSE OF the eclectic nature of her thing Maria goes through a lot of different styles – that's her thing, that's what she does, that's ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1976
IN 1968 IN Memphis, Tennessee, Willie Mitchell succeeded to the board of an ailing record company called Hi. ...
Sex, Drugs And Violence In Rock: The Sexual Language Of Rock Part 2
Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1976
"I'm gonna pick you up nowAnd carry you away,So you'd better pack up now, baby,Packin' up today,Here I come, just a big bad man,When I ...
Gil Scott-Heron: And now, for a fascinating and demanding dialogue...
Interview by Cliff White, NME, March 1976
Learn more about yourself and about the problem facing our society today in this week's... GIL SCOTT-HERON LECTURE ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1976
Big in the States. Still trying to breakthrough on the home turf. CHRIS SALEWICZ chews on a 'cheese and tomato' ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Eddie And The Hot Rods: Imperial College, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, March 1976
FIRST DUKE DUKE and the Dukes, now Eddie and the Hot Rods – Kursaal Flyers' manager Paul Conroy knows how to pick support bands. ...
Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle (Warner Brothers)
Review by Miles, NME, March 1976
"THERE’S A song of Kate McGarrigle’s, which Maria Muldaur sang on her first LP, called ‘Work Song’, which is about all the old songs that ...
Review by Miles, NME, March 1976
THE LINEUP CHANGES have been so substantial and the musical direction has altered so drastically since their last album (You), that Gong might have changed ...
Everly Brothers, The: The Everly Brothers: Songs Our Daddy Taught Us
Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1976
IN A QUIET sort of way, 1975 saw an Everly Brothers revival of sorts. Warner Brothers released their magnificent Walk Right Back With The Everlys, ...
Bobby Womack: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, March 1976
POLE-AXED BY SKIN-CRAWLING hot and cold flushes, with a head full of demented panel-beaters, the last thing I wanted to do was travel 50 miles ...
Deep Purple: Empire Pool, Wembley
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1976
AT THE Empire Pool, Deep Purple rule. The roaring audience of ten thousand or so press their hands to their heads as their ears get ...
Jess Roden: Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, March 1976
DRESSED IN the remains of a particularly dapper three-piece suit and with straight hair stretching to his collar and no further, British country-soulster Jess Roden ...
Steve Gibbons Band, Who, The: Who, Gibbons Face the Hog Butcher Vibe
Report by Mick Farren, NME, March 1976
The Who/Steve Gibbons Band: Pavillion de Paris ...
King Crimson: A Small Mobile Intelligent Independent Double Album???
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1976
King Crimson: A Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (Island) ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1976
WELL, HERE HE comes again. Bill Wyman, on face value the least likely Stone to strike out on his own account and yet, apparently, the ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1976
LAURA NYRO: fringed red velvet shawl over a lamp, candlelight, one line of cocaine on a mirror, a half-empty glass of red wine on the ...
Bobby Womack: BLAM! Bobby Womack Calls The Shots
Interview by Cliff White, NME, March 1976
CLIFF WHITE hits the floor and runs the tape as the soul veteran pulls the trigger. ...
Kevin Coyne: Coyne, The Unfrozen Currency
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1976
KEVIN COYNE kicks and stamps his feet outside the Atlantic Hotel in Aarhus, Western Denmark, as we waits for a taxi to take us to ...
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, March 1976
HORSLIPS ARE CURRENTLY between record companies, apparently by their own choice, but unlike thespians, who rest, the group are doing a series of gigs in ...
Report by Nick Kent, NME, March 1976
In downtown Manhattan the rock 'n' roll war rages on as potential crown princes of Punkdom battle for recognition.. NICK KENT interprets the action ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1976
STRANGELY ENOUGH, the thing that hits you first about these albums is not so much the excellence of the two gentlemen named in the titles ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, March 1976
IF YOU WANT to do Bobby Womack a favour, you'll ignore this album. ...
Twinkle Brothers, The: The Twinkle Brothers: Rasta Pon Top
Review by Penny Reel, NME, March 1976
EVER SINCE ITALIAN propagandists began spreading false rumours concerning the demise of the Emperor, Negus Ras Tafari, Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Conquering Lion ...
Interview by Max Bell, NME, April 1976
AT FIRST SIGHT, Bonnie Raitt isn't the world's most startling human being. In fact, she seems pretty damn ordinary. Quiet; medium height; plain; unkempt red ...
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Tasty, Urban Tension Classics…
Interview by Max Bell, NME, April 1976
MAX BELL says, "Kids, you gonna drive me to drinkin'. If you can't get next to HOT ROD thinkin'" ...
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, April 1976
IT'S MY IMPRESSION that Camel are becoming a band to reckon with. ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
THE KID was good. I have to hand it to him: he was good. ...
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Sweet America
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
IT TOOK ME a while to figure out where Buffy Sainte-Marie was at with Soldier Blue. ...
Interview by Miles, NME, April 1976
Headline contributed by the Mediterranean boatman lui-meme. Actually he was born in 1944. Fascinating, isn’t it? ...
Mike Dorane: The Lone Arranger
Interview by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
"Say, stranger...who's that masked man who just wrote those songs, played all the instruments, sang all the harmonies, mixed the tracks in his home studio ...
Bothy Band, The: The Bothy Band: Guinness Brigade in Nescafé experiment
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, April 1976
FOR SOME considerable time now, a new "underground" music situation has been developing. Not one concerned with any aspect of rock, but rather one that's ...
Fats Domino: New Victoria Theatre, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, April 1976
WHAT CAN I do? What can I say? How exactly can I prostrate myself? I guess there's no excuse for a rock critic who goes ...
Al Jarreau: Jarreau Gig At La Coupole Goes Molto Bene
Report and Interview by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
"THERE'S NO reason for my deserving this interview any more than the man out there pouring drinks, except that I try to say something through ...
Boxer: The Nude, The Boxing Glove And The Wooden Box
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1976
...a slightly misleading headline heralding an informative article on BOXER which does in fact refer to nudes, boxing gloves and wooden boxes. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
IRRATIONAL SCHMIR-RATIONAL; it still don't seem right to see a Man album without a United Artists logo on the label. ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, April 1976
"WHEN YOU'RE NUMBER two, you try harder." ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
M'lawds, ladies 'n' gennelmen, presenting the new album by... ...
John Denver: Palladium, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1976
WILL JOHN SWOOP down to the stage on the back of a pantomime Golden Eagle? Will his teeth be clean in time for the new ...
Moody Blues, The: The Moody Blues
Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, NME, April 1976
It all seemed as though it should have had some connection with what I was there for. ...
Third World: Third World (Island import)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
THIRD WORLD were the support act at Bob Marley and The Wailers' Lyceum concerts last summer, where they provided the kind of pleasant surprise that's ...
Ike & Tina Turner: Her Man, His Woman
Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
RECORDED AND FIRST released as the Get It, Get It L.P. on the L.A. Cenco label circa 1965, this album was snapped up by Capitol ...
Global Village Trucking Company: Global Village Trucking Company (Caroline)
Review by John Tobler, NME, April 1976
THIS IS not so much an album, more an epitaph; the GVTC disbanded during last summer, largely due, I suspect, to the fact that they ...
Pavlov's Dog: At The Sound Of The Bell
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1976
Condition your reflexes the Pavlov way! ...
Osibisa: Fairfield Hall, Croydon
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, April 1976
ONLY CRITICAL SNOBBERY could deny Osibisa the distinction of having played one of the finest sets I have seen this side of Christmas. On this ...
Brook Benton, Three Degrees, The, Stylistics, The: Stylistics: 'Chitlins In A Basket' Special
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
Stylistics/Brook Benton/Three Degrees: The Palladium, London ...
Dr. Alimantado: The Curious Case of Dr. Alimantado
Profile by Penny Reel, NME, April 1976
"Ere Jah Man!""Ites!""Whadda word Babylon mean, dread?" ...
Profile and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, April 1976
What’s squeaky-clean, exquisitely produced, Scandinavian and goes OOMPAH? The answer to the riddle is ABBA ...and here’s MICK FARREN to ask it. ...
Magna Carta: Funky Folk Deliver Body Blow To Public Transport
Profile and Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, April 1976
IT WAS late, pretty late. And it was in an era where public transport seems loathe to operate when darkness falls. ...
Tammy Wynette: Boots, Brandy, Boots, Bouffants + Buffy
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, April 1976
THERE WERE more Stetson hats than you could shake a stick at in Wembley last weekend. ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones: Black And Blue
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1976
"THE ROLLING STONES are a really good band, but, like, I consider them like a boys' band because they don't play mens music. They don't ...
Review by John Tobler, NME, April 1976
THIS IS KEVIN COYNE'S seventh album in as many years, and I find it the most satisfying record he's made since the second (and final) ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers: The Great Artiste
Review by John Tobler, NME, April 1976
I'VE BEEN PLAYING this album to the exclusion of all else over the last couple of weeks: it comes as something of a shock to ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
THAT THIS ALBUM has already been such an overwhelming success in America must surely be due to US Columbia's marketing techniques rather than the music, ...
Brook Benton: This Is Brook Benton
Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1976
THIS MONTH'S MIND-BLOWER: The Benton basement tapes surface after 18 years in the can and turn out to be a bag of fun for all ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1976
IF EVER A GROUP have made it huge in America by carefully manipulated saturation in terms of records, concerts and promotion then Kiss are that ...
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Never Argue With A Pregnant Indian: Buffy Sainte-Marie
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1976
CARL PERKINS looks glazed. Teeth, eyes, toupee, rhinestoned double-knit denim-look casuals: all veneered with the same hospital-tile finish as the off-white Tele-caster that Perkins is ...
Genesis, Bill Bruford: Bill Bruford
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1976
ARE YOU quite sure that you're definitely not joining Genesis full-time? ...
Kevin Coyne: New Theatre, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, May 1976
WITHOUT DOUBT ONE of the most powerful presentations I've ever attended. When it was over Kevin was drained, his band was drained, the audience was ...
Rick Wakeman: Art with a Capital F***
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1976
RICK WAKEMAN on the aesthetic of bodily functions, as applied to rock concerts. "We'll have none of that thank you, we're English." ...
Louis Jordan: The Best Of Louis Jordan/Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1976
SUFFERING FROM HEAVY metal fatigue? Bunions on your disco feet? Are you too pooped to pop, too puked with punk rock, rasta'd rigid by reggae ...
Review by John Tobler, NME, May 1976
A MEANINGFUL title. Three years ago, the duo of Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman made a very good album for Elektra, which received critical acclaim ...
Gladys Knight: Things happen when you're a disciple of Buddah...
Interview by Cliff White, NME, May 1976
But it helps if you're GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS. Here's how things are going, as told to CLIFF WHITE. ...
Johnny Walker: The Rock Assassination Takes Place On Tuesday Between 11 .30 And Four
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1976
JOHNNY WALKER has seen a lot of bloodshed, and a poor disc jockey can only take so much... To cut a long story out, he's ...
Gladys Knight & the Pips: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1976
HORACE SILVER to Brain Case, NME, May 1st 1976. "I'd prefer just reports on concerts rather than a critique." Quite right too, Horace. O.K. then. ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Too Rolled To Stone
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1976
THE NICE THING about the law of gravity is that it applies to everybody. ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1976
A COUPLE of weeks ago our very own Mr. Murray suffered a bitter anti-climax after waiting nigh on two years to hear the latest ...
Review by John Tobler, NME, May 1976
JIMMY BUFFETT and Steve Goodman seem to have a lot more in common than the fact that their names have the same number of letters. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1976
DEFINITION: SCAM – THE scenario for a confidence trick. The lowdown on same. The stage preparatory to the heist or sting. ...
Nils Lofgren: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1976
I SAW LOFGREN'S gig at the same theatre at the end of last year. It was duff. His band didn't gell and the sound was ...
David Bowie: The Man Who Fell Into Sinatra's Suit
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1976
IT'S HALF PAST five on Sunday afternoon and I still don't know how to start this thing. Only David Bowie could return like the Prodigal, ...
Retrospective by Miles, NME, May 1976
TEN YEARS AGO THE PINK FLOYD were a semi formed idea in the mind of one SYD BARRETT. Nine years ago they were the darlings ...
Ian Hunter: An American Alien Boy
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1976
THERE EXISTS A subtle difference between a tax exile and an expatriate. ...
Jesse Winchester: Learn To Love It
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1976
THIS IS BOTH Jesse Winchester's third album and his third good album. ...
Ramones, The: The Ramones: Ramones (Sire — Import)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1976
A WEEK back, if you'd asked me nicely, I'd have dogmatically opined that Ramones – SASD 7520 – was absolutely the most grievous hot rock ...
Elvis Presley: Elvis: Well, Bless-uh Muh Soul, What's-uh Wrong With Me?
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, May 1976
WHEN AN artist hasn't produced anything of note for something like 14 years, the world begins to judge him on just about anything but his ...
Kiss: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1976
THE LADY on the door was most persuasive. "Would you take a Kiss mask? Please...go on have a couple, we're trying to get rid of ...
Profile and Interview by John Tobler, NME, May 1976
"I WASN'T disturbed by having a hit – I was exhausted! Before The Joker became successful we'd done 220 concerts in the previous year. Then ...
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, May 1976
Meet the man who put dues-paying into the big league: LEE GARRETT. Born blind into a poor family and a drifter by his teens, Garrett ...
Patti Smith: At Last, The Lower Manhattan Show
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, May 1976
Miles sees the Patti Smith Group at the Roundhouse, London ...
Caravan: Blind Dog at St. Dunstan’s (BTM/Arista)
Review by Miles, NME, May 1976
WHEN THE members of Caravan pulled down their trousers, bent over, and revealed the name of their last album spelt out on their white English ...
Chuck Berry, 49, Denies Knowledge of the Previous 48
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, May 1976
Chuck (Crazy Legs) Berry, top ten contender for the title "King of rock and roll", has been referred to as the greatest black folk poet ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: The Rock 'N' Roll Circus Hits Town
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1976
THE ROLLING STONES first night at Earl's Court, back in the ol' U.K. NICK KENT was there. Need we say more? ...
Review by Penny Reel, NME, May 1976
THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS emerged in the wake of the resurgence of interest in Burning Spear – "I and I, son of the Most High – ...
Bellamy Brothers, The: The Bellamy Brothers: Let Your Love Flow
Review by John Tobler, NME, May 1976
YOU MUST have heard the single which gives this its title, and there's little doubt that the Bellamy Brothers are a distinctly classy addition to ...
Tom Waits: Would you say this man was attempting to convey an impression of sordid Bohemianism?
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, June 1976
I CAME IN on the southbound flyer, then hoofed it halfway across town to see Tom. From a nearby window drifted the sound of Billie ...
Profile and Interview by John Tobler, NME, June 1976
CERTAIN QUALITIES seem to be needed for a musician to become a hero to the man in the street who buys a lot of records ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1976
I GUESS that one of the main functions of any greatest hits album is to explain to anyone who isn't a hard core fan exactly ...
Meters, The: The Meters: The Battle of New Orleans Re-visited...
Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, NME, June 1976
It's a battle ART NEVILLE of THE METERS is still fighting. He's happy about being on the Stones tour – but angry at never having ...
Stomu Yamashta, Steve Winwood: Winwood & Yamashta: GO GO GO
Interview by Miles, NME, June 1976
MILES, our resident Grand Master of cosmic funk, unscrews the inscrutable and accompanies STEVIE WINWOOD and STOMU YAMASHTA into the infinite as they discuss, rehearse ...
Tom Waits: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Fred Dellar, NME, June 1976
HE TAKES the stage with what he describes as his don't care-a-shit shuffle. Very apt ...
Millie Jackson: Free And In Love
Review by Cliff White, NME, June 1976
OOWEE, LORD HAVE mercy. This girl just turns me to jelly every time she opens her mouth. ...
Steve Goodman: Words We Can Dance To
Review by John Tobler, NME, June 1976
AFTER A three year gap since his two Buddah albums, this is Steve Goodman's second LP in less than a year, which presumably means that ...
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, June 1976
AS YOU CAN all quite well-imagine, the letters that get themselves printed in Gasbag (or Dogbag or Ratbag or Scumbag or whatever jiveass name we've ...
Genesis: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, June 1976
IF YOU take the trouble to embroider "Genesis" in fancy letters on the back of your pressed denim jacket, or if you are prepared to ...
Michael Chapman: The Body In The Lake and Other Stories
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1976
SO THERE we were sitting in the studio drinking wine and talking rock and roll talk when Rick Kemp shouldered in, slammed the door and ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1976
THIS BOY certainly eats up producers. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1976
ABOUT EIGHT OR nine months ago I was preposterously drunk in the Bottom Line club in New York watching the Roger McGuinn Band. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1976
ONCE UPON A TIME the idea of liking Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes was considered remarkably unhip. Poor old Ted and his boys were ...
Outlaws, The, Little Feat: Little Feat/The Outlaws: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, June 1976
THE OUTLAWS ARE really pretty much your standard ranch stash. Three lead guitars primed to shit-kicking yee-ha, mighty purty 'n' all but lame beneath the ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1976
THERE WERE EXACTLY four things wrong with the final show by the Wailers at Hammersmith last Friday. ...
Tangerine Dream: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, June 1976
T-DREAM HAVE BEEN described as everything from 'the most advanced development of progressive rock' to 'electronic muzak'. The band generates controversy probably because people are ...
Michael Chapman: Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1976
IT'S TERRIBLE HOW people sometimes get the wrong idea, it really is. ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1976
RIOTS LAST NIGHT they said, marauding hordes of smart, mean kids swarming around getting illegal all over the place with property and the concession stands ...
Michael Chapman: Savage Amusement (Decca)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1976
ABOUT THE only thing that Michael Chapman has in common with Laura Nyro, apart from vast merit, is that a lot of people find the ...
Spirit: America: The Titanic Might Be Sinking, But There Are Plenty Of Lifeboats Left
Essay by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
BACK IN this very spot, Mick Farren pulled out his critical cudgels and delivered a sorely needed attack on the current state of rock'n'roll. ...
Outlaws, The: The Outlaws: Southernly Last Summer...
Interview by Miles, NME, July 1976
I'M SITTING in a dressing room at Celtic Park football ground. In the distance the Glasgow crowd is rootin' for Alex Harvey, but as the ...
Soft Machine: The Soft Machine: Hammersmith Palais, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, July 1976
IT WAS a surprise to see so many people in the heat and the gloom of the Hamersmith Palais to see Soft Machine, because in ...
Kevin Ayers: Yes, it's make it or break it time again...
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, July 1976
This week: well known pataphysician KEVIN AYERS — Fortune teller: MILES ...
Mr. Big: Mr Big: Oh No…Not Another Geezer With Hooter Problems!
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1976
THERE'S A bleedin' ennui OD here in the audience tonight. Not that they're into being-super-blase or super-arrogant. It's just that this is the hottest day ...
Ohio Players, The, War: War & The Ohio Players: Say It Loud, I'm Black an' My Bank Manager's Proud
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, July 1976
WAR and THE OHIO PLAYERS fall into a similar category –- two flash, young(ish) outfits with artistic and financial freedom and an interesting line in ...
J. Geils Band: J Geils Band: Blow Your Face Out (Atlantic)
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
FOR A BAND who've been as ludicrously misrepresented by their critics as the incomparable J. Geils Brew, Blow Your Face Out must be the best ...
Parliament, Bootsy Collins: The Amazing Disco-Man from Planet X
Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1976
PARLIAMENT: Mothership Connection (Casablanca)BOOTSY'S RUBBER BAND: Stretchin' Out (Warners) ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
AEROSMITH HAVE GOT the whole situation psyched. ...
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, July 1976
WHEN ALL AROUND YOU is brown, burnt, pink or peeling and you're tired of squinting in the glare it's time to consider... ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1976
ERIC BURDON'S notorious reputation as an abusive boozed-up Geordie ruffian might only have been part of rock's mythology, but at the moment it appears to ...
Alan Parsons: Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, July 1976
A bearded, disembodied head appeared in the darkness. My blood ran cold. It was PARSONS I saw... ...
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
MAYBE IT WAS no accident that the hottest, steamiest, dirtiest night of the year was reserved for July 4. It's not every day that we ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1976
SPEAKING AS someone who knows little more about Joe Cocker than he does about me, I am perhaps not the most fitting person in the ...
Ramones, The: The Ramones: 'Waitin' for World War III' Blues
Interview by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
JOEY RAMONE is wandering around the empty Roundhouse, looking vacant and clutching a brand new camera under his arm like a teddy bear substitute. A ...
Crusaders, The: Crusaders: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
THE HELL WITH it, let's be dogmatic and lay down a truth that was already manifest before their historic visit. When it comes to pumping ...
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1976
CURIOUS BUSINESS, this intercontinental jet travel. High altitude transportation appears to have a spectacularly adverse effect on Britrockers' vocal chords. Old Jagger, now: there are ...
Flamin' Groovies, The: Flamin’ Groovies: It Ain't Much Fun Bein' In The Import Bins' Blues
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
SOMETIMES DEJA VU gets to choke you up. After ten years of trying to prove themselves the Flamin' Groovies must be wondering just what the ...
Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band: Live Bullet
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1976
I GUESS YOU could say that Bob Seger and Ted Nugent are the last of the Michigan cowboys. ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: SAHB Stories
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1976
ROUND ABOUT THE third revamp of Captain Marvel (that's Marvel's Captain Marvel, not the other one), they changed his billing from The Sensational Captain Marvel ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1976
IT WAS FUNNY, though, wasn't it? ...
Review by Miles, NME, July 1976
MOST OF US drift into comfortable mediocrity; in the end it's hard to avoid, particularly if your career had dumped wads and wads of money ...
Back Street Crawler: Leaving Coffins Outside Dressingrooms is Sick
Interview by Miles, NME, July 1976
Just one of the problems Back Street Crawler have had to contend with since the death of Paul Kossoff. Terry Slesser explains. ...
Crusaders, The: After a Quarter of a Century, Yes, It’s Overnight Success
Interview by Cliff White, NME, July 1976
Yup, it's taken a little time. Uhhuh, that's right – 25 years of bein' hot stuff. But for THE CRUSADERS worldwide acceptance does at last ...
Runaways, The: The Runaways: And I Wonder…I Wah Wah Wah Wah Wonder…
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1976
THE CORRAL lies maybe midway down Topanga Canyon, between Ventura Freeway and Malibu Beach. Maybe it's just the Romantic in me but visually – and ...
Twiggy: Royal Festival Hall, London
Live Review by Fred Dellar, NME, July 1976
I GUESS they popped the champers at Phonogram after this glitzy shindig at the Home of Fest. For hadn't Mike Harding, had 'em clutching at ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1976
WILD TCHOUPITOULAS extend an invitation to all those who've ever loved New Orleans music... ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Steal Your Face
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
SURPRISE, SURPRISE. THE new Dead album is coming in for the most monumental panning. Seems that for the past four years (at least) they've been ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1976
THE YELLOW CAB has taken me just over half the distance down to 6565 Sunset Boulevard before I notice the driver look in his rearview ...
Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Kate And Anna McGarrigle: Kiss Me Till My Mouth Gets Numb
Interview by Miles, NME, July 1976
The harrowing tale of two sisters who narrowly missed getting typecast as nuns when their real thing is foolin’ around in bathrooms... Seriously though, we ...
Deep Purple: Why The Purpling Had To Stop
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1976
In which TONY STEWART listens patiently while IAN PAICE and DAVID COVERDALE explain (within the limits of decent reticence and Not Ratting On Mates)... ...
John Prine: Regent's Park, London
Live Review by John Tobler, NME, July 1976
IT MUST have been a terrible choice between seeing John Prine (and perhaps Steve Goodman?) at Regent's Park, and checking out the first British gig ...
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1976
ALTHOUGH I IMAGINE it could be a disaster area if it rained, Cardiff Castle on a fine day is an ideal spot for a one ...
Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, July 1976
And yet more folksiness as Kate & Anna McGarrigle BLITZ OVER LONDON ...
Profile and Interview by Miles, NME, July 1976
Something with Integrity has descended among us (from California as it happens). It's AUTOMATIC MAN. It landed in the Marquee. MILES was there ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1976
How Kapt. Kopter kept coming back California, a bona fide genius guitar hero. Who says so? Max Bell says so. ...
Luther Allison: Luther Dusts His Broom
Report by Cliff White, NME, August 1976
HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW that Motown had a blues man on their books? Yeah that's right, blues. Amazing, is it not? Luther Allison's his ...
Don Covay: Travelin' In Heavy Traffic
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1976
AN APPRAISAL OF THE VIRTUES OF MR. DON COVAY ...
Sam Cooke: Twistin' The Night Away
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1976
BETWEEN 1960 and 1963 more Twist albums hit the market than the total spinoff products from Elvis, The Beatles and Jaws. ...
Boz Scaggs: Central Park, New York
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, August 1976
STROLLING THROUGH New York's Central Park on a hot and sultry Friday afternoon was pretty much like reliving a David Peel song. The paths and ...
Parliament, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic: It's a PARLIAFUNKADELIC-BOOTSYMENT THANG!!
Interview by Cliff White, NME, August 1976
"THERE'S a lot of chocolate cities around. We got Newark, we got Gary, somebody told me we got L.A. And we're working on Atlanta. But ...
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1976
Nectar of strychnine! Seminal psychedelic trip-wire rock'n'roll! Geometric chaos! Neo-nuclear Pearl Harbour precision! Flash-pod explosion! Blood-on-snow controlled fury! Boot-heeling dangerous! ...
Stax: Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)...
Report by Cliff White, NME, August 1976
CLIFF WHITE charts the fall of Stax Records ...
Linda Ronstadt: Hasten Down The Wind (Asylum)
Review by Miles, NME, August 1976
LINDA RONSTADT has taken a tip from Carly Simon and taken off her bra for an album sleeve – not that she ever did wear ...
Country Joe & The Fish: Country Joe MacDonald: The Essential Country Joe McDonald
Review by John Tobler, NME, August 1976
ALTHOUGH THERE have been three compilations of his work with the Fish, this is the first collection covering Country Joe's seven solo albums. ...
Real Thing, The: The Real Thing
Interview by Cliff White, NME, September 1976
THE REAL THING seems to be an apt name for a trio who are determined to succeed on their own merits and not as a ...
Bryan Ferry, Uriah Heep: John Wetton: I Have Nothing To Hide Shock
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1976
John Wetton reflects on past problems with Uriah Heep – and on his future plans which, among other things, involve working with Ferry. ...
Dr. Feelgood: Hope & Anchor, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
REAL CASE of dejaja vuvu it was, the night the Feelgoods played the Hope. To readers outside London the Hope and Anchor may just be ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
Our Islington correspondent mingles with the Sex Pistols' portable audience looking for Johnny Rotten's toof. It's incisive stuff… ...
Arthur Brown: Live at Speakeasy, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
THE LAST time I saw Arthur Brown work he perpetrated one of the most numblingly embarrassing performances I can recall, one that still festers in ...
Mighty Diamonds, U Roy: Mighty Diamonds/U Roy/Delroy Washington: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, September 1976
The Lyceum rockers wore dreadlocks, the Aldwych wouldn't do the Strand; the rude bwoys were on a ballroom blitz; and PENNY REEL reports on a ...
Bobby Womack: B.W. Goes C&W (United Artists)
Review by Cliff White, NME, September 1976
RECORDED BEFORE Safety Zone last year, this is the set that Bobby had intended to call Black In The Saddle. UA wouldn't release it at ...
Review by Miles, NME, September 1976
CAPITOL RADIO are blitzing Can's top-40 commercial rock number 'I Want More' right now; it is typical that the band would choose to issue it ...
Burning Spear: Man In The Hills
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
NEXT TO THE current crop of wild-eyed wired-op weird-asses coming out of JA these days, Burning Spear sound almost conservative. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
Support your local Spades!! ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1976
AFTER MY initial listening to this album I was going to take the easy way out, fob off with a few jokes about the Raga ...
Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers: Kevin Ayers/Soft Machine: Edinburgh Playhouse
Live Review by Miles, NME, September 1976
AN INTERESTING booking, Kevin Ayers – one of the founding members of Soft Machine – playing on the same bill as their present, 14th, line-up ...
Jefferson Starship: Skate Board Grounds the Starship
Report by Mick Farren, NME, September 1976
I WAS WOKEN up by the phone. I had some trouble working out where I was. It took a few seconds to realise that I ...
Don Harrison Band: The Don Harrison Band
Interview by John Tobler, NME, September 1976
HERE'S A question that's been puzzling me: just how did the Don Harrison Band, who are rather less than a familiar name, get on the ...
Band, The: ...Mounties, Maple Syrup: The Band at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, September 1976
RUMOURS HAD BEEN circulating (the way rumours always do) for some months. They claimed that there was some kind of rift between The Band and ...
George Hatcher Band, The, Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: City Hall, Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1976
HERE IN Sheffield there's a local aphorism along the lines of "Tha' works 'ard, so bloody well play hard". It fits. Most of the concerts ...
Bay City Rollers, The: The Bay City Rollers: The View From Seat A6
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1976
"Then one day I found a perfect plan,I shake my ass and sing in a rock and roll band,From now on there'll be no compromisin'Rock ...
Rick Derringer: This Man Is Aiming To Kill
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1976
Excuse the pun – it's Rick Derringer, of course, knockin' 'em down with hardnose rock'n'roll. ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, September 1976
AS SOME OF you regulars out there have probably long suspected, I have a certain difficulty in being strictly objective about the work of Bob ...
Band, The: The Band: The Best Of The Band
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1976
ANYTHING THAT allows The Band to maintain their self-imposed torpor should be actively discouraged, and it is with this sentiment in mind that I proposed ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1976
THERE ARE only a few things you need to know about J.J. Cale. ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Blues-type Situation With Relative Roots: Johnny 'Guitar' Watson
Interview by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
"I'M SO excited man, I don't know, Jesus Christ, everything is really so grand, the company seems to be so together and I think I'm ...
June Tabor: Sensuous Librarian Reveals All
Interview by Fred Dellar, NME, October 1976
SUDDENLY MY HEART STARTED TO POUND. ...
Kool and the Gang: Kool And The Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
DO YOU ever feel out of touch? Secure in the calm of your own head while all about you are losing theirs. It's a disquieting ...
Marvin Gaye: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Cliff White, Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1976
WELL, IT finally happened. After much speculation, confusion and gnashing of teeth, the rehirsuted one arrived in Britain for the first time in 12 years, ...
Eater, Buzzcocks, The: The Buzzcocks, Eater: Holdsworth Hall, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1976
YOU CAN count on Manchester to be 48 months behind apparent national trends. Like, reggae is largely frowned upon: crunching hard rock bands employing predictable ...
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
IT'S 1 A.M. and I've just about survived a ludicrous Sunday, beginning at some ungodly hour I never knew existed and exercising patience I never ...
Runaways, The: The Runaways: From Jailbait to Jes' Plain Bait
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1976
Q: How do you persuade five young LA Teen Queens to clean up their act?A: Put 'em in a group and make 'em famous ...
Kris Kristofferson: Surreal Thing
Review by John Tobler, NME, October 1976
THERE APPEARS to be a ridiculously large number of "established" artists making records which, were they by an unfamiliar name, would not only sell zero ...
Meters, The: The Meters: Trick Bag
Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
DAY ONE: can't get past the third track. Before reaching it, 4.08 mins of 'Disco Is The Thing Today' revealed a commercial, characterless leap onto ...
Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen: Hot Licks, Cold Steel And Truckers' Favourites
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1976
We've Got A Live One Here ...
Gladiators, The: The Gladiators: Trenchtown Mix Up
Review by Penny Reel, NME, October 1976
RED HOT IN BABYLON OR MAUVE IN THE GROVE ...
Marvin Gaye: The Marvin Gaye Interview: Earthly Fights and Mystic Flights
Interview by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
"HOW ARE you? I must say you have the patience of Job." ...
Natalie Cole, Tavares: New Victoria Theatre, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1976
NATALIE COLE is an MOR sophisticated lady, right? An exceptional singer in the mould of Aretha Franklin who's chosen to, or been persuaded to, don ...
Be-Bop Deluxe: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, October 1976
AT £2.50 a ticket I was expecting to hear the words, particularly from a group whose lyrics are so important, but the thousand or so ...
Waylon Jennings: Are You Ready For The Country
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1976
Waylon breaks thru' Nashville's blanket defense ...
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, October 1976
RUMOURS THAT the New Musical Express has deliberately pursued a course of hostility towards Stevie Wonder are, of course, utterly without foundation; but (even at ...
Dictators, The: The Dictators: The Handsomest Man In Rock And Roll
Interview by Max Bell, NME, October 1976
You may have been ready for Patti 'n' the Pistols 'n' the Ramones, but are you as ready as MAX BELL for The DICTATORS and... ...
Kraftwerk, National Health: Krautwerk: This is what your fathers fought to save you from...
Live Review by Miles, NME, October 1976
Kraftwerk, National Health: The Roundhouse, London ...
Hawkwind: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, October 1976
TIGER OPENED to a leaden audience who failed to be moved even by big Nicky Moore, twisting and turning through the vocals like a giant ...
Flamin' Groovies, The: The Flamin' Groovies: Teenage Head
Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1976
I MUST confess that when I was first confronted with the Flamin' Groovies, I was not impressed. ...
Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne: I Got Sensitive Didn't I
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1976
BLACK SABBATH'S Ozzie Osbourne has changed his personality since we last met. He is no longer vulgar and ingenuous. Instead, he is composed and carefully ...
Aerosmith: Gonna Have Me A Real Wild Time…I'm Going To Harrods
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1976
BRAD WHITFORD wears a grey roll-neck sweater and faded jeans. He looks slightly insecure up there on the stage of the Liverpool Empire. Tom Hamilton ...
Patti Smith: Welcome To The Monkey House
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1976
"IT'S LIKE...I'm not ever gonna be a hundred per cent cool, y'know...I mean, for you to like even try to be a hundred per cent ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1976
NOW HERE'S what you do for openers. You get someone to blindfold you, put boxing gloves on your hands, tie a maddened rhino to your ...
Spirit: If You Value Your Life, On No Account Read This Headline
Interview by Max Bell, NME, October 1976
...because if you do you'll have to read the feature which is about RANDY CALIFORNIA of SPIRIT. He's a very far-out person. He says so. ...
Peter Frampton, Gary Wright: Peter Frampton: Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1976
Rock genius...or just another biodegradable pretty boy? C. SALEWICZ sinks his nashers in P. FRAMPTON's persona and finds it... ALL SMILE AND NO TEETH! ...
Albert King: Truckload Of Lovin'
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1976
HOT DAMN! Way it looks to this white boy, Albert King just has to be to the blues what John Wayne is to cowboy movies, ...
Doctors of Madness, The: The Doctors Of Madness: Live in Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1976
THE DOCTORS of Madness have shot disjointed from dissident Velvet Underground empty emotions and heavy-eyed exasperation, the Bowie of Diamond Dogs admission that conventional revolution ...
Vangelis: The Moans And The Stares, An Ouzo And Thee
Profile and Interview by Miles, NME, November 1976
I THOUGHT I was in for a real treat. ...
Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band: Night Moves (Capitol)
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
WHEN YOU'VE just made one of the year's classic live albums, following it can be a bit of a problem. ...
Sun Records reissues: Rock’n’Roll – first dinosaur still extant
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1976
CLIFF WHITE examines a major re-packaging of Sam Philips' Sun catalogue. ...
Max Romeo & the Upsetters: War In A Babylon
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
I WAS a soft-porn-skankin' rude boy in a mohair suit until I discovered RASTAFARI!!!! ...
Boz Scaggs: Bar-Room Brawls Are Out Man — I've Gotten Sophisticated
Interview by Max Bell, NME, November 1976
Yes, this is one for the, err, cognoscenti. It's BOZ SCAGGS man – but coming on strong like Bryan Ferry's wardrobe. Admirer MAX BELL talks ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley and the Wailers: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
THERE WERE EXACTLY FOUR things wrong with the final show by the Wailers at the Hammersmith last Friday. ...
David Essex: Manchester Palace, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1976
CLEAN ROCK from the super slick, sadly lackadaisical David Essex Band at the plush Manchester Palace is a harmless way to waste a few hollow ...
Jonathan Richman: Town Hall, New York City
Live Review by Lester Bangs, NME, November 1976
THE FUNDAMENTAL things apply, as time goes by. Like Sister Ray, for instance. It had only been out for a couple of years when Jonathan ...
Graham Parker: Believe Everything You Hear
Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1976
IT'S LUCKY for Graham Parker that he's come along at a time when the Jack Nicholson Academy of professional Beautiful Losers is providing the most ...
Ronnie Prophet, Lynn Anderson, Steve Young: Nashville
Report by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
An Englishman's adventures in the city of the rhinestone kings. Mick Farren was that Englishman. ...
Dr. Feelgood: It's only Rock 'n' Roll ...But it's crowded
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
MICK FARREN bares armpits and gets sweaty (and drunk) with DOCTOR FEELGOOD ...
Steeleye Span: The Universalisation Of Steeleye Span
Report and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1976
SALLY JEAN IS DARK, demure and very attractive. Though well-dressed, well-spoken and well-meaning, she is alas also well dull. For over two hours now she ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1976
RY COODER isn't the only person using a Mariachi band at the moment. ...
Captain Beefheart: Beefheart Discovers “World's Greatest Band” Sensation
Interview by Miles, NME, November 1976
I CALLED Captain Beefheart the other day. His huge voice came booming down the phone even though I'd probably woken him up. ...
Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page: Jimmy Page: The Roaring Silence
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1976
I WAS IN New York when they last asked me to write a thing on Led Zeppelin. An American magazine, it was, with strict deadlines ...
Johnny Guitar Watson: Newcastle Polytechnic
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1976
AFTER THIRTY interviews in two days Johnny Watson's throat was as raw as fresh beefsteak. So for the first two gigs of his European tour ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, November 1976
THERE ARE several possible ways to review this gig. ...
Report by Mick Farren, NME, November 1976
In which Mick Farren doesn't talk to Chet Atkins, visits Opryland, views the tourist spots from the OAP's bus and, (quiver, quiver....), converses with Dolly ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1976
How they made a billion while still in their twentiesWITH THE POP MUSIC OF TODAY ...
David Bowie, Brian Eno: Eno: "Zing!" Go the Strings of My Art...
Interview by Miles, NME, November 1976
...as Thin and Serious People gather to make music. The luscious but committed BRIAN ENO has been in recording with the skinny and deranged ...
Robert Palmer: How To Get Rid Of The Nude In Your Bedroom
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, November 1976
ROBERT PALMER, who's Big In America, finds his musical progress rather cluttered with scantily clad femininity. TONY STEWART murmurs disapprovingly. ...
Live Review by Miles, NME, November 1976
IT WAS a delight to witness those old school chums John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett play Dunstable on Thursday night. ...
Live Review by Steve Turner, NME, November 1976
THERE ARE some memories we have which are straightforward memories, but then there are other memories which are more like memories of memories and we're ...
Buzzcocks, The: Buzzcocks: Band on the Wall, Electric Circus, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1976
MANCHESTER MADMEN ...
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1976
MEET MALCOLM McLAREN. He runs a shop called "SEX". He manages a group called THE SEX PISTOLS. He sincerely believes that he and his band ...
George Harrison: Thirty-three & 1/3
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1976
WHEN I tell you that the first line of the song with the most memorable hook on the album is. "I was so young when ...
Jim Croce: Photographs And Memories
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1976
JIM CROCE was a witty, adroit songwriter with a dual penchant for sharp, good-humoured barroom-jive badman songs and love songs which ranged from the genuinely ...
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, November 1976
THESE ARE heady days for Joan Baez. ...
Jess Roden Band: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, December 1976
RIDE ON RODEN: MILES finds the JRB in fine form ...
Frank Zappa: Any Resemblance is Purely Conceptual
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, December 1976
MILES SCOOPS THE POOP ON UNCLE FRANK ...
Kursaal Flyers, The: The Kursaal Flyers: Sarfend, Sarfend, It's A Hell Of A Town…
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1976
The smell of coins and oil and penny arcades; of fish 'n' chips; of salt and wave against pebble and promenade; of wide boys and ...
Alpha Band, The: The Alpha Band: The Alpha Band
Review by Mick Farren, NME, December 1976
THERE MUST be something about playing with Bob Dylan that turns musicians a bit...well, shall we call it strange. ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1976
ALTHOUGH A lot of recorded music is impersonal (not necessarily a bad thing, it's quite possible to enjoy a record for its own sake without ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Eighteen Flight Rock...
Interview by Miles, NME, December 1976
...AND THE SOUND OF THE WESTWAY ...
Tangerine Dream: Palais Des Sports, Paris
Live Review by Miles, NME, December 1976
T-DREAM had no support and so they started cold, but soon as the lights dimmed the Palais Des Sports audience roared and cheered and lit ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, December 1976
ON ONE level, this gig (the second of City Boy's current tour) could be whiled away by playing "spot the influence" – 10cc, Roxy, the ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1976
THIS ALBUM is neither Bizarre nor DiscReet, but that's neither here nor there. ...
Santana: God Flows from Every Mouth
Interview by Miles, NME, December 1976
AND THAT DON'T MEAN GOBBIN' ON PEOPLE, WARNS SANTANA ...
Thin Lizzy: How the Laid-Back Californian met the Drunken Scot and the Heavy Black Irishman…
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1976
IF LEW GRADE ever gets round to planning a rock 'n' roll soap opera he could fill the first fifty-two weeks (at least) with The ...
Live Review by Miles, NME, December 1976
A TRIP to the sea end of Wardour Street is always fine by me, so Tuesday found me on the Chrysalis bus to Brighton to ...
Can: Free Trade Hall, Manchester
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, December 1976
IN ONE OF the most glorious cases of mismatching ever seen on a British stage, Can are preceded tonight by an agonisingly kitsch comedy jug-band ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, December 1976
THE OFFICE outside has been a-buzzing of late with the latest report concerning the whole punk conspiracy – the to-ings, and fro-ings, of the Sex ...
Bob Dylan: Journey To The Centre Of The Psyche
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, December 1976
Blonde On Blonde ...
Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon: New Victoria Theatre, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1976
WARREN ZEVON hits the stage an hour and five minutes late. This is not without significance. ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, December 1976
THREE DANCE bands playing the Electric Circus for the second time in ten days. They're back because the Circus is one of the very few ...
Beach Boys, The, Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson: After The Sand Box
Report by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1976
The zany, madcap world of Brian Wilson, episode 98 ...
Phil Spector, Ike & Tina Turner: Ike and Tina Turner
Profile by Bob Woffinden, NME, December 1976
THAT THE Tina Turner-Phil Spector combination should have produced one isolated tour-de-force 45 was perhaps not surprising; after all, Tina more than anyone else was ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Aftermath
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1976
AFTERMATH CATCHES the Rolling Stones in transit: somewhere in between pissing on garage walls and the mass dope busts, after their first long spell on ...
Stranglers, The: The Stranglers
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, 1977
Beneath this middle class suburban casual wear lurk a bunch of REALLY NICE GUYS. So why are they banned from Top Of The Pops? ...
Jimmy Page: Anger Rising: Jimmy Page and Kenneth's Lucifer
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, 1977
LED ZEPPELIN guitarist and leader Jimmy Page has been fired as composer for the soundtrack of the film Lucifer Rising by its director, Kenneth Anger. ...
Tower of Power: Tower Of Power: Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1977
THIS IS essentially transitional meat from Oakland, Soul City's finest. ...
James Brown: Git Down! Git Down! Git Down!
Interview by Cliff White, NME, January 1977
Is Britain ready for the return of the Godfather of Soul? On the eve of JAMES BROWN'S fourth visit to the UK, Cliff White reveals ...
Average White Band: The Average White Band: Person To Person
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1977
WELCOME BACK the musically credible and eminently excellent Average White Band with this defiant poke in the ear for all those people who seven months ...
Gladys Knight & The Pips: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, January 1977
THERE IS AN unwritten guarantee with every ticket for a Gladys Knight & The Pips concert. A guarantee of aural, visual and emotional satisfaction. I've ...
Ace: It's An Ace Life In The Low-Key Whacky World Of Los Angeles
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1977
SEVEN OF US leave the Ace ranch in Hidden Valley and go late night cruisin' in drummer Fran Byrne's '69 Pontiac. Fran heads for ex-Chilli ...
Elvin Bishop: Hometown Boy Makes Good
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1977
YES INDEED I do believe we've got ourselves a good one here. Elvin Bishop has resisted the slightly formulaic limpness of Struttin' My Stuff ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1977
PREDICTABLE BOYS from the Rock Steady stable with Jack Douglas production. ...
Suzi Quatro: Aggrophobia (RAK)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1977
FOUR AND A HALF YEARS since Suzi Quatro scored jackpot and replay with 'Can The Can', and it's only now that she's made an album ...
Kiss: Rock And Roll Over (Casablanca Import)
Review by Max Bell, NME, January 1977
The Red Carpet, but no Heat Treatment ...
Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias: Not Only The Whole Story Of Rock But A Killer Whale Too…
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, January 1977
"DA HIPPY Church" is what my Dutch cab driver calls it. As regular readers will know, The Paradiso is a converted church in the centre ...
Review by Ian MacDonald, NME, January 1977
YOU'RE JUST a little girl with grey eyes and you never leave your room. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1977
AND YOU'RE profile to profile with The Man Who Fell To Bits. Against an incandescent orange background, the cover of David Bowie's new album reprises ...
Joan Armatrading: If Only They Knew She Had The Power...
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1977
If you've got a taste for terror, take NICK KENT to interview JOAN ARMATRADING... ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, January 1977
TYPICAL OF A Sheffield gig is the way in which the dancing section of the audience settles down crosslegged in front of the stage to ...
Runaways, The: The Runaways: Queens Of Noise
Review by Mick Farren, NME, January 1977
THE MAIN thing that's wrong with this album can be summed up in two words. They are Kim Fowley. Yes that's right. Fowley appears to ...
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, January 1977
SUCCESS BREEDS success, states a music biz maxim, and under the altruistic banner of Services To The Public, any record company which has old or ...
Elvis Presley: In Search of the Real Elvis
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, February 1977
Otherwise known as an interview with FELTON JARVIS (Felton who???) ...
Buzzcocks, The: Buzzcocks: Teen Rebel Scores £250 From Dad
Profile by Paul Morley, NME, February 1977
This feature bears the New Wave Seal of Quality ...
Television: Marquee Moon (Elektra/Asylum)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1977
CUT THE crap, junior, he sez and put the hyperbole on ice. ...
Parliament, Funkadelic: Funkadelic: Hardcore Jollies/Parliament: The Clones Of Funkenstein
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1977
In the last 12 months no less than eight albums have escaped from this mind-bending menagerie and yet only one (Parliament's Mothership Connection on Casablanca) ...
Jerry Butler, Bobby Womack: Soul Survivors
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1977
Bobby Womack: Home Is Where The Heart Is (CBS)Jerry Butler: Suite For The Single Girl (Motown) ...
Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Dancer With Bruised Knees (Warner Bros.)
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, February 1977
THE DIFFICULTIES of following an album not simply outstanding but universally acclaimed as such are only too apparent. Even a demonstrably first-class work could not ...
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, February 1977
Hank B. Marvin, Bruce Welch and Mick Farren chew the cud... ...
Frank Zappa: Torture Mama & Open Brain
Live Review by Miles, NME, February 1977
Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon, London MILES gets his time organised ...
Procol Harum Triumph Over Worms
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1977
That seems to be the gist of it. Like, if you're attacked by worms, here's some good news from a bunch of lads who've suffered ...
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1977
THE MIGHTY John Alcock, the producer who brought Thin Lizzy their success, performs here the most masterly musical illusions, which assist Bandit to deliver an ...
Frank Zappa: O.K. Frank, Let It Roll…
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1977
IS THE CONCEPTUAL CONTINUITY of your output macrostructure still operative? "Yes," nods Frank Zappa solemnly. ...
Darts, The, Jerry Lee Lewis: Jerry Lee Lewis/The Darts: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, March 1977
"WANKER" "RUBBISH", "R o c k 'n' ROLLL!!!!!" screamed the frustrated bopper just behind my right eardrum. He wasn't the only one. A distinct rumble ...
Johnny Cash: The Last Gunfighter Ballad
Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1977
THE PICTURE on the cover shows Cash, head and shoulders, in a beat-up cowboy hat that looks like the one he wore in the movie ...
Iggy Pop: Iggy Said It, Iggy Had The Power, Iggy Had The Disease
Comment by Nick Kent, NME, March 1977
THINKING BACK, IT WAS almost a year ago to this very day when I last ran into Iggy. An assignment had got me holed up ...
Rumour, The, Graham Parker: The Rumour: 'I Believe In Graham Parker'
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1977
As The Rumour plan their own group LP, guitarist MARTIN BELMONT reaffirms his faith in Big G and the solidarity of the Parker/Rumour operation ...
Ted Nugent: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1977
WE'VE HEARD a great deal lately about how Ted Nugent abjures drugs and alcohol. Perhaps that's his mistake. The occasional soul searching high might have ...
Marc Bolan, T. Rex: Marc Bolan: Son Of Magical Pouting Panache
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, March 1977
Yep, Here we go again. But this time it promises to be different. BOLAN MARC TWO makes his come-back on tour with The Damned, and ...
James Booker: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, March 1977
SOME FOLKS need two tons of equipment, the LSO, and a bunch of chorus girls or a performing elephant to justify their reputation. James Carroll ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, March 1977
NICK KENT comes out of hiding to offer himself as a 'punk' sacrifice to the ritualistic 'beat' of THE CLASH, THE BUZZCOCKS, THE SUBWAY SECT ...
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, March 1977
THE KID IN THE PUB doesn't believe I'm me. "You a roadie?" "I'm a writer." "Yeah?" He's already dubious. "Who do you write for then?" ...
Grateful Dead: Wake Of The Flood/From the Mars Hotel
Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1977
THE GRATEFUL DEAD have always been a band whose work formed into waves and troughs. Wake Of The Flood is unfortunately one of the low ...
Pink Floyd: Eyeless In The Galaxy
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, March 1977
Depressed? Anxious? Hung-up, man? Don't just sit there, bozo – get out and make money out of it! FREEWHEELIN' FARREN winds up out on the ...
Roger McGuinn: Bottom Line, New York City
Live Review by Miles, NME, March 1977
A FLURRY of movement on a darkened stage then a sudden hit of déjà vu – that voice and the song and the long jangling ...
Tom Verlaine, Television, Richard Hell: Tom Verlaine: How Pleasant (?) To Know Mr Verlaine
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1977
OPINION: Tom Verlaine is a great songwriter, the next seminal rock charismatic, a genius.OPINION: Tom Verlaine is an egomaniac, a back-stabber, a thankless paranoid. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1977
BECK IN Ongoing Fusion Situation (he blows it). Bloomfield Simply Plays The Blues (he makes it). ...
Band, The: The Band: Islands (Capitol)
Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, March 1977
IT IS no accident that The Band have been the most bearded outfit in the rock business. They entered the public arena, when at all, ...
Ronnie Spector: Hi There, Big Boy! Wanna "Interview" Me?
Interview by Cliff White, NME, April 1977
Mmm-mm. Eighty-eight pounds of compact yumminess on parade for all you heavy guys out there. CLIFF WHITE, hot from New York, on delectable RONNIE SPECTOR's ...
Kate & Anna McGarrigle: Dancer With Bruises
Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, April 1977
THERE ARE three sisters altogether. Jane, the eldest, who sometimes plays organ on her sisters' records, lives a happily married life in California, and the ...
Stranglers, The: The Stranglers: Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, April 1977
These young chaps have an album out soon. It would be strange if they didn't ...
Mumps: Max's Kansas City, New York
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1977
...meanwhile MILES catches THE MUMPS New York style – and enjoys it ...
Roy Harper: The Malady Lingers On
Report by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1977
Not since Uncle Lou's days as The Zombie From Beyond The Grave has a rock show held such a morbid fascination. ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: The Truth Behind The Break-up…
Report by Mick Farren, NME, April 1977
AS REPORTED in the news pages Dr. Feelgood have come apart at the seams, with Wilko Johnson going one way and the rest of the ...
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, April 1977
CAN AN ELEVEN-PIECE WESTERN SWING BAND EVER FIND WEALTH AND PROSPERITY IN THE WORLD OF ROCK'N'ROLL? ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Love You (Warner-Reprise)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1977
A Psychology Today Special in which NICK KENT diagnoses a steady recovery for the Wilson muse. ...
Roy Harper: What Now For Roy Harper?
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1977
IT'S UNLIKELY that Roy Harper would be admitted to a health and happiness club. Because of his seemingly chronic illness he is facing a real ...
Blondie: Max's Kansas City and The Palladium, NYC
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1977
MAX'S KANSAS CITY has become a tourist rip-off joint – $5 admission and no way to see anything unless you booked a table. ...
Talking Heads: This Is A Minimalist Headline
Interview by Miles, NME, April 1977
...for MILES' neo-structuralist look at New York hotshots Talking Heads ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1977
THE JAM WERE scarcely halfway through their set at half past six when the geezer at the door of the Roundhouse told the 300-plus still ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1977
A ROW OF PARKED Vivas, Consuls and Zephyrs indicated that the ICA had an audience a little different to the usual. It was "A Night ...
Van Morrison: A Period Of Transition (Warner Bros)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1977
A MOST DISTRESSING set of circumstances is what we have here. ...
Fats Domino: Diamonds and Mr Domino
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, April 1977
"I went on a two-week trial to Las Vegas... and stayed there for seventeen years" ...
Atlanta Rhythm Section: Baby You Can't Drive My Car
Interview by Cliff White, NME, April 1977
THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION don't really get on well enough to travel in the same vehicle. There's a personality clash between the sober, introspective section ...
Muddy Waters: The Blues Had A Baby… And They Called It Rock 'N' Roll
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1977
"THE KIND OF BLUES I play there's no money in it. You makes a good livin' when you gets established like I did, but you ...
John McLaughlin & Shakti: The Bottom Line, NYC
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1977
"McLAUGHLIN LOOKS GOOD with long hair," said Nancy. ...
Dead Boys, The: UK in the USA '77
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1977
The Dead Boys: CBGBs, NYC ...
Supertramp: Even In The Quietest Moments (A&M)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, April 1977
SUPERBLAND ...
Deniece Williams: Don't Mess with the Celestial Hitman...
Interview by Cliff White, NME, May 1977
DENIECE WILLIAMS, whose amazing rise to fame began when she was removed from a nursing college to work with Stevie Wonder and tour with the ...
Chi-Lites, The: The Chi-Lites: Theatre Royal, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1977
THE HOUSE LIGHTS dimmed and the musicians took their places. There was a buzz of activity on the darkened stage for a minute or so ...
Jackson 5, The: The Jacksons, Wild Cherry: Convention Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1977
A LABEL CHANGE and a substitution of brothers doesn't seem to have harmed the famous five some's charisma any. Michael's still up front and he, ...
Ronnie Lane, Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton: Clapton God Again
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1977
Eric Clapton/Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...
Slade: Ar The Kidz Owt've Site Shock Probe
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1977
BANDS DON'T readily admit to being yesterday's heroes...so Slade, not long ago one of Britain's most celebrated bands, will only acknowledge that they've been through ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1977
NOT CONTENT with unearthing far more previously unissued recordings from the Sun vaults than those that were released during the label's prime time, and recycling ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1977
RECORDED at the 1976 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, from which a live double-album of various acts was recently reviewed by Roy Carr, this ...
Chuck Berry: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1977
THERE'S NO BETTER indication of the pervasive and thorough influence of Chuck Berry than the fact that he could go almost anywhere and the chances ...
Tom Waits: Sound Circus, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1977
APTLY ENOUGH, since he lives in hotels for ten months of every year, Tom Waits was born in the back of a taxi. His description ...
Ian Hunter: What A Hunter He Turned Out To Be
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1977
ONE THING YOU GOTTA HAND to Ian Hunter: the old bastard knows how to make an entrance. ...
Elton John: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1977
THE SOCIAL division between rock star and audience is usually more obvious than it was at the Rainbow last Monday night. ...
Joe Tex: Bumps 'n' bruises in Fayette, Mississippi: On tour with Joe Tex
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, May 1977
THE SUN burns out of a clear blue sky like in all the best travel brochures; the air is warm and moist and heavy with ...
Delbert McClinton: Love Rustler
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1977
IN THE grand tradition of Elvis and Tony Joe White this is white, southern r'n'b. ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Sneakin' Suspicion (United Artists)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1977
Is there a doctor in the house? CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY thinks the FEELGOODS might just need one… ...
Asleep at the Wheel: Asleep At the Wheel: The Wheel (Capitol)
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1977
I'D BEEN beginning to think there wasn't that much happening on the live front until I saw Asleep At The Wheel at Hammersmith last week. ...
Ramones, The: Notes on Minimalism (or Learning To Live With The Ramones)
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, May 1977
THERE'S BEEN A LOT of loose talk, and it has got to stop. Ever since The Ramones blundered into the blinding spotlight of international rock ...
Split Enz: Sheffield University, Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, May 1977
THE IDEA that a rock band from New Zealand should possess any merit whatsoever strikes many as ludicrously funny; the idea that such an antipodean ...
Talking Heads: Rock Garden, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1977
AS FAR AS I'm concerned, this last week has been a monumental one for live rock. ...
John Mayall: Falkshaus, Zurich
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1977
AS A TALENT scout John Mayall is a shrewd, calculating operator with few equals. Now with 26 albums to his credit and almost as many ...
Dr. Feelgood: Exeter University, Exeter
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, May 1977
NO FLASH hyperbole, no frills on this one, reet, because, contrary to more than one sneaking suspicion, this new-fangled Feelgoods practice is in fine fettle ...
David Peel, John Lennon: Beatle Freak: Lennon Talks
Report by Miles, NME, May 1977
DAVID PEEL and the Apple Band have released an album dedicated to that all-American cause of re-uniting The Beatles. ...
Denny Laine, Wings: Denny Laine: Holly Days
Review by Mick Farren, NME, May 1977
THERE ARE some people who can do it, and there are others who can't. It's as simple as that. ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, May 1977
THE WORD from over there was that Mink De Ville were probably the tightest and best musically organised outfit in the whole of the C.B.G.B.'s ...
Little Feat: Time Loves A Hero (Warners)
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1977
MIGHT AS WELL jump in at the deep end and ask you to indulge in some consumer advice research. ...
Elliott Murphy: Just A Story From America (CBS)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, May 1977
A FEW years ago, Rolling Stone printed a sizeable review of the first albums by Elliott Murphy and Bruce Springsteen, assessing them as contenders for ...
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, May 1977
WHAT KIND of future can Heavy Metal orphans really look forward to once they fall from grace? ...
Grateful Dead: My Night With The Dead
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, May 1977
IT'S LIKE GOING back home."Acid!""Acid, black beauties!""Acid!""You got any pot to sell?""No, man, all I got is acid and black beauties."What else could it be ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1977
WHEN THIS was recorded in June 1976 as part of the Newport jazz festival, it came from an evening grandly titled a 'retrospective of the ...
Minnie Riperton, Millie Jackson: Feminism Is, Uh, Like Skinning Cats...
Interview by Cliff White, NME, June 1977
...or something like that, so it says here, in this double-date interview with Mss MINNIE RIPPERTON and MILLIE JACKSON ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Now You See Him. Now You Don't.
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
The goods on the Feelgoods: did Wilko fall or was he pushed? ...
Elliott Murphy: Bottom Line, NY
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, June 1977
I WAS HALFWAY through my cheeseburger when Elliott Murphy hit stage. He was greeted by the kind of applause that is reserved for unknowns who ...
Tony Joe White: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, June 1977
IT'S MIDNIGHT, and I'm still dazed from a bolt out of the blue which hit me some time around 1.15 this afternoon. Completely unexpectedly, Tony ...
New York: Suddenly It's A Hell Of A Town Again…
Report by Mick Farren, NME, June 1977
And why? Because folks have got nothing to lose. Because it's happening, it's exciting, life is fun again and people aren't ashamed to have a ...
Sex Pistols, The: The Sex Pistols: Rotten Is Mum's Boy Shock
Report by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1977
NO MATTER how much criticism a young boy incites by his allegedly outrageous behaviour there's always somebody who will lovingly stand by him. His mum. ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
AFTER MORE than six years and eight albums with Frank Zappa (which must be something of a record), after five solo albums for the small ...
MC5: Kick Out The Jams (Elektra)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1977
‘BROTHERS AND sisters...the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or whether ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Jahve, Mon
Comment by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
We know where we're going,We know where we're fromWe're from Babylon Bob Marley – 'Exodus' ...
Dickey Betts: Movin' On Out Of The Macon Mess
Report by Mick Farren, NME, June 1977
I GUESS it's fair to say that Dickey Betts was the one member of The Allman Brothers to come out of the convoluted saga of ...
Neil Young: American Stars'n'Bars (Reprise)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
Neil: bad judgment...or just a bad liver? ...
Queen: Freddie Mercury: Is This Man a Prat?
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, June 1977
FREDDIE MERCURY has always liked to dance the Millionaire's Waltz. There's a story about him, dating back to his days as an impoverished student, which ...
Heavy Metal Kids, The: The Heavy Metal Kids, Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1977
Rainbow rub out ...
Ian Hunter: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1977
Mutton dressed as lamb ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, June 1977
THERE IS undoubtedly a great deal of refining and cleaning to be done on Buzzcocks' material before the album they can so definitely record comes ...
Ramones, The, Johnny Thunders: The Ramones: So The New Wave Have Scruples Too
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
JOHNNY RAMONE is quite definitely pissed off. ...
Al Jarreau: Look To The Rainbow — Live
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
OF THE twelve songs here, four are from his first two albums, two are throwaway versions of show-tunes and the remaining six are new material. ...
Rubinoos, The, Greg Kihn: Greg Kihn: Again; The Rubinoos: The Rubinoos (Beserkley)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
JOHNNY RAMONE recently pointed out that, if they had come out now instead of the mid-60’s, 'You Really Got Me' and 'Doo Wah Diddy' wouldn’t ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1977
Taj Me In The Morning ...
Tony Joe White: Still Going Strong - Polk Salad Annie: It (and She)
Interview by Cliff White, NME, June 1977
THERE'S AN intangible something about Tony Joe White that puts me in mind of Elvis; but whoever he looks like, he is disgustingly handsome. ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: Alex Harvey: The Meat Of The Matter
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1977
A discussion of the respective virtues of sheep's brains, raw mince, or monkey's brains sucked through a straw. Plus a bit about ALEX HARVEY. ...
Police, The: The Table, The Police: Music Machine, Camden, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
A BAND THAT calls itself The Table must, at the very least, lack sound commercial principles — and will hopefully have something novel to offer. ...
Talking Heads: Are These Guys Trying To Give Rock A Bad Name?
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
TALKING HEADS: it's a term they use up in the high-rise skyscrapers that house all the cogs in the corporate machinery cranking out network television ...
Aretha Franklin: Sweet Passion
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
WHAT to do with Aretha Franklin? The question must echo around Atlantic's New York offices whenever it's time for her to make another record. ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Anthology
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1977
IF MARTHA and the Vandellas had never made another record 'Dancing In The Street' would still have assured them of a hallowed place in pop ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, June 1977
THIS ALBUM has caused me I more brain damage than my love life and if I didn't think it was worth the hassle I'd have ...
Crosby Stills and Nash: Crosby Stills & Nash: CSN (Atlantic)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, June 1977
PREDICTABLY IT'S a creeping disease on this waterfront. After all everyone knew that Crosby, Stills and Nash would have to get back together sooner or ...
Bob Dylan: For Dylanologists Only (Otherwise v Boring)
Interview by Miles, NME, July 1977
LAST YEAR Thrills (NME's news pages – RBP Ed) ran a transcript of Bob Dylan's first interview. It was done by Billy James of Columbia ...
Saints, The, 999: The Saints, 999: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1977
THERE IS A TEMPTATION to regard The Saints as comic. This stems from a number of idiosyncratic things about them, not least of which is ...
Michael Jackson: Show You The Way to the Infirmary
Interview by Cliff White, NME, July 1977
MICHAEL JACKSON proves you don't have to be a punk to get the benefits of the health service. ...
X-Ray Spex: Plastic table cloths in the UK '77
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1977
X-Ray Spex: Man In The Moon, Chelsea ...
Alternative TV: Life after punk?
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1977
Alternative TV: The Roxy, London FROM A MOVEMENT to a fashion. Johnny Rotten said in a recent interview that "the whole idea of our band ...
Bad Company: Earl's Court, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, July 1977
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE 15,000 DISGUISED PUNKS ...
Isley Brothers, The: The Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns (Epic)
Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1977
"YOU GET some writers saying, 'Why don't you do something like you did before?' They think they really want it but at the same time ...
Laura Nyro: Season Of Lights (Live)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1977
THERE'S something about Laura Nyro that inspires devotion in her followers. ...
Peter Baumann, Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream: The 120 Decibel Dream - Warning: This Page is Heavy
Interview by Miles, NME, July 1977
TANGERINE DREAM have released an album — Stratosfear — written a movie score for Friedkin, completed a successful American tour and two members have released ...
Johnny Nash: New Victoria, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1977
FOR HIS first appearance on a British theatre stage (I think he once toured the USAF bases) in over 20 years of recording, Johnny Nash ...
Rolling Stones, The: Advance Warning of New Meisterworks Department
Report by Miles, NME, July 1977
Stones: Got Duff Chord Changes If You Want THE ROLLING STONES — even Bill and Charlie — have all been in New York this ...
Frankie Miller: The Everything's-Coming-Up-Roses-For-Frankie Miller Headline
Report and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, July 1977
ONLY SOMEONE as talented as Frankie Miller could have afforded to be so profligate with his gifts. He's a survivor, sure, but it's been a ...
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, July 1977
From human beings to cardboard cut-outs. Kiss defy orthopaedic surgery... ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1977
WHEN MICHAEL Des Barres was sojourning in London, going through the motions of Silverhead and other assorted, third division glitzkid antics, I always got the ...
Mink DeVille: Willie the Mink: Street Elite, Just Cruisin’ on the Neat Beat
Live Review by Miles, NME, July 1977
Mink DeVille: Bottom Line, NYC ...
Pink Floyd: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Miles, NME, July 1977
THE FLOYD sure picked a fine week to appear in New York. Not only was it the eve of July 4th, but also it was ...
Mamas and The Papas, The: The Mamas and the Papas: The Best Of The Mamas and The Papas
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1977
REMEMBER THOSE fabulous '60s? The protest marches? The draft card burnings? All those wandering boot heels? You had to swat the little bastards before they ...
Woody Guthrie: Growin’ Fat on the Grapes of Wrath
Retrospective by Mick Farren, NME, July 1977
LAST YEAR they tried it with Leadbelly, the year before it was Lenny Bruce, this year they're doing it with Woody Guthrie. It seems like, ...
Average White Band, Ben E. King: Ben E. King/Average White Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1977
THIS ISN'T an original thought but it bears repeating: Ben E. King is an excellent singer, and highly individual with it – unmistakeable in a ...
Lurkers, The, Generation X: Generation X/The Lurkers: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1977
YOU KNOW THAT immense sense of relief that hits you when you get through the one album in every twenty or so that you might ...
Fall, The, Howard Devoto, Buzzcocks, The: Manchester: They Mean It Maaanchester
Overview by Paul Morley, NME, July 1977
MANCHESTER as a Rock and Roll town just didn't use to exist. It fed dutifully off London, and there were frequent visits from groups to ...
Little Richard: Is This the Start of A WOPBOPALOOBOPALOPBAM BOOM?
Report and Interview by Cliff White, NME, July 1977
(Or... will the real Little Richard please stand up) ...
Dave Edmunds, Rockpile, Nick Lowe: The Rockpile Tapes
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1977
DAVE EDMUNDS HAS had his definitive quote on Nick Lowe's talents down pat for a long while now. "There are loads of guys around in ...
Review by Mick Farren, NME, July 1977
"Hey, Gene.""What, Peter?""What are we doing in one of Farren's record reviews?" ...
Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station (Arista)
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1977
Dead Still Riding The Rods of the Celestial Train ...
Patti Smith: Roll Over, Rimbaud (tell Marc Bolan the news)
Live Review by Miles, NME, August 1977
Patti Smith: The Village Gate, NYC ...
Vibrators, The: The Vibrators: Marquee, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1977
THE TWO-FINGER salute put in a surprise appearance at The Vibrators' gig on Sunday. Whether the dozen pairs of arms frantically waving V signs were ...
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1977
THE ALBANY is one of those places – and there aren't many – that can get packed to the rafters, sweaty and messy, and still ...
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Wayne County: Electric Circus, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, August 1977
UPSTAIRS IN THE tiny Electric Circus dressing room Wayne County fussily fumbles and fidgets; he's got to look just right. He's wearing a crisp fawn ...
Big Star: Big Star Burns Real Slow
Overview by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
For almost ten years now, Alex Chilton has resolutely resisted successive attempts by the rock press to deify him. ...
Sex Pistols, The: The Social Rehabilitation of the Sex Pistols
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1977
THE PROSPEROUS CYBORGS at the next table in the backroom of this expensive Stockholm eating-place are sloshing down their coffee as fast as they possibly ...
Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys: The Brothers
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
A long-running family saga continues: California fnurgs dump on U.K. public... ...
Beach Boys, The: CBS Convention: Beach Boys Party
Report by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
BEACH BOYS PARTY FOR CHOSEN 1,600 ...
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, August 1977
BACK IN 71, it seemed that the Sweet Baby was every body's favourite. He'd already had a massive hit with 'Fire And Rain', while a ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1977
THE THING about Ultravox is that they're ultra-confident — and cynical observers haven't failed to point out that confidence comes easy when it's backed by ...
Mink DeVille: Just Another Tough'n'Tender Street Poet Outta New Yawk
Interview by Miles, NME, August 1977
Now Spanish music plays in my hallway And the wind blows through my door And my mind is out on the corner And my eyes ...
Bootsy Collins: Space Bass Reveals Plans for Planetary Domination
Report by Cliff White, NME, August 1977
Bootsy's Rubber Band, Funkadelic: On video, from... Houston, Texas ...
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers: Rock 'n' roll with The Modern Lovers (Beserkley)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1977
A FRIEND of mine who has seen The Modern Lovers reckons they're the best band he's seen in about ten years, since The Who in ...
Retrospective by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
While the poor people sleep-in with the shade on the light While the poor people sleepin' all the stars come out at night – 'Show ...
KC & the Sunshine Band, Latimore, Betty Wright: The Miami Transfer: Florida Soul
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1977
AFTER SEVERAL year's of British release through President Records, earlier this year Henry Stone's Miami-based TK conglomerate switched outlets to RCA who have ...
Ry Cooder & The Chicken Skin Revue: Show Time (Warner Bros.)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1977
Cooder tat no Coup d'etat (geddit?) ...
MC5, Wayne Kramer: Wayne Kramer: Broke, Busted, Disgusted, Agents Can't Be Trusted
Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
Former MC5 guitarist WAYNE KRAMER live from Lexington Penitentiary, talks to MAX BELL about times past and time passing ...
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, August 1977
Whaaat? we hear you gasp. Supertramp? Guess you thought the punks had it all sewn up, huh? Well, you ain't heard nothin' yet. The war ...
Eric Clapton: The Bullring, Ibiza
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, August 1977
IBIZA IS A VERY LONG way from the high pressure world of first division rock and roll. From the ancient Spanish women shrouded in all-concealing ...
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, August 1977
IT'S BEEN a rough old week for Elvis Costello. Last weekend he was right up there in the play lists with his 'Red Shoes' single ...
Ted Nugent: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1977
WHY AMERICA is anxious to develop the Proton Beam Weapon, when they already have Megadecibel in the shape of Ted Nugent, is a question perhaps ...
Nils Lofgren, Johnny Winter: University of Texas, Dallas
Live Review by Miles, NME, August 1977
THE UNIVERSITY of Texas auditorium was packed and standing with 3,300 big people. Some were seven foot tall, wearing Stetson hats, cowboy boots and chewing ...
Obituary by Mick Farren, NME, August 1977
IT WAS ONE OF THE worst storms to hit London since God knows when. The thunder rolled, lightning flashed and the rain hammered into the ...
Only Ones, The: The Only Ones: I Have Seen The Future Of…etc. pt 52
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
"FLARED TROUSERS...FLARED TROUSERS...", the audience at the Marquee taunt brightly. On stage The Only Ones are sticking together the kind of set that makes most ...
Meters, The: The Meters: New Directions
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1977
SINCE THIS album was recorded it's reported that The Meters have succumbed to the clash of personalities and aspirations that's dogged their career for several ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, August 1977
GOG AND MAGOG?! No, Dog And Maindog. A Pure Pop Person Pleads Sanity. MAX BELL Was At The Hearings. ...
Ultravox: Patchy Enough, But Powerful
Live Review by Chas de Whalley, NME, September 1977
ULTRAVOX HAVE come in for their share of criticism since Island Records launched them with a bang eight months ago and amidst the flashing lights ...
John Cale: Fan Fare for the Uncommon Man
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1977
AARON COPELAND DIDN'T know what he was letting the world in for when he sent John Cale a letter authorising the young Welshman's scholarship at ...
Thin Lizzy: A Peep Into The Soul Of Phil Lynott
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1977
A black Irishman – the son of a Brazilian seaman; a Roman Catholic of uncatholic lifestyle; a bass playing poet in a rock 'n' roll ...
Supremes, The, Diana Ross: Diana Ross and the Supremes: 20 Golden Greats
Review by Mick Farren, NME, September 1977
IF THEY weren't the highest form, they sure as hell were the most refined. The three-piece girl vocal group is almost a dying art. Only ...
Jam, The: The Jam: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1977
THE NEW WAVE scene is arguably more interesting now than ever, as the big five or six bands are being forced to consolidate their first ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Be Seeing You
Review by Mick Farren, NME, September 1977
MAYBE IT'S FREUDIAN. The Feelgoods have picked up on a motif from The Prisoner for the title of this album and, in some ways, they're ...
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: Southside Johnny: If You Can't Take The Heat
Interview by Cliff White, NME, September 1977
A BRIEF NATTER over a can of beer in a tent that's tripling as a refreshment bar, dressing room and rehearsal area is not the ...
Nona Hendryx, Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel/Nona Hendryx: Live in Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1977
NONA HENDRYX possesses all the lumps and bumps, (in abundance), in all the right places, and flaunts her curvacity in a performance which promises sexuality ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Love You Live (Rolling Stones Records)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1977
JUST UNDER a minute into the first side – there's been the usual audience mayhem, a snippet of exotic percussion, cannons firing, about four bars ...
Jonathan Richman Melts An Old Cynic's Heart
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1977
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...
Genesis, Peter Gabriel: The Re-Genesis Of Peter Gabriel
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1977
For someone who once accepted the Noble Order Of The Pension Book, this chap is rather lively. TONY STEWART saw him knocking out audiences at ...
Report by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1977
AFTER A WEEK of cloud-sealed gloom the sun shone down on London on Friday pushing the lunchtime temperature to 63 degrees. The vibes seemed auspicious ...
Dr. Feelgood: Wilko Not Buried Yet...
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1977
WITH DOCTOR FEELGOOD moving into the charts and just embarked on a headlining nationwide tour, one question still hangs around the street corner waiting to ...
Dire Straits: Hope & Anchor, Islington
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1977
NOT AN obvious little band, this. ...
Wilko Johnson: Wilko Not Buried Yet
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1977
WITH DOCTOR Feelgood moving into the charts and just embarked on a headlining nationwide tour, one question still hangs around the street corner waiting to ...
Magazine: This Man Is Not A Minor Writer!
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1977
For a start he's dispensed with words! ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1977
LAST MONTH the more alert London habituee got the chance to compare England's new wave inner-workings with those of its fore-runner over in New York ...
Dwight Twilley Band: Twilley Don't Mind (Shelter)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1977
ALL THE OMENS seem up there in the ascendant for Dwight Twilley. All the rock critics love him to death and even the most austere ...
Elvis Presley: Junk, junk food junk prose (pulpitations for all)
Book Review by Mick Farren, NME, October 1977
Red West, Sonny West, Dave Hebler, as told to Steve Dunleavy: Elvis – What Happened? ...
Rolling Stones, The: Mick Jagger Hits Out At Everything In Sight!
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, October 1977
IF ONLY IT HADN'T all been so damnedly, unrelentingly...uh...amicable. ...
Weather Report: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1977
JOE ZAWINUL's mob are the one band I would never expect to let me down – and although Weather Report didn't quite do that, they ...
Deniece Williams / Lenny Williams: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1977
REGULAR PATRONS of theatre gigs in Britain have become so wary, not to say weary, of suffering rent-a-stooge warm-up acts that many now don't bother ...
Brothers Johnson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1977
AS BONES OF contention go, there is currently none more fat and juicy than the one being wrestled between the main pack of legit music ...
Aerosmith: Quest For The Man In Glitter Wellies
Report by Nick Kent, NME, October 1977
AEROSMITH get stuck in European mud. And NICK KENT, picking his way carefully around the problem, concludes that the U.S. giants may be bogged down ...
Bob Seger: Palace Theatre, Manchester
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1977
THAT IT should have taken Bob Seger so long to receive his just reward is in itself one of the more disgraceful cases of rock ...
Leo Sayer: The Palladium, London
Live Review by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1977
THE VERY idea of Leo Sayer trotting about the hallowed stage of the Palladium is enough to have him executed by any gang of rock ...
Rumour, The, Graham Parker: Graham Parker: Shades Of The Pink Parker
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1977
NINE WAYS TO AVOID THE HEAT TREATMENT ...
801: Phil Manzanera / 801: Victoria Palace, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1977
THERE IS something to be said for the notion that Phil Manzanera's music, as such, doesn't exist. Listening to it is like watching a chameleon ...
Overview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1977
THE MUTANTS, the dwarfs and the all night girls (that's right, the ones who still brag about escapades out on the D train, despite the ...
Tubes, The: What is Our Role in the Universe?
Profile and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, October 1977
These young people are pondering the question that has perturbed all the great philosophers since time immemorial and beyond: WHAT'S the barbed wire doing over ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1977
YOU HAVE to hand it to him. Carlos Santana may only know a handful of licks, but at least they're attractive — like the moment ...
Iggy Pop, Ramones, The: Iggy Pop: Cobo Arena, Detroit
Live Review by Lester Bangs, NME, November 1977
Iggy suffers metallic KO, Ramones rule OK? ...
Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe: The Stiff Tour: Stiffs Drugs And Rock 'N' Roll
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1977
"SEX AND drugs and rock and roll...sex and drugs and rock and roll...sex and drugs and rock and roll..." Hot damn, m'man, Leicester University is ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
SINCE 1971 this band has been one of the few HM perpetrators worth listening to. Since 1974's Secret Treaties it has been only one. If ...
Jam, The: The Jam: This Is The Modern World
Review by Mick Farren, NME, November 1977
SO THIS is the modern world. I'm glad they told me. For an instant I'd thought I'd been transported back to 1965. Flashback on flashback ...
Bob Seger: The Michigan Marvel
Interview by Andy Gill, NME, November 1977
ON THE covers of several of Bob Seger's albums there's this curious production credit to "Punch". ...
Burning Spear: Dry and Heavy in the Ozone: Burning Spear at the Rainbow
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1977
IN THAT it (a) got me truly into reggae, and (b) has continued to stand as a symbol of the truth and beauty that all ...
Joan Armatrading: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1977
AS ANY regular user of London's Underground rail network can testify, not all of the strolling troubadours who jostled for recognition in the balmy '60s ...
Smokey Robinson: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1977
BILL-TOPPERS usually command a bigger stage area and more musicians than opening acts, but on this occasion the position was reversed for Viola Wills with ...
Tyla Gang: Sean Tyla: Beserkley Badass Braggadoccio
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
ISN'T THIS A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS? ...
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1977
JIMMY PURSEY bursts upon you. He is a natural. A natural natural. Distortion in the media can colour reputations wrongly, especially the reputation of fulsome ...
Gong: Magik Brother, Mystic Sister; Gong Est Mort — Vive Gong!
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, November 1977
TWO CHAPTERS in the life of Daevid Allen, space dingo and nomad of nonsense. ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
DOWNSTAIRS AT Newcastle's City Hall, Josef Zawinul has just made a very astute point. "All the originators are always great," he repeats, looking inquisitively close ...
Interview by Cliff White, NME, November 1977
Nona Hendryx and Patti Labelle unveil their new aspirations ...
Tubes, The: The Tubes: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
THE TUBES recorded their two debut London gigs for a live album. This was indicative of either supreme confidence or supreme folly – ...
Motors, The: The Motors: The Motors Show
Profile by Nick Kent, NME, November 1977
STUCK FOR a suitable opening gambit? You could start with the name, I guess. ...
Rod Stewart: The Latest Rod Stewart Album
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, November 1977
TONY STEWART makes the Atlantic Crossing to queue up for a Night On The Town down Millionaire's Row (oops, sorry, Gasoline Alley) with ol' Smiler ...
The Hollywood Binliner: L.A. Punk
Report by Mick Farren, NME, November 1977
THERE ARE 70 PUNKS IN L.A. – HERE'S MOST OF 'EM... ...
Ben Sidran: The Doctor Is In (Arista)
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, November 1977
IN SOME ways Sidran is an anachronism. Though he's got something of a rock pedigree after paying his dues as side man with Steve Miller, ...
Levon Helm: Levon Helm and the RCO All Stars (ABC)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
LEVON HELM was the kid who went north in the late 50s with a rockabilly singer called Ronnie Hawkins, whose talents were dime-a dozen in ...
Little Richard: Little Richard Now (Creole)
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1977
AT IRREGULAR intervals throughout the 20 years since he cut about a dozen of the greatest rock'n'roll records ever made, Little Richard has re-re-recorded the ...
Darts, The: Darts: Darts (Magnet)
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1977
THEY PROBABLY won't thank me for saying so, but there's no getting around the fact that there are marked – if only coincidental – similarities ...
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1977
THERE IS something about the Music Machine in Camden Town that severely dulls one's capacity for enjoyment of an evening of live rock. ...
Brian Eno, Roxy Music: Eno Part 1: Before and After Science — Accidents Will Happen
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1977
Thinking about music with BRIAN ENO. Some monologues recorded and compiled by IAN MacDONALD. ...
Brian Eno, David Bowie: Eno Part 2: Another False World — How to Make A Modern Record
Interview by Ian MacDonald, NME, December 1977
Thinking about music with BRIAN ENO. Some more monologues recorded and compiled by IAN MacDONALD. ...
Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne: Beyond Black Sabbath
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, December 1977
IN THE PAST Ozzy Osbourne has often over-dramatised the state of both his mental and physical health, but as he now relates his reasons for ...
Wilko Johnson: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, December 1977
THERE WAS something almost malevolently horrible about the atmosphere in Dingwall's when Wilko Johnson's band debuted there last Thursday. ...
Commodores, The: The Commodores: Live (Motown)
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1977
So this is Christmas: The Voice of Young Amerika! ...
Burning Spear: Winston Rodney is Burning Spear
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1977
Is The Man In The Hills, is The Sound Of The Present Age ...
Generation X: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, December 1977
THE FIRST TIME I encountered Generation X (or at least their lead singer/figurehead Billy Idol) it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. ...
Nina Simone, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1977
YOU CAN'T keep tabs on everybody all the time. It wasn't until this concert was announced that I realised there hasn't been much heard from, ...
Bob Dylan: Renaldo Zimmerman and the Cubist Movie
Report by Miles, NME, December 1977
WHEN THE ROLLING THUNDER Revue ended two years ago, Bob Dylan took the 400 hours of film footage that had been shot during the tour ...
Sid Vicious, Sex Pistols, The: The Sid Vicious Guide To London Hotels
Report by Nick Kent, NME, December 1977
IT WAS AT THE A&M Sex Pistols press conference, convened early this year, that newly appointed group bassist Sid Vicious gave his brusque views on ...
Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1977
ON AUGUST 5th, 1975, Stevie Wonder signed an historic contract with Motown. Apart from the little matter of a $13 million guarantee, the deal reputedly ...
Dictators, The: Dictators Debunk New York Chic
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1977
SO WHY IS DICK Manitoba nicknamed Handsome? ...
Greg Kihn: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1977
BY WAY of introduction, says Greg Kihn, short, smiling, bopping, "We're from Berkeley; that means we don't give a shit about nothing". ...
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1977
AN ANECDOTE: hopeful young Irish band up in London for the first time. Their bass player – Philip Lynott by name – is exploring the ...
Sex Pistols, The, Sid Vicious: Never Mind The Sex Pistols, Here Comes The Wrath Of Sid!
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, December 1977
IT WAS the last day in November when the whole ugly mess finally exploded. Sid Vicious, the bass player of The Sex Pistols, had once ...
Rick Danko: Rick Danko (Arista)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1977
IT'S ODD that the least prodigious songwriters in The Band should be the quickest to deliver solo goods. First Levon Helm and now, hot on ...
Johnny Winter: Dis Man am de Saviour of de Blues. An’ Dis am no Joke...
Interview by Miles, NME, December 1977
Live from Fort Worth, Texas: JOHNNY WINTER talks to Miles ...because it seems like the world's whitest blues player is really getting it together after ...
John Martyn: This Man Is A Walking, Playing Bag of His Own
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1977
"ACTUALLY," ADMITS John Martyn, as he gives in to one of the great groundswells of spluttering, infectious laughter that carry along his speech, "I see ...
Ramones, The, Rezillos, The: The Ramones, The Rezillos: Market Hall, Carlisle
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, December 1977
THE WORD used all day was surreal. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1978
"TAKE OUTCHA false teeth, mama...I wanna sssssssssuck on your gums!" ...
Ray Charles: Renaissance (London)
Review by Mick Brown, NME, 1978
TO SEE a Ray Charles album on the London label is to experience a flash of nostalgia. For in his greatest hour – the mid-1950s ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
THEY SAY ENVIRONMENT determines character, and when it comes to American music, they're probably right. ...
Dr. Alimantado: Doctor Alimantado Meets His Duppy Uptown
Interview by Penny Reel, NME, January 1978
A DIAGNOSIS OF NEAR-DEATH ...
Joan Baez: Joanie returns as Bobby: Joan Baez at the Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, January 1978
JOANIE BROUGHT the audience right up on stage with her at the Odeon – two rows of them, mostly her guests, sitting rather self-consciously behind ...
Damned, The: The Torments of The Damned
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1978
(a somewhat sobering cautionary tale of our time)Charles Shaar Murray asks, is that a light at the end of the tunnel – or another oncoming ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
DID THEY really get what they wanted? They being black Americans. Gil Scott-Heron doesn't think so. He thinks that what they got came only on ...
Boz Scaggs: Portrait of The Image as a Reality
Interview by Max Bell, NME, January 1978
The elusive BOZ SCAGGS picks up the phone in deepest America and suavely refutes all allegations of artifice. 'My image is no pose man – ...
Last Poets, The, Merger: The Last Poets/Merger: Acklam Hall, Notting Hill, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
CHANCES OF seeing The Last Poets I would have thought were only marginally better than those of seeing The Beatles. ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, January 1978
HAVE THE Black Slate group been taking their cue from Glitterbest Promotions? ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
(AND YES, THEY DO WANT TO BE TEEN IDOLS...) ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie and the Banshees: A World Domination By 1984 Special
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, January 1978
This is Siouxsie and the Banshees/They are patient/They will win/In the end. ...
Keith Hudson: A Better Brand Of Dub
Review by Penny Reel, NME, January 1978
YOU MAY recall reading, a couple of years ago, an NME recommendation of Keith Hudson's Pick A Dub LP, on the now sadly defunct Atra ...
Split Enz: College Of Art, Maidstone
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1978
'THE DAMBUSTERS March' (at double speed, natch) fades away as Split Enz vocalist Neil Finn ("Actually, we're New Zealanders not Australians") plunges through the murky ...
Slaughter and the Dogs: Marquee Club, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
NINTEEN seventy-seven happened pretty fast. ...
Who, The: The Who: Quadrophenia
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1978
The Department of Cryptic Headlines presents a retrospective view of THE WHO's Quadrophenia, noting that Mr Pete Townshend's Mod vision is as valid now as ...
Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band: Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1978
AND WELCOME back the Bosstown Sound! That's Boston USA, spelled B-O-S-S-T-O-W-N, home of the J. Geils Band, Aerosmith, The Modern Lovers (sort of) and now…Willie ...
Frank Zappa: Stern Words in Knightsbridge
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1978
…when cynical ol’ Uncle Frank knocks punk, record companies and U.S. presidents, and reveals the CIA plot to spike San Francisco… ...
Equators, The: The Equators: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, January 1978
DURING RECENT months we have been witness to increasing media interest in the indigenous UK reggae scene, especially as focussed upon Matumbi, Black Slate, Steel ...
Dire Straits, Talking Heads: Talking Heads, Dire Straits: Sheffield University, Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, January 1978
How 77 moves smoothly into '78 ...
Review by Andy Gill, NME, January 1978
SO NOW the whole Toussaint catalogue is available again, enabling listeners of taste to trace for themselves the development of the New Orleans man's approach, ...
Iggy Pop and James Williamson: Kill City (Radar Records)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, January 1978
WELL, IT'S finally out and yup, disregarding the shoddy cover, it's a great album. ...
Osmonds, The: The Osmonds: The Osmonds' Greatest Hits
Review by Mick Farren, NME, January 1978
I HAVE this theory that they're a totally separate (and probably hostile) species. They breed and multiply in hidden canyons of the American South West. ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
An investigation of the theory behind TALKING HEAD music. ...
Lonnie Donegan: Will The Circle Really Be Unbroken?
Interview by Mick Farren, NME, February 1978
LONNIE DONEGAN'S life seemed to have completed such a perfect full circle that it could almost prove even the dumbest hippy's half-assed theories of a ...
Sex Pistols, The, Sid Vicious: An Evening with Sid and Nancy – The Odd Couple Behind Closed Doors.
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1978
SWAYING CRAZILY, Sid Vicious clambers up off the bed. He manages the three or four steps to where, obeying live-in-lover Nancy's instructions, he removes the ...
Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1978
"FRANK ZAPPA is the leader and musical director of the Mothers Of Invention. His performances in person with the group are rare. His personality means ...
Millie Jackson: Odeons Birmingham And Hammersmth
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1978
Millie's preoccupations, said The Guardian, are sex, sex and more sex; can't argue with that. ...
Hirth Martinez: Big Bright Street
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
APART FROM its notoriety for encouraging idle hedonism, California also seems to breed an unusually high percentage of oddballs. ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
EXCESS AND incongruity seem to be the key factors at work here. An abundance of diverse stylistic elements piledriven and packed high into what must ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1978
What do all these bands have in common? ANSWER: They're all EDDIE AND THE HOTRODS, slidin' on the moment and trying not to fall off. ...
XTC: Sheffield Polytechnic, Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, February 1978
IT WAS pointed out, some while ago, that a large number of punk outfits preface their name with the definite article, as compared with the ...
Adam & The Ants: Marquee Club, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1978
Termites devour part of New Wave ...
Millie Jackson: Another Day, Another Dollar
Report and Interview by Cliff White, NME, February 1978
A COLLEAGUE FROM another paper and I were swopping reactions about Millie Jackson. He'd interviewed her in London; I'd caught up with her a couple ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All
Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1978
CBS HAVE A problem. To be sure, it's the sort of ticklish little teaser that most record companies would be glad to scratch, but a ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
"Anybody wants to get mellow better turn around and get the fuck outa here." ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, February 1978
999 ARE A heavy-pop quartet signed favourably to United Artists. They are, in effect, on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. A likeable bunch ...
Tina Turner: If This Is Vegas, Give Me More
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, February 1978
JANUARY, Millie Jackson; February, Tina Turner; soon to come, Gladys Knight...gee whizz, can it all be too much for this white boy? No, no, no; ...
Little Feat: Waiting for Columbus
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
IF IT'S DEAD, IT'S SIX FEAT UNDER ...
Clash, The: Cult Figure Cuts Clash To Suit American Dream Machine
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
SANDY PEARLMAN IS A BRISK and lively talker. He can probably offer an animated dissertation of any number of irregular topics, ranging from advancements in ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1978
They came out of the mists of Hibernia... They were wild, weird, and whacky...They were the first Rock-A-Hula Beat Combo to hit Scotland since 1961...They ...
Dillinger: Central London Polytechnic, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, February 1978
ON THIS opening night of his first full-length tour of the UK college circuit, Lester Bullocks better-known as Dillinger maintained an impressive, large and volubly ...
Big In Japan: From Little Idiots Big Idiots Do Grow
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, February 1978
"BIG IN JAPAN...BIG IN JAPAN...BIG IN JAPAN..." ...
Magazine, Howard Devoto: Magazine: Howard Devoto's Enigma Variations
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1978
HOWARD DEVOTO gives good face. Unlined and triangular, topped with a vast expanse of forehead; the kind that popular folklore maintains is the unmistakeable dead-giveaway ...
Adverts, The: The Adverts: Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1978
ONCE UPON a time, the fastest way of revealing yourself as an Old Fart Who Didn't Understand The New Wave was to allege – in ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1978
THERE'S NO-ONE lower than Nick, it's been said, and here's the booty to bear that out. ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1978
The 1978 edition BRYAN FERRY ‘These Four Wall of my Prison I Have Come to Love.'Byron said that. ...
Rush: Is Everybody Feelin' all RIGHT? (Geddit...?)
Interview by Miles, NME, March 1978
The gist of this being that H.M. tourist RUSH are all RIGHT-er than most, as MILES discovers ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1978
"CBGB & OMFUG" is what it says over the door of Hilly Kristal's rock and roll dive down on New York's Bowery. That's the club ...
Subway Sect, The: The Subway Sect: Bernard Rhodes Great Unknowns Payola Special
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, March 1978
SUBWAY SECT have been together in some form or another since the semi-legendary 100 Club punk festival in September 1976. The line-up on that date ...
Blue Oyster Cult: The Cult Occult And The Disco Nightmare
Interview by Max Bell, NME, March 1978
ALLEN LANIER sits down for a pleasant chat about bikers, Burt Bacharach and band ideology. ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1978
I'M AN AMERICAN ARTIST , I HAVE NO GUILT, I TRUST MY GUITAR ...
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, March 1978
HALFWAY through, this chaotic gig had all the makings of one of the Great Disasters Of Our Time. ...
Wreckless Eric: Sheffield Polytechnic
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, March 1978
A YOUNG lady appears on the stage and proceeds to shout something about today being her birthday, saxist John Glyn accompanying her (less than diplomatic) ...
Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band: Palladium, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, March 1978
How the old wave is coming to terms with post-"77 existence. Meeting the challenge of '78: Alex Harvey hired an orchestra, a pipe and drum band, ...
Profile by Nick Kent, NME, March 1978
IT WAS AN EVENT of no great consequence. In a swoop on EMI's press department back in spring 1974, intent only on plundering as much ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1978
WRECKLESS UBU: Waiting For The End ...
Elvis Costello: This Year's Model (Radar Records)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, March 1978
THERE'S ONLY one real problem facing the reviewer assessing this, our El's second album, but if it's tricky enough to deal with then at least ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1978
EVERYONE GETS that glazed marzipan look in make-up. Maybe it's some weird chemical that they put in the booze in the Artists' Bar at Television ...
Devo: Hi! We're DEVO and We've come to get your toilet ready for the 1980's
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1978
THE TRUTH ABOUT DE-EVOLUTION AND OTHER PLANETARY MODES. ...
John Lydon, Sex Pistols, The: The Poolside Pronouncements Of Johnny 'No-Tan' Rotten
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1978
JOHN ROTTEN likes dressing up. Seeing him stuck away under a parasol by the side of the Olympic-sized pool of the Kingston Sheraton at eleven ...
Soft Boys, The: The Soft Boys/The Brakes: The Nashville, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1978
Why it's safer to lack discipline than imagination ...
Devo: Free Trade Hall, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, March 1978
SUDDENLY.....Devo! ...
Elvis Costello: Holocaust In Microcosm
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1978
"HEY ELVIIIIIS!!!" There's this blonde gumdrop down the front, see, shaking it down in that demure stoned way that hippie girls seem to favour, and ...
Joe Ely: Honky Tonk Masquerade
Review by Fred Dellar, NME, March 1978
'T FOR Texas, T for Tennessee' sang Jimmie Rodgers back in '28, cementing the blues alongside country music, thus helping himself to a million-seller. ...
Overview by Paul Rambali, NME, April 1978
Exploring alternative hives of industry in Akron, City of Rubber, and Cleveland, City of Steel. ...
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, April 1978
ARTHUR RIMBAUD, the late 19th Century French poet who dreamt of 'recreating life through his words' and whose work helped inspire poetic Symbolism, Dadaism and ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, April 1978
ON PAPER Generation X have their credentials for being The Now Sensation all present and correct. They've had them for a long time too. ...
Cheap Trick, Johnny Moped, The Stukas: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, April 1978
ON SUNDAY night at the Roundhouse, Cheap Trick showed how it should be done. ...
The Bush Fire That Ate Bogville, Arizona
Overview by Paul Rambali, NME, April 1978
Oh-no-not-another-fanzine-survey (goes West) ...
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, April 1978
Meet Tricky Ricky and the Denim Deliverers. Ricky Neilson and CHEAP TRICK, to be more precise, who're currently wowing the Heavy Metal Hordes and MAX ...
Generation X: Generation Rock & Roll Soul
Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, April 1978
MIDNIGHT IN THE basement console room at Advision Studios, London W1. As Generation X bassist Tony James avidly demands of producer Martin Rushent that he ...
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1978
ANGELA IS a slim, pretty, 16-year-old blonde with the kind of Camay complexion and wide-eyed innocent appeal that drives randy old journalists into that wretched ...
Professor Longhair: Ronnie Scotts, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1978
I HAVE immense admiration for Professor Longhair ...
Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey: The Meat And The Motion
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1978
Allen Toussaint: Motion (Warner Brothers Import)Lee Dorsey: Night People (ABC) ...
Graham Parker: The On-Going Story Of Little Men In Glasses
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, April 1978
Graham Parker, in this instance — who reflects on the vagaries of the rock power struggle while socking it to 'em in Ireland. When you're ...
Television, Only Ones, The: Television, The Only Ones: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1978
LAST YEAR, Television arrived in Britain under a shower of gilded prose and hyperbole claiming that they were the hottest thing since the invention of ...
Todd Rundgren: Hermit of Mink Hollow (Bearsville)
Review by Max Bell, NME, April 1978
AND JUST when we all thought that Todd Rundgren had finally disappeared into the darkest recesses of his cosmological inner sanctum he comes back at ...
Band, The: The Band: The Last Waltz (Warner Brothers)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, April 1978
The second feeding of the 5000... And lo, the leftovers filled six sides of vinyl. And the people marveled. ...
Bootsy Collins, Raydio: Bootsy's Rubber Band, Raydio: Felt Forum, NYC
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, April 1978
SELF-STYLED Player Of The Year, Bootsy Collins is hip to the dynamics of Showtime. As his music is a fantastic flight from bases built by ...
Kraftwerk: Terminal Weirdness à Paris
Report by Andy Gill, NME, April 1978
(Airport terminal, that is. Meanwhile somewhere up in some posey skyscraper, KRAFTWERK are boring everyone stiff...) ...
Kraftwerk: The Man Machine (Capitol)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, April 1978
IT IS RATHER unfortunate that Kraftwerk's current popularity is based, to a large extent, on the chic appeal of David Bowie's favour. True, such favour ...
Report by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1978
AS HE STOOD at the top of Whitehall at 10.35 last Sunday morning gazing impassively towards Nelson's Column, the optimism of Commander Walker of Scotland ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1978
THE ONE thing more annoying than a duff album, by a duff band is a duff album by a good band. ...
X-Ray Spex: Poly Styrene Is Still Strictly Roots
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1978
SUNDAY NIGHT in Croydon, and Poly Styrene's voice is shot. Flu goes for the throat like a cornered rat: when the victim's a singer, the ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, May 1978
ALL ROADS LEAD to the 100 Club in London's West End every Thursday night, where – "in tune to Silver Camel Sound" – the weekly ...
Reggae Regular, Gladiators, The: The Gladiators, Reggae Regular: Rafters, Manchester
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, May 1978
OF LATE, I and I have been nursing a nagging ambivalence towards reggae. ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, May 1978
TO USE an alimentary analogy, punk can be seen as a kind of musical laxative, clearing away all that stodgy stuff that was blocking the ...
Tubes, The: The Tubes: New Theatre, Oxford
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1978
I DIDN'T see this exotic troupe last time around but I do recall one particularly purple review of them; words to the effect: "Would you ...
Horslips: Heard The One About Irish Band And The Green Beer?
Report by Andy Gill, NME, May 1978
No? Read on then, bro'. This is a story of amazing weirdness. You obviously haven't heard about the green underwear either. Or the green Chicago ...
Meat Loaf: New Hope for the Heavier Man
Interview by Cliff White, NME, May 1978
CLIFF WHITE, who thought he had a weight problem, suddenly feels emaciated. Thanks to Slender? No way. Thanks to MEAT LOAF. Say it loud, I’m ...
David Bowie: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, May 1978
IT WOULD make a great parlour game were some enterprising company to formalize rules. A game this writer has been known to play over the ...
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, May 1978
EDGAR FROESE reflects on days of hope and dissipation, and wonders why the photographer's hiding behind a pillar. ...
Darts, The: The Darts: Gaumont Cinema, Southampton
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, May 1978
CLIFF WHITE CRIPPLES THE STARS! (No. 3 in an exciting, if tasteless, new series) ...
Adam & The Ants, X-Ray Spex: X-Ray Spex, Adam & The Ants, The Automatics: The Roundhouse, London
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, May 1978
AS MS. POLY'S strychnine air-raid voice shreds the encore and all present, the audience front-line snaps. ...
Cimarons, The: The Cimarons: 100 Club, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, May 1978
FIVE LIVE Cimarons is generally cognate with an agreeable evening's entertainment, such as this duly proved. ...
Flamin' Groovies, The: The Flamin' Groovies: Rafters, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, May 1978
ABOUT BEFORE 12.15...I don't want to talk about it. ...
Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Junior Murvin, Tapper Zukie: Jamaica: The Young Lion Roars, part 1
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, May 1978
"WELCOME TO REMA," reads the spray-can graffiti down by 7th Street in Trenchtown. "Peace, Love And Unity". Over on the other side of the Calamite ...
Wilko Johnson — To Hell And Back Via The M1 Caff
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1978
THE MARQUEE'S jammed up jelly tight; foot on foot, elbow in kidney, spilled drinks and apologies – or not, as the case may be – ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, June 1978
STYX, AS you'll doubtless be aware if you're familiar with the curious musical predilections of our American cousins, are a disgustingly successful five-piece band of ...
Brass Construction, Rokotto: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, June 1978
...CLIFF WHITE sounds his Funky horn about what he sees as a lack of critical perspective... ...
Peter Tosh, Culture: Jamaica: The Young Lion Roars – The JA Connexion Part 2
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, June 1978
SURROUNDED on three sides by a raw, harshly primal terrain that combines austere Bronte-evoking moorland with a dense near-Northern Californian verdancy, the Jamaican Tourist Board ...
Cramps, The: The Cramps: Psychobilly and Other Musical Diseases
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1978
I SEARCHED HIGH and I searched low. I scuffled around garbage cans, looked under cars and peered in doorways. ...
Interview by Andy Gill, NME, June 1978
BY DAY, DENNIS DE YOUNG WAS A REGULAR GUY WITH A PONCEY NAME, LACQUERED HAIR, AND A PENCHANT FOR GAUDY FAKE ANTIQUE FURNITURE... BUT BY ...
Live Review by Ira Robbins, NME, June 1978
THE HEAVY rain outside did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the audience inside. With a majority of those in attendance being press and record ...
Bruce Springsteen: Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1978
So where you been, Bruce? ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: Some Girls
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1978
THESE LAST two or three years, the Stones haven't really been that important to rock and roll. ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1978
Form a band instead and drive others to it. PAUL RAMBALI Checks Out The Odd Couple From The Big Apple ...
Heatwave: West Runton Pavilion, Norfolk
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, June 1978
Waiting for the Getdown gestalt ...
Jefferson Starship: Grace Slick's Superstarship
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, June 1978
Planet minders turn platinum miners ...
Band, The: Ten Years of Stage Fright: The Life And Times Of Robbie Robertson & The Band
Retrospective and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, June 1978
ALTHOUGH AT the time individuals may tell you different, it's no big deal for a band to break up. It happens almost every week and, ...
Bootsy Collins: Bootsy: Developments in the Popcorn Industry
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1978
...a.k.a. A Visit To The funk Factory a.k.a. A Meeting With A Black Man In Daft Glasses a.k.a. PAUL RAMBALI talks to superfunkster BOOTSY COLLINS ...
Iggy Pop: Pure Pop……For Iggy People
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, June 1978
Iggy Pop: Music Machine, London ...
Bob Dylan: The View From Seat BB59
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1978
THE FIRST NIGHT it rained, and it seemed that the atmosphere would be nostalgic to the last: all of us in our massed thousands gathered ...
Alternative TV: The Image Has Cracked
Review by Paul Morley, NME, June 1978
MARK PERRY has been a confused person and, through that, confusing. ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, June 1978
Power, Pomp, Purity, Pretention, Popularity... The RUSH Problem ...
Alternative TV: The World At Once…Dateline: Stonehenge
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
I FOUND myself re-reading Colin Wilsons' prodigal slice of philosophical mythmaking The Outsider the other week. During the time I spent submerging myself gleefully into ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: Bingley Hall, Stafford
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, July 1978
BETWEEN I AND I, a writer's relationship with his reader is a balance of equal power: the former dictates terms, but only at the latter's ...
Bootsy Collins: Bootsy's Rubber Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, July 1978
A MESSAGE from the Mothership: "If you ain't gonna get it on, take your dead ass home." Some did...some of those dead asses...they couldn't cope ...
George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Ain't Nuthin' But The Blues Band
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1978
LOOKED AT MY watch and it was almost one, and George Thorogood And The Destroyers are just sloping on stage for their third set of ...
Slaughter and the Dogs: Do It Dog Style
Review by Ian Penman, NME, July 1978
UNFORTUNATELY, A posthumous debut album. Quite something, not even the anti-Christ (Sex Pistols) managed to pull that off. But it is a rather sad, inevitably ...
Undertones, The: The Undertones: Queen's University, Belfast
Live Review by Gavin Martin, NME, July 1978
ON A NIGHT when one of the world's top bands, Ireland's favourite sons Thin Lizzy, were packing them in at the Ulster Hall, it was ...
Boney M: By The Rivers (well…sands, beaches, coves, quays and bays) Of Babbacombe
Report by Penny Reel, NME, July 1978
TORBAY OR NOT Torbay – that is the question! I am standing at the barrier of Platform 2, Paddington, one chilly Saturday morning expressing Brandoesque ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1978
THERE IS a particular type of songstress who feels the need, once a year, to commit her emotional diaries to vinyl. The purpose and merits ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: The Beatles: The Authorised Biography, Hunter Davies
Book Review by Bob Woffinden, NME, July 1978
FIRST PUBLISHED in 1968, Hunter Davies' official biography of The Beatles had just been reissued, for the most part in its entire, original form. ...
Black Slate: Music Machine, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, July 1978
THE ACCOMPLISHED Black Slate roadshow has reached just about the limit of its capabilities without coursing a drastic change of direction. ...
Subway Sect, The, Prefects, The: The Prefects, Subway Sect: A Tale Of Two Bands
Profile by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
TWO GROUPS, both of whom have to some extent followed their instincts. Prefects have always been aware of the area they were aiming for; Subway ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Clash On Tour
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1978
IT'S AS IF THE Clash's 'Police And Thieves' stage backdrop has suddenly transmogrified into moving 3-D. ...
Big Star: The Big Star Story, Take 4
Retrospective by Max Bell, NME, July 1978
THE BIG STAR story seems to have taken up a considerable part of my writing life. This is the fourth time in three years that ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, July 1978
Reach Out, We'll Be There (Ha, Ha – Fooled You) ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1978
I'M NOT at all sure about this band. Their roots place them in the Boston, Massachusetts region which, not being New York or LA, guarantees ...
This Heat, Pop Group, The: The Pop Group/This Heat: Collegiate Theatre, London
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, July 1978
TWO SEEMINGLY unconventional, superficially 'bleak', jagged modern-music outfits. Both engineer music suggesting radical departure, still somehow quaint. ...
Ramones, The: The Ramones: Ramones Go Gold?
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1978
TOMMY RAMONE don't wanna be a pinhead no more (that's assuming you thought he was a pinhead in the first place – in which case ...
Shirts, The: The Shirts: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, July 1978
DO NOT BE fooled by New York New Wave. New York Punk is mainly the product of the small, highly incestuous Soho arts scene. Jimmy ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
MANCHESTER, 1977: the picture of a period stutters erratically to a docile completion. The picture is inconclusive, blotchy, but considering circumstances the best possible. ...
Buzzcocks, The: Rock Against Racism's Carnival Of The North: Chaos & Concern
Report by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
THE ANTI-NAZI LEAGUE and Rock Against Racism were formed specifically as a reaction against racism. ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
WITH HER first album for six years, Annette Peacock softens the fabric. Glancing curiously and greedily at the rhythms and advantages at the tip of ...
Rezillos, The: The Rezillos: Can't Stand The Rezillos
Review by Paul Morley, NME, July 1978
FINALLY, AFTER telling wrangles, we have Can't Stand The Rezillos, 13 quick cuts lustily shot through with cheap culture combinations. Tanners, annuals, Stan Lee, beatpunk ...
Interview by Penny Reel, NME, July 1978
OF AN EARLY Saturday evening, when there is but little or even less activity generating in this man's discomix – prior to a blue wave ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, July 1978
THE NOW Society, a university-based organisation, has been putting on gigs featuring local, predominantly experimental bands (such are the local mores) for some time now; ...
Stiff Little Fingers: The Harp Bar, Belfast
Live Review by Gavin Martin, NME, July 1978
THE HARP Bar is packed for the return of Ulster's most popular and notorious modern rock band, Stiff Little Fingers. ...
Band, The: The Last Waltz: Time Gentlemen Please
Film/DVD Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1978
The Last Waltz (United Artists)Directed by Martin ScorseseStarring The Band, Bob Dylan etc. etc. ...
Raydio: Raydio & A Moon In June Reality
Interview by Cliff White, NME, August 1978
RAY PARKER Jr., creator and main man in Raydio, the American sextet who recently toured with Bootsy and are just scoring their second British hit ...
Suicide, Clash, The: The Clash, Suicide: The Music Machine, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1978
TIME HAS come today. Third of four Music Machine gigs and – surprise! – the ritual bottling of Suicide appears to have been omitted for ...
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, August 1978
MAGAZINE, MYTHS AND MIRAGES ...
Adverts, The: The Adverts: The Marquee, London
Live Review by Miles, NME, August 1978
Gobba Gobba On Gaye ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, August 1978
CABARET VOLTAIRE performances, if I can make a sweeping generalisation, are always interesting but never satisfying. Interesting because they're prepared to probe, often at the ...
Report by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1978
Last September, in our extraordinarily collectable NME Collectors Issue, we looked at the seemingly unstoppable explosion of independent record labels. Times change, though. Rebels become ...
Buddy Guy, Junior Wells: Buddy Guy and Junior Wells: Why Are These Guys Grinning?
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1978
...They've been 'between contracts' since 1969, there's hardly any such thing as a black audience for their music and on their recent visit to London ...
Sham 69: Pursey's Down The Dogtrack
Report and Interview by Danny Baker, NME, August 1978
Sham 69's leader blows his wages, ponders his role, and has a few larfs. DANNY BAKER goes to see an old mate about a dog. ...
Smiley Lewis: I Hear You Knocking
Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1978
WHEN FATS Domino first bounced out of the bayou with his bronze voice, gold rings, pumping piano and infectious grin, half a pace behind him ...
Review by Penny Reel, NME, August 1978
IN THE words of the legend inscribed on t-shirts won by WEA pinheads at the time of the Hansaettes' second album, Love For Sale – ...
Only Ones, The: The Only Ones: The Bristol Community Free Festival, Ashton Court, Bristol
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, August 1978
ANOTHER BOY, ANOTHER BLOODY GUITAR HERO ...
Asleep at the Wheel: Collision Course (Capital)
Review by Max Bell, NME, August 1978
STRANGE TO relate but not everything that emerges in the new release racks this week will bear the mark of androids in overalls. And disco ...
Gregory Isaacs: Presenting Mr Isaacs
Review by Penny Reel, NME, August 1978
PRIOR TO the glorious advent of soulful lover Pat Kelly in more recent weeks, lean, laconic crooner Gregory Isaacs was recognised as possibly the most ...
Only Ones, The: The Only Ones: Peter Perrett Picked A Peck Of Pickled Peppers
Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1978
LAST MONTH, Peter Perrett won himself a Concorde ticket to Brazil. The loot for the trip came not from playing rhythm guitar but poker. ...
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, August 1978
AT ABOUT 3 pm the Sunday before last, one American rhythm 'n' blues pioneer and six British beer 'n' peanut-circuit musicians got together for the ...
Snakefinger, Residents, The: Snakefinger: Meet the Latest New Wave Cult Figure
Profile by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1978
YOU’VE SEEN the ads. You've been enticed, or not by the quirky graphics. Perhaps you've even bought the record, itself as quirky and improbable as ...
Report and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, August 1978
REEL-TO-REEL life: patt-ur stagg-urs on... In bu-tween the s-o-n-g-s... ...
Etta James: Soul Punk Etta: Superstardom the Hard Way on a Dollar a Day
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, August 1978
"THANKSGIVING DAY in November will be my silver anniversary: 25 years since I cut my first record and I haven't become a superstar yet. It ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1978
BUFFY SAINTE MARIE used to have this song called 'I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again', but you won't find Elizabeth Barraclough or Carlene Carter ...
The Charts and the 12-inch Limited Edition Single
Comment by Bob Woffinden, NME, August 1978
NME's LAST chart-hyping piece concluded with a statement to the effect that the twin threat of both exposure in the press and the greater number ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1978
TWENTY-EIGHT year-old Gene Simmons of New York City, New York, is sitting in his hotel-room near Marble Arch. It's four o'clock on a humid Friday ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Bansheed! What's In An Image?
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, August 1978
JOHN MCKAY, the Banshees' guitarist, has a pale, ashen look constantly playing about his features and talks in measured, serious tones. ...
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1978
DEBBIE HARRY: a few more brisk calculations in the dry equation, and she will be a star. A household name. An object. An illusion. Well ...
Commodores, The: The Commodores: Motown's Black Beatles
Profile by Cliff White, NME, September 1978
HOW'S about it, Expressways Moosik? We're broadcastin' at ya from the command module, Commodore Steamship, Commodore Country, sitting right down town, Tuskogee, Alabama, modulatin', right ...
Ultravox: Vee Hav Vays Of Makink You Experiment
Report and Interview by Miles, NME, September 1978
Unfortunately, this piece is not about Germans. It's about ULTRAVOX. However, it does take place in Germany. Will that do? ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1978
EVERYBODY'S FAVOURITE cult – and an even bigger cult than Nick Lowe, his erstwhile companion in the reversible Rockpile – is the little Welsh rock'n'roller, ...
Joy Division: Band On The Wall, Manchester
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1978
THOSE FAMILIAR with this young quartet. mainly through their excitable appearance on the "Short Circuit" pretty package, and to a lesser extent with their self ...
Stranglers, The: The Stranglers
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1978
"BUT WHY," asks the New York groupie journalist, "do The Stranglers make such inflammatory remarks about Americans? I really don't understand it," she concludes, glancing ...
Cabaret Voltaire: Sheffield – This Week's Leeds
Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, NME, September 1978
UNTIL LAST YEAR, Sheffield was undoubtedly the most musically inactive city in Britain. For a city with over half a million people, the paucity of ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, September 1978
The Further Decline And Fall Of The Western World ...
Patti Smith: Breaking The Shackles Of Original Sin
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1978
The White Niggah, Biblical Obsession, and The Mutant Army witnessed at Cardiff – where discussions encompass the sexiness of Prince Charles and the pressures of ...
Interview by Andy Gill, NME, September 1978
"Well it's alright just listenCan't wait for 78God those r.p.m.Can't wait for themDon't just watchHours happenGet in there kidAnd snap them."– Wire, 'It's So Obvious' ...
Fall, The: The Fall: Marquee, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1978
I AM A commentator in a Consumers' Guide. This week I guide you towards entertainers The Fall, as I always have done. ...
Annette Peacock: A Rock & Role Alternative
Interview by Ian Penman, NME, September 1978
"I THINK what happened was, after I left New York all the anger and the toughness and the hostility seemed to dissipate – and in ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1978
THAT AKRON ALBUM took its listeners by surprise. Simultaneously old, new and current, it was fashioned – like any good adventure playground – from whatever ...
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1978
Mister DAVE 'Are You Sure Chuck Played It Thaat Way?' EDMUNDS, the celebrated Welsh lickologist, persevered and learned those classic solos note for note. So ...
Chas and Dave: Chas And Dave: What We Want Is Rockney
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, September 1978
...an ethnic feature which eschews 'plastic fantastic kharzis', refers frequently to 'geezers', and acknowledges virtue by repeated use of the colloquialism 'bleedin' great'. Subject: CHAS ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1978
LARRY CARLTON, super side-man should need no introduction. The weeping, fluid style that Carlton rings from his 335 has become a definitive sound on albums ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1978
PARDON ME if I've misunderstood, but amongst all those pretty speeches and petty let-downs didn't somebody once ask for 'new music night and day'? And ...
Mick Farren: Is There Life After Dingwalls?
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1978
DESPITE THE SILK shawl wrapped about its neck to prevent its head falling off, there is a dignity, a pride, even a sense of all ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1978
"YOU CAN touch the magic tonight," claimed guitarist Eric Stewart. ...
Annie Nightingale Joins The Old Grey Whistle Test
Profile and Interview by Bob Woffinden, NME, September 1978
WHY THE BBC MAKES YOUNG WOMEN CARRY OUT THIS HIDEOUS ANCIENT RITUAL ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1978
How to almost drown your way to a name and fame ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead's First Annual Pyramid Prank
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1978
"There were no sets. Sometimes we'd get up and play for ten minutes and all freak out and split. We'd just do it however it ...
Linda Ronstadt: Living In The USA (Asylum)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1978
LINDA RONSTADT – oh my God, she's so hunky. Those long, bronzed legs, that Ms Piggy face, those capable fingers – is it any wonder ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, September 1978
STUDIO TAN drops into the industry's autumn orgy unheralded. ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Problems with The Roxy
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1978
I'D CALLED Mick Jones last Friday night The parsimonious Bernie Rhodes – who, though a replacement manager has yet to be found (and it is ...
Rose Royce, Stargard: Odeon, Birmingham
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1978
IT SURE WUZ A GREAT PAAAARTY... ...
Crusaders, The: The Crusaders: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, October 1978
ON STAGE, as on record, The Crusaders an elusive synthesis of assorted musical elements which, although generally bonded in a cohesive sound that is unmistakably ...
Blue Oyster Cult: Some Enchanted Evening
Review by Max Bell, NME, October 1978
NOW THAT Blue Oyster Cult have a patented studio style of their own, neatly quashing any lingering doubts that they had softened up in the ...
Dr. Alimantado: Dr Alimantado: Best Dressed Chicken In Town
Review by Penny Reel, NME, October 1978
INTRODUCING THE august surgeon of ital nourishment on a ten track album of selected singles dating from 1973-6. ...
Buzzcocks, The: Buzzcocks: The Lust Train Stops Here
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1978
LOVE… Ain't that something to be proud of? Isn't it a bitch? Don't the waves crash, the trumpets roar and the planet split? Doesn't the ...
Sid Vicious: Max's Kansas City, NYC
Live Review by Ira Robbins, NME, October 1978
ON AN unusually busy New York rock night, the attraction of an ex-Pistol was apparently sufficient to pack Max's out for a couple of sets ...
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Music Machine, Camden Town, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1978
OCTOBER SEES the inevitable recognition of two of the greatest rock'n'roll performers of all time — Bette Midler and Wayne County who, even before Wayne ...
John McLaughlin & The One Truth Band: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
THIS WAS A celebration of John McLaughlin's 25th anniversary as a guitar player — an event similarly rnarked by the recent Electric Guitarist album, which ...
Report by Penny Reel, NME, October 1978
ONE NIGHT I AM standing outside the Jamaican pattie shop in Portobello Road partaking of the same when a car pulls up on the street ...
Penetration: Moving Targets (Virgin)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1978
THIS YEAR A LINE formed. At one end Penetration, and from there through Joy Division, The Mekons, The Slits, The Fall, The Passage, The Pop ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
AND YES, this unfortunately is where it separates. 999's second album – always a fateful thing – and the illusory packaging hides a regression. ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
"I'M NOT really interested in the quality of the film, what they furnish is an excuse to do some music...they're areas where I can experiment ...
Rose Royce: Socio/Political Conscience? Waal, Ah'm Rilly Into Chutney
Interview by Danny Baker, NME, October 1978
"SO HOWS about up at number two, we have the one and only Rose Royce with 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore'...goodness gracious yes..." ...
R. D. Laing: Vinyl Head Shrinker Tells Of Life Before Death…
Interview by Max Bell, NME, October 1978
R. D. LAING – psychologist, psychiatrist, author, lecturer, institutional therapist and now rock star? ...
Red Krayola: Red Crayola: Hope & Anchor, London
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1978
AN EARLY psychedelic legend came to roost unexpectedly last weekend in the none-too-appropriate environs of the Hope and Anchor. ...
Buzzcocks, The: The Buzzcocks: Top Rank, Shefield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1978
Who, exactly, is gobbing on whom? ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Queens University, Belfast
Live Review by Gavin Martin, NME, October 1978
THE LAST time The Clash tried to play The Ulster Hall a combination of big business insurance moguls and local bureaucratic bullshit caused the gig ...
B.B. King: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, October 1978
IF ONLY B.B.King had let his fingers, and not his likeable but oversized ego, do the talking then I would have enjoyed his return to ...
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich: Dingwalls, Camden
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1978
HIPSTER PANTS held up with two-inch-wide white belts, op-art shirts with bloody great monstrous collars that hang down to armpit level and then button down ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1978
The Pop Group/Nico/Linton Kwesi Johnson/Cabaret Voltaire: Electric Ballroom, London ...
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1978
Dr Feelgood: Sheffield City Hall ...
pragVEC: Another Strange, New And Enticing Pop Group
Profile and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
A NEW extended play record to enthuse about. A new band to sell to you. Their name is pragVEC; the four tracks they've recorded are ...
Interview by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
THIS YEAR'S Weather Report is twice as nice as last year's. And doubly dodgy. ...
Live Review by Danny Baker, NME, October 1978
A NIGHT distinguished for me by the worst support set I've ever heard and the most tuchus-licking tolerant audience ever assembled in one Vaudeville room. ...
Report by Max Bell, NME, October 1978
W. C. FIELDS would have hated the "Be Stiff" tour. A sixteen year child star who toured with Mickey Rooney? A performing punk dwarf called ...
Lurkers, The: The Lurkers: Strange Daze In Sheffield (Or Maybe Halifax)
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1978
SOMEONE MUST have been spreading lies about me, for without doing anything wrong I was told to write a feature about The Lurkers. The Man ...
Jam, The: The Jam: All Mod Cons
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1978
THIRD ALBUMS generally mean that it's shut-up-or-get-cut-up time: when an act's original momentum has drained away and they've got to cover the distance from a ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, October 1978
POOP GO the wizened wastrels! The starry, clammy curtain rises once again, and here they are, still waiting. ...
Scritti Politti: Reflections On In(ter)dependence: Scritti Politti
Interview by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
MEET SCRITTI Politti: three or four young musicians (one is a floating member), and equally important, a large circle of close friends who provide help, ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Black'n White Drop Outasite
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
The Clash: Roxy Theatre, Harlesden ...
Steel Pulse: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
THE RAINBOW Theatre seemed a poor venue for Steel Pulse's Big London Gig, but reconsidering during this performance, it was probably second choice only to ...
Undertones, The: Crash Course in Corruption with The Undertones
Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, NME, November 1978
Their record's bubbling under......so why aren't they bubbling over? ...
Status Quo: If You Can't Stand The Heat
Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
WHAT IS beyond Status Quo, I often wonder? What is beyond tracks with titles such as 'I'm Givin' Up Worryin'', 'Gonna Teach You To Love ...
Captain Beefheart: Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
OUR FRIEND makes its long overdue appearance, a record of fragments that has a bewildered Beefheart crawling out of the messes of '74/'75 and trying ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
JIMMY PURSEY'S Ulysses – a day in the life of 'a working class kid'. A shrug of the shoulders. ...
Book Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
WHAT HAS rock and roll got to do with poetry? What is a poetess doing with rock and roll? What am I doing reading and ...
Isaac Hayes, Edwin Starr: Isaac Hayes And Edwin Starr: Live In Manchester
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1978
Two men with but one single thought: Which way is up? ...
Santana: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
A THREE-NIGHT sell out for sluggish pop group Santana is apparently natural and predictable but seems entirely ludicrous. They function, they churn, they exist – ...
Report and Interview by Penny Reel, NME, November 1978
BETHNAL, who by virtue of their multi-national background can't help accumulating 'political' overtones in these Rock Against Racism days, talk to PENNY REEL about the ...
Report and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
"Every night before I go to sleep/Find a ticket, win a lottery/Scoop the pearls up from the sea/Cash them in and..." ...
Residents, The: Residents Leave Home
Report and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1978
Those of you who follow the regular propaganda turns of those San Mateo obscurantists, The Residents, will have noticed of late certain odd developments in ...
George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Move It On Over
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1978
THE BOTTLENECK that ate Delaware returns to your hearts and turntables: no steps forward, no steps back. Move it On Over is this or any ...
Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians
Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
A MAJOR new work by Steve Reich, a 42-year-old composer and performer from New York. Music For 18 Musicians was conceived in May 1974 and ...
Residents, The: The Residents: Not Available
Review by Andy Gill, NME, November 1978
MORE SO than anything else they've done, when Not Available's weirdness wears off, its "merry tunes" become an indelible stain on one's day-to-day existence. After ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1978
"YOU ARE not in touch with the modern world, sucker," hissed the obnoxious little voice in my ear. 'Today's kids don't give a flying one ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, November 1978
HOLY KRISHNA! His beneficence returns to the fold of lesser mortals for the annual Santana lesson, that quest whose purpose is boundless, ineffable. Wondrous Santana, ...
Roy Brown: Cheapest Price In Town
Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1978
ALTHOUGH AT 53 going on 25, Roy Brown is relatively young for an R&B star who first recorded just after the war, there's no getting ...
Pere Ubu: Unique Ideas Lead To Prison
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1978
WE'S home, Huck!" The large, bulky frame squashed into the seat next to me delivers his quote from Mark Twain's fables of a more naive ...
John Martyn: London School of Economics, London
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
YOU DON'T need me at all – you know what happened, what will happen. ...
Duane Eddy, Jerry Lee Lewis: Jerry Lee Lewis, Duane Eddy: Live in Margate
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, November 1978
WHEN A promoter carts a journalist and photographer off to the opening night of a European tour he obviously wants to get a suitably rave ...
Cimarons, The, Sham 69: Sham 69 & The Cimarons: The West Country Invasion Starts Here
Report and Interview by Penny Reel, NME, November 1978
IT WOULD appear that someone's got it in for Jimmy Pursey and Sham 69. You see they're planting stories in the press to the effect ...
Third World: Now That We've Found A Hit
Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1978
BY JAMAICAN STANDARDS, Third World are pretty unique. Going against the run of the studio-dominated JA music scene, founder members guitarist Stephen "Cat" Coore and ...
Funkadelic, George Clinton: Funkadelic: The Noble Art of Rhythm'n'Biz
Profile and Interview by Cliff White, NME, November 1978
Meet GEORGE CLINTON, the man who created Funkadelica. ...
Julie Covington: Julie Covington
Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
MOVING BACK from stage to a studio, Ms Covington neatly avoids the cliches offered by the potentially drear and damaging Solo Album. ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
IT'S GOOD to hear that Oregon's music remains pure and fresh despite the possible clumsy patronage of a large label. Using a number of combinations ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Babylon By Bus
Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
ALL THE points are easily made. You have your join-the-dots special Christmas present package. Bob Marley and The Wailers skank in and out the Western ...
X-Ray Spex: X-Ray-Spex: Germ Free Adolescents
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1978
SMASH THE barriers and the truth shall make you free (as long as stocks last, anyway): barriers between humans and objects, between the natural (sic) ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: Meet The Killer
Interview by Cliff White, NME, November 1978
Women, liquor, the devil and me – JERRY LEE tells CLIFF WHITE a torrid tale ...
Philip Rambow: Whatever Happened To Philip Rambow?
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1978
Whatever happened to Philip Rambow? A year ago it finally seemed that his time was imminent. ...
Flying Lizards: Penseur in Patchy Light: David Cunningham…
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1978
is either a 3-time loser looking for a way out, OR......An entrepreneurial polymath looking for a way in. ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, November 1978
IT IS surely not coincidental that now Island seem to have relegated Bob Marley and company to the status of lampoonery with joke titled albums ...
Robert A. Johnson: Got Mah Ego Workin'
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, November 1978
When the Buffalo of Immodesty stomps the tender talent-plant 'neath its cloven heel, the result, as Confucius noted, is "rampant megabullshit, and I don't mean ...
Pure Hell: Just Another Bunch Of Middle Class Kids With Silly Names And Spiky Haircuts: Pure Hell
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1978
"H-E-E-EYY..." Pure Hell drummer Spider Blaze tousles his Rita Hayworth red crop and slaps his right palm down on mine, giving me one of those ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
Grrrrnrrhhhh!!! Repressed reviewer laments a bird and her bush ...
Lou Reed: Live – Take No Prisoners (Arista Import)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, November 1978
AH, LOU, we meet again. How long it's been. Ah, of course, don't tell me – Rock 'n' Roll Heart, wasn't it? A right piece ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, November 1978
JEAN-PAUL Sartre took mescaline once, to prove to himself that he wasn't necessarily the institution people thought he was, and as a result became convinced ...
Howard Devoto, Magazine: Howard Devoto: Calm And Confusion
Interview by Paul Morley, Ian Penman, NME, December 1978
WERE YOU a wimp at school?I wouldn't say I was a wimp. I think I did get bullied. ...
Cars, The: The Cars: Lyceum, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1978
THE CARS took the stage to a backing tape of revving engines, the principal mode of presentation for this Boston-based five piece. The house was ...
Boyfriends, The: The Boyfriends: Totley College, Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, December 1978
TOTLEY TEACHERS Training College stuck out on the edge of Derbyshire gives The Boyfriends' gig there the atmosphere of a village hop, and it suits ...
James Brown: OOOP! YAAA! UNNGH!
Live Review by Cliff White, NME, December 1978
(That's right, this is a James Brown review.)James Brown: Odeon, Hammersmith ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Shakedown Street
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1978
Sorry to interrupt your reverie, Jerome. But then, this far along, not much could. ...
Subway Sect, The: The Subway Sect: War Poet of The Modern World
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, December 1978
Old conceptions justifiedTradition stays in tuneYou make guitars talk informationThat tells you what to doThe lines that hit meAgain and againAfraid to take a strollOff ...
Olivia Newton John: Olivia Newton-John: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, December 1978
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN'S last night of an eight-week trundle through Japan, Australia and Europe was pretty poor. ...
Report and Interview by Andy Gill, NME, December 1978
They came from Outer Akron...Their purpose – Conquest.Their methods – Unpleasant.This was...Spud Wars ...
Shirts, The: The Shirts: Shirts Appeal – Loosen Your Choler
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1978
THE SHIRTS from Brooklyn reckon they've been mistreated. Right from the moment their name went on CBGB's lavatory wall. They are angry. But not beaten ...
Todd Rundgren: Back To The Bars
Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1978
THE ONE obstacle between Todd Rundgren and a successful live album comes at the stage when he has to rely on other musicians. ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1978
THE INEVITABLE live double from Aerosmith rolls inexorably into the American "Christmas like a fat Thanksgiving turkey". ...
Robert Calvert, Hawkwind: Hawklords: Leisure-Wear Of The Timelords
Report and Interview by Andy Gill, NME, December 1978
Actually, BOB CALVERT'S mystic dressing gown is not what this feature's about: what we have here is an appraisal of the new Hawkind, sorry, HAWKLORDS ...
Boomtown Rats: Today: Top Of The Pops, Tomorrow: The World
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, December 1978
The Day After: Top Of The Pops Again ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1978
IF ROCK stars had the kind of union that insisted on overtime bans and frowned on over-productivity, George Clinton would undoubtedly be the subject of ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie and the Banshees
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, December 1978
"Have a competition in the NME. In less than a hundred words, what do they get out of Siouxsie and the Banshees?" (Siouxsie Sioux) ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, December 1978
JOHN LYDON lives in the upper maisonette of the end terrace of a row of sturdily built Victorian houses on the Fulham/Chelsea border. He picked ...
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, December 1978
THE "MOTHERSHIP" arrives. Everybody gets on out of it and has a "party". And I dance. And slump. And dance and slump. ...
Muddy Waters: Dingwalls, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1978
FAST TALK/hard bargain: as Mr Muddy Waters was spending a few days of his 64th year in Great Britain in the faintly congruous role of ...
Singles in 1978: The Ones That Got Away
Overview by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1978
1978 was a classic year for singles. But most of the best were released on small labels with little chance of airplay, erratic distribution, and ...
Ian Dury: New Challenge For Esperanto
Report and Interview by Danny Baker, NME, December 1978
JUST OUT of Holland, about ten miles from the Dutch/Belgian border, the coach pulls into the Flemish equivalent of a Motorway Chef. There's four hours ...
Doors, The: The Doors: The Morrison Legacy
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, December 1978
JIM MORRISON'S body may lie a-moulderin' in his grave but his soul goes marching on. ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, December 1978
DIPPING LUSTFULLY and deep into your public pocket, the simulated and soiled Gruppo Sportivo transparently dart from nursery rhyme tinsel to uncivilised sexual slang with ...
Elvis Costello: Elvis' Armed Forces
Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1979
ELVIS COSTELLO is Superman's fantasy of what Clark Kent should have been. He is Buddy Holly reincarnated as an axe-murderer. He is a nasty Woody ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1979
Are you ready for the fiiinal soluuuuuuuuuuuuuushun (oh yeah)? ...
Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead: Live at The Rainbow, London
Review by Chris Bohn, NME, 1979
SO LET'S suspend time and disbelief for a moment and stare through the haze at the West Coast's longest running institution called The Grateful Dead. ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, 1979
ROCK AND ROLL survives on an illusion of dynamism built upon critical inertia, upon endlessly repeated truths such as the oft-heard oppositions of 'old/new wave' ...
Elvis Costello And The Attractions: with Richard Hell and the Voidoids
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1979
WELCOME TO to the working week, seven nights of Elvis Costello at London's Dominion Theatre, virtually opposite the location of the Elvis musical.Will the real ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Music Machine, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1979
LIKE THE few other rock bands that occasionally verge on genius – such at The Rolling Stones and the original Roxy Music – The Clash ...
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, January 1979
ON THE FIRST day of Christmas bondage bretheren and neon siteren children of the Rainbow – pace Aswad – left their parents' turkey tables en ...
Jam, The, Gang of Four: The Jam, Gang of Four: Music Machine, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, January 1979
DOZING AT the back of the lower layer of the multi-tiered Music Machine I couldn't help wondering what it is to be charming, chillingly nostalgic ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1979
IN The Devil Finds Work, James Baldwin opined that white people's hatred of blacks is based on terror, while black people's hatred of whites is ...
Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear (Tamla Motown)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, January 1979
IF THE LANGUAGE is clearly familiar, the filling clear, the concept perhaps a little cloying then at least, at length, the soul is back to ...
Generation X: All The Young Dudes
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1979
GLEAN WHAT you will from the shapes of things that came to pass during 1978, but one commodity that was rejected with an almighty vengeance ...
Marvin Gaye: Stand Up For Your Rights, My Brothers: Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear
Report and Interview by Cliff White, NME, January 1979
Till double albums us do part ... MARVIN GAYE battles the dark forces of feminism, unionism, bankruptcy and posterity. ...
Runaways, The: The Runaways: And Now…The Runaways (Mercury)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, January 1979
THE TERMS are at once familiar and bizarre, charged with meaning and strangely vacuous: 'street,' 'action,' 'hungry and hot,' 'rock 'n' roll,' 'teenage,' 'weekend,' 'queen.' ...
Rock Mortality: They Gave Their Souls For Rock 'n Roll
Essay by Mick Farren, NME, January 1979
THE WRITER can eventually put down his pen, close the book and turn on the TV. The actor can take off his makeup and go ...
Interview by Danny Baker, NME, January 1979
THERE WERE so many good singles last year that when it came to deciding what I thought were the best 45s to show out, I ...
Elvis Costello: Elvis Army Is Here To Stay
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, January 1979
CHAPERONED in the back of a hire car, taking in the sights, partaking in entertaining chit-chat about the industry with fellow passengers, I shouldn't feel ...
Kevin Coyne: Music Of A Different Coyne
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, February 1979
And my message to the people Is don't tie me to the steeple Don't put me with the stocks and in your market square. ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1979
JOE JACKSON is a contender: he's fast, tough and he doesn't mess around. At a time when the orthodox powers-that-be in the rock business are ...
McGuinn, Clark & Hillman: McGuinn, Clark and Hillman: McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1979
IF WATCHING someone you once admired attempting to be inspired is the most pathetic sight imaginable, as some bloke maintained in last week's ish, then ...
Joe Jackson: Crisp. In A Huge In America Sort Of Way
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, February 1979
THE HANDS spell nerves: balled into fists and rammed into the pockets of the pinstripe jacket. The elbows jerk and the knees twitch, the face ...
Report by Kris Needs, NME, February 1979
ON WEDNESDAY, January 31, Sham 69 played their last ever gig. ...
Stiff Little Fingers: Inflammable Material (Rough Trade)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, February 1979
I WAS HARDLY expecting it but...even more so than Never Mind The Bollocks – which turned out to be comedy – much more so than ...
Simple Minds: Strangers In A Strange Land
Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, February 1979
SIMPLE MINDS were fidgety as they sat around the kitchen table, some of them exhaling long streams of cigarette smoke while the others rattle boiled ...
Pretenders, The: The Pretenders: Moonlight Club, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1979
THE NEWS is already out all over town about this bunch; and while one can only reiterate all the raves (so far usurped principally by ...
Cheap Trick: Live At The Budokan (Epic)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1979
GIVE THE Nips their due – when they latch on, they latch on fast, and in teeming multitudes, to boot. ...
Doll By Doll: How To Change The World In Ten Easy Stages
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, February 1979
"For a long time now I have felt the Void but have refused to hurl myself into the Void.I have been as cowardly as everything ...
Graham Parker: Journey To The Centre Of Your Spine
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1979
A CONCRETE BARN with a stage at one end: cables, cases, dust. A hyper-active dog in the grip of irresistible sexual forces is scooting around ...
Mekons, The: The Mekons: The Group Who Fell To Earth
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, March 1979
THE MEKONS step down from the space ship of idealism and come face to face with Rock Reality. Can they and the cult of British ...
Inmates, The: The Inmates: City Rhythms and Jailhouse Blues
Interview by Max Bell, NME, March 1979
BILL HURLEY, lead singer with The Inmates, was definitely built for the job. Bill Hurley clocks in six foot solid from the ground, a hard ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, March 1979
RACE TODAY magazine/organisation, acknowledging the central importance of Manchester in the struggle of black people, launched their northern campaign with a fund raising "Creation For ...
Velvet Underground: 1969 Velvet Underground Live (Mercury)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, March 1979
THE VELVETS, specifically Lou Reed – maybe even this 'invisible' live double – say more about rock'n'roll, its implications and complications, than anyone else. ...
Frank Zappa: Sheik Yerbouti (CBS)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, March 1979
THE MODERN-day composer refuses to die and, sadly, so too does Frank Zappa. ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, March 1979
WOW!!! SHEER excellence!!! You weren't there? You are square!!! (you thought it was the other way round? You still living to those snobby chic guidelines? ...
Graham Parker and The Rumour: Live in Belfast
Live Review by Gavin Martin, NME, March 1979
GRAHAM PARKER hasn't changed much – the small guy with the high forehead sporting an Oxfam jacket, T-shirt, drainpipes and tinted specs – but his ...
Van Morrison: When Irish Eyes are Scowling
Report and Interview by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1979
'If you want me to sit here and talk about my emotions you've got to be out of your MIND!' ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, March 1979
THIS IS the diligently prepared and acutely-self conscious follow-up to that shaky first collection which naturally ended everyone's excited and premature self-congratulation over a singularly ...
Jam, The: The Jam: Dies' Ist Der Modernische Welt
Interview by Danny Baker, NME, March 1979
AND IN THE beginning there was darkness. Then, it has been written, the Mood formed the Pistols, Clash, Damned, Stranglers, Vibrators and the Jam and ...
Pretenders, The: The Pretenders: Let's Pretend…
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1979
"ISN'T IT incredible, my dears, what some people will do when they get a hit? I'm appalled to hear that journalist-for-a-day Chrissie Hynde, lead singer ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley: A Day Out At The Gun Court
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, March 1979
SET IN maybe half an acre of ground, 56 Hope Road, Kingston 6 is a sprawling, wood-fronted, two-storey detached house, its flaking cream paint seeming ...
Only Ones, The: The Only Ones: Something Slithery This Way Comes
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, March 1979
THE DRESSING room at Hurrah's is buzzing with electricity – reason being that inside this converted New York discotheque it's damn near as cold as ...
Chrome: Half Machine Lip Moves
Review by Andy Gill, NME, March 1979
THE TITLE OF Chrome's second album Alien Soundtracks perfectly describes one level on which their music can be taken: the evocation of a fantasy world ...
Graham Parker: Squeezing Out Sparks
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, March 1979
WHEN YOU play this album for perhaps the tenth time, when you return to 'You Can't Be Too Strong' and listen to that one song ...
Review by Max Bell, NME, March 1979
WILL THESE people never learn? In the time-honoured Hollywood tradition of foisting ambitious super-sessioners upon that large portion of the American public bereft of a ...
Tom Robinson Band: Across Our Grey And Troubled Land
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1979
HERE HE COMES now just-a-walkin' down the street. From street-level upwards: white plimsolls, faded levis, fawn sweater with the collar-points of a white shirt peeking ...
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, March 1979
"I am totally into corruption." ...
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1979
AND THE STARS look very different today... For all practical rock purposes, we may as well own up that we are now living in the ...
Lowell George: Thanks I'll Eat It Here (Warner Brothers)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, April 1979
THE REAL name of this album is 'Thank You! I'll Eat It Here!' which was the original name of Little Feat's Sailin' Shoes and applied, ...
Jean-Jacques Burnel: J.J. Burnel: Euroman Cometh (United Artists)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, April 1979
IT WAS THE 19th Century Italian poet Leopardi who put it best: "Great truths are discovered only by a faculty of reason in a condition ...
Graham Parker And The Rumour: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, April 1979
WHILE NO ONE was looking, Graham Parker has nimbly and single-mindedly stepped through his inner tangles and finally balanced purpose with expression and also brought ...
Lou Reed: I Love It When You Talk Dirty
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, April 1979
WHY DOES SUCH A MAN LIVE? ...
Magazine, Buzzcocks, The: Howard Devoto: The Compleat Fatalist
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, April 1979
LATE THURSDAY afternoon. I am angry, very angry, for reasons that form too personal a tale but revolve around a head-on collision with hysterical illogicality. ...
Kate Bush: The Palladium, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1979
TWO MEMORIES: recalled first are the days when rock and roll was swamped with failed classical pianists and violinists who knew that they could make ...
Pop Group, The: The Pop Group: Y
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, April 1979
THE POP GROUP. An enigmatic name. Not so much ironic as is often claimed, more plain cheeky. ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, April 1979
WHAT WE have here is James Osterberg in control. What we have here is the cunning Osterberg using the sensual Iggy, isolating personal standards and ...
Ted Nugent: The Nugent Interview
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, May 1979
IT'S APPROACHING midnight, and in an empty, echoey dressing room, so bright it seems to have no ceiling, deep in the lifeless body of an ...
Undertones, The: The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, May 1979
"So you think you're so clever/you're never in doubt". ...
Soft Boys, The: The Soft Boys: A Can Of Bees (Two Crabs)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, May 1979
TAKE THE "mystery" out of rock'n'roll and you're left with an evaluation of current rock'n'roll that relies upon the recognition of traditional principles or objects. ...
Popol Vuh, 10,000 Maniacs: Popol Vuh: Nosferatu
Review by Max Bell, NME, May 1979
POPOL VUH'S extended title for this soundtrack to Werner Herzog's remake of Nosferatu is 'On The Way To A Little Way'. That says a lot ...
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Things Your Mother Never Told You (Safari)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, May 1979
THRASHING SUSPICIONS against all considered expectations, this is a mobile and intimidating masterpiece. ...
Cure, The: The Cure: Three Imaginary Boys (Fiction)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, May 1979
AAAH! MORE alert and anguished young men chalking up more sanctioned and sanctimonious marks. Do not applaud them. ...
Cure, The: The Cure: A Demonstration Of Household Appliances
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, May 1979
THE OFFICES of Fiction Records are located a stone's throw from Willesden High Street — a handy five-minutes stroll from the tube station — sequestered ...
Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry: Roxy Music: Still Raining Still Posing
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, May 1979
SEVEN YEARS. Is it really that long a time? That short a time? Yes, it is indeed, and the fact that Roxy Music have actually ...
Donna Summer: Bad Girls (Casablanca)
Review by Danny Baker, NME, May 1979
I'M SITTING here, the music is actionably loud, the bass is hitting right into the back of my neck, squarebashing on the spot, and – ...
New Barbarians: A Tale Of Two Rock 'n' Roll Addicts
Report by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, May 1979
AWWWWWW MAMA! I wanna tell ya 'bout Texas radio and the big beat. ...
Undertones, The: The Undertones: The Reluctant Debutantes
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, May 1979
"When the group first started I suppose it's like a phase, y'know, ye want to be a fireman or ye want to be a policeman. ...
Ian Dury: The Ian Dury Interview
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, June 1979
"Beetroot juice and prune juice help the regular of the bowels...""If somebody's looking at me with rapture all over their face I want to throw ...
Patti Smith: The Palladium, New York NY
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, June 1979
SITTING ALONE on the side of the stage, Patti Smith intones a rap that mixes passages of 'Wave', her latest failed-mystic monologue, with protestations of ...
Ian Dury And The Blockheads: Ludwigshafen, Dusseldorf, Germany
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, June 1979
IMAGINE THE tattiest curtain material, maybe the type your gran's got covering an old sofa; a couple of awful patterns flung together to make a ...
B-52s, The: The B-52s: Hot Pants Cold Sweat And A Brand New Beehive Hair Do
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1979
"Y'AHL WANT gumbo?" Kate Pierson peers around the kitchen door, tea-cloth slung across a sunburnt shoulder. Her deep southern accent tells us ahl that her ...
Gary Numan: Looking Through Gary Newman's Eyes
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, June 1979
THE LIST went something like: 2.00pm – Jackie, 2.30pm – My Guy, 3.15pm – Patches, 4.00pm – Record Mirror, 4.45pm – Smash Hits, 5.30pm – ...
Elvis Costello: Murder on the Liverpool Express
Report by Nick Kent, NME, June 1979
SO THERE I was at Euston station, seated comforably in the 1st class compartment waiting for the Inter City to speed me to my destination ...
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, June 1979
About the crassest tag anyone has tried to hang on Rickie Lee Jones is that she’s "the female Tom Waits". It is also the kind ...
Who, The: The Who: The Kids Are Alright (Polydor)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, June 1979
"The whole thing about rock and roll dynamism, in many ways, is the fact that if it does slow down, if it does start to ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1979
COME ON, let's talk about girls. Let's talk about Lofgren, the bruised heart. ...
Public Image Ltd: The Private Life Of Public Image
Interview by Danny Baker, NME, June 1979
WHAT TIME IS it? It feels like five in the morning but it must be a lot later. Ugh, Jesus, I must be inside my ...
McFadden and Whitehead: The Rise and Rise of McFadden, Whitehead and Ward (Anita)
Report and Interview by Danny Baker, NME, June 1979
EVEN THE Johnny Pearson Orchestra on Top Of The Pops couldn't ruin a song as strong as 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'. ...
Cramps, The: The Cramps: Tales Of American Gothick
Profile and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, June 1979
THE TITLE OF the film escapes me, but the scene itself has remained indelibly stained on my brainplate for all of nine years. A strange ...
Pop Group, The: The Pop Group: Idealists in Distress
Interview by Max Bell, NME, June 1979
They are young. They are talented. They are committed. They are now without a record company. 'So what seems to be the problem, boys?' asks ...
Nick Lowe, Rockpile: Nick Lowe: Whatever Gets You Through The Daze
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, June 1979
I'VE LOST track of time, but Lew Lewis and Reformer are on stage at Hemel Hempstead Pavilion blowing base boogie that the Hemel Hempstead audience ...
B-52s, The: The B-52s: The B-52s (Island)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, June 1979
ANYONE WITH even half an ear cocked to the dialogue that surrounds the music must have heard by now that they're living in some sort ...
Brian Jones, Rolling Stones, The: Brian Jones: 28, February 1944 — 3 July, 1969
Retrospective by Nick Kent, NME, June 1979
Ten Years after his death, a re-appraisal of the life and times of the Rolling Stone who was crushed by success ...
Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, June 1979
GOD KNOWS, you're at liberty to draw your own conclusions as to why Rust Never Sleeps is the masterpiece it so obviously is, but the ...
Wire: Reluctant Rock Stars: A Nation In Crisis
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, July 1979
PAUL RAMBALI looks at the young people the Social Services have failed. The kids who must face the ever-present threat of Fame, the horror of ...
Lowell George: Hard Rock Cafe, New York NY
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, July 1979
LOWELL GEORGE didn't so much leave Little Feat as fade out of it, gradually reducing his writing for the group and his participation in the ...
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1979
GIVE THE Yanks their due: when it comes down to being straight-ahead 'dunced out' almost beyond the realms of the hyper-crass, they take the old ...
Cars, The: The Cars: Candy-O (Elektra)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, July 1979
THE CARS, Jesuit rock critics harangue, are the new wave at its most specious, manufactured and thus calculated to appease those ultra-reactionary brutes ruling the ...
Bo Diddley, Ray Campi: This Here's The Review Of Bo Diddley
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1979
Bo Diddley/Ray Campi And The Rockabilly Rebels/Whirlwind: Lyceum, London ...
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, July 1979
IT'S OUT of the blue and into the black. A place is left somewhere behind where the front pages of the daily newspapers comment hysterically ...
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (Factory)
Review by Max Bell, NME, July 1979
JUST WHEN the year's vitality was threatening to be expunged by a non-stop parade of rehashed fashions, 'ordinary geezers' with French Riviera yachts and the ...
Squeeze: Fun City Sweet Hearts
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, July 1979
I'M JUST about to make the name change official; my new name is to be Paul Pop. You're the first to hear about it. ...
Pretenders, The: The Pretenders: Sheffield University
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, July 1979
Duty Now For The Past? ...
Ry Cooder: Bop Till You Drop (Warners Import)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, July 1979
RYLAND P. Cooder is a most reliable fellow. Ever since the days when he was laying down that stinging bottleneck guitar behind the likes of ...
Residents, The: The Residents: Nibbles! (Virgin)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, July 1979
MEET THE Residents!!! ...
Review by Andy Gill, NME, July 1979
IF I WERE to tell you that a record you've probably never heard of was the album that David Bowie's been trying to make these ...
Talking Heads: Les Talking Heads a la Carte
Report and Interview by Max Bell, NME, July 1979
THE SCENE: Paris, France, July 10. Bastille Day looms, Talking Heads and their 'guests' The B52s have just completed a mini-European jaunt minus Great Britain. ...
B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, BB King, Chuck Berry: Woke Up This Mornin'…
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1979
...Blues Giants All Round My Bed. NICK KENT meets the Three Wise Men of the Blues. ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, July 1979
GOING TO have to make this one brief. Brief, because this wretched excuse for a live album is such a shameful affair that to dwell ...
Led Zeppelin: Smiling Men With Bad Reputations
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1979
OF ALL THE old superfart bands it is certainly Led Zeppelin who have been and still are the most reviled by the New Wave. ...
Ry Cooder: Ry And Related Stuff
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1979
"Me and my wife, Went all over town, And everywhere we went, The people turned us down, Lord, in a bourgeois town, In a bourgeois ...
Taj Mahal: Recycling the Blues
Interview by Max Bell, NME, August 1979
"I'm goin to the river goin to sit down on the ground/I'm goin to the river goin to sit down on the ground/And let the ...
Report by Paul Morley, NME, August 1979
EVENTS LIKE KNEBWORTH, the promoter Freddy Bannister had wanly predicted in Saturday's Guardian, cannot continue for much longer. The reasons for the inevitable decline and ...
Joy Division: Take No Prisoners, Leave No Clues
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1979
LET ME DRAW BACK the curtains on a probably wet and no doubt freezing night last winter. A mid-week night of no special significance, save ...
Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door (Swansong)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1979
THREE LONG years has it been? Let's me see now. Ah, yes Presence, released in April 1976, was the last shot of new Led Zeppelin ...
Angelic Upstarts: Teenage Warning (Warner Brothers)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, August 1979
NEWCASTLE'S Upstarts are already, for obvious and not so obvious reasons, being prepared by the vulture voyeurs as the successors to Sham. I'm not sure ...
Patti Smith: The Boarding House, San Francisco
Live Review by Michael Goldberg, NME, August 1979
THERE WAS more 'poetry' scrawled across the bathroom walls of the Boarding House than Patti Smith delivered during a two hour show there. Still, the ...
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1979
WELL, THAT'S OVER. No more Led Zeppelin front covers for a good while; no more wondering whether Mick would appear with the New Barbarians; no ...
Ian Dury: The Cuddly Cosy Comfort Of A Tame And Trusted Teddy
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1979
Ian Dury And The Blockheads: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...
Mo-dettes, The: The Mo-dettes: Fast, Loud, Pretty
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1979
MET THEM ON A Monday, the Coca Cola spilt over the tape machine, and my MRX2 Oxide 45 mins each side @ 1 7/8 i.p.s. ...
Talking Heads: Taking Heads: Fear Of Music (Sire)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, August 1979
TOM WOLFE ONCE wrote a book called The Painted Word, a thin volume of accomplished iconoclasm. In it he traces the rise and rise of ...
Al Green: The Record Mogul In The Sky
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, August 1979
WHO CAN DENY that the Lord moves in mysterious ways? In this week of Mammon in hyperdrive – Quadrophenia, the rejuvenation of mods v. rockers ...
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, August 1979
THE MIDDLE OF the evening and it's getting quite dim. The Who are playing a new song; at least, I take it to be a ...
Motorhead: Oy Lemmy, Is It True?
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, August 1979
AH, the sheer classicism of the three-piece rock band. ...
Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming (CBS)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, August 1979
THE RELATIONSHIP between rock and religion has always been fraught and filled with tension: back at its Southern rural roots, there was always a serious ...
Police, The: The Police: The Long Yarn Of The Lore
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1979
ALONGSIDE THE habitually garish or else just plain boring film posters that currently besmear the walls of London, the advert for Quadrophenia stands out like ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1979
AS THE Slits sing-song: don't take it seriously. ...
Bob Dylan: Dylan’s Conversion: We Name the Guilty Men
Essay by Steve Turner, NME, September 1979
Nothing guarantees more scorn in rock’n’roll circles than a man who gets religion. I mean, we pay these guys to visit hell and bring us ...
Selecter, The: The Selecter: They Still Bear The Skas
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1979
BLACK SHOES, bright socks, black shades, white shirt, black trilby, irridescent trousers a tad too short and chest-hugger jackets...Stepping down from the inter-city train to ...
Cheap Trick: Wake Up, Rick – You're The First Superstar of the '80s
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1979
LET'S NOT mince words. The basic premise here is the why, wherefores and whatevers backing up the simple contention that within the next 12 months ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: Low Budget (Arista)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1979
The Kinks and the ‘70s have not enjoyed the most harmonious of relationships. ...
Gary Numan: The Pleasure Principle
Review by Danny Baker, NME, September 1979
AND PEOPLE seethe at the Golden Boy. Let's forget the threadbare rock'n'roll bitch that it's all been done before by 'proper' artists — Bowie this, ...
Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1979
FOR MUCH of This Heat's album, it's difficult and at times impossible to decipher which instrument is playing what. This is some indication of their ...
Review by Ian Penman, NME, September 1979
IT'S EASY TO feel alienated by certain aspects of reggae, not the least of which is the idolatry afforded it by impressionable whites: 'Milky Bar ...
James Brown: Get Up, I Feel Like Being A Rap Machine
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1979
JAMES BROWN is late for our appointment. But then it would almost be heresy on his part were he not a regal 45 minutes behind ...
Nils Lofgren: Rock 'n' Roll's Great Lost Hero
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1979
ONE: FINGERNAILSNILS LOFGREN is a small man with a lovely face. One chocolate brown eye is smaller, almost lazier, than the other; this gives his ...
James Brown: Sweat, Power And Expensive Perfume
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1979
TALKIN' 'BOUT The Venue...and people, it's bad. There is no way that something the size of a small theatre can pretend to be an intimate ...
Patti Smith: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1979
WEDNESDAY WAS an unusual day. ...
Pere Ubu: New Picnic Time (Chrysalis)
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1979
PERE UBU is the type of band that enjoys banging its head against a concrete art-form – it makes an interesting sound and a crazy ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: There Was I Waiting At The Church
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, September 1979
NICK KENT feels the wrath of Siouxsie Sioux and Steve Severin ...
Gang of Four, Buzzcocks, The: The Buzzcocks, Gang of Four: Club 57, New York NY
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, September 1979
THIS IS AN interesting juxtaposition: Buzzcocks work on a high energy formula, a formula that works; Gang Of Four work away from formula – they ...
XTC, Yachts, The: XTC/The Yachts: Sheffield
Live Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1979
THIS IS POP? THIS IS POP?? ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Night Of The Long Knives
Report by Kris Needs, NME, September 1979
IT'S IRONIC that Siouxsie and the Banshees' latest album bears the title Join Hands when half the group just ran away two dates into their ...
Crusaders, The: The Crusaders: It's A Street Life In The Crusaders
Profile and Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1979
IT'S THE MID-1950s in Houston, Texas, east of Galveston Bay and west of the River Colorado, and some of the local folks are having themselves ...
Clash, The: Clash Take The Fifth
Report by Paul Morley, NME, September 1979
WHEN THE CLASH is in Chicago, there's enough people there to suggest America is waking up, even if the band still fall the wrong side ...
Review by Nick Kent, NME, September 1979
WIRE WERE from the very outset a conceptually intriguing collective, even though they bristled with a potential that was all too often offset by niggling ...
Blondie: Eat To The Beat (Chrysalis)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1979
BLONDES have more fun. They also sometimes sell more records. This puts our subject in a rather invidious position. ...
Joan Armatrading: Steppin' Out (A&M)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, September 1979
THE AUTHOR of the song is individualised out of all proportion in rock culture. The singer/songwriter subject is built up in such a way that ...
Judas Priest: Unleashed In The East (CBS)
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1979
WHAT IS this thing called Judas Priest? A heavy metal band? Who says? If this is really Judas Priest live they'd be hard pushed to ...
Police, The: The Police: Reggatta de Blanc (A&M)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, September 1979
IF PEOPLE weren't so busy establishing joyless divisions of rock acceptability, creating slums of fashion and – ha! – credibility, then people wouldn't hesitate to ...
Bruce Springsteen: The Springsteen Syndrome
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1979
Musicians United For Safe Energy: Madison Square Garden, NYC ...
Kinks, The: The Rise And Decline Of The Kinks
Profile and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1979
A CUT PRICE PERSON IN A LOW BUDGET LAND ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, October 1979
SUCCESS success success! (Does it matter?) ...
Buzzcocks, The: Buzzcocks: Hey Mac Are You Some Kind Of Limey Pop Star?
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1979
SAT RANDOMLY around a small table are four young men each with dark hair. When they grin, their faces show they see things differently. ...
Human League, The: The Human League: Reproduction (Virgin)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1979
EVERY TV appearance Gary Numan makes must be like a dagger to the heart of The Human League, every radio-play a bit more salt in ...
Residents, The: The Residents: Eskimo (Ralph)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1979
I'M NOT altogether sure quite how to convey the magnitude of The Residents' achievement with Eskimo. What I am sure of is that it's without ...
Gang of Four: Entertainment! (EMI)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1979
ENVELOPED AS we seem to be by such backward times, Gang Of Four could hardly have picked a more awkward moment to foist their collectivist ...
Television, Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine: Happiness Is A Guitar Called Fender...
Interview by Richard Grabel, NME, October 1979
...And how to make original rock & roll with it in the late '70s is your problem. It's also TOM VERLAINE'S ...
Lene Lovich: A HIt Ms That Refuses To Fit
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, October 1979
LENE LOVICH, five foot nothing of old lace, obscure ancestry and pigtails, is what in old showbiz parlance they call a trouper. She can take ...
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1979
Details: The Scene ...
Status Quo: Whatever You Want (Vertigo)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1979
"On again/No I never knew we could go on and on/They never thought we would be rockin' on/No we never thought we — could be ...
Interview by Danny Baker, NME, October 1979
EMI: THREE LETTERS that have come to represent "the enemy" in rock'n'roll's war games. EMI House rambles like a country home with a thousand warrens ...
Clash, The: The Clash: The Fastest Gang In The West
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1979
DETAILS: THE FIFTH MEMBER Micky Gallagher turned up in Boston. Four or five dates into the Clash itinerary and The Blockheads' jumpy Irish keyboardist slips ...
XTC: Making Plans for Andy Colin Terry and Dave
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, October 1979
"I FEEL GREAT antagonism towards the press we've all too often received. They always seem to end up never actually talking to you, they just ...
Specials, The: The Specials: Specials (Two Tone)
Review by Tony Stewart, NME, October 1979
YOU JUST can't shake the tunes out of your head, can't stop beating your feet to the heat as The Specials' unique excitement surges through ...
Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner Brothers)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, October 1979
ALMOST EVERYONE, barring the inevitable elitist bores blinkered by their own super-hipness, seemed to have a soft spot for Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. In late '77, ...
Cabaret Voltaire: Mix Up (Rough Trade)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1979
WITH MIX UP, Cabaret Voltaire transcend being simply the blueprint for a genre – the drummerless synthesizer trio – and finally get down to business. ...
Adverts, The: The Adverts: Cast Of Thousands
Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1979
THE ADVERTS, with unforeseen stamina, have substantially matured since their early days. No longer can technical inadequacy or limited vocabulary be criticisms – just the ...
Jam, The: The Jam: The Revolution Will Start When Paul Weller Has Supped His Pint
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1979
"I WOULDN'T say I'm a very articulate person, but I seem to be able to articulate when I write lyrics..." ...
Boomtown Rats: The Boomtown Rats: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, November 1979
THURSDAY NIGHT at the Hammersmith Odeon demonstrated Neil Young's recent lyrical contention that "The King is gone but he's not forgotten": The Boomtown Rats utilised ...
Aspects of Superpop: It Will Stand
Retrospective by Penny Reel, NME, November 1979
The Minit label of New Orleans flourished during the period 1960 to 1962 and consolidated one of the cornerstones of the Superpop era. Allen Toussaint ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1979
FILED SIDE by side, those titles read like the bookends of a wasted decade. In their predictably loud, plain language they seem to say that ...
Wilson Pickett: Land Of A Thousand Libels
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, November 1979
IN GUY PEELAERT'S Rock Dreams tome of some six autumns back, one of the artist's strongest slices of visualized popular music imagery went under the ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Apollo Theatre, New York NY
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, November 1979
BOB MARLEY had to change his approach. He had a virtual patent in the international arena on the stance of the mad-shaman reggae icon, the ...
Marianne Faithfull: Broken English (Island)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1979
BEFORE WE get started on the music... ...
Who, The: The Ace Face’s Forgotten Story: Pete Meaden
Interview by Steve Turner, NME, November 1979
I’m the face babyIs that clear?I’m the faceIf you want it.All the others are third-class tickets by me babyIs that clear?– Pete Meaden for the ...
Pop Group, The, Scritti Politti: The Pop Group, Scritti Politti: University Of London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, November 1979
THE TRADITION of the angry young idealist, full of righteous fervour, self-righteous condescension towards those at odds with his or her volatile beliefs, and a ...
Neil Young: Live Rust (Reprise)
Review by Max Bell, NME, November 1979
"My, my, hey hey, rock and roll is here to stay/Hey hey, my my, rock and roll can never die." ...
Skids, The: The Skids: A Loser's Quest For Survival
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, December 1979
"I'm going to lose. It's like admitting defeat before I start. But I'm going to do as much as possible in that period before I ...
Annette Peacock: A British Rail Breakfast With The Artbreak Kid
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1979
TIMING: a while ago someone asked Bob Geldof — famous vocalist and composer with the extremely well-known Boomtown Rats pop group — for his definition ...
Tom Waits: The Skid Row Drunk Goes Legit: Tom Waits live in New York
Live Review by Mick Farren, NME, December 1979
BECAUSE of circumstances too dumb to relate here and now, I had never seen Tom Waits doing a live show, unless, of course you count ...
Fleetwood Mac: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, December 1979
YOU ENTER the stream of bodies pouring through the portholes of Madison Square Garden. You get caught up in the tide. Into the awesome space ...
Jam, The, Vapors, The: The Jam, The Vapors: Apollo Theatre, Manchester
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1979
FIRST NIGHT out on tour: welcome back to another edition of So Who Really Is The Best Group In The World? Down in Manchester Apollo ...
George Clinton: Mutiny On The Mothership — Uncle Jam Wants Out
Report and Interview by Richard Grabel, NME, December 1979
Drummer Jerome Brailey and Horny Hornsman Fred Wesley have already quit Funkadelic – and now George Clinton is giving up live performances. Richard Grabel reports ...
Pink Floyd: The Wall (Harvest)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, December 1979
FOREMEN OF the apocalypse Pink Floyd are still alive, four lost men in a popular music eclipse. ...
Randy Newman: Standing Up For The Small Man
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1979
THERE ARE hotels and there are hotels. And then there are hotels like Claridge's, an elegant art deco reminder of the pre-war age of luxury ...
Randy Newman: Dominion Theatre, London
Live Review by Max Bell, NME, December 1979
RANDY NEWMAN was wandering around backstage at the Dominion gazing disconsolately down. "Why doesn't anyone like my ELO song?" he kept asking no one in ...
Robert Palmer: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Danny Baker, NME, December 1979
THAT THE Odeon was full for two nights running leads me to think that Robert Palmer's followers form some kind of secret society. I don't ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, December 1979
ADAM AND The Ants and Throbbing Gristle are shadowy extremes, lurking in dark corners, lethargically scratching through their overscrubbed private parts, grinning sweetly at anyone ...
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1979
EYES RIGHT! Talking Heads are playing the Electric Ballroom tonight, and clearly visible above all the twitching cerebella is one head, as instantly noticeable as ...
Clash, The: The Clash: London Calling
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1979
"...the wit of the city's urchins is as sharp as the finest conversation of the rural lord; the vulgar speech of the street arabs is ...
Clash, The: Guy Stevens: “There Are Only Two Phil Spectors In The World And I Am One Of Them”
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1979
Selected tableaux from The Guy Stevens Story. ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, December 1979
LIVERPOOL'S Lime Street station opens onto a typically drab cityscape. ...
Talking Heads: Talking Head First
Interview by Nick Kent, NME, December 1979
A HIRE CAR draws up at an address in Soho, and three members of Talking Heads troop into the Cine-Lingual building, Berwick Street. ...
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, December 1979
THERE'S NO tradition of ska being popular in America. Millie Small and Desmond Dekker each had one novelty hit a piece, and that's it. But ...
Dire Straits: Whitla Hall, Belfast
Live Review by Gavin Martin, NME, December 1979
IN THE foyer they flog T-shirts, programmes and all the paraphernalia of a rock band's promotional department bar embossed wellingtons and inflatable underwear. Rumours that ...
U2/Soul Boys: Moonlight Club, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, 1980
TWO NEWCOMERS playing in NW6 either side of the Xmas go slow. Plenty of gaps in the gathering for the U2 show, but of the ...
Fall, The: The Fall: All Fall Down
Interview by Ian Penman, NME, January 1980
JUST ABOVE my typewriter on the mantlepiece is an eye-catching tube of 10 orange flavoured effervescent tablets. Each tablet contains 1g orange flavoured concentrated Vitamin ...
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1980
It could only be cold comfort to them, but this isn’t the first time rock ‘n’ roll has played a distant part in the lives ...
Slits, The: The Slits: Hurrah, New York NY
Live Review by Richard Grabel, NME, January 1980
ANOTHER American debut of another new British band at Hurrah's. But this is New Year's Eve and the ticket is 25 bucks – probably a ...
John Cale: Sabotage/Live (Spy Import)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1980
THE COVER of this, his first album in almost five years, shows John Cale wearing the only sensible accessories for the true cold war ...
Millie Jackson: MillieJackson: Live And Uncensored
Review by Danny Baker, NME, January 1980
A COUPLE OF NIGHTS back I was re-discovering Millie Jackson's Caught Up/Still Caught Up albums and wallowing in the ecstasy of what arguably were the ...
Pretenders, The: Only A Hobo Only A Star
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, January 1980
THE PRETENDERS are number one, top of the pops. But where there's 'Brass' there's sadness and Chrissie Hynde regrets some of the changes and new ...
Utopia: Adventures In Utopia (Bearsville)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, January 1980
The no longer implacable but apparently un-stoppable Todd Rundgren releases his first blow to the forward aspirations of the new decade, a concept album. But ...
Joy Division: University Of London, London
Live Review by Paul Morley, NME, February 1980
I DIDN'T KNOW which way to turn. In every corner of the second floor of the anonymous university building there seemed to be some group ...
Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Get Happy!! (F-Beat)
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1980
ON AN otherwise typical day late last October, Elvis Costello strolled through the door of London’s Rock On record shop in Camden Town, the oldies ...
Live Review by Fred Dellar, NME, March 1980
THEY BOP, they hop, they bounce like rampaging 'roos. They sing songs bearing titles as profound as 'She's My Baby, She's My Girl' and 'Do ...
Elvis Costello: Eivis Costello and the Attractions at West Runton
Live Review by Ian Penman, NME, March 1980
BETTER put it all in present tenses... ...
Knack, The: The Knack: …But The Little Girls Understand
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, March 1980
When the little girls do understand, you boys have had it ...
Ian Hunter: Welcome To The Club
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1980
THIS IS a double live album and as such is prone to all the problems that such vinyl is heir. Problem (1): the cover is ...
Who, The, Pete Townshend: Pete Townshend: Conversations With Pete
Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, April 1980
On an up with britain's longest serving honest man of rock ...
Pete Townshend: Empty Glass (Atco)
Review by Paul Morley, NME, April 1980
WHAT IS the trouble with these song and dance men who have had their day but won't admit it? They get above themselves, as Parsons ...
Review by Danny Baker, NME, June 1980
The hit factory calls in the new technology ...
Public Image Ltd: Corporation Executive Report to Shareholders
Report and Interview by Chris Bohn, NME, July 1980
PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED and America hardly seemed made for each other. Yet having successfully defied Britain's star caste systems and ugly myth makers, earlier this ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Bob Marley and the Wailers: Uprising (Island)
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, July 1980
"But even without the forceful pressures of the slaves, the slave system was collapsing surreptitiously from within..."(The Caribbean: Franklin W Knight: Oxford University Press) ...
Graham Parker, Rumour, The: Graham Parker: Going Down On The Up Escalator
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, July 1980
Nick Kent investigates the rise and abrupt fall of Graham Parker And The Rumour's commercial success and smells a rat. ...
Lou Reed: Growing Up In Public (Arista)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, July 1980
GROWING UP IN PUBLIC finally spells out what Lou Reed's records since 1976's Coney Island Baby have been murmuring in varying dissonances: that the inspiration ...
Vic Godard: So, What is the Matter, Boy?
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, July 1980
After all, two singles in three years isn't exactly prolific... and when you do get an album out you don't even like it. Vivien ...
Brian Eno: Into The Spirit World
Interview by Cynthia Rose, NME, July 1980
The White Man's Grave Look to Africa ...
Pop Group, The: The Pop Group: We Are Time (Y/Rough Trade)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, July 1980
THIS COULD have been a great record. On paper, it seemed to be a handful of The Pop Group's strongest suits. ...
Misty In Roots: Live At The Counter-Eurovision ‘79
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, July 1980
IT SEEMS POINTLESS to divorce Misty's music from their well-known context as Southall youth organisers whose People Unite self-help organisation was badly damaged by the ...
Kinks, The: The Kinks: One For The Road (Arista)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, July 1980
WITH ITS predecessor Low Budget having finally catapulted The Kinks into the American Top Ten after what seems a lifetime of cult status, what could ...
Bob Marley & the Wailers: The I Three: The 3 Wise Is
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, August 1980
VIVIEN GOLDMAN checks out the Rastafarian way of feminism with the I Three ...
Pink Floyd: The Wall, Earl's Court, London
Live Review by Nick Kent, NME, August 1980
Brick by Brick, Nick Kent demolishes Pink Floyd's The Wall at Earls Court ...
Associates, The: The Associates: The Affectionate Punch
Review by Paul Morley, NME, August 1980
RUMOURS have been dripping down from Scotland about a diverse horde of determined post Skids/S. Minds/Scars groups all ready to shift our attention. Positive Noise, ...
Roky Erickson: The Creature With the Atomized Brain, or I Talked With A Zombie
Report and Interview by Nick Kent, NME, August 1980
Are you ready for the Thirteenth Floor Elevators revival? Roky Erickson, cult and occult figure from the swirling mists of psyechedelia, takes time out from ...
Pere Ubu: The Art of Walking (Rough Trade)
Review by Ian Penman, NME, August 1980
1. PERE UBU IS haywire, rudimentary, and patiently documentary. It operates on a yield of snared and shared rhythms, on symptoms that have been stitched ...
Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons: Return of the Maltese Falcon
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1980
THE OTHER WEEK top Oz band Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons broke the house record at Hammersmith's Clarendon Hotel when they played their first ...
A Certain Ratio: Failed CSE Rock!
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
WE LEAVE the grubby Hulme human hutch where some members of A Certain Ratio live. The view from this particular section of hutches is not ...
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1980
AH, THE shimmering dust-free corridors, the pleasure machines, the limitless possibilities opened up by microtechnology, the disturbing effects of cybernetic leisure upon the fragile human ...
Ultravox: Forever And Ever Ultravox
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
WHEN GARY NUMAN was talking to the press every day of the week, unsurely basking in the cold sunshine of a sudden fame, a lot ...
Blue Oyster Cult: Night Of The Locusts
Interview by Max Bell, NME, September 1980
THE GOLDEN AGE of hotrod and dragster racing is over but the USA is still littered with its mythology. One such relic is Lebanon Valley ...
Review by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1980
XTC'S FOURTH outing, called, for no apparent reason, Black Sea, greets the reviewer like nothing so much as a bowl of Frosties on a wet ...
Secret Affair: Behind Closed Doors
Review by Chris Bohn, NME, September 1980
THOUGH MOD never got as far as its second summer, it served Secret Affair's purpose. Seeing the movement coming, Ian Page used its momentum to ...
Simple Minds: Empires and Dance
Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
I'M DANCING as fast as I can! Empires And Dance, an LP of terror-songs, vigilance and vanity, starts with 'I Travel', one of the great ...
Tygers of Pan Tang, Gillan: Gillan: Glory Road; Tygers Of Pan Tang: Wild Cat
Review by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
IN OTHER music papers, Heavy Metal has been irresponsibly ghettoised. Melody Maker, Sounds, Record Mirror all have their HM specialists who drily serve a facile, ...
B-52s, The: The Guide to Cult Status with those Wild! Wacky! B-52’s!
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, September 1980
The B-52’s are a "clever" jokey dance combo. Before they achieved their current commercial success, they were a gang of pals hanging around in Athens, ...
Live Review by Paul Rambali, NME, September 1980
AWWWRIGHT LONDON!! ARE YA STARTING TO SWEAT?! ...
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
XTC ARE BITING their nails backstage of an open air gig at a soccer ground in the Madrid suburbs – the equivalent of an English ...
David Bowie: Scary Monsters (RCA)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1980
LEARNING to live with somebody's depression: the man in the clown suit stops running, finds self in back-against-wall situation, attempts to deal with same. Scary ...
Marc Bolan, Tyrannosaurus Rex: The NME Consumers' Guide To Marc Bolan, part 1
Retrospective by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
INDEPENDENT TELEVISION are currently repeating five shows from the three year old Marc series. Marc Bolan was star in and presenter of a pop show ...
Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band: Doc At The Radar Station
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, September 1980
IN THE Beefheart Universe, you see everything that you see in other places, but it always seems different. ...
T. Rex: The Unobtainable T.Rex
Review by Danny Baker, NME, September 1980
AND SO, it appears, we are on the brink of a new T.Rex faith. Well, as one who defended the Bolanian right at school in ...
Specials, The: The Specials: More Specials
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, September 1980
YOU REMEMBER the scene from Hollywood: overnight the lovable brat grows up into the most compelling person in the room. Suddenly – you're beautiful! ...
Skids, The: The Skids: The Absolute Game
Review by Chris Bohn, NME, September 1980
BUBBLEGUM'S BACK and it sounds wonderful. In contemporary terms the Skids are to The Clash and the post-modernists what Sweet were to Slade and Bowie: ...
Interview by Penny Reel, NME, September 1980
VETERAN JAMAICAN singer Jimmy Cliff finally achieved international status for his leading role in the seminal reggae film The Harder They Come in the early ...
Associates, The: The Associates: Boys Keep Scoring
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
THERE'S SOMETHING a little odd about Billy Mackenzie. When he was younger, he says, his friends used to think that he was crazy. Mental. ...
Gregory Isaacs: Rainbow Theatre, London
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, September 1980
TAKE ANY moderate gathering of citizens intent on peaceable pursuit and out comes the Babylon in force. I am growing altogether more and more disgruntled ...
Echo & The Bunnymen, Delta 5, U2: Echo & Bunnymen, U2, Delta 5: The Lyceum, London
Live Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1980
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN dwell in the magical land between life and art that is the territory of great rock'n'roll. Making music alone isn't enough ...
Specials, The: The Specials: Stop The Tour, I Want To Get Off
Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, September 1980
IN ST AUSTELL, Cornwall, it is only a few minutes since the pubs have opened for Sunday lunchtime. The red-faced moustachioed police sergeant and the ...
Ronnie Spector, Phil Spector: 'I Wasn't Even a Housewife': Ronnie Spector's true confessions
Report and Interview by Mick Farren, NME, September 1980
SHE WAS supposed to be promoting her album, but Ronnie Spector’s first solo album isn’t the kind of thing that’s about to stop the world ...
Marc Bolan, T. Rex: The NME Consumers' Guide To Marc Bolan, part 2: The Rise And Fall Of Bolanmania
Retrospective by Paul Morley, NME, September 1980
BOLAN WENT electric and it was deemed, astoundingly, that he'd 'sold out'. For wanting to reach young people with vibrant pop music at a time ...
Joni Mitchell: Shadows and Light
Review by Ian Penman, NME, September 1980
LIKE, A Rolling Stone picnic or something more in touch with these headachey contemporary days? ...
Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1980
THE RECENT correspondent to Gasbag who used Czechoslovakia's Plastic People as a stick with which to beat NME's supposed ignorance of domestic repression was himself ...
UK Subs, Dead Kennedys: Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables; UK Subs: Crash Course
Review by Andy Gill, NME, September 1980
SPOT THE DIFFERENCEStudy these two pictures carefully. At first sight they may seem identical, but there are at least twelve small but significant differences between ...
Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: A Case Of The Shakes
Review by Max Bell, NME, September 1980
YOU HAVE to admit that Dr Feelgood know their own measure – no kowtowing to trend from this lot. Would you believe this record was ...
Black Uhuru: Last Exit to Brooklyn
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, October 1980
Brooklyn is definitely a dread neighbourhood. A neighbourhood of brownstone buildings and trees, Selassie’s Herbal Groceries store and the Cool Runnings Candy Store. ...
Simple Minds: Travel Broadens Simple Minds
Report and Interview by Chris Bohn, NME, October 1980
ONCE YOU get onto the European mainland, it's hard not to be infected by the virulent strain of fatalism sweeping the continent. En route to ...
Madness: The Mad Hatter's TV Party
Report and Interview by Danny Baker, NME, October 1980
THE TV PARTY ...
Orange Juice: The Sneer That Says Wish You Were Here
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1980
THERE'S SOMEONE knocking on my door. A loud rap. I'm woken up with a start. I open the door. ...
Led Zeppelin: Bonzo's Last Bash – Is It The End For Zeppelin Too?
Report by Cynthia Rose, NME, October 1980
EARLY LAST Thursday afternoon Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones went up to one of the guest bedrooms in Jimmy Page's £900,000 Windsor house, where ...
Teardrop Explodes, The: The Teardrop Explodes: Kilimanjaro
Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1980
OF COURSE putting four singles on an LP is cheating, even if two are re-done. And the cover's pretty bad as well. But if you're ...
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1980
"THE TROUBLE with conversations like this," declares Pete, nodding sagely, knitting his eyebrows, as he refers to the complex peculiarities of a pop group who ...
Ramones, The: The Ramones: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Cynthia Rose, NME, October 1980
"Despair of nothing you would attain, Unwearied diligence your point will gain!" – Men Who Have Risen, John Hogg, 1847. ...
Toots & The Maytals: Toots Comes Home To Roots
Live Review by Penny Reel, NME, October 1980
Toots And The Maytals: Hammersmith Palais, London ...
Comsat Angels: Miracle Workers
Report and Interview by Andy Gill, NME, October 1980
"MILKY WAY – the gig you can do between tours!" Steve Fellows, singer, guitarist and lyricist with The Comsat Angels is right. There's very little ...
Pretenders, The: The Benefits Of Hynde Sight
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, October 1980
Perched on the edge of a bleak Bronte-like heath overlooking Bradford is the hotel in which The Pretenders are staying. In the forecourt, next to ...
Colin Newman: A-Z (Beggars Banquet)
Review by Andy Gill, NME, October 1980
AFTER THE flawed experimentalism of Gilbert and Lewis's Dome and Cupol projects, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Colin Newman's first solo outing ...
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, October 1980
"Being poor is not because money doesn’t exist and being rich doesn’t mean you know everything. But in America, art has more to do with ...
Toyah Wilcox: The Girl Who Would Be King
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, October 1980
When Toyah Willcox talks, it's like a time-bomb ticking over...and Toyah's time gets closer every second. So what does make Toyah tick? Paul Morley sounds ...
Review by Paul Morley, NME, October 1980
I LOVE U2. I worry about U2. Hearing their debut single 'Out Of Control' and seeing them play in Ireland, I fell for their undismayed ...
Review by Danny Baker, NME, October 1980
ANY GROUP can only pack so much stuff. The stuff that oils and inspires their moves, greases songs, a magic stuff that flows through a ...
Talking Heads: Remain In Light
Review by Max Bell, NME, October 1980
THE DESIRE to (re)discover the African continent has been burning deep in the bowels of curious imagination ever since the New York Herald packed Mr ...
Captain Beefheart: Tales Of Transmutation From The Mojave Magic Man
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1980
"GOD-DAMN THAT BEAT!" Don Van Vliet slams out a foursquare tattoo on the dashboard of his blue Volvo estate. "That mama heartbeat. That bom...bom...bom! Why ...
Skids, The: The Skids: Schizophrenia On Skid Row
Report and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, November 1980
"I've no desire to push myself into being a media figure. I'm quite happy with my cameras and my wife and my guitars."– Stuart Adamson ...
Talking Heads: Free Your Ass And Your Head Will Follow
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1980
Doctor Byrne discovers Africa and funk but makes the natives restless ...
Robert Palmer: The Deb's Delight Takes FRIGHT!
Report and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, November 1980
THREE TIMES I got out of my warm bath to answer the telephone. The first call was a few seconds of silence and down. The ...
Killing Joke: The Killing Of Brother Paul
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1980
IF I HAD heard how Jaz had let Youth know that I'd arrived, I wouldn't have bothered with the interview. Photographer Ray Stevenson told me ...
Profile and Interview by Ian Penman, NME, November 1980
"To try to write love is to confront the muck of language: that region of hysteria where language is both too much and too little, ...
Review by Cynthia Rose, NME, November 1980
SOME TIME ago. Neil Young produced American Stars And Bars – originally intended as a concept album which would offer one set of songs about ...
Public Image Ltd: Image Publique S.A.: Paris Au Printemps (Virgin)
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, November 1980
Lydon says he hates live albums. Paris Au Printemps – PAP – the best of two nights recorded in Paris this spring, is a consumer ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Welcome To The Bunnyhouse
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, November 1980
WHEN ECHO And The Bunnymen end their British tour with a date at Liverpool University, the Mad Hatter photographer (Joe Stevens) and I travel up ...
Bruce Springsteen: Los Angeles Sports Arena, California
Live Review by Sylvie Simmons, NME, November 1980
IT'S EASY to see why the girls go so much on him. You got the excitable adolescent of 'Rosalita', 'Crush On You' – hey hey ...
Ian Dury: Oi! Oi! Anchors Aweigh
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1980
Ian Dury And The Blockheads: Hope & Anchor, London ...
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Men Of Mystery And Imagination
Report and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1980
ANDY McCLUSKEY and I are the last two of the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark party left in the Edinburgh hotel bar. ...
Review by Cynthia Rose, NME, November 1980
IT WAS late in the '30s when New York cemented its claim as America's most energetic and insistent symbol of urban eroticism and urbane careerism. ...
Review by Andy Gill, NME, November 1980
THE COVER to this, the seventh Steely Dan album (discounting the Greatest Hits compilation), features a painting or anaglyph of a dancing couple of presumably ...
Yoko Ono, John Lennon: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (Geffen)
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, November 1980
IN THE cocoon, something stirs. John Lennon – one of the people who used to be in The Beatles, a group reckoned to be hot ...
Cabaret Voltaire: The Heart and Soul of Cabaret Voltaire
Interview by Paul Morley, NME, November 1980
CATCH A TRAIN into the dark depths of the North again. Flee the wonderland. A million miles away from London town, the conditioning centre where ...
Spandau Ballet: Talking Threads: Spandau Ballet
Profile and Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, November 1980
Five young men from Islington make a short story shorter about the ballet-hoo surrounding the group most likely to – Spandau Ballet. ...
Jimmy Pursey, Angelic Upstarts: Jimmy Pursey: The Cockney Kid Is Innocent
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1980
So who are you gonna be today then, Jim? The new Messiah or the little boy lost? Robespierre or the Urban Spaceman? An all-round good ...
Grace Jones: The State Of Grace
Interview by Ian Penman, NME, December 1980
GRACE JONES. Grace Jones is a nice lady who loves Japanese food. But how does the name Grace Jones figure in your code book? ...
Ian Dury: How Not To Get Lumbered
Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, December 1980
IT'S DARK and it's cold and it's raining: a wind with a grudge against warm flesh knifes through the clothing and the matted thing behind ...
Clash, The: The Clash: Sandinista! (CBS)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, December 1980
OK, OK, they're a jolly prolific bunch always about to give their audience more than their money's worth, but – Christ, let's not mince words ...
Interview by Penny Reel, NME, December 1980
"I MADE my first money at a medicine show. I didn't know there were such things except in movies or in films until I was ...
Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, NME, December 1980
LEMON SUCKING refers to the practice of sucking in the cheeks to affect the 'rock'n'roll' wasted look. Chewing, or neck bending, refers, I would suppose, ...
Slits, The: The Slits: And Lo, 'Three Wise Slits Take Their Temple To The West'
Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, December 1980
GAMES ON TRAINS ...
Eric Random: Random Holds His Own
Interview by Chris Bohn, NME, 1981
ERIC RANDOM concerts these days aren't the personal health hazards they once were when he, Pete Shelley and assorted Mancunians used to kick up an ...
Meat Loaf: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, 1981
THEY'VE ASKED me to make this as short as the Loaf in question is large – but there’s a painful amount to be said. The ...
Clash, The: The Clash and Stimulin at The Lyceum: The Parody Lingers On
Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, 1981
THE PATH of Joe Strummer is, as we know, lined with well-intentioned, golden-hearted errors, and the first of tonight's was Stimulin, whose sound mix was ...
B.B. King: There Must Be A Better World Somewhere
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, 1981
IN 1966, B.B. King put out a live album entitled Blues Is King, and – as far as the major U.S. labels are concerned – ...
James Chance: James White & the Contortions: Second Chance (PVC)
Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, 1981
IT ALL depends how deranged you are to start with. James Chance – née White, née Black – makes impossibly futile, dead music, fit only ...
Alan Vega: Collision Drive (Celluloid)
Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, 1981
AS THE mercurial ‘Jukebox Babe’ starts to makes its steady impact as a 12-inch, here is an even grittier reinterpretation of The Great American Rock ...
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1981
IN NEW YORK CITY it is the coldest day of the winter. Later that night the temperature drops to zero degrees Fahrenheit. The woollen-enshrouded Sting ...
Earth Wind and Fire: Maurice White: How the Black Man Bleached his Soul…
Interview by Barney Hoskyns, NME, January 1981
... or how Earth, Wind & Fire guru Maurice White deserted Memphis to achieve Nirvana in Hollywood. ...
B-52s, The: The B-52’s: Hair Today Gone Tomorrow?
Interview by Cynthia Rose, NME, January 1981
The Bouffants That Broke The Box Office: A Boffo Success Story by Cynthia Rose ...
Bob Dylan: Getting in Touch with Christ (You Know It Ain’t Easy)
Interview by Steve Turner, NME, January 1981
BECAUSE HE DIDN'T preach in between numbers during his recent West Coast concerts and because he sang ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and ‘The Times They ...
Nick Kent, Subterraneans, The: The Almost Legendary Nick Kent Story
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1981
The modest (if a mite incestuous) tale of the celebrated NME writer who is now on the threshold of becoming a bona fide rock star ...
Fall, The: The Wit And Wisdom Of Mark Smith
Interview by Andy Gill, NME, January 1981
DID YOU KNOW?That Andy Gill discovered all these pearls of wisdom – and more – while talking to The Fall. ...
Burning Spear: The Venue, London
Live Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, January 1981
I CAN REMEMBER literally crying with feeling at only one concert, and that was Burning Spear at the Rainbow in '78. That kind of high ...
Mikey Dread: The Dread Man Tells His Tale
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1981
From radio star to toaster to production and recording star, Mikey Dread Campbell is still well in control ...
Bunny Wailer: Original Bunnyman Echoes His Roots: Bunny Sings The Wailers
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, January 1981
AS TO WHY Bunny Wailer has chosen this moment to come down from the hills and ransack the files of old Wailers material – well, ...
Duran Duran: Just Fine And Dandy
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, January 1981
THE NAME of Birmingham group Duran Duran has no connection with Japanese covers of Chiffons songs. ...
Aswad, Linton Kwesi Johnson: Aswad/Linton Kwesi Johnson/New Regulars: Hammersmith Palais, London
Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, NME, January 1981
MONDAY NIGHT in the Palais: forward and upful all the way. Aswad's 'Warrior Charge' as featured in Babylon and Brinsley Forde's performance in the principal ...
Jim Carroll: The Jim Carroll Band: Catholic Boy (Atco)
Review by Cynthia Rose, NME, January 1981
BLOND, FLESHLY-FACED and 30 years old, Jim Carroll was slated for status as a rock poet back in '71. Meant to be the other half ...
Depeche Mode: Systems Muzak: Depeche Mode at The Venue, London
Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, February 1981
THOSE ARBITERS of modern taste who would wish on you the indecencies of things like Spandau Ballet are generally the same people who can be ...
Interview by Paul Rambali, NME, February 1981
Saturday night ended at seven o'clock on Sunday morning with one last bottle of Veuve Cliquot and Sunday began at four in the afternoon with ...
Marvin Gaye: In Our Lifetime (Motown)
Review by Barney Hoskyns, NME, February 1981
SOMEHOW ONE forgives the sermonising in Marvin Gaye that irritates in other soul stars. Visually he fits the bill – he might almost be the ...
U2: Kings of the Celtic Fringe
Interview by Gavin Martin, NME, February 1981
BONO VOX, a.k.a. Paul Houston, the frontman and driving force behind U2 is huddled in the back of a small van, wrapped in a fur ...
Review by Vivien Goldman, NME, February 1981
SPACE INVADERS STYLEEEE! In every arcade throughout the land, the youth just shake that mechanical hand, they like to see the meteors shatter, they just ...
Congos, The: The Congos: Heart Of The Congos (Go-Feet)
Review by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1981
ONE OF THE seminal reggae albums of the late 70s, Heart Of The Congos has been available in this country on pre-release since early 1978, ...
Marvin Gaye: The New Age Metaphysics Of Marvin Gaye
Interview by Chris Salewicz, NME, February 1981
Music, Love, Divinity, & The Shape Of Things To Come...The Motown Marvel feels The Force. ...
Burning Spear: The Spear Guide to Higher Stepping
Interview by Vivien Goldman, NME, February 1981
Burning Spear on tour. In the dressing room at the Birmingham Odeon, certain thick-set members of Spear's Burning Band mutter that they want to kill ...
Gang of Four: Gang Of Four: Solid Gold (EMI)
Review by Nick Kent, NME, February 1981
FINALLY GANG Of Four agree among themselves long enough to record a set of seven new songs, add on three already-released-in-some-other-form originals, come up with ...
Eurythmics: We're Not Tourists, We Live Here
Interview by Cynthia Rose, NME, March 1981
HUNCHED OVER scrambled eggs in his mother's airy flat, Dave Stewart looks more like the late John Lennon than the D'Artagnan-style dandy familiar from The ...
Postmark: Austin, Texas — The Demise of the Armadillo and the Rise of Garagelend Punk
Report by Cynthia Rose, NME, March 1981
IF YOU PAID to survive The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and saw it as anything other than a blackly anarchic polemic in favour of vegetarianism, then ...