Caroline Sullivan
Caroline Sullivan started at Melody Maker and currently writes for The Guardian. Caroline also occasionally appears on TV and various outposts of BBC Radio. She has also written for The Times, The Independent, The Telegraph and various women's magazines.
List of articles in the library by artist
Ryan Adams: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2008
DESPITE WHAT Ryan Adams tells us tonight, it wasn't true that this was the first time he had ever played London "without being chemically challenged". ...
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2007
... and Lily, and Kate: there's a new star in town. Adele Adkins is only 19, but her voice has bewitched everyone from Jools Holland ...
Adele, Duffy, Laura Marling: Adele, Duffy et al: This Year's Vintage
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, January 2008
Caroline Sullivan on 2008's big female voices ...
Marc Almond: The Astoria, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, January 1988
WHERE HAVE these vulpine goths acquired their taste for this Brechtian melodrama? A brush with The Collected Isherwood? ...
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever They Say They Are, That's What They Are
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, January 2006
EARLIER THIS week, the Times dealt the Arctic Monkeys the backhanded compliment of labelling them "spotty poets". It's the "poets" that concerns us here. ...
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, January 1987
ANITA BAKER, the new queen of soul, discusses the dos and dont's of the bigtime with a sympathetic Caroline Sullivan. ...
Justin Bieber: NIA, Birmingham
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, March 2011
JUSTIN BIEBER fans will tell you there are two only kinds of people in the world: "Beliebers" and the rest of us. For those who ...
Bon Jovi: Alan McGee meets Jon Bon Jovi
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2009
When Creation boss and Oasis mentor Alan McGee confessed his admiration for veteran rocker Jon Bon Jovi on a Guardian blog, we just had to ...
David Bowie: Hanover Grand, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, June 1997
Bowie wants to meet his public so he plays a small London club – heaven or what? Some fans paid 100 pounds for a ticket. ...
Boyz II Men: Brixton Academy, London ****
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian Unlimited, January 2012
"I'VE NEVER HAD to say this to a crowd before," says Shawn Stockman, the tenor who puts a great deal of the quivering oomph into ...
Belinda Carlisle, Go-Go's, The: Belinda Carlisle!
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Smash Hits, January 1991
• She used to live in the untidiest house in Hollywood!• She plays music to her plants!• She's had about half an hour's holiday to ...
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2012
A RECENT bit of rebranding has seen Cheryl Cole styling herself as just "Cheryl", the inference being that she's reached a level of fame where ...
Clash, The, Joe Strummer: Joe Strummer: Definitely Not Admitting Defeat Yet
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 1999
"I THINK GOOD manners will come back. In America, kids saw punk rock as a licence to be as rude as possible. I didn't like ...
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, December 2007
CANSEI DE Ser Sexy (as they initially were until they gave in to the English-speaking world's lack of enthusiasm for other tongues) have already grasped ...
Ice Cube: Respectability? It Can Wait
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, August 2006
He went from gangsta notoriety to Hollywood stardom. Now Ice Cube has returned to the studio – to show today's rappers where they've gone wrong. ...
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2011
LANA DEL REY may become the most recognised stage name since fellow New Yorker Lady Gaga, but it's just as possible it will end up ...
Dixie Chicks, The: Dixie Chicks: 'We Had A Song At No 1. The Next Day It Was At No 70'
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, June 2006
NATALIE MAINES has a little cluster of black teardrops tattooed on her lower leg, trickling from her ankle down to her foot. Dixie Chicks' poised ...
Dizzee Rascal: Roundhouse, London ****
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2009
"DIZZEE RASCAL for prime minister, yeah?" As if to emphasise that he is more than just an east London grime MC these days, Rascal ended ...
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 2008
The biggest-selling artist in Britain this year? That would be Wales' Aimee Duffy, sales of whose Rockferry album passed the million mark a few weeks ...
Erasure: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2007
THE UK TOUR that ended with this Albert Hall show saw Erasure touch down in Preston and Grimsby – towns at the bottom of most ...
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2006
THE THREE GIRLS on the south London station platform couldn't have been more than 13, and as they waited for the train, they were singing, ...
Florence and the Machine: Hackney Empire, London ****
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2011
PARENTS WHO worry that their teenage daughters have few pop role models other than the intemperately sexual Rihannas of the world should be pleased that ...
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 1998
'Only Happy When It Rains', 'Queer', 'Subhuman'. And those are just the titles of Garbage's harrowing songs. Caroline Sullivan on a band with a troubled ...
Girls Aloud: How I Became a Girl Aloud
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2004
Caroline Sullivan spends a week in the shoes — the very painful shoes — of the UK's number one girl band ...
Girls Aloud: Brighton Centre ****
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2008
GIRLS ALOUD long ago ceased to be a guilty pleasure, and are now just a pleasure. It defies the laws of reality TV that they're ...
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, January 2005
Hanson want to be taken seriously as an alt-rock band. But will anyone forgive their teeny-bop past? By Caroline Sullivan ...
hear'say: Hear'Say, Gone Tomorrow
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2002
In it for the fame, the manufactured popstars didn't have so much as a slogan to fall back on when the going got tough. Caroline ...
Hot Chip: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2008
"WELCOME TO the Hot Chip show," shouts guitarist Al Doyle, as if priming the crowd for a Vegas cabaret act rather than five Londoners whose ...
Hot House: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, March 1989
THERE ARE, oh, a thousand or so people in London who know that Hot House have nothing to do with Chicago, or with Liam O'Maonlai ...
Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, February 2012
Superstar singer credited as the first 'pop diva', whose compelling talent was lost to drug addiction ...
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, September 1985
"WHAT KIND of strings do you use on your axe, man?" ...
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2002
Caroline Sullivan is left breathless by Tom Jones's hip-hop makeover ...
Kaiser Chiefs: The Forum, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2008
IN 2005, Kaiser Chiefs squeezed into a pop scene that was fixated on arch art-rockers. Today, the band are a neo-Britpop fixture, seemingly sent to ...
R Kelly: Hammersmith Apollo, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, April 2011
IT HAS been more than a decade since R Kelly, the self-proclaimed King of R&B, last passed through London – time enough for his original ...
Kiss: Overblown, Overpaid And Over Here
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2008
For the headliners of Download heavy metal festival, there are millions to be made, fans to ogle (and sometimes sleep with), and platform boots to ...
Lady GaGa, La Roux: Slaves To Synth
Report and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, December 2008
The male guitar band is dead. The future is electro, female, DIY – and very in your face. Caroline Sullivan talks to the solo acts ...
LCD Soundsystem: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, April 2010
HAVING VOWED to disband LCD Soundsystem when he turned 40, James Murphy – who reached that milestone in February – is currently on his (presumably) ...
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2005
When You Can't Really Function You're So Full Of Fear, A Digital Downloader Is Something To Be ...
Courtney Love, Bay City Rollers, The: Courtney Love: Love Will Tear Us Apart
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, February 2003
I WISH I'D saved the emails. There were eight, spanning December 1999 to April 2002, all written in unpunctuated lower-case. ...
Kylie Minogue: The Butt Stops Here
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2003
So she's 35, but does that really mean Kylie should cover up, asks Caroline Sullivan ...
Roisin Murphy, Moloko: Roisin Murphy: Her Time Is Now
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2005
When Moloko split up, Roisin Murphy found herself without a band, a plan or a partner. She tells Caroline Sullivan how half an hour of ...
Nas: Hip-Hop Violence: Pop Goes The Weasel
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, March 2005
FOR THE RECORD: guns don't go bang but pop, a noise a lot like a jumbo bottle of champagne being opened. As this was a ...
Earl Okin: The Unluckiest Man In Pop
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2004
After 35 years in the business, Earl Okin is about to release his first album. He tells Caroline Sullivan why it's taken him so long ...
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 2006
For Peaches, the famously X-rated rapper, the personal has just got political. Caroline Sullivan hears about her beef with Bush ...
Katy Perry: Hammersmith Apollo, London ****
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, March 2011
KATY PERRY is strutting across the stage, a giant spray of feathers fanning out from her tiny backside, and she's singing, "I wanna see your ...
George Pringle: The Social, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2007
"JUST WAIT till my husband gets out of prison," sulks the skinny girl, poking a pinky into her mound of frothed hair. The audience titter ...
Rapture, The: The Rapture: A New York State Of Mind
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2003
Out of time, ahead of fashion – the Rapture are the real sound of New York. If they can make it there, says Caroline Sullivan, ...
Scarlet Fantastic: Phantasmagoria
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, January 1988
ARE SCARLET FANTASTIC LEADERS OF THE NEW GLAM MOVEMENT OR MERELY HIPPIES DRESSED IN SATIN AND SEQUINS? CAROLINE SULLIVAN SEPARATES THE MAGIC FROM THE MANIFESTO. ...
Jill Scott: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, December 2011
"I HAD AN album out this year," Jill Scott informs a chokingly full Brixton Academy. The congratulatory bellows have hardly faded before she tartly adds: ...
Sheila E: Romance 1600 (Paisley Park/WB)
Review by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, September 1985
Fun and games ...
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2007
Scissor Sister Ana Matronic idolises Siouxsie – so we brought the two together to discuss punks, parents and the male ego. By Caroline Sullivan ...
Snow Patrol: The O2, London ***
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, February 2012
WHEN SNOW PATROL released Fallen Empires, the 2011 album that comprises a substantial part of this gig, singer Gary Lightbody revealed that the new record ...
Spandau Ballet's Reunion: Once More With Girdles
Report and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, October 2009
With 10 top 10 hits, Spandau Ballet were the epitome of 80s pop. After much bitterness and a court case, the band are reunited again ...
Spice Girls, The: The Spice Girls: Girls Just Wanna Be Loaded
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 1996
LAST WEEK, the world was as it should have been. Gary Barlow was number one, the summer's foreign novelty hit, 'Macarena', was panting just behind ...
Sugababes: 'We Took Our Eye Off The Ball'
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 2009
After a brush with self-doubt, the Sugababes are back on form. Keisha Buchanan, Amelle Berrabah and Heidi Range talk about their new album, Get Sexy ...
Swing Out Sister: Dog Day Afternoon
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, April 1989
TWO YEARS AGO THEY HAD TWO TOP 10 SINGLES AND A NUMBER 1 ALBUM. THEN THE TRIO OF SUAVE POPSTERS DISAPPEARED. CAROLINE SULLIVAN REPORTS ON ...
Ting Tings, The: The Day-Glo Duo: The Ting Tings
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, February 2009
"ALL I'VE BEEN thinking about," says Jules De Martino, the male half of the Ting Tings, seated in a swish Manchester restaurant, "is steak and ...
Ike Turner: Ronnie Scott's, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, February 2002
IF YOU didn't know Ike Turner was 70 before this show, you certainly did within minutes of his swaggering entrance. ...
Luther Vandross: The Language of Love
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, February 1987
So what does LUTHER VANDROSS, sex god to millions, do on a date? Does he even date at all? And what the hell happened when ...
Wild Beasts: Sex-Obsessed and Scrupulously Polite
Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2011
ON A BALMY APRIL MORNING in east London, Hayden Thorpe is remembering the night last September when Wild Beasts failed to win the Mercury Prize ...
Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 2011
Singer with a soul-steeped voice whose instantly successful Back to Black album reflected her tormented experience of love ...
Amy Winehouse: Bloomsbury Ballroom, London
Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2006
WHILE AMY Winehouse has been off making the follow-up to her 2003 Mercury-nominated debut album, Frank, her role as the new kid on the block ...
List of genre pieces
Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, May 2002
"IF YOU LOOK right through the centre of the Pyramid stage," says Michael Eavis, waving at the steel framework that squats surreally in the middle ...
Glastonbury: Pop Feast Kicked Off By Football
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, June 1998
Caroline Sullivan sorts fab from drab ...
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, September 2003
Juggling a baby and a career is difficult enough for anyone – but how do you manage it when you're a pop star? Caroline Sullivan ...
Live Music: Is This The End Of The Road?
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, November 2008
Gigs have been shoring up the ailing music industry – but they're not as popular as they once were. Caroline Sullivan reports on growing anxiety ...
Live8: Just Another Gig – With Added Feelgood Factor
Comment by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, June 2005
NEARLY EVERY A-lister worth the name is doing their bit, making Live8 the first truly all-star charity show since Live Aid. Madonna! U2! Coldplay! You ...
Rock Journalist Carol Clerk Broke the Mould
Obituary by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian Unlimited, March 2010
Former Melody Maker news editor Carol Clerk, who died last week, was a role model for female music writers. She loved old-school rock – and ...
The Costa del Sol: Elvis Has Left The Cantina
Report by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian, The, July 2006
ELVIS PRESLEY is having a grand time. He is cuddling up to tipsy girls and giving them individual verses of 'Return to Sender' as they ...
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