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Paul Morley

Paul Morley

A living legend of pop scribery, Morley made his name on the NME of the late '70s and early '80s before becoming a broadcasting staple and the author of Nothing and Words and Music: A History of Pop in the Shape of a City. Some of his most splendid interviews were collected in Ask, now sadly out of print.

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227 articles

List of articles in the library

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Buzzcocks, Eater: The Buzzcocks, Eater: Holdsworth Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 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 ...

Lone Star, Mott The Hoople: Mott, Lone Star: Salford University, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 October 1976

…and here's what they fought to save you for: MOTT ...

The Doctors Of Madness: Live in Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 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 ...

David Essex: Manchester Palace, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 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 ...

Buzzcocks: Band on the Wall, Electric Circus, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 November 1976

MANCHESTER MADMEN ...

Fabulous Poodles: UMIST, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 December 1976

PURE, UNDISGUISED entertainment from a crackerjack fun quartet of sly, sleazy, 'appy crups who played like the Beatles never happened — a major reason why ...

The Clash, Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: Sex Pistols, The Clash, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers: Electric Circus, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 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 ...

Buzzcocks: Teen Rebel Scores £250 From Dad

Profile by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 February 1977

This feature bears the New Wave Seal of Quality ...

Marc Bolan, T. Rex: Marc Bolan: Son Of Magical Pouting Panache

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 19 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 ...

The Stranglers: Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 April 1977

These young chaps have an album out soon. It would be strange if they didn't ...

Supertramp: Even In The Quietest Moments (A&M)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 April 1977

SUPERBLAND ...

Rush: The Rush Phenomenon

Report by Paul Morley, Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 11 June 1977

This band has fans. Lots of them. They sold out the Free Trade Hall and surprised even the promoter. PAUL MORLEY asks why, PAUL RAMBALI ...

Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, Joy Division, Penetration: Buzzcocks, Penetration, John Cooper Clarke, Warsaw: Electric Circus, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 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 ...

Buzzcocks, Howard Devoto, The Fall: Manchester: They Mean It Maaanchester

Overview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 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 Feat: Free Trade Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 August 1977

FEAT HEAD OFF FOR FRAMPTON ZONE?!! ...

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Wayne County: Electric Circus, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 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 ...

Marc Bolan, T. Rex: Marc Bolan: A Fan's Tribute

Comment by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 September 1977

IT'S DULLY strange — just a few fast days after reading and hearing the effect on so many lives that Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel' had — ...

Magazine: This Man Is Not A Minor Writer!

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 October 1977

For a start he's dispensed with words! ...

Sham 69: Don't Follow Leaders

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 12 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 ...

The Ramones, The Rezillos: Market Hall, Carlisle

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 December 1977

THE WORD used all day was surreal. ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie and the Banshees: A World Domination By 1984 Special

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 January 1978

This is Siouxsie and the Banshees/They are patient/They will win/In the end. ...

999: Paradiso, Amsterdam

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 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 ...

Big In Japan: From Little Idiots Big Idiots Do Grow

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 February 1978

"BIG IN JAPAN...BIG IN JAPAN...BIG IN JAPAN..." ...

The Subway Sect: Bernard Rhodes Great Unknowns Payola Special

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 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 ...

Devo: Free Trade Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 March 1978

SUDDENLY.....Devo! ...

Patti Smith: A Woman's Place…

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 1 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 ...

Tangerine Dream's Grey Days

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 May 1978

EDGAR FROESE reflects on days of hope and dissipation, and wonders why the photographer's hiding behind a pillar. ...

Camel: A Live Record

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 May 1978

Why (Not) A Camel? ...

The Flamin' Groovies: Rafters, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 May 1978

ABOUT BEFORE 12.15...I don't want to talk about it. ...

Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds, Joy Division, V2: Nosebleeds, Snyde, Joy Division, V.2.: The Ritz, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 June 1978

DROPPING INTO 1977 was 'easy'. ...

Alternative TV: The Image Has Cracked

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 June 1978

MARK PERRY has been a confused person and, through that, confusing. ...

Rush: The Rush Archives

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 June 1978

Power, Pomp, Purity, Pretention, Popularity... The RUSH Problem ...

Alternative TV: The World At Once…Dateline: Stonehenge

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 29 June 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 ...

Spirit: Spirit Live

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 July 1978

Goodbye To Rock And All That (For Another Year At Least) ...

The Prefects, The Subway Sect: The Prefects, Subway Sect: A Tale Of Two Bands

Profile by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 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 ...

Annette Peacock: X-Dreams

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 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 ...

Jilted John

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 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: Rock Against Racism's Carnival Of The North: Chaos & Concern

Report by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 July 1978

THE ANTI-NAZI LEAGUE and Rock Against Racism were formed specifically as a reaction against racism. ...

The Rezillos: Can't Stand The Rezillos

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 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 ...

Blondie And The Beast

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 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 ...

Joy Division: Band On The Wall, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 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 ...

The Fall: Marquee, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 September 1978

I AM A commentator in a Consumers' Guide. This week I guide you towards entertainers The Fall, as I always have done. ...

Yes: Tormato

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 September 1978

YES, YES, YES — BUT SO WHAT? ...

10cc: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 September 1978

"YOU CAN touch the magic tonight," claimed guitarist Eric Stewart. ...

Wazmo Nariz

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 September 1978

How to almost drown your way to a name and fame ...

Penetration: Moving Targets (Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 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 ...

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Music Machine, Camden Town, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 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 ...

Cabaret Voltaire, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Nico, The Pop Group: The Pop Group/Nico/Linton Kwesi Johnson/Cabaret Voltaire: An Appraisal Of 'Next Year's Thing'

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 21 October 1978

The Pop Group/Nico/Linton Kwesi Johnson/Cabaret Voltaire: Electric Ballroom, London ...

The Lurkers: Strange Daze In Sheffield (Or Maybe Halifax)

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 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 ...

Captain Beefheart: Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 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 ...

Cabaret Voltaire, The Doctors of Madness: Doctors of Madness, Cabaret Voltaire: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 November 1978

CABARET VOLTAIRE appeared first. A trio, I caught the final 20 minutes of their performance, and was fairly absorbed. ...

Sham 69: That's Life

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 November 1978

JIMMY PURSEY'S Ulysses – a day in the life of 'a working class kid'. A shrug of the shoulders. ...

Status Quo: If You Can't Stand The Heat

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 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 ...

Steel Pulse: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 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 ...

Santana: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 11 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 – ...

Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 11 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 ...

Oregon: Out Of The Woods

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 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 ...

Flying Lizards: Penseur in Patchy Light: David Cunningham…

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 November 1978

is either a 3-time loser looking for a way out, OR......An entrepreneurial polymath looking for a way in. ...

Howard Devoto, Magazine: Howard Devoto: Calm And Confusion

Interview by Paul Morley, Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 2 December 1978

WERE YOU a wimp at school?I wouldn't say I was a wimp. I think I did get bullied. ...

Olivia Newton-John: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 December 1978

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN'S last night of an eight-week trundle through Japan, Australia and Europe was pretty poor. ...

The Subway Sect: War Poet of The Modern World

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 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 ...

Boomtown Rats: Today: Top Of The Pops, Tomorrow: The World

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 December 1978

The Day After: Top Of The Pops Again ...

Gruppo Sportivo: Back to 78

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 23 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 ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: In Defense of Siouxsie and the Banshees

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 23 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) ...

Gang of Four, The Jam: The Jam, Gang of Four: Music Machine, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 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 ...

Joy Division, The Passage, Spherical Objects: New Stirrings On The North-West Frontier

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 January 1979

The Underground sticks its Collective head overground to explain how the rest of the world went wrong. Please fasten your safety helmets now. Words: PAUL ...

Kevin Coyne: Music Of A Different Coyne

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 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. ...

Stiff Little Fingers: Inflammable Material (Rough Trade)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 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 ...

John Cooper Clarke, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Merger, The Pop Group, Public Image Ltd: Public Image Ltd., The Pop Group, Merger, Linton Kwesi Johnson , John Cooper Clarke: Kings Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 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, New Musical Express, 3 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. ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 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? ...

Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 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 ...

Graham Parker And The Rumour: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 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, New Musical Express, 21 April 1979

WHY DOES SUCH A MAN LIVE? ...

Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 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, New Musical Express, 5 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 ...

The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 May 1979

"So you think you're so clever/you're never in doubt". ...

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Things Your Mother Never Told You (Safari)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 May 1979

THRASHING SUSPICIONS against all considered expectations, this is a mobile and intimidating masterpiece. ...

The Cure: Three Imaginary Boys (Fiction)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 12 May 1979

AAAH! MORE alert and anguished young men chalking up more sanctioned and sanctimonious marks. Do not applaud them. ...

Penetration in Five Easy Stages

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 19 May 1979

ONCE UPON a time there was an impetuous eight-year-old girl living in a dark Durham corner and influenced greatly by the fashionable doings of a ...

The Undertones: The Reluctant Debutantes

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 26 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 And The Blockheads: Ludwigshafen, Dusseldorf, Germany

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 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 ...

Ian Dury: The Ian Dury Interview

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 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 ...

Tubeway Army: Looking Through Gary Numan's Eyes

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 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 – ...

Nick Lowe, Rockpile: Nick Lowe: Whatever Gets You Through The Daze

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 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 ...

Devo: In the Terminal Zone

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 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 ...

Squeeze: Fun City Sweet Hearts

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 21 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. ...

Angelic Upstarts: Teenage Warning (Warner Brothers)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 11 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 ...

Commander Cody, Led Zeppelin, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Todd Rundgren: Ghosts Of Progressive Rock Past: Led Zeppelin et al at Knebworth

Report by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 11 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 ...

XTC: Drums And Wires (Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 August 1979

Something Like The Best ...

AC/DC, Nils Lofgren, The Stranglers, The Who: Who, Stranglers: Laser Laser On The Wall Who Are Complacent After All

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 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 ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Slits: The Slits: Cut (Island); Siouxsie & The Banshees: Join Hands (Polydor)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 1 September 1979

AS THE Slits sing-song: don't take it seriously. ...

Nils Lofgren: Rock 'n' Roll's Great Lost Hero

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 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 ...

Patti Smith: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 September 1979

WEDNESDAY WAS an unusual day. ...

The Clash: Clash Take The Fifth

Report by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 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 ...

Bruce Springsteen: The Springsteen Syndrome

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 October 1979

Musicians United For Safe Energy: Madison Square Garden, NYC ...

Buzzcocks: Hey Mac Are You Some Kind Of Limey Pop Star?

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 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. ...

The Clash: Clash USA '79

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 October 1979

Details: The Scene ...

The Adverts: Cast Of Thousands

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 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 ...

The Clash: The Fastest Gang In The West

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 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 ...

The Jam: The Revolution Will Start When Paul Weller Has Supped His Pint

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 November 1979

"I WOULDN'T say I'm a very articulate person, but I seem to be able to articulate when I write lyrics..." ...

The Skids: A Loser's Quest For Survival

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 1 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 ...

Adam & The Ants, Throbbing Gristle: Throbbing Gristle: 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Industrial); Adam & The Ants: Dirk Wears White Socks (Do It)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 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 ...

U2/Soul Boys: Moonlight Club, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 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 ...

Pink Military: Post-Modernist Pop Music

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 12 January 1980

HOW WAS IT in Liverpool last year? "Liverpool has been great! It really has. All these ace bands coming through. A lot of the best ...

The Pretenders: Only A Hobo Only A Star

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 26 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 ...

Japan: Discovering Japan

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 February 1980

Are Japan just a bunch of pretty boy remnants of glamrock. Or do they know something that the rest of rock 'n' roll is yet ...

Joy Division: University Of London, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 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 ...

U2 Can Make it in the Rock Business

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 March 1980

"BUT CAN YOU trust it?!" Bono, the insurgent, irrepressible singer for Dublin quartet U2, finishes making a hard point using a typically animated gesture. I ...

Pete Townshend: Empty Glass (Atco)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 26 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 ...

The Associates: The Affectionate Punch

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 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, ...

A Certain Ratio: Failed CSE Rock!

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 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 ...

Ultravox: Forever And Ever Ultravox

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 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 ...

Gillan, Tygers of Pan Tang: Gillan: Glory Road; Tygers Of Pan Tang: Wild Cat

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 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, ...

Simple Minds: Empires and Dance

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 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 ...

Altered Images, Clock DVA, Echo & The Bunnymen, Robert Fripp, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Soft Cell, U2, Wasted Youth: Siouxsie & the Banshees, Robert Fripp, Echo & the Bunnymen, U2, Altered Images, Clock DVA, Soft Cell: Futurama Festival, Queens Hall, Leeds

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 September 1980

The squalor show goes on ...

Marc Bolan, Tyrannosaurus Rex: The NME Consumers' Guide To Marc Bolan, part 1

Retrospective by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 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 ...

XTC: Last Exit To Catalonia

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 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 ...

Marc Bolan, T. Rex: The NME Consumers' Guide To Marc Bolan, part 2: The Rise And Fall Of Bolanmania

Retrospective by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 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 ...

The Associates: Boys Keep Scoring

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 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. ...

Josef K: Four shadows in search of a sunny day

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 October 1980

Paul Morley talks to Josef K, a soul group who define the alienation effect, it says here. ...

Orange Juice: The Sneer That Says Wish You Were Here

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 October 1980

THERE'S SOMEONE knocking on my door. A loud rap. I'm woken up with a start. I open the door. ...

The Teardrop Explodes: Kilimanjaro

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 4 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 ...

Au Pairs: Every Home Should Have Four

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 11 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 ...

The Passage: Pindrop

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 October 1980

THE PASSAGE have been a part-time group, on an interminably unfashionable label, whose agitating, pent-up seven inches have disappeared into the nowhere. With the disquieting ...

Toyah Wilcox: The Girl Who Would Be King

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 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 ...

U2: Boy

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 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 ...

Altered Images, Nick Lowe, The Polecats, Rockpile, Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie & the Banshees: Siouxp

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 November 1980

ROCK'S FAVOURITE SITUATION COMEDY RETURNS TO YOUR PAGES AND STAGES. SCRIPT: PAUL MORLEY ...

The Sound: Jeopardy

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 November 1980

THIS COULD BE a starkly calculated cash in on the seamier, dreamier trends and tendencies of these our favourite post-punk days. Certainly its approach to ...

Killing Joke: The Killing Of Brother Paul

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 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 ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Men Of Mystery And Imagination

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 22 November 1980

ANDY McCLUSKEY and I are the last two of the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark party left in the Edinburgh hotel bar. ...

Cabaret Voltaire: The Heart and Soul of Cabaret Voltaire

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 29 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 ...

ABC, Essential Bop, Restricted Code: Bristol Bop! Glasgow Pop! It's As Easy As ABC!

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 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, ...

Joy Division, New Order: New Order: Heaven, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 14 February 1981

THE HAUNTING OF HEAVEN ...

Bush Tetras: Taking Liberties from New York, Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 February 1981

BUSH TETRAS will be a New York legend. They steal/save/ARE the show. They pile disorientating meditative repetition upon sparse improvisation upon tangled rhythms upon inscrutable ...

The Raybeats: Taking Liberties from New York, Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 February 1981

THE RAYBEATS, uniformed and partly choreographed, the second on. Greeted by a small crowd huddled at the front of the seatless stalls, they are brave, ...

Grateful Dead: What A Long Predictable Trip It's Become

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 March 1981

This Week The Grateful Dead trucked back into Britain. In America they're more successful than ever – and even Jerry Garcia can't work out why. ...

Girlschool: Black Leather at St Trinians

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 May 1981

GIRLSCHOOL FRENZY GRIPS THE COUNTRY AS ADOLESCENT BOYS DISCOVER THEIR VERY OWN ROCK'N'ROLL SEX SYMBOLS. PAUL MORLEY TAKES A MANLY LOOK AT THIS CRAZY PHENOMENON. ...

ABC: Moonlight Club, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 May 1981

ABRACADABRA! ABC show up in London. Another banal crew of slight white boys clumsily revising their dance style for the sake of summer attention? A ...

Soft Cell: Would we soft-soap you about... Soft Cell

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 23 May 1981

(1) We Intend to sing the love of danger, the habit of energy end tearfulness. ...

Japan: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 May 1981

Heaven must have scent you ...

Positive Noise: Noise Poise

Interview by Paul Morley, The Face, June 1981

POSITIVE Noise play at Cabaret Futura, and I think that they're the best group who've yet played there. What a range, I think, what reserves. ...

Motorhead: No Sleep Til Hammersmith (Bronze)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 June 1981

AXES ON their shoulders, blood on their palms, grease in their hair, gaps in their teeth, something or nothing on their mind, squeezing the universe ...

Duran Duran: Ice Cream the Body Electric!

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 July 1981

Teenybop takes a trite turn for the better. Paul Morley compares socks with DURAN DURAN ...

ABC: Now a name to drop. Soon a major part in the party.

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, The Face, August 1981

I HOLD in my hand three letters... ...

Stimulin: Moonlight Club, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 1 August 1981

TO HAVE and het up! The sweat poured out of them! Stimulin aren't stupid, to put it wildly. Stimulin are no charity — see them, ...

Cabaret Voltaire

Interview by Paul Morley, The Face, September 1981

Grey, industrial, oppressive, weird? Wrong, say the Sheffield stylists. Wrong, says our ace showbiz reporter. PAUL MORLEY (words) attempts to demystify Cabaret Voltaire's drab legend. ...

Gary Numan: Dance (Beggars Banquet)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 September 1981

"These New Romantics are oh so boring I could swear I've been there once or twice before" ('Moral') ...

Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement (BEF/Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 19 September 1981

YES, THERE'S plenty of use! Sometimes you can wonder why you're so enthalled by pop's maze: it would be easy to break out in that ...

Grace Jones: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 17 October 1981

GRACE: UNFAVOURED ...

The Human League: Dare (Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 17 October 1981

SURPRISE! ...the love of human MOR-als ...

Japan: Tin Drum (Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 21 November 1981

Once upon a record there was a wonderful land where nothing nasty happened and sad beautiful boys lived... ...

Dollar in Wonderland

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 January 1982

Paul Morley meets the drunk white rabbit and a bully who looks in the mirror to ask why their narcissistic pop has suddenly been blessed with credibility ...

The Subway Sect: Subway Sect: Vic the Vague

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 January 1982

A PIECE ON VIC GODARD BY PAUL MORLEY SAUCILY ENTITLED VIC THE VAGUE. Paul says: "I wish to be referred to at the heading of this ...

Adam & The Ants: Adam Ant: True Confessions: Brando, De Niro and Bruce Lee. Lennon-McCartney And Yours Truly

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 16 January 1982

DO YOU believe in Adam Ant? ...

Fad Gadget: Fadfoolery and Frank Confessions

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 23 January 1982

Paul Morley encounters Frank Tovey on the verge of failure, and Fad Gadget on the point of hysteria. So why is this a succesful combination? ...

Modern Romance: The Venue, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 30 January 1982

THERE WAS one thing that happened over the weekend that really made me realise just how deep down into the rotten scabby depths some people ...

Haircut 100: Kilburn National, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 February 1982

One Hundred reasons to be cheerful ...

Simple Minds: Celebration (Arista)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 February 1982

DEAR JIM, ...

Altered Images: The Altered State Of Pop Art

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 February 1982

Altered Images: Hammersmith Palais, London ...

Depeche Mode: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 February 1982

FAST FORWARD TO THE FUTURE! ...

Theatre of Hate: Woodville Hall, Gravesend

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 February 1982

LAST OF THE GREAT EAR-OS! ...

Haircut 100: Sunshine Superboy

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 13 March 1982

I ASK NICHOLAS Heyward, the singer with Haircut 100, if he thinks that he is a lucky boy. He allows me a look so cheeky, ...

Bauhaus: Breaking Down The Walls Of Art-Ache

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 20 March 1982

"When we heard that you were going to interview us, we came up with two possibilities: a, being physical violence, and b, being a reasoned ...

Bow Wow Wow: Empire Ballroom, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 March 1982

DANCING BLOW, 1-30! ...

Tina Turner: Past The Point Of No Returner

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 17 April 1982

Tina Turner: Hammersmith Odeon, London ...

Madness: Complete Madness

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 April 1982

(LOVELY!) ALTHOUGH people are snobby about just about everything except disease, I can think of no one who is snobby about the great and not ...

Todd Rundgren: Utopia in Woodstock: Todd Rundgren

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 April 1982

IF I AM THE LAST writer about pop music of any standing, Alfred G. Aronowitz was the first. He was matchmaking, twitching and joking from ...

Culture Club: The Boy's Own Club

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 1 May 1982

PAUL MORLEY MEETS A BOY CALLED GEORGE — FORMER MODEL, BOW WOW WOW SINGER AND NOW FOUNDER OF A NEW MUSICAL EXPERIENCE, THE CULTURE CLUB. ...

Iron Maiden: The Metal Masquerade

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 May 1982

THE UNSMILING but unthreatening Iron Maiden are being photographed in the bright white tiled shower room of a compact sports stadium in Offenbach, near Frankfurt ...

The Associates: Sulk (Associates/WEA/Beggars Banquet etc.)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 May 1982

BUTTERFLY BAWLS ...

New Order: Manifesto

Essay by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 June 1982

NEW ORDER REVISED. BY PAUL MORLEY — WHO JUST COULDN'T RESIST THE... ...

The Human League, The League Unlimited Orchestra: The League Unlimited Orchestra: Love And Dance (Virgin)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 July 1982

LOVE'S THEME, YOUR MAGIC SPELL IS EVERYWHERE ...

ABC, Buggles, Dollar, Yes: Trevor Horn: Clever Trevor!

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 3 July 1982

TREVOR HORN IS A ROARING SUCCESS. HE WAS BUGGLES, PLAYED WITH YES, GAVE DOLLAR THEIR HITS AND HAS NOW PRODUCED ABC AND THEIR DEBUT LP, ...

Simple Minds: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 September 1982

ONETHIS RECORD is something of a glow. Whatever your preference you will find it memorable and instructive. Find its qualities and fix your place. Be ...

Southern Death Cult: The Last Tribe

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 2 October 1982

Post punk comes the last tribe, SOUTHERN DEATH CULT, a Bradford group who attack the centralisation of media and political power in London. PAUL MORLEY ...

The Associates, Billy Mackenzie: Disassociate!: The Associates

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 October 1982

THE WHIPPETS have pissed on the carpet of Chris Parry's Office. Billy Mackenzie grins, a little wickedly; there's a nice little stain that should be ...

ABC: The Power of the Imagination

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 25 December 1982

MARTIN FRY, a shy but conspicuous grammar school boy from Bramall, Stockport, shuffles into the bookshop where I sell second hand records. He buys the ...

The Human League: Phil Oakey's Five Minute Plan

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 January 1983

WHEN PHIL Oakey was a hospital porter, people used to be dying all around him, and he somehow became immune. It didn't upset him more ...

Yello: A Genuine Swiss Cuckoo

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 January 1983

THE PAUL MORLEY PROFILES — NUMBER FOUR IN A SERIES OF FOUR... Dieter Meier is an international traveller and eccentric, a performance artist and ...

Pete Townshend: The Unimportance Of Being Townshend

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 12 March 1983

BEFORE I begin my latest erratic arrangement I must state my position, of which I'm certain. I have never thought that if Peter Townshend cut ...

David Bowie: Milton Keynes Bowl

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 9 July 1983

WHO'S PUSHING back there, someone shouts, as another poor girl falls to her knees, tangled up inside blue breathless bodies. Probably Bowie — today's turn, ...

Cocteau Twins: The Cocteau Twins: Twindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 December 1983

Robin and Elizabeth are the Cocteau Twins. They live together in London's Muswell Hill and have created an enormously successful musical partnership. PAUL MORLEY attempts ...

Marilyn: Some Like It Hot

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 December 1983

Prince or showgirl? Paul Morley tussles with Marilyn on a soft sofa and wonders if the seduction of pop has a more explicit meaning. ...

Art of Noise, Frankie Goes to Hollywood: ZTT: Who Bridges the Gap Between the Record Executive and The Genius? Me

Essay by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 18 February 1984

PAUL MORLEY, the man who took FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to Number One, takes a long day's journey into night where he wonders whether he ...

Marillion: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back Into The Water

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 28 April 1984

Along comes megajaws FISH, big fry with heavy rockers Marillion in search off "a clash off the titans"...in other words, a confrontation with NME. Shy, ...

John Lydon, Public Image Ltd: John Lydon: This Is What You Get

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 February 1986

THIS IS the beginning of an interview with the John Lydon who has drunk seven cans of Red Stripe lager, after breakfasting on oysters. ...

Simply Red: Punk in Manchester: Oh, How We Laughed

Essay by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 15 February 1986

BE OFF with you! Little Red, it is said, is not happy at the hollow allegations that suggest he has 'sold out' by leaping from ...

Sigue Sigue Sputnik: Starry-Eyed & Laughing

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 8 March 1986

YOU FIND yourself reading about them...It's been a long day, and it isn't over yet. The two juiciest members of Sigue Sigue Sputnik – pronounced ...

Morrissey: Wilde Child

Interview by Paul Morley, Blitz, April 1988

Paul Morley interviews Morrissey, whose first solo album, Viva Hate, is released this month. ...

Waxing Lyrical: The Rock Press

Essay by Paul Morley, Time Out, 4 October 1988

As the monochrome music press got lost in the technicolour '80s, and good- looking glossies took over colourful music writing, one thing was sure: just ...

The Associates, Billy Mackenzie: Billy Mackenzie: Pop's Great Outsider

Obituary by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 27 January 1997

AN ANARCHIC Bassey, a sinister Pavarotti, a monstrous madcap Bowie, even when he was at his most obscure, his most difficult and extreme, there was ...

Beck: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, July 1997

HOWDY. America is always new. The world is always new. Go ask Beck. If you can catch him! ...

Radiohead: OK Computer

Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, July 1997

HELLO. It seems that I am meant to give Radiohead's new album – their "other" album, their brainwashed nerve-scathed translunar completely assumed third masterpiece where ...

The Prodigy: The Fat Of The Land

Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, August 1997

CHRIST ALMIGHTY. It moves vertically through salted pressures with a head that can see sideways. It is red in tooth and claw. It swoons and ...

Pet Shop Boys: Savoy Theatre, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, September 1997

Neil Tennant: vaudevillian existentialist? ...

Howard Devoto, Magazine: Howard Devoto: Shot By Both Sides

Interview by Paul Morley, Uncut, November 2000

AND THEN, in 1976, when Howard Devoto was 24, he wrote and recorded four fast songs with the group Buzzcocks, and they became the EP ...

The Slits: Cutting Edge

Retrospective and Interview by Paul Morley, Uncut, February 2001

I AM A LITTLE nervous as I approach Viv Albertine's house. She was a Slit. For anybody of a certain age who has a penis ...

Air: Mild is the wind…:Air: 10,000 Hz Legend (Virgin) **½

Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, June 2001

Follow-up proper to Moon Safari features Beck on two tracks ...

Brian Eno: Eno: The Man Who

Interview by Paul Morley, Uncut, August 2001

After he left Roxy Music in 1973, Brian Eno became a key figure in the development of electronic music – in the nineties, NME ...

Luke Haines: The Oliver Twist Manifesto

Review by Paul Morley, Uncut, September 2001

Solo debut from sometime Auteur, Black Box Recorder and Baader Meinhof pop terrorist. ...

Edwyn Collins: Blue Boy

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, Uncut, July 2002

HIS FIRST GROUP, ORANGE JUICE, MIXED TOGETHER VELVETS GUITARS AND CHIC RHYTHMS. THEN, 15 YEARS AFTER THEIR HEYDAY, EDWYN COLLINS HAD A MONSTROUS WORLDWIDE SOLO ...

Buggles: Trevor Horn: Vast Cities Of Sound

Profile by Paul Morley, Daily Telegraph, 10 November 2004

Trevor Horn, one of pop music's great ministers of sound, celebrates 25 years of recording wizardry this week. And it all started with The Buggles, ...

Bob Dylan: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, Sunday Telegraph, June 2005

A NIMBLE, SECRETIVE Bob Dylan stares deep into the nowhere he's come from under the brim of a showman's black bolero. He seems to be ...

Gorillaz: Manchester International Festival, Opera House, Manchester

Live Review by Paul Morley, Sunday Telegraph, 6 November 2005

Paul Morley watches Damon Albarn's cartoon band come alive ...

The White Stripes: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, Daily Telegraph, 13 November 2005

Paul Morley watches The White Stripes at the Hammersmith Apollo and is blown away by their impeccably skewed greatness ...

U2

Interview by Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly, December 2005

1: IN A VAST penthouse suite on top of a hotel that could be anywhere in the world overlooking a city that seems to shimmer ...

Morrissey: The Last Temptation of Morrissey

Interview by Paul Morley, Uncut, May 2006

With Steven Patrick re-anointed St Morrissey following reviews for his latest album Ringleader Of The Tormentors, can Uncut's journalist, a devilishly nosey fellow Mancunian, tempt ...

Hot Chip: The Warning ****

Review by Paul Morley, The Observer, 21 May 2006

The style-mag favourites walk the irony tightrope with their airy electro-pop. Paul Morley applauds from the stalls ...

Josef K: Entomology

Sleeve notes by Paul Morley, Domino Records, July 2006

...and then there was Josef K, a four piece group who formed for a number of reasons.  These are some of the reasons: ...

Arcade Fire: Keep the Faith: The Arcade Fire

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly, 18 March 2007

Love, death, religion, war: Arcade Fire explore such epic themes in so thrilling a fashion that critics, fans and their rock star peers find themselves ...

Sparklehorse: Shepherds Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, Sunday Telegraph, 10 June 2007

STOP ME if you've heard this one before. It's a story about Sparklehorse, the one mind band who play a short, bitter-sweet set at the ...

Tony Wilson, 1950-2019

Obituary by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 13 August 2007

Record label boss and broadcaster with twin passions: music and Manchester. ...

The X Factor

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 31 October 2009

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I decided that I would not watch this particular series of The X Factor, because I thought, I'll get ...

Lonelady: Paul Morley's showing off … Lonelady

Profile and Interview by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 22 January 2010

Paul Morley meets Warp's new Mancunian signing Lonelady, who he would never tip as the next big thing, but might, for those missing a certain ...

Marshall Jefferson, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs : Marshall Jefferson and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Comment by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 28 May 2010

To Paul Morley's left, '80s Chicago dance DJ Marshall Jefferson. To his right, Orlando from up-and-coming producers Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Can Morley find the ...

David Bowie: Station to Station: The importance of David Bowie

Essay by Paul Morley, Financial Times, 3 September 2010

HOW MUCH DO you like David Bowie? You will have to like him a lot to want to spend more than £80 on a deluxe ...

Heaven 17

Retrospective by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 29 October 2010

PAUL MORLEY re-introduces Heaven 17 as they dive into the nostalgia circuit. ...

Summer Camp - a profile

Profile by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 29 October 2010

IT'S ALREADY POSSIBLE to read so much about slippy, trippy new boy-meets-girl pop group Summer Camp in that online otherworld where this kind of hyper-smart, ...

McFly: Paul Morley's showing off McFly

Profile by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 26 November 2010

Paul Morley describes McFly's ascent from guitar-toting teeny-boppers to 'entertainment hosts' for the multimedia generation. ...

Warpaint - an interview

Interview by Paul Morley, The Guardian, 26 November 2010

Paul Morley steps into the sleepy, mysterious, terrifying world of LA rock band Warpaint. ...

Paul Morley's Showing Off ... Alex Ross

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 12 December 2010

Paul Morley readies himself for a gladiatorial clash of the critics with New Yorker music writer Alex Ross. ...

The BRIT Awards

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 13 February 2011

THE VOTING ACADEMY for this year's Brit awards is made up of 1,000 specially invited members from across the UK music industry: music critics, music ...

Charlie Haden: Paul Morley On Music: Charlie Haden

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 24 April 2011

Amazon has made critics of us all. But how does that bode for the professional critic? ...

Kraftwerk: Autobahn at Tate Modern

Live Review by Paul Morley, Daily Telegraph, 7 February 2013

WHEN I SAW Kraftwerk 38 years ago, as much as they were about the future, I didn't think they would actually make it into the ...

Jake Bugg, Harry Styles: So Jake Bugg is authentic and Harry Styles is a fake? I don't think so…

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 3 March 2013

In the great fabricated conflict between Jake Bugg and Harry Styles, it's the perversely sophisticated One Direction star who really represents what's left of pop. ...

The Rolling Stones will reign supreme until there is a new counterculture

Comment by Paul Morley, The Observer, 31 March 2013

The new generation is blocked from moving on creatively, not only by the baby boomers but also their own inertia. ...

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