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Rob Hughes

Rob Hughes

Rob Hughes is a Graphic Designer/Illustrator/Sportswear Designer with no history in music writing whatsoever up until 2000, when he started writing for UNCUT. He has also written for GET RHYTHM. Wacky and improbable fact: Rob designed Aston Villa's kit for the 2000-01 season. We kid you not.

237 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

The Handsome Family

Interview by Rob Hughes, unpublished, 1999

OCTOBER 1999. On the release of early-years compilation Down In The Valley - and four months prior to fourth studio album, In The Air - ...

Smog: Dongs Of Sevotion

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2000

Ninth dry—lipped album from the Buster Keaton of sadcore ...

Calexico: Hot Rail

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2000

Fourth outing from prolific Giant Sand rhythm kings and assorted playmates ...

The Webb Brothers: Maroon

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2000

CHIPS OFF the old block deliver first album 'proper', produced by Smiths/Blur helmsman Stephen Street. ...

The Byrds: Outlaw Chic

Retrospective by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2001

ROB HUGHES SALUTES THE BYRDS' GEM THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS ...

Grandaddy: Manchester University

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2001

STRANGE TALES of exploding androids, lost loves, graveyards for household gadgets, crashed spaceships, sunken dreams and cock-and-bull tourist authorities. Welcome to the bevelled woodchuckery of ...

Jim White: In God's Country

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2001

ON HIS EXTRAORDINARY NEW ALBUM, NO SUCH PLACE, HE HAS CONTRIVED AN ASTONISHING MIX OF SPOOKILY DEMENTED COUNTRY, SKEWED ROCK AND HIP HOP THAT CHARTS ...

The Webb Brothers

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2001

'I'll make it through the show!' ...

Bright Eyes: Letting Off The Happiness (Wichita) ***

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2001

Prequel to last year's impressive Fevers And Mirrors from Omaha wunderkind ...

Howe Gelb: Confluence (Loose)***

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2001

TWENTY YEARS in, the Giant Sand guru's songwriting torrent courses stronger than ever. ...

Laura Nyro: Angel In The Dark (Rounder)****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2001

THE LAST recordings from the 'Bronx Bronte', covered by everyone from Sinatra to Streisand. A live album's imminent, too. ...

Pernice Brothers: The World Won't End

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2001

DESPITE THE previous year's flawless neo-country masterpiece Massachusetts, Joe Pernice quit the Scud Mountain Boys in 1997 in pursuit of new horizons and a craving ...

Richard Hawley: Richard Hawley

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2001

Former Pulp guitarist makes dynamic debut with mini-album of spectral ballads ...

Turin Brakes

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2001

AS FIRST gigs go, it was an almost surreal baptism. Happily for them, the Queen was impressed. "She came over and said hello. I just ...

Arthur Lee, Love: Arthur Lee: We Have Ways Of Making You Talk

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2001

ONCE DESCRIBED by fellow band-member Brian MacLean as 'the baddest guy on the West Side of LA, the Cassius Clay of the streets' – Arthur ...

Pernice Brothers: The World Won't End

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2001

SUN-BAKED melancholy from Boston ...

Pavement, Preston School of Industry: Preston School of Industry: All This Sounds Gas (Domino)****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2001

PAVEMENT FOUNDER member emerges from dark side of the Malkmus to release solo project, whose name derives from San Francisco-area reform school ...

The Lilac Time: Compendium — The Fontana Trinity (Universal/Fontana)*****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2001

FORTY-FOUR-TRACK twofer cherry-picked from first three albums – includes B-sides and rarities. ...

New Order: Olympia Theatre, Liverpool

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2001

BY RIGHTS, they shouldn't be here at all. The acrimonious fallout from 1993's tempestuous Republic gouged a rift within New Order that seemed way beyond ...

The Handsome Family: Twilight

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2001

CALL IT WHAT you will – proto-country, Southern Gothic, backwoods noir, Americana, cow-punk, insurgent twang, murderous balladry, Appalachian folk. Whichever way you slice it, The ...

The Who

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2001

AUGUST, 1969: Upstate New York. All along America's Eastern seaboard upright citizens of this great nation are starting to slowly stir from deep and uneventful ...

Ben Christophers

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2001

VOCALLY GYMNASTIC British tunesmith overcomes that difficult-second-album syndrome... ...

David Crosby

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2001

THE FORMER BYRD RECENTLY TOURED EUROPE WITH CROSBY, PEVAR, RAYMOND – RAYMOND BEING HIS SON JAMES, WITH WHOM HE WAS REUNITED IN 1995 – TO ...

Television: Lightning Strikes

Retrospective by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2001

Lightning strikes with Marquee Moon, Television opened the door to post-punk ...

Ashley Park

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2001

CLASSIC WEST coast sounds direct from Vancouver. ...

X: Los Angeles *****; Wild Gift ****; Under The Big Black Sun **** (Rhino/Warners)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2001

REMASTERED, EXPANDED reissues from the dark heart of California. ...

Jeffrey Lewis

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2002

BIZARRE BUT brilliant New York "anti-folk" singer. ...

The Cash Brothers: Matt & Phred's Jazz Club, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2002

A SPARKLING jewel of one of Uncut's Unconditionally Guaranteed CD covermounts – along with star billing on the Loose 2 compendium – was The Cash ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2002

LONDON: DECEMBER, 1968. Moscow Road, Bayswater, just off the rowdy casbah din of Queensway with its hippie boutiques, bars, restaurants, buzzing crowds. There are three ...

Jim O'Rourke: The Art Of Noise

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2002

HEAR AN EXPERIMENTAL, ELECTRONIC RECORD THESE DAYS AND CHANCES ARE IT WILL HAVE CHICAGOAN JIM O'ROURKE'S NAME ON IT. ROB HUGHES MEETS THE 21ST CENTURY ...

Departure Lounge

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2002

'PASTORAL' ENGLISHMEN become the toast of Tennessee. ...

13th Floor Elevators: The Psychedelic World Of The 13th Floor Elevators (Charly)****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2002

BOXED COMPENDIUM of acid-fried Texan mindbenders. Includes lives, outtakes and alternate cuts on three remastered CDs. ...

Buddy and Julie Miller: Buddy & Julie Miller

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2002

TEARS-IN-your-beer stuff from Nashville Mr and Mrs. ...

Larry Wallis, The Pink Fairies: Larry Wallis: I Thought You Were Dead

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2002

ONCE LABELLED "Hank Marvin on acid", Wallis was vocalist/guitarist in seminal UK space-rockers the Pink Fairies, penning 1973's classic Kings Of Oblivion. ...

Rosie Thomas

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2002

TRAGEDY AND comedy from homecoming queen of heartbreak. ...

Lee Hazlewood: The Lee Hazlewood Interview

Interview by Rob Hughes, Get Rhythm, July 2002

IT'S BEEN A hellish few days for Lee Hazlewood. Three days into a four-day promo frenzy of our nation's fair capital, and everyone after a ...

New Order: Move Festival, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2002

SINCE SETTING aside old bones of contention four years ago, New Order's Indian summer has seemed one long, breathless, last-skitter-of-the-dice party. ...

Bright Eyes: Lifted, Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground (Wichita)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2002

Nebraskan boy wonder bunkers down for apocalypse. ...

Green On Red: Paisley Source

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2002

ROB HUGHES ON THE DARK AMERICAN GEM THAT WAS GREEN ON RED'S THIRD LP ...

The Coral: Everybody's Talking About…

Profile by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2002

...

The Replacements: Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash/Stink EP/Hootenanny/Let It Be (Twin/Tone/Rykodisc)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2002

IT'S EARLY 1987. Amid a fug of coke-induced paranoia, unruly punk misanthropists the Replacements have snuck back into the Minneapolis studio of Twin/Tone Records. Convinced ...

Victoria Williams: Sings Some Ol' Songs

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2003

Beguiling collection of sepia-tinged ephemera spanning 1993-2002 from L.A. songstress, sometime Creekdipper and full-time fairer half of Mark Olson ...

Alison Krauss + Union Station: Live

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2003

Stunning two-CD document of last summer's Louisville, Kentucky shows ...

Richard Hawley: Lowedges

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2003

Big easy listening on second full-length album from Sheffield songsmith ...

My Morning Jacket: At Dawn

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2003

First UK releases for currently hot band ...

The Flaming Lips: Manchester Academy

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2003

PANDAS, ALIENS, GORILLAS, GIANT RABBITS and Jetsonesque robots. Enormous spinning glitterballs spewing kaleidoscopic prisms. Silver confetti, fluorescent strobes, glove puppets and vistas of Teletubbies. At ...

Johnny Marr on Boomslang and the Smiths

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2003

Hughes: The new album's been a long time in the making. Why the wait? ...

Songs: Ohia: The Magnolia Electric Co.

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2003

Unheralded Chicago-based tunesmith comes of age ...

Teenage Fanclub: Ragged Glory

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2003

How TEENAGE FANCLUB became Kurt Cobain's favourite band, looked set to conquer the world, then decided they had better things to do… ...

Daniel Johnston: Use Your Delusion: Daniel Johnston: Fear Yourself (Sketchbook) ****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2003

Twenty-first album from America's startlingly original lord of lo-fi ...

Beck: The Apollo Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2003

Solitary refinement: Stunning one-man set as the eclectic troubadour of cool goes back to his folk-blues roots ...

Willard Grant Conspiracy: Regard The End

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2003

Glorious fifth album proper from ever-shifting Bostonians reaches down through the years ...

Gillian Welch: A Kind Of Bluegrass

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2003

Don't be fooled by her old-time country music and rural folk imagery. Gillian Welch is no mountain girl… ...

Lisa Marie Presley: To Whom It May Concern (Capitol) **

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2003

The most famous scion in rock history aims for a spot in the sun ...

Moby Grape: Great albums that fell off the critical radar: Moby Grape

Retrospective by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2003

THERE'S UNLUCKY and then there's unlucky. In the case of '60s Bay Area five-piece Moby Grape, they were hounded by the hex from Hell. They ...

The Band Of Blacky Ranchette: Still Lookin' Good To Me

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2003

Fourth album in 20 years from Giant Sand's twisted country cousin ...

The Innocence Mission: Befriended

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2003

Unheralded Pennsylvanian trio conjure up more quiet magic ...

June Carter Cash: Wildwood Flower

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2004

Life-affirming swansong from Carter Family matriarch ...

Mark Olson & The Creekdippers: Creekdippin' For The First Time

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2004

ASPIRING SONGSMITHS Mark Olson and Victoria Williams first met in 1984. When they hooked up again, a little over 10 years later, things were different. ...

David Bowie: Changing Man: David Bowie: MEN Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2004

So much to answer for… the Bard Of Bromley's back in fine forward-looking fettle with a scintillating combination of the old and the new ...

Laura Veirs: Carbon Glacier

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2004

LESS THAN ten years ago, Laura Veirs was struck on being a geologist. Then, exploring a remote desert corner of northwest China with a bunch ...

The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2004

Latest album from Iowa-based erudite John Darnielle ...

Bobby Charles' Bobby Charles

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2004

BY THE TIME he got to Woodstock in 1971, Robert Charles Guidry was a wanted man. ...

The Shins

Guide by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2004

Power pop? Another bunch of Beatles nerds with '60s gear and no tunes, then? ...

Jim White: Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2004

A YANKEE-BLOODED outcast in the Bible-thumping enclave of his adopted Pensacola, White has unwittingly spent his entire life foraging on the wrong side of the ...

Will Oldham: Just William

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2004

Whether recording as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Palace Brothers or just plain Palace, Will Oldham is one of the most enigmatic, brilliant songwriters in America ...

Jon Rauhouse: Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Rodeo

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2004

A HIGHLY ABLE sideman to the likes of Neko Case, Calexico, The Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and Kelly Hogan, Tucson-based Rauhouse's prior form included seven ...

Loretta Lynn, Jack White: Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2004

Awesome rebirth of original Country Queen, produced and arranged by the White Stripes' Jack White. ...

Jim White: Searching For The Wrong-Eyed Jesus ****

Film/DVD/TV Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2004

SHOWING FOR A limited time at London's National Film Theatre prior to an airing on television this is film-maker Andrew Douglas' road trip through America's ...

Morrissey: A Quiff of Nostalgia: Morrissey: M.E.N. Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2004

The toast(ed teacake) of Tinseltown comes home. DVD to follow. ...

Uncle Tupelo: Are you ready for the alt. country?

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2004

UNCLE TUPELO only recorded three albums, but their legacy is extraordinary. Here we talk to original members Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn about ...

Drive-By Truckers: Gangstabilly, Pizza Deliverance

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2005

Early, essential albums from Alabama-bred rockers. A BURGEONING REPUTATION as the most vital Southern band since Skynyrd and the paint still drying on blistering sixth LP ...

M. Ward: M Ward: Transistor Radio

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2005

Fourth album from Portland dream-catcher follows up 2003's Transfiguration Of Vincent. ...

Kim Fowley: Welcome To The Weird World of Kim Fowley

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2005

"I can kill people, cheat, seduce, amuse and abuse. When they drop a bomb, I'll get a hard-on, go out into the street and I'll ...

Marah: If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2005

Rip-snorting return of Nick Hornby's beloved Philly kids. ...

Judy Henske, Jerry Yester: Judy Henske & Jerry Yester: Farewell Aldebaran (Radioactive)

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2006

AMONG THE ODDITIES released on Frank Zappa's Straight label at the end of the '60s, none was more exotic than the one conceived by a ...

Kris Kristofferson

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2006

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON is tough to nail. Uncut first catches him, fleetingly, en route to the airport at his home in Maui. ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sultans Of Swamp

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2006

LORD KNOWS, Lynyrd Skynyrd had seen it coming. On the flight from Florida to South Carolina, the band's Convair 240 tour plane had begun spewing ...

P. F. Sloan: The Stars That Fame Forgot: P. F. Sloan

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2006

"P.F. Sloan gave us arguably the first real 'protest rock'. It wasn't folk music anymore, it was ROCK AND ROLL protest music. 'Eve of Destruction' ...

Josh Ritter: Girl In The War

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2007

Delicate Mini-Album From Idaho Minstrel ...

Ray LaMontagne: Til The Sun Turns Black (14th Floor) ***

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2007

New Hampshire star's long-awaited second sneaks into UK shops ...

Wanda Jackson: Hard-Headed Woman

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, February 2007

WANDA JACKSON was the original Riot Grrrl. In the late '50s, she shook, rattled and roared next to Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and boyfriend ...

Richard Swift: Dressed Up For The Letdown

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2007

CONNOISSEURS OF grand American pop will love Richard Swift. Like the young Van Dyke Parks or Harry Nilsson, his baleful, piano-led cabaret sounds like an ...

Rickie Lee Jones: Sermon On Exposition Boulevard

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2007

Startling Return Of L.A.'s Duchess Of Coolsville. ...

Kings Of Leon: Because Of The Times (Columbia) ****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2007

SWAMPY RETURN OF THE "SOUTHERN STROKES" ...

The Beach Boys: The Making of 'Good Vibrations'

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2007

Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine guide Uncut through their perfect "pocket symphony", three minutes and thirty-six seconds of avant-garde pop. ...

Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2007

Boy Wonder Eases Up: Only His 9th LP In Seven Years ...

Oasis: The Making Of 'Don't Look Back In Anger'

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2007

How Noel Gallagher's 1996 Lennon-loving No. 1 fuelled the brothers' simmering rivalry and became the new yardstick for British stadium rock. ...

Ike Turner

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, September 2007

FUNNY HOW things change. A little over a decade ago, Ike Turner was rock'n'roll's terminal pariah. Damned by 1993's What's Love Got To Do With ...

Stephen Stills: Just Roll Tape – April 26th 1968

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2007

Post-Springfield, Pre-CSN Stills in Magisterial Solo Mood ...

The Mekons: Mekon…And On…And On…

Report and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2007

They wanted to be punk's slowest band. They ended up accidentally inventing alt.country and sticking around for 30 years. Raise your glasses, please, to the ...

Steve Earle: Washington Square Serenade

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2007

LIKE TOM RUSSELL AND DAVE ALVIN, Earle is a songwriter who sharpens with age. Jerusalem (2002) and The Revolution Starts... Now (2004) found him politically ...

Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2007

EVIDENTLY WARY of the heavy-handed earnestness that blights many an acoustic singer-songwriter, Josh Ritter has lately been looking for ways to extend his range. Last ...

Blue Cheer

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2007

How three Summer Of Love acid-heads became the heaviest band on the planet. ...

Dawn Landes: Fireproof

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2008

UNLESS YOU'RE A REGULAR at New York's anti-folk dives or a particularly avid student of engineering credits on records by Ryan Adams or Philip Glass, ...

Shelby Lynne: Just A Little Lovin'

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2008

Shelby does Dusty In Memphis... almost. ...

The Gutter Twins: Saturnalia

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2008

GREG DULLI AND MARK LANEGAN share much common ground. After troubled teenhood, each passed through Seattle's emergent Sub Pop label at the turn of the ...

Van Dyke Parks's Song Cycle

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2008

BY THE TIME of his 1968 debut, Van Dyke Parks already had pedigree. Mississippi-born and Louisiana-raised, as a child actor he starred in 1956's The ...

Felice Brothers: The Felice Brothers: The Felice Brothers

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2008

Killer second from rural New York siblings ...

Half Man Half Biscuit

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2008

The indie bards of daytime TV. They could've been contenders — if it weren't for Tranmere Rovers... ...

Willard Grant Conspiracy: Pilgrim Road

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2008

Opulent seventh from Robert Fisher's ever-evolving collective. ...

Giant Sand: proVisions

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2008

Deconstructionist country-blues from Arizona hero ...

Lambchop: Oh (Ohio)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2008

Best in nearly a decade from newly-trimmed Nashville collective. ...

Dawn Landes: Dawn's Music

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2008

Reissued early stuff from Kentucky-born folkstress. ...

Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2009

Freewheeling sixth from the loud Virginian. ...

David Bowie: The making of 'Starman'

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2009

In 1972 this space-age hit — and an onstage "electric blow job" — turned Ziggy and his Spiders From Mars into megastars. "But the outfits... ...

Steve Earle: Townes

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2009

All-covers homage to his mentor, Townes Van Zandt ...

Iron & Wine: Around The Well

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2009

ON THE SECOND DISC of this sumptuous collection of oddities is a cover of New Order's 'Love Vigilantes', in which a soldier returns home to ...

Patterson Hood: Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2009

APRIL 1994 was clearly a crucial time in Patterson Hood's life. He'd just moved to a strange new town (Athens, Georgia) in the aftermath of ...

The Duke & The King: Nothing Gold Can Stay

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2009

DRUMMER AND SOMETIME SINGER Simone Felice always seemed the least predictable of The Felice Brothers. It was Simone, for instance you'd most likely find dangling ...

The Jayhawks: Music From The North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2009

Roots-rockers' double-disc retrospective, with excellent extras ...

Mark Eitzel: Klamath

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2009

YOU COULD never accuse Mark Eitzel of having an inflated sense of self. He recently claimed to have no idea how to write a song, ...

Rodriguez: An Interview

Interview by Rob Hughes, unpublished, Fall 2009

"DID I HAVE DREAMS of being a big star? Yeah, I had hopes of making it. We all do, but in music there are no ...

Frank Fairfield: Frank Fairfield

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2010

FRANK FAIRFIELD certainly looks the part: stiff back, suit, Brylcreem'd hair, banjo cradled high on his chest like some weapon of murderous intent. LA residents ...

Laura Veirs: July Flame

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2010

Peachy "comeback" from Portland nature-lover. ...

Stephen Stills

Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, March 2010

Stephen Stills looks back on a rollercoaster career that has seen him survive superstardom, booze, drugs and cancer to enjoy his current renaissance. ...

Them Crooked Vultures: High Flyers

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, March 2010

Most 40th birthday parties end with a sore head, regrettable dancing and uneaten cake. Dave Grohl's bash finished up with him, John Paul Jones and ...

Sparklehorse: Mark Linkous, 1962-2010

Obituary by Rob Hughes, The Guardian, 9 March 2010

THE AMERICAN singer-songwriter Mark Linkous, who has killed himself aged 47, worked with the Flaming Lips, Daniel Johnston and Danger Mouse, but is best known ...

John Hiatt: The Open Road

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2010

Nashville-based veteran rips through the gears. ...

Wanda Jackson: You Know I'm So Good!

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2010

Elvis Presley, Jack White, Amy Winehouse... and the return of Wanda Jackson, first lady of rock'n'roll. ...

Frank Zappa, Tom Waits: Herb Cohen: Combative label boss and manager of Frank Zappa and Tom Waits

Obituary by Rob Hughes, The Guardian, 1 April 2010

HERB COHEN, who has died aged 77 of complications from cancer, did not elicit much affection from the artists he managed, but he played a ...

Emitt Rhodes: An Interview

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2010

Thwarted! He could have been L.A.'s McCartney. Instead, he ended up "ashamed of being human". ...

Sparklehorse: Mark Linkous: Singer-songwriter, Sparklehorse leader (1962-2010)

Obituary by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2010

OF ALL THE tributes that followed the tragic death of Mark Linkous, who shot himself through the heart in Knoxville, Tennessee, none was more concise ...

Merle Haggard: I Am What I Am

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2010

The return of the Hag... in imperious form ...

Willie Nelson: Country Music

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2010

Legend revisits his roots, aided by Grammy-magnet T Bone Burnett It really is impossible to second-guess Willie Nelson. The recent past has seen some unlikely detours ...

Frank Sidebottom: Chris Sievey 1955-2010

Obituary by Rob Hughes, The Guardian, 22 June 2010

Musician, entertainer and alter ego of the cult comedy creation Frank Sidebottom. ...

Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2010

THERE'S A FAIRLY PLAUSIBLE THEORY that an artist's entire career can be defined by their debut album, and that everything that follows is merely a ...

Kris Kristofferson looks back on his early years

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, September 2010

THERE WERE two crucial moments in Kris Kristofferson's early career. The first came on the night of 8 April 1970, in a converted old church ...

The Dream Syndicate: Unsung Heroes: The Dream Syndicate

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2010

Bad medicine! The dark lords of the Paisley Underground revisited. ...

The Duke & The King: Long Live The Duke & The King (Loose/Silva Oak) ****

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2010

Dashing country-soul from Felice Brother's lively ensemble ...

Cortney Tidwell, Kurt Wagner: Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell Present... Kort: Invariable Heartache

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2010

The Kurt'n'Cortney of country do Nashville's back pages, beautifully. The revival of the boy-girl duet, more or less a forgotten strand of classic country, has been ...

America: The Making of 'A Horse With No Name'

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2010

The early '70s anthem of Californian hippiedom — all the way from Staines, Surrey. "A Satanic drug song? All I'd had was a cup of ...

Doug Paisley: Constant Companion

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2010

DOUG PAISLEY is a relative newcomer, but he and his music are both steeped in history. He spent 10 years in a duo that evolved ...

Giant Sand: Blurry Blue Mountain

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, December 2010

25 years on, Howe Gelb's band are still a vital force. ...

Charlie Louvin: The Battles Rage On

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2011

Old stager returns to his post for military-decorated album ...

John Cooper Clarke: "The Secret Of Longevity Is Idleness"

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, February 2011

Spidery bard, beanpole buddha of suburbia, GCSE syllabus fixture — John Cooper Clarke plants his flag on the summit of Mount Wisdom. ...

Old 97's: The Grand Theatre (Volume One)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2011

Raw-blooded rock'n'twang from veteran Texan four-piece There was a time when Old 97's looked set to reap the same dividends as their peers Whiskeytown and Wilco. ...

Cherry Vanilla: Nymphomaniacs Anonymous

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2011

Whatever happened to the celebrity groupie? Legendary '70s party animal Cherry Vanilla has a few theories. ...

Alison Krauss And Union Station: Paper Airplane

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, May 2011

ALISON KRAUSS' STOCK has never been higher. Forget the sales figures, soundtracks and groaning sack of Grammys — 26 to date, the highest for a ...

Felice Brothers: The Felice Brothers: Celebration, Florida

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2011

FOR ALL THE Felice Brothers' recent acclaim, they're sometimes accused of being too derivative. Detractors ignore the verve and originality of their piquant story songs ...

The National: An Interview with Matt Berninger

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2011

It's been a long, slow slog to the summit for The National — "You either plant your flag or you're forgotten" ...

The Byrds, David Crosby, Chris Hillman: Jim Dickson, 1931-2011

Obituary by Rob Hughes, The Guardian, 27 June 2011

Producer and manager behind the Byrds ...

Duane Eddy: "All Pilots Are Musicians"

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, July 2011

Downhome philosopher, barrier-busting King Of Twang noise-bringer — Duane Eddy strums the semi-acoustic soundbox of sagacity. ...

Roy Harper: Songs Of Love And Loss: Volumes 1 & 2

Review by Rob Hughes, The Word, July 2011

Like Marmite and modern jazz, Roy Harper tends to polarise opinion. The man allergic to authority gets a digital reboot. ...

Sinéad O'Connor: Manchester International Festival

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2011

YOU'D BE HARD pushed to recognise Sinéad O'Connor these days. Her publicity photos still show the willowy ingenue of her early '90s heyday, all Bambi ...

Rickie Lee Jones: Manchester International Festival

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 11 July 2011

RICKIE LEE JONES isn't someone readily given to nostalgia. In a career that's now into its fifth decade, she's rarely looked back, preferring instead to ...

Amadou & Mariam: New Century Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 19 July 2011

The music of Amadou & Mariam, the blind superstars, came in gloriously vivacious colour at the New Century Hall Manchester. ...

Frank Fairfield: Out On The Open West

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2011

FRANK FAIRFIELD looks and sounds like a transplant from another age. All starched collars and hair oil, he plays vintage hillbilly folk on similarly vintage ...

Justin Townes Earle: Ripped Genes

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, August 2011

Steve Earle is your dad. You're sent to a boot camp for teenage delinquents. But watch what happened next for Justin Townes Earle... ...

Stephen Malkmus: Things I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, August 2011

Pavement founder turned Jick-In-Chief, Thin Lizzy nut, chaser of "the cinematic '70s", jealous of Joanna Newsom. ...

Björk: Manchester International Festival

Live Review by Rob Hughes, The Word, September 2011

Björk's new live show: sci-fi, gothic soundtrack and head-scrambling visuals. Each song comes with an interactive app. ...

Dawes: Nothing Is Wrong

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2011

Roll-'em-easy roots-rock from well-connected Californians ...

Roy Harper

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, September 2011

"Unwanted Alien" — the stamp on Roy Harper's passport in 1962. It's been the story of his life: troubled outsider tries to break in. ...

Ganglians, The Horrors, Wooden Shjips: The Horrors: Skying/Ganglians: Still Living/Wooden Shjips: West

Review by Rob Hughes, The Word, September 2011

Three of the planet's most diffident, messy and murky indie bands throw open the doors and let the pop stream in. ...

Ian McCulloch: Things I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, October 2011

Head Bunnyman; admires The Doors' "sea shanties" the lyrics of Shania Twain, the poetry of John Betjeman and the voice of Alan Yentob ...

Richmond Fontaine:The High Country

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2011

Murderously good rural-noir from Willy Vlautin and co ...

Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler: Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler: MEN arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 11 October 2011

THERE WAS A KINETIC BUZZ to Bob Dylan's show, while it's clear Mark Knopfler is still capable of delivering a kick at their gig at ...

Laura Marling: Manchester Cathedral

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 25 October 2011

Laura Marling showed her uncommon poise and gift for bewitchment during her When The Bell Tolls gig at Manchester Cathedral. ...

Ryan Adams: Ashes & Fire

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2011

He's back. Stirring return to form from the lost boy of country... ...

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: O2 Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 22 November 2011

"THIS IS A SONG of hope and optimism," announced David Rawlings, some dozen or so tunes into tonight's set. "They think you're joking," came the ...

Roots Manuva: Things I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, December 2011

HIP-HOP DREAM-WEAVER, advocate of the Ray Charles boutique label system, Rastamouse apologist. ...

Anna Calvi: Things I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, January 2012

Siren of art-house blues-rock, raised on Beefheart and modelled on Edith Piaf. Ashamed of her attraction to Glee. ...

Jim Ford: Demolition Expert

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2012

Ravishing set of unheard demos from fabled US country-soul brother THE STORY OF Jim Ford is steeped in Southern myth. Revered by good buddies Bobby Womack ...

Roy Wood

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, January 2012

Anyone else apart from Roy Wood ever been sued by a prime minister? ...

June Tabor: Things I Like

Guide by Rob Hughes, The Word, February 2012

Folk luminary, former librarian, Anne Briggs acolyte and breadmaker. Well-versed in the history of war. ...

The Black Keys: O2 Apollo, Manchester ****

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 7 February 2012

ONE OF THE great things about pop music is its happy habit of making heroes from the unlikeliest base material. ...

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds: M.E.N. Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2012

This homecoming gig confirms that the elder Gallagher brother's star is shining brightly indeed. ...

Jim White: Where It Hits You

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2012

JIM WHITE'S extraordinary first two records, 1997's Wrong- Eyed Jesus! and No Such Place (2001), were modern signifiers of a new kind of Southern gothic, ...

Wilco: The Bigger Picture

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, March 2012

Music, pop-up stores, all-ages art, cabaret: Wilco's Solid Sound Festival is "what we can't get across in a live two-hour show" ...

Joan Baez: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 6 March 2012

BY THE TIME she got to Woodstock, Joan Baez was six months pregnant and her husband was in jail. It was August 1969 and the ...

Civil Wars, the: The Civil Wars: Academy 2, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2012

THE SOARAWAY SUCCESS of The Civil Wars is little less than phenomenal. Barely three years after first meeting at a writing camp for a country ...

Annabella Lwin: What She Likes

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, April 2012

McLaren protegee, voice of Bow Wow Wow, Pitbull fan and romcom freak. Identifies with Marie Antoinette. ...

Bow Wow Wow: Annabella Lwin: What She Likes

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, April 2012

McLaren protégée, voice of Bow Wow Wow, Pitbull fan and romcom freak. Identifies with Marie Antoinette. ...

New Order: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 27 April 2012

New Order, on terrific form at the Apollo in Manchester embarking on their first UK tour in six years, didn't seem to miss bassist Peter ...

Rufus Wainwright: What I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, May 2012

Songwriting, film-scoring opera-pop dandy with formative Thomas Hardy habit. Puccini apologist and Family Guy fanatic. ...

Depeche Mode: Vince Clarke and Martin Gore: Silent Mode

Report and Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, May 2012

Vince Clarke and Martin Gore were out of touch for 30 years, then made a record by email, only speaking to discuss the title. Weird ...

Gaz Coombes: The Things I Like

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2012

Mutton-chopped Britpop anthem-penner, absurdist and Muppeteer. Sucker for slow, intense camera work. ...

Paul Heaton: "Armed Revolution Is The Only Cure"

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2012

Baleful tunesmith, habitual cyclist, pub-owner, radical — Paul Heaton puts a foot on the ball and surveys the pitch. ...

The Beautiful South, The Housemartins: Paul Heaton: "Armed Revolution Is The Only Cure"

Interview by Rob Hughes, The Word, June 2012

Baleful tunesmith, habitual cyclist, pub-owner, radical — Paul Heaton puts a foot on the ball and surveys the pitch ...

Neneh Cherry: "I feel like I've woken up"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2012

Singer Neneh Cherry, who releases her first album in 16 years later this month, feels like she has woken up from a weird sleep, she ...

The Stone Roses: Stone Roses: Heaton Park, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 1 July 2012

Rob Hughes sees the reunited Stone Roses play a huge outdoor show at Heaton Park in Manchester. ...

Morrissey: MEN Arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 30 July 2012

Morrissey the solo artist, playing a homecoming show at MEN Arena in Manchester, again struggles in the shadow of The Smiths, writes Rob Hughes. ...

Patterson Hood: Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2012

Drive-By Trucker lifts the lid on his crisis years. Seems like Patterson Hood's been dusting down old memories of late. His last solo LP, 2009's Murdering ...

Radiohead: MEN arena, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 8 October 2012

"HELLO. MY name's Lady Gaga." Thom Yorke's introduction to Radiohead's first British audience in four years was happily and tellingly unpredictable. Saturday's sellout show in ...

Rickie Lee Jones: The Devil You Know

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2012

LITTLE OVER A MINUTE into her funereal version of 'St James Infirmary', Rickie Lee Jones lets out a sudden cry of anguish. Such is the ...

Kris Kristofferson: Troubadour writing on into the sunset

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 4 December 2012

Country singer Kris Kristofferson reflects on a long and "lucky" career on his new album, Feeling Mortal. He talks to Rob Hughes about why. ...

Caitlin Rose: The Stand-In

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2013

CAPTIVATING SECOND ALBUM from the uncrowned queen of new Nashville. ...

John Fullbright

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2013

AN OKLAHOMAN FARMBOY joining the dots between Woody Guthrie and Townes Van Zandt. ...

Anaïs Mitchell: Interview

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 5 March 2013

Anaïs Mitchell, dubbed "the Queen of modern folk", tells Rob Hughes why she's inspired by centuries-old British ballads. ...

Michelle Shocked: "My reputation was sacrificed years ago!" The strange return of Michelle Shocked

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2013

AS LIVE MELTDOWNS GO, it wasn't quite up there with George Jones announcing he was Donald Duck or Grace Slick goosestepping across a Hamburg stage. ...

Bonnie Raitt interview

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2013

SOMETIMES, JUST sometimes, the good ones win out. Ask Bonnie Raitt. In a career now into its fifth decade, and which once appeared to be ...

Cat Power: Swooning Songs and Psychotic Episodes

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 25 June 2013

CHAN MARSHALL has things on her mind. Big things. We're in the games room of her London hotel — all dim-lit ambience and trophy antlers ...

Johnny Marr: "I've been in all my favourite bands"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 26 June 2013

Johnny Marr's five years in the Smiths have overshadowed his prolific output but the revered guitarist is finally stepping into the limelight. ...

Guy Clark: My Favorite Picture Of You

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, July 2013

Deeply personal return for seasoned Texan ...

Neneh Cherry, RocketNumberNine: Neneh Cherry and RocketNumberNine: Pavilion Theatre, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 5 July 2013

NOT KNOWING what's coming can work both ways. In keeping with Manchester International Festival's remit of unveiling original and provocative new work, Neneh Cherry and ...

Roy Harper: Confessions of a Hippie Sage

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 15 August 2013

Roy Harper has a glittering list of admirers, from Pink Floyd to Kate Bush. He tells Rob Hughes why it's taken 13 years to make ...

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Frankie Says Pop Revolution

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, January 2014

It's easy to forget how big an explosion Frankie Goes To Hollywood caused in the '80s. Rob Hughes peers through the cracked windows of the ...

Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees: Mark Lanegan: Shadow Play

Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, February 2014

Over a series of solo albums, work with Screaming Trees and Queens Of The Stone Age, among others, Mark Lanegan has proved his worth as ...

Pete Seeger: 1919-2014 — "He wanted everyone to be involved..."

Obituary by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2014

JUST UNDER A week after his death, Pete Seeger's family organised a public memorial near his home in Beacon, New York. Visiting hours were scheduled ...

Robert Ellis

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2014

NASHVILLE'S NEWEST STAR, a Paul Simon-loving purveyor of "atheist bluegrass anthems"! ...

Ry Cooder: Cooder Been A Contender

Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, April 2014

He had the option of becoming a major star and grabbing his couple of years of glory. Instead he took the long, slow, dusty road. ...

The Pixies: Looking back on Doolittle and the making of a classic

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, May 2014

30 years after the Doolittle album took The Pixies from obscurity to alt.rock's top table, the band Kurt Cobain wanted to be in look back ...

Hurray for the Riff Raff: Bard of the Big Easy

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 31 May 2014

Alynda Lee Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff was living rough until New Orleans inspired her to sing. "I owe the city," she tells ...

Sturgill Simpson: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (Loose)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2014

Anyone for metaphysical prog country? Nashville songwriter heads for the stars ...

John Fullbright: Songs

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2014

IT'S BEEN A dizzying couple of years for John Fullbright. First came studio debut From The Ground Up, a record that set him up as ...

Robert Fripp, King Crimson: Robert Fripp: "I'm a very difficult person to work with"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 31 October 2014

Guitarist Robert Fripp influenced David Bowie and Peter Gabriel, but it's only the latest revival of his band King Crimson that has brought out his ...

Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias, The Durutti Column, The Fall: Into The Valley! The Deeply Vale Festival

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2015

1978. Hippies and punks come together at an idyllic free festival near Rochdale: "It was a really transformative moment!" ...

Skip Spence: Dark Star: The Tragic Genius Of Skip Spence

Retrospective by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, 23 January 2015

Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence wrote his album Oar in a psychiatric ward after threatening his bandmates with an axe. Fifteen years after his death, artists ...

tUnE-yArDs: "Most rock shows are pretty boring"

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2015

BENEATH WILD PERFORMANCES and infectious tunes, Merrill Garbus's band tUnE-yArDs is tackling serious subjects. ...

Björk: Manchester International Festival

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 5 July 2015

Despite basing her show around heartbreak, Björk was clearly having fun, says Rob Hughes. ...

The Decline of Western Civilization: Parts I–III (dir. Penelophe Spheeris)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, 4 August 2015

Lauded LA trilogy finally gets its own boxset ...

Natalie Prass: "I wrote weird arrangements in my attic and couldn't afford clothes"

Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 19 August 2015

NATALIE PRASS almost gave up music a while back. The Virginian's career had stalled in 2014 and she was stuck in Nashville, where she had ...

Iris DeMent: The Trackless Woods

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2015

IRIS DEMENT AND Anna Akhmatova would appear to have very little in common, at least on the surface. Anna Akhmatova was a Russian aristocrat whose ...

Patty Griffin: Servant Of Love

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, November 2015

IT'S TEMPTING to transpose the lyrical themes of Servant Of Love onto Griffin's recent split with Robert Plant, with whom she first became acquainted as ...

David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Hubert Sumlin, Mike Vernon: New Horizons: Mike Vernon (Part One)

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, December 2015

WITHOUT PRODUCER and label boss Mike Vernon, the history of British blues would look very different. In the first part of a feature charting his ...

Kacey Musgraves: The New Rebel Queen of Nashville

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 1 December 2015

THREE DAYS before I meet Kacey Musgraves, the American country singer appears at the Royal Variety Performance in London, sharing a bill with One Direction, ...

Miracle Legion: Promised You A Miracle

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2016

At last! Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal plot the second coming of Miracle Legion. ...

Emitt Rhodes: Rainbow Ends

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2016

Cult American singer-songwriter delivers his first new album in 43 years ...

Grant-Lee Phillips: The Narrows

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2016

THE AMERICAN SOUTH has exerted a lifelong fascination for Grant-Lee Phillips. "Some of it's a family thing," he explains. "My dad was from Arkansas, my ...

The Eagles, Glenn Frey: Glenn Frey (1948-2016) — Take It To The Limit.

Obituary by Rob Hughes, Uncut, April 2016

THE INDEFATIGABLE EAGLE remembered by J D Souther, Don Felder and more: "We all looked to him for direction." ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Manchester Arena

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 11 April 2016

ELO's superb Manchester gig leaves Rob Hughes hoping Jeff Lynne and co. are back for good this time round. ...

Bruce Springsteen: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 26 May 2016

IT TAKES A PERVERSE SENSE OF LOGIC to serenade a crowd with 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' in May, but Bruce Springsteen isn't one ...

The Stone Roses: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 16 June 2016

THE APPETITE forthe Stone Roses seems to be insatiable, especially around Manchester. The fans came here in their droves for the first of a four-night ...

Brian Eno: "When he sang, David Bowie became a different person"

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 23 July 2016

BRIAN ENO is Britain's favourite cultural polymath. He contributed a chime for a clock that will ring once every 10,000 years. He wrote a soundtrack ...

Judy Henske & Jerry Yester: Farewell Aldebaran

Review by Rob Hughes, Prog, 18 August 2016

At last! Unheralded '60s classic gets a proper reissue. ...

Morrissey in Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 21 August 2016

THESE ARE CURIOUS TIMES for Morrissey watchers. Last year's List Of The Lost was an excruciating attempt at a first novel, while his recent declaration ...

Nikki Lane: Highway Queen (New West)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, March 2017

Bruising third from Nashville songstress ...

Liam Gallagher: O2 Ritz, Manchester

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 31 May 2017

Manchester's most irascible son makes an emotional return. ...

LCD Soundsystem: Manchester Warehouse Project

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 17 September 2017

THERE ARE PLENTY of us who'd given up on ever seeing LCD Soundsystem again. In April 2011, the New York ensemble bowed out with a ...

Wand: Plum

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, October 2017

CORY HANSON didn't hang about when he formed Wand with fellow art school chums Lee Landey and Evan Burrows in 2013. ...

Delines, The : The Delines: The Imperial

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2019

IT'S BEEN a long way back for Amy Boone. In March 2016, the singer was hit by a car as she walked through a parking ...

Delines, The : The Delines: Imperial

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, 11 January 2019

IT'S BEEN A long way back for Amy Boone. In March 2016, the singer was hit by a car as she walked through a parking ...

Kaia Kater: Grenades (Smithsonian Folkways)

Review and Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, February 2019

Twentysomething Canadian embarks on a deeply personal voyage of discovery.  ...

De La Soul, Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan: Gods of Rap: Manchester Arena, May 11

Live Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2019

Believe the hype: Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan and De La Soul deliver a hip-hop masterclass ...

Tyler Childers: Country Squire (Hickman Holler/RCA)

Review by Rob Hughes, Uncut, September 2019

Kentucky's latest emergent star proves his worth  ...

Deep Purple, UFO, Whitesnake: "My mum said, 'What about the drink and drugs and wild women?' I said, 'That's what I want to do this for!'": the life and times of Bernie Marsden

Interview by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, May 2020

RH: Who was the first guitarist to really capture your imagination?  ...

Music in lockdown

Report by Rob Hughes, Uncut, January 2021

WHILE IT'S been a highly challenging year for the music industry – particularly in terms of cancelled tours, venue closures and a disrupted retail market ...

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