Terry Staunton
Terry Staunton started in journalism as a 16-year-old on regional newspapers, reporting on parish councils, murder trials and all points between. He subsequently moved to one of the country's biggest freelance agencies, covering the likes of top flight football for the Sunday tabloids and the miners' strike for the Daily Telegraph and ITN. An example of his "craft" from this time, a three-minute LBC radio recording of a live end-of-game summary of an incident-free goalless draw between Port Vale and Brentford, became a much-used illustration of "How Not To...", played to broadcast journalism students nationwide.
He then, perhaps wisely, joined the founding editorial team of Uncut. Now freelance, specialising in music, film and television, his work has also appeared in The Times, Vox, Jack, Record Collector, Creem, The Village Voice, Hot Press, Sour Mash, Get Rhythm, Uncut DVD, When Saturday Comes, DVD World, and on the website Music365. He is also an occasional contributor to topical radio comedy shows, and is currently working (slowly) on two books: a personal Costello memoir entitled Fortysomething Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, and a newspaper/crime novel, Police Probe Double Death Blaze Riddle.
Terry Staunton's Rock's Backpages blog
List of articles in the library by artist
Alpha Band, The: The Alpha Band: The Alpha Band
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, July 2005
VIEWERS OF star-studded awards shows in recent times may have been intrigued by a gangly six-and-a-half-foot figure occasionally appearing in the background of numerous TV ...
Dave Alvin, Blasters, The: Dave Alvin: Romeo's Escape
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, June 2006
THE TIME: Summer, 1987. The place: Downtown Manhattan hang-out The Kat Klub. It's the height of the annual industry beanfest, the New Music Seminar, and ...
Tori Amos: I Wanna Sell You A Tori
Report by Terry Staunton, NME, February 1992
Six months ago she was nobody, today TORI AMOS is well on the way to becoming a household name. The former LA 'rock chick' has ...
Burt Bacharach: We're In Love With This Guy: Hal David
Interview by Terry Staunton, music365.com, May 2000
Lyrical legend HAL DAVID has just become the first non-Briton to be honoured with a prestigious Ivor Novello Award by the British Academy Of Composers ...
Badfinger: Magic Christian Music/No Dice/Straight Up
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004
TAKING THEIR NAME from the working title for 'With A Little Help From My Friends', it's ironic that Badfinger's famous pals could also be a ...
Beatles, The: The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider's Diary Of The Beatles
Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2005
The madness and mayhem of the Apple empire ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
WITNESSES TO BIG STAR'S comeback shows in 1993 would often find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with sundry teary-eyed power poppers whose own bands owed a huge debt ...
Blondie: London Sound Republic
Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, March 1999
MADONNA turned 40 last year and marked the occasion with the most critically-acclaimed album of her career. The biggest selling single in the UK was ...
BMX Bandits: Serious Drugs: The Creation Anthology (Castle)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
SHOULD THE RENOWNED journalist and music archivist Pete Frame ever attempt one of his celebrated Rock Family Trees for the BMX Bandits, he may need ...
Bon Jovi: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2005
Ooh, they can be, you know ...
Bonzo Dog Band, Neil Innes: Neil Innes: Taking Off/The Innes Book Of Records
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005
A TV SHOW like The Innes Book Of Records would struggle for a terrestrial timeslot these days, but back in the late '70s former Bonzo ...
Boo Radleys, The: Boo Radleys: Find The Way Out
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2005
THE ONLY CREATION act other than Oasis to have a Number One album, the Boos were arguably the label's most eclectic signing. This 35-track anthology ...
David Bowie, Rolling Stones, The, Yardbirds, The: Dancing in the Street
Film/DVD Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1998
THE ROCK'N'ROLL documentary is in fine shape in the Nineties, thanks mainly to the BBC. Second series of both Rock Family Trees and Classic Albums ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2007
As BILLY BRAGG blows out 50 candles on his birthday cake, TERRY STAUNTON sharpens his pencil for a musical history lesson ...
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, June 2006
BY THE TIME the 1980s were just a few years old, the goodtime sounds of the pub rock movement had pretty much fallen out of ...
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2004
AFTER THE TEPID reception for last year's Nocturama, Cave and the Bad Seeds could have been forgiven for taking time out to lick their wounds. ...
Ray Charles: O-Genio: Live In Brazil 1963
Film/DVD Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005
AFTER LAST YEAR'S duets album became the best-selling release of his career, coupled with the Oscar buzz surrounding the new biopic, it was inevitable that ...
Julian Cope, XTC: The Old Boy Network
Report by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2004
GETTING DITCHED by a major label is not always the end of the line for the big stars of yesteryear, as Terry Staunton reports ...
Elvis Costello: Almost Blue/Goodbye Cruel World/Kojak Variety
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2004
AS THE AMBITIOUS Costello reissue programme heads towards completion, the contents of the bonus discs take on a greater significance, bolstering releases that may struggle ...
Elvis Costello: Spike (Warners)
Review by Terry Staunton, NME, February 1989
THE DOUR, BEARDED man wearing a crown who stared out from a record sleeve three years ago was an unhappy monarch. An emperor in new ...
Jim Croce: The Way We Used To Be (Sanctuary)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004
KILLED IN A PLANE crash in 1973, just weeks after his first US Number One single, Jim Croce was a master of tender beauty and ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998
"IT'S THE teachers who are to blame, if you ask me. Probably more so than parents, because they're kinda paid to shape young minds — ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: The World, New York NY
Live Review by Terry Staunton, NME, January 1990
THERE'S A nice little joke doing the rounds of the London headquarters of CBS in Soho Square, which goes something like this:"Knock knock.""Who's there?""Terence.""Terence who?""That's ...
Dread Zeppelin, Robert Plant: The Bong Remains The Same: Led Zeppelin Meet Dread Zeppelin (Almost)
Report and Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, August 1990
"After half an hour Elvis' bodyguards motioned that it was time to go. As they were leaving Robert gushed, 'Elvis, you're my idol. Thanks for ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, August 1998
Sweet Gene Vincent, sozzled Max Wall, sexy Marilyn Monroe, and the stiff upper lips of Dickie Attenborough and Johnny Mills are among Blockhead IAN DURY's ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Hanover Grand, London
Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1997
Echo & The Bunnymen: honesty and openness ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo and the Bunnymen: Ian McCulloch's Favourite Things
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1998
ABBA"I REALLY DO think they're great. 'The Winner Takes It All' is so sad – the video's fantastic, Agnetha's blue eyeliner runnln' – and it ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo and the Bunnymen: Manhattan Chancer
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, August 1997
IT'S A HOT AND sticky sunday afternoon in the Little Italy district of Manhattan, and every street corner resembles an expanded version of the wedding ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Ocean Refrain: Echo and the Bunnymen
Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
To mark the release of the first Echo & The Bunnymen album in four years, Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant recall the triumphs and pitfalls ...
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Theaudience: theaudience
Profile and Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, October 1998
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR is bored. Not, as you might expect, with the endless media references to her parentage – she's the daughter of former Blue Peter ...
Elvis Costello: They Think It's All Covers... Er, It Is Now!
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, May 1995
After 18 years of being either a sneering young turk or cumudgeonly old bugger, ELVIS COSTELLO has decided it's time for a change – he's ...
Elvis Presley: He Touched Me – The Gospel Music Of Elvis Presley
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
THE ONLY Grammys Presley won in his lifetime were for gospel records, and for a long spell in the '60s his songs of praise were ...
Fairport Convention: Chronicles
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2005
FAIRPORT'S ANNUAL reunion festival at Cropredy in Oxfordshire celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, long since established as one of the primo dates on the ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, 2005
A potted history of one of Africa's biggest pop stars ...
Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace Of Sin/Burrito Deluxe
Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1997
IN CONTRAST to the pure country of Gram Parsons' seminal early Seventies solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, his work with the Burritos at the ...
Flying Burrito Brothers: The Flying Burrito Brothers: Flying Again/Airborne
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Acacia Records, June 2006
THERE ARE FEW figures in the history of popular music who have been eulogised or mythologised as much as Gram Parsons. It's to be expected ...
Four Seasons, The, Frankie Valli: Talk Like a Man: Frankie Valli
Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, April 2008
A FAILED AUDITION for a gig as a lounge singer at a low-rent bowling alley in Union, New Jersey, might be the sort of experience ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2005
CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING the almost impossible task of filling Freddie Mercury's shoes in a new-look Queen, it's hard to imagine Paul Rodgers landing any further from ...
Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye
Book Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005
DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY of the Trouble Man ...
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Polydor Records, January 2001
THE 17 TRACKS gathered on this disc provide a perfect opportunity to re-appraise one of the brightest, most intriguing bands of recent times (isn't hindsight ...
George Martin, Beatles, The: George Martin: In My Life
Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, May 1998
The "fifth Beatle" signs off with a little help from his friends ...
George Thorogood & The Destroyers: George Thorogood & the Destroyers: Raiders of the Lost Axe
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2004
Bluesman George Thorogood is celebrating 30 years of 12-bar brilliance with a new Best Of… and a global tour. He talks to Terry Staunton. ...
Debbie Gibson, Bros: Bros, Debbie Gibson: Wembley Stadium, London
Live Review by Terry Staunton, NME, August 1989
BROTHERS GRIM ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, October 1998
Spark up a snout, let the songs of Joni Mitchell soothe you to sleep, and watch out for Homer's gut with that cannonball. BEN OTTEWELL ...
Profile by Terry Staunton, Notes for Live in '72 DVD, 2006
Terry Staunton profiles the life of Al Green for the sleevenotes for Revolver Entertainment's Live in '72 DVD ...
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Acadia Records, 2005
AUGUST 25, 2004, was a special date in the calendar of Montgomery County, Maryland. More than 30 musicians gathered in the town of Strathmore for ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005
THE PASSING OF Jeffrey Lee Pierce in 1996 after a brain haemorrhage robbed the music world of a true original. A wildman psychobilly blues howler ...
Jools Holland: These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998
Fire up the steamroller, jangle the old Joanna, and fall off your chair when Terry-Thomas enters the room. Welcome to the world of JOOLS HOLLAND ...
Icicle Works: The Best of the Icicle Works
Sleevenotes by Terry Staunton, Beggars Banquet Records, 1992
"TRY NOT TO listen to it all in one go, it'll do your head in." Sound advice? Maybe, but pretty unusual when you consider that ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, January 1998
BILLY JOEL on his heavy metal past, the music biz, covers, his heroes and getting free tickets for the Superbowl... ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
IT HAS BECOME an irritatingly common marketing ploy for any new release by a music veteran to be declared a "return to form". If we ...
KLF, The, Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Van: Tammy Meets the KLF
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, November 1992
Welcome to Mu Mu Land, where hooded figures drive ice-cream vans and nothing is quite like it is in Tennessee. Which is a welcome change ...
Al Kooper: Al’s Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2005
Unsung hero's anthology of solo work and collaborations ...
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions: Rattlesnakes (Deluxe Edition)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
DISMISSED IN some quarters as a chubby Elvis lookalike with a library card, Lloyd Cole was nonetheless an integral part of any student dorm soundtrack. ...
Jackie Lomax: Home Is In My Head/Three (Rhino/Warners)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
FEELING UNDERVALUED and forgotten in the shadow of the Fab Four, two Apple signings jumped ship at the start of the '70s to join Warner ...
Jackie Lomax: Is This What You Want?
Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2004
LIVERPOOL singer-songwriter Lomax never enjoyed the widespread acclaim of his Apple contemporaries (Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, and, eventually, James Taylor), but the wealth of big names ...
Darlene Love: All You Need Is Love
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2008
'Tis the season to be jolly, and to dig out a yuletide classic by DARLENE LOVE. Phil Spector's secret weapon gets festive with TERRY STAUNTON ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, March 1998
The Godfather of pub rock returns with his best collection yet ...
Nick Lowe: The Jazz Café, London
Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, April 1998
Following rave reviews for his new LP, NICK LOWE last month played his first London show for three years, at Camden's Jazz Café ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, June 2005
FILM DIRECTOR Paul Thomas Anderson used Aimee Mann's music as the starting point and inspiration for his Oscar-nominated Magnolia, about the intertwining, desperate lives of ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
ALTHOUGH OFTEN in the shadow of former hubby George, Gwen McCrae is still a much revered name in deep soul circles almost 30 years after ...
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
ALREADY FAMILIAR to fans of Lucinda Williams after a lengthy stint as an opening act, Australian-born McCue has effortlessly mastered the bluesy drawl of her ...
John Mellencamp: Words & Music
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
HEARTLAND ROCKERS have been ten-a-penny over the last 20 or 30 years. For every eloquent and poetic Springsteen there is a subs' bench straining under ...
Randy Newman: Harps For Harps' Sake
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2008
The new record is in the shops, but RANDY NEWMAN admits he has no excuses for his "ridiculous" output of three albums in 20 years. ...
Nine Inch Nails: A Bang On The Gear
Report and Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, September 1991
SAN FRANCISCO, city of peace and love. Perhaps the last refuge of the beautiful people who advocate making babies, not bombs. But, hey, get out ...
Oasis: Westpoint Arena, Exeter
Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 1997
CERTAIN elements of the tabloid press can't be too happy. Whispers around the Street of Shame suggested that some hacks were being despatched to Devon ...
Van Dyke Parks: Parks Life: An Interview with Van Dyke Parks
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, May 2011
The next few months will see the release of a series of vinyl singles by celebrated writer, arranger and producer VAN DYKE PARKS, plus the ...
Dolly Parton: The Essential Dolly Parton
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005
DON'T BE FOOLED by the high hair, long nails or curvy torso. Dolly Parton may appear, on the surface, to be a prairie poppet moulded ...
Pet Shop Boys: The Smiths You Can Dunce To: Pet Shop Boys
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, May 1993
WELL, HONESTLY! They're like an old married couple at times: Neil Tennant will poke fun at Chris Lowe, and Chris will get mildly stroppy in ...
Pet Shop Boys, Liza Minnelli: Liza Minnelli: Results (Epic)
Review by Terry Staunton, NME, October 1989
THE LAST time Ms Minnelli did anything of note was at the start of the decade. Her portrayal of shoplifting Linda, the object of Dudley ...
Pixies, The: The Pixies: Bossanova
Review by Terry Staunton, NME, August 1990
THE EVER-SO-ARTY lyric book that accompanies the new Pixies album contains the words to a song that you will not find on the record itself. ...
Police, The: Kings of Pain: The Police
Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2006
More than 20 years after The Police split, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland have broken lengthy silences about their time in the band.* ...
Police, The: The Police: Synchronicity Concert
Film/DVD Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005
SUPERSTAR TRIO on swansong global jaunt. ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, June 1986
POP WILL EAT ITSELF drink tea, say "GRRrrr!", play live sets atrocious enough to necessitate post-gig disguises, and make faces at the Mary Chain, Siouxsie ...
Ramones, The: Ramones: We're Outta Here!
Film/DVD Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
RAMONES GIGS were always exciting rather than accomplished affairs, and if this disc featured only their shambolic 1996 Los Angeles swansong there would be little ...
Shabba Ranks, Scritti Politti: Scritti Politti: Do The Gart, Man
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, March 1991
THE DANCEHALL FOUNDATIONS are shaking and there's outrage in the ragga ranks. A white pop star has plundered their culture with the aid of Lennon ...
Rolling Stones, The: Rolling Stones: Live Licks
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2005
THEIR SEVENTH concert record, if you’re counting ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2005
EIGHT YEARS ON from Bridges To Babylon, the longest ever gap between studio releases, one question begs to be asked: Does anybody really need a ...
Saint Etienne, Pulp: St Etienne, Pulp: Mayfair, Glasgow
Live Review by Terry Staunton, NME, March 1993
A MIRRORBALL of confusion spins and sparkles over the hall. Blank faces stare at the stage where Pulp are playing. Is this pop? ...
Sandie Shaw: Nothing Comes Easy (EMI)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004
AS STAGE GIMMICKS go, not wearing shoes is a pretty lame one, but it's what the tabloids of the '60s would inevitably focus on when ...
Carly Simon: Reflections – Carly Simon's Greatest Hits
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004
THIS IS THE fifth Carly compilation in less than ten years (and, yes, one was imaginatively entitled Nobody Does It Better), during which time she ...
Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: Ogden's Nut Gone Flake; The Small Faces & The Autumn Stone
Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, June 1997
CHECK OUT how many column inches The Small Faces warrant in rock encyclopaedias, compared to the space given to the likes of The Kinks or ...
Phil Spector: The Killing Of A Barbarian Queen
Retrospective by Terry Staunton, DVD World, October 2005
It took a scandalous Hollywood shooting to catapult faded B-movie starlet LANA CLARKSON onto the front pages. TERRY STAUNTON looks back on the life and ...
Cat Stevens: Majikat: Earth Tour 1976
Film/DVD Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2004
FELINE FOLKIE caught live in his prime ...
Style Council, The, Paul Weller: The Style Council: The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council
Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 1998
FIVE-CD overview of Paul Weller's "Cappuccino" years. ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, Uncut, July 1998
ROB BROOKS stumbles into the hotel lounge, nursing a hangover and a half-finished bottle of red wine with equal tenderness. The bass player is followed ...
Review and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
ANOTHER HIGH quality crop. ...
Interview by Terry Staunton, NME, January 1994
Quietly, stealthily, THERAPY? have crept up on the rock world to become the "indie" band it's OK for Beavis & Butthead to like. Even stranger ...
Tom Tom Club: The Borderline, London
Live Review by Terry Staunton, NME, November 1988
TINA WEYMOUTH has been fidgeting behind a bass guitar for 11 years, just waiting for a chance to shake her long blonde hair about like ...
Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Yoakam: The Very Best Of; Randy Travis: The Very Best Of
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004
ROUTE 88 WAS an ambitious cross-label campaign to establish several country stars in the UK, with Yoakam and Travis seen by many as the twin ...
Turtles, The: The Turtles: Happy Together: The Very Best Of (Shout Factory)
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, October 2005
SPURRED INTO ACTION by Beatlemania and making their chart debut with a Bob Dylan cover, there initially wasn't a huge world of difference between The ...
Wizzard, Roy Wood: Roy Wood: The Santa Claus Of Pop Music
Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Sunday Express, December 2011
TRIPS TO the supermarket can take twice as long in December when you're Roy Wood. The humdrum chore of grocery shopping is constantly interrupted by ...
Warren Zevon: Various Artists: Enjoy Every Sandwich - The Songs Of Warren Zevon
Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, November 2004
LONG BEFORE his death last year from inoperable lung cancer, Warren Zevon knew his time was almost up. Undeterred, he carried on making records bulging ...
List of genre pieces
Guide by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, January 2005
THEY LIGHT UP the screen with their dramatic talent, but for many fine thespians that's just not enough. Some of them have a few songs ...
Top Of The Pops: The Final Countdown
Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2006
With the BBC pulling the plug on Top Of The Pops after 42 years, the stars share their memories with TERRY STAUNTON ...
Film Pop-Stars: This Much Talent!
Guide by Terry Staunton, Uncut, December 1998
SECONDS BEFORE surrendering to self-inflicted, drug-induced unconsciousness, reclusive rock singer Jim MacLaine turns to his friend and manager, Mike, to reminisce about the old days ...
The Final Countdown: Top of the Pops
Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2006
With the BBC pulling the plug on Top Of The Pops after 42 years, the stars share their memories. ...
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