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Trouser Press

Trouser Press

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins and writer Dave Schulps under the name Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press. It initially focused on British bands, but expanded to cover punk, new wave and alternative rock. After 95 issues, it ceased publication in 1984.

271 articles

List of articles in the library

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Television

Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1976

By Dave Schulps with A. Mindswallow *All puns unintentional ...

Gentle Giant: Acquiring the Giant Taste

Retrospective by Jim Green, Trouser Press, April 1976

Following in the footsteps of GENTLE GIANT ...

Rory Gallagher: TOTP meets Mr. Gallagher: The Story on Rory

Interview by Dave Schulps, Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1976

LET'S START AT the beginning. Your first band was the Fontana Showband. What exactly is a showband? ...

Boxer, Patto: Mike Patto, Ollie Halsall, and Keith Ellis describe the paths that led them into the ring

Retrospective and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1976

AFTER DISCOVERING the group Patto on late-night FM radio several years ago, it was depressing to learn a few months later that the group had ...

Blondie

Report by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, October 1976

THE OBVIOUS ASSUMPTION when writers (and people) approach the subject of Blondie (granted, up to now not many have, but with a single and an ...

Gong, Steve Hillage: Steve Hillage: Hillage Rising

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1976

A former Gongster spills the karmic beans ...

AC/DC: High Voltage (Atco SD 36-1420)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1976

I WOULD GUESS that you have to be Australian to really understand this band. Or maybe Scottish. All I know is that not too many ...

The Jam: In The City (Polydor 2382 447)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, 1977

ANYONE WHO has paid any attention at all the last three years knows that I (and almost everyone else around this tiny office) rate the ...

Blondie: Blondie (Private Stock PS 2023)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1977

ONE OF THE great maxims of life is that one should ask for more than one expects and expect more than one deserves. I have ...

Cheap Trick: Cheap Trick (Epic PE 34400)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1977

WHEN A group has a guitarist with Donald Sutherland's face and Huntz Hall's wardrobe, a drummer named Bun E. Carlos who looks like Rod Steiger ...

Pete Brown and His Battered Ornaments, Jack Bruce, Roy Harper, Nucleus, Sharks, Chris Spedding: Chris Spedding: This Guitar for Hire

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1977

Sessionman asserts himself ...

Jackie DeShannon, The Everly Brothers, The Kinks, Jimmy Page, The Who: Jimmy Page Gives The Interview Of His Life

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1977

A Three-Part Series — Part One: Pre-Yardbirds ...

Kevin Ayers, Soft Machine: Kevin Ayers

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1977

BACK IN TP 16 Myron Bretholz wrote a lengthy run-down of the life and times of Kevin Ayers, English eccentric, banana artiste and wine connoisseur ...

The Clash: The Clash (CBS 82000)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1977

TO PARAPHRASE (and soft-peddle) the kind of language that greeted Patti Smith's Horses, this Clash album is a tremendous debut. Of all the new wave bands ...

The Adverts, Buzzcocks, Eater, Johnny Moped, Slaughter and the Dogs, The Unwanted, Wire, X-Ray Spex: Various artists: The Roxy, London, W.C.2 (Harvest SHSP 4069)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1977

BACK IN nineteen-sixty-something, when an earlier new wave was proudly unfurling, several Live at the Star Club LPs appeared, scooping up some of the bands ...

Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True (Stiff SEEZ 3)

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977

WHO IS THIS little fella striking a defiant Presleyesque pose on the cover of My Aim Is True? Why, it's Elvis, of course. Not the ...

Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, The Yardbirds: Jimmy Page: Paging the Yardbirds

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977

JIMMY PAGE gives his version Part 2 of a three-part interview by Dave Schulps ...

Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane: Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane: Rough Mix

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977

WHATEVER THE reasons may be for Pete Townshend's self-imposed exile from both recording and commenting on the current music scene, it's a relief to have ...

Link Wray, Robert Gordon: Robert Gordon and Link Wray: Robert Gordon with Link Wray

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1977

ROBERT GORDON with Link Wray recaptures the one elusive quality so often missing from music of the '70s: feeling. This is trickier than it seems ...

The New Wave Washes Out

Overview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, October 1977

After A Glorious Year, British Punks Are Now Absorbed Into The Music Biz Money-go-round ...

The Rumour: Not Mac's — Max!

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, October 1977

"ASK US WHY we called the album Max, c'mon, ask us." ...

The Sex Pistols: Not So Rotten After All

Profile and Interview by Giovanni Dadomo, Trouser Press, October 1977

RIGHT NOW in London, late August 1977, there's not a single sliver of doubt about it: this is the year of ...the Sex Pistols. They ...

The Small Faces Story

Retrospective by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, October 1977

IT'S 1968, ALRIGHT. Me and a mate are lounging around in his garden. His parents are out for the day. School's out for the summer. ...

The Stranglers Do The Pose

Comment by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, October 1977

EXTREME REACTIONS to the Stranglers are not unusual. Take the case of a mate (well, acquaintance) of mine, Dick O'Dell, tour/road manager for Alex Harvey. ...

Blondie Around The World

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1977

They like to think of themselves as "pop punks." In America most of the attention paid Blondie is focused on namesake Debbie Harry, whose blonde ...

Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page: The Final Page

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, November 1977

JIMMY P. on LED Z. The Conclusion of a three-part interview ...

Thin Lizzy: Bad Reputation (Mercury SRM-1-1186)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, November 1977

WELL, IT'S happened. I thought Thin Lizzy would be established in the front lines of hard-rock's elite, and hoped this would be the album to ...

Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Be Seeing You

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977

FINALLY THE DEBUT of a Wilkoless Feelgoods is upon us. Even more than that, it's the Nick Lowe-produced debut of a Wilkoless Feelgoods. ...

Elvis Costello: I Fought the Law!

Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1977

RARELY HAS MYSTERY surrounded the arrival of a new rock performer the way it has Elvis Costello. Totally unknown a year ago, courtesy of Stiff ...

Motorhead: Motorhead

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977

I'VE FELT A LOT of things about a lot of bands over the years, but pity isn't one of the most common. ...

The Small Faces: Small Faces: Rock Roots: The Singles Album

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977

NOW THAT STEVE Marriot has put a version of the Small Faces back together, there's been a bit of resurgence (perhaps as a result of ...

The Motors

Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1977

SO YOU THINK Stiff are the only one allowed to go slightly batty with their advertising, eh? Well guess again. These Motors boys got 'em ...

The Stranglers: No More Heroes

Comment by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1977

IT'S SO HARD to decode the Stranglers. After you've gone through the easy observations about Dave Greenfield's keyboard sound and its relationship to Ray Manzarek, ...

Eddie & The Hot Rods: Cruising with Eddie & the Hot Rods

Report by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1978

THE NEW Eddie and the Hot Rods album cover is black and white. It's got this geezer, lead singer Barrie Masters if you must know, ...

Horslips On (Almost Everyone But) Horslips

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978

THE FOLLOWING HORSLIPS interview was done in New York in mid-October. It has very little to do with the group or its music, but consists ...

Roxy Music: Greatest Hits

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978

I AM sitting here this rainy Saturday afternoon, pretending to review this, presumably the last, Roxy Music album; an obligatory collection of those tracks which ...

Steve Hillage: Motivation Radio

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1978

EARTH CALLING Steve Hillage! Earth calling Steve Hillage! Gee, it's too late. Steve is lost in space. ...

The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1978

HO HUM, ANOTHER album from the Pistols. No, seriously, this is it. After all the controversy, bannings, bullshit and speculation, the Pistols finally have something ...

Brian Eno: Before and after Science (Polydor 2302 071)

Review by Paul Rambali, Trouser Press, February 1978

IT APPEARS the grandiosely titled Before and After Science did not come easy to the erudite Mr. Eno. It was first scheduled some 10 months ...

Cheap Trick: Smart, Sleek and Debonair

Profile and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1978

AMERICA'S A FUNNY place for rock music. Just when you assume that the well of talent that unleashed classic outfits like the Velvet Underground, Doors ...

Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd: Syd Barrett: Careening Through Life...

Retrospective by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, February 1978

THE COLOR black is not a solitary real color. Nor is it the total absence of color. A black hole in space, in fact, is ...

The 101'ers, The Clash: The Clash: Greatness from Garageland

Report and Interview by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, February 1978

UNANNOUNCED, TO SAY the least, a kid in boots, suspenders and short-cropped hair clambers through the photographers' pit and up onto the stage of London's ...

Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Happy The Way He Is

Profile by Paul Rambali, Trouser Press, February 1978

SOME PEOPLE are worried that the next few years in Britain will see the rise of extreme right wing sentiments turning the country into an ...

A Power Pop Primer

Guide by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978

If one may hazard an absurd guess based on no real information, it will probably be around November of this year when some smart punk ...

Be-Bop Deluxe: Be Bop Deluxe: Drastic Plastic (Harvest)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978

For a while there, Be Bop was one of the great post-glitter hopes from Britain. The first trio of albums displayed Bill Nelson as a ...

Blondie: Plastic Letters

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978

It would be a laughable understatement to say that lots has happened to Blondie (the group) since their previous album appeared slightly over 12 months ...

Jonathan Richman: Modern Lovers: Modern Lovers Live

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978

AS A RESULT of a fairly ridiculous chain of events, the ‘Home of the Hits’ has relocated (at least for the time being) from Berkeley, ...

The Who: Pete Townshend

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1978

KAREN TOWNSHEND answers the door wearing a puzzled look. "Hello. I'm here to see Pete. We've got an interview scheduled for ten o'clock." The puzzled ...

Radio Stars: Songs for Swinging Lovers (Chiswick)

Review by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, April 1978

DESPITE STIFF’S CLAIMS, Chiswick Records has been the most adventurous of the new British storefront labels. While Stiff has relied for the most part on ...

Wire: Pink Flag

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1978

AS THE FALLOUT from new wave continues to turn up on plastic, a few gangs of rockers have chosen (wisely I suppose) to see how ...

Elvis Costello: This Year's Model

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1978

I WAS SOMEWHAT HESITANT about falling in love with My Aim Is True. It didn't make my 1977 Top Ten LP list because the songs ...

Pete Townshend, The Who: In Which Pete Townshend Gets Personal

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1978

"SHADDUP," YELLS Pete Townshend. Then he slaps his leg and Towser the dog comes running over. "Do you want to go out?" Pete asks, getting ...

Pink Floyd: But Is It Art?

Essay by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, May 1978

Pink Floyd.(pink floid), n., a highly-developed rock band with no mind-body split; played rock'n'roll in the 60s writing from a "psychedelic" viewpoint; still playing rock'n'roll ...

Television: Tom Verlaine: In Search of Adventure

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1978

IT HAS BEEN over a year since Television's debut album, Marquee Moon, and for the band's American fans most of that time has been a ...

XTC: White Music (Virgin V 2095)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1978

GALLOPING OUT of the remains of the new wave, as we tried to explain last issue, is Britain's new answer to tedium, Power Pop. ...

Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones: Andrew Loog Oldham

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1978

ONE OF THE most interesting personalities of the first decade of British rock was the Rolling Stones' sharp-tongued, red-headed manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. ...

Cheap Trick: Heaven Tonight

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978

FOR ANYONE COUNTING, this is the third Trick LP to be released in a smidge under fourteen months. In that time, the band has played ...

Dave Davies, The Kinks: Dave Davies: He Ain't Heavy, He's Ray's Brother

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1978

HORNSEY IS a sleepy working class neighborhood in the northeast of London, far removed from the teeming heart of the city. Not as far away ...

Elvis Costello: Close Encounters of the Irish Kind – Belvis in Elfast

Report by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1978

THESE DAYS it's a big deal for me to take a train down to CBGB and a major odyssey to get into a record company ...

Generation X: Generation X

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978

FROM THE VERY start of their recording career, it was obvious that Generation X had some rather unparochial ideas about their role as a punk ...

Judas Priest

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978

I DISCOVERED A GREAT pastime the other day that you've gotta hear about. It's called headbanging. Not exactly what Suzy does in that cute li'l ...

Rainbow: Long Live Rock'n'Roll

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978

MENTION GUITARIST Ritchie Blackmore around so-called "intelligent" rockers and you'll just get a bunch of barf noises in response. ...

Sham 69: Tell Us the Truth

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978

THERE HAVE BEEN quite a few new wave bands who have a strong relationship with their audience, but not a one can compete with Sham ...

The Dictators Look For The Perfect Wave

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1978

The Record Plant, one of New York's top pro recording studios, is located in a fairly anonymous office building just west of Eighth Avenue in ...

Tom Robinson Band: Tom Robinson: Right On, Mister!

Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1978

THE ABILITY TO walk into a room and make someone you've never met feel like they've known you for years is called 'charm.' The ability ...

The Flamin' Groovies: Flamin' Groovies' Cyril Jordan Isn't Angry

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Trouser Press, July 1978

LIKE THE CITRÖEN, the Groovies have always been interesting, but never popular. Born amid the psychedelic rush of Haight Ashbury in 1965, the Groovies from ...

Graham Parker: The Parkerilla

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1978

GRAHAM PARKER'S a nice guy, writes great songs. He leads a tight, exciting band full of talented players, and his stage presence looms larger than ...

Kate Bush Gets Her Kicks

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978

ALL OF A sudden Kate Bush was at the very top of the UK singles charts. 'Wuthering Heights', her first 45, was number one and ...

Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore: Ritchie Blackmore: I Want To Tell You What I've Been Doing

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978

AS DAVE SCHULPS and I rolled along in the darkness to our impending interview, we were filled with apprehension. After all, Ritchie Blackmore has never ...

Wire: Sounded for Wire

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1978

YOU CAN: tie up your plastic garbage bag with a wire, send a message on a wire, connect broken bones with a wire, strangle your ...

The Stranglers: Stranglers: Black & White

Review by Gary Sperrazza!, Trouser Press, July 1978

THERE'S A STORY floating around the A&M offices concerning the Stranglers that will probably never see print in the English pop weeklies. ...

The Vibrators: V2

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1978

THE VIBRATORS' first album, over a year ago, was a great disposable album of lasting significance. The short songs contained all the elements of great ...

Cheap Trick: Presenting Cheap Trick: A Musical In Eleven Years

Profile and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1978

Without a doubt, Cheap Trick has definite shortcomings as a band. They're certainly not perfect. However, they've now got three albums in their catalogue and ...

Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Rockpile: Rockpile: Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Face Off

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, August 1978

Rockpile's Alternate Leaders Reveal Differing Strategies for (Riviera) Global Domination ...

XTC: The Agony and the XTC

Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1978

TELL A LONDONER you're going to Swindon on the weekend and you get the same reaction as if you told a New Yorker you were ...

Squeeze: Putting On The (UK) Squeeze

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1978

"HEY, YOU guys are great! Now which one of you is Bill Bruford?" That's the kind of reception UK Squeeze got on their American tour. ...

Aerosmith: Joe Perry Meets The Press

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1978

"I don't care if we never make another album as long as we can play live." "I've never tried to be a guitar hero." ...

Black Sabbath: Never Say Die

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978

NEVER SAY DIE! Black Sabbath didn't never say it, and that's why the heaviest damn band ever is back. Forget all those other bands, because ...

Graham Parker WANTS YOU…To Get Stuck!

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978

GRAHAM PARKER had reason to be happy. And he was. ...

Kiss

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, December 1978

WINTER 1974: When I saw the cover of the first Kiss album, I laughed. I mean, here were these four geeks looking like rejects from ...

The Jam: Rickenbacker Rock: The Jam

Profile by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1978

Try calling Paul Weller of the Jam a punk rocker, and finds out how icy a cold stare can be. The intense young man who ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty: The Great White Hope

Interview by Gary Sperrazza!, Trouser Press, December 1978

Tom Petty Takes On Disco Menace ...

Roxy Music: Manifesto Destiny: The Return Of Roxy Music

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, 1979

"We Never Really Broke Up" I distinctly remember being more than a bit skeptical the first time I heard Roxy Music. ...

Big Star: Third (PVC 7903)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1979

AT LAST, THE third chapter of the Big Star story comes to light. In fact, it comes in two editions, US and UK, but for ...

Devo

Comment by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979

AS BILLY MARTIN once put it, "I feel very strongly both ways." Although Devo's cosmic significance may truly compare with that of yesterday's toast, they ...

Lou Reed: Live – Take No Prisoners

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979

"I DO LOU REED better than anybody else, so I thought I'd get in on it." ...

Penetration: Moving Targets (Virgin V 2109)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979

IT'S ONLY slightly difficult to take a record pressed on glow-in-the-dark plastic seriously, but such is the level of total foolishness that the British record ...

The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1979

THE CLASH HAVE been through a lot since they last released an album, almost 19 months ago, and so has the scene that they emerged ...

King Crimson, UK: UK: John Wetton

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979

"IT'S NOT insecurity, but I always like to I work with other people in groups. I think that's the strongest thing. When you take a ...

Wire: Chairs Missing (Harvest SHSP 4093)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1979

WIRE ARE disconcerting, laconic yet eloquent in fragmented visions, jarring even at their most accessible. They disdain cliché, pushing out the limits of rock; the ...

Godley & Creme: Godley and Crème: L

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979

GIVE BOTH SIDES in the 10cc split a few LPs to get their feet back on the ground. It took Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman ...

Phil Manzanera: K-Scope

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979

K-SCOPE FINDS a retiring Phil Manzanera sitting uneasily in the driver's seat, unwilling to take a dominant role but not really collaborating either. ...

The Police: Police Lean To America...

Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1979

IT'S SMOKY and crowded in that dusty old shoebox they call CBGB, and there's a band called the Police onstage – so what else is ...

The Clashmen Meet The Pearlman

Report and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1979

"It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever I done, that's for sure." I had Sandy Pearlman, Record Producer, on the phone from some unnamed restaurant ...

The Jam: All Mod Cons

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1979

IT HAS TAKEN the Jam merely three albums to go from a young band with a lot of energy and a love for mod-era rock'n'roll ...

Todd Rundgren: Back to the Bars

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979

PROOF OF THE evils of peer-group pressure is found in the phenomenon of the double live album. A more useless trend would be hard to ...

XTC: Go 2

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1979

XTC'S FIRST ALBUM, White Music, released earlier this year, was a stunning debut from a band that defies easy labeling. ...

Elvis Costello: Armed Forces (Columbia)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1979

When Bob Dylan broke up with his wife, Sara, a few years ago, the world was treated to the introspective and bitter Blood on the ...

The Kursaal Flyers, Jona Lewie, Lene Lovich, The Records, Rachel Sweet, Wreckless Eric: Stiff Tour Invades Colonies: Records Break, Eric Stays Up Past Bedtime

Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1979

Probing reporter Dave Schulps sees the show, talks to the Records' Will Birch, and delves into the acidic past of Wreckless Eric. ...

Peter Hammill: The Two Sides of Peter Hammill

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1979

FOR OVER 10 years Peter Hammill has been the object of a particularly intense cult following. As the leader of Van der Graaf Generator and ...

The Who Movie

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1979

Kids Are Allright Director Jeff Stein Tells TP All About It ...

Badfinger Back In Business

Retrospective by Dan Matovina, Trouser Press, May 1979

WHAT WOULD eventually become Badfinger started out as a part time local band in Swansea, Wales during the post-Mersey beat boom of 1964-66. Back then ...

Generation X: Valley of the Dolls (Chrysalis CHR 1193)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1979

THIS, GEN X's second outing, is not very good compared to their first, but it does serve a useful function by pointing out two phenomena ...

The Jam: Mods For Moderns

Profile and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1979

Jam's Paul Weller knows where he's going ...

The Only Ones: Only the Lonely

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1979

ONCE UPON a time, there were four individuals who felt out of synch with the Great Rock'n'Roll Circus. Amid varying degrees of alienation from it, ...

999: Feelin' Alright With the Crew

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979

ANYONE WHO SEES more than one rock show a year knows that a lot of the glitter wears off after the first few times. Which ...

Elvis Costello: Accidents Won't Happen: The Premeditated Rise Of Elvis Costello

Essay by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, June 1979

A COUPLE OF days before Christmas, trying to make it home on the London tube before I dropped the bottle of tequila and the Times ...

The Clash: Clash City Talkers: New York Meets Jones And Co.

Report and Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1979

There's nothing quite as frustrating to watch as the hypocrisy of press, radio, and record companies rushing to get behind some new band that has ...

Ian Hunter's Love-Hate Relationship With Rock'n'roll

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979

IAN HUNTER'S been staying at his Manhattan hotel so long (two months) that the staff treat him like a member of the family. Between desperate ...

John Cooper Clarke: Disguise in Love (CBS 83132)

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1979

NB: To be briskly recited aloud in a thick Mancunian (due east of Liverpudlian) singsong: ...

Jonathan Richman: Back In Your Life

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1979

THE OSCAR BRAND of the now generation returns with his first studio LP in quite a while. Amid the ceaseless confusion that is Beserkley Records, ...

Bob Dylan: At Budokan

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1979

AFTER 16 YEARS IN the public eye, growing and developing, quick-cutting and dodging, Bob Dylan carries his catalogue of songs behind him like a bevy ...

Horslips: Sham-Rock 1979

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1979

HORSLIPS AND the new wave? An unlikely topic on the face of it, but Horslips, recently touring here in support of their latest album, The ...

No Dice: No Dice Are a Good Bet

Profile and Interview by Kris DiLorenzo, Trouser Press, July 1979

IT'S JUST the luck of No Dice that they first surfaced during the punk-to-new wave transition. Judging from the tacky photos that keep appearing, you'd ...

The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood: Ronnie Wood: New Stone Tries a Solo

Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1979

WHEN TP FIRST interviewed Ron Wood, back in the fall of 1974, the Faces' guitarist and ex-Beckite was more than happy to answer questions about ...

Ronnie Wood: New Stone Tries a Solo

Report and Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1979

WHEN TP FIRST interviewed Ron Wood, back in the fall of 1974, the Faces' guitarist and exBeckite was more than happy to answer questions about ...

Stiff Little Fingers: (F)Ireland Rockers

Interview by Garry Bushell, Trouser Press, July 1979

"TAKE A LOOK where you're living/You got the army on your street/ And the RUC dog of repression is barking at your feet..." Jake Burns ...

Nico: Strange Interlude With Nico

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, July 1979

SITTING IN the second floor cocktail lounge at Howard Johnson's, Nico drinks an afternoon breakfast of Bloody Marys and beer. It's a dreary overcast day ...

The Fall: Live at the Witch Trials (Step-Forward SFLP 1)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1979

"I STILL believe in the r'n'r dream/R'n'r as primal scream." ...

The Ramones Finish High School

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1979

"D-U-M-B, everyone's accusing me..." The Ramones don't wanna be pinheads no more. ...

Van Morrison: Belfast to Belfast

Retrospective by Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, July 1979

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO imagine someone further removed than Van Morrison from looking like a pop star or even a rock'n'roll artiste. It's not even like, ...

Bonzo Dog Band, Vivian Stanshall: Viv Stanshall: Bonzo Bounces Back

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1979

Perhaps, as the curse of King Tut suggested, some legends are best left uninvestigated. Rock heroes tend to have warts, just like everybody else, and ...

The Pink Fairies: Pink Fairies: Kings Of Oblivion (Polydor)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980

It must have taken a lot of guts to name a band "Pink Fairies". But considering the amount of mind alteration practised by its British ...

Remember Those Fabulous Seventies? A Musical Stroll From Woodstock To Punk-rock

Overview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980

The best characterization of rock'n'roll's third decade is that of 10 years spent revising, refining and recalling the music of the '60s. While '50s bands ...

Sparks: A Woofer In Tweeter’s Clothing (Bearsville)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980

The all-time weird American art-rock LP, Spark’s second album was, at first encounter, impenetrably arcane and smug. After cranking up the volume, adjusting to the ...

New York Dolls: The New York Dolls: The New York Dolls (Mercury)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1980

This seminal slab of early-70s punkitude, produced by unlikely Todd Rundgren, defines the sound and style of New York’s contribution to new wave: a raunchy ...

20/20 Looks Sharp

Profile and Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, March 1980

LAST SUMMER, holed up in Sound City Studios in the industrial pits of the San Fernando Valley, four musicians known collectively as 20/20 were deep ...

Motörhead: Bomber (Bronze BRON523)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1980

LISSEN, HOW the b'jeezus can these guys be considered hip by anyone besides a Hell's Angel (and an English one at that)? I mean, look ...

The Clash Play Revolution Rock

Report and Interview by Chris Salewicz, Trouser Press, March 1980

IT'S FOUR days before Christmas. A dark, early evening damp with snow and rain. Immediately south of the Thames, in the inappropriately genteel Victorian suburb ...

The Records: Changing Records

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1980

"Nothing's been inflated and nothing's been enlarged/What you're looking at, baby, is the original model..."— Will Birch, 1977 ...

Fleetwood Mac: Can't Go Home Again

Profile and Interview by Chris Salewicz, Trouser Press, April 1980

OF COURSE, Fleetwood Mac is the American Dream. The band's success story is the stuff of which the mythology of modern day America is made: ...

Marc Bolan, T. Rex: A Wizard, A True Star

Retrospective by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1980

Marc Bolan's brief blaze of glory ...

Cindy/Cidny Bullens: Cindy Bullens can take it or leave it

Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, May 1980

"IT WAS Mick Jagger when I was 14 years I old." Cindy Bullens, almost twice that age now, took her rock 'n' roll baptismal by ...

Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Get Happy!!

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1980

The first draft of this review, written on the basis of an American pressing, had to be discarded when an English copy arrived. Sound quality ...

Pink Floyd: Floydian Analysis

Discography by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1980

PINK FLOYD is pretty weird. And not just the band, but the way they've been viewed by the rock world. ...

The Jam: Rising Sons

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, May 1980

HAS IT really been three years since the Jam made its first live appearance in America? Since three teenagers in matching suits and skinny ties ...

The Knack: ...But The Little Girls Understand (Capitol SOO-12045)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1980

"THE SONGS are an assortment of feelings and emotions expressed redundantly as only the Knack can...This record is very dear to me and my bank ...

The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Sex Pistols: Father-Figure Knows Best: Rock managers from Elvis to Elvis

Overview by Dave Marsh, Trouser Press, June 1980

EVER SINCE Col. Tom Parker, genius entrepreneur of Hadacol, dancing chickens and Eddy Arnold, signed Elvis Presley to an exclusive (on both parts) contract, managers ...

Squeeze Loosens Up

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1980

REMEMBER HOW your parents used to attack rock 'n' roll by pointing out how disreputable most bands looked? It sure didn't help when they seized ...

Joy Division: University of London

Live Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, July 1980

THERE IS NO joy in Joy Division. And no division either. At the University of London the band presented an hour of unrelenting, uncompromising bleakness; ...

The Cure: Art For Pop's Sake

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980

ROBERT SMITH of the Cure is not your ordinary front man. ...

The Motels: Growing Up In Motels

Interview by Steven X Rea, Trouser Press, July 1980

"THERE'S SOMEONE on the Ameche for you, Mom," chimes in Maria Davis, 13-year-old daughter of Motels lead singer/songwriter/sometime rhythm guitarist Martha Davis, 29. Ameche? "The ...

The Motors Roar Back

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1980

THE INNER sleeve of the current Motors album, Tenement Steps, boldly states "The Motors are Andy McMaster [and] Nick Garvey." A demarcating "with" adds a ...

The Undertones: Hypnotised (Sire)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1980

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING special about the Undertones. They're a motley gang of Irish kids with typical imperfect faces and no visible charismatic presence as ...

Willie Nile: The Reluctant Stardom of Willie Nile

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980

YOU PROBABLY remember the New Dylan syndrome. It doesn't turn up much anymore, but once upon a time it seemed like every American male songwriter ...

Gang of Four's Great Leap Forward

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1980

"THE IRONY of our name," says guitarist Andy Gill of Gang of Four, "is the idea that four essentially middle-class English musicians would dare to ...

Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (Island ILPS9592)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980

THIS ALMOST defies weirdness. Grace Jones is an awfully tacky disco singer next to whom the B-52's women look tasteful. Warm Leatherette's musicians are reggae ...

Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople: Ian Hunter Remembers

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1980

As told to Jon Young ...

John Hiatt: Two Bit Monsters (MCA 5123)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980

LAST YEAR'S most exciting newcomer returns with his fourth album, hoping to become an overnight sensation after ten years. Forgetting an early pair of weak ...

Secret Affair: A Thoroughly Modern Affair

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1980

IAN PAGE, 19, is the smooth-talking, trumpet-tooting singer/co-writer/producer of Secret Affair, the first and foremost band to emerge from London's neo-mod explosion. He is also ...

The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Sire SRK6091)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1980

BIRMINGHAM, England has been the birthplace of several major musical trendsetters: the Move, Moody Blues, Black Sabbath. Unlike a number of other large cities in ...

Dave Davies: This Man He Laughs Tonight: Dave Davies Spearheads Kinks Attack!

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, August 1980

SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER 'You Really Got Me', the Kinks are entering the 80's in better shape than anyone has a right to expect them to ...

The Undertones: A Better Mousetrap: The Undertones Beat A Path To America’s Door

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1980

Back in the primordial '70s, a rash of groups moved into the British 45 charts to occupy the places formerly inhabited by the Beatles and ...

Kevin Ayers

Interview by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, September 1980

IN A BUSINESS geared more and more towards pushing product, Kevin Ayers is a rare commodity. He's never sold great amounts of records, but has ...

Queen: The Game (Elektra)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1980

OVER THE course of eight albums Queen has scaled all the heights and plumbed all the depths. ...

The Residents, Snakefinger: Ralph Records: Surrealism a Go Go

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1980

Waiting for art talent scouts? There are no art talent scouts. Face it, no one will seek you out. No one gives a shit. — ...

Dennis Bovell, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Matumbi, Sugar Minott, Steel Pulse, Toots & The Maytals: Reggae from Home and Abroad

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1980

Linton Kwesi Johnson: Bass Culture (Mango); Blackbeard: I Wah Dub (UK, More Cut); Matumbi: Point of View (EMI America); Sugar Minott: Black Roots (Mango); Toots ...

Devo Is Your Friend

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1980

A day in the life of Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh ...

Peter Gabriel: Gabriel on Gabriel or Man vs. Record

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, October 1980

PETER GABRIEL is mildly amused. ...

Shaun Cassidy

Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, November 1980

IF THE IDEA of Todd Rundgren producing Wasp, an album by teen idol Shaun Cassidy strikes you as...unusual, that, Cassidy says, was the idea. ...

Cheap Trick: Greetings From Rockford, Ill.

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, December 1980

Rockford, Illinois (population 140,000) has made two notable contributions to the entertainment world: John Anderson and Cheap Trick. While there is little similarity between the ...

Bruce Springsteen: The River (Columbia)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1981

A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE sketch of a few seasons back poked fun at Roy Orbison by reducing him to a caricature: motionless stance and ever-present ...

Carlene Carter, Nick Lowe: Carlene Carter

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1981

SONNY AND CHER. Ike and Tina. Steve and Eydie. The roll call of illustrious show business couples could go on and on. Now you can ...

Gary Numan Remains in Contact

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1981

CONTRADICTIONS, contradictions. (Sigh.) Gary Numan is not a simple proposition. Most people think he's simply wonderful – the electrono-pop tunesmith who's ever so cute – ...

Detective, Michael Des Barres, Silverhead: Michael Des Barres

Profile and Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, January 1981

THOUGH THE degree of his sales success thus far has been, to put it kindly, limited, Michael Des Barres has lived one of rock's more ...

Madness, The Specials: The Specials: More Specials (Chrysalis CHRS1303); Madness: Absolutely (Sire SRK6094)

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, January 1981

THE MUSICAL trend of the year in Britain, a nation which obviously relishes its fads, was the emergence of the neo-ska bands. Buoyed by a ...

Ultravox

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1981

HEY BUNKY, are ya feelin' low because the whirlwind East Coast tour you were promised turned out to be two weeks at Vinnie's Peppermint Lounge ...

Motörhead, Rainbow, Saxon, The Scorpions: Monsters Of Rock (Polydor PD-1-6311); Motorhead: Ace of Spades (Mercury SRM-1-4011)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981

HEAVY METAL at its stalest has few rivals in the all-time tedium stakes. Monsters of Rock, recorded live at Castle Donington in Britain, is not ...

Blondie: Autoamerican

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, February 1981

THE GENERAL PUBLIC is no doubt familiar with the Blondie story: from Bowery pop-punks to mid-American Euroschmaltzers and product endorsers. What was once a band ...

Buzzcocks, Human Sexual Response: The Ritz, New York NYC

Live Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, February 1981

DO I DETECT the beginnings of a love affair between New York and the Buzzcocks? The Mancunians packed the Ritz solid on a Sunday night, ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, February 1981

GEORGE THOROGOOD sits in a hotel room in western Massachusetts, watching television. It's a bitter cold November night; in a couple of hours he will ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (Geffen GHS2001)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

John and Yoko: A Fond Farewell ...

Neil Young: Hawks & Doves (Reprise HS2297)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

NEIL YOUNG stands alone in his ability to startle an audience with the most familiar techniques. As a master of everything from quiet folk to ...

Gang of Four: Outside the Bands Don't Toe the Line: Gang of Four Makes Music Their Way

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

WOULD YOU like your rock with politics or without? Today pop music offers a wide variety of choices: from the violent invective of stereotypic punk ...

Rod Stewart: Foolish Behaviour (Warner Bros. HS3485)

Review by Laura Fissinger, Trouser Press, February 1981

FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR is Rod Stewart's first studio LP in two years, written entirely by Rod and band and produced almost entirely by same. Gee, it's ...

Roy Orbison, The Romeos: Town Hall, New York

Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

MANHATTAN'S Town Hall recently showcased two generations of Southern rockers and provided a lesson on the importance of image. ...

Secret Affair: Behind Closed Doors (I Spy 2)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981

SECRET AFFAIR has a knack for getting up people's noses. Those you'd expect to be sympathetic to the band's aims react to their name with ...

The Beat (UK): Up On The Beat

Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

SOONER OR later, every British band of any significance has to decide what to do about America. ...

The Monochrome Set

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981

"THERE WAS one review that said we sounded like Jose Feliciano, the Beatles, Foreigner and Queen," notes the Monochrome Set's Lester Square (real name, Tom ...

Simple Minds, Visage: Visage: Visage (Polydor PD-1-6304); Simple Minds: Empires and Dance (Zoom SPART1140)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1981

BOTH THESE records explore the musical turf of brave new pop swathed in synthesizers and studio effects. Neither is quite a paradigm of such experimentation; ...

Adam & the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier (Epic NJE37033)

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, April 1981

IMAGINE AN obsessive singer who calls to mind an earthbound version of glitter-era David Bowie, and a guitarist who draws from sources as diverse as ...

Martha and the Muffins

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1981

SPOT THE one that doesn't belong: (a) rock 'n' roll, (b) aggression, (c) rationality, (d) energy. Normally, of course, you'd say that being rational has ...

The Clash: Sandinista!

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1981

THE FIRST TIME the Clash ventured into a recording studio they emerged with a concise blockbuster 45 ('White Riot') that deliv-ered the goods in under ...

Spandau Ballet, Visage: Blitz Night: Hurrah, New York NY

Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1981

ARE THE futurists a spin-off of the Star Trek fanatics? Nope, they're just the newest British cultists of individuality, using make-up and dress that amalgamates ...

Jerry Lee Lewis: Ritz, New York NY

Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1981

WHILE EACH new generation of upstarts spout the notion that rock is just for kids, it's easy to find aging veterans who hang in there ...

Motorhead

Profile and Interview by Adam Sweeting, Trouser Press, May 1981

"NOISE IS A big part of Motorhead mania" says the stark black lettering inside one of the band's tour brochures. Immediately below it is a ...

Steve Winwood: The Steve Winwood Autodiscography

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1981

Steve Winwood's work defies pigeonholing; his distinctive "blue-eyed soul" vocals grace an impressive blend of rock, soul, jazz and folk. He's responsible for a wealth ...

Colin Newman, Wire: Colin Newman

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1981

"YOU CAN'T forcibly solve contradictions; you've got to allow them to work themselves out," says Colin Newman. What's a Colin Newman? Good question; he himself ...

Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (IRS SP70014)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1981

CHANCES ARE you have an opinion about the Dead Kennedys even if you've never heard their music. Provocation is the name of the game; a ...

The dB's: Stands for DeciBels (Albion AB105)

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1981

PERHAPS THE most fertile period for pop-rock experimentation were the years between the end of the Merseyboom and the beginning of the Woodstock/FM radio era. ...

The Stray Cats: Bond Club, New York NY

Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, June 1981

TALK ABOUT time warps. New York's ultra-cool, ultra-modern Bond rock club, decorated like something out of a bad science fiction movie, was invaded by girls ...

The Who: Face Dances (Warner Bros.)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1981

ONCE UPON A TIME, the Who was a guiding force in the life of many people (myself included). The wisdom of Chairman Pete Townshend, as ...

The Small Faces: The Steve Marriott Autodiscography

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, July 1981

As told to Jim Green ...

Adam & The Ants: Palladium Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981

LISTEN, SNOBS: Adam and the Ants headlined New York's Palladium Theater (3300 seats) for a legitimate reason, not just that tired old scapegoat hype. ...

Pearl Harbor

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981

THE ROCKABILLY revival currently sweeping England ought to be a bonanza for rock 'n' roll fans, but mostly it's been a dud. While the original ...

The Plimsouls

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1981

AH YES. The ringing guitars, simple rocking beat — definitely American but with a twist of Limey-philia. The Plimsouls are from Los Angeles, and you ...

Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, The Small Faces: The Steve Marriott Autodiscography Part Two

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1981

As told to Jim Green ...

Duran Duran: Duran Duran (Harvest ST12158)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1981

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND'S Duran Duran, yet another entrant in the let's-play-synth-disco-with-silly-costumes chart sweepstakes, had a recent hit with a wretchedly tedious piece of routine ass-wag called ...

Joe Ely: You Can Take The Boy Out Of Texas...

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981

IT DOESN'T take a genius to figure out that country music is in pretty sorry shape these days. There's something wrong when unbearably bland hacks ...

The Flesh Eaters, X: X: Wild Gift (Slash SR-107); The Flesh Eaters: A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (Ruby JRR-101)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981

THERE'S A BIG difference between playing crudely out of necessity and harnessing primitivism to say things that can't be said any other way. Rock thrives ...

Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive: Savoy, New York NY

Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981

WHITE ROCK musicians are notorious for "borrowing" from blacks. Were it not for the inspiration of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, James Brown and so ...

Sparks

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981

THAT OLD saw about prophets without honor in their own land has a ring of truth even today, as Ron and Russell Mael, known as ...

The Boys, The Members: The Members, the Boys: Privates, New York NY

Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1981

MANAGERIAL problems, identity crises, record companies' loss of faith — not a pretty picture, but that's what both the Members and the Boys have faced ...

Marc Bolan, John's Children, The Yardbirds: The Music Game as Played by Simon Napier-Bell — Label Owner, Songwriter, Producer, Manager

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, October 1981

"THE OTHER day I was discussing doing a new kind of record deal for the States. The record companies are going to hate it, but ...

Bill Nelson: Triumph of the Bill

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, November 1981

The admirable Nelson returns ...

The Cure

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, 1 November 1981

THE CURE is this kind of rock band that encourages a blurring of distinctions between journalism and criticism. They simply must be considered subjectively; dealing ...

Rick Springfield: Rick Rules This Town

Profile and Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, December 1981

IF THE Saturday night crowd at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is any indication of who buys his records, Rick Springfield has at last conquered ...

The Stray Cats

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, 1982

THEIR LOOKS and their sound may strike some as a bit suspect, but there's no doubting the Stray Cats' affection for the classic rock 'n' ...

Bow Wow Wow

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1982

WITH A LITTLE embroidery Annabella Lwin's story could be a classic show business myth: Discovered working at a dry cleaners, an ordinary 14-year-old girl becomes ...

Lene Lovich

Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1982

"MANY PEOPLE have said to me, 'You must have changed your style, because you now have a popular record with 'New Toy'," says Lene Lovich. ...

The Police: Ghost in the Machine (A&M SP-3730)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, January 1982

THE POLICE are stars. What with the worldwide mega-success of 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' and Zenyatta Mondatta, maybe they figured they ...

The Who: Hooligans

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, January 1982

From a fan's point of view, there is nothing worse than a compilation album put together by either a group, whose nearness to the material ...

Tom Verlaine

Interview by Toby Goldstein, Trouser Press, January 1982

TOM VERLAINE is looking for clues in an interior landscape, signposts that just might point the way to some inescapable Truth. "You don't respond to ...

Elvis Costello: Almost Blue (Columbia FC37562)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982

WHY SHOULDN'T Elvis Costello make a country album? An accomplished dilettante, he's previously drawn from such diverse sources as Tin Pan Alley ('My Funny Valentine') ...

Neil Young: Re•ac•tor (Reprise HS2304)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982

NEIL YOUNG'S sustained vitality is a truly amazing phenomenon. Where most superstars burn out, he's so dependable you tend to take his consistency for granted. ...

The Human League: Dare (Virgin V2192)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982

LAST YEAR'S fracturing of the Human League into two camps held more promise than the usual band breakup. For two albums the original League displayed ...

U2: October (Island ILPS9680)

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1982

IT'S EASY to criticize October; just call it "Son of Boy" and trash the band. What this line of thought fails to consider is that ...

Blue Oyster Cult: Why You Should Care About Blue Oyster Cult

Comment by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1982

Action conforms to preexistent imagery.– Sandy Pearlman, The History of Los Angeles, 1965-1969 ...

8-Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy (Fetish FR2003)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, March 1982

"IT WAS FUN while it lasted," Pat Irwin (now a Raybeat) sighs in the liner notes to this catch-all retrospective of live and studio tracks. ...

Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Soft Cell: Depeche Mode: Speak & Spell; Soft Cell: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret; Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Architecture & Morality

Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1982

PUNK BANDS made up in sheer energetic vitality and charm what they lacked in technique. The young electronic bands now taking the British charts by ...

Joan Jett: I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982

JOAN JETT'S first solo album, Bad Reputation, suffered from a number of flaws, I pointed out in my review of the time; listening to it ...

The Skids: Skids: Joy (Virgin V2217)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982

WITH THIS album (their fourth) the Skids have taken the final plunge of their career. From a pimply-faced four-piece with a great first album and ...

Tenpole Tudor: Let the Four Winds Blow (Stiff SEEZ42)

Review by Jon Tiven, Trouser Press, March 1982

ALTHOUGH THE UK has embraced Eddie Tudor and his cronies with open arms, Tenpole Tudor is pretty much an unknown quantity in America. ...

The Stranglers: La Folie

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, March 1982

WANT TO FEEL prematurely old? This, if you can believe it, is the Stranglers' seventh British album. While most alumni of the '77 punk explosion ...

Laurie Anderson: William Burroughs, John Giorno, Laurie Anderson: The Ritz, New York NY

Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, March 1982

AH YES, culture. Not rock — two-thirds of this bill wasn't even music. But my doubts that a novelist, a poet and a multimedia performance ...

U2: Pluck Of The Irish

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, 1 March 1982

PEOPLE HAVEN'T asked U2 if they're the future of rock. They've told them. ...

The Blasters

Profile by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, April 1982

IT'S AN IRONIC fact of life that until quite recently very few of the so-called (and frequently maligned) "Los Angeles" bands had deep roots in ...

The Fleshtones: This Year's Authentic Embodiment of Rock 'n' Roll

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1982

A COMMON thread runs through all great rock 'n' roll, from Elvis Presley and Little Richard to Dave Edmunds and the Ramones. It's a sublime ...

The Go-Go's, The Police: The Police, Go-Go's: Spectrum, Philadelphia PA

Live Review by Jim Green, Trouser Press, April 1982

IT WASN'T the same seeing the Police at the Spectrum, Philadelphia's pro sports arena, as it was back at CBGB or even the midsize Palladium. ...

That Baaad Cocaine

Report by Mick Farren, Trouser Press, May 1982

AS I WRITE THIS, the tabloids tell me we're having a cocaine war in New York City. Not that there's anything novel about a cocaine ...

The dB's: The dBs

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1982

"A dB IS A proportion, a logarithmic measurement of energy," Chris Stamey, 27, explains. "It doesn't mean there's necessarily a lot of it; it relates ...

The Police Have More Fun

Report and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1982

HELLO, SPORTS fans! We're in the 76ers' dressing room at the Spectrum in Philadelphia – but that tall, gangly fella slumped on the end of ...

Fun Boy Three

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1982

"EQUALITY AND democracy were what we preached. That's how it was when we started, but it didn't last. When we started making $2,000 a night ...

Graham Parker: Another Grey Area

Review by Dave Schulps, Trouser Press, June 1982

IF, AS GRAHAM PARKER declared on Squeezing Out Sparks, "passion is no ordinary word," then Another Grey Area should by all rights have been no ...

Joan Jett: Selling Records Is The Best Revenge

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1982

"I LOVE ROCK'N'ROLL" has to be one of the corniest, old hat, lowest-common denominator clichés of all, right? The phrase conjures images of barechested, bluejeaned ...

John Hiatt: All Of A Sudden

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1982

JOHN HIATT'S career has been hampered by unfortunate business liaisons ever since lift-off. ...

Phil Manzanera, Roxy Music: Phil Manzanera

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1982

PICTURED ON THE first Roxy Music album with bizarre fly-glasses, long hair and unkempt beard, Phil Manzanera looked like left-field weirdness incarnate. That image was ...

John Hiatt Opens Up

Interview by Todd Everett, Trouser Press, July 1982

ONE FREQUENTLY repeated cliche of the rock press has it that John Hiatt is the "American Elvis Costello." ...

Sparks: Angst in My Pants

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1982

SPARKS' HIT STREAK in the mid-'70s produced America's best Anglophiliac rock ever – so good, in fact, that English teenyboppers made them tops of the ...

Cheap Trick, Van Halen: Cheap Trick: One on One (Epic FE38021); Van Halen: Diver Down (Warner Bros. BSK3677)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1982

Wherein two highly anticipated albums refuse to be what was expected of them, proving neither fans nor skeptics correct in their assumptions. ...

Lester Bangs, R.I.P.

Obituary by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1982

LESTER BANGS, whose writings probably influenced the style and outlook of countless rock critics, died in his New York apartment on April 30 at the ...

Circle Jerks, Flipper, The Germs, The Stimulators: The Germs, The Stimulators, Circle Jerks, Flipper: Albums Reviewed

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1982

The Germs: Germicide (ROIR A108 cassette) Stimulators: Loud Fast Rules! (ROIR A109 cassette) Circle Jerks: Wild in the Streets (Faulty Products COPE3) Flipper: ...

Blondie: Pumping Vinyl

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, September 1982

BLONDIE IS the new wave success story, from Bowery boys-and girl-to glamorous chart-toppers. Yet the band has never felt it had to toe any musical ...

Haircut 100: Haircut One Hundred: ...And Now For Something Really Clean

Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, September 1982

Haircut One Hundred proves that neatness counts ...

The Gun Club, The Jam: The Jam, The Gun Club: Palladium, New York NY

Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, September 1982

UNDER A WIDE banner that said "Trans-Global Unity Express," the Jam played an intense 80-minute set to a half-empty Palladium. Songwriter/guitarist Paul Weller, with his ...

A Flock of Seagulls

Profile and Interview by Toby Goldstein, Trouser Press, October 1982

MIKE SCORE, 24-year-old founder and lead vocalist of A Flock of Seagulls, strongly resembles a large winged being: His carroty-blond hair has been coaxed into ...

Kim Wilde: A Face In The Crowde

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1982

DO YOU believe that children of celebrities have it made? British pop singer Kim Wilde doesn't think so. "Daughters of famous fathers don't have an ...

Robert Plant: Pictures at Eleven

Review by Mick Farren, Trouser Press, October 1982

IT'S ALWAYS HARD to know what to do when the drummer drops dead. The Who and the New York Dolls recruited new ones and pressed ...

Sparks

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, November 1982

After 11 albums over a decade of stylistic evolution, Sparks — that is, Ron and Russell Mael with collaborators — have achieved legendary status despite ...

The Fleshtones: Opening The Doors Of Perception

Profile and Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, 1983

IT WAS a dark and stormy night. In his castle high on the hill, evil Dr Vollen was cackling to himself, and to the stuffed ...

Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska (Columbia)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1983

Starkness at the Edge of Town ...

ABC: Alphabet Super

Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, February 1983

ABC ARE currently the hottest three letters of the alphabet. The band of that name's debut album, The Lexicon of Love, contains some of the ...

Captain Beefheart: In Search Of Captain Beefheart

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, February 1983

The elusive Don van Vliet tracked to his lair ...

Kate Bush: The Dreaming (EMI America ST17084)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983

KATE BUSH'S The Dreaming is a stunning record in more ways than one. Besides being a triumph of inventive songwriting and unpredictable performances, it is ...

Soft Cell, Yazoo: Soft Cell and Yaz(oo): Synths and Singers

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983

JUST TWELVE months ago it was unclear if the primarily British phenomena of synthesizer bands would exhibit any staying power. Although 1981 was a good ...

Warren Zevon: The Ritz, New York NYC

Live Review by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, February 1983

WARREN ZEVON is arguably the most compelling and exciting member of the LA singer/songwriter set. His latest album, The Envoy, is his most movingly powerful ...

Neil Young: Trans (Geffen GHS2018)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983

NEIL YOUNG must struggle to find something new for each album. When you've made as many records as he has, and covered as much stylistic ...

Rank and File: Can Punks Sing Country? Just Listen Up!

Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Trouser Press, April 1983

"I'D CALL IT country music, and let I everyone take it from there," Chip A. Kinman says, almost defiantly. ...

Ric Ocasek: Beatitude (Geffen GHS2022)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983

WHY WOULD Ric Ocasek make a solo album? He's the songwriter for the Cars, as well as one of the lead singers. Not surprisingly, Beatitude ...

The Clash’s Greatest Hits: Clash City Rockers

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, April 1983

"In 1977 I hope I go to heaven'Cos I been too long on the doleAnd I can't work at allDanger stranger — you better paint ...

Dexys Midnight Runners: This Man Believes

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, May 1983

The back of Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Liars A to E' single sleeve bears a message to the world. In general terms it explains the Dexys ...

Soft Cell: The Art of Falling Apart (Sire 237691)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1983

MARC ALMOND and David Ball of Soft Cell make great singles. Like Paul McCartney, Abba and precious few others these days, they're adept at creating ...

Culture Club Comes Clean

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1983

The End of the World is Nigh ...

Echo & The Bunnymen, U2: Echo & the Bunnymen: Porcupine (Sire 23770); U2: War (Island 90067)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1983

THERE AREN'T too many English bands that can buck the current vogue for synthesizers and funk/dance rhythms, remain musically adventurous and still be commercially viable ...

Musical Youth: Out Of The Mouth Of Babes

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, June 1983

IT'S A BITTERLY cold and gusty February day that finds me scampering through the remnants of New York's blizzard of '83 on my way to ...

Buzzcocks, Pete Shelley: Peter Shelley

Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, August 1983

Back when the much-saluted bywords of British punk were "rebellion," "relevance" and "gritty realism," Manchester's Buzzcocks brought something fresh, pithy and even humorous to their ...

R.E.M.: Really Exciting Music

Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983

ARE YOU tired of constantly being told how this or that band is the new greatest wonder? Of course you are. Unfortunately, superlatives have a ...

Spandau Ballet: True (Chrysalis)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, August 1983

I USED TO think Spandau Ballet bit the boot. The band's first two albums seemed little more than gussied-up disco, a rip-off of various cultures, ...

The Replacements: Hootenanny (Twin Tone)

Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983

HOOTENANNY??! BY way of explanation, the liner notes remark that the "hoot" began as "a completely spontaneous, unrestrained event," and go on to say, "Today, ...

Heaven 17 Faces Right

Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1983

IF DICKENS HADN'T gotten there first, Great Expectations would be the perfect title for the saga of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh. After their ...

Madness

Profile and Interview by Jim Green, Trouser Press, December 1983

THE TRANSATLANTIC telephone line is dominated by the muffled distortion and hiss common to calls made across a thousand leagues of water; the voice at ...

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