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Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 22 September 1979

Does Britain need a Blondie? Will Wendy Wu be on your bedroom wall next month? Is this fair? HARRY DOHERTY discovers why most of Britain's ...

The Clash: Clash Bites Apple

Live Review by Van Gosse, Melody Maker, 29 September 1979

FIRST time here, in February, the Clash were merely grand. The energy was awesome but the music was more volume than anything else; in the ...

Velvet Underground, The: Pop Art/Art Pop: The Warhol Connection

Report and Interview by Mary Harron, Melody Maker, 16 February 1980

Like to be a galleryPut you all inside my show— David Bowie, 'Andy Warhol' Some people claim that only James Brown can match Andy Warhol's ...

Selecter, The: The Selecter: Survival Inna Suburbia

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 23 February 1980

IT TOOK HIM ages to get the lapel of his jacket off. The scissors kept on cutting the cloth instead of the bits of stitching, ...

Michael Jackson: Michael In Wonderland

Interview by Stephen Demorest, Melody Maker, 1 March 1980

Michael Jackson: "black Sinatra for the '90s" or just looking for an escape to heaven? STEVE DEMOREST gets to talk to him via Janett [sic] ...

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Trials of Tom Petty: Petty gets it…

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 March 1980

Washed clean by legal wranglings, Tom Petty is settling down to write good rock 'n' roll songs. "That's all I want to do," he tells ...

Siouxsie & The Banshees: Kaleidoscope (Polydor)

Review by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 26 July 1980

STRANGE TO think that, as the Banshees' contemporaries head off for the fourth or even fifth time in the studio, Kaleidoscope marks only the third ...

Marvin Gaye: For Once In A Lifetime

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, 21 February 1981

AFTER NEARLY two hours in that bedroom, Lydia finally gave up. By any standards she'd waited long enough for her Marvin Gaye interview – a ...

Ministry: Ministry of Offence

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 10 July 1982

THE AIRPORT at Minneapolis is surprisingly big, considering the town itself is hidden away up towards Canada in the big blank heart of the mid-West. ...

Howard Jones: Keeping Up with the Joneses

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 8 October 1983

Helen FitzGerald finds reasons to believe in the musical integrity of synth-pop wiz, HOWARD JONES ...

Spear of Destiny: Spear & Loathing

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Melody Maker, 21 January 1984

SPEAR OF DESTINY'S KIRK BRANDON bares his soul to Adam Sweeting ...

Kajagoogoo, Limahl: Limahl: I Me Mine

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 9 June 1984

LIMAHL and his ego hold court. Credulous report: Helen FltzGerald ...

Elvis Costello, Agnes Bernelle: Agnes Bernelle: Cabaret in Exile

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 1 June 1985

The first time AGNES BERNELLE met Elvis Costello she thought he was an accountant. She's also met Marlene Dietrich and Adolf Hitler, nearly. Now, at ...

Redskins, The: The Redskins: The Insanity Clause

Interview by Helen Fitzgerald, Melody Maker, 29 June 1985

Back on the road and with their new single 'Bring It Down' receiving accolades from all directions, THE REDSKINS are demonstrating that there's still life ...

Smiths, The: The Smiths: Home Thoughts From Abroad

Report and Interview by Frank Owen, Melody Maker, 27 September 1986

While THE SMITHS tour America, controversy still rages over their single, 'Panic'. Does the refrain 'hang the deejay' really harbour racist tendencies? Frank Owen tracks down ...

The Replacements: The Rebel Yell

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 16 May 1987

Describing their relationship to pop as being like 'a dirt road through an emerald city', The Replacements get Simon Reynolds all hot under the collar ...

Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave: Lizard of Oz

Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 23 January 1988

AFTER A YEAR AWAY, NICK CAVE RETURNS FROM THE WILDERNESS WITH ANOTHER LADELFUL OF PEARLS AND PESSIMISM. CHRIS ROBERTS MEETS THE MAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING ...

Big Daddy Kane, MC Shan, Biz Markie: Cold Chillin' Records: The Big Chill

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 16 April 1988

COLD CHILLIN' HAVE COMPILED A ROSTER TO CHALLENGE DEF JAM'S HIP HOP SUPREMACY. CAROLINE SULLIVAN MEETS A TRIO ON THE WAY TO THE TOP ...

Harry Crews: Wrecking Crews

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 October 1988

Harry Crews are an all-woman band featuring Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch. They're destined to "combust after the next three days". But ...

My Bloody Valentine: Suicide Kisses

Interview by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

A YEAR AGO, MY BLOODY VALENTINE WERE LINGERING IN SECOND DIVISION INDIE ANONYMITY. THEN THEY RELEASED THEIR EXTRAORDINARY YOU MAKE ME REALISE LP AND SUDDENLY ...