Dave Simpson
Dave Simpson has written extensively for The Guardian, as well as for Melody Maker, i-D, Uncut and many other publications.
210 articles
List of articles in the library by artist
3 Colours Red, Heavy Stereo, Super Furry Animals: Furry Tale of New York
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 28 September 1996
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Take Melody Maker out to New York with three of CREATION RECORDS' brightest new bands — 3 COLOURS ...
808 State: Castlefield Amphitheatre, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 June 1996
THINK OF A free open-air gig on the first day of summer and you'd probably imagine hippies, loud rock music and lots of mud. All ...
808 State: Castlefield Amphitheatre, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 6 July 1996
IS THIS THE way the future's really meant to feel? Or just 20,000 mutants standing in a cobbled amphitheatre? Either there's an extremely mad scientist ...
Barry Adamson: "I've been called the outsider's outsider"
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 February 2016
The Bad Seeds and Magazine bassist on writing music for David Lynch, being ignored by Morrissey and moving to Moss Side to recuperate after the ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 April 2011
EVEN IF Adele Adkins's record-breaking 11 weeks at the top of the album chart ends on Sunday – and it looks like the Foo Fighters ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 1 November 1997
THESE ARE the sort of men my mother warned me about as a small child, and — metaphorically, at least — they want me to ...
Alien Ant Farm: Manchester Academy
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 4 February 2002
EVERY POP movement worth its salt needs a bunch of pranksters. The hippies had Neil Innes's satirists the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, punk boasted the ...
And You Will Know Us By The...: And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: Cockpit, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 November 2000
WITH A NAME like And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, you could say these Texan noise-punks are looking for trouble – ...
Angel Haze: Gorilla, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 March 2014
"I KNOW I haven't done a bunch of shows, so thanks y'all for coming out to see me eventually," says Angel Haze, reflecting on her ...
Aqualung: Who the hell are ... Aqualung
Profile by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 September 2002
Aqualung... dreaming of badass rap and bruising beats ...
Arab Strap: The Cluny, Newcastle upon Tyne
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 October 2016
Aidan Moffatt and Malcolm Middleton revive tales of chaotic lifestyles for Brexit Britain, with music that ricochets between folk, pop and intense dance. ...
Rick Astley, Stock Aitken Waterman: Rick Astley: How we made 'Never Gonna Give You Up'
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 23 March 2020
"One day I was making the tea for Bananarama. The next I was at No 1." ...
Erykah Badu: Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 July 2001
I HAVE SEEN Bowie atop a giant glass spider and U2 stuck inside a lemon, but I cannot recall an entrance like Erykah Badu's. ...
Basement Jaxx: Academy, Manchester ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 16 November 1999
Big cheese party ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 October 2015
"THIS ONE'S GOING to be in near darkness," mutters the man on the door, and Beach House emerge in so much gloom that if one ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 4 April 2002
TWO YEARS AGO in this newspaper, Alan McGee decried the "bedwetters" of modern pop. Where, he asked, were "the characters" and "the great rock'n'roll music ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 July 2016
Beguiling fairytales, big choruses — as the crowd declare love, it beggars belief that Belly have spent so long in cold storage. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 November 2000
WE’RE HEADING for the silly season. For the next month or so, the TV companies will dig out those old episodes of Top of The ...
The Beta Band, King Biscuit Time: Steve Mason: 'I've Had Enough'
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 May 2006
Steve Mason, the former Beta Band frontman, should have been on tour this week. Instead, he's quit music — and disappeared. By Dave Simpson ...
Black Lace, Jive Bunny, Stock Aitken Waterman: Novelty Records: When pop goes bad
Retrospective by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 22 September 2010
The excruciatingly catchy novelty song was a hallmark of the 1980s. Is it back? And how do you write one? Dave Simpson talks to the ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 November 1997
WHEN SHAUN Ryder recently sang Black Grape's comeback hit 'Get Higher', he no doubt afforded himself a mischievous grin. For years, Ryder was the dark ...
Blade, Roots Manuva: The home boys: Roots Manuva and the UK posse
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 September 2001
Who needs Eminem and P Diddy when we've got perfectly good British rappers? Dave Simpson talks to Roots Manuva and the UK posse ...
The Blue Aeroplanes: Academy 2, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 16 January 2017
With their constantly changing lineup, poetic lyrics and unstoppable dancer Wojtek, the Bristol band show no signs of landing. ...
James Blunt: How we made 'You're Beautiful'
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 14 January 2020
'It's portrayed as a romantic song but it's actually a bit creepy. It's about a guy — me — stalking someone else's girlfriend while high' ...
The Boo Radleys: Irish Centre, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 7 April 1995
AS MUSIC biz jokes go, The Boo Radleys are a very, very good one. Formed in Liverpool in 1989, their topsy-turvy career (taking in baldness, ...
Brand New Heavies: Town & Country Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 January 1993
MY MOTHER warned me about getting into cars with strangers. Perhaps she should have also told me about the dangers of accepting voyages into strange ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 25 January 2019
"It ain't heavy metal, but that's alright" ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 April 1994
DESPITE WHAT WE read in the live pages, many gigs these days are sterile, perfunctory affairs. Bands arrive, playing the roles they're comfortable with and ...
Mark Burgess: The Witchwood, Ashton-under-Lyne
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 30 May 1993
SO HERE IS is, then, Mark Burgess, former singer with the Chameleons, the great lost '80s band who prompt more letters to the Maker's Info ...
Eliza Carthy: Manchester University
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Guardian Unlimited, 11 November 2000
Eliza Carthy goes pop ...
The Chameleons: Irish Centre, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 3 August 2001
THERE'S A WONDERFUL – if apocryphal – story about the major-label A&R team that was dispatched to Manchester in the 1980s with instructions to sign ...
Chance the Rapper: Academy, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 November 2016
The hip hop boundary-breaker had a triumphant night in Manchester, keeping his audience on their toes with a mix of humility, eclecticism and spirituality. ...
The Chemical Brothers: The Chemistry Set — The Chemical Brothers: Academy, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 October 1996
Dave Simpson takes some Anadin with The Chemical Brothers ...
Melanie C: St George's Hall, Bradford
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 September 2000
OF THE MANY routes to solo stardom open to a Spice Girl, being a rock chick is not one of them. Just ask Mel C. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 June 2000
FOR THEIR ardent supporters, Coldplay are the great white hopes of British angst rock. For their equally vociferous detractors, they are miserable musos who have ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 February 2001
Natalie Cole has been a prostitutes' tout, a junkie and the winner of no fewer than eight Grammys. She tells Dave Simpson about scandal, success ...
Crescent, Movietone: Movietone: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 31 July 2000
HOW DO YOU know when a "pop" band is part of the underground? There are probably several definitions, but one of them must surely be ...
CSS: Cansai de Ser Sexy (Sub Pop)
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 July 2006
IF A pile of 1979-80 disco and post-punk records washed up on a Brazilian beach, the lucky beneficiaries would party like CSS. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 March 2020
Although some routines are getting well-worn, Cullum hops between hip-hop, crooning and one-liners with aplomb ...
Cut Copy: 'It's Certainly Not Knob Twiddling'
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 14 October 2005
When they are not letting off fireworks in people's houses, or rugby tackling Mylo off the stage, Australia's Cut Copy are the future of synth-pop. ...
Cypress Hill: The Royal Court, Liverpool
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 February 1994
'POOL 'N' THE HILL ...
The Dandy Warhols: A Toast To The Wasted: The Dandy Warhols: The Cockpit, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 June 2000
AS IGGY POP would testify, you can always rely on the British public to take a drug-frazzled American wacko to their hearts. ...
Craig David: City Hall, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 November 2000
PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED on Craig David. For some, he is the spearhead of UK garage, whose pioneering "two-step" music has swept him to two number ...
Death in Vegas: The Cockpit, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 February 2000
Better listen at home ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 November 1996
Rusty metal with extra irony ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 October 2017
Indie polymath moves from hurtling shoegaze to blissed-out electronica. ...
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 January 2001
LAST NOVEMBER, 29-year-old Dido Armstrong and her boyfriend Bob were discussing their day at work. Bob had gone to the office and relaxed with a ...
Celine Dion: Up Too Close And Personal: Celine Dion: Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 July 1999
THREE SONGS IN, a smiling Celine Dion decides she wants to talk to us, "personally". ...
Dirty Projectors: Gorilla, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 October 2012
WHEN ALICE COOPER recently accused today's rock stars of lacking testosterone and "playing from the brain", he could have had David Longstreth in mind. ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 8 February 1992
SETANTA HAS PROVED to be a prolific nurturing ground for new talent lately, with acts like Power of Dreams, Into Paradise and the Frank and ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 November 2008
DIZZEE RASCAL, who in 2003 carried off the Mercury music prize, recently told Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman he was thinking of running for prime minister. He seems ...
Pete Doherty: Peter Doherty: Fez Club, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 31 July 2004
IN recent weeks, Peter Doherty has been reported as having racked up a heroin/crack addiction costing £250 a day, skipped out on three attempts at ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 25 February 2005
The Manchester that Doves grew up in has disappeared. They take Dave Simpson on a guided tour of the city — and show him the ...
Drake, The Weeknd: Drake/The Weeknd: Manchester Arena
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 March 2014
ABEL TESFAYE, aka the Weeknd, is receiving the kind of cheers you rarely hear for what is technically a support act. The fast-rising 22-year-old Toronto ...
Dream Theater: Apollo Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 February 2014
CAPE-WEARING former Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman recently told The Guardian where prog rock went wrong in the 1970s. "We had this thing where bands ...
The Eagles: McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 July 1996
IF YOU were wondering what happened to the British summer, then spare a thought for the residents of Hell, California, whose habitat has frozen over. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 December 1996
Rumours of East going west fuel night of confusion and great pop ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 22 May 1995
Hormonesapoppin' as E17 storm the Sheffield Arena. No prisoners taken ...
Billie Eilish: Academy, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 February 2019
A teenage talent not quite eclipsed by screaming fans: the LA singer had her young audience shouting her empowering lyrics as she worked the room ...
Elastica: Under the Influence — Elastica: Sheffield University
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 March 1995
Elastica, the vanguard of the new new wave bands, smash and grab their way through classic punk pop in Sheffield ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 July 1996
Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, two of the great icons of eighties pop, tell DAVE SIMPSON what keeps them going ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 February 2001
EMINEM'S REPUTATION as world's number one bad boy rapper precedes him. Amid scenes reminiscent of the Sex Pistols, his records have been banned by student ...
Erasure: Town & Country, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 November 1996
SIZE IS everything in Erasure pop world. For their last tour, they put on one of the biggest shows on earth, a theatrical triumph of ...
Estelle: "The only way I'm going on the cover of FHM is in a body bag"
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 September 2004
Estelle, the loudest new voice in hip-hop, talks to Dave Simpson ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 March 1996
RECENT WARNINGS linking club-going to ear damage have got it all wrong. Never mind amplified Jungle or cranium-pounding dub, the real threat to the nation's ...
The Fall: "Excuse me, weren't you in the Fall?"
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 5 January 2006
Mark E. Smith's band is legendary for its ever-changing line-up. Dave Simpson made it his quest to track down everyone who has ever been a ...
Fields Of The Nephilim: Leeds Polytechnic
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Record Mirror, 4 June 1988
AND IT CAME to pass that a fog did descend upon the earth, and out of the mist there did come... a RIFF! ...
Fine Young Cannibals: Leadmill, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 December 2002
IN 1999, ROLAND Gift told The Guardian: "I'd rather shovel shit than live off my past." Three years on, as the lost soul singer reactivates ...
Fine Young Cannibals, Roland Gift: Roland Gift: Not the man he used to be
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 7 October 1999
Roland Gift tells Dave Simpson why he has no reason to mourn the demise of the Fine Young Cannibals ...
Foals: "I built a fortress around myself"
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 May 2010
IN AN AMSTERDAM square, tourists all around, Yannis Philippakis is pouring his heart out. The singer of Foals is describing how he has kept a ...
Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part I
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 March 2019
Foals have found a new zip to their grooves: this is a fitting soundtrack for a world mired in uncertainty ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 5 March 2019
Ahead of their fifth album, Yannis Philippakis and co. blend the avant garde with football-terrace energy. ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 November 1997
In our occasional Tour Diary series, we find out why Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS always chews gum onstage, loves punk rock and why he ...
Freeheat: Who the hell are... Freeheat
Overview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 November 2001
A regular guide to new bands heading your way ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 4 May 2018
IN 2016, ELEANOR Friedberger spent a month in Athens, Greece, ending up in what the half-Greek American describes as an "'80s goth disco" – called ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 11 July 1998
SHE MAY LOOK like an angel, but behind the exterior lies and acidic tongue, waiting to be unleashed. We meet Shirley from GARBAGE on the ...
Gay Dad: Leisurenoise (London)
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 May 1999
Hyped to the hilt, Gay Dad's album isn't worth the wait, says Dave Simpson ...
Girls Aloud: Sheffield Arena ***
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 April 2009
THE RECESSION does not appear to be affecting Girls Aloud, whose entrance involves pyrotechnics, hydraulic platforms and the whipping-off of glittering white ballgowns to reveal ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 22 February 2013
A DECADE AGO, when reality TV show Popstars: The Rivals pitted Girls Aloud against favourites One True Voice, you wouldn't have put money on the ...
The Go-Betweens: Warehouse, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Record Mirror, 17 June 1989
THIS IS getting a bit ridiculous y'know! For years now virtually every pop scribe in the country has been telling you, the public, how wonderful ...
Gogol Bordello: Night and Day, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 December 2005
NEW YORK-BASED "Gypsy punks" Gogol Bordello are providing an interesting spin on Beatlemania. A girl dancer clad in multicoloured Romany-type rags is hauled onstage specifically ...
Goldfrapp: "The Mercury prize? Oh God, that would be great. I deserve something"
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 4 May 2001
Singing sensation Alison Goldfrapp tells Dave Simpson why her time has come. ...
Groove Armada: Leadmill, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 23 October 2001
ACKNOWLEDGED KINGS of chill-out, Groove Armada's music works best in certain environments, ideally a Mediterranean beach, hours after closing time. However, presenting chilled-out sounds within ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 August 2016
IT'S 14 YEARS since Lisa Hannigan first came to attention as the second voice on Damien Rice's debut, O, and five since her last album, ...
Ed Harcourt: "I'm coming out with fists flying"
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 14 September 2016
It's taken seven albums, visions of the child catcher and Billy Bunter's reflection in the mirror, but the English songwriter has finally refound his voice ...
Har Mar Superstar: Welly Club, Hull
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 5 August 2004
THE WELLY isn't a place you'd expect to find a "superstar". Its name implies somewhere you'd only really want to step into when it's raining; ...
PJ Harvey, Tricky: Red-blooded Chameleon — PJ Harvey, Tricky: Town & Country Club, London
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 March 1995
Enigmatic as ever, PJ Harvey returns in red satin and fine form, with Tricky in support ...
Sophie B. Hawkins: Sophie B Hawkins: Roscoe, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 April 2005
AN INTERNATIONAL pop star with 1992's smash 'Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover', Sophie Ballantine Hawkins has since fallen out with her record company ...
Hayseed Dixie: Southern-Fried Metal
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 July 2005
Hayseed Dixie aren't your average AC/DC covers band: they come from Nashville, play banjos and read The Guardian. ...
Jesca Hoop: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 March 2017
THE TRADITIONAL music business strategy of finding a distinctive style and sticking to it doesn't apply to Jesca Hoop. ...
The Horrors: Academy 3, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 June 2011
THE HORRORS are true pop chameleons. ...
The Horrors, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Sisters of Mercy: Back in Black: The Goth Revival
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 September 2006
THE FAVERSHAM, a pub close to Leeds University, is a brightly decorated bar, popular with lawyers and office workers. But a couple of decades ago ...
Hot Chip: Academy, Newcastle ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 February 2010
HOT CHIP walk on to deafening applause… on tape. Then the real audience start clapping, not just at their arrival, but at the audacity of ...
The Hours: Back From The Brink
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 January 2007
The Hours have been through drugs, death and abandonment. But adversity has turned them into Britain's most powerful new band. Dave Simpson caught up with ...
The House of Love: You Only Live Twice
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 February 2005
Ten years ago, the House of Love fell apart, fists flying. They tell Dave Simpson what brought them back together. ...
Whitney Houston: Sheffield Arena **
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 September 1999
Diva takes a nosedive ...
Whitney Houston: Why someone in Whitney Houston's condition shouldn't be on stage
Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 February 2010
WHITNEY HOUSTON has a problem. In fact, she seems to have a lot of problems. According to reports from Monday night's concert in Brisbane, Australia ...
Ian Brown, The Stone Roses: The Rise And Fall Of The Stone Roses
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, Uncut, February 1998
In his first major interview since The Stone Roses split, Ian Brown looks back on the career of a band who could have had it ...
Natalie Imbruglia: Natalie lmbruglia: Apollo, Manchester ***
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 November 1998
IF ANYONE doubts the thespian talents of Neighbours, they should look at Natalie lmbruglia. While her displays as Beth were hampered by scripts and career-threatening ...
Insane Clown Posse: Riverside, Newcastle
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 November 2017
CONTROVERSY SEEMS to follow Insane Clown Posse around. The Detroit "horrorcore" duo have seen albums pulled from shelves and their army of fans, the Juggalos, ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 September 2004
ON PAPER, Interpol's second album should offer more grist to the mill of those who think they're too indebted to Joy Division. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, April 1998
ONCE UPON a time, when James performed their most famous song 'Sit Down', whole audiences would do just that. Nowadays it's tempting to suggest the ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, April 1998
IT'S LIKE Last Night Of The Proms without the flags, pomp, and dubious patriotism and with infinitely better music. To my left, the first of ...
James: The Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990
THE INORDINATELY beautiful riverside buildings, rather middle England airs and homicidal cyclists of Cambridge are 150 miles and several worlds south of Manchester. The only ...
James: Wrinklie riot — James: Town & Country, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 March 1997
The fans are older, their knees are shot and they can't dance any more (if they ever could) Dave Simpson joins James's sell-out tour ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 23 September 2006
FEW POP "retirements" have caused as many eyebrows to raise as that of Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z. ...
John Grant: Queen of Denmark (Bella Union)
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 22 April 2010
JOHN GRANT used to front the Czars, whose failure to translate acclaim into sales no doubt further fuelled his supersized self-loathing. ...
John Martyn: The Lowry, Salford
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 May 2004
IF JOHN MARTYN hadn't become a folk/blues/rock legend, he could have knocked out a career as a mimic. At one point, he perfectly impersonates Alf ...
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Wardrobe, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 23 March 2001
IT'S 26 years since Linton Kwesi Johnson became the world's first and foremost dub poet with the single 'Dread Beat An' Blood'. For this rare ...
Joy Division: Torn Apart: Joy Division and the death of Ian Curtis
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, Uncut, December 1997
Joy Division were the most crucial of all the post-punk bands. But, on the eve of their first US tour, lead singer Ian Curtis committed ...
Judge Jules: How we made: Ministry of Sound
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 November 2018
"I found a car park in Elephant and Castle, south London, with a roof covered in pigeon poo. I walked in and thought, 'This is ...
Justin Timberlake: Arena, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 30 April 2007
LATELY, pop has been dominated by guerrilla gigs and scruffily clad bands — but no one told Justin Timberlake. ...
Kasabian: "We're for all the people stuck in crap jobs"
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 1 December 2006
Kasabian have crossed swords with Keane, the Stones and even Showaddywaddy. But really they're just a bunch of ordinary lads who want to be loved. ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 June 2004
The true spirit of Glastonbury is alive and well — but you'll find it at a farm in Leicester not Somerset. Dave Simpson meets Kasabian ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 October 1998
Kenickie's in a twist ...
The Killers: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 September 2006
YOU CAN ALMOST imagine the delight when some bright spark suggested the Killers launch their big comeback in the "Vegas of the North", and the ...
Michael Kiwanuka: O2 Academy, Birmingham
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 March 2020
The two-time Brit nominee rejects a brash victory lap in favour of a deep dive into his socially conscious hit album ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 April 2000
Bad grrls live forever ...
Lady Gaga: Academy, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 1 July 2009
THE 23-year-old formerly known as Stefani Germanotta must be pop's most ruthlessly effective self-promoter since Madonna. ...
The La's: Lee Mavers: The Lost Boy
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 5 December 1998
Lee Mavers of the La's was a star in the early nineties and idolised by Oasis. Then he fell foul of drugs and disappeared. Amid ...
The Lemon Twigs: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 December 2016
Michael and Brian D'Addario dress like they're in a 70s panto, but any suggestions of pastiche are demolished by the humbling beauty of their songs. ...
The Lemonheads: Evan Dando: Whole In One
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 22 September 1990
"Came to the end once again/Start over now, just can't win/Do it all again Gotta learn to fight ... /Slide right to the bottom Climb back ...
The Lemonheads: Ritz, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 8 October 2015
Without the drugs, and supported by the youthful enthusiasm of bassist Jen Turner, Evan Dando gives his hit parade the care it deserves – and ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 February 2001
Lina's delicious smoky big band sound ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 March 1996
Two trumps for a busted Lush ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 January 1996
In 1990/91, LUSH were the original Female Fronted Rock Band, godmothers of Sleeper, Elastica and Echobelly, all spiky guitars and Oxfam glamour. Then Suede and ...
Lush, Pale Saints: Pale Saints, Lush: Warehouse, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 December 1989
Saint Errant ...
Madonna: Um, Forgettable: Madonna: Something To Remember (Maverick/Warners)
Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995
She's trying to get all sophisticated in her old age, isn't she? Record company supremo, new cultured, metropolitan image, and a collection of her slower, ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 August 2015
From Suzi Quatro to Saxon's Biff Byford, rock's pioneers have been making music for more than 40 years. Here they talk about leather jumpsuits, performing ...
Manic Street Preachers: Richey Edwards: Vanishing Point
Report by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 31 January 1998
It's now three years since Richey James disappeared — and he's still "The Most Sadly Missed" in The Maker Polls. We trace his early, confused ...
Maroon 5, Robin Thicke: Maroon 5/Robin Thicke: LG Arena, Birmingham
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 January 2014
IT MUST BE STRANGE being Robin Thicke. There he was, bouncing along with a solid if unremarkable 10-year career in R&B and suddenly 'Blurred Lines' ...
Johnny Marr, The Smiths: Johnny Marr on the Smiths, Morrissey and putting politics back in pop
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 January 2013
With the release of his first solo album The Messenger, the former Smiths guitarist talks about finally embracing his old sound, David Cameron and why ...
Massive Attack: Haçienda, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 7 December 1994
MASSIVE ATTACK promised us a "multi-media experience" and, boy, they gave us one. The traditionally grey, post-modern confines of the Haçienda were swamped in camouflage ...
Maximo Park: Tales of Woe and Vodka
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 October 2005
To get over the girls, he turned to drink. To get over the drink, he turned to music. At last, with Maximo Park, Paul Smith ...
Derrick May: Godfather of Techno: Derrick May
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 June 1992
These are weird times for techno. It dominates the chart and provides the soundtrack to thousands of blissed-out lives, but there are battles building up ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 25 June 1994
THREE YEARS AGO this month, an unboxed demo tape marked only "Thieves" arrives at The Maker offices. ...
Obituary by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 April 2010
THE IMPRESARIO and iconoclast Malcolm McLaren, who has died aged 64 from the cancer mesothelioma, was one of the pivotal, yet most divisive influences on ...
MGMT: "We want to scare the squares"
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 February 2008
MGMT make "future '70s" music, want to be produced by Barack Obama and have played gigs as giant snowmen. Confused? You should be, says Dave ...
Kylie Minogue: Camping with Kylie: Kylie Minogue: Manchester Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 March 2001
HAVING RECOVERED FROM the pretensions of duets with Nick Cave and songwriting with the Manic Street Preachers, Kylie has returned to the fluffy pop we ...
Janelle Monáe: The Institute, Birmingham
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 May 2014
"JANELLE! MON-ÁE!" yells the Birmingham crowd as the singer is pushed on in a wheelchair, wearing a straitjacket. She leaps up, throwing off the garment ...
Morrissey: Heaven knows he's miserable now...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 July 1998
He lives with his mum, he's been dumped by his label and he's going to court. Finally, Morrissey really has something to be fed up ...
Report by Dave Simpson, Uncut, August 1998
THE PHONE RINGS at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, Los Angeles. ...
Mudhoney: Boat Club, Nottingham
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 September 2002
BEING AN AMERICAN grunge rocker must be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Past incumbents, from Nirvana to Alice in Chains to ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 April 2001
Cheek-sucking Muse camp it up ...
µ-ziq: Tango N'Vectif (Rephlex)
Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994
THE WAGES OF SYNTH ...
New Model Army: Henry Moore Gallery Forecourt, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 6 May 1989
THE PERFECT setting fora New Model Army open air bash: a drab, dull, grey, freezing cold afternoon in a rain-pelted northern town. The drizzle washes ...
Paolo Nutini: Night & Day, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 July 2006
NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Italian-Glaswegian Paolo Nutini used to work in his parents' chip shop. Then his debut single 'Last Request' crashed into the top five. His working ...
One Direction: Stadium Of Light, Sunderland ***
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 May 2014
There may be yet more trouble ahead but it will clearly take more than a whiff of controversy to blunt 1D's appeal ...
Orbital: De Montfort University, Leicester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 May 1996
DANCE MUSIC is the most innovative genre around, but Orbital are leaving that behind. Six years on from their rave smash 'Chime', the Hartnolls' recent ...
The Orb: The Academy, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 1 May 1993
BALL OF CONFUSION ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 18 May 1991
OUT OF ORBIT ...
Orson: Metropolitan University, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 5 June 2006
THE HOME OFFICE has more to worry about than escaped prisoners trying to attack us in our beds. Our communities are being invaded by floppy-haired, ...
Beth Orton: Academy, Manchester ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 October 1999
Real angry woman ...
Beth Orton: Memorial Hall, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 November 2012
"GOOD EVENING Shef-f-f-f-f-iel-d-d-d," begins Beth Orton, as an incorrectly set microphone makes her voice sound as if it has been remixed by King Tubby. Then ...
David Pajo, Papa M: Papa M: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 29 April 2000
How to avoid an audience ...
Panjabi MC: The Album (Dharma/Showbiz)
Review by Dave Simpson, The Times, 2 May 2003
PANJABI MC has already provided one of the most refreshing hits of the year with January's 'Mundian To Bach Ke', which fused bhangra, breakbeats and ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 February 1997
High on the Placebo effect ...
Prince: Piano & a Microphone 1983 — revelatory listen from a colossal talent
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 September 2018
THE RECORDINGS on this posthumous Prince album weren't originally intended for release. But they capture Prince Rogers Nelson at the peak of his powers, alone ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 30 March 1996
So Jarvis Cocker is innocent. But that doesn't mean he's got off the hook — we still want a word or two with Michael Jackson's ...
Pulp: Lower Refectory, Sheffield University, Yorkshire
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 19 December 1992
IT HASN'T BEEN a great year for the pop iconoclast. For most of '92, prime movers from Ashcroft to Robinson have defined themselves by the ...
Pulp — A Quiet Revolution: Queen's Hall, Edinburgh ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 September 1999
Blinds have more fun ...
Corinne Bailey Rae : Corinne Bailey Rae: 'I Was Speechless, Just Squeaking!'
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 November 2005
Burt Bacharach thinks she's fabulous, and Jools Holland said her voice made him melt. Dave Simpson meets Corinne Bailey Rae, the singer they are calling ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 26 September 1998
REPUBLICA are now so successful that Cher asks permission to copy Saffron's hairstyle. We talk to them about their lengthy climb to the top, fame, ...
Damien Rice: Metropolitan University, Leeds ***
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 14 October 2003
DAVID GRAY achieved his first major success in Ireland, something else he has in common with Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice. They share the same management ...
Roots Manuva: The Venue, London ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 13 August 1999
YOU COULD probably write the history of British hip-hop in this space. The problem is less a dearth of homegrown talent than a lack of ...
Royal Trux: Bang, Crash Brilliance: Royal Trux: Scala, London
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 18 December 1999
ROYAL TRUX don't give a damn and don't care who knows it. ...
S Club 7: Pop's Magnificent Seven: S Club 7: Arena, Sheffield ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 21 May 2001
FOR THEIR FIRST TOUR, S Club 7 are taking risks. Dark-haired Hannah is lowered in on a parachute, while clean-cut Jon clambers out of the ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 December 2012
"C'MON," says Seal, holding back the first verse of his signature tune 'Killer' until the audience is clapping from front row to back. Then he leaps ...
Secret Knowledge: Kris Needs: I Snogged Debbie Harry
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 3 August 1999
If you can't be a rock star, you can always get your kicks by hanging out with them. Kris Needs tells Dave Simpson how it's ...
Shack: The Duchess Of York, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 8 September 1990
SHACK APPROACH the popular song like a long-lost prodigal, giving it a big hug and a "great to have you back". Formed from the ashes ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 February 2002
IF SHAGGY wasn't called Shaggy, his whole career might not have happened. Bonky would have been too rude, Rumpy not suggestive enough. ...
Shakira: Manchester Arena ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 December 2010
"I'M HERE to please you," begins the Colombian superstar Shakira. Then, wearing what may be a coat of paint rather than trousers, she hauls girls ...
Shame: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 April 2018
The young Londoners make no bones about thieving ideas from other bands, but their blend of intense rhythms and sarcastic banter is unique. ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, i-D, July 1996
It's been two years since Shampoo ram-raided the pop charts with their spunky cartoon-style naughtiness. Now the wash and go-go girls are back, but they're ...
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 28 February 1998
All we wanted was to have a few laughs, japes and capers in Venice. But oh no, SHED SEVEN say they're now serious musicians. Aha, ...
Sleater-Kinney: Cockpit, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 July 2000
IT’S HARD ENOUGH being a 21st-century, radical feminist post-punk band, but Sleater-Kinney have a further enemy in the sound system. "This is our fourth member," ...
Sleeper: Town & Country, Leeds
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 December 1996
LOUISE Wener is a curious phenomenon. Hers is the face that has launched a thousand front covers; her sharp tongue has spawned a million "quotable ...
Slipknot: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 19 January 2015
"IS THAT FUCKIN' Sheffield I hear?" asks Corey Taylor, Slipknot's horror-masked frontman. ...
Snoop Doggy Dogg: Afro American: Snoop Doggy Dogg: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994
THEORY HAS IT that an artist gets the audience he deserves. So what the f*** the theory would make of Snoop Doggy Dogg at Brixton ...
Spice Girls: Robotic Neurotics: Spice Girls: Evening News Arena, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 December 1999
YOUR BAND may take a year off, but if you are a Spice Girl you just can't keep out of the headlines. ...
Starsailor: Plain Sailing: Starsailor
Profile and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 April 2001
Starsailor have been tipped as the most exciting band since Coldplay. Has that been a curse or a blessing, asks Dave Simpson. ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 September 1995
STEREOLAB have been on the verge of a major breakthrough for longer than Damon Hill. They've been steadfastly supported by music press darlings for the ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 30 November 1996
Great rocker, poor jazzer. Dave Simpson catches Sting in Sheffield ...
The Stone Roses: The Long Goodbye
Memoir by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 9 November 1996
After their disastrous performance at this year's Reading Festival, the general consensus was that THE STONE ROSES should do the decent thing and split up. ...
The Stranglers on 40 years of fights, drugs, UFOs and "doing all the wrong things"
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 March 2014
Legend has it the Stranglers started a fight with the Clash, took heroin for a year, exploited strippers on stage, and incited a riot in ...
The Strokes: How we made Is This It
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 March 2015
ALBERT HAMMOND Jr, lead guitar: ...
System 7: 777 (Weird & Unconventional/Big Life)
Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 20 March 1993
THOSE OF you with reasonably tolerable faculties or recall may remember my late '91 review of System 7's first album, (Are you taking the piss, ...
Take That, Robbie Williams: Robbie Williams: Take One New Man
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 December 1995
There is life after Take That. Robbie Williams, the lad who broke ranks (and rules), is growing up. Dave Simpson finds him talking politics, paparazzi ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 14 February 2020
Perth's disco dork returns after a four-year hiatus with an album that finds existential meaning in genre-surfing dance music ...
Terrorvision: Parr Hall, Warrington ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 10 February 1999
THE ROCK scene is currently as serious as a pub that's running low on booze. Oasis, The Verve and Pulp are the loudly-voiced Men At ...
The Thrills: Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 November 2004
WHEN THE THRILLS first blazed out of Dublin in 2002, there was something sweetly charming about a bunch of naive Irish lads writing eulogies to ...
Justin Timberlake: Sheffield Arena
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 31 March 2014
THE FIRST THING Sheffield sees of Justin Timberlake is his giant silhouette on an enormous backdrop. ...
The Verve: Northern Soul Asylum
Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 15 July 1995
The Verve have split the voters ever since they appeared in '92 as The Band Most Likely To after Suede. Some loved their experimental prog-rock ...
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 February 2001
AS THE BAND remind us from the stage, they are the only group to have their first five British singles enter the chart at number ...
The White Stripes: L2, Liverpool
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 November 2001
THE CURIOUS success of the White Stripes is proof that rock'n'roll fairy tales can still happen. ...
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 July 2015
The Chicago band's ninth album successfully blends Bowie space-glam, Beatles psychedelic singsong and Captain Beefheart weirdness ...
Pharrell Williams: First Direct Arena, Leeds ****
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Observer, 14 June 2015
The effortless party-starting superstar may be a jack of all trades, but he's masterly at most ...
Robbie Williams: Apollo, Manchester
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 May 1998
HE LIVES under the gaze of photographers; he's had public battles with fluctuating weight and unfeasible hairstyles; he's slaughtered by the press if he nips ...
Amy Winehouse: Carling Academy, Newcastle
Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 November 2007
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES after Amy Winehouse is due on stage, there is still no sign of the singer, which offers an opportunity to ponder the latest ...
Amy Winehouse: Dietrich with a nose-stud
Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 28 October 2003
Her voice belongs in a 1940s jazz bar. But Amy Winehouse may be the future of hip-hop. Dave Simpson meets her ...
Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 12 May 1990
THE FLIES in the ointment return. Formed at the onset of punk, Wire's art school background was far removed from the council estate mentalities of ...
Working Men's Club: Working Men's Club (Heavenly)
Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 October 2020
The West Yorkshire band take the stark electronics of the post-punk scene and warm them with Detroit techno and Italian house – while addressing Andrew ...
List of genre pieces
Inner City Jam: A musical about rundown north London. In Leeds
Comment by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 April 2000
Inner City Jam is a colourful portrait of King's Cross. So why couldn't it find a theatre in the capital, asks Dave Simpson ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 November 1998
They're narcissistic coke fiends with no interest in music, or so the legend goes — yet A&R men shape the future of pop. Surely, asks ...
Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 17 January 2001
The Brits shortlist will spark a hunt for the next Coldplay or Craig David. Dave Simpson despairs ...
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 3 June 2002
Why would anyone want to turn punk classics like 'Pretty Vacant' and 'White Riot' into kids' lullabies? Dave Simpson reports ...
Hype and glory: How to Create a Buzz
Report by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 June 2006
As Alan McGee books a made-up band, Dave Simpson looks at the science of creating a buzz. ...
Retrospective and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 26 February 2001
One little store inspired a new breed of musician and turned the record industry on its head. Dave Simpson celebrates 25 years of Rough Trade ...
What crisis? Why music journalism is actually healthier than ever
Report and Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 October 2018
A steady decline in circulation of the music press, epitomised by the closure of NME this year, has created new opportunities for stalwarts and niche ...
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