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David Stubbs

David Stubbs

David Stubbs began working life at Melody Maker, joining the staff in 1987, where he wrote the Talk Talk Talk column, creating the "Mr Agreeable" character. He subsequently joined NME and Uncut, and later The Wire magazine. His work regularly appears in The Guardian, The Sunday Times, When Saturday Comes and The Quietus.

He is the author of several books including a song-by-song analysis of the work of Jimi Hendrix and Fear Of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen. He also contributed to No Regrets, the recent anthology of essays on Scott Walker. His Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany was published in 2014 and Mars by 1980: The Story of Electronic Music in 2018.

David Stubbs on the RBP podcast

David Stubbs online

241 articles

List of articles in the library

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Lol Coxhill, Fred Frith: Fred Frith, Lol Coxhill, Liam Glenocky: London Musician's Collective, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 August 1986

THE LITTLE audience gathers. Fred Frith, veteran ferryman between rock and the avant-garde has rolled up to perform a few odd jobs in the improvisation ...

Gwen Guthrie: Money Matters

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 August 1986

GWEN GUTHRIE, currently burning 'em up with 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent' explains to David Stubbs the genesis of 'Fly Girl' ...

Fields Of The Nephilim: Shoot It Up: Fields of the Nephilim

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 13 September 1986

THE FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM – hardly a moniker you can shoot from the hip. They wear Stetsons and describe their music as "Spaghetti Metal!" ...

Full Force, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Full Force/Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 November 1986

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU ...

Stump: Twist & Shout

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 28 February 1987

STUMPTHE BAND THAT REACHES THE PARTS OTHER BANDS WOULDN'T WANT TO REACH STUMPA NOISE YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER GET SIGNED TO A MAJOR STUMPDAVID STUBBS DOES SOME ...

Janet Jackson: Complete Control

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 March 1987

"WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I USED TO TALK TO THE ANIMALS... THEY'RE GOOD LISTENERS, AND I ALWAYS FELT THEY UNDERSTOOD." SO SAYS JANET JACKSON, IN ...

T La Rock: Lyrical King (Fresh Records)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

IT'S MR T (La Rock)! ...

The Lounge Lizards: No Pain For Cakes (Antilles)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 May 1987

AT THE ICA last year, I was disappointed by the Lounge Lizards. The pianist's fringe, the languid horns, the bath of cigarette smoke, I could ...

Go West: Boys Wonder

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 6 June 1987

Good lads and all that but are Go West any more than the sum of pop's mediocrity? David Stubbs takes a gander ...

Yo! Bum Rush Foucault!

Special Feature by Simon Reynolds, David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 20 June 1987

B-BOYS, Yo-Boys, listen up good, cos a new sound's rappin' up the neighbourhood! Yo, it's the Maker's very own rappin' post-structuralist, the chin-scratchin' semiotician about to ...

Eric B. & Rakim: Eric B & Rakim: Paid In Full (4th & Broadway/Island)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 September 1987

AFTER GO-GO'S burial come murmurs of the death of hip hop. Has it seized up? Why has the string of rap egos and attendant DJs ...

Cameo: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 October 1987

The Funk Absurd ...

Eric B. & Rakim: Eric B & Rakim: Bought and Sould

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 November 1987

WITH A HIT ALBUM AND THE TOP 30 SINGLE, 'PAID IN FULL', ERIC B & RAKIM HAVE FINALLY FOUND SUCCESS WITH THEIR UNCOMPROMISING BRAND OF ...

The Young Gods: The Immaculate Inferno

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 December 1987

THE YOUNG GODS produced the most incendiary music of 1987. They are rock's real unforgettable fire, a new flame on the horizon. David Stubbs flew ...

Loop, Pussy Galore: Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 23 January 1988

FASTER PUSSYCATS KILL KILL KILL ...

Prefab Sprout: All The Way To Memphis

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 January 1988

THE BEARD HAS gone. Yes, squeamish sartorial onlookers will be relieved to note that Paddy's shrubbery has been shorn, that his shapely chin now positively ...

Megadeth: So Far, So Good... So What! (Capitol)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 5 March 1988

THE DEATH MACHINE ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 March 1988

SO THIS is where all the funk went. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have triumphed in a medium I thought you could only blunder in ...

Pere Ubu: The Tenement Commandments

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

BEAMING BACK FROM HIS ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, DAVID THOMAS LEADS PERE UBU'S MANIC WALTZ INTO THE DANGER ZONE. DAVID STUBBS TRACKS DOWN THE REFORMED AND REVITALISED ...

Morrissey: The Last Of England: Morrissey: Viva Hate (HMV)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 19 March 1988

FOR TOO LONG, a faction around here feels, the fey, blithe Morrissey has been allowed to saunter through pop history unchecked, fawned upon even — ...

Butthole Surfers: Swamp Things

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 April 1988

THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS ARE THE MONSTER SOUND OF THE EIGHTIES, A SWELLING CULT WHO PULL THEM IN IN DROVES AND HAVE TO TURN AWAY JUST ...

Mantronix: Man Trap

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 9 April 1988

DAVID STUBBS MEETS MANTRONIX TO DISCUSS VOICES IN THE MACHINERY, STROBE FLASH, THE DECLINE OF HIP HOP, THE TRIUMPH OF ELECTRO-FUNK... AND SUNDIALS. ...

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 ...

U2: Rattle And Hum (Island)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 October 1988

THE LORD'S PRAYER ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: The Jesus And Mary Chain: Brixton Academy

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 24 December 1988

FOR TOO LONG, this was the doldrums, the Reid brothers meandering through the dry ice as if it were a miserable February fog in Brechin. ...

Throwing Muses: Daughters Of The Fatherland

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 28 January 1989

THEIR HUNKPAPA ALBUM IS WIDELY REGARDED AS THEIR MOST ACCESSIBLE YET. THEY'RE SOON TO TOUR BRITAIN WITH THE SUNDAYS. THEIR CARD TRICKS ARE CRAP. DAVID ...

Anthrax: Anti-Metallurgists

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 11 February 1989

ABOUT TO TOUR BRITAIN WITH LIVING COLOUR AS SUPPORT, ANTHRAX TELL DAVID STUBBS HOW THEY PLAN TO BE AS BIG AS U2 WITHOUT SELLING THEIR ...

Prince, Wendy And Lisa: Wendy & Lisa: Sisters Of The Revolution

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 4 March 1989

PRINCE'S FORMER SIDEKICKS, WHOSE NEW SINGLE,'ARE YOU MY MAYBE' IS SELDOM OFF THE MAKER TURNTABLE, THIS WEEK RELEASE THEIR SECOND ALBUM, LAYERED AND IMPOSSIBLY RICH ...

Bobby Brown: Goodbye Cruel World

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

THE ALL-SINGING, ALL-DANCING WUNDERKIND IS CURRENTLY THE FASTEST RISING STAR IN AMERICA WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM DON'T BE CRUEL. AT ONLY 20 HE IS SET ...

De La Soul: The D.A.I.S.Y. Chain Gang

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 June 1989

DAVID STUBBS FLEW TO NEW YORK TO MEET THE TRIO WHO'RE RADICALLY CHANGING THE IMAGE OF THE RAPPER AND WHOSE DEBUT ALBUM, 3 FEET HIGH ...

The Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 29 July 1989

COCKS OF THE WALK ...

The Human League: Romantic Antics

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 September 1990

THE HUMAN LEAGUE are back among us, more serious than ever, not for a last gasp, but completely reinvigorated and rewired – after what ...

My Bloody Valentine: All Hail the Future!

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 26 January 1991

For three years, the Valentines were accused of being Mary Chain rip-offs, but the Top 40 hit Glider EP scotched that and now bands like ...

The KLF: Pranks for the Memory

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 February 1991

They can't help having hits, they can't come to terms with fame and they can't keep out of trouble! DAVID STUBBS witnesses THE KLF's dawn ...

Julian Joseph, Sun Ra: Sun Ra, Julian Joseph: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 September 1991

HAVING accelerated towards a state of whiteout in the late Sixties with the antics of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra, a state beyond ...

Miles Davis 1926-1991

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 October 1991

JAZZ TRUMPETER Miles Davis, who died last week in Santa Monica, was a 20th century genius on a par with Picasso in that he was ...

Curve: The Bend Of The World As We Know It

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 March 1992

Their single 'Faît Accompli' is storming the Top 20, their debut album's waiting to make a bigger splash and even John Lydon likes them. Is ...

Throwing Muses: Red Heaven

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 1 August 1992

"I DON'T have a driving ambition to be famous myself but I think the songs would eat me alive if I didn't let them go." ...

The Shamen: Up Yer Arsenal!

Report by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 October 1992

Fiddling with their jockstraps, lacing up their boots, THE SHAMEN face the Gooners at Highbury and come away with a 0-0 draw. DAVID STUBBS joins ...

Morrissey: Beethoven Was Deaf

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

BEETHOVEN WAS indeed deaf. And, Lord, upon looking at the CD panel and realising that after a full prison stretch of maudlin warbling that there ...

Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: Frank Zappa RIP

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 December 1993

FRANK ZAPPA, who died last week at the age of 52, has long been regarded as one of the most important figures in rock, a ...

Aphex Twin: 'Phex And Drugs And Rock'N'Roll

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 12 March 1994

APHEX TWIN is the first superstar of ambient, the crossover King of innovative pop. Which is why Seefeel, Saint Etienne, The Boo Radleys, Curve, hell, ...

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain: I Hate Myself And I Want To Die

Obituary by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 April 1994

AND SO, to quote his mother, the only person who appears to have been actively concerned about his well-being in the last few days of ...

Massive Attack, Martina Topley-Bird, Tricky: Tricky & Martina: Slack Magic

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

Remember Massive Attack's languid, smoky, shuffling, bluesy 'Unfinished Sympathy'? Former MA maverick TRICKY has done it again, with the languid, smoky, etc, etc 'Ponderosa'. DAVID ...

Prince: And The Bland Played On: The Artist Formerly Known As Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 18 March 1995

THIS could be bad. Why? ...

Oasis: What's The Story (Morning Glory) (Creation CD C-CRE189P 12tks/50mins/FP)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

TALE ENDING?After effortlessly conquering all our hearts with their singles-stacked, stellar debut, Oasis now face the K2 of their career, that difficult second album. Question ...

Garbage: Singin' In The Rain

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 7 October 1995

GARBAGE, the band formed by Nirvana producer Butch Vig, are like a black cloud looming over the fluorescent landscape of current pop and their current ...

Pulp: Upper Class

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 23 December 1995

Forget Blur vs Oasis — this was PULP's year. Two Number Two singles, a Number One album, triumphant festival appearances, the MM hacks' LP and ...

R.E.M.'s Peter Buck (1996)

Interview by David Stubbs, Rock's Backpages audio, 1996

The R.E.M. guitarist talks about the songs and artists that meant most to him, from Moon River to the Ramones and beyond.

File format: mp3; file size: 29.9mb, interview length: 32' 37" sound quality: ***

David Toop: Toop Guru

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 27 January 1996

For 25 years, DAVID TOOP has been writing about making music that breaches all musical boundaries. Now he's compiled a CD that sets out to ...

Moloko: I Should Moloko

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 10 May 1996

Jarvis Cocker predicts big things for them. Rock'n'roll bible The Independent called them Britain's best new band. Clearly, the dizzyingly eclectic MOLOKO can't fail ...

Beck: Odelay (Geffen)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 22 June 1996

BECK is back. But is the slacker guru's new opus a celebration of eclectic musical styles or just an aimless shambles? ...

Lewis Taylor: Jazz Cafe, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

OH DEAR. Mick Talbot's here. Perhaps as an innocent punter, perhaps as an Emissary from Pope Paul Weller. My only fleeting concern with "white soul ...

Moby: Animal Rights (Mute 12 tks/54 mins)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

MOBY WAS responsible for 'Go', not just one of the few techno/pop crossover hits to endure in the affections of non-dance aficionados but also one ...

DJ Shadow: The Penumbra of the Beast

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 26 October 1996

The way Portishead took dance into uncharted territories in 1994, the way Tricky took chances in 1995, so DJ SHADOW is pushing back the envelope ...

The Fugees: Ready Or What?: The Fugees: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 2 November 1996

THREE NUMBERS. Over some 40 minutes prior to the encore, that's all they manage to play. Three numbers in full. And two of them are ...

Daft Punk: Plastique Fantastique

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 29 March 1997

It's taken a while, but mainstream America is finally welcoming dance music with open aims. Now they're going crazy over the Chemicals and are poised ...

Jimi Hendrix: Jim Hendrix: Reissues

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 1997

Higher than the sun ...

Supergrass: In It For The Money

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 1997

The Three Tenners ...

The Who: The Who Sell Out

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 1997

Tommy and Quodrophenia were louder and longer, but the psychedelic pop irony of this 1967 album remains Pete Townshend's masterpiece ...

Yello: Pocket Universe

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 1997

YELLO HAVE been into electronica since their inception in 1980, when only the most wilfully avant-garde dabbled in synthesisers for any purpose other than the ...

John Lennon, Yoko Ono: Various Reissues

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1997

A LOT of claims are being made for Yoko Ono. That those first albums she made with Lennon in the late Sixties weren't the random ...

John Lydon: Psycho's Path

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1997

THIS IS Lydon's first solo album, recorded before and after the calamitous reunion of The Sex Pistols. You'd have thought his cup of derision would ...

Junior Delgado, Augustus Pablo, Lee "Scratch" Perry: Lee Scratch Perry: Arkology, Volumes 1-3; Augustus Pablo and Junior Delgado CDs

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1997

Junior Delgado: Dance A Dub (Big Cat); Augustus Pablo: Augustus Pablo Presents DJs From 70s-80s (Big Cat) ...

Spice Girls: The Spice Girls: The Notorious Zig-A-Zig-Ah!

Profile by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 16 August 1997

THERE'S NO ducking it. The Spice Girls are undoubtedly the most successful British teenypop act. Their album, Spice, has sold over seven million albums in ...

Baby Bird: Happy Sad

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 1997

Baby Bird's Stephen Jones talks to David Stubbs about life after 'You're Gorgeous' ...

Brian Eno: We Have Ways Of Making You Talk: Brian Eno

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 1997

...on Russia, Roxy and tennis players' bottoms ...

Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy Osbourne (1997)

Interview by David Stubbs, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1997

The Ozzmeister effs and blinds his way through subjects ranging from the death of Princess Diana to the myth of Sabbath's Satanism and the US religious backlash, via a detailed description of his substance abuse and much more.

File format: mp3; file size: 62.6mb, interview length: 1h 08' 22" sound quality: ****

The Pixies: Death To The Pixies

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 1997

The Pixies: grievous, greedy and groundbreaking ...

Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy Osbourne: His Satanic Majesty Repents

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 1997

JOHN "OZZY" OSBOURNE, FORMER HELL raiser, outrageous roister-doister, Dark Lord of Metal and rough diamond geezer extraordinaire has sung much about death, visited it summarily ...

Robert Wyatt

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 1997

ROBERT WYATT'S career has meandered long and strange, like an underground driver. He's played alongside Hendrix, Mike Oldfield and Phil Manzanera, as well as avant-garde ...

Joy Division: Heart & Soul

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 1998

JOY DIVISION were the last British band who mattered, for whom something was truly the matter. Forget Oasis' last-gasp efforts to bring the rock community ...

Roni Size and Reprazent: Collective Consciousness

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, Vox, January 1998

Dust off your bus pass and get down with RONI SIZE and REPRAZENT. There's Bristol beats aplenty, Genghis Khan gets a look in, and skipping ...

The High Llamas, Stereolab: Stereolab, The High Llamas: 9.30 Club, Washington DC

Live Review by David Stubbs, Vox, February 1998

WASHINGTON DC encapsulates all America's contrasts in extremis. Up on Capitol Hill, they're running the country. Over at the White House, he's running the world. ...

The Associates: The Affectionate Punch

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 1998

THIS is impossible music. It's impossible to mimic its myriad uniqueness, impossible to place in pop time, impossible to imagine how such music could ever ...

Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix: Gary Carner (Ed.): Miles Davis Companion; Chris Potash (Ed.): Jimi Hendrix Companion (Omnibus)

Book Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 1998

THESE TWO volumes comprise anthologies of journalism, contemporary and retrospective, about two great black musicians of the 20th century whose brilliance was not usually matched ...

Suicide (1998)

Interview by David Stubbs, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1998

Messrs. Rev and Vega discuss their legendary status and regular rediscovery; look back at their formation and NYC context; discuss their technology and methods, and contemplate their place in the greater scheme of things.

File format: mp3; file size: 76.2mb, interview length: 1h 23' 15" sound quality: **

Simple Minds: Neapolis

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 1998

Return to electronic form for the New Gold Dreamers ...

Tortoise: TNT

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 1998

Test card music for the Gods. Band at vanguard of American 'post-rock' developments ...

Suicide: Darkness Visible

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 1998

Before the Chemical Brothers, before Ministry, before even Soft Cell, there was SUICIDE, the original electro-duo. DAVID STUBBS meets the synth-terrorists whose noise still provokes ...

Garbage: Version 2.0

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 1998

THERE ARE surprisingly few bands like Garbage, bands operating in that shadowy, uncertain zone between the flesh of rock and the metal of techno. They're ...

Courtney Love, Nirvana: Kurt and Courtney: Love Will Tear It Apart

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 1998

"I'M INTERESTED IN forbidden stories," says Nick Broomfield of his latest project, Kurt And Courtney, his drawling English vowels tanned with West Coast inflexions from ...

Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain: Kurt and Courtney; dir Nick Broomfield

Film/DVD/TV Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 1998

Starring Nick Broomfield, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love Directed by Nick Broomfield Opens July 3, Cert tbc, 99 mins ...

Frank Sinatra 1915-1998

Obituary by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 1998

IN A SENSE, Frank Sinatra represented a lie. Much as beneath Bing Crosby's ambling, indolent persona lay a pointedly less easy-going character, Sinatra was actually ...

Public Enemy: He Got Game

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 1998

Slam funkers: sixth release from rap collective once called "the greatest rock'n'roll band on the planet". ...

Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom/Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 1998

Overdue CD reissue of Seventies English avant-rock classics ...

Asian Dub Foundation

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1998

"BRITPOP IS AN ATTEMPT TO REASSERT A sort of mythical whiteness," asserts Aniruddha Das, aka Dr Das, bassist of Asian Dub Foundation, leaning forward in ...

Grace Jones: Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1998

Pop's most formidable iconette of electro-dance ...

The B-52s: Time Capsule: Songs For A Future Generation

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 1998

HISTORY OF Athens perfect popsters with two new tracks. ...

Baby Bird: There's Something Going On

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 1998

STEVEN JONES'/Baby Bird's biggest sounding and best offering to date ...

Manic Street Preachers: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 1998

Fifth album, and long-awaited follow-up to Everything Must Go ...

Tony Bennett (1998)

Interview by David Stubbs, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1998

The American Great (and daughter Antonia) talk about Radio City Music Hall, the Great American Songbook, his return to the spotlight, his family and Depression upbringing, and a whole lot more, whilst tasting the delights of Teodora's cuisine.

File format: mp3; file size: 57.4mb, interview length: 1h 02' 42" sound quality: ***

Afghan Whigs: Will To Live

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 1998

"I DIDN'T START UP A BAND BECAUSE I COULDN'T get laid," says Greg Dulli with that suave, Satanic leer of his. "I started a band ...

David Bowie, Marc Bolan: Glam Revival

Comment by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 1998

Why the frightening prospect of a full-scale Glam revival fills David Stubbs with dread… ...

Tony Bennett: The Croon Prince

Interview by David Stubbs, New Musical Express, 21 November 1998

He wowed all at Glastonbury and is revered by everyone from Jarvis to Elvis Costello. Here's your ten-point guide to why you young whippersnappers should ...

DAF: Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft: Reissues

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 1998

Overdue reissue of Eighties German minimalist synth duo's electronic pop albums ...

R.E.M.: Up

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 1998

Unexpected return to peak form after 1996's disappointing New Adventures In Hi-Fi ...

Ultrasound: The Big Picture

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 1999

Of course, everyone usually goes on about tne size of their singer, Tiny — but what s really vast about ULTRASOUND is their boundless musical ...

Sneaker Pimps: The Brilliant Corner: Sneaker Pimps: ICA, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, New Musical Express, 28 August 1999

SNEAKER PIMPS originally swept up on a crest of post-Portishead bands. Photos of them always marked them as standard trip-hop — singer Kelli Dayton posing ...

Can Solo Projects: Barbican, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, New Musical Express, 30 October 1999

KRAUTROCKERS CAN'S influence on modem music has been more profound perhaps even than Kraftwerk's. Way back in 1973, with 'Moonshake' they were making prototype techno, ...

The Beastie Boys: Beastie Boys: The Sounds Of Science

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2000

Extensive compilation of their greatest hits, finest moments and rarities ...

Public Image Ltd: PiL: Three's Company…

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2000

David Stubbs takes a shine to the mesmerising remorselessness of PUBLIC IMAGE LTD's post-punk Metal Box... ...

R.E.M.: REM: Man On The Moon — Soundtrack

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2000

R.E.M.'s ASSOCIATION with Andy Kaufman goes back to 1993 when they penned 'Man On The Moon', Stipe's achingly personal tribute to the late comedian. ...

Primal Scream: XTRMNTR

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2000

Their sixth album kick starts the Millennium in angry electric jazz/punk/funk style. Significantly, the sleeve thanks Jaki Liebezeit of Can and The Prodigy's Liam Hewlett ...

Oasis: Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2000

Change of producer and change of mood for long-awaited fourth album ...

Asian Dub Foundation: Community Music

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2000

Storming new set of eclectic agit-pop from best live band in Britain ...

Talk Talk: Laughing Stock

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2000

THE MUSICAL JOURNEY undertaken by Talk Talk, from centre-right pop to the far, fan left of post-rock, remains unique in music history. ...

Black Box Recorder: The Facts Of Life

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2000

LIKE THE ABSINTHE which Black Box Recorder's John Moore has busied himself importing since last year, BBR are an unusually toxic pleasure. Here, once more, ...

Elastica: The Menace

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2000

Stretching the imagination: Frischmann's answer-album to Blur's relationship-dissecting 13 ...

Max Tundra - Whizz-kid to watch

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2000

"WHEN I was growing up, I'd go through my mum's record collection –things like 10cc, Nik Kershaw – and make these mixes on a tape ...

Romanthony: R.Hide In Plain Site

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 2000

BRILLIANT RETRO-futurist funk from New Jersey house sensation. ...

23 Skidoo: Urban Savages

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, July 2000

Before their drums fell silent, 23 Skidoo’s percussion-heavy apocalypses ripped away the city’s civilised surface to reveal its primitive heart. Now the long wait is ...

Badly Drawn Boy: The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2000

Could Damon Gough's long-awaited debut be the indie Pet Sounds? ...

Birth: Gotten Bold

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2000

DEBUT FROM Bournemouth 'blue-eyed soul' Seventies revivalist. ...

Jimi Hendrix: New Rising Son

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2000

Where Jimi Hendrix came from and where he would have gone next, had he survived, Hendrix expert Charles Shaar Murray talks to David Stubbs ...

Jimi Hendrix: Public Image Unlimited

Essay by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2000

Hendrix the black radical. Hendrix the glam dandy. Hendrix the icon. Hendrix the man. ...

Saint Etienne: St Etienne: Sound Of Water

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2000

BACK IN the early Nineties, St Etienne were ubiquitous, perhaps a little too ubiquitous. Rarely out of the music press, constantly hovering on the edge ...

The Associates, Billy Mackenzie: Billy MacKenzie

Profile by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"MacKenzie's real fear was the banal actuality of pop success…to keep his perfect, impossible-past-and-future pop fantasy intact, it was necessary to destroy Associates" ...

Black Sabbath: The Best Of Black Sabbath

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

TWO-CD compilation of Brummie metallurgists' grimmest, finest moments. ...

Devo

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

DEVO'S FIRST single, 'Jock Homo', was released in 1977. An instant hit, it expounded the group's theory of de-evolution, that mankind is regressing, rather than ...

Kurt Cobain, Nirvana: Kurt Cobain

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

WHEN ROCK stars die, it's usually as a result of living too well, taking too much, going too fast, getting too high. ...

Manic Street Preachers' Richey Edwards

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"It's about detesting the body. That's why you choose to mark it...all my life I've felt weak compared to others. If they want to crush ...

Marvin Gaye

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"His fears mounted — nuclear apocalypse, gunmen out to get him…" ...

Stevie Wonder: The Electrification Of Soul

Overview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"THERE'S NEVER BEEN a time when Stevie Wonder hasn't been relevant," said an associate of Wonder's on Channel 4's recent Top 10 Seventies Soul run-down. ...

Badly Drawn Boy

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2000

IN AN ANNOYINGINGLY loud Oxford Street pub, Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is struggling to make his voice heard above the raucously assertive blare ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis II

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2000

Long-awaited second album from R&B retro whiz in lovelorn mode. ...

Cocteau Twins

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2000

"Some people know why they make music, I suppose. But we never talk about what we're doing. Ever" – Simon Raymonde, 1990 ...

Leila: Courtesy Of Choice

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2000

ANOTHER SUPERLATIVE ambient/techno album from former Bjork collaborator ...

Chris Morris: Blue Jam

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2000

'Is Morris operating from a high plane of disgust or from some pit of personal rage?' Compilation of best bits from the dark ambient comedy ...

The Beatles: The Death Of The Beatles

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2000

JANUARY 2, 1969. They are probably the four most famous people in the world, but this morning at the raw beginning of the last year ...

Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers: The Twlight Singers: Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2000

SIDE PROJECT from The Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli, featuring Fila Brasilia and Pigeonhed's Shawn Smith ...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Godspeed You Black Emperor!: Levez Vos Skinny Fists Comme Antennae To Heaven

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 2000

ANOTHER BRILLIANT sprawl of ambient indie-rock from the Montreal 10-piece ...

John Martyn: Emotional Rescue

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 2000

DAVID STUBBS SWOONS OVER THAT POIGNANT PRECURSOR OF TRIP HOP, JOHN MARTYN'S SOLID AIR ...

The La's: The La's

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2001

LONG OVERDUE re-release of debut by great lost Britpop precursors ...

Daft Punk: Discovery

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2001

Gods of "filter disco" finally issue follow-up to 1997'strailblazing Homework. ...

Eileen Rose: Live at Borders Bookshop, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2001

BOSTONIAN EX-PAT Eileen Rose continues to rack up plaudits for her mesmeric debut album Shine Like It Does and so it was that, flanked by ...

Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits – History Volume 1

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2001

ONCE UPON a time, wise critics dubbed Michael Jackson pop's Peter Pan. ...

Manic Street Preachers: Know Your Enemy

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2001

Tentatively experimental, hardline political stuff from Wire, Bradfield and Moore ...

Orbital: The Altogether (ffrr) ****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 2001

ON THE techno calendar, the present era isn't so much AD as AD&B – the post-drum'n'bass era. That genre followed a curious arc – it ...

Zero 7: A Profile

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 2001

"PEOPLE ASSOCIATE us with groups like Lemon Jelly and ask, 'Is there a scene? Where do you all hang out together?' We've heard maybe one ...

Air, Daft Punk: Daft Punk & Air: Disco Tech

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2001

DAFT PUNK AND AIR ARE THE BEATLES AND STONES OF THE INTERNATIONAL DANCE SCENE. SO WHY IS THE FRENCH ESTABLISHMENT – SO PROUD OF ITS ...

Perry Farrell: Song Yet To Be Sung (Virgin)****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2001

FIRST SOLO album from ex-Jane's Addiction frontman in half-century celebratory mode ...

Radiohead: Amnesiac (Parlophone)****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2001

DISGUST, DESPERATION, desolation, derision – all of these were once key qualities in what constituted left-field/indie. From The Birthday Party to PiL, from Elvis Costello ...

Tindersticks: Live at The Botanique, Brussels

Live Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2001

AH, EUROPE. Given the increasingly infantile world of Anglo-American rock and pop culture, it's heartening to know there are giant pockets of pre-post-modern, un-ironic reverentiality ...

Plaid, Prefuse 73, Squarepusher: Warp Records: Various Reviews

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, July 2001

Don't all rush at once, alt.country fans – a triple-whammy of Warp techno  Plaid - Double Figure Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies And Uprock Narratives Squarepusher - Go ...

Butthole Surfers: Crust Of A Wave

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2001

THEY STARTED musical life riding the first wave of US punk rock in the early Eighties, Texans purveying lo-fi snotballs of geetar with titles like ...

John Oswald: Plunderphonics 69/96 (Fony)****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2001

Sample Minded… Sampladelia run rampant from the USA ...

Sly & the Family Stone: Sly Stone: Back On The Right Track*** and Ain't But The One Way*** (Warner)

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2001

REISSUE OF Sylvester Stewart's last two albums to date ...

Roy Harper: The Spirit Lives: Roy Harper

Retrospective and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2001

"I DON'T THINK I'm very good at interviews, because I have too many thoughts going off at the same time to be able to explain ...

Tricky: Blowback (Anti)**

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2001

Trip hop supremo Adrian Thawes returns, restored to health, and helped by guests Cyndi Lauper and Red Hot Chili Peppers ...

Mercury Rev: Dream Of A Lifetime

Retrospective and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2001

"WE WERE NEVER interested in placing ourselves, in saying that we were a band that started in the late Eighties and were the musical emissaries ...

Prefab Sprout: The King Of Rock'n'Roll

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2001

FOR SOMEONE who's only ever strived to bring a little wistful beauty into our pop lives, with an honest and artisan approach to the craft ...

The Human League: Are Friends Electro?

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2001

JOANNE CATHERALL (the brunette one) has been relatively quiet throughout the interview, content to pick through her lunch while Susanne Sulley (the blonde one) and ...

The Strokes: Road To Nowhere: The Strokes: Is This It? (Rough Trade)

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2001

Debut album from the year's other most talked-about new American band. ...

Spiritualized: Urban Spaced Man

Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2001

ON LET IT Come Down, the latest and greatest Spiritualized album, Jason Pierce utilises some 100 musicians, among them choristers, gospel singers and entire brass ...

Aphex Twin: Drukqs*** (Warp)

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2001

LATEST TWO-CD album from ageing boy genius shows hints of classical influence ...

Garbage: Beautiful Garbage (Mushroom)*****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2001

THIRD AND arguably best album yet from Madison's finest. ...

Michael Jackson: Off The Wall*****, Thriller**** and Bad**** (Epic)

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 2001

RE-RELEASED SOLO albums include interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton plus demos and unreleased tracks. ...

Scritti Politti: Everything's Gone Green

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, December 2001

David Stubbs on Scritti Politti's subversive pop-soul masterpiece, Songs To Remember ...

The Chemical Brothers: Chemical Brothers: Come With Us (Freestyle Dust/Virgin)***

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2002

PSYCHEDELIA-TINGED fourth offering from Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, featuring Beth Orton and Richard Ashcroft ...

OutKast: Kicking up a Stank (Arista) *****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2002

Best of dirty South rappers' first three albums interspersed with new material ...

Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, U2, Willie Nelson, Wyclef Jean: Various Artists: America: A Tribute To Heroes

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2002

Star-Spangled Bummer:  Record of benefit concert/telethon for victims of September 11 ...

A Certain Ratio: Early (Soul Jazz)****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2002

BEFORE A CERTAIN Ratio there was The Pop Group but, the latter apart, no one can claim to have played an earlier role post-punk's then ...

Jimi Hendrix: Why Are You Experienced is Rock's Greatest Debut Album

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2002

'WE'LL WATCH THE SUN RISE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA...' ...

Position Normal: Goodly Time (Rum) *****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2002

VINYL-ONLY second LP from art-rock samplers in exclusive handprinted sleeve. ...

Simple Minds: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2002

David Stubbs commends Simple Minds' New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) ...

Beth Orton: Daybreaker

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2002

Third album from Norfolk singer-songwriter, featuring numerous collaborators. ...

Death In Vegas: Scorpio Rising (BMG) ***

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2002

Brighter follow-up to 1999's The Contino Sessions, featuring Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller on vocals. ...

Underworld: A Hundred Days Off (JBO) ****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2002

FIRST ALBUM by electronic dance act now a duo since departure of Darren Emerson ...

John Lennon: We All Shine On

Retrospective by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2002

Of all of rock's great legends, JOHN LENNON is the most widely-loved and sorely-missed. In this Uncut special, we look back on what he made ...

Asian Dub Foundation: Faces and Windows: Asian Dub Foundation

Profile and Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, January 2003

Community, collectivism, connection are keywords in Asian Dub Foundation's irresistible assaults on cultural apathy. From their Community Music roots they have established a broad popular ...

Pushing the pressure point

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 11 January 2003

THE NEWS THAT the Vines have been sent back to Australia, following a bout of Ricky Gervais/Grant Bovey-style pat-a-cakes onstage between singer Craig Nicholls and ...

Massive Attack: 100th Window

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2003

Sombre fourth album, featuring guest vocals from Sinéad O'Connor ...

Blur, Oasis: Live Forever

Film/DVD/TV Review by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 1 March 2003

THERE ARE MANY reasons to see Live Forever, the new documentary about the 1990s Britpop years. Mostly they involve Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn being ...

Sly & The Family Stone: There's A Riot Goin' On

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2003

THE COVER SAYS it all. An American flag, the stars replaced by white flowers on a black backdrop, the stripes soiled by a brown stain, ...

Autechre: The Futurologists: Autechre

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, April 2003

The world of electronica might have become overcrowded since their first releases a decade ago, but Autechre are still burrowing through microscopic cracks into the ...

Turin Brakes: Ether Song

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, April 2003

South London duo head out West to beef up sound for follow-up to The Optimist LP ...

The American Song-Poem Anthology: Music By The Metre

Review by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 20 June 2003

SO YOU THINK it's only since the rise of manufactured pop, with its endless boy and girl bands, each a more faded and insipid photocopy ...

The Mad Professor, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Tricky: Tricky, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, The Mad Professor: Meltdown Festival, Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, August 2003

ON PAPER, what a line-up, what a dub melding of nonconformist minds: The Mad Professor (aka Neil Fraser), who through his remixes of Primal Scream ...

Closing Time

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 2 August 2003

ON JULY 3, the House Of Lords failed to block government moves to introduce a new law requiring pubs, clubs and cafes to apply for ...

Shack: Here's Tom With The Weather

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, September 2003

THEY'RE A LUCKLESS lot, Shack. They made Waterpistol, an album that might have been one of the defining recordings of 1991, had the studio not ...

Kraftwerk: Tour De France Soundtracks/Karl Bartos: Communication

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2003

Kraftwerk's first "proper" album since 1986, plus ex-member's solo outing ...

Spiritualized: Amazing Space

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, October 2003

Jason Pierce and co. blast back with album recorded in three weeks. ...

Aphex Twin: Protection Racket

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, November 2003

It's been a long trip for Richard D James, the notorious and misunderstood figure behind the Aphex Twin and co-founder of the Rephlex label. As ...

R.E.M.: Radio Songs

Retrospective and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, November 2003

As R.E.M release their first compilation — and 32nd single — for Warners, David Stubbs asks America's greatest band to talk about their 20 greatest ...

Jonny Greenwood: Bodysong

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, December 2003

THIS IS THE soundtrack by Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood to a unique film directed by Simon Pummell. It traces the journey from birth to death ...

Explosions In The Sky: The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2004

A FOUR-PIECE COMPRISING just two guitars, bass and drums, Explosions In The Sky seek to capture, examine and elongate moments of high emotion, awe and ...

R.E.M.: In Time. The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2004

THIS COLLECTION spans the past 15 years and features songs covered extensively in the November 2003 issue of Uncut. There are few surprises, not least ...

Tori Amos: Tales Of A Librarian

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2004

DRAWING ON her albums from 1992's Little Earthquakes to 1999's To Venus And Back, this collection tracks the numerous crests and vicissitudes of Tori Amos' ...

Gang Of Four: A Brief History Of The Twentieth Century

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2004

Reissued best-of follows renewed interest in scabrous post-punk politicos ...

My Bloody Valentine

Retrospective and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2004

Pre-Oasis, My Bloody Valentine were Creation's greatest band. Between 1988 and 1991, they reinvented electric guitar music before vanishing in a haze of white noise. ...

Faust: Epiphanies: Faust

Memoir by David Stubbs, The Wire, March 2004

David Stubbs recalls early arousals caused by Faust's "wonderful wooden reason". ...

Explosions In The Sky: ICA, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2004

Texan noiseniks battle big beards and beer monsters to find life in the old rock yet. ...

Ted Nugent: Joseph Lanza: Elevator Music: A surreal history of Muzak, easy listening and other mood song.

Book Review by David Stubbs, Jockey Slut, May 2004

THIS IS A revised edition of a volume first published almost a decade ago. ...

Eric Dolphy: Eric's Trip

Retrospective by David Stubbs, The Wire, June 2004

On the 40th anniversary of the death of Eric Dolphy, David Stubbs offers a personal benediction to one of the most enigmatic and neglected figures ...

The Who: Then & Now and Singles Box Set Volume 1

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 2004

Two best-ofs, including first new studio recordings in 22 years ...

Throbbing Gristle: The Taste Of TG – A Beginner's Guide To The Music Of Throbbing Gristle

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, June 2004

Introduction to the work of recently reformed art/industrial/electronics collective. ...

The Pogues: I Remember... (Melody Maker Reminiscences)

Memoir by David Stubbs, mr-agreeable.net, 26 July 2004

I REMEMBER a three month stint in 1986 as a trainee chartered accountant, a profession for which I was ill-suited in every respect except the ...

One Hit Chunder

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 30 October 2004

THE ONE AND Only, a hardback celebration of one-hit wonders by Tom Bromley, is a touch too self-satisfied a stocking filler, inviting us, not for ...

Xmas LPs: Worst Christmas On Record

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 11 December 2004

THE CHRISTMAS SINGLE is a thing of thudding familiarity - brace yourself again for Jona Lewie to make his annual re-emergence, bludgeoning you like a ...

Low: The Great Destroyer (roughtrade)

Review and Interview by David Stubbs, Uncut, February 2005

Rage before beauty: Eighth album sees one-time slowest band in the world in bitter, take-no-prisoners mood ...

David Sylvian: The Good Son vs the Only Daughter: The Blemish Remixes (Samadhisound)

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, March 2005

2003's BLEMISH was a significant improvement on David Sylvian's previous album, the far from mediocre Dead Bees On A Cake. ...

The Residents: Four-legged trends: The Residents: Animal Lover (Mute) ****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, March 2005

Latest concept album from cryptic Americans ...

The Tube: Sound Of The Underground

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 28 May 2005

THE RELEASE OF the first series of The Tube on DVD is a chance to give kudos to a groundbreaking programme that naively but bravely ...

John Cage, Keith Rowe: Seriously funny

Comment by David Stubbs, The Wire, June 2005

David Stubbs on discovering that humour and music do mix ...

Sun Ra: Space Is The Place

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 22 October 2005

"FUCK THE GHETTO! Look to space!" That, according to Wayne Kramer of MC5, in a nutshell was the message of Sun Ra, as conveyed over ...

4AD: For The Records

Profile by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 12 November 2005

YOU'D IMAGINE THE minimal and portentous name 4AD, with its arcane, spiritual overtones (4AD is the year many historians believe Christ was actually born), to ...

Marvin Gaye: Seaside Healing

Essay by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 19 November 2005

IN SPRING 1981, in an act akin to James Brown relocating to Hull, a 42-year-old cash-strapped Marvin Gaye took the Southampton ferry to the Belgian ...

Battles: Ready to rumble

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, February 2006

"ONE AVANT GARDE child prodigy, two indie guitar nerds and one hard rock borderline metal drummer thrown together in a filthy basement studio in Brooklyn," ...

Town and Country: Up Above (Thrilljockey)

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, February 2006

FEATURING, AS EVER, an impressively antique array of instrumentation, including harmonium, cello, viola, handbells and string bass, Up Above is Town And Country's sixth release, ...

The Streets: The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living (679) ****

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2006

MIKE SKINNER'S EXISTENCE has been transformed by success and fortune. It's a fortune accrued by observing, in startlingly prosaic detail, a life of Wetherspoons and ...

Matthew Herbert: Fuelled By Outrage

Interview by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 27 May 2006

"CHECK THESE OUT," says Matthew Herbert aka Dr Rockit, Radio Boy, modern-day big-band leader, seductive deep-house purveyor, moments after answering the door to his studio-cum-pad ...

Pole: Steingarten (~scape)

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, February 2007

It might feature a mad king's castle on its cover, but the first Pole LP in four years is a garden of abstract funk delights, ...

LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, March 2007

THE LYRIC to the title track of LCD Soundsystem's latest album is more of a mantra: "The sound of silver/Makes you want to be a ...

Burial: Untrue (Hyperdub)

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, January 2008

THE RELEASE of Burial's second album Untrue chimes in well with the coming of British winter, as the air turns chill and dirty, the days ...

Penguin Cafe Orchestra: Catalogue Reissues

Review by David Stubbs, The Quietus, 22 July 2008

PENGUIN CAFE ORCHESTRA, a large, shifting coalition of classical and acoustic musicians led by the late Simon Jeffes, are often regarded with either confusion or ...

The KLF: Getting Arrested With Bill & Jimmy

Retrospective by David Stubbs, The Quietus, 15 August 2008

SO, IT'S LIKE THIS. It's February 1991. A couple of years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which supposedly heralded the End of History, ...

Jimi Hendrix: Mitch Mitchell Remembered

Obituary by David Stubbs, Guardian Unlimited, 13 November 2008

THE DEATH of drummer Mitch Mitchell, aged 61, marks an unwanted milestone in rock mortality. ...

Burial, Flying Lotus: Various Artists: Five Years of Hyperdub

Review by David Stubbs, bbc.co.uk, 2009

Dance music with a recurrent sense of subdued anxiety ...

Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, January 2009

Long-promised, finally delivered. Axl and co's first new album since 1991. ...

Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth: Sonic Youth And the Blast First Axis

Essay by David Stubbs, The Wire, 12 February 2009

AS FAR AS many people were concerned in the 80s, in the UK in particular, rock was a discredited medium. ...

Steven Wells 1960-2009: A Tribute

Memoir by John Doran, Andrew Mueller, John Robb, Terry Staunton, David Stubbs, The Quietus, 29 June 2009

David Stubbs ...

Robert Wyatt: Orchestra National De Jazz & Robert Wyatt: Around Robert Wyatt (Bee Jazz)

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, July 2009

ROBERT WYATT has become more and more an object of attention and devotion with the passing of time, as if taking on the status of ...

Miles Davis: Richard Williams: The Blue Moment (Faber & Faber)

Book Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, August 2009

MILES DAVIS's Kind of Blue is probably the most popular jazz recording of all time, equally so among those who don't own any other jazz ...

William Basinski: Invisible Jukebox: William Basinski

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, September 2009

Each month we play a musician a series of records which they are asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of ...

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band: Between My Head And The Sky Chimera

Review by David Stubbs, The Wire, September 2009

YOKO ONO has long been a pariah figure for many, in both the rock and art worlds. She's been perceived as a baleful influence who ...

Air: Love 2

Review by David Stubbs, bbc.co.uk, 5 October 2009

They sound reinvigorated, differently coloured, and full of fresh intentions. ...

Pigbag: Volume One/Volume Two

Review by David Stubbs, bbc.co.uk, 2010

Welcome reissues showcasing a group to whom there was always more than met the ear. ...

Pink Floyd: Prog rockers strike a blow for all musical artists

Comment by David Stubbs, The Independent, 12 March 2010

PINK FLOYD'S legal victory over EMI may be welcomed by some as a victory for artistic integrity. ...

Cabaret Voltaire, Richard H. Kirk: Warp Records: Richard H Kirk looks back on a futuristic life

Report and Interview by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 5 November 2011

RICHARD H KIRK spent much of his career waiting for the future. He remains a resident of Sheffield, a city with a rich tradition in ...

Robert Wyatt: The End of an Ear

Review by David Stubbs, bbc.co.uk, 28 May 2012

Wyatt's sometimes overlooked solo debut shows off his multi-instrumentalist chops. ...

Kraftwerk: Ladies und Gentlemen, the future has arrived

Retrospective by David Stubbs, The Independent, 27 January 2013

To the unenlightened (i.e. most of us), they were just naff. Now, with good reason, they are hailed as prophets. David Stubbs hails synthpop pioneers ...

Band of Susans, Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth: Sonic Youth and the Blast First axis

Retrospective by David Stubbs, The Wire, February 2013

A previously unpublished essay by David Stubbs, on Paul Smith's Blast First label and Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's Sonic Youth. ...

Can, Conny Plank, Kraftwerk, Neu!: Conny Plank: The Soundtrack Of Our Youth

Profile by David Stubbs, The Quietus, 13 February 2013

As Gronland release a four-disc box set of the music of Conny Plank, David Stubbs remembers the "midwife of Krautrock"... ...

What's In a Word: "Krautrock" as a Term

Book Excerpt by David Stubbs, 'Future Days' (Faber), August 2014

"THE GERMANS have every right to be critical of the word 'Krautrock',"  says Wire's Colin Newman, and it's hard to disagree. It would be one ...

Godflesh: Invisible Jukebox: Justin Broadrick

Interview by David Stubbs, The Wire, September 2014

JUSTIN BROADRICK was born in 1969 in Birmingham. Raised by his mother and stepfather, he was exposed to underground music at an early age and formed ...

Eric Clapton, Morrissey: Eric Clapton & Enoch Powell To Morrissey: Race In British Music Since '76

Essay by David Stubbs, The Quietus, 9 August 2016

During an August 1976 gig in Birmingham, Eric Clapton made racist comments and praised Enoch Powell, inadvertently inspiring the Rock Against Racism campaign. Four decades ...

Black Country Communion: BCCIV

Review by David Stubbs, Classic Rock, September 2017

Fourth album from supergroup combines hard riffing and pensive lyrics ...

Tangerine Dream: Union Chapel, London

Live Review by David Stubbs, The Guardian, 25 April 2018

For their first UK show without founder member Edgar Froese, the synth pioneers enlivened their proggy ambience with techno, but still created the same cosmic ...

Jimi Hendrix: David Stubbs and Mark Pringle: Hendrix's Ladyland at 50 (2018)

Interview by Mark Pringle, David Stubbs, Rock's Backpages audio, 28 September 2018

The greatest rock album ever made? David Stubbs and Mark Pringle believe so and tell you why, track-by-track. Plus a conversation about Jimi's post-Ladyland career and a spot of idle speculation about what he might have done had he lived.

File format: mp3; file size: 88.3mb, interview length: 1h 31' 58" sound quality: *****

Pere Ubu: An interview with David Thomas

Interview by David Stubbs, Record Collector, October 2019

"I'VE DIED TWICE in the last two years," says David Thomas, co-founder and lead singer of Pere Ubu, in the living room of his Brighton ...

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