1980s
The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco, Gate TheatreMonday, 02 March 2015
The quest for liberation is popular dramatic terrain, but the Gate Theatre’s "Freedom Burning" season shifts focus to the aftermath. What do you do when the fight is over, and how can you be sure the sacrifice was worthwhile? It’s a sophisticated –... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkSunday, 15 February 2015
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Junk CultureOMD’s fifth album, Junk Culture, followed 1983’s Dazzle Ships into the shops. Where that was experimental, fragmented, wilful, used found sounds and, in places, eschewed melody and traditional song form... Read more... |
Steve Strange, 1959-2015Friday, 13 February 2015
The death of Steve Strange, aged 55, was both a surprise and not a surprise to me. His adult life in and out of the spotlight had been something of an unpredictable rollercoaster ride where anything could happen.I had followed his career since the... Read more... |
CD: The dø - Shake Shook ShakenMonday, 26 January 2015
Whether intentional or not, the third album by French chart-topping duo The dø is effectively a renewal of “Sweet Dreams”-era Eurythmics. The synth bubble-‘n’-pulse and vocal lines nodding towards the choral and gospel inescapably evoke what Annie... Read more... |
Album of the Year: Morrissey – World Peace Is None Of Your BusinessThursday, 01 January 2015
Morrissey went beyond parody years ago. Titles on his 10th solo album such as "Kick The Bride Down The Aisle” or “Earth is the Loneliest Planet” could easily come from a Buzzfeed spot-the-send-up list. But barge your way past this initial obstacle... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Millions Like UsSunday, 21 December 2014
Various Artists: Millions Like Us - The Story of the Mod Revival 1977–1989A “testosterone-fuelled youth movement” is how the opening paragraph of the introductory essay of this box set tags the mod revival. Aficionados of the “clean-cut,... Read more... |
Boys on Film: Duran Duran's '84 tourTuesday, 09 December 2014
In 1984 Duran Duran were at the height of their fame. Seven and the Ragged Tiger, the band’s third studio album, became their first (and only) number one soon after its release in November the previous year, and announced a sharper, more dance-... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: 2014 RevisitedSunday, 07 December 2014
With just over two weeks to Christmas, thoughts might be turning to which of the deluge of 2014’s reissues might be suitable as a gift, worth putting on your own wish-list for Santa or even merit buying for yourself. So if help is needed,... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Jon Hassell / Brian EnoSunday, 23 November 2014
Jon Hassell / Brian Eno: Fourth World Vol. 1 - Possible MusicsIts opening is exotic. The music shimmers like heat haze and incorporates a sing-song instrument which might be a treated trumpet, or a high-register bass guitar reverberating like... Read more... |
Confessions of a Copper, Channel 4Thursday, 20 November 2014
This will have brought a nostalgic tear to the eye of fans of The Sweeney (the TV show, not the Ray Winstone movie) or GF Newman's still-shocking 1978 series Law and Order. The producers had rounded up seven retired policepersons and got them to... Read more... |
Culture Club, HeavenWednesday, 22 October 2014
In the time that Culture Club have been planning reunions, bands, movements, whole musical eras have come and gone. And still, once every couple of years, a rumour circulates, and a demo is aired. Generally, nothing comes of it, and those memories... Read more... |
Still the Enemy WithinTuesday, 30 September 2014
You expect the tears, anger and pride, as NUM veterans relive Britain’s defining industrial dispute, 30 years later. The bafflement of a South Welsh ex-miner is more telling; the way his voice slows in disbelief at the level of violence the British... Read more... |
