If you’re organised enough to have a section of your ’80s record collection headed “Mid ’80s Scottish Bands That Should Have Been Much Bigger Than They Were”, no doubt you’ll have at least one Hipsway record in there. Formed in … read more
As a huge Madness fan, I must confess that the announcement of a new album from the Nutty Boys always sparks a tiny sense of worry as well as anticipation. With so many classic songs in their back catalogue, will … read more
Shakin’ Stevens has always seemed slightly out of place. Having diligently kept the rock ‘n’ roll flame burning throughout the ’70s, he found enormous chart success at the beginning of the ’80s with revivals of ’50s hits and original songs … read more
It’s Friday night. I’m in the grounds of Scone Palace, and a fifty-something man in a Choose Life T-shirt has just come up to me offering the largest hipflask I’ve ever seen, full of ‘homemade’ whisky. In the distance, Pat … read more
Here’s one of those horrifying facts that make you take a step back and wonder where your life went – Freddie Mercury would have been 70 years old next month. Alas, he’s not here to celebrate the occasion and with … read more
Paul McCartney is, of course, unimpeachable. The Godhead of British pop music, one would imagine that an overview of his entire post-Beatles output since 1970 would be almost impossible to squeeze into a double CD, and even a four CD … read more
Rick Astley fans can be forgiven for feeling a bit short changed over the past couple of decades. After all, this is Astley’s first album release in over a decade, and that was a covers album (2005’s Portrait); it’s been … read more
It’s 1986 in an alternate universe. After a couple of less successful albums on which they dabbled in rock and dance music, ABC have finally accepted that everyone just wants a proper sequel to their classic début The Lexicon of … read more
So has Ministry of Sound finally given up on modern music like the rest of us and thrown its entire weight behind an ongoing series of themed compilations of old music? That’s certainly how it seems as, after at least … read more
If you go up to a complete stranger and ask them to name an a-ha song, there’s a high chance it’ll be Take On Me. And if you’d asked about 75% of the audience at the Hydro, I suspect you’d … read more
