It was 20 years ago today . . . we’ve just had 40 years since Sgt. Pepper and just 6 days ago was the double-decade anniversary of Appetite for Destruction. Journalists tend to think of anniversaries as a kind artificial peg for stories and unless you work for Rolling Stone, they tend to be ignored. […]

Pity The Electric Soft Parade. The Brighton four piece peddle the type of cerebral indie that has seen one past reviewer hail them as the future of student bands. Harsh labelling aside, whatever your take on them, The Electric Soft Parade’s (named after possibly the most self-indulgent of Doors albums) particular brand of think-rock was […]

The Johnston humour

July 16, 2007 | 1 Comment

Just returned to my desk from a rousing homecoming speech by BBC reporter and former kidnap victim Alan Johnston. Standing on the steps at the rear of Bush House’s car park AJ described himself as “walking on air” and offered up a few anecdotes about his 113 days inside a dingy flat in Gaza. The […]

Country Life

July 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment

To south west London for a taste of Country . . . or is it Western? In any other scene someone with Rachael Warwick’s skills would have filled the Half Moon’s dingy back room, alas Country doesn’t have the same pull in Putney as in Nashville. Still, a half-empty venue doesn’t stop the iron-lunged Miss […]

Back in May there was renewed talk of Scottish independence following some elections . . . most folks pretty much paid little attention, including most Scots, who know a good deal when they see one. Some though already seem comfortable with a separate Scotland. Take a look at the receipt below sent to me by […]

Great news. AJ is out and on his way to Jerusalem . . . good to hear that he was able to hear the radio while in captivity. These messages weren’t in vain. He heard them all and has just called them an “absolute inspiration”. Worryingly AJ’s just said that some of his captors had […]