Drawn from the Jam, the Style Council and his solo work, all of it powered by romance, storytelling and political vim, here is the best of a British songwriter unbounded by genreOn the B-side of A Solid Bond in Your Heart lurks Weller’s mea culpa take …
Fear on Saturday Night Live Documentary
Short (10 min) documentary about Fear’s performance on Saturday Night Live on 1981. From Jeff Krulik the film maker that brought us “Heavy Metal Parking Lot”.
In 1981, Lorne Michaels and John Belushi wanted to get some authentic punks to appear on SNL…
Patti Smith review – communing with a rock’n’roll seer
Royal Albert Hall, LondonProtean punk poet Patti Smith, backed by a full band, is in expansive mood in a riveting, career-spanning showOne worn black boot on the monitor, her long, white, artist’s hands carving up the air, Patti Smith is a performer wh…
‘The strangeness seeped into the music’: how Iceland’s midnight sun inspired Jezabels’ Heather Shannon
The Australian musician talks about creating her aching, jagged new album of solo piano compositions in the wake of chemotherapyAt the beginning of 2016 Heather Shannon of the Jezabels felt as though “someone had pumped cement into [my] veins”. Her ova…
Fontaines DC review – sparks fly for once-in-a-generation post-punk poets
University of LiverpoolThe Dubliners burst brilliantly back on stage with literary-hearted rock that’s up there with the Smiths or the PoguesThe pandemic meant Fontaines DC never got to tour 2020’s bleak masterpiece A Hero’s Death, which – following 20…
Richard H Kirk was prolific, hungry, angry and funky to the end
The Cabaret Voltaire musician exemplified Sheffield’s experimental mindset and transformed British club music• Richard H Kirk, founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, dies aged 65It’s fairly said that Richard H Kirk revolutionised music more than once. He…
Richard H Kirk, founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, dies aged 65
Influential member of experimental Sheffield band, known for their provocative performances, also maintained a prolific solo careerThe influential British electronic musician Richard H Kirk, best known as a founding member of Sheffield group Cabaret Vo…
Floppy mohicans and pre-race cider: Gary Devine, the punk fell runner
The Leeds punk rocker lived a double life, interspersing band rehearsals and punk gigs with twice-daily runs, despite the occasional arrest and moshpit injury. A new book tells his storyWhen Gary Devine was picked to run for England, the manager took o…
Little Simz, Iron Maiden and more: September’s best album reviews
Discover all our four- and five-star album reviews from the last month, from pop to folk, classical and more Continue reading…
A lust for life … my years backstage with the giants of punk
From Ramones to Iggy Pop, photographer Michael Grecco met them all. An exhibition of his work recreates the movement’s glory daysMichael Grecco had low expectations the night he walked into a Boston dive bar known as The Rat. A local punk band was on s…