Author Archives: Paul

It was. Films like Grease, American Graffiti and That’ll be The Day were huge. Even bigger was Happy Days on TV. There were more teds in the 70s than there were in the 50s and no matter what revisionist documentaries try to tell you, in the 70s you’d see far more teds than punks. The […]

The comedian Louis CK does a great routine in which he presents a point of view with which it would seem wrong to disagree: “Of course…..” then presents the opposing view, saying things we’re not even supposed to think: “But maybe….” So I wonder what he’d have made of the firemen protesting outside Clerkenwell Fire […]

I blame my son. He works part-time at Murdock, probably the coolest of the new breed of old-style barber shops that have sprung up in the parts of London where hipsters hang. He texted the young barber with precise instructions on how to shear my frothy, Lionel Blairfro into something very short and contemporary. It’s […]

…..particularly my daughter. And the areas can vary hugely. It could be a posh party in Hampstead or a dance class in a rough part of Hackney. When I go to one of the rough areas, this is the track that often accompanies me. Yes, I really do pretend I’m a gangsta cruising the streets […]

You’ve no idea what it is or who it’s by. It’s been played on the radio every now and again ever since you can remember. Now you’ve got Shazam on your iPhone, you’ll be able to identify it the next time it comes on. But typically, it hasn’t come on. Not for years. Is it […]

Slow, selfish and inconsiderate, they cause misery and delays wherever they go. They used to favour the Morris Minor or Austin 1100 but now it’s more likely to be a Honda Jazz or Kia Picanto. Whatever – they still show no regard for anyone but themselves but I think I’ve come up with a solution. […]

….but this one does. And today’s date is sung very clearly in the first line. It’s my wife’s birthday and yet she has never noticed the rare honour has been bestowed upon her. She sings to her own tune and Earth, Wind & Fire have never really been on her radar or repertoire. Musical theatre […]

…….who went on to become one of the greatest cultural influences this country has ever seen. Rusty Egan was DJ at the Blitz Club and the music he played created the “New Romantic” scene and pretty much set the tone for an entire decade. He introduced clubbers to sounds – by which I don’t mean […]

I think so. Because “classical music” doesn’t have to be composed in the 18th century by a German or Austrian. It can be composed in the 1990s by a bloke from Leeds, as this magnificent (and very short) piece was. Purists may opine that, because of its lush arrangement and memorable melody, it’s a bit […]

Which, at one time, would have meant meeting my mate Scott after work and heading to W12. But now I’ve come to regard my beloved team more like a pub or a restaurant. If the food, service and miserable landlord were as bad as what we had to endure last season, why on earth would […]