Author Archives: Paul

……we’ve woken up and there ain’t no sunshine. You’ll be (over) familiar with the Bill Withers original but what about this cool cover? The beauty of it is, when the sun does come out this afternoon, it’ll sound even better.

…..”I wish I’d spent more time at the office”. No woman either. Which is why today, a lot of people will be struck down by “summer colds”. Cars will break down. Children, domestic appliances and ailing parents will suddenly require urgent attention. Those responsible for them “won’t be in today”. And who can blame them? […]

A phrase that has very quickly become a bane of modern life. Especially in M&S in Muswell Hill. To the chagrin of their once happy customers, they’ve installed automated checkouts at the front of the store. But if you go to the tills at the back, not only are you served by a human being […]

…..well, when the sun comes out out, so do we. I was out in Soho last night and it was glorious. Hundreds of happy people in summer apparel outside pubs and bars, enjoying themselves. It was as warm and inviting as anywhere on earth. At midnight it was still about 25 degrees. All we ever […]

I do hope so. So many relationships began, marriages happened and children were born all because of that first slow dance. Staples like I’m Not In Love and Three Times a Lady were played towards the end of every disco to set romance in motion. This track may well be a more contemporary equivalent – […]

First big holiday with his mates. I do hope they are, as we were, subjected to some truly awful Europop. There was one, every year, that Brits seemed to bring home with them and put into our charts. Like his masterpiece from the mid 80s. Sampling, rapping – perhaps it was ahead of its time. […]

Thirty degrees and it’s the weekend so much of the population will be stretched motionless under hot blue skies. This being England rather than Arizona, “Asleep in the Garden” might be a better title but this is the perfect track, and the perfect day, for lying still in the sunshine. Until that irritating bloke next […]

I haven’t seen much of Kara Noble but I used to see her a lot. My wife was her agent, she was my friend and today is her birthday. The Breakfast Show she did with Chris Tarrant was, for years, one of the best things on British radio. When she departed, Tarrant was never as […]

……I’m still waiting for a castaway to choose this light, summery and obvious track. Christ, it’s even called “Robinson Crusoe”. You probably won’t be on a desert island this evening. However at sunset, just listen to this, gaze languorously west and you will be.

It’ll always be something I admire rather than like. I loyally support my daughter, I’ve watched her in countless shows and am immensely very proud of her grace and poise. But the other night at a show in Shoreditch, when they flitted on to do a little piece from Swan Lake, I thought “Oh, I […]