Author Archives: Paul

RIP Greg Lake. One third of Emerson Lake & Palmer but best known for his solo Christmas classic “I Believe in Father Christmas”. It should have been the big Christmas No.1 of 1975 but was kept off the top spot by a once-in-a-lifetime record called Bohemian Rhapsody. As a tribute to Greg Lake, every commercial […]

In Italy it’s far more pronounced than it is over here. Milan in the north is three times as prosperous and productive as Naples in the South. The industrious “northern elite” regard their southern counterparts as lazy, feckless and irresponsible. So it was no surprise to see the south reject Matteo Renzi’s proposed reforms en […]

I’ve just watched Back to Brixton, a documentary which a black family are transported “back in time” to understand what their parents endured when they first arrived in London from the Caribbean. It was the usual embarrassing, patronising drivel we’ve come to expect from the BBC, though it was good to see a brief cameo […]

What have they all got in common? Apart from enjoying successful careers on Radio 1, they all went to public school. Yes, even Tongy. This doesn’t make him a bad person. On the contrary. He’s a very nice bloke and he’s got his “head screwed on”. Of course he has. His background and education will […]

I watched Rillington Place on BBC1 last night and thought of my great friend Frank Waites. We sat next to each other at school and were obsessed with John Reginald Christie. Frank’s dad ran The Bramley Arms near Latimer Road tube when Notting Hill was probably the roughest area in London. Frank told me that […]

An evening out with my wife. We went to a place called Edward House – a nondescript building in Islington to attend a Speed Awareness Course. I’ve lost count of the number of speeding convictions I’ve accrued and the amount of cash I’ve been ordered to pay in fines. So imagine my delight when my […]

Was a brief stint, sitting in for my friend Nigel, as Saturday afternoon DJ at the Virgin Megastore. Instead of the latest hits, I’d play semi-obscure tracks to to showcase the store’s huge breadth of music. It was fantastic. I’d often look out of the booth and see the manager, a lovely laid back Aussie […]

That’s right, rot in hell. Fidel Castro was a murderous dictator who, among of litany of human rights abuses, had political opponents killed, homosexuals herded into brutal camps for “re-education” and almost the entire Cuban population frightened, impoverished and subjugated. Except, of course, his cronies and members of his own family who enjoyed an obscenely […]

Since the election of Donald Trump, around half of Americans will be tucking into their turkey this evening feeling very thankful for what they’ve got. The other half are still in horrified shock. And yet it’s the liberals who, for one reason at least, have reason to be thankful. The President is supposed to be […]

…..is that he takes himself too seriously. He’s a bona fide rock god, immensely talented, phenomenally successful and in his 80s heyday, one of the most handsome men on the planet. By all accounts, he’s a throughly decent man but always comes across as slightly lacking in humour and humility. As a consequence, people don’t […]