Author Archives: Paul

But my friend Steve Furst recommended a documentary on Radio 4 called The Tale of Jimmy Scott. I cannot re-recommend it enough. Extraordinary man, extraordinary voice and an utterly extraordinary story. I won’t spoil it for you. It’s on the BBC iPlayer so just sit back and listen to it. And if Steve hasn’t already […]

If you grew up in London in the 70s and 80s, you grew up listening to Roger Scott. His afternoon show on Capital was radio at its best and most basic. A knowledgable, intelligent and laconically articulate presenter who chose all his own records and just played them. I’m not alone in considering him the […]

Mixed feelings about him. On the one hand, he is very funny. On the other, you do feel like saying to him. “Yes, there are many reasons to dislike David Cameron but simply being posh isn’t one of them”. This tired left-wing shtick from middle-class comedians is now as dated and “establishment” as Bernard Manning […]

40 years ago it was, without question, Muhammad Ali – the most gifted and charismatic sportsman the world has ever known. He was my boyhood hero, a phenomenal human being whose death has saddened the whole world. However, among the richly deserved hagiographies, it’s worth considering words from The Guardian this morning. “Ali was no […]

I had to go up to Glasgow yesterday with Easyjet from Luton. Like communism, Easyjet is a very good idea. Unlike communism, everyone really is equal. At Luton Airport, there are no luxury lounges, no upgrades, no rich people being whisked through to First Class while the poor queue obediently for Economy. If Ryanair is […]

The much-vaunted new incarnation of Top Gear was finally screened last night, a poor imitation of the old one. Chris Evans is brilliant on radio but we don’t really warm to him on TV. Apart from being the only man in the world who dyes his hair ginger, there’s something in his demeanour that suggests […]

Eleanor, the younger of my two, is eighteen today. So my kids are officially not kids any more. I have two grown-up children so you can imagine how ancient that makes me feel. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the usual cliches about how much I love them, where has the time […]

By “them”, I mean football managers. One of the most significant changes in football has been the increased importance of managers. Today’s announcement that Jose Mourinho is to take over at Manchester United is far bigger news than the arrival of any star player. Of course, we always knew who Bob Paisley, Terry Neill or […]

Happy Birthday to Paul Weller, 58 today. The Jam were good. The Style Council were great. I even liked some of his solo stuff back in the 90s – especially The Changingman, heavily “influenced” by this early ELO hit. But still he goes on. And on. Churning out album after album, each one quite indistinguishable […]

I’ve known Majella Lewis and admired her sassy creative talent for practically all my working life. I saw Madge (as she’s known) for caffeine last week and she mentioned that her daughter was part of a dance troupe performing at the Arts Depot in North London. They’d be dancing to this underrated but hugely influential […]