Author Archives: Paul

So said Liam Neeson in that famous speech from Taken. Neeson is now in big trouble for remarks he made while displaying a similar desire for vengeance in real life. He revealed that, armed with a cosh, he went looking for any “black bastard” because a man with dark skin had raped a friend of […]

Was sixty years ago yesterday when Buddy Holly perished in an air crash aged just 22. At an age when most kids are just leaving “uni”, he’d pretty much invented popular music and become the most influential artist of all time. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Who and Led Zeppelin all cite […]

A huge fuss is being made about The Specials releasing their first new album for 37 years. I loved The Specials. They were the original 2-Tone band, ska revivalists who defined a young, fresh, multi-racial, predominantly working-class scene in the late 70s and 80s. But I’m not quite sure why they’ve done this. The new […]

Bring to mind your earliest memory of Top of the Pops: The Beatles doing Get Back on the roof of the Apple Building in Savile Row. Be reminded all week that this impromptu gig took place exactly fifty years ago. Think about Paul McCartney having been one of the most famous people in the world […]

I love Bruce Springsteen. But paradoxically, I’ve never liked his music. I know that sounds odd but I bet I’m not alone. He is, without question, a genuine rock icon and a phenomenal live performer. However, I was always put off going to see him by his cult-like fans, treating every gig like a quasi-religious […]

At school, I often told more gullible classmates that James Burke was my uncle. A household name in the 1970s, he presented Tomorrow’s World and was a leading authority on all things scientific or technological. Given the enormous gulf between his intellect and mine, the only people who ever believed me were even thicker than […]

Windsor Davies died yesterday, aged 88. Hugely famous back in the 70s for his starring role in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. A sitcom so popular that it spawned this No.1 hit, though it has since fallen out of favour. This is because Windsor Davies’s co-star Michael Bates “browned up” to play an Indian character. […]

As my friend Brian Jones pointed out, this record was released 40 years ago yesterday. There were two 7″ special editions: one on white vinyl (Milk) and another on brown vinyl (Alcohol). I had another mate called Brian Rowan who worked in a record shop in Wembley. He always kept any special editions – coloured […]

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about a loved one. Though in a sense I am. Woolworth’s was a much-loved feature of the UK high street, and it’s ten years since the final stores closed. We all have great memories of our local store, so I’m wondering if anyone else did this: Remove school blazer and […]

…..was to learn to play a musical instrument. And since the harmonica is supposedly the easiest, I walked down to Blank’s Music Shop on Kilburn High Road and bought one. This tune was my inspiration – that’s Elton John on piano, by the way – and I resolved to be able to play it within […]