Author Archives: Paul

…I went past Abbey Road studios and realised that exactly 50 years ago, Paul McCartney would have been inside recording “Yesterday”. Just McCartney, his acoustic guitar and a string quartet. None of the other Beatles were involved. “Yesterday” was an instant classic which has been covered more than 2,000 times by artists as diverse as […]

I didn’t even realise it was a country. I thought it was part of Serbia. And I still call Serbia Yugoslavia. The former Yugoslavia, I’m told, is now seven separate states: Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro. Apparently, if I watched the Eurovision Song Contest, I’d know this. But I’m afraid, to people […]

Loftus Road stadium 30 years ago for the world title fight between Barry McGuigan and Eusebio Pedroza. In 1985, boxing was huge and the troubles in Northern Ireland were at their worst. Yet McGuigan, from Ulster but resolutely non-sectarian, was fanatically supported by Catholics and Protestants alike. Loftus Road isn’t far from Kilburn which had […]

Such a talented actor who struggled for years before finding fame, acclaim and an Oscar nomination for playing Fagin in Oliver. He was brilliant as Fagin. Trouble was, he was too brilliant and, from then on, casting directors couldn’t think of him as anything else. As a consequence, he wasn’t considered for roles which should […]

When I was about ten, my bohemian eldest sister was living with about eight other free spirits in a big scruffy flat in Belsize Park. Two of her flatmates, Peter and Jonathan, were the first gay couple I ever met. Not that I realised. They shared a bed but so did Morecambe & Wise. Peter […]

And how much he has done for Comic Relief. Which is why Lenny Henry’s knighthood is thoroughly deserved. And yet what is it about him that so many people find so irritating? Despite the fame, fortune, enormous talent and hugely successful career, does he still seem to be trying too hard? In the early days, […]

I’ve just realised that Annie Nightingale is still on Radio 1. And has been for 45 years. Always cool, always out there, she still presents a weekly show in the middle of the night, showcasing new and underground dance music. Apparently she still DJs at clubs and festivals all over the world. She’s 75!! A […]

When I was growing up, London had four main Afro-Caribbean areas: Brixton in the south, Tottenham in the North, Dalston to the East and Harlesden/Ladbroke Grove to the West. Tottenham is now the only one yet to feel the fashionable force of gentrification. I was down there today because Cobblers Lodge on West Green Road […]

Radio 4 Extra is now the UK’s most popular digital radio station. Its formula is simple, cheap and brilliant. It plunders the BBC’s compendious archives and re-broadcasts classic comedy, drama and documentaries. Anything from Hancock’s Half Hour from the 1950s to last week’s edition of The Now Show. No news, no weather, no traffic bulletins […]

Sometimes in Europe, we should be ashamed of ourselves. We’ve known for years about the stench of corruption surrounding Sepp Blatter and FIFA and yet we did nothing about it. Now because FIFA money was laundered through Miami, the US justice system can swing into action. Blatter has already resigned and he and his cohorts […]