Author Archives: Paul

So obviously we assumed his band would be rubbish. I could have gone to see them play countless times in local pubs but Miss Rowland’s brother? Nah. Of course, a few months later when this fantastic record was No.1, I was suddenly their biggest fan, claiming to have been at all those early pub gigs. […]

And I wanted it to be sunny. So instead of praying, I just kept singing the chorus of this song to myself. And would you believe it, the sun came out. Based on this, I think I might start a new religion. Ridiculous, I know. But would it really be any more ridiculous than the […]

Mine is Kensington Memorial Park. Nowhere near Kensington, it’s in the middle of a neatly laid out 1930s council estate near the top end of Ladbroke Grove. Small, well-kept but unspectacular, it’s the perfect urban park – a welcome little retreat for locals whose flats have no gardens. It’s a glorious day and I’d like […]

In his green blazer and thick glasses, it’s hard to imagine anyone looking less like a Rastafarian than Michael Garvey. So obviously, we would go up to him in the playground, nod our heads slowly, pretend to be stoned and sing “Hivrybody lov Maychael Garvey”. God, he must have got fed up with it. Or […]

And there are few things more disgusting to those of us who lean to the left than a horrible, right-wing politician, obsessed with money and power, who pretends to be a socialist. A man who lied, cheated and smear-campaigned his way into parliament. A scheming, joyless creep whose miserable legacy will be the words “No […]

A luxury top-floor apartment? Yes and no. That’s what it means now but when skyscrapers were first built, and this song was first written, the penthouse was the little concrete shed on the roof where the janitor lived. So these lyrics speak of romance blossoming even in cramped, unpromising surroundings. Though whenever I hear it, […]

They’re both old enemies of ours. Not just in football but in far more serious conflicts. So which flag will you be waving? Mine will be red, yellow and black because when Germany have beaten us in major tournaments, it’s generally been fairly and squarely. Not the case with Argentina. In the 1998 World Cup, […]

…..19 year-olds could do that sort of thing back in the day. Renting was easy and cheap so she and her bohemian flatmates used to move across London quite regularly. They took their floor cushions and joss sticks from Earls Court to Belsize Park and then to a barge moored on the Thames near Richmond […]

The most galling thing about Radio 4 is its insistence on saying “Produced in Salford” after every programme made there. They never say “Produced in London” after those made at Broadcasting House. “Produced in Salford” rubs taxpayers’ noses in the fact that the BBC spent £1 billion of public money, shifting TV and radio production […]

Without question, the most shocking and incredible result in World Cup history. Especially as it was Brazil, host nation and favourites to win the tournament. Since re-unification, we’ve really grown to love the Germans. They’re just like us but better at football. And at making cars. And washing machines. But not music. With the exception […]