Author Archives: Paul

It’s supposed to be unlucky. Some old nonsense about Jesus being crucified on a Friday and Judas being the thirteenth disciple. But London doesn’t look unlucky today. I’ve been pedalling around all day and seen nothing but sunshine and happiness. And this is the song I find myself singing on days like this. Isn’t it […]

……there’s one bit of it that has always made me cringe. It is of course, John Barnes “rapping” about two and a half minutes in. Don’t you find it embarrassing too? It’s as if someone said, “Hey, this rapping’s pretty cool, isn’t it? We need a rapper on this record. John, you’re black, you do […]

Burnt Oak was always an extraordinary place. In the 1930s, the Watling Estate was built there for families cleared out of the appalling slums around Kings Cross. Thousands of Cockneys were moved across London and they were not to be trifled with. At Burnt Oak tube, you’d usually find a couple of skinheads on “station […]

I refer, of course, to Prince Philip who celebrates his 93rd birthday today. 93?? I always think of him as “about sixty” but he’s now just a few years away from getting a telegram from his wife. Prince Philip isn’t the only famous person who’s actually much older than we think. David Bowie is 67, […]

These are words no one was expecting to write today but the 1980s comedy icon has died suddenly, aged just 56. In truth, he’d been half-forgotten, never achieving the huge success of contemporaries like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Ben Elton. Yet when they all first emerged, he was easily the biggest star and most […]

Though that depends on how you define “terrible”. If you mean “impatient”, countless speeding convictions and, from a very stern Sheffield magistrate, the threat of a custodial sentence then she has a point. But if you mean being quick, safe and decisive – never holding up another road user, then isn’t that “good” rather than […]

Because I think I live in the most exciting city in the world. There’s always somewhere to go, something to do, someone to see. And when the sun beams down on London, like it did yesterday, there’s no better place to be. But this morning, the sunshine has been supplanted by charcoal skies and spiteful […]

There is nothing I can add to the sincere tributes paid by people more eminent than me about the bravery, heroism and sacrifices of those who took part. But this anniversary has made me look at rock’n’roll in a very different way. This fantastic record, and others like it, hit the charts just 12 years […]

Well, they’re trainer liners so you can’t really see them. But I used to wear white socks proudly and visibly with shiny black Bass Weejuns and this record is probably the reason why. It was the first jazz-funk tune I ever heard and I still love it. In the late 70s, jazz-funk was far bigger […]

I never had to ask who “Ian” was. The gravelly voice of Ian Dury was unmistakable. “Bit of a problem with the script. Can you come over?” I was working with him on a TV campaign for disability benefits and so I’d head over. He lived right by Hammersmith Bridge in an amazing flat with […]