Author Archives: Paul

My friend Phil McGuire runs something called the Prison Radio Association through which prisoners produce and present their own radio shows. The standard is really high and Phil, rightly proud, has invited me down to Brixton Prison to see it in action. I’ve always been a huge admirer of Linton Kwesi Johnson. He spoke out […]

…… and that you’re Ronnie Wood. After 51 seconds turn it upside down and pretend you’re Rod Stewart. Myself and various brooms have had hours of fun pretending to be The Faces. To me, Ronnie Wood, who was 67 yesterday, is the archetypal rock star. I sat next to him once at the Sony Radio […]

80,000 fans were at Wembley last night to see Carl Froch v George Groves, proving that there is still a huge appetite for the noble art. But boxing has been driven televisually underground. Big fights were routinely screened live on ITV or BBC1 but, for the last 20 years, they’ve only been available through pay-per-view. […]

Yes, I pedalled down to Borough Market this morning. For anyone who doesn’t know, this old fruit & veg market is foodie heaven. It is pretty much where Britain’s fairly recent obsession with good food began and the template for all the “farmers’ markets” that have sprung up in its wake. Faced with such a […]

Or should I say “Out with the middle-aged men”. But we were boys when we met – classmates at a tough old-fashioned Catholic grammar school. It was, even for the 1970s, was a fairly brutal place. Great emphasis was placed on academic excellence, religious fervour and iron discipline. Ex-pupils are now more like former prison […]

Absolutely brilliant and obviously made me think of The Osmonds. It’s almost too easy to remove the middle m from that word but until last night, I hadn’t realised quite how moronic The Osmonds’ Mormon beliefs really are. But among those creepy smiles and insipid cover versions, they did make one great record. The “Crazy […]

And she’s filled me with love, happiness and pride since the day she was born. I thought about the obvious songs – Sweet Little Sixteen, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen – but their lyrics weren’t written from a father to a daughter. These lyrics were. And when I hear Tony Bennett sprinkle them over Bill Evans’s […]

…you can either go to Homebase, come home and do a bit of DIY. Or avoid all practical chores and do a bit of this instead. This was Barry White’s first hit as a producer and at 2.55, we hear that famous deep voice on record for the very first time. So ask yourself: On […]

Good job he doesn’t sing like one. I’m big fan of Pat Kelly and his gentle rocksteady version of this is even sweeter than Curtis Mayfield’s original. Perfect for a sunny Sunday morning. I met him once at the BBC and he was so nice and humble, genuinely astonished that I’d recognised him. He said […]

And never more so than today. I refer of course to Harry Redknapp, the last of the old-school football managers. Today he scored one of the greatest triumphs of his 50-year career by leading QPR to a 1-0 victory over Derby County at Wembley and back into the Premier League. Derby were by far the […]