Author Archives: Paul

I generally don’t like gloomy French films with sub-titles. As old Steptoe once said, “I don’t go to the pictures to read” but I found myself at a screening of Asghar Farhadi’s latest film “The Past” and I feared the worst. Sure enough, it was a depressing tale about the emotional pain wrought by complex […]

In the late 80s, a lot of musical snobbery was directed at Stock Aitken & Waterman. They were derided for their phenomenal success in producing hits for the likes of Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. Real soul fans loathed what they regarded as this plastic, manufactured pop. But they adored “obscure” old American […]

Fantastic. But I do hope that all those happy couples who tied the knot this weekend remember how vital Tom Robinson was to that happiness. He’s always been a hero of mine. As a musician, broadcaster but most of all, as a courageous campaigner for gay rights. In 1978, Britain was not as tolerant of […]

You’ll be familiar with Seal’s vocal version of this. Over-familiar. In fact, you probably never want to hear it again as long as you live. That’s because when it was released in the mid-90s, it was instantly seized upon by every bland, pre-programmed AOR radio station in the country and played over and over and […]

These were two nightclubs in Harrow, hugely popular in the 1980s. And they weren’t the only ones. There was The Bandwagon in Kingsbury, Oscars in Greenford and the Royalty in Southgate. Further afield, we went over to Cheeky Pete’s in Richmond and the Lacey Lady in Ilford. Practically every suburb in London once had a […]

A new Johnny Cash album was released this week called Out Among The Stars compiled from old tapes, thought lost for more than 30 years, that were found quite recently in an attic. For me, this is the stand-out track. Stripped back and simple, it proves once again that all Johnny Cash ever needed were […]

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthdays of both Celine Dion and Jessie J but I think it has to be today to honour the 70th birthday of Diana Ross, the diva’s diva. Her ‘journey” has all the classic elements – raised in the slums of Detroit but with a fragile beauty and sweet, pure voice that […]

Despite the admirable advances of feminism, there’s one area of the workplace that is still totally male-dominated: the playing of electric guitars. Think of the thousands of times you’ve seen this instrument played and it’s always by a man. Ironically the body of an electric guitar is said to reflect the waist and curves of […]

Off to South East Asia today for a few weeks as part of his gap year. So different from me. The only roads I hit at his age were the Westway and the North Circular, so this track is for him. This version is particularly appropriate because he too is a “Big Youth”. The only […]

Sunday breakfast has become my favourite meal in the world. But only recently. The English Breakfast was always a bit unimaginative, even when it was nicely done. And invariably, it wasn’t. Fortunately, there’s been a profusion of Australian and New Zealand style cafes all over London to provide a much-needed alternative. How can sausage, egg […]