Author Archives: Paul

Of course he shouldn’t. Though movie stars swapping their names for more memorable monikers was once completely normal. The same was also true of pop stars. The man we’ve always known as “Cliff Richard” is actually called Harry Webb. Terence Nelhams was re-named Adam Faith but I think Ronald Wycherley, re-branded as Billy Fury, got […]

And we’re reminded of what a genius Nile Rodgers is. Some of us don’t need reminding. We went to see Chic and Sister Sledge at the Hammersmith Odeon when we were still at school. And as my friend Tony Harris said “We never thought disco sucked”. Tony also likes to ensure that famous artists’ not-quite-so-famous […]

Like anyone who loves music, I adored John Peel But right at the other end of the broadcasting spectrum, I am in awe of Tony Blackburn. Very mainstream and happy to be ridiculed, he nonetheless continues to enjoy an astonishing career. He’s 71 today, so let’s congratulate the most famous DJ this country has ever […]

The people of London are being blamed for powering the UK’s economic recovery. It’s not fair, apparently, that those in London who work so hard to earn money for the rest of the country are seeing their city surge way ahead of everywhere else. Even worse, cry those in other regions, the vibrant, creative and […]

My friend Paul Howarth is as knowledgable about music as any human being I have ever met. We meet up every now and again to discuss our three favourite topics: Music, football and why so many so-called “liberals” are in fact illiberal. Over Christmas, for no apparent reason, Paul posted his 100 favourite singles on […]

I did this morning. I woke up with this chorus on a loop in my head: “A fair affair”. Homophonic word play – genius. For some reason, my chorus was mixed in with that familiar hook from Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je T’aime”. Ah well, random things often get mixed up in dreams but, hey, even better. […]

….but when I was a kid, this is who I wanted to be. And I wasn’t the only one. In his autobiography, Suggs cites wanting to be Johnny Reggae as his motivation for starting Madness. Good-looking, hard, great footballer and proud owner of a pair of fringe & buckle stompers and two-tone tonic strides – […]

Come on, I’ll have to hurry you………Newcastle. I remember going up there to see QPR and it was fantastic. Just an ordinary game and yet you’d think it was the FA Cup final. The whole city seemed festooned in black & white for the Geordies are a people obsessed with football. They loved the fact […]

Not really allowed to say the f-word anymore, are we? Those of more generous proportions are referred to as “large” or “big”. Some even “suffer” from obesity as though they were victims of a cruel and random virus. As though the chips and cream buns weren’t contributory factors. It’s maybe why this old favourite which […]

But you know it when you hear it. Lush US soul ballads from the 1970s, sung by falsetto vocalists with frizzy afros, frilly shirts and extra-wide lapels. The Chi-Lites, The Delfonics, Eddie Holman were all splendid practitioners but the undisputed masters of the art were The Stylistics. Hugely successful in a genre we still can’t […]