VARIOUS ARTISTS REIMAGINING THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING CLEOPATRA RECORDS Tribute albums are always a tricky thing. When artists cover a much-loved album, there are some very high expectations for the covers. Recording a tribute album with [...]
BONNIE TYLER IN BERLIN earMUSIC Bonnie Tyler made her recording debut in 1977 with the album The World Starts Tonight. But it was her second album, 1978’s Natural Force, which was released as It’s A Heartache in North America, that made her a [...]
UB40 UB45 SRG RECORDS/UNIVERSAL UB40 formed in 1978, with the Campbell Brothers, Ali and Robin, being two of the founding members. To say their history is nothing short of fascinating does not do their story justice. The By 1980 the band was [...]
TORN BOYS 1983 INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS This is a very interesting album that has shades of the “what could have been” vibe, as it is not an album per se, but a collection of songs by a band that seemed to have a brief blast in the music [...]
EMERSON, LAKE & POWELL COMPLETE COLLECTION SPIRIT OF UNICORN MUSIC/CHERRY RED RECORDS Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) formed in 1970 when Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (bass, guitar) and Carl Palmer (drums) came together to form a [...]
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT GHOST STORIES FRONTIERS MUSIC One has to love and respect Blue Öyster Cult. When they decided to assemble and release an album of tracks recorded for but left off their albums from 1978 to 1983 (with one exception of “If I Fell” [...]
IT IS NOT AN 80s REVIVAL THING, IT IS THREE WORKING ARTISTS A CONVERSATION WITH NEVILLE KEIGHLEY OF BELOUIS SOME In 1985, a new artist, Belouis Some made his debut with the album Some People. In fact, however, for the first album, Belouis Some [...]
VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN DE ROXY A CONVERSATION WITH PHIL MANZANERA Phil Manzanera should need no introduction. Besides being the guitarist for Roxy Music, he has established himself as a solo artist, as a member of 801, The Explorers, Quiet Sun, [...]
ECHOES FROM FORGOTTEN HEARTS A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDER JULIEN OF VISION ETERNEL Vision Eternel made its debut in 2007 and quickly established itself as a melogaze band. Although the band was established in Edison, NJ, Vision Eternel [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS MOVING AWAY FROM THE PULSEBEAT: POST-PUNK BRITAIN 1977-1981 CHERRY RED RECORDS When ‘punk rock’ exploded on the scene in 1976, the bands (and fans) had to know that there would be a ‘best before’ date on that music. It either [...]
MAJESTY CRUSH BUTTERFLIES DON’T GO AWAY THE NUMERO GROUP Majesty Crush were a 1990s ‘shoegaze’ band with a 1980s sensibility and vibe. Formed in Detroit, the band consisted of the late David Stroughter (vocals), bassist Hobey Echlin, [...]
LIVE FOR TODAY NOT TOMORROW A CONVERSATION WITH JAY ASTON OF GENE LOVES JEZEBEL Gene Loves Jezebel formed in 1980, by twins Jay Aston and Michael Aston. Now in 2024, the band is officially Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel and in the almost 45 [...]
TOTALLY TUBULAR A CONVERSATION WITH TOM BAILEY OF THE THOMPSON TWINS Tom Bailey was one of the founding members of The Thompson Twins when they formed in 1977 in Sheffield, England. By the time they recorded their debut album in 1981 (A Product [...]
PHIL MANZANERA – REVOLUCIÓN TO ROXY A WAY WITH MEDIA BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY Phil Manzanera made his name by being an original member of Roxy Music and a key player in a revised Pink Floyd. But there is so much more to his story than [...]
GLASS BEAMS MAHAL NINJA TUNE Mahal is a very fascinating EP, as is the band Glass Beams. There is not a whole lot known about the band, such as who are the three members, but they do make a great sound with influences as far reaching as Ravi [...]
DANTÉ RAVENHEARST HALF SUN/HALF MOON SUN MILK RECORDS Toronto-based Danté Ravenhearst (originally from Kawartha Lakes in Ontario) is not only a singer/songwriter, but she is also a conservationist and scientist. Not the usual combination one [...]
PEARL HARBOUR DON’T FOLLOW ME, I’M LOST TOO (EXPANDED EDITION) LIBERATION HALL Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too is Pearl Harbour’s debut solo album released in 1980. She debuted with Pearl Harbor and The Explosions in 1978 with their self-titled [...]
PINK MILK NIGHT ON EARTH BLACK HAIR MUSIC Pink is a duo out of Sweden, consisting of Maria (vocals and drums) and Edward (guitar and bass) Forslund. They have been making albums since 2017 (Purple), and Night On Earth is their third album. Night [...]
SUN FREEZING COLD AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT INDEPENDENT Sun Freezing Cold is a duo based in Montreal, consisting of Chantal Ranger (vocals/lyricist) and Guy Pellerin (music/production). They are a very grassroots electro-pop band. Grassroots because [...]
WHO ELSE HAS LIVED IN THIS ROOM? A CONVERSATION WITH LUCY KRUGER Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys made their debut in 2015 with the album Summer’s Not That Simple. At the time Kruger was in her home country of South Africa, but in 2018 she moved [...]
MARK MOTHERSBAUGH – APOTROPAIC BEATNIK GRAFFITI BLANK INDUSTRIES BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY Mark Mothersbaugh’s latest book, Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti, is subtitled “A Collection of Neo-Dada Stream of Conscious Visual Poetry”, which [...]
MELØ SONGS FROM THE SPIRIT BOX INDEPENDENT MELØ has been making music since 2017. Up until this year, he has released a number of singles and a couple of EPs, but he has finally released his debut album, Songs From The Spirit Box, this year and [...]
BACK ON THE STREETS WHERE IT FEELS SO RIGHT A CONVERSATION WITH PEARL HARBOUR Pearl Harbour has just re-released her classic and iconic solo debut album Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost, which has been unavailable for far too long. “I just feel happy [...]
JUDAS PRIEST INVINCIBLE SHIELD SONY MUSIC Judas Priest’s debut album was released in 1974 (Rocka Rolla), and 50 years later, they are still going strong. Invincible Shield marks 50 years of putting out solid hard rock/heavy metal albums. Sure, [...]
