In early 2010, on a cold and rainy day outside a block of council flats in Deptford, South London, John Illsley and Mark Knopfler attended a small ceremony where a black plaque was unveiled – “Dire Straits first gigged here”.
September 28th sees John Otway, Rock ‘n’ Roll’s greatest failure, release the DVD and Blu-ray of his film, Otway The Movie.
JOAN ARMATRADING has been making glorious music for over 45 years. She has the gift of story-telling and the talent to combine it with melodies that transcend the generation divide. A fact that is demonstrated superbly on her new single ‘I Like It When We’re Together’.
Some things never change. Joe Brown’s same spikey hairstyle, his distinctive voice and cheerful personality, the same pioneering spirit AND his tremendous talent. Joe is the real deal. He looks good, he sounds good and he is good.
There are box sets and then there are BOX SETS. John Mayall’s ‘The First Generation’ set sits firmly in the latter category, being substantial both in the artefacts contained within and the superb music it encompasses.
Andy Fairweather Low is in a class of his own. One of the UK’s best guitar players with a truly unique voice (not to mention one of their best tennis players) he’s worked with some of the greatest artists around and still found time to release some solo material.
Blurred Vision are a band of our time. Using genres that span the divides – rock with pop, driving riffs with melodic lyrics – they make sense.