OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Former Bachelors lead singer Conleth Cluskey has died... As one-third of the famous Irish trio The Bachelors, Con along with his brother Declan and John Stokes had chart success in the 60s during the time that beat groups came to prominence. No...
So what's inside our 2022 April Beat issue... Hard to believe Leo Sayer has been in the pop business for 50 years. Now living in Australia, Leo makes our front cover as we exclusively talk to him about his early career 'the pierrot years', and his relationship with...
By Ian Woolley As Leo Sayer goes back on the road later this year, he has just released a new album of Beatles classics... It’s been 50 years Leo has been in the pop business and he admits that he still has so much unfinished business. With his curly locks of hair, it...
American teen idol Bobby Rydell had died... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley In the early 60's, Bobby Rydell enjoyed major chart success in the US with songs like Volare, Swingin' School, We Got Love, and Wild One (the latter also a UK top ten hit). He was versatile too. From...
By Ian Woolley Through the decades of music history, special mothers have made their mark... Having recently interviewed Supreme Mary Wilsons' daughter Turkessa Babich about her mum, it became clear that her mother was no ordinary woman. Mary Wilson put her head...
By Pat Murphy On St.Patrick's Day, we thought we'd mark the 63rd anniversary of the first Irish Top 10... The top 10 in Dublin in 1959 was actually 11. On February 12, 1959, Dublin’s Evening Herald newspaper launched a chart compiled on its behalf by music columnist...
The history of vaping is a roller coaster ride that is filled with amazing events. In addition to improvements to vaping devices and changes in regulations, musicians have also paved the way for vapers. Famous musicians have always been linked with cigarettes,...
Cockney Rebel's lead singer's great fundraising gift... As we watch the devastating situation unfold in Ukraine, we are actively fundraising for The British Red Cross DEC Ukraine Crisis Appeal. PizzaExpress will match fund all money raised, up to £30,000... Steve’s...
By Ian Woolley The US-based singer-songwriter has been keeping his fans entertained through lockdown... With the world’s problems making front-page headlines, American singer-songwriter Dean Friedman recently released his 9th studio album that addresses the many new...
By Ian Woolley A plethora of UK artists come together tonight for Ukraine... Billed a Night for Ukraine, the music world has been quick to respond to the plight of the Ukrainian people it seems. A fundraising event at the Roundhouse tonight will be donated to the DEC,...
By Jane Quinn Christie talks about Princess Margaret, tumbleweeds, and mistakes... I’ll never forget my first contact with Lou Christie. I gave him my routine spiel and then asked if he would consider sharing a cuppa tea with me. His response was the best I’ve ever...
So what's inside our 2022 March Beat issue... Denise Nolan who makes our front cover this month. Coinciding with Denise's 60th year in showbiz, she exclusively talks with Ian Woolley about her long career, personal life, and her debut album For You, My Love. An ode...
By Ian Woolley Jane Quinn bangs the gong for the Beat in Liverpool magazine... As part of Mighty Quinn Management, Jane has been holding tea parties here at the Beat for a long time now. Regular Beat readers will know that Jane's column appears on page 2 every month...
By Ian Woolley Why do so many great singing voices originate from Wales? Remember Richard Llewellyn’s How Green Was My Valley? A line from the 1941 novel about a Welsh mining community at the turn of the 20th century reads “Singing is in my people as sight is in the...
By Ian Woolley With her 60th year in showbiz, the second eldest Nolan has just released her debut studio album... Usually known as the most reclusive of the legendary Nolan Sisters, it’s been over 43 years since Denise Nolan left the singing sister act to pursue a...
By Ian Woolley On what would have been Supreme Mary Wilsons' 77th birthday next week, we chat with her daughter Turkessa... With the World looking on at events in Ukraine right now, Mary Wilson could never have foreseen how much her new single “Why Can’t We All Get...
Procol Harum's Gary Brooker MBE has died... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley On the group's Beyond The Pale website, Roland Clare announced "With the deepest regret we must announce the death on 19 February 2022 of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist, and composer of Procol...
By Ian Woolley Kimberley is no stranger to success. He wrote Katrina & the Waves' biggest hit... Although this Cambridge blues-pop duo has been on the scene for a long time now, only recently have Kimberley Rew & Lee Cave-Berry been making waves with their own...
By Jane Quinn Manfred talks about general values, doubt, and Taylor Swift... If I hint that my guest today has the initials “MM”, who do you think it might be? Marilyn Monroe? No. Mike Myers? Wrong. Marcel Marceau? No. But if you said Manfred Mann, you would be...
Mike Hipple's new book, “Lived Through That: 90s Musicians Today” (Girl Friday Books) is out and it's been getting some really great feedback and reviews! The music of the 1990s shaped more than one generation. It was the music Generation X came of age listening to...
One of the finest drummers to make his mark on early Rock 'n' Roll, Sander Nelson has died... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Sander Lloyd Nelson, better known as 'Sandy', carved a successful career as both a session musician and as a soloist. Nelson was born on December 1st,...
By Ian Woolley As Tony releases his latest single, "Because Of You" this Friday, it coincides nicely with his forthcoming 40th anniversary UK tour and book… Tony announced on social media, "Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ve got some exciting news for you…I’m going to be...
By Ian Woolley Lennon put a black Rickenbacker around my shoulders as I played a bit of Chuck Berry. A surreal moment which was pretty cool at the time... So said Al Stewart about the time he blagged his way backstage to meet the Beatles in Bournemouth. The...
By Ian Woolley "The most significant love story of my life, was my own because I met someone I knew I never wanted to be apart from......... and after all these years we are still together". So said 60's legend, Marty Wilde last month on his 65-year marriage to his...