I can still remember when
May 2015
Don Mclean: from aspiring young songwriter to internationally acclaimed artist.
read more50 years since ‘The Voice’ hit
Mar 2015
By Jim Stewart ‘The Voice’ was one of The Moody Blues biggest hits and to their legion of fans worldwide JUSTIN HAYWARD is The Voice. Since joining the band late 1966, he has enjoyed incredible success both as a band member and a solo artist. In 2015 he is touring the UK in both guises, with promoting a new eight-disc box set ‘THE...
read moreActing like a ‘right prima donna’
Mar 2015
By Jim Stewart Ray Thomas, The Moody Blues, ‘The Magnificent Moodies’ 50th Anniversary Deluxe 2CD Edition, Esoteric Recordings: ECLEC 22473 As the sixties turned the page for 1965 the future looked good for THE MOODY BLUES, their UK No.1 ‘Go Now’ was now repeating its success worldwide, and their follow-up had also...
read moreGraham Gouldman 2015
Feb 2015
Originally scheduled as the second leg of 10cc’s 2014-15 Nationwide Tour the dates now have a greater significance to their fans as the band will feature the complete ‘Sheet Music’ album onstage for the very first time. They begin at Reading Hexagon on February 5th, followed by The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury on Saturday 7th...
read moreAll influences are in there
Jan 2015
Singer Jimmy Somerville is releasing his sixth solo album, Homage, on March 9. The record, a collection of 12 original disco tracks, is a tribute to the genre that inspired Jimmy so much during his teenage years. “A homage to disco is something I always wanted to do. I never really thought I could pull it off but I did, and it’s a...
read moreMac is back
Jan 2015
Martin Hutchinson They say the New Year is a time for new beginnings, and so it was exactly 40 years ago for Fleetwood Mac. After a number of hits between 1968 and 1970, blues-based, times were hard for the band. ‘Black Magic Woman’, ‘Albatross’, ‘Oh Well’ and ‘The Green Manalishi’ had all been successful, but they had not had a...
read moreThe Four Seasons music to be cheerful
Jan 2015
By Katie Davis The Rag dolls, one of the top European Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons tribute acts, take you back through the Jersey Boy’s career and before their fame, playing songs such as Oh! Carol and Teenager in Love that Frankie, Tommy, Bobby and Nick would have covered in the early days. I had the pleasure of seeing them...
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Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven
Sep 2014
Orchard Theatre, Dartford, September 22, 2014 When Danny And The Juniors sang ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Here To Stay, It Will Never Die’ it was as much in hope as belief, music experts gave it a year, let alone seeing the 50s out, and now as the 60th Anniversary approaches it remains the most popular form of entertainment on...
read moreBlockbuster
Sep 2014
Orchard Theatre, Dartford, September 16 Throughout the ‘70s Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn reigned supreme, writing huge chart hits for every year of the decade, including 5 number one’s, mainly short, catchy, infectious tunes that got inside your head and within 90 seconds you’d be singing along to them. Transferring that same...
read moreLove and affection for Joan
Aug 2014
By Martin Hutchinson AFTER 42 years of touring, Joan Armatrading is undertaking her first solo world tour, and it’ll be her last major tour. “I’ve always toured with a band before, but as this will be the last major tour that I’ll be doing, I’ve decided to do it on my own.” It will be a chance for her to pay the songs as...
read morePopular songs that make the stage come alive
Aug 2014
GODSPELL THE 70s MUSICAL at the QUEENS THEATRE, HORNCHURCH By Leslie Dunn I first saw Godspell in the early 70s when a 23-year-old actor called David Essex played the part of Jesus and I loved it. I wasn’t sure if putting it on in 2014 would work but how wrong I was. It was truly amazing. Coming from the...
read moreOne man, two Guvnors
Aug 2014
Orchard Theatre, Dartford, August 4 As we entered the auditorium of The ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD for the opening night of ‘ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS’, we were surprised to find we were midway through a Skiffle session: new songs, authentically played and delivered in true ‘Lonnie’ style, intended to set the mood for an evening...
read moreRock of Ages
Jun 2014
CHURCHILL THEATRE, BROMLEY 17 June 2014 A Broadway and West End smash hit, a hugely successful movie, which I viewed with caution as the music featured is so precious to me but I thoroughly enjoyed, and now the nationwide tour of ‘ROCK OF AGES’ hits the CHURCHILL THEATRE, BROMLEY with a huge bang. The simplest of stories,...
read moreThe real gear used by group
Jun 2014
The Rolling Stones Gear by Andy Babiuk & Greg Provost. Backbeat Books: isbn: 9781617130922 If you are to devote 10 years of your life to researching and preparing a book, you need to know the final presentation is going to warrant the effort. Rolling Stones Gear by Andy Babiuk & Greg Provost with Backbeat has done...
read moreGreat musical influence
Jun 2014
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS STUDIO CANAL: Blu-ray OPTBD 2542 DVD OPTD2542 The Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 60s was an extremely influential period, but it has virtually been ignored by movie makers until now. The Coen Brothers ‘INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS’ corrects that with authentically atmospheric brilliance that captures...
read moreOne of the best ever Solid Silver
Jun 2014
Solid Silver 60s Show Orchard Theatre, Dartford, May 10 When I heard Wayne Fontana was forced to pull out of this year’s Solid Silver 60s Show, my initial thoughts were to wish him well, and look forward to seeing again next year. I then hoped that Flying Music would stick to the remaining four acts and allow them to expand...
read moreGirl who never made it to charts
May 2014
Donna Loren: These Are The Good Times. Now Sounds CD: CRNOW 47 She was the perfect ‘Pop Princess’ pretty, great voice and a bubbly personality. Between 1963-68 she, possibly, made more TV and live appearances than any other teenage girl. Her face was known across America and yet, despite all of the promotional opportunities,...
read moreLabradors benefit show
May 2014
On Friday evening, April 11, P J Proby was in Mapperley Plains, Nottingham to perform for the East Midlands Labrador Charity. The organisation, founded in 1981 by Harry Cook MBE, in the past 33 years has re-homed more than 6,000 Labradors. P J has had many pets in the past 50 years, plenty of cats and even more dogs. He, in...
read moreJust Sweet Soul Music
May 2014
Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band, The Foundations, featuring Alan Warner and Jaki Graham, got off to a cracking start on their Superstars of Soul Tour at Birmingham’s Jam House on April 30.
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