Breakfast with: Steve Ellis “MAYBE if we live long enough, we grow into what we always wanted to be. “Just maybe, if we stick at what we love, it’ll come around and come good. Steve Ellis has earned the right to sing the Blues if he wants. And sing it he does!” Paul Weller IT […]
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Hi, Noone Share a Cuppa Tea with PETER NOONE as he talks about aging, broken hearts, and cats and dogs Peter Noone is fond of referring to himself as Peter NO-ONE. Well, he is not a no-one but, indeed, a SOME-ONE, and I had the pleasure of sharing a big cuppa tea with the ever […]
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FROM the music halls of Stoke-on-Trent to topping the charts with Frank Sinatra and Petula Clark, singer-songwriter Jackie Trent finally shares her colourful life in her fascinating new autobiography. “[Their songs] changed my life. They changed the whole course of my career.” Petula Clark ‘Being Me’ charts, for the first time, the glittering career of […]
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ORIGINAL founder-members of the 1968 successful pop recording group Cupid’s Inspiration have reformed. Cupid’s Inspiration had big hits in 1968 that topped the British charts – Yesterday Has Gone and My World followed by Dream, including best album in 1969. The band has reformed under the name Cupid’s with the original voice of Terry Rice-Milton. […]
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WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN – a Tribute to Shakin’ Stevens’ is live at theatres in the UK. The 80s Welsh answer to Elvis finally has his own tribute show with all the hits, including ‘This Ol’ House’, ‘Green Door’, ‘Oh Julie’. The rags to riches story is based on his 40 hits, starring Rebel Dean. The […]
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Wreckless Eric chats about many things including Tom Petty, secrets, and plynths. REMEMBER that legendary song The Whole Wide World? Of course you do. Written by singer/songwriter/musician Wreckless Eric, it has been covered by many artists including The Monkees, Elvis Costello, Marilyn Manson, The Proclaimers, Amanda Palmer, Will Ferrell, plus others and is a hit […]
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JACK GOOD died on September 24, apparently without much of a fanfare. The early British TV producer whose shows included Six-Five Special and Oh Boy!, also found and managed UK rock ‘n’ roll stars Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, and Cliff Richard, and is also behind the legacy of P J Proby in the UK, having […]
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Sharing a cuppa tea with…. Alan Clayson of The Argonauts as he discusses Elvis and Elvis, monkeys, and new projects talks about fear, Beatles, and tattoos. Well, as I grew up in the American cornfields, I never suspected one day I would share a cuppa tea with a genuine Argonaut. But here we are, chatting […]
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By Martin Hutchinson “I CAN’T remember his name, but he sang Nights In White Satin,” said Jeff Wayne when he was casting his legendary album ‘The Musical Version of The War of the Worlds’. He wanted the perfect voice for the song Forever Autumn and he thought the voice of The Moody Blues was perfect. […]
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There are rumours flying around that there is a superb tribute band to Fleetwood Mac doing the rounds. For once, the rumours are, in fact – er – fact, and the celebrated Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are touring their acclaimed show in an exhaustive 26-date UK tour. The original Fleetwood Mac had a string of hits from ‘Albatross’...
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By Martin Hutchinson After more than 50 years, the highly-influential band The Zombies are in the midst of a very productive and busy period. Not only are they gearing up for a five-week tour of the US, performing their iconic album ‘Odessey and Oracle’ (sic) which will be followed by shows on the continent, and then a tour of the...
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By Paul Bowen The Jerry Naylor Connection Jerry Naylor, lead singer with The Crickets from 1961 to 1965, has been fighting to save his sight for the greater part of 2015. After some issues he was experiencing, he was diagnosed with a problem where a group of blood clots filled the nerves to blood vessels in his eyes which, in turn,...
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I first saw Rebel Dean perform in 2002, at the annual `Eddie Cochran Memorial Weekend` in Chippenham, UK, from where I would regularly broadcast my radio show live. Given the event, Rebel was obviously doing a mostly Eddie set, but I could see this young guy was more than just a `tribute` artiste. So I was pleased to see him there...
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Leo Sayer returns to his native country for a mammoth UK Tour celebrating the release of his brand new studio album ‘Restless Years’. During 43 years since his first album, he’s had five worldwide No.1 hits, and is a Grammy winning songwriter. Leo’s 14th studio album, and first for six years, was recorded over 3 months and features...
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Cilla Black, whose impressive career spanned 50 years has died at her holiday home in Spain, aged 72. Cilla had two No.1 singles at the start of her career. Cilla, who often flew to Spain in the summer months, also had homes in London, Buckinghamshire and Barbados. From Liverpool, the star was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on...
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By Martin Hutchinson Back in the sixties, Manfred Mann was a big hit-making machine, and from 1964 to 1969, they were almost ever-present in the charts due to such classic hits as ‘5-4-3-2-1’, ‘Doo Wah Diddy Diddy’, ‘Pretty Flamingo’ and ‘Come Tomorrow’ to name but four. Their music was so good that they survived a change of...
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I caught up with the 2015 Solid Silver Sixties Tour in The Pavilion, Bournemouth last month. I was greeted at the stage door by the highly-professional tour manager Bob Balchin, who was obviously pleased to see me – I don’t know why! He gave me the layout of the dressing rooms so I went for a walk round to see who had...
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By Pat Murphy When I first started to buy albums more than 50 years ago, “greatest hits” compilations were a particular attraction. After all, you could get a whole whack of favourites in one package, most of which you hadn’t been able to afford as separate singles. It seemed like a perfect deal. Of all the hit collections around...
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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...
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