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John Earls
Writing for Classic Pop since our first issue, John has been to Adam Ant’s house, sworn at by Bob Geldof, touched Johnny Marr’s favourite guitar, interviewed Richard Coles on his vicarage bed and serenaded with Last Christmas by Shirlie Kemp. John first specialised in writing about music as editor of Teletext’s Planet Sound music column from 2000-09 and now writes about pop for a range of magazines and national newspapers. A Luton Town fan, John also writes about football. His bucket list interviews for the magazine are Grace Jones, Kylie, Siouxsie Sioux and Andrew Ridgeley.
A former roadie for Killing Joke supplied what tender partygoers most needed by artfully taking the beats out of techno for The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld… The idea seems……
Clare Grogan interview: “I constantly felt I had to prove myself”
Surely the hardest working singer in 1981 was Clare Grogan. Just as Altered Images were releasing their debut album, she became a film star too. Aged just 19, how did……
Peter Hook talks Joy Division, New Order
After the tragic death of Ian Curtis, the surviving members of Joy Division, including Peter Hook could have faded into obscurity – instead, 1981 saw them reborn as New Order,……
Soft Cell: *Happiness Not Included interview
In this Soft Cell interview for new album *Happiness Not Included, we talked to Marc Almond and Dave Ball about how the global pandemic caused them to re-evaluate their belief in……
Pepsi & Shirlie interview
As the backing vocalists in Wham!, Pepsi & Shirlie weren’t so much 20 Feet From Stardom as right in the middle of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s success. Living happily……
Dexys interview: “The pop thing was fun”
Usually a band averse to nostalgia, the announcement that Dexys are touring their most successful album Too-Rye-Ay for its 40th anniversary was a shock –until it became obvious there’s a……
Roland Orzabal on Tears For Fears’ Songs From The Big Chair
In 2020, Roland Orzabal talked to Classic Pop about Tears For Fears’ timeless Songs From The Big Chair album Does it feel like 35 years since Songs From The Big……
Prefab Sprout albums – the complete guide
All of the Prefab Sprout albums are worth a place in every pop fan’s record collection. Here we take a trip through the band’s peerless back catalogue… Swoon Released 1984……
Duran Duran: Future Past interview
As their recent single Anniversary hinted, it’s 40 years since Duran Duran first beamed on to planet Earth. Rather than celebrate with a hits tour, they’ve released a stunning new album, where……
Making Madness – The Rise & Fall
Buoyed by having their first No.1 hit, the fourth studio album by Madness, The Rise & Fall, marked the transition between knockabout Nutty Boys and reflective men who’d become hard-bitten……