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Jon O'Brien
Jon O'Brien is a freelance entertainment writer from Wigan who has written the Forget Me Not and Top 20 features for Classic Pop since 2019 and had bylines in the likes of Esquire, Billboard, Vulture, New Scientist, i-D, The Guardian, GRAMMY.com and Paste. He's also a soccer enthusiast, reluctant runner, King Charles Spaniel owner, garage drummer, Icelandophile and carrot cake connoisseur. The first single he ever bought was Starship's We Built This City, the first album Now That's What I Call Music 6 and his favourite Classic Pop-friendly acts are Scritti Politti, The Sundays and The Bangles.
One of British pop’s finest, Terry Hall helped pioneer a whole new movement with The Specials before utilising his famously deadpan talents in numerous equally intriguing bands, side projects, supergroups…
Album By Album – Madness
Camden Town’s finest, Madness, helped define the early 80s with their distinctly nutty take on the 2-Tone sound before expanding their musical vision with aplomb for a triumphant second wind…
Album By Album – Echo & The Bunnymen
Fronted by the ever outspoken Ian McCulloch, Echo & The Bunnymen became indie heroes with a sound that constantly leaned towards the darker and more dramatic side of post-punk… CROCODILES…
Album By Album – Jimmy Somerville
Renowned for his piercing falsetto and LGBTQ+ activism, Jimmy Somerville first found fame as the frontman of Bronski Beat and The Communards before launching his own sporadic solo career which…
Top 20 cover versions of the 80s
Breathing fresh life into old classics or radically reinventing them, we celebrate 20 of the finest 80s cover versions The hit cover version is something of a rarity in today’s…
INXS – Album By Album
Fronted by the hugely charismatic Michael Hutchence, Australian six-piece INXS rose to world domination with a punchy blend of new wave, funk and dance-rock that was tailor-made for stadiums. Here…
Top 20 No.1s that owed a debt to the 80s
The 80s didn’t stop in 1989, oh no. In the world of music, the last few decades have leaned heavily on that classic decade. Classic Pop looks at the Top…
Top 20 80s house hits
Our countdown of the best house hits of the 80s… House music may have been initially dismissed as a cult concern by the nation’s one-time ultimate tastemaker Radio 1, but…
Kim Wilde – Album By Album
From new wave anthems to synth-driven gems and pure pop, the Middlesex-born singer boasts a wildly eclectic back catalogue. Here we present our Kim Wilde – Album By Album Guide:…
Complete Guide – Pet Shop Boys albums
With Neil Tennant’s witty lyrics and Chris Lowe’s cultured synths and beats, the Pet Shop Boys’ albums helped to redefine the pop landscape… Please, 1986 Five years after first…