With 1982’s smash Just An Illusion and second album In The Heat of The Night, UK soulsters Imagination went global. Leee John reflects on his band’s career… Imagination were quite…
Moby interview: “I think ‘Heroes’ is one of the geatest songs written in the 20th century”
The latest album by Moby, Reprise, puts a classical spin on some of his biggest hits. We talked to the electronica icon about the lack of nuance in modern music,…
The story of 1982 in music
A trip down memory lane as we remember the best music of 1982… Rumour has it, that Britain’s first new No.1 of 1982, Bucks Fizz’s Land Of Make Believe, was…
Toyah Willcox interview – “I know that starting my career as third gender limited me”
When the world fell silent in 2020, Toyah Willcox decided it was time to make some noise. The result was Posh Pop, the singer’s first album in 13 years –…
Remembering Madonna: Truth Or Dare
In 1991, Madonna invited cameras backstage, into her dressing room and even her bed for Truth Or Dare, which lifted the lid on what went on behind the scenes of…
Jam & Lewis interview: “You have to live life to be able to write about it”
Jam & Lewis redefined R&B and pop, working with Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, George Michael and a host of other greats. Now, they’re finally making their own album as artists.…
Stephen Duffy talks Dr Calculus
Stephen Duffy’s great lost album Designer Beatnik was part of the short-lived Dr Calculus project. In this interview from 2021, we take a look at the often overlooked experimental ode…
Remembering Manchester’s Haçienda nightclub
Manchester was primed for an era-defining mecca of music by the time the Haçienda nightclub opened in 1982. For the next 15 years its pills-and-thrills fuelled hedonism spawned a legacy…
Making Simple Minds: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Critical acclaim is one thing, but what Simple Minds really desired in 1982 was a hit record. With their fifth studio album, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), they finally got it,…
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…