21 posts
The Lowdown
Emerging straight outta the Bronx in the summer of 1973, hip-hop has come a long way since its humble beginnings, with the 80s being a particularly fertile period for the…
The Lowdown – ABC/Martin Fry
ABC and Martin Fry came out of the Steel City with a silky sound that seduced a generation of pop fans in the 80s. While Fry is now ABC’s last…
The complete guide to The KLF
With The KLF, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty completely disrupted the musical landscape of the early 90s. And then they vanished, attempting to take all trace of their work with…
Your instant guide to Talking Heads
Nearly 50 years ago, a bunch of art-school misfits named Talking Heads were adopted by the New York City punk scene. They went on to become the new faces of…
Blondie & Debbie Harry: the complete guide
With Debbie Harry at the helm, Blondie had a grit, glamour and sophisticated pop sensibility that was lacking in most of their contemporaries. For a few years, as the 70s…
The complete guide to Morrissey
In our complete guide to the solo career of Morrissey we look at one of the true godfathers of Britpop… Written by David Burke. Whatever the reasons for the Smiths’…
Echo & The Bunnymen – the complete guide
Featuring a gobby frontman with the theatrical nous of Jim Morrison, a Frank Sinatra croon and Leonard Cohen’s melancholic sensibility, Echo & The Bunnymen forged grandiose soundscapes out of punk…
The Smiths – the complete guide
Pop in the 1980s was rocked to its foundations with the arrival of The Smiths in 1983. With their blend of Morrissey’s misery and Johnny Marr’s melodies, they became…
The Lowdown: Deacon Blue
A former school teacher from Dundee relocated to Glasgow and formed a band whose name referenced a Steely Dan song. Deacon Blue clocked up five top 10 albums and 16…
The complete guide to Japan and David Sylvian
Inspired by glam and myopically lumped in with the New Romantics because of a proclivity for cosmetics, Japan were always more art than pop. They quit after five albums, reunited…