The 1986 tour that saved Bob Dylan’s career
It was a rough decade for Dylan…
Author: Will Howard Archives: 03/2025
“Enormous”: Iggy Pop on Bo Diddley’s huge impact on 1960s rock
Straight into the very rhythm that powers all music.
What was the Grateful Dead’s longest-ever show?
There’s no such thing as a casual Deadhead. If there are, say 50’000 Deadheads in any given city in the world, that exact number will come out to see them live. Then another 10% of that number will tag along from the town previously.
What does ‘Blackstar’ tell us about David Bowie’s darkest era?
Whereas 2013s The Next Day was such an intentional throwback to his 1970s imperial phase that the cover was literally just “Heroes” with a sticker over it, Blackstar comes across more like what those albums must have been like to hear for the very first time.
“It was a bit ragged”: how Live Aid flirted with disaster
Preening rock stars trying to appear for the cameras…
“I don’t care too much for being down-to-earth”: How did The Smiths write great riffs?
They were tight, propulsive and versatile
The bizarre dream that inspired ‘Vivadixisubmarinetransmissionplot’ by Sparklehorse
Beautiful but still haunting.
“That fucking little prick”: The rivalry that defined Van Halen
David Lee Roth’s sheer swagger and stage presence made Van Halen bona-fide rock stars. The kind that may have cut their teeth touring with Journey and Black Sabbath, but not as adoring disciples just happy to pay tribute. They completely blew the hoary old legends off stage night after night and by the end of the 1970s were poised to be the defining hard rock band of the next decade.
