For many, the reaction to a Brand X double CD might be "kill me now", and if I'm honest, I'm not relishing this one. But part of the...

Late 1990s Britpop wars and you had to choose your side. Oasis v Blur. North v South. Working class lads v Middle class ponces. Authentic...

Long ago, a friend lent me the A Week In The Real World compilation, following a request for a selection of African music. What actually...

I think I first heard the Blind Boys Of Alabama on a Real World compilation and really enjoyed what I heard, despite having had no...

I knew Frank Black as Black Francis in The Pixies, so this CD was obviously worth a punt for a quid in a charity shop. I don't recall yet...

I was completely unaware of The Birthday Party while they existed, and only investigated on discovering Nick Cave several years later....

I really don't remember what made me buy this album, my first exposure to The Blue Nile, but it made an instant impression. I went on to...

Obviously, I knew Hi Ho Silver Lining, but was there more to Jeff Beck than that? For years I'd had a cassette with a track of Beck and...

Mark Stewart, singer with The Pop Group died yesterday. He was only 62, a couple of months younger than me, and it's an eye-opener to...

In the gap between being the Housemartins' bassist, and hitting global mega-stardom as Fat Boy Slim, Norman Cook tested the public's...

The Barrett albums were spoken of in my youth in hushed tones, as things to approach with caution, Syd having gone a bit odd after...

I often buy a CD just because I feel I ought to have heard something by this band/artist, so seeing a The Band 'best of', I thought I'd...

Another birthday present of Italian prog from daughter's boyfriend. I do love these little gifts, even if the music's not always to my...

I knew little of Chet Baker until his trumpet solo on Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding, but as I came to listen to more jazz, he was a name...

As I recall, I was looking to see if there might be any interesting gigs on in Liverpool coinciding with a family visit and saw The Bad...

I knew nothing of Chris Bell or Big Star before hearing This Mortal Coil's covers of a couple of their songs, and still don't know much....

I first encountered Adrian Belew in a lurid pink suit fronting King Crimson on The Old Grey Whistle Test in about 1980, and only much...

I first came across Kevin Ayers through John Peel's show and my trip down the Canterbury Sound musical rabbit hole. I bought Yes We Have...

I've enjoyed Attila since hearing his ranting verse on a John Peel Session 40 years ago, and seen him a couple of times (and will again...

I picked this up for a couple of quid in a sale at Our Price, believing I'd purchased something far rarer than it actually is (original...