Author Archives: writewyattuk

About writewyattuk

This is the online home of author, writer and editor Malcolm Wyatt, who has books on The Jam, Slade and The Clash under his belt and many more writing projects on the go, as well as regularly uploading feature-interviews and reviews right here. These days he's living his best life with his better half in West Cornwall after their three decades together in Lancashire, this Surrey born and bred scribe initially heading north after five years of 500-mile round-trips on the back of a Turkish holiday romance in 1989. Extremely proud of his two grown-up daughters, he's also a foster carer and a dog lover, spending any spare time outside all that catching up with other family and friends, supporting Woking FC, planning adventures and travels, further discovering his adopted county, and seeing as much of this big old world as time allows. He can be contacted at thedayiwasthere@gmail.com and various social media online portals, mostly involving that @writewyattuk handle.

Slade’s ultimate rockin’ survivor – back in touch with Don Powell

Posted on December 22, 2020 by writewyattuk

It was a grey and overcast day in Silkeborg, but Don Powell wasn’t overly bothered about that. “It’s just grey skies here, a bit overcast, but whatever. We’ve been pretty lucky here really, and after spending quite a bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 'N Betweens, Bilston, Birmingham, Black Country, Caravan, Chas Chandler, Clem Cattini, Coronavirus, Dapple Rose, Dave Hill, Dave Kemp, Denmark, Don Powell, Ex-Men, Jim lea, Know Who You Are, Lindisfarne, Merry Xmas Everybody, Noddy Holder, Ozzy Osbourne, Play It Loud, Pouk Hill, Ringo Starr, Sara Cox, Silkeborg, Simon Kirke, Slade, St Louis, Status Quo, The Beatles, The Eagles, The glam, the Vendors | 1 Comment

More songs about water and power, This is the Kit style – the Kate Stables interview

Posted on December 14, 2020 by writewyattuk

This is the Kit’s latest long player, Off Off On, is a record that quickly gets under your skin, somehow tapping into key themes of this testing year, despite being written pre-pandemic. The alias of Kate Stables (guitar, banjo, vocals) … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Bristol, Coming to Get You Nowhere, COVID-19, Hold Steady, Jamie Whitby-Coles, Jesse D Vernon, Josh Kaufman, Kate Stables, Neil Smith, Off Off On, Oli Middleton, Paris, Peter Gabriel, Real World Studios, Royal Albert Hall, Rozi Plain, Taylor Swift, This is the Kit | Leave a comment

Songs of Yesterday and today – talking Free, Bad Company and more with Simon Kirke

Posted on December 9, 2020 by writewyattuk

Whichever side of the Atlantic you’re based, you won’t need reminding what a wretched year we’ve somehow clambered through. But Simon Kirke is feeling relatively chipper now, with 2021 firmly in his sights. While coronavirus continues to ravage America, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Alexis Korner, Andy Borenius, Andy Fraser, Bad Company, Battersea, Black Cat Bones, Boz Burrell, David Roberts, Free, Harry Wareing, London, Lonerider, Long Island, Lucy Piller, Mick Austin, Mick Ralphs, Motown, New York, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Ringo Starr, Rock’n’Roll Fantasy, Salinas, Shropshire, Simon Kirke, Stax, Steve Overland, The Beatles, Twickenham | 6 Comments

Battling on amid the pandemic – Chorley Theatre’s inspirational survival story

Posted on December 1, 2020 by writewyattuk

“This was meant to be a big year for us. It marked the 110th anniversary of our building, plus 60 years since CADOS took control, 35 years of Chorley Youth Theatre, and 30 years since the Chorley Film Society started. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Arts Council England, Bijou Theatre, British Film Institute, CADOS, chorley, Chorley Theatre, Cinema For All, Dukes theatre, Ed Byrne, Film Hub North, Ian Robinson, Jason Manford, Jenny Eclair, lancashire, Lancaster, Mark Thomas, Southport, steve royle | Leave a comment

On the right track for sound and vision – in conversation with Saunder Jurriaans

Posted on November 23, 2020 by writewyattuk

It’s likely you’ve already heard some of Saunder Jurriaans’ music. Over the past decade, not only has he released records with groups Tarantula, Tarantula A.D. and Priestbird, but he’s also one half of an award-winning duo with Danny Bensi, creating … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Argentina, Beasts, Buenos Aires, Danny Bensi, Eddie Van Halen, Elliott Smith, Evanston, Frank Zappa, Frantz Casseus, George Harrison, Giant Steps, Gregory Rogove, Jimmy Page, Lee Hazlewood, Los Angeles, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Monkees, Neil Finn, Ozark, Patricia Iglesias, Pearl Jam, Priestbird, Providence, Saunder Jurriaans, Seattle, Tarantula, The Beatles, The OA, Two Gates Of Sleep | Leave a comment

Come a long way – talking Heavenly Recordings with Robin Turner

Posted on November 21, 2020 by writewyattuk

When Robin Turner came to the phone, I half expected mayhem around him, having recently read his evocative recollections of mad days in the mid-‘90s working in the Heavenly Recordings office in Soho, one of many vivid descriptions in his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Alan McGee, Andrew Weatherall, Annie Nightingale, Baxter Dury, Believe in Magic, Beth Orton, Chemical Brothers, Christopher Camm, Confidence Man, Don Letts, Doves, Edwyn Collins, Flowered Up, Gwenno, Heavenly Recordings, Jeff Barrett, Jesus and Mary Chain, Jon Savage, Magic Numbers, Manic Street Preachers, Mark Lanegan, Paul Cannell, paul weller, Pip Blom, Primal Scream, Robin Turner, Saint Etienne, Sinead O'Connor, Sly & Lovechild, Working Men's Club | Leave a comment

Independents’ Day – fighting the lockdown from behind closed doors at Action Records and Vinyl Exchange

Posted on November 9, 2020 by writewyattuk

As the UK returned late last week to ‘non-essential’ retail limbo – aka Lockdown 2 – amid the on-going coronavirus pandemic, I felt it was high time I caught up with two treasured independent North West record shops among many … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Action Records, Coronavirus, Gordon Gibson, lockdown, Manchester, Preston, record shops, Richard Farnell, The Suncharms, Vinyl Exchange | Leave a comment

Whole lotta Sweet’n’Sour shakin’ goin’ on – Baby Shakes talk transatlantic special relationships with The Undertones

Posted on November 8, 2020 by writewyattuk

There was always a healthy relationship between the NYC and UK punk and new wave scenes, each movement inspiring the other, from the inspirational effect of the New York Dolls and Ramones on the Sex Pistols and The Clash onwards, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Baby Shakes, Billy Doherty, Claudia Gonzalez, Damian O'Neill, Derry, Dimple Discs, Get Over You, glam rock, Judy Lindsay, Mary Blount, New York City, Nuggets, Ramones, Really Really, Ryan McHale, Stephen Mailey, Sweet'n'Sour, The Undertones | Leave a comment

Evoking the spirit of early Uriah Heep – a tribute to Ken Hensley

Posted on November 7, 2020 by writewyattuk

So many times I’ll put a record on and be transported back to specific times and places, that ability and chance to reflect involving many a genre, many a style of music, many an evocative memory. And while there was … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Camel, David Byron, Demons and Wizards, Gary Thain, guildford, Iain Clark, July Morning, Ken Hensley, Led Zeppelin, Lee Kerslake, Level 42, Lewis Carroll, Look at Yourself, Mick Box, Paul Newton, paul weller, Shalford, Tale From the riverbank, The Jam, The Magician's Birthday, The Mount, This is Spinal Tap, Uriah Heep, Vivian Stanshall | 4 Comments

Going viral, 2020 style …

Posted on November 1, 2020 by writewyattuk

This is a WriteWyattUK public service announcement … without guitars. Hereby follows a written intermission, after a testing fortnight on the home front in which this website’s sole scribe finally succumbed to the dreaded coronavirus. Normal service will be resumed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Football, Music | Tagged Boris Johnson, Cornwall, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Dido Harding, lancashire, NHS, Sheffield, Surrey | 2 Comments