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.

Timeless cack-handed melodies – talking The La’s and Shack with Iain Templeton

Posted on February 22, 2021 by writewyattuk

“I’ve kind of been airbrushed out of their history really. I was busking in a band on Bold Street, and someone said, ‘The La’s are checking you out.’ I replied, ‘Ah, fuck The La’s. Syd Barrett meets The Beatles. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Big Leaves, Catatonia, Chris Sharrock, Don Powell, Gary Lineker, George Davidson, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynki, Gruff Rhys, HMS Fable, Iain Templeton, James Dean Bradfield, John Head, John Power, Lee Mavers, Liverpool, Llangollen, Manic Street Preachers, Michael Head, Neil Finn, Newcastle, Nicky Wire, Pale Fountains, Rachel Diop, Ray Davies, Richard Parfitt, Ringo Starr, Shack, Solian, Super Furry Animals, The Kinks, The Kooks, The La's, The Pool Underground, Tim Finn, Toxteth, Zak Starkey | Leave a comment

Updating the profile – the Cathal Coughlan interview

Posted on February 8, 2021 by writewyattuk

Home is normally London for Cathal Coughlan, having initially left Cork in the summer of 1983 alongside Sean O’Hagan to relaunch Microdisney, keen to pick up on interest from legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel and escape a supposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Cathal Coughlan, Cherry Red, Cork, Crooked Mile, Damian O'Neill, Dimple Discs, Eileen Gogan, Fatima Mansions, Felicia Cohen, Grand Necropolitan Quartet, High Llamas, Jacknife Lee, John Peel, June Miles-Kingston, London, Luke Haines, Microdisney, Owl in the Parlour, Prefab Sprout, Rough Trade, Sean O'Hagan, Song of Co-Aklan, That Petrol Emotion, The Clock That Comes Down the Stairs, The Go-Betweens, The Undertones | 4 Comments

Creating soundscapes, drawn from life at home and abroad – the Brick Briscoe interview

Posted on February 1, 2021 by writewyattuk

Brick Briscoe was editing his TV show at his home studio in Petersburg, Indiana, when I called last week, needing it submitted by Sunday night ahead of an air date of February 11th. “I’m almost done – get off my … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Any Road, Arizona, Billy Bragg, Brick Briscoe, Camper Van Beethoven, cancer, CBGB's, COVID-19, Frank Funaro, Indiana, Joey Ramone, Los Angeles, My Favorite Los Angeles Restaurant, New Harmony, New York, paul weller, Petersburg, Phoenix, R Dean Taylor, Ramones, Saunder Jurriaans, Television, The Blue Jean Bridge, The Clash, The Dictators, The Song Show | 1 Comment

Ever redefining: from The Continental to The Colossalist – the Vukovar feature

Posted on January 26, 2021 by writewyattuk

Remember live music? It’s been a while. Come mid-March it’ll be a year since my last gig, and slightly longer since my most recent visit to cherished Lancashire arts venue The Continental in Preston, where at one stage it seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Blackpool, Blue Orchids, Ceramic Hobs, Eternity Ends Here, lancashire, Mad Pride, Penetration, Preston, Rose McDowall, Simon Morris, The Colossalist, The Continental, The Membranes, Todmorden, Tuff Life Boogie, Vukovar, Warrington | Leave a comment

The further rise, beyond The Fall with Brix Smith

Posted on January 25, 2021 by writewyattuk

Brix Smith has a defining year ahead of her, having made best use of her pandemic downtime, despite personal loss and heartache, like so many of us. The Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter and guitarist – her moniker in tribute to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Adult Net, Andrew Weatherall, Brix and the Extricated, Brix Smith, Chacago, Chrissie Hynde., Craig Leon, John Peel, Leave the Capitol, Los Angeles, Manchester, Marcia Schofield, Mark E Smith, Nadine Shah, Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley, Susanna Hoffs, The Fall, The Runaways, The Tube, University of Surrey, Viv Albertine, Youth | Leave a comment

Floating down the stream of time with The Beatles – the David Stark interview

Posted on January 15, 2021 by writewyattuk

Heard the one about the 15-year-old and his mate who gatecrashed the premiere of The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine film in July 1968, ending up directly behind the Fab Four in seats reserved for Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull? That same … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged A Hard Day's Night, Abbey Road, Beatles, Brian Epstein, David Stark, Decca, Dick James, Don Powell, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Fidel Castro, George Harrison, George Martin, Haberdashers' Aske's, Help!, Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Lennon, Johnnie Walker, Let It Be, London, Lulu, Maurice Gibb, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Rock'n'Roll Circus, Rolling Stones, Spike Milligan, The Magic Christian, The Who, Trembling Wilburys, Yellow Submarine | Leave a comment

WriteWyattUK’s Guide to Finding Inspiration … In Spite of These Times, pt. II

Posted on December 31, 2020 by writewyattuk

In which WriteWyattUK takes a look back – in quotation form – at the pick of our feature/interviews from 2020, the dreaded year the coronavirus carved a devastating impact on the music and arts scene. Click on the highlighted name … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Accrington, Action Records, Andy Crofts, Babyshakes, Bad Company, Beabadoobee, BOB, Bradford, Carl Hunter, Chorley Theatre, Cigar Box Blues, Conor Deegan, Dave Hemingway, Dave Hodgson, David Gedge, Don Powell, Everything Everything, Ewan Butler, Folk Devils, Fontaines D.C., Free, Ginnel, Gordon Gibson, Grant Keir, Heavenly Recordings, Hull, Ian Robinson, Jeremy Pritchard, Jon Anderson, Kate Stables, lancashire, Liverpool, Mark Wareing, Neil Jones, Nick Clift, On the Wire, paul weller, Ray Gange, Richard Blackborow, Richard Farnell, Robin Turner, Rude Boy, Saunder Jurriaans, Simon Kirke, Slade, Steve Barker, Stone Foundation, The Beautiful South, The Clash, The Housemartins, The Psychedelic Furs, The Undertones, The Wedding Present, This is the Kit, Tim Butler, Vinyl Exchange, Virginia Heath | Leave a comment

WriteWyattUK’s Guide to Finding Inspiration … In Spite of These Times, Pt. I

Posted on December 31, 2020 by writewyattuk

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged 2020, Adele, Ajay Saggar, Americana, Amsterdam, Annie Hardy, Badly Drawn Boy, Baxter Dury, Bhajsn Bhoy, Blow Monkeys, Cigar Box Blues, Cornershop, Coronavirus, Damian O'Neill, Damon Gough, Danny Morris, Dave Fenton, David Bowie, Dead Trout, Dr. Robert, Eileen Gogan, Elvis Costello, Erland Cooper, From Scotland with Love, Get it Loud in Libraries, Giant Drag, Graham Firth, Grant Keir, Gypsy Pistoleros., Ian Allcock, Ian Prowse, John T. Davis, Karima Francis, Kenny Anderson, King Creosote, lancashire, Lee Mark Jones, Lindisfarne, Liverpool, London, Optic Nerve, Orkney, Paul Cook, Pele, Pete Astor, Pete Wylie, Preston, Richard Houghton, Rob Talbot, Robert Howard, Scott Carey, Sex Pistols, Shellshock Rock, Slade, Steve Levine, Stewart Parsons, Sue Culshaw, The Continental, The Ferret, The Loft, The Professionals, The Smiths, The Vapors, The Weather Prophets, Tjinder Singh, Transvision Vamp, True Deceivers, Virginia Heath, Wendy James, West on Colfax | Leave a comment

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