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.

Renewable Power in the Darkness – back in touch with Tom Robinson

Posted on October 12, 2017 by writewyattuk

As I may have mentioned on these pages before, few TV shows of yore hold as much magic as Top of the Pops re-runs for this nostalgic, and recently I was digging among the online archives for the October 1977 … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Adam Phillips, Andy Treacey, Chris Thomas, Danny Kustow, Gerry Diver, Glad To Be Gay, Jim Simmons, John Lydon, Mark Ambler, Northern Ireland, Power in the Darkness, Rock Against Racism, So It Goes, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, Tom Robinson, Tony Wilson, Too Good to Be True, Top of the Pops, TRB, Up Against The Wall, Vic Maile, Wessex Studios, Winter of '79 | 3 Comments

Stepping back into Daylight – the Pauline Black interview

Posted on October 5, 2017 by writewyattuk

You need only take a couple of listens to the new album by influential ska favourites The Selecter to be convinced this is not a band content to sit back on past endeavours. What’s more, vocalist Pauline Black doesn’t do … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 2 Tone, Coventry, Daylight, Gaps Hendrickson, Heather Heyer, Jake Burns, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Jerry Dammers, Lynval Golding, Neil Pyzer, Neol Davies, Pauline Black, Ranking Roger, ska, The Beat, The Roundhouse, The Selecter, The Specials | 4 Comments

Revealing the Byrne identity – the Jason Byrne interview

Posted on October 5, 2017 by writewyattuk

It’s been a mad-busy few years for Jason Byrne, the Irish comic currently heading back around the UK in his guise as The Man With Three Brains show. In addition to extensive worldwide touring, you may know him from appearances … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre | Tagged Adventures of the Wonky-Eyed Boy, Arthur Mathews, comedy, Don't Say It Bring It, Dublin, Father Figure, Father Ted, Graham Linehan, Ireland's Got Talent, Jason Byrne, John Bishop, Roddy Doyle, Simon Pegg, Southport Comedy Festival, The Man With Three Brains, Tommy Cooper | 3 Comments

Returning to Heaven on Earth – the Belinda Carlisle interview

Posted on September 28, 2017 by writewyattuk

I already had a decade and more than 200 live shows under my belt by the summer of 1990, yet never got to see a headline gig in the North West until that June at Manchester Apollo, out with my … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Bangkok, Belinda Carlisle, George Harrison, Go-Go's, Heaven is a Place On Earth, Hollywood, Jane Wiedlin, Leave a Light On, Los Angeles, Our Lips Are Sealed, Pat Smear, Runaway Horses, The Germs, Wilder Shores | 1 Comment

Blancmange: Unfurnished Rooms – a writewyattuk review

Posted on September 22, 2017 by writewyattuk

While Blancmange will always remain a two-man entity in the hearts of much of their loyal fanbase, it’s worth noting it’s now been six years since Neil Arthur was largely left to his own devices in the engine room. Carrying … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Benge, Blancmange, David Bowie, David Rhodes, Fader, John Foxx, John Grant, lancashire, Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe, Unfurnished Rooms | 1 Comment

Wind and Rain and Shine – the Graham Gouldman interview

Posted on September 21, 2017 by writewyattuk

Perhaps I should open with a few stats, seeing as today’s interviewee is associated with plenty that make for impressive reading. For starters, 10cc, the band Graham Gouldman formed with Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Crème in 1972, have … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 10cc, Andrew Gold, Bus Stop, Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Graham Nash, Heartful of Songs, Herman's Hermits, I'm Not in Love, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, Manchester, Salford, Stockport, The Hollies, The Mindbenders, The Mockingbirds, The Yardbirds | 5 Comments

Mary Casio’s 2017 space odyssey – checking in with Hannah Peel

Posted on September 14, 2017 by writewyattuk

Space – the final frontier. But in this case we’re talking the voyage of Mary Casio rather than Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, boldly going where no woman has gone before – via a garden shed in Yorkshire. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Anna Karenina, Barnsley, brass bands, Cassiopeia, Craigavon, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Dobcross, electronica, Hannah Peel, Liverpool, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Liverpool Philharmonic, Mary Casio, Public Service Broadcasting, The Magnetic North, Tubular Bells, Tubular Brass | 6 Comments

Regarde le chou: getting a taste for Cabbage with Joe Martin

Posted on September 7, 2017 by writewyattuk

Performance poet turned guitarist/singer Joe Martin was between a band rehearsal and a couple of train rides that would take him over the North Yorkshire border when I called him. But when I let on that a version of our interview … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Billy Bragg, Brexit, Cabbage, Donald Trump, Giggleswick, Holmfirth, Ian Brown, James Skelly, Joe Martin, John Cooper Clarke, Lee Broadbent, Mike Garry, Mossley, Preston, Reality Party, Skeleton Key | 2 Comments

Believe Me Him – back in touch with Blancmange’s Neil Arthur

Posted on September 1, 2017 by writewyattuk

Based in Gloucestershire since leaving London a dozen years ago, Blancmange mastermind Neil Arthur continues to divide his time between the Cotswolds and old haunts in the capital. “I really enjoy it, including walks when I finish work or early … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Benge, Blancmange, Cornwall, Darwen, David Rhodes, Don't Tell Me, Fader, Gloucestershire, Heaven 17, John Foxx, John Grant, Kincaid, lancashire, Living on the Ceiling, Martyn Ware, Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe, The Human League, Unfurnished Rooms | 3 Comments

Reprising the Roachford Files – the Andrew Roachford interview

Posted on August 24, 2017 by writewyattuk

After his latest successful tour with Mike + The Mechanics, Andrew Roachford is back on the road with his band this autumn. Know the name but struggling to place the back-catalogue? Well, his biggest hits came with his first collective in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Al Green, Amy Winehouse, Andrew Roachford, Balham, Bill Roachford, Bill Withers, Cuddly Toy, Free, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Mike + The Mechanics, Mike Rutherford, Otis Redding, Paul Carrack, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick Astley, Sly and the Family, The Clash | 1 Comment