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.

The Blue Aeroplanes – Manchester, The Ruby Lounge

Posted on January 13, 2017 by writewyattuk

It’s official. The Blue Aeroplanes are no less a beguiling sight and feast upon the left-over mince pies now as they were three decades before. This Bristol septet have just delivered the finest LP of the year (it’s only January, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Anti-Gravity, Beatsongs, Bec Jevons, Blue Aeroplanes, Bob Dylan, Bristol, Chris Sharp, Gerard Langley, Gerard Starkie, Jacket Hangs, John Langley, Mike Youe, Rodney Allen, Swagger, Tom Verlaine, Welcome Stranger!, Wojtek Dmochowski | 1 Comment

Moving the room with the James Taylor Quartet

Posted on January 12, 2017 by writewyattuk

There was some serious attention seeking going on when I called James Taylor at his home studio in Kent. It wasn’t down to him though, but his Cairn terrier, Heidi, after he shut her out of his studio in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Acid Jazz, Bach, Blow-Up, Booker T & The MGs, Caravan, Eddie Piller, George Benson, Georgie Fame, Herbie Hancock, Ian McLagen, James Brown, James Taylor, James Taylor Quartet, Jimmy Smith, John Peel, Jon Lord, Keith Emerson, Kent, Kylie Minogue, Medway, Mod, Pat Illingworth, Preston Guild Hall, Rochester, Ronnie Scott's, Starsky & Hutch, Stockholm. Mark Cox, The Prisoners | 1 Comment

The Blue Aeroplanes – Welcome, Stranger!

Posted on January 9, 2017 by writewyattuk

The Blue Aeroplanes are back after a five-year wait, and have delivered the first great album of 2017. This is a band that always understood the importance of a strong first line. Take 1990’s Jacket Hangs for example. And this album … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged Altitude, Beatsongs, Bec Jevons, Blue Aeroplanes, Bristol, Gerard Langley, iDestroy, Jacket Hangs, REM, Rodney Allen, Rough Music, Shanks & Bigfoot, Swagger, Tolerance, Welcome Stranger! | 1 Comment

Further entries from the journal of an airman – in conversation with The Blue Aeroplanes’ Gerard Langley

Posted on January 5, 2017 by writewyattuk

The Blue Aeroplanes pride themselves on fusing elements of rock, folk, poetry, punk, dance and art, and were acknowledged as favourites of the likes of Radiohead and REM back in the day. Their lead singer also lectures on songwriting, his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Art Objects, Beatsongs, BIMM, Blue Aeroplanes, Bristol, George Ezra, Gerard Langley, iDestroy, Inspiral Carpets, Jacket Hangs, Marc Riley, Noel Gallagher, REM, Rodney Allen, Swagger, The Fleece, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Tim Keegan, Welcome Stranger! | 4 Comments

The writewyattuk quotes of 2016, part two – July to December

Posted on December 24, 2016 by writewyattuk

As the festivities start to take hold at writewyattuk hq, we best conclude our 12 months of quotes from 2016’s feature/interviews, encapsulated via a series of soundbites. Again, much gratitude to all who responded, and big respect to those who … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged About the Young Idea, Ajay Saggar, Alison Wheeler, Beatles, Big Country, Billy Doherty, David Callahan, David Fenton, David Jakes, Dennis Greaves, Dennis locorriere, Deutsche Ashram, Dr Hook, Ed Bazalgette, Elliott Morris, Gary Numan, Geno Washington, Glenn Tilbrook, Hannah Peel, Jenn Ashworth, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Brown, Jimmy Osmond, John Robb, John Suchet, Lonely the Brave, Mark Brzezicki, Mark Trotter, Matteo Sedazzari, Membranes, Merinde Verbeek, Michael Foreman, Nicky Weller, nine Below Zero, Norman Blake, P.P. Arnold, Paul Young, Q-Tips, Richard Houghton, Teenage Fanclub, The Beautiful South, The Magnetic North, The South, The Undertones, The Vapors, The Wolfhounds, Toots and the Maytals, Toots Hibbert, UB40, Wilko Johnson | Leave a comment

The writewyattuk quotes of 2016, part one – January to June

Posted on December 23, 2016 by writewyattuk

As a year probably remembered on a national and international level as one of big-name departures and alarming political shifts draws to a close, writewyattuk faces the music and dances (somewhat discordantly) in a retro style, looking back on the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Alan White, Blake, Blancmange, Bruce Foxton, Ciaran McLaughlin, Colin Blunstone, Dan Gillespie Sells, Dave Brock, Dr. Robert, Duke Fakir, Four Tops, Gary Stringer, Gilbert O'sullivan, Graham Nash, Hawkwind, Howard Jones, James, Jim Glennie, Joe Bonamassa, John Flansburgh, John Lydon, Kate Mullins, Lulu, Mick Avory, Miles Hunt, Neil Arthur, Newton Faulkner, Otis Williams, PiL, Puppini Sisters, Reef, Simon Tong, Stephen Bowman, Stephen K Amos, Temptations, The Blow Monkeys, The Everlasting Yeah, The Feeling, The Kinks, The Magnetic North, The Wonder Stuff, Thea Gilmore, They Might Be Giants, Toyah, Will Young, Yes, Zombies | Leave a comment

‘The Beatles – I Was There’ – talking the Fab Four Live (1957/66) with Richard Houghton

Posted on December 21, 2016 by writewyattuk

There can’t be too many Beatles devotees in their mid-50s who got to see the band live, anywhere in the world. But while Richard Houghton was one such lucky fan, he remembers next to nothing about the special guests he witnessed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Barry Miles, Brian Epstein, Dreamland Ballroom, Eight Days a Week, George Harrison, GottaHaveBooks, I Was There, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Red Planet, Richard Houghton, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, The Cavern, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Woolton Village Fete | 2 Comments

Jimmy’s Merry Transatlantic Christmas – in conversation with Jimmy Osmond

Posted on December 16, 2016 by writewyattuk

There are moments in life which seem a little surreal, and one came for me last week, on the phone to a performer who was first introduced to the world as Little Jimmy Osmond. While I’m quick to tell people … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Andy Williams, Blackpool, Branson, Crazy Horses, Donny Osmond, Jay Osmond, Jimmy Osmond, Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Marie Osmond, Merrill Osmond, Michael Jackson, Missouri, Moon River, Preston, The Jacksons | 1 Comment

Telling classical tales – the John Suchet interview

Posted on December 15, 2016 by writewyattuk

From The Four Tops, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Graham Nash and John Lydon to Lulu, The Membranes, The Puppini Sisters and Will Young, it’s fair to say we’ve criss-crossed the musical genres on this website over 2016. This past week was no … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Admiral Nurses, Beethoven, Classic FM, David Suchet, dementia, John Suchet, Liverpool Philharmonic, Mozart, My Bonnie, Preston Guild Hall, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Spirit of Christmas, Strauss, Who Do You Think You Are | 1 Comment

Getting to know a Good Thing – having a proper parlez with Paul Young

Posted on December 8, 2016 by writewyattuk

Paul Young was having a chinwag with his good friend and ‘father of the Italian blues’ Zucchero Fornaciari in a hotel room in the capital when I tracked him down, ahead of a Royal Albert Hall date for the latter. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Al Green, Ann Peebles, Arthur Baker, China Crisis, Everytime You Go Away, Good Thing, Hue & Cry, James Halliwell, Laurie Latham, Los Pacaminos, Luton, Manchester Academy, Martika, No Parlez, Paul Young, Q-Tips, Rod Stewart, Streetband, The Secret of Association, Toast, Toyah, Wherever I Lay My Hat | 2 Comments