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.

Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone by Michael Bradley – a writewyattuk review

Posted on March 4, 2016 by writewyattuk

I’ve waited a long time for Michael Bradley’s band memoirs. Sometimes anticipation leads to disappointment, but I shouldn’t have worried – it’s everything I hoped for. I don’t know how long Mickey – bass player and backing vocalist for The … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | 5 Comments

Ever get The Feeling? Eponymous tales with Dan Gillespie Sells

Posted on March 3, 2016 by writewyattuk

Cool is a word that comes up a lot when you speak to Dan Gillespie Sells, frontman of The Feeling. But he only tends to use it disparagingly. Cards on the table first. Cool or not, his band have always … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Amy Winehouse, Ashmole School, Blur, Boy Cried Wolf, BRIT School, Dan Gillespie Sells, Hackney, I Thought It Was Over, Join with Us, Manchesster, Neil Finn, Queen, Richard Jones, Ruby Lounge, Spiralling, Stonewall, The Feeling, Twelve Stops and Home, Wicked Heart | 6 Comments

Singing the praises of Reef’s return – the Gary Stringer interview

Posted on February 25, 2016 by writewyattuk

Gary Stringer was at home in Somerset earlier this week, making last-minute preparations ahead of Reef’s latest UK and Irish tour, which commences tonight (February 25th) at The Hub in Plymouth. The 42-year-old vocalist is joined by Jack Bessant (bass), … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged AC/DC, Aretha Franklin, Bon Scott, Chris Gilks, Cornwall, Dominic Greensmith, Fearne Cotton, Gary Stringer, Glow, How I Got Over, Jack Bessant, Jesse Wood, Kenwyn House, Muff Winwood, paul weller, Place Your Hands, Reef, Richard Digby-Smith, Ron Wood, S2, Sony, St Ives | 2 Comments

High Life, high fidelity – back in touch with The Puppini Sisters

Posted on February 18, 2016 by writewyattuk

The past decade has proved a blast for The Puppini Sisters, this close harmony trio amassing gold and multi-platinum discs, and enjoying famous collaborations with everyone from Cyndi Lauper and Michael Bublé to The Manhattan Transfer. There have been lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Bataclan, Belleville Rendez-Vous, Benoît Charest, Blake Wilner, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Emma Smith, Fred DeFaye, Henrik Jensen, Is This the High Life, Kate Mullins, Kirsty MacColl, Lytham, Marcella Puppini, Michael Buble, Paris, Peter Ibbetson, Prince Charles, Robert Hazard, The Puppini Sisters | 2 Comments

The Everlasting Yeah – The Lexington, Islington

Posted on February 12, 2016 by writewyattuk

I’d waited two and a half long years to catch The Everlasting Yeah (four-fifths of That Petrol Emotion, for those out of the loop) live, but there was a worry at one stage last weekend that I wouldn’t even get … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged Anima Rising, Brendan Kelly, Ciaran McLaughlin, Damian O'Neill, Derry, Islington, Raymond Gorman, That Petrol Emotion, The Everlasting Yeah, The Lexington, The Undertones | 5 Comments

Meeting Himself, coming back – the Gilbert O’Sullivan interview

Posted on February 11, 2016 by writewyattuk

According to my battered copy of British Record Charts 1955-1979, Gilbert O’Sullivan sold more UK singles than any other solo male artist in 1972, seeing off the likes of fellow top-10 acts Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Donny Osmond, David Cassidy … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Alone Again (Naturally), BBC Concert Orchestra, Bobby Davro, Ella Fitzgerald, Gilbert O'sullivan, Gordon Mills, Latin ala G!, Nothing Rhymed, Peggy Lee, Ray Davies, Rick Davies | 6 Comments

Reliving The Kinks’ golden years – the Mick Avory interview

Posted on February 10, 2016 by writewyattuk

He may have been outside The Kinks for three decades now, but Mick Avory was there when it mattered, overseeing a happening 20-year period with this most quintessential English outfit. While it was his difficult relationship with guitarist Dave Davies … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Colin Blunstone, Dave Davies, David Watts, From The Jam, John Dalton, Kew, Konk Studios, Mick Avory, Mick Jagger, Molesey, Pete Quaife, Preston, Preston Charter Theatre, Ray Davies, Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stones, The Kast Off Kinks, The Kinks | 2 Comments

Me and Mr Jones – the Howard Jones interview

Posted on February 5, 2016 by writewyattuk

Can it really be more than 30 years since Howard Jones first arrived on our TV screens, with that cutaway t-shirt and distinctive split-level dyed-blond spiky hair, amid a bank of synthesisers performing New Song on Top of the Pops? … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Breaking Bad, Cardiff, China Crisis, David Bowie, Duncan Sheik, Eddie the Eagle, Elise Yuill, Engage, Epstein Theatre, Gary Barlow, Hide and Seek, Howard Jones, Human's Lib, Jed Hoile, Keith Emerson, Live Aid, Liverpool, Manchester, Midge Ure, Morriston Orpheus Choir, New Song, Rewind, Royal Northern College of Music, Taunton | 4 Comments

They Might be Giants – Manchester Academy 2

Posted on February 2, 2016 by writewyattuk

Ever tried explaining They Might Be Giants to anyone not in the know? I have, and strongly advise that you shouldn’t bother. Just give people links to a few tracks and let them work it out for themselves. I’m guessing … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Apollo 18, Birdhouse in Your Soul, Brooklyn, Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf, Destiny's Child, Dial-a-Song, Don't Let's Start, Flood, Glean, John Flansburgh, John Linnell, Johnathan Richman, Lincoln, Manchester, Manchester Academy, Marty Beller, New York, They Might Be Giants | 2 Comments

From The Jam / Nine Below Zero – Colne, The Muni

Posted on February 1, 2016 by writewyattuk

Any musician worth their salt will have learned a great deal by getting along to the mystical East at the weekend (well, East Lancashire, any road), for a masterclass in maximum r’n’b and impassioned post-punk. While The Jam material played … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged Brendan O'Neill, Brian Bethell, Bruce Foxton, Colne, Dennis Greaves, Don’t Point Your Finger at the Guitar Man, Dr Feelgood, From The Jam, Mark Feltham, Mike Randon, nine Below Zero, paul weller, Russell Hastings, The Jam, Tom Van Heel | 5 Comments