Author Archives: writewyattuk

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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 Stranglers – Preston 53 Degrees

In the same way that the best football teams are built around a spine of experienced players, The Stranglers have never lost sight of their creative strengths. Clearly, they had to adapt big time to Hugh Cornwell’s departure in 1990, … Continue reading

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Ruby celebrations showcase Stranglers’ survival instincts – the Jean-Jacques Burnel interview

Warning: this interview includes JJ Burnel’s own brand of industrial language in places, possibly explaining the derivation of the phrase, ‘excuse my French’. A note on The Stranglers’ website from Jean-Jacques Burnel reads: “On this, the occasion of our Ruby … Continue reading

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Gary Numan / Roman Remains – Preston 53 Degrees

So there we were, seven dates into Gary Numan’s ‘intimate’ club tour, and another venue was feeling the love for this prime mover in electronica. And here was proof – if it were needed – that age has not sullied … Continue reading

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War Girls – helping make 1914-18 more relevant to today’s generation

Last week I caught up with the screen adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, in a year when it seems you’re never too far away from one tale of Great War woe or other. The film’s definitely worth watching, commendably … Continue reading

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Electric dreams still stirring emotions – the Gary Numan interview

It must have been on London’s Capital Radio when I first heard Tubeway Army, 35 years ago this month. I was only 11 at the time, yet already knew the charts inside out. But this was something else. With my transistor … Continue reading

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Full frontal nerdity – out and about with the insatiably sci-curious Steve Mould

Can science and maths really be deemed cool or funny? And when do geeks and nerds become cult TV and touring successes? Gateshead-born small screen science experiment guy Steve Mould might just know the answers to those and many more … Continue reading

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Where to now? Woking negotiating Conference Runaround

Remember children’s TV quiz Runaround, with gravel-voiced late great Mike Reid asking his young contestants to ‘runaround now!’ and decide which answer’s right, then form an orderly queue? Fast forward 35 years or so and I can see Woking FC … Continue reading

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Fiestas, festivals, fracking, Frank and First World problems – Beans on Toast, with added crunch

I’m not usually one for Wikipedia entries, but for my latest interviewee the entry starts ‘Beans On Toast is a British folk singer. He sings about sex, drugs and politics.’ Go to his Facebook and Twitter pages and you can … Continue reading

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Where past meets present, with a bright future – the Ruth Eastham interview

Ruth Eastham prides herself on ‘edgy fiction where past meets present’, with fine examples of her craft in her first three beautifully-observed teen reads, 2011’s The Memory Cage, 2012’s The Messenger Bird, and the recently-published Arrowhead. In her latest offering, she turns an … Continue reading

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Your town is not dragging Mark Steel down

Ever listened to Radio 4’s Mark Steel’s in Town? It comes highly recommended, following the stand-up comic, author, columnist and esteemed travel broadcaster around the UK, talking about often less celebrated areas. He’s far from patronising too, funny but never … Continue reading

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