Category Archives: Music

Me and Mr Jones – the Howard Jones interview

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

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They Might be Giants – Manchester Academy 2

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

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

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

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Giants’ steps lead to Manhattan transfer – the John Flansburgh interview

The signs weren’t so good when I made contact with John Flansburgh in Manhattan last week. He sounded affable enough, but he’d already had a hard morning fielding questions from UK journalists. “I’m completely bored of myself. I’m just going … Continue reading

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Now the time has come – back in touch with Bruce Foxton

After an extended festive break, Bruce Foxton is all set for another punishing year for his band, with 100-plus gigs already arranged and a brand new album on its way. If anything, the anniversary circuit is old hat for Bruce … Continue reading

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Took a long time to come – the Colin Blunstone interview

Some songs provide the soundtrack for key moments of our lives, whenever they were written. And many of those on mine were penned before I was even born, including at least a couple from The Zombies. I’m not quite sure … Continue reading

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Remembering Bowie, through Sound and Vision

There’s not a lot I can write here that hasn’t been covered elsewhere, but I couldn’t let the week pass without my own tribute to David Bowie, who left us on Sunday, January 10th, 2016, two days after his 69th … Continue reading

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Behind the scenes at the Little Theatre

I don’t tend to plug successful local community ventures and thriving venues so much on this blog. But organisations like the Chorley Little Theatre – not far from my doorstep – deserve credit for surviving in these days of austerity … Continue reading

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Into 2016 … and 103,000 hits can’t be bad

As the hands reached midnight on New Year’s Eve, the minions behind the scenes at writewyattuk.com polished off the last of the Irish cream (explaining at least one of those empty bottles that next morning) and got to work on … Continue reading

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Thanks for the memoirs – catching up with Slade’s Dave Hill

Looking at the extensive list of past shows on Don Powell’s website, it’s clear that Slade are old hands at this touring lark. An impressive archive of on-stage engagements runs from March 1963, and it’s fair to say Don’s diary remains … Continue reading

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