Tag Archives: Tony Wilson

And the beat goes on – in praise of Life’s a Gamble: Penetration, the Invisible Girls and Other Stories by Pauline Murray

Catching up with Pauline Murray at Action Records in Preston, Lancashire, last week, she seemed somewhat surprised about the positive reaction to her autobiography, and genuinely chuffed that I thought it any good. Played down reactions and not going out … Continue reading

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Up, up and away – a late introduction to Magic Roundabout

Once upon a long ago, there was a band – described by their modern-day label as ‘criminally-unheard Manchester noisemakers’ – that borrowed its name from a hit UK children’s TV show that itself started life in a very different form … Continue reading

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Exploring Badly Drawn Boy’s Pocket Guide To A Midlife Crisis – back in touch with Damon Gough

It was almost six years since I’d last spoken to Damon Gough, and a lot had happened since in his life. On that occasion I cocked up, putting the lead in the wrong jack (which sounds like some obscure late-‘80s … Continue reading

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West on Colfax in search of Americana – the Scott Carey interview

As Scott Carey works on Watling Street Road, Preston, you could argue that his band might have taken a more Lancastrian name, perhaps linked to the Roman road leading towards Ribchester and beyond. But West on Colfax prefer to wear … Continue reading

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All Night Party People – in conversation with A Certain Ratio’s Jez Kerr

It promises to be a busy year for industrial punk-funk pioneers and indie-dance survivors A Certain Ratio, currently playing a series of UK dates to coincide with new Mute collection, ACR:BOX. After 2018’s acr:set compilation and their LP reissue campaign, the … Continue reading

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A Manchester love affair on record – the C.P. Lee interview

It wouldn’t be right to call C.P. Lee an unsung hero of the North West music scene. He’s sung a fair bit in his time and those who truly know the Manchester scene know full well who he is. So … Continue reading

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A man of Substance – the Peter Hook interview

  ‘I’m here now … sorry,’ read my text message, and after a couple of days struggling to locate Peter Hook, it seemed I finally had my chance. We’d missed each other a few times, but seeing as it was … Continue reading

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

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

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After the pills ‘n’ thrills and bellyaches – the Rowetta interview

Legendary Madchester trailblazers Happy Mondays are set to return later this year for a 25-date UK and Irish tour, their Twenty Four Hour Party People Greatest Hits Show, with those November and December appearances marking the 30th anniversary of the … Continue reading

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St Anthony: An Ode to Anthony H. Wilson

I’ve probably said this before, but I don’t tend to do plugs on this blog. But this is a project I feel deserves wider recognition, involving a touching tribute to Anthony H. Wilson, the mouthpiece-turned-icon for so much great music … Continue reading

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