Peter Hook has said he feels it is "quite a compliment" that Disney have been "inspired" by Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures' artwork for their latest Mickey Mouse T-shirt.
MC Taylor, a songwriter and a student of folklore, is not a declamatory man. His songs are compressed and poetic, with nary a syllable out of place. You will hear echoes of familiar things – a bit of Van Morrison’s mystical warmth, or John Martyn’s angst, and the language will be unfussy, and derived from the folk tradition.
The clock was ticking yesterday afternoon as we approached the final deadlines for the next issue of Uncut. But we were finished early enough for me to rush hot-foot across London to The May Fair hotel, near Hyde Park, where Leonard Cohen was due to present a playback of his new album, Old Ideas, to a specially invited audience.
It is a sad fact of life that a man from any walk of life – even the often preposterous world of music – will struggle to be taken seriously if he wanders about wearing a beard the size of Gibraltar, decorating his face with white stars and red war paint, growing his hair down to his waist, then dying it yellow on one side of the parting and blue on the other. So it is with Roy Wood, still best remembered for his terrifying dayglo clan chief appearance than the succession of superb pop songs he wrote for The Move, ELO, Wizzard and – perhaps most impressively - as a solo performer.
The Happy Mondays have announced their plans to reform with the band's original line-up, including backing vocalist and former X Factor finalist Rowetta.
The Manchester icons, fronted by Shaun Ryder, will be touring the UK this summer as well as playing festival shows. No dates have yet been announced but it is thought that an official statement will be released in the coming weeks.
