From Uncut, March 2009.
'Thirty years on from the beginning of Margaret Thatcher's reign of terror, Uncut revisits a tempestuous and invigorating period in British pop history. PAUL WELLER, THE SPECIALS, THE BEAT, UB40, SOUL II SOUL and THE FARM recall a time when mass unemployment energised a whole generation to learn one chord, learn another, form a band - and then make an insurrectionist statement on Cheggers Plays Pop...'
When I first started reading what used to be Melody Maker, in a time now shrouded not so much in what are usually called the mists of time as they are in a fog as dense as anything that might gather over Dogger Bank, I used to accept its weekly delivery in the manner of some kind of jackal, cur or otherwise fanged and ravenous critter.
Pete Townshend recalls The Who’s wild early days, including their legendary performances at London’s Marquee club, in the new issue of Uncut, out on Thursday (March 28).
Stephen Stills has compared himself to pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Interviewed in the current issue of Uncut, Stills is asked whether he ever felt he uncomfortable revealing so much of himself in his love songs.
“No,” replied Stills. “I’m a little like Taylor Swift in that regard. Wear your heart on your sleeve, then just write about it. Fuck ‘em.”
Stills also revealed that Neil Young is his closest musical compatriot, far more so even the other two CSNY members.
Stephen Stills looks back over his musical career, recalling his work with Neil Young, David Crosby and Graham Nash, among others, in the new issue of Uncut, out tomorrow (February 28).
When towards the end of 1974, The Troggs announce their latest comeback single will be a cover of The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", it's an occasion for much mocking laughter in the offices of what used to be Melody Maker.
Kevin Ayers, one of Britain’s most gifted and idiosyncratic singer-songwriters, has died at the age of 68.
Ayers was born in Kent in 1944. Though he spent his childhood in Malaysia – moving there with his mother and British district officer stepfather – he returned to London at 12, only to be told to leave the city by a magistrate five years later following a drug bust. Ayers always maintained the bust that sent him into exile (and more importantly, into Canterbury) was a set-up. Whether it was or wasn’t, it was certainly an act of fate.
In the issue of Uncut dated December 2008 (Take 139), Kevin Ayers talked us through the making of some of his finest albums - including the Soft Machine’s debut, through his collaboration with Brian Eno, John Cale and Nico, his much-loved solo album Whatevershebringswesing, and more.
Interview: John Robinson__________________
This primal blast of sexual energy – penned by Chip Taylor and later hijacked by Jimi Hendrix – would prove an immediate ’66 hit for Reg Presley and his ‘proto-punk’ beat boys... Reg, manager Larry Page, writer Chip Taylor and more explain how the iconic song was made. From Uncut’s April 2009 issue (Take 143)…___________________
