It seems as if a month doesn’t go by without the release of a new Ben Wheatley film. I'm exaggerating, of course, but Wheatley is certainly becoming one of Britain’s most prolific film makers, with four full-length features since 2009 – as well as two series of Johnny Vegas’ sitcom, Ideal – under his belt.
“I think I was reaching quite high from the beginning. I may not have had any right to be, but I was. I was always interested in people that were older than me and I looked up to them – people really from a different era to me: Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, even writers like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. I wasn’t particularly influenced by my contemporaries. They weren’t very good.”
This month’s issue of Uncut (June 2013) features The Waterboys discussing their mammoth new Fisherman’s Box release – here, in this archive feature from Uncut’s July 2008 issue, the band, including Mike Scott and Karl Wallinger, reflect on the creation of their pop masterpiece, The Whole Of The Moon. Expect disagreements, still; arguments about musical contributions, worries over spending life in prison for hitting someone over the head with a guitar… Words: Nick Hasted
Neil Young, Chrissie Hynde and U2 are among the artists who have celebrated Willie Nelson's 80th birthday, which took place yesterday (April 30).
Tributes paid by scores of musicians and friends - including Young, Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp, Norah Jones and Band Of Horses - have been posted on Nelson's website.
Neil Young sings "Happy birthday" to Nelson from the balcony of a roadside motel, adding: "80 years, unbelievable. Keep on rocking, man."
The last time I had occasion to write about my old friend BP Fallon in Uncut was in March, 2010, when he’d just released his debut single, produced by Jack White and released by Jack’s Third Man Records as the first in the label’s new Spoken Word-Instructional record Series. “Fame #9” was backed with “BP Fallon Interview By Jack White” and “I Believe In Elvis Presley”, on which White played some viperish slide guitar, with The Raconteurs’ Patrick Keeler on drums. There was also a video, featuring some of BP’s many friends, including Kevin Shields, Bobby Gillespie and Gemma Hayes.
Shameless plug coming your way! This Thursday, March 14, the next in our ongoing series of Ultimate Music Guides hits the shops. This one is dedicated to The Smiths.
