In praise of Michel Polnareff

A superstar in his native land for nearly sixty years, a colossal star in Japan, but despite living for many years in the United States, Michel Polnareff is disappointingly little-known in the English-speaking world.

Who was the first recording artist to cover a Beatles song?

Sixty-two years ago, on 11 January 1963, The Beatles released their second single, and the world would never quite be the same again. A few days after its release, it entered the UK charts, buoyed by a television appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Climbing rapidly and continuously over the following weeks, it hit the top spot on the New Musical Express charts on 23 February, giving the band their first UK number one hit (don’t believe the Official Chart Company – it really was a number one hit!). By then, the band had already recorded their first album, and other artists were queuing up to cover their songs. Which leads to a conundrum, and a controversial quiz night question: Who was the first recording artist to cover a Beatles song?

The Beach Boys: Holland

Fifty-one years ago on January 8th, The Beach Boys released their Holland LP. Their fourth album since leaving Capitol Records in 1970, it was also the third in a series of albums that had sought to move them away from the sun and surf image that had dogged them since the sixties and to reposition them as a serious, progressive music band.

Fairyale Of New York

There are some songs that hit you like a bullet the first time you hear them, sweeping you away into their world and eating into your emotional core, only to be washed away with time as over-exposure, over-praise and over-familiarity dull their brilliance to the point where you could happily never hear them again.

Reflections on the (Young) Rascals

It might seem odd to use the word “underrated” to describe a band with three #1 singles and six top twenty LPs, but then, the (Young) Rascals were an odd kind of band. And for all their (considerable) commercial success, they are rarely spoken of with the same respect as other bands from the same era, despite their groundbreaking achievements. Time to redress the balance…

Thinking of Françoise Hardy

If France Gall was the ultimate wind-up doll, Sylvie Vartan the fun-loving girl about town and Sheila the good-natured girl next door, then Françoise was the older, wiser sister, happy to let her (long, straight) hair down when the time was right but otherwise content to watch the world, standing (in the latest fashionable attire) slightly apart, off to one side, looking on as the parade passed by

The Songs The Beatles Gave Away

Ever since the Beatles broke up in 1970, fans have spent countless hours imagining what the next album might have been like, if only they had stayed together. Trawl internet chatrooms, blogs and fan sites and you can find dozens, if not hundreds of suggestions.

In praise of Del Shannon

A driving guitar. An other-worldly keyboard solo. A powerful, ballsy voice, breaking into a piercing falsetto. An eternal, lost love lyric. “Runaway” It’s one of the most recognisable rock ‘n’ roll songs on the planet, a golden oldie that no golden oldie show could ever be complete without. Emerging three years ahead of the British Invasion, Del Shannon has been (unfairly) miscast by history as a fifties throwback.

Remembering Vale Broderick Smith, born 17 February 1948, died 30 April 2023

Broderick first came to attention in the late sixties, out front on harp and vocals with the Adderley Smith Blues Band, a popular Melbourne outfit, but it was with the legendary Carson, the premier Aussie blues and boogie band of the era, and later with The Dingoes that he made his name during the early 1970’s

Adios, Renée, and thanks…

The Australian music industry was left a poorer place this week with the unexpected and devastating news of the passing of Renée Geyer at the terribly young age of 69. For fifty years, Renée was the yardstick against which other singers could measure themselves and would usually come up wanting. Bold, defiant, nobody’s fool, Renée blazed a trail for others to follow, although few could do so as soulfully and powerfully as she.

An interview with author Gareth Jones

The book “French Pop” by Gareth Jones, is a thorough investigation and documentation of the history of French Pop music, which is also the story of the modern music industry. In this interview, Gareth Jones discusses the writing and research process as well as the origin of his passion for French music. This interview is also proof that the author is a man who can best described as a scholar in the history of all modern music, not just French one.

French Pop: From Music Hall to Yé-Yé by Gareth Jones, an exceptional and indispensable book

Few books can serve as both an enjoyable reading experience and a reference guide such as this one, a thorough investigation and documentation of the history of French Pop music, which is also the story of the modern music industry