Henry Yates

Henry Yates

Henry Yates has been a freelance journalist since 2002 and written about music for titles including The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Classic Rock, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer. He is the author of Walter Trout's official biography, Rescued From Reality, a music pundit on Times Radio and BBC TV, and an interviewer who has spoken to Brian May, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie Wood, Dave Grohl, Marilyn Manson, Kiefer Sutherland and many more. 

Articles by: Henry Yates

Andrew WK on stage in 2002

"I thought, 'I’m gonna make a song telling people to party, but party however they want.'" How an earnest, sober young man in a grubby white t-shirt called Andrew W.K. convinced a post-9/11 world to embrace positivity with a song called Party Hard

By Henry Yates published

Affected by the darkness of 9/11 and fed up of partying being owned by booze and drugs, Andrew W.K. went about writing an unlikely generational anthem

The Beatles in 1964

The 10 worst Beatles songs

By Henry Yates published

Even The Beatles had their off days, as these 10 stinkers prove

Mike McCready with a Fender Stratocaster

"It's a lot heavier than you'd expect": Mike McCready on Pearl Jam's next album, working with Andrew Watt, and the state of the US

By Henry Yates published

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready talks smashed Stratocasters, screaming solos, and why his band need their "asses kicked"

Walter Trout with guitar, leaning up against an abandoned truck

The Walter Trout albums you should definitely own

By Henry Yates published

The best of bluesman Walter Trout's studio back catalogue to catch in your net – and one to throw back

A section of the cover art from Jackson Browne's Late For The Sky

The story behind Jackson Browne's favourite Jackson Browne album cover

By Henry Yates published

Based on a painting by Belgian surrealist René Magritte, the cover photograph for Jackson Browne's Late For The Sky took weeks to capture

Bob Dylan, Curtis Mayfield and George Harrison portraits

14 peace anthems and the stories behind them

By Bill DeMain, Polly Glass, Jo Kendall, Henry Yates published

From pleas for equality to anti-war sentiments and social commentary, we look at some of the greatest peace songs of all time

Keith Moon in the studio and (inset) Kenney Jones at home

The 10 best Keith Moon performances, by Kenney Jones

By Henry Yates published

Kenney Jones replaced the irrepressible Keith Moon in The Who in 1978 – and these are performances by his predecessor he loves the most

Richie Sambora and Dolly Parton onstage at Glastonbury in 2014

Richie Sambora on Dolly Parton: "If you're not a fan, then you don't understand music very much"

By Henry Yates published

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora on blowing up Glastonbury with Dolly Parton, playing on Rockstar, and why "Dolly is Elvis, man"

Edwyn Starr studio portrait

"I saw one royalty cheque... and I never saw anything else from that point on": Edwyn Starr's raging classic War may have made his name, but it didn't make him rich

By Henry Yates published

‘War! Huh! Yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin’!’: 10 words that entered the public consciousness in 1970 and have never left

Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Rick Nielsen

32 of the greatest onstage moments in the entire history of the rock guitar

By Amit Sharma, Polly Glass, Henry Yates, Ian Fortnam, Paul Henderson, Richard Bienstock, Joe Bosso, Andy Aledort, Damian Fanelli published

Celebrating the pioneering, the spectacular, the unexpected and the unrepeatable

George Thorogood studio portrait

"We actually took it to a musicologist because we didn’t want to get sued": the story behind George Thorogood & The Destroyers' Bad To The Bone

By Henry Yates published

George Thorogood’s ode to brawlin’ and heart breakin’ Bad To The Bone was inspired by The Rolling Stones and almost recorded by Bo Diddley

Starbenders, Wolfgang Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Grace Potter and Skindred

The 50 best rock albums of 2023

By Fraser Lewry published

The past 12 months may go down in history as a period of tumult and turmoil, but on the positive side, rock'n'roll is very much alive and well – as the best 50 albums of 2023 reflect

Nader Mansour portrait

"My country might be in shambles right now, but I'm the king of these shambles": The Wanton Bishops' Nader Mansour on the beauty of Beirut

By Henry Yates published

Lebanese rocker Nader Mansour on giving up screaming, dating wild women and the insecurity of musicians

The cover of David Bowie's Hunky Dory, plus (inset) Jim James

Why I ❤️ David Bowie's Hunky Dory, by My Morning Jacket's Jim James

By Henry Yates published

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James on the classic 1971 album that introduced him to the joys of David Bowie

The Cadillac Three press photo

"So I open it up and it's ten thousand dollars in hundred-dollar bills, all stacked and taped together": The Cadillac Three's stories of Lemmy, Steven Tyler, Chrissie Hynde, Paris Hilton and more

By Henry Yates published

They played hungover baseball with Jack White, fought bouncers alongside Kings Of Leon, and received wisdom from Billy Gibbons: they're the Cadillac Three, and these are their stories

John Mayall circa 1970

The John Mayall albums you should definitely own

By Henry Yates published

The Godfather of British blues introduced Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jack Bruce and Mick Taylor to the world, and has made 60 albums in nearly 60 years

A smashed guitar onstage

"We have one rule: you can have body punches and choke-holds and throw bottles at each other, but we never crack each other in the face": What happens when bands fight

By Henry Yates, Jerry Ewing, Malcolm Dome, Geoff Barton, Fraser Lewry published

The 40 bitterest bust-ups in rock history: From fisticuffs to wars of words to litigation and beyond, rock'n'roll’s divorce courts are packed with ire and animosity:

Dolly Parton and Rob Halford duetting at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony

“Dolly Parton is tickling my beard! I thought: ‘Well, this is off to a good start!’”: how Rob Halford ended up appearing on Dolly Parton’s new rock album

By Henry Yates published

Exclusive: Judas Priest’s Rob Halford reveals the secret of his collaboration with Dolly Parton

AC/DC group shot, 2008

"I'll say goodbye to the boys and they can get someone else in to do the job. And I really mean it": Revisiting Black Ice, the album that saved AC/DC's career

By Henry Yates published

For eight long years they’d been silent. Then, seemingly out of the blue, AC/DC rediscovered their mojo with Black Ice and became bigger than ever

Susan Tedeschi press shot

"We would race cars and listen to The Eagles and Led Zeppelin": Susan Tedeschi picks the soundtrack of her life

By Henry Yates published

Soul-blues queen Susan Tedeschi picks her records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals why she's got a soft spot for Harry Styles

Joe Bonamassa: Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 cover art

Joe Bonamassa fires on all cylinders on the unfailingly upbeat sequel to 2003's Blues Deluxe

By Henry Yates published

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his best-selling independent release Blues Deluxe, Joe Bonamassa repeats the trick

Glorious Sons standing in a field

"I love to just get up and shake every demon out of my soul": The Glorious Sons' Brett Emmons on mental fortitude, scuppered sessions and his livewire stage persona

By Henry Yates published

"I have that kind of crazy coyote thing about me. People will say I’m two different people on and offstage" - Glorious Sons frontman Brett Emmons

Oli Brown & The Dead Collective standing by the sea

Former blues wonderboy Oli Brown didn't touch his guitar for a year: now he's back, and things are very different

By Henry Yates published

British guitarist Oli Brown on jumping genres, rejecting his instrument, battling his demons and returning to music

Michael Schenker and the cover of Led Zeppelin III

"I think John Bonham is so responsible for a lot of Zeppelin’s songwriting on III": Why I ❤️ Led Zeppelin III, by Michael Schenker

By Henry Yates published

Guitar hero Michael Schenker looks back on first hearing Immigrant Song and learning Since I’ve Been Loving You

The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968

“He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there”: how Jimi Hendrix turned Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower into one of rock’s greatest songs

By Henry Yates published

Multiple sessions, countless takes and a drunken Brian Jones – how Jimi Hendrix claimed All Along The Watchtower as his own