Articles by 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

The Bruce Springsteen albums you should definitely own

By Henry Yates last updated 2 June 23

The best of The Boss: from factory floors to open highways, Bruce Springsteen's best albums conjure up vivid images of American truth and hope

Pop Evil: "I think back to all those bands that helped when doctors, parents, teachers weren’t there for me"

By Henry Yates published 31 May 23

Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty on getting punched in the face, rock‘n’roll therapy, and teenage run-ins with the law

Jeff Buckley sitting on a street corner in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1994

Amazing Grace: how Jeff Buckley got started on the album that defined his genius

By Henry Yates published 29 May 23

Jeff Buckley’s move to New York in the early 90s was the flashpoint for Grace, the classic album that would outlive him. Collaborator Gary Lucas remembers a star who burned bright and fast

Bonnie Tyler: the soundtrack of my life

By Henry Yates published 29 May 23

Power-ballad belter Bonnie Tyler picks her records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals that Axl Rose was "horny as hell"

Joe Satriani: the 10 greatest instrumental tracks ever written

By Henry Yates published 18 May 23

Guitar wiz Joe Satriani picks 10 instrumentals that have guided him on his long career through rock

Several young men watching musicians in TV in the early 1960s

10 revolutionary instrumentals that inspired the guitarists who invented rock music

By Henry Yates published 2 May 23

Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and the rest: They all owe so much to the instrumental artists of the 50s and 60s

Studio portrait of Live, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Taylor, Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Gracey, Luna Theater, Brussels, Belgium, 12 September 1994

I Alone by Live: "A million different interpretations later, it still means something to me"

By Henry Yates last updated 26 April 23

Birth, death, love and loss… Live's post-grunge hit I Alone has soundtracked them all. Frontman Ed Kowalczyk remembers the song that was born in a barn

Six things you need to know about Empyre

By Henry Yates published 20 April 23

Northampton's new men in black Empyre have survived sickly gigs, killed rock giants, and made grown men weep. You might like them

The story of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls: "It was like a gift – like: ‘Oh, thanks God!'"

By Henry Yates last updated 30 March 23

Iris by Goo Goo Dolls might have left the band's alt.rock roots behind, but it'll put their kids through college

Wig Wam in a still from the Out Of The Dark video

Wig Wam: "I’d have a bottle of cognac backstage and it was empty when we left"

By Henry Yates published 13 March 23

Wig Wam frontman Åge Sten Nilsen on straitjackets, cognac, and getting into character as his crazed alter-ego Glam

Steve Vai: "When people take back their freedom, they become themselves"

By Henry Yates published 9 March 23

Virtuoso Steve Vai on his lost biker-rock record Vai/Gash, its doomed singer, and terrifying moments on two wheels

Mike Portnoy: The Winery Dogs are a modern day version of The Who

By Henry Yates published 5 March 23

Drummer Mike Portnoy on power trios, bad band names, and the beauty of the old-school classic rock sound

Jared James Nichols: "After making this record I felt like I’d just got out of a rugby game"

By Henry Yates published 11 February 23

The second-tallest man in rock Jared James Nichols on broken bones and being an “ugly, long-haired shithead” (his words, not ours)

Ugly Kid Joe's Everything About You: a story of MTV, beer drinking and escaped sex dolls

By Henry Yates published 9 February 23

Written in protest at the popularity of sickly ballads, there was much to love about Ugly Kid Joe’s 1992 smash hit Everything About You

Bad Company pose backstage in Japan, 1975

Feel Like Makin' Love: the story of Bad Company's aphrodisiac anthem

By Henry Yates published 18 January 23

"I did feel like making love at the time... that happened a lot" - Paul Rodgers

Jared James Nichols: Jared James Nichols cover art

Jared James Nichols is back with a feast of loud-ass guitar

By Henry Yates published 14 January 23

Nashville guitarist Jared James Nichols returns with self-titled fourth album after horror tour accident

Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld: "I’m just a white-trash boy who likes to smell good"

By Henry Yates published 13 January 23

Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld on slitting throats, smelling good and getting lumped in with "knuckle-dragging rock"

Biff Byford may be on medication but he's very much ready to rock

By Henry Yates published 11 January 23

Saxon’s frontman Biff Byford on the best music of 2022, plans for 2023, and the up-and-down side effects of medication

Mick Fleetwood and Jimi Hendrix studio shots

Mick Fleetwood: What Jimi Hendrix means to me

By Henry Yates published 2 January 23

Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood on the genius of Jimi Hendrix: "He could fly into the stratosphere, but he would take the other players there with him"

Massive wagons: "I can walk down the middle of Lancaster now without getting my head kicked in"

By Henry Yates published 7 December 22

Dark times won’t stop chart-bothering Massive Wagons, and neither will the bullies, bigots and bent politicians skewered on new album Triggered!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Trouble Is... 25 cover art

Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 25th birthday remake of his second album is not a surprise party

By Henry Yates published 4 December 22

This remake of blueser Kenny Wayne Shepherd's second album Trouble Is... might just stick too close to the original

Archers Of Loaf: "Anger makes good rock’n’roll, and I had a lot of it"

By Henry Yates published 30 November 22

Archers Of Loaf's Eric Bachmann on burnout, returning, and rediscovering his anger – poured into the band's new album – at 52

Elton John poses for a portrait wearing glasses in front of a sign that says "Heinz Hot Soups to take away"

Elton John's Tiny Dancer: a tale of love, failure and resurrection

By Henry Yates published 16 November 22

"That song was like having your really good friends give you the best gift you could ever receive" - the story of Elton John's timeless Tiny Dancer

Blue jeans and wolf whistles: The story of the song that saved Steve Miller's career

By Henry Yates published 14 November 22

Steve Miller's album sales were in the doldrums until old friend Maurice resurfaced on The Joker and gave him a long-awaited number 1

Freddie Mercury onstage with Queen at Wembley stadium during the Magic tour

The miraculous story of Queen in the 1980s

By Henry Yates last updated 2 November 22

It was the decade when Queen had it all, lost it and then clawed it back again. But behind the strut and sparkle of the band in the 80s, storm clouds were gathering

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Henry Yates

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