Hugh Fielder

Hugh Fielder

Hugh Fielder has been writing about music for 50 years. Actually 61 if you include the essay he wrote about the Rolling Stones in exchange for taking time off school to see them at the Ipswich Gaumont in 1964. He was news editor of Sounds magazine from 1975 to 1992 and editor of Tower Records Top magazine from 1992 to 2001. Since then he has been freelance. He has interviewed the great, the good and the not so good and written books about some of them. His favourite possession is a piece of columnar basalt he brought back from Iceland.

Articles by: Hugh Fielder

Ten Years After: A Space In Time cover art

"Ten Years After are still partying like it's 1967 even though it's 1971": Ten Years After discover a glitch in the blues rock matrix on A Space In Time

By Classic Rock Magazine published

The first standalone album on the Chrysalis label, A Space In Time contained Ten Years After's only transatlantic hit, I’d Love To Change The World

Jeff Beck studio portrait holding guitar

The Jeff Beck albums you should definitely own

By Hugh Fielder published

One of the greatest blues-rock/fusion guitarists ever, Jeff Beck's solo career spanned six decades. These are his best albums

Kris Barras Band - Halo Effect cover art

Getting harder and heavier with each album, Devon’s Kris Barras Band come flying out of the blocks on Halo Effect

By Hugh Fielder published

Riff monster Kris Barras plays it heavy but clever on album number five, Halo Effect

Big Big Train: The Likes Of Us cover art

"A beguiling mixture of 70s Genesis and English classical music": Big Big Train plot a familiar course on 16th album The Likes of Us

By Hugh Fielder published

An Anglo-Italian job as English proggers Big Big Train release their first album with new frontman Alberto Bravin

Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan singing onstage in 1971 with an inset of promoter Claude Nobs

“They said, ‘We did a little thing for you, but we don’t know if it will make the album. I said, ‘You’re crazy – this is the single!’” the epic life of ‘Funky’ Claude Nobs, the man who inspired Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water

By Hugh Fielder published

Claude Nobs was the man who co-founded the Montreux Jazz Festival – and crossed paths with Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and Deep Purple

Huey Lewis And The News in 1985

“People think we’re a pop band. But we never have been. We just had some huge success that hurt us a little”: how Huey Lewis & The News became America’s favourite good time rock’n’roll band

By Hugh Fielder published

Huey Lewis & The News were the ultimate bar-room rockers made good – all it took was a little nudge from Mutt Lange and Michael J Fox

The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the Lulu Show

"In our haste, the lump of hash got away and slipped down the sink drainpipe. Panic!": What happened when Jimi Hendrix created havoc and got banned by The BBC

By Hugh Fielder published

The producers of BBC1's Happening For Lulu wanted Jimi Hendrix to play Hey Joe. Instead, viewers were treated to a tribute to Cream and controlled chaos

Procol Harum circa 1967

The Procol Harum albums you should definitely own

By Hugh Fielder published

Procol Harum might still be best known for 60s mega-hit A Whiter Shade Of Pale, but there was much more to Gary Brooker and co. than that

Jefferson Starship in September 1978

“Grace was three sheets to the wind, so Marty sang to her while holding her in an arm-lock so she couldn’t get away”: the epic, drunken and very crazy story of Jefferson Starship

By Hugh Fielder published

Jefferson Starship rose from the ashes of San Francisco’s late 60s hippie movement, but they swapped peace and love for booze, bickering and chaos

AC/DC in 1983 with (inset) Roxy Music's Paul Thompson

"I've always regarded myself as a rock drummer. I mean, John Bonham is my number one hero": What happened when Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson auditioned for AC/DC

By Hugh Fielder published

AC/DC's Journey through the 1980s could have been very different if Brian Johnson had had his way

Jethro Tull - Warchild II album art

The long wait is over: Jethro Tull's Warchild II is finally available on vinyl

By Hugh Fielder published

Ian Anderson had an album’s worth of material left over from War Child and he splattered them across various compilations. Now they're collected on vinyl for the first time

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1 album art

"There's no denying the impact when Shepherd does let the blues off the leash": Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1

By Hugh Fielder published

Kenny Wayne Shepherd keeps the blues under control on 11th album Dirt on My Diamonds Vol. 1

King Crimson: Music Is Our Friend album art

King Crimson: Music Is Our Friend album review

By Hugh Fielder published

King Crimson's final US show, now available as a triple vinyl set

Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970

"It was a critical mistake, and ultimately it broke up the band": How Creedence Clearwater Revival fell to pieces

By Hugh Fielder published

A slew of acclaimed albums and hit singles, non-stop tours, a ruinous record deal and a singer who couldn't let go. What the hell happened to Creedence Clearwater Revival?

Keith Emerson onstage

"The psychedelic scene was largely over by the summer of 1968, but that spirit of musical adventure was still running rampant": A beginners' guide to the origins of prog rock

By Hugh Fielder published

Where on earth did progressive rock come from?

Peter Gabriel performing with Genesis

“The others realised they couldn’t stop me because it was too close to the show… I got away with it, although it was a close-run thing”: How Peter Gabriel developed his Genesis frontman act

By Hugh Fielder published

It may have caused conflict, but his insistence on sticking with his artistic vision paid off in countless ways

Gary Moore The Sanctuary Years cover art

The Sanctuary Years: a somewhat arbitrary snapshot of Gary Moore’s career

By Hugh Fielder published

All kinds of blues rise to the surface on a collection of turn-of-the-century Gary Moore recordings

Gov't Mule: Peace... Like A River album art

Gov't Mule's Peace... Like A River: no room for noodling, but the pleasures run deep

By Hugh Fielder published

Warren Haynes & Co and their various friends continue to kick out the jams on 13th album Peace... Like a River

Yes: Mirror To The Sky cover art

Yes: a strong start and a lacklustre finish on 23rd studio album Mirror To The Sky

By Hugh Fielder published

Mirror To The Sky is a new set of Yes songs to expand a discography that may go on forever

Jethro Tull: RökFlöte cover art

RökFlöte finds Jethro Tull tackling Norse Gods and somehow reborn as a viable contemporary outfit

By Hugh Fielder published

Jethro Tull forsake the Bible of last year's The Zealot Gene in favour of the paganism of Norse mythology on RökFlöte

Rick Wakeman: A Gallery Of The Imagination cover art

Rick Wakeman: A Gallery Of The Imagination album review

By Hugh Fielder published

Rick Wakeman's latest concept album presents the songs as if they were pictures in a gallery

Transatlantic: The Final Flight: Live At L'Olympia cover art

Transatlantic's unwavering consistency will delight fans: others may find it wearisome

By Hugh Fielder published

Mike Portnoy & Co's live version of Absolute Universe is another album to add to your Absolute Universe collection

Eric Clapton: The Complete Reprise Studio Albums Vol. 2

Eric Clapton's Reprise albums wrapped up with box set number two

By Hugh Fielder published

Eric Clapton's five twenty-first century albums, gathered together in one nifty package, with a bonus disc of rarities

Jeff Beck in 1972

Jeff Beck: My Life In 11 Songs

By Hugh Fielder published

In 2008, Jeff Beck looked back on his stellar career, and talked about his solo work and his music with The Yardbirds, Robert Plant, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder and more

Eric Clapton: The Complete Reprise Studio Albums Vol.1 packshot

What happened when Eric Clapton got sober: the box set

By Hugh Fielder published

The Complete Reprise Studio Albums Vol 1 features remastered versions of Eric Clapton’s first six solo studio albums with Reprise, plus an additional LP of rarities