Mick Wall

Gold even before its release, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy was worth the hard work. But the album marked the end of Elton John’s imperial period – and his band

With Metallica’s S&M reaching the grand old age of 25, we look back at how, and why, the world’s leading metal band teamed up with – shock, horror – the San Francisco Symphony

45 years on from the death of AC/DC singer Bon Scott, we look back at the greatest rock’n’roll frontman of them all

Drugged up, boozed up and almost washed up, Mötley Crüe went into rehab, came out and recorded a classic of the late-80s LA metal scene: Nikki Sixx takes us back

Without the man who raised pop lyrics to the level of poetry, we might still be waiting for the concept of album-oriented music

When Ronnie Wood, the Stones and some A-list mates holed up at his house to help with his solo album, it sparked a days-long party and a Rolling Stones hit

1981’s High ’N’ Dry was the record that introduced Def Leppard to America – and changed things for ever

From Oceanside, California, Sacri Monti met in high school in the early 2000s and have been jamming (and other things) ever since

We catch up with Mötley Crüe legend Nikki Sixx

By 1970, Jim Morrison was in an alcoholic spiral and facing jail time – but The Doors still managed to make one of their greatest albums in Morrison Hotel

1976 was a pivotal year for Thin Lizzy. Guitarist Scott Gorham, one half of the band’s classic twin-guitar sound, takes a trip down memory lane

'Fast' Eddie Clarke: "Once we'd cracked the formula of how to work together on Overkill, that's when we really started to take off"

With their label ready to drop them after a so-so first album, Aerosmith clung on, dreamed on, and recorded a second that gave them lift-off: Get Your Wings

Boz Burrell bought effortless cool to King Crimson and Bad Company and died the way he lived – on his own terms

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were unravelling, but they pulled together, kept it together, and recorded their masterpiece album: Californication

In 1984 Mick Wall was surprised when he rattled off a hopeless request for a chat – and received an invitation to visit the Def Leppard fan at her home-from-home

After next year's farewell tour Fish is leaving music and the bright lights behind to live with his wife (and 13 sheep) on a Scottish island

Begun by Dio when he was fronting Black Sabbath, it transformed his career and became one of the classic metal tracks of the 80s

After A Night At The Opera, Queen had the world at their feet. But how on Earth do you follow such an album?

Driving across deserts, owning polo ponies, making and losing fortunes, influencing generations of musicians… Ginger Baker‘s story nothing was like no one else's

Original Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett died on July 7, 2006. This is the story of the rise and decline of a psychedelic icon

How Free made their masterpiece, Fire And Water

Humble Pie were unable to capture the power of their live shows in the studio, but their best albums still include some absolute gems

Life In The Fast Lane was built on a swaggering riff from Joe Walsh, with a title that reflected the craziness of the Eagles

The folk-rock pioneers’ 80s resurgence was no less unlikely than their earlier years, as they meandered towards success and influence