Happy New Year! Welcome to the first issue of 2023. We’re hitting the ground running in terms of big album reissues this year, with the imminent appearance of a souped-up edition of a classic live record. By my reckoning – and I’m in the company of millions of others – it’s the greatest live album of all time.
I’m talking about Thin Lizzy’s full-throttle Live And Dangerous, of course. This issue we talk to guitarists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham about how it came to be – and how live it really is!
While we don’t wish to start the year on a downer, during the production of this issue we lost two greats, namely Christine McVie and Wilko Johnson. By way of tribute we take a look at the making of Dr. Feelgood’s brilliant debut album Down By The Jetty, and at the life of Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird.
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Features
Thin Lizzy
With the release of the 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham look back at the troublesome birth of a classic live album.
Christine McVie
A ground-breaking artist and the calm eye of the decades-spanning storm that was Fleetwood Mac, she brought elegance and soul to the band’s sound through her voice, keyboard playing and some of rock’s most enduring hits.
Rush
Moving Pictures was the album that was never supposed to be. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson recall angry mobs, out-of-control aeroplanes and Superman in the story behind the hugely successful record that defined the sound of rock music in the early 80s.
Iggy Pop
With a star-studded new album just out and a UK show set for July, Iggy talks about still giving his all, no more stage diving, addictions, his fondness for the word ‘fuck’, his cockatoo, and finally taking a phone call from the Hall Of Fame.
Dr. Feelgood
Sadly, we lost the iconic Wilko Johnson in November. When Dr. Feelgood’s debut album Down By The Jetty turned 40 in 2015, the then surviving feelgoods - Wilko, Sparko, The Big Figure and manager Chris ‘Whitey’ Fenwick – looked back at the making of their classic record.
The Darkness / Black Stone Cherry
In the lead-up to the double-bill tour, frontmen Justin Hawkins and Chris Robertson compare notes on vocal prowess, backstage riders and the perils of doing David Lee Roth-style splits.
Regulars
The Story Behind The Song: Ugly Kid Joe
Written in protest at MTV’s sickly ballads, and accompanied by a video featuring a flyaway sex doll, there was much to love about Everything About You, the Californians’ misanthrope smash hit of 1992.
Q&A: Ville Valo
The former H IM frontman on life after that band, fear of covid, going MOR and choosing music over alcohol.
The Hot List
We look at some of the essential new rock tracks you need to hear and the artists to have on your radar. This month they include Sophie Lloyd, Starcrazy, Beyond The Black, Longheads, Girish & The Chronicles and more…
Reviews
New albums from Iggy Pop, Uriah Heep, Jared James Nichols, Ville Valo, Sam Ryder, Witchfinder, Steve Vai, Nevena, The Petal Falls. Reissues from Thin Lizzy, Rolling Stones, Gary Moore, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Girlschool, Silverhead, The Residents. DVDs, films and books on Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Neil Young, Del Bromham, Pop Rock Icons. Live reviews of Peter Frampton, Opeth, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Voivod, Rod Stewart, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Anvil, Brett Anderson.
Buyer’s Guide: The Band
Few artists, if any, have captured rustic, earthy Americana as well as this – strangely, mostly non-American – group.
Back To Live
With gigs back on the agenda, we preview tours by Francis Dunnery’s It Bites, Trivium and Rebecca Downes. Plus gig listings – find out who’s playing where and when
The Soundtrack Of My Life: Sam Ryder
The Eurovision star on the records, artists and gigs that are of lasting significance to him.
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