Chinese food goes everywhere and gets stepped on and everyone’s crying… The Isle of Man is a miniature country that carves its own way in the world. Parked out in the Irish Sea between Scotland and Northern Ireland, part of the British Isles but no member of the United Kingdom, it has its own government..
RETURN TO FANTASY: Mick Box on Uriah Heep getting back to business, and the loss of old friends…
Above image: Mick Box (photo - Steve Pilkington) I remember one time, we finished a UK tour, drove straight to the recording studio after the last show and worked through the night, not going home or touching ground even, and then the next day we were flying over to America again. It was non-stop! It's..
PYE HASTINGS: ‘Who Does He Think He Is?’ – Caravan main man on matters past, present and future
PHOTOS: Carl Glover Scottish-born but forever to be associated with Canterbury and the ‘Canterbury Scene’, Julian ‘Pye’ Hastings is guitarist, vocalist and main songwriter with legendary prog band Caravan, a band which grew out of the remnants of seminal Canterbury band The Wilde Flowers in 1968. He’s now the only ever-present member on Caravan’s long..
Obituary – Alan Lancaster, former Status Quo bassist
I know exactly when I first became a Status Quo fan – it was in June 1978, when I was 15 and went on holiday to Spain with a mate and his family. My friend brought some of his cassette collection with him – he was a massive Quo fan, and by the end of..
POETS, PROPHETS, VISIONARIES – Fish and Pete Trewavas on Marillion’s Fugazi album, and the new deluxe reissue
The 'difficult second album'. It's one of the most repeated cliches in rock music over the last few decades, but the number of bands who have their own examples are legion. Marillion were no exception when Fugazi arrived a year after the debut Script For A Jester's Tear in 1984. Personnel changes, producer issues and..
Interview with Sebastian Ramstedt (In Aphelion)
Fans of extreme metal surely know who Sebastian Ramstedt is. His contribution to no less than seven Necrophobic albums is a fact, but it should be noted that Sebastian has a central role in creating the two masterpieces which are the latest two albums of the Swedes – Mark Of The Necrogram and Dawn Of..
Interview with Jeff Carlisi (38 Special)
Where’s the dot? Everyone knows it’s DOT 38 Special… I can hear you out there, muttering under your breath about the lack of journalistic rigour. “Where’s the dot?” I hear you say. “Everyone knows it’s DOT 38 Special, because the band was named after the Smith & Wesson .38 Special bullet casing. Why, there’s a..
Tribute to Mike Howe of Metal Church + reprint of interview with Mike Howe in 2018
Mike Howe - Photo: Melissa Castro As we know, losing people is a fact of life. We hold musicians in high regard because what they bring to our lives; an album that stays with us forever, deliverers of songs that can change or enhance our lives or the ritual of a gig experience. Musicians become..
‘URIAH HEEP In The 1970s’ Book – Exclusive Sample Chapter
A short while ago the book Decades: Uriah Heep In The 1970s was published by Velvet Thunder writer Steve Pilkington via Sonicbond Publishing, telling the eventful take of the band's first decade in existence. We present here an exclusive sample chapter of the book for anyone to get a feel for what it contains. The..
Interview – Netta Laurenne of Smackbound and Laurenne/Louhimo
Netta Laurenne & Noora Louhimo. Photo by Robert Frankó RobeDroid Photography Maybe it is a sign of the times. The decline in physical music and the lost art of the first play of a new album and pouring over the details in the insert as part of the ritual. Not just the lyrics or the..