Posts Tagged British
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October 4, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 92: Madness – “The Rise & Fall”
It was probably The Young Ones that introduced me to Madness – and madness! And when I watched them, the first few times, I was a (very) young one and I thought it was one big long series of 12 eps, not two separate sets of six eps each. So I was impressed that Madness […]Archive
September 22, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 90: The Psychedelic Furs – “Talk Talk Talk”
Terrific band The Psychedelic Furs and I thought I knew them pretty well, love the debut and particularly love their third album, Forever Now; that’s a go-to for me – Love My Way is the song, one of my all-time favourites by anyone ever, and a DJ-staple. And I had a compilation that covered a […]Archive
September 10, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 86: Heaven 17 – “Penthouse and Pavement”
Another example of why this challenge has been good for me. I know of Heaven 17 of course – I even know Temptation very well and a few others. But I have never listened to a Heaven 17 album, at least not knowingly; at least not until I finally sat down with Penthouse and Pavement […]Archive
June 9, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
James Rhodes: Fire On All Sides
Fire On All Sides James Rhodes Quercus James Rhodes, the classical pianist with rock’n’roll swagger, is a prodigy-level player that’s not there to please the purists but is – in his love of the music and his ability as conduit for it – far closer to being a purist than any of the snobs he […]Archive
April 25, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 411
UB40, Signing Off (1980) My dad played tapes in the car a lot when we were young – UB40 was a big deal. And he had this album – and, later, The Greatest Hits one – (I think that was my brother’s, but the whole family got a kick out of it, sure). I loved […]Archive
March 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
NZ Festival Writers & Readers: A C Grayling – Democracy In Crisis
A C Grayling: Democracy in Crisis Renoulf Foyer, MFC Sunday, March 11 This Writers & Readers session was a straight-up lecture by British author, philosopher, public intellectual A C Grayling. The topic Democracy in Crisis coming from his latest work, Democracy And Its Crisis. He also spoke the previous night, although I missed that on […]Archive
March 13, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Revisiting Live at Knebworth (1990)
The grounds of Knebworth House have played host to some huge rock concerts over the years. This British venue was where the re-formed Deep Purple first played in 1985. A year later it was where Queen played its final live show (with Freddie Mercury). In 1979 it was the scene for two Led Zeppelin shows, the band’s return to the UK stage after […]Archive
March 5, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Gig Review: The Staves (March 4, Wgtn)
The Staves The Festival Club Sunday, March 4 British sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor record and tour as The Staves, this Festival performance was their first Wellington appearance. They’re back in the tent for a second and final showing in the capital this Tuesday, March 6. From heavenly harmonies, and through clever looping of […]Archive
February 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 33: Pentangle – “Basket of Light”
I have listened to a lot of albums by John Renbourn and even more by Bert Jansch but Pentangle – not as much; not so much – mostly left to compilations or standalone tracks… At first, listening to this, I feel it’s one of those dated-sounding things – can’t quite place it anywhere near today […]Archive
November 16, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 471
Rip Rig + Panic, I Am Cold (1982) I first saw them on The Young Ones and it blew my mind, a lot of the music did on that show. But this cut in particular – and though I sought them out, have heard some Rip Rig + Panic (and have heard the album by […]Archive
October 2, 2017 by Simon Sweetman