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Barney Hoskyns
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Jimmy Page Forms the New Yardbirds… a.k.a. Led Zeppelin
On this Celebration Day, when Led Zeppelin have announced the release of the film of their 2007 O2 show, let's cast our minds back to the group's formation in the fall of 1968. Chris Welch filed this report for Melody Maker on October 12th of that year——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Whatever happened to [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Rewind: The Discreet Charm of Aimee Mann
A freewheeling interview by RBP's Martin Colyer that takes in Aimee's new album Charmer, her talented collaborators, reality TV, turning up the treble, Laura Linney's focus, Jack Kerouac's drying-out and, uh, women's boxing... Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Hi, Aimee, are you looking forward to a morning of people phoning you up? I should [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: When Bob Found God
One of the most controversial periods in the life of Bob Dylan was his late '70s conversion to Christianity, as captured in the albums Slow Train Coming and Saved. Steve Turner reported on the man's newfound faith in this NME report from September 1979——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Nothing guarantees more scorn in rock [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Rewind: Lady Madonna Storms Philly
A report on Madonna's MDNA tour — first stop Philadelphia! — from the redoubtable Carol Cooper——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages As I write this Thursday night, I can hear Madonna singing from Yankee Stadium through the window of my Harlem apartment. In fact, the sound mix on 'Girls Gone Wild' and 'Papa Don't Preach' [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Rewind: Talking with the late Hal David
In the spring of 2000, the late Hal David had just become the first non-Brit to be honored with a prestigious Ivor Novello Award when Terry Staunton spoke to him about his work and his sublime lyrics for Burt Bacharach--Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Hal David was recently asked to write out the lyrics [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Looking Through Gary Numan’s Eyes
Gary Numan was the gloomy Brit who married the influences of Bowie, Ultravox, and even Jobriath, hitting huge with 'Are "Friends" Electric?' Now lauded as an electronic godfather, he plays England's Bestival tonight (Sept 6), so we we're taking you down memory lane with this great Paul Morley NME profile published June 9, 1979——Barney Hoskyns, [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Robert Smith Shows and Tells
An amusing and insightful interview with the Cure mainman by Susan Compo, as featured in the November 1993 issue of SPIN——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Robert Smith looks remarkably well for a man who's spent the morning in a graveyard: eyes the colour of retouched travel-brochure sky, healthy pallor and bearing, and brandishing a [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Elvis is Dead
The King of Rock & Roll died 35 years ago at his Memphis mansion, Graceland. Mick Farren — former frontman with London's beloved Deviants — wrote this heartfelt tribute to Elvis for New Musical Express——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages It was one of the worst storms to hit London since God knows when. The [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: At Home with Tom Waits in ’76
Hell didn't exactly break loose when Richard Cromelin went to visit Tom Waits in Silver Lake, but Cromelin did come away with this great portrait of the professional barfly for the Los Angeles Times, date March 14, 1976——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages There's no place like Tom Waits' home. There's no home, at any [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Tales of Sky Saxon and “Lord” Tim Hudson
Sky Saxon's Seeds were responsible for one of the great psych-punk hits, 1965's immortal 'Pushin' Too Hard'. Many years later, Mick Middles encountered the man in Malibu — only to be drawn into the bizarre web of his British manager "Lord" Tim Hudson. For more weirdness, read on… Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Stick-thin, [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Bobby Womack Calls The Shots
Bobby Womack, back in action (after a long illness) with the remarkable Bravest Man in the Universe album, was at the top of his soulful game when Cliff White interviewed for New Musical Express in March 1976. Read the first half of the article here…——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages After ten minutes with Bobby [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Christmas with the Cocteau Twins
With Elizabeth Fraser set to come out of retirement this week at Antony Hegarty's Meltdown Festival, RBP goes back to her musical roots as one half/third of '80s proto-shoegaze luminaries the Cocteau Twins. Chris Roberts dined with her and fellow Twin/partner Robin Guthrie in a Sounds piece that ran on January 4, 1986——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Chic Freak Out
At the dawn of 1979, Chic were bossing disco with their sassy Manhattan classics. Danny Baker interviewed Nile Rodgers and 'Nard Edwards for New Musical Express, issue date January 27——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages There were so many good singles last year that when it came to deciding what I thought were the best [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Rodriguez Comes In From the Cold
The subject of spanking-new documentary Searching for Sugar Man, cult singer Sixto Diaz Rodriguez emerged from Detroit to become an unlikely superstar in South Africa. J. poet told his story in Alarm magazine in July 2008——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Rodriguez is on stage in a bar called The Sewer By The Sea. The [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: An Interview with Deep Purple’s Jon Lord
Jon Lord, who has died aged 71, was one of rock's most distinctive keyboard players, his aggressive organ playing as central to the power of Deep Purple as Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. In this November 1970 interview from Beat Instrumental, Lord talks of his technique and his equipment——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Deep Purple, since [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Elton John Takes Off in 1970
Few singer-songwriters have enjoyed a career as enduring as the former Reg Dwight's. Robert Greenfield caught Elton on the way up and filed this report from England. It appeared in Rolling Stone on November 12, 1970——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages LONDON — "If this is the revolution, why are the drinks so f---ing expensive," [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Rewind: How Pop Stars Learned to Scowl!
Gene Sculatti explains how artists — from the Rolling Stones to hip hop icons like Drake — stopped smiling in order to "sell disdain"——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Way back in 1966, garage-y Brit quartet the Downliners Sect cut a searing single, a tune composed by a pre-Velvet Underground Lou Reed and John Cale [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: The Rollin’ Stones Rock Richmond in 1963!
With "the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world" turning 50 this week, we take you back to one of the earliest pieces ever written about the band known then as "the Rollin' Stones." Norman Jopling's rave report was published in Britain's Record Mirror on May 11, 1963 ——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: Snoop Does it Doggystyle
Paul Lester at home with the hippest (and tallest) gangsta on the block: rising star and Dre protégé Snoop Doggy Dogg. As published in Melody Maker on February 5, 1994——Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages Snoop Doggy Dogg is cleaning up. Literally. The number one gangsta rapper who, along with Michael Jackson, is the most [...]
The Rock’s Backpages Flashback: In Defense of Yoko Ono in 1974
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tidying through my papers some days ago I found, at last, an interview I did with Yoko Ono at home in New York in 1974. She was/is an idol of mine —to me, an art student in the Sixties, she was more significant and famous than the Beatles. It shocked me when she [...]