The 1990s was a decade of unbridled clubbing hedonism the likes of which we’ve not seen since. I experienced it in full – but remember surprisingly little. Or maybe that’s not such a surprise. Regrets – none. Wish to repeat it – no. Glad to have witnessed this cavalcade of dissoluteness – yes. So, let…
There’s a small number of rock and pop albums that impacted me like no other. As a teenager I stuck the vinyl on the turntable, placed the stylus down, and was blown away. The albums concerned are a varied bunch from punk to indie and prog rock. Yes – prog rock. Tell me which albums…
Mods and Rockers were at each others’ throats again in the late 1970s in the town of Tamworth in England as Tony McMahon discovers
Dave Wakeling was the front man of the British ska combo The Beat and here is a self-portrait he penned when the band was at the height of its fame
In 1978, the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism held a huge Carnival at Victoria Park in Mile End where The Clash and other bands played
NWOBHM was the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which was a hard rock movement at the start of the 1980s that spawned bands like Motorhead
The great sound of 1980s Liverpool music was celebrated in the first half of the 80s at a festival called Larks in the Park in Sefton Park
1979 and 1980 were the glory years of the so-called “second wave” of ska music – first wave in Jamaica twenty plus years before and now the 2Tone wave came crashing out of Coventry. The Specials seized the charts by the scruff of the neck with a string of hits. And even WH Smith felt…
Heroes of 2Tone in the Record Mirror – from my archives!
Tony McMahon co-wrote Original Rude Boy – the authorised biography of Neville Staple, vocalist in the legendary group, The Specials
