https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/work daily 1.0 2025-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588704941633-J9DTTL0XE217AGHZO2AS/RickAstley+spread.jpg Work - rick astley One of the good guys… Rick talks about the importance of family life to keep on an even keel in the music business and also reveals his heavy metal alter ego. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588591807311-A5WEUAMCDMNP0H358SRI/Belinda+Carlisle+spreads+photos.jpg Work - belinda carlisle I sat down with Belinda Carlisle to trace a remarkable life in music from her early days on the LA punk scene, her breakthrough with The Go-Go’s, through global pop superstardom, addiction issues and finding inner peace via kundalini yoga. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588704348807-SB83I05J5DTORV8DDCHZ/Bananarama+opener.jpg Work - bananarama To Soho, for a summit meeting with Keren and Sara. Cue tales of Terry Hall’s shyness, their DIY punk principles, Top Of The Pops dance routine debacles and new album, In Stereo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588593198783-BAQHLCCVBGXEV8KUN3TO/Louise.jpg Work - Louise redknapp 20 years after first interviewing Louise as a fledgling reporter, I caught up with the singer once again as she relaunched her solo career with the studio LP, Heavy Love, and uncovered an unexpected feistier side to the star. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588606586768-4ZL123LEAC6OAMTERQED/Massive+Attack+P1.jpg Work - massive attack Just one of many interviews with the Bristolian soundsystem after covering the city’s music scene for a decade. In this piece, Robert Del Naja – always good value – holds court on the making of their Heligoland album, inter-band dynamics and hometown politics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588591218382-VSBTMGKJJ0MBSNWP82E7/AllSaints+spreads.smaller.jpg Work - all saints The world’s coolest girl group spilled the beans on the pressures that drove them apart, their latter-day career renaissance as well as the story behind slinky fifth studio album, Testament. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588591654858-PYKPN6FROG8HHBEV5N4J/HappyMondays.small_Page_1.jpg Work - happy mondays It was a real joy to speak to one of my favourite bands of the last 30 years, baggy legends Happy Mondays. I met frontman and national treasure Shaun Ryder plus the wonderful Rowetta and secret weapon, guitarist Mark Day, for an expansive chat that concentrated on their musical legacy rather than the notorious tabloid headlines. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588590831644-9NTZK8P1073UOKNZCHI6/CP57.INXS.print_photo.jpg Work - INXS I interviewed the band’s Tim Farriss as part of an extensive eight-page cover feature to tie in with the release of the Michael Hutchence documentary Mystify and the reissue of band’s legendary 1991 Wembley Stadium show. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588705310780-91MQKXS68ANNGUOQGS1C/ian+hunter+single+page.jpg Work - Ian hunter The Mott the Hoople frontman is a former journalist himself. The epitome of rock’n’roll cool, he called he ‘son’ throughout our interview. Top dude. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588606880339-XQYFFI7Z2PL27MUSFIXI/john+lydon.jpg Work - john lydon The most intimidating interviewee on the rock circuit? Not a bit of it. During this in-depth chat as PiL returned to the road, I bonded with Lydon over family matters and had him singing Arsenal terrace songs down the blower. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588607595663-75WX8KD8HN9F0YTK6NT3/al+green.jpg Work - al green What a privilege it was to interview one of the greatest soul singers of all time. Al was such a gent he even recorded a special message to be played at my wedding before the first dance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1591469274946-B44X0WM45HVYSCCKPDDG/Neil+Young+spread.jpg Work - The essential neil young I’ve been listening to Neil Young for the best part of 30 years so it made sense to count down my Top 40 favourite albums from the Canadian singer-songwriter for a feature in Long Live Vinyl magazine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588597588365-JFU1X1XBSRRM6AVFLA41/Duran+videos+small+photo_Page_1.jpg Work - duran duran: the videos The poster boys of MTV’s pomp years, Duran Duran brought Hollywood glamour and production values to the pop video format. Includes silk suits, mud wrestling, James Bond impersonations, Mad Max-style dystopian visions and supermodels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1591512454644-TKUIXCAFVF9SSJIQL8G8/Eddie+spread.jpg Work - the legacy of eddie cochran Written for a Vintage Rock special edition about the rock’n’roll legend, I look at Cochran’s impact on how he shaped a generation of musicians including The Beatles, The Who, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Marc Bolan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588694167602-B5T542J4MPQBRIGFV2TX/CP60.albumbyalbum_NewOrder+photo.print_Page_1.jpg Work - new order: album by album My first published piece of music journalism was for a New Order fanzine out of Beverly Hills. Now more than 30 years later I go back to put the studio work of one of my favourite bands under the microscope. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588597465520-JW2U192ZEJOK86J2RZS7/Prince+00s+decade+%28Small%29+photo_Page_1.jpg Work - Prince An epic feature written for a Special Edition to celebrate Prince’s legacy, this investigated the star’s re-emergence in the 2000s as a live artist and chart act. From his historic Superbowl appearance, scene-stealing turn at George Harrison’s memorial concert plus the Musicology and 3121 albums, this traced the story of pop royalty rightfully reclaiming his throne. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588859642304-WH0E2IY3QS9QNDTPGOQT/Albumbyalbum_Moyet2.jpg Work - alison moyet: album by album Alison Moyet is a mainstay of Classic Pop magazine, a thoughtful interviewee and powerhouse performer. Here’s my career retrospective feature for Alf… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588597573398-SOM5U4B91JTR1WKWYND9/Duran+side+projects+photo_Page_1.jpg Work - Duran duran: side projects The Duran mothership birthed two very different side projects during their temporary hiatus – the cocaine-guzzling boys club of The Power Station and the art-pop pretentiousness of Arcadia. How do they stand up more than 30 years later? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588597538278-5RAD01UZV01B8256OFYS/Michael+Jackson+decade+%28Small%29+photo.To+Print_Page_1.jpg Work - michael jackson A long-read feature about the self-proclaimed King of Pop’s controversial final decade. Beyond the music, the star’s fall from grace amid lurid personal scandals still continues more than 10 years after his untimely death. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588694031834-26E5JRQ1B0XU5RG2QUI0/CP53.albumbyalbum+Talk+Talk+photo.print_Page_1.jpg Work - Talk Talk: ALBUM By ALBUM Written in the days shortly after the passing of Mark Hollis, this in-depth retrospective look at the back catalogue of Talk Talk was a real labour of love. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588597507577-V6FOEXQXEFKJ1XIFX9KP/George+Michael+90s+photo.small_Page_1.jpg Work - george michael A man who always wore his heart on his sleeve, George’s 1990s saw him release two classic albums but wrestle with personal loss and tabloid notoriety. This in-depth feature looks at the real life stories behind the music. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1591511365753-RG4ATLJE7LNOC5IUMP3F/Beatles+solo+spread.jpg Work - the essential beatles solo albums There have been more than 60 albums released by John, Paul, George and Ringo as solo artists – some magnificent, some eccentric, some that need to be avoided. Let me help me pick your way through their past 50 years out of the band. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600874735-XASH9YK0IQYWA5KRS62H/Abbey+Road+classic+album+spreads+photo_Page_1+copy.jpg Work - abbey road The swansong album (in the studio at least) that keeps getting better with age. The Beatles’ most polished production turned song fragments into a stunning, timeless pop suite. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588601046067-UX6V4DPAYMWAE09ZXPN8/Classic+album+Older.photo.jpg Work - older Emerging from a period of grief, George Michael found hope in the bleakest of circumstances to create a poignant album packed with emotion and intelligence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600299150-CZFK8E7THHWXCGQR56YX/Astral+Weeks+classic+album.photo.jpg Work - Astral weeks He barely spoke to his attendant session musicians, so how did Van Morrison conjure up a masterpiece song cycle of jazzy blue-eyed soul for his second studio album? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600730402-HBIKDFAELZMJMNV8P866/Revolver+classic+album+spreads.photo.jpg Work - revolver After retreating from the pressures of life on the road, The Beatles transformed pop music forever with this leap into the unknown. The album where a melting pot of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, Motown, LSD and English pastoralism all made perfect sense. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588761170584-F73JRSOICNJQALHEHVT5/White+Album+opener.jpg Work - ‘the white album’ Paul McCartney: “I’m not one to say ‘maybe it had too much of this or that’. It’s great, it sold, it’s the bloody Beatles White Album. Shut up.” Macca’s right, the extraordinary scope of the band’s 1968 double album is exactly what makes it one of their most intriguing and satisfying releases. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600119634-I70RFCGUBCIZNJ2IENWT/Ogdens+classic+album.photo.jpg Work - ogden's nut gone flake The high-water mark of mod conceptualism, the Small Faces blended powerhouse pop, fantastical whimsy and Unwinese gobbledygook on their glorious 1968 landmark LP. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600955444-4B0VSFCZO1EHENWON7L8/Listen+without+prejudice+classic+album.photo.jpg Work - listen without prejudice vol.1 Downbeat, introspective and mournful, George Michael’s second solo album – from the title onwards – demanded to be taken seriously. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600409269-C1GHWYT5ZG6JRG0L271D/Kinks+classic+album.photo.jpg Work - the kinks are the village green preservation society Ray Davies’ most fully formed concept piece famously flopped at the time of release but has since gone on to be viewed as his finest work. I investigate the story behind The Kinks’ most enduring LP. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588600833139-ZS1X776MW8EJD86I9E1W/Sgt+Pepper+classic+album+spreadsphotos.jpg Work - sgt Pepper’s lonely hearts club band As The Beatles’ made high art out of pop, Sgt Pepper became a totemic release of the Summer of Love in 1967. But is it arguable that The Beatles’ most famous album is also their most misunderstood? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588604568252-RJ6J1J9SVIJ073BB7JZA/Roger+Waters+photo.jpg Work - roger waters Rubbing shoulders with David Gilmour’s On An Island as the most consistent Floyd solo album, Is This The Life We Really Want? finds Roger Waters at his introspective and politicised best. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588605092410-PE3AX34K4IRU7KHR6LW4/Stones+Otis+Sabbath_Page_1.jpg Work - the rolling stones 45 years of Stones action in one vinyl boxset. The band’s exhaustive collection from 1971 onwards goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. I pick the bones out of this intriguing 15-album release. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588605245736-J0Q0V08NVIUOLUAF1UO9/Stones+Otis+Sabbath_Page_2.jpg Work - Otis redding and black sabbath Not often seen in the same place, two reviews of an excellent Otis compilation from his Dock Of The Bay recording sessions and a Black Sabbath 7” boxset. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588604333568-DCSLYOQOUTRHLO2GIWX2/Pepper+Review+spread.jpg Work - the beatles Can the studio wizardry of producer Giles Martin improve on the original for the 50th anniversary super deluxe edition of Sgt Pepper? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588604729911-2HGLQXM3D6EGYTZPMSJ7/Band+and+Pretty+Things+photo.jpg Work - the band and the pretty things Reviews of the 50th anniversary editions of two masterpieces – The Band’s Music From Big Pink and The Pretty Things’ SF Sorrow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588604214221-UFPYNUWNB1RR5ESR52Z7/Tom+Petty+dps_Page_1+copy.jpg Work - tom petty and the heartbreakers One of the most consistent songwriters in rock, the superlative boxset The Best Of Everything is a fitting tribute to the much-missed Tom Petty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588604489996-ZDFYEGV2DAX98P6G6USV/Bob+Marley+review.jpg Work - bob marley & the wailers The legacy of Bob Marley has been well served by Island Records. I take a look at the 40th anniversary expanded edition of landmark LP, Exodus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456785006090-WSZH5IFVLDISGJ3LL92P/77.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456865071576-9LJLBGX0FSTBTYEQNUIM/25.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456851022917-I14CZYTKH20F3NT8F5T0/4.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456944933692-TOA1PP8PC846S793GKKD/49.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456869971895-A5SQFVQP8TDLHDK76R4P/11.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588599721207-15GSFMZKIRO0A13I4EOQ/Ogdens+classic+album.square.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588605821071-HTXBZAHSFFW6TMT4DVN7/Stones+Otis+Sabbath_Page_1.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588618622607-I83F0FE7M9URDX9KVTB0/Massive+Attack.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588619387019-9Z47VSQVBJQKMBQ90WHI/MassiveAttack2.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1588619924477-X1CBBSK9YX1WVJYN8NND/Prince_feat.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1589106268769-4INK9PGIP01YWPXO4QAJ/steve.headshot.portrait_cropped.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1684857038462-VIPRM4AEX23ENBOVWIET/CP81.Cover%2B5x7.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1684857302121-4SN7Z3J82SIWZMTGGNT9/VR61.cover%25252B5x7.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1684927447700-VWS3DF861Q4W5WSJ12RN/dcam.jpeg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1684928002732-6HCT9CTN646OTHLZVBOD/britpop.jpeg Work https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/blog-avenue daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/blog-avenue/2016/3/1/dubai-b98j4 monthly 0.5 2016-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456863401711-L4GULCMN1HZJY6XAFAQY/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Dubai https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/blog-avenue/2016/3/1/budapest-rmfsh monthly 0.5 2016-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456863715325-IZSY1YJXJS57RY8JXID7/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Budapest https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/blog-avenue/2016/3/1/paris-36bms monthly 0.5 2016-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d4a125e707eb7a02e4055f/1456863897354-3K5CGNSC641EWCMIBK83/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Paris https://www.steveharnell.co.uk/about daily 0.75 2020-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1589106190414-S0WT8V539VDSSIXC7VJP/steve.headshot.portrait_cropped.jpg About & Contact https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5eaed1cb8ae7d55c0a9c1322/1589106098969-MEC80OW6XA1A4OR2K5T0/steve.headshot.portrait_cropped.jpg About & Contact