Amazing Grace – Aretha Franklin, God, Soul and Respect
Detroit, is where musical talent ran strong and free. Everyone was singing and harmonizing, everyone was playing piano and guitar. Aretha came out of this world, but she also came out of another far-off magical world none of us really understood. She came from a distant musical planet where children are born with their gifts fully formed.
Hassan’s top ten indie punk debut singles
To end our series, in which Hassan Mahamdallie delves into his collection of punk singles to tell the story of musical rebellion and growing up as a bored south London teenager of mixed heritage during the turbulent period of Enoch Powell and the nazi National Front, here are his top ten debut singles…
The Clash: a riot of our own
Punk and New Wave exploded onto the musical stage in 1976-77. The new music brought the bloated rock scene that came before it crashing down – and punk has shaped much of the music that has come since. Here, Hassan Mahamdallie looks at the Clash, possibly the most important punk band of all time.
Tracks of the year: musicians, DJs and our readers choose their sounds of 2017
Every year we invite musicians, DJs and readers of this blog to send us their five favourite albums or tracks of the year. The selections by our contributors for 2017 are eclectic and cross many genres. See what you think of their choices…
France: the cultural war against the fascist Front National
The results of the French presidential elections are in, with Macron beating the fascist Le Pen. Here we look at the cultural war challenging Marine Le Pen and the FN, and the conditions that have allowed the fascists to flourish
The women who made punk
If I recall right, the first woman punk musician I saw on stage was Gaye Advert (Gaye Black), the Adverts’ bass player. It was sometime in 1977 and they were touring with my favourite band, The Damned.