Shindig! No.103

Happy SD! Day everybody. Some fantastic stuff in issue 103, including that Eric Burdon cover story, a catch up with Paul Weller, a rather lovely obituary of Marie Laforêt, a real bit of deep-digging with Amanda Trees, and me in the Family Album column unwinding the colourful threads that led to France Gall's 1968. Lots to keep you busy!

Spring 2020: A Mixtape

Cambridgeshire Alliance of Lifelong Learners

The Cambridgeshire Alliance of Lifelong Learners is a new initiative in the city, and a very welcome one. With any luck I'll be getting involved and teaching 5 weeks on Film Music in April, but like all new ventures it needs bums on seats. So if you're in Cambridgeshire and you like film music, then above the Baptist church on Friday mornings is the place to be. Spread the word!

Shindig! No.100

I'm still so pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to Shindig! Magazine every month. And out this week is issue 100! I made a long distance call to the desert for Vinyl Art this month, and boy was it worth it. Here's to the next 900 issues.

Special Effects in the Movies

Starting 26th February I'll be presenting 5 weeks of 'Special Effects in the Movies' at the lovely Letchworth Settlement. It'll be great fun so click through and sign up!

Shindig! No.99

Happy New Year! Out this very day is Shindig! Magazine issue 99 in which I speak to the brilliant Michael Trevithick about Nick Drake's Pink Moon. This month SD! also posed 20 Questions to the supercool Nicolas Godin of AIR, which was great fun to contribute to. Elsewhere there's a tribute to Terry O'Neill and a a bunch of superbly soulful Brit-organ stylings. Next month, the big one!

In Between Floors by Otis 'Max' Load and the Thirteen Persons

Since emerging from his long sabbatical, my old friend Steve O'Hear, aka Otis 'Max' Load, has spent the best part of the last three years putting this LP together, and I've been very happy to be able to play a small part in helping him out. It's something of a blues/soul concept album, and if you have any love for The MGs, The Meters, Traffic, or the early '70s Stones, then I bet you'll find something to like in it.
It'll be popping up on your favourite streaming services in a couple of weeks, I'm told, but of course with influences like that, its true home is on vinyl - and enough of you decide to pre-order the extremely limited short-run LP then that's exactly where it'll end up! Head over to Otis' Qrates page where you can hear a sample track and part with your hard-earned cash.