Gary Crowley

Sounds of summer



I have three uplifting music recs to make this summer.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the cinema for the first time in over a year and it was so worth it. (It was also pretty empty.) We saw Summer of Soul, a wonderfully observed documentary revisiting the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Never heard of it? That’s because it was completely overshadowed by Woodstock. TV producer Hal Tulchin’s 40 hours of footage were relegated to a dusty basement for 50 years until Summer of Soul’s director Ahmir Thompson (aka Questlove) decided it was time to edit, update and air them.

Wow. Everything about it is fantastic – the clothes, the music, the performances, not to mention the emotional recollections from people who were there. (more…)



Win tickets to my talk with Gary Crowley



Gary Crowley with The Clash

In three weeks time, I’m going to be front and centre of the Cockpit Theatre, putting London radio legend, Gary Crowley in the hot seat. This irrepressible raconteur has gone from teenage punk fan to schoolboy fanzine editor to record plugger to NME receptionist, from whence he moved onto radio and TV during the magical years of 80s indie and pop.

He’s run a fanzine from a phone box, was the first to play Wham! on the radio (and became their tour compere), helped bring hip-hop and Brit pop to the masses and schmoozed with Soho’s fashion and music finest during the Wag Club heyday. (more…)