In this issue

557 May In this issue: the past, present and future of Pet Shop Boys, plus 1984 Special: the best albums! The format wars!; Bruce Dickinson on life without Maiden; Karen Carpenter’s solo flight; Einsturzende Neubauten’s drill communication; Bananarama unpeel their catalogue; Gered Mankowitz: rock photographer extraordinaire, and much more…

"THINGS CAN GO VERY BADLY WRONG"

But not too often. The Iron Maiden singer, aviator, business mogul and awardwinning everyman, Bruce Dickinson, returns with a new solo album, The Mandrake Project – Top 10 across the planet at the time of writing – and a ton of anecdotes about his extraordinarily successful career. Just don’t try and put him in a box. “I’m not a number, I’m a free man!” he warns Joel McIver.

10+ mins

Out Of The Darkness

Long-anticipated solo debut from Portishead singer is worth the wait

3 mins

Clearing The Way

The end of an era for Bolan's glam-rock trailblazers.

3 mins

SOCK IT TO ME DISC-ITS! WHEN TWO TRIBES VINYL AND CD (AND CASSETTE) WENT TO WAR

Dream, if you can, a courtyard. An ocean of violets in bloom. Alternatively, a 1984 record shop and all its pristine treasures. Close your eyes, let’s go there together. What do you see? From chest-level down – vinyl.

10+ mins

Steve Harley 1951-2024

As frontman for Cockney Rebel, the singer-songwriter crafted one of the glam rock era's greatest singles in Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).

7 mins

The Collector

Swiss-based Icelander Sunna Margrét is a rising force in experimental pop. Having begun her career as a teenager touring with electro-pop ensemble Bloodgroup, she is about to release her debut full-length solo LP, Finger on Tongue.

5 mins

She'd only Just gun

With their rapturous harmonies, the Carpenters dominated the 70s’ airwaves, selling over 100 million records with hits like Close To You and Yesterday Once More. But by 1979, lead singer Karen was seeking a new direction… Biographer Lucy O’Brien recounts her attempts to move out of the restrictive environment of the family band that had made her a star

9 mins

PNEUMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

Forming in West Berlin in 1980 and achieving their greatest notoriety circa 1984, industrial noise-punks Einstürzende Neubauten have far e xceeded t he i r p ro jec ted l i fe expectancy. Founding frontman Blixa Bargeld traces the evolution of the metalbashing pioneers. Jeremy Allen is all (suitably protected) ears

10+ mins

FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUTES

Bananarama had their first Top 3 hit in 1984, Robert De Niro's Waiting. Rob Hughes meets lifelong friends and bandmates Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward as they look back on their career, album by album

10+ mins

Being Soaring.

In April 1984, the original, faster Bobby Oproduced version of West End Girls was released.

10+ mins

"Debbie Harry Asked Me to Join Blondie!"

Calling themselves 'Punk Music' in 1970, Suicide channelled the danger, artistic revolutions and Vietnam rage of beleaguered New York City into coruscating electronic onslaughts that were later hailed future blueprints. For keyboard magus Martin Rev it was part of the creative journey that started in the 50s with doowop then jazz and continued in the wake of Alan Vega's 2016 passing with the idiosyncratic solo albums he began unleashing 44 years ago. "I'm still searching, and I'm still being surprised," he tells long-term UK press champion Kris Needs.

10+ mins

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

4 mins

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

4 mins

10 OF THE BEST This month: Ed Banger Records

DJ Mehdi Lucky Boy (Ed Banger 6143676, LP, France, 2006) £20

4 mins

IT WON'T BE LONG THE BEATLES IN 1964: THE FIRST 60 DAYS

As 1964 dawned, The Beatles were still virtually unknown in the United States, although I Want To Hold Your Hand was picking up massive radio airplay less than a week after its American release.

10+ mins

IT'S A LAD, LAD, LAD, LAD WORLD

Dismissed as purveyors of blokeish mediocrity, Shed Seven were one of the most critically derided bands of the Britpop era. Yet the York fourpiece have outlasted their peers: rousing new album A Matter Of Time marked their 30th anniversary with a No 1 chart placing, the first of their career. Singer Rick Witter tells John Earls why he's able to laugh off \"meat and potatoes\" insults.

7 mins

THE ONE AND Jony

FILM ACTOR, THEATRE STAR, SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND LOVER OF BARBRA STREISAND AMONG MANY OTHER NOTABLE PARAMOURS, ANTHONY NEWLEY WAS A CHARMING MAN AND A PROUDLY UNCONVENTIONAL ARTIST. BUT WHY IS THIS EXTRAORDINARY TALENT SO FORGOTTEN? SPENCER LEIGH DELVES INTO HIS WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD

10+ mins

THE JOY OF APEX

Even at the height of punk, when being different was paramount, X-Ray Spex stood out. Like The Mothers Of Invention a decade earlier, they railed against homogeneity and artificiality via a uniquely insurrectionary sax attack. Lois Wilson speaks to Lora Logic, Paul Dean and the late Poly Styrene's daughter Celeste about their incendiary individualism. Identity parade: Ian Dickson

10+ mins

THE Dwight STUFF

Tulsa, Oklahoma native Dwight Twilley, who died in October 2023, was one of the prime movers of power pop, up there with Badfinger, The Raspberries, Stories, Todd Rundgren, Shoes and Big Star. Combining Sun Studio sonics with Beatles melodics, Jim Morrison-ish good looks and a kinship with Tom Petty, he had everything going for him. He only had two big hits 1975's I'm On Fire and 1984's Girls - and yet this prolific and gifted singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, operating under his own name and the Dwight Twilley Band, released many superb albums. Here, his widow, Jan Rose Twilley, speaks with Bill Kopp about his life and music.

10 mins

This month: The Vinyl Hunters

Jake and his grandad Dave Kapusta are affectionately known online as The Vinyl Hunters. Dave was a black cabbie who has been collecting records since the 60s, ranging from prog through to heavy metal.

6 mins

1,200 Pages? What Was I Thinking?

Frontman of the much-missed Rush, child of Holocaust survivors, veteran of 40-plus years in progressive rock, self-confessed germophobe and details obsessive and arguably the Greatest Living Canadian there's a lot for Geddy Lee, 70, to talk about. Fortunately, he's been able to squeeze it all into his new autobiography, My Effin' Life, in which he explores the perils of fame, the pleasures of retirement, and an unexpected dalliance with Peruvian marching powder. Asked to name Rush's best album by Joel McIver, he warns, "Millions of fans are going to disagree with me on this..."

10+ mins

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

4 mins

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

4 mins

WHO CAN I BE NOW?

NINETEEN-SEVENTY-FOUR FOUND IN TRANSITION: FROM GLAM LEPER MESSIAH TO PLASTIC SOUL MAN. HERE, AND BOWIE'S SCHOOLFRIEND AND 70S COMPANION LRHUM TELL THE STORY OF BOWIE'S 74 AS HE MAKES THE CH-CH-CH-CHCHANGE FROM THE QUEASY FUTURE-SCHLOCK CONCEPT ROCK OF DIAMOND DOGS TO THE PHILLY-FIED NEO-DISCO OF YOUNG AMERICANS. EYES WRITE: NICK HASTED

10+ mins

A MESSAGE TO YOU

Give or take Hot Chocolate, well ahead of Hi-Tension et al, Cymande were the first black British band of note. With influences ranging from soul, funk, and reggae to blues-rock, jazz and calypso, they were big in the States but failed to capitalise on early success. A staple for sampladelic hip-hoppers, they are finally getting their due with a brand new documentary. Cymande says: Lois Wilson

9 mins

MYSTERY MEN

Around the turn of the 70s, as many of their compatriots who are now household names were still building a mainstream profile, The Guess Who were Canada's biggest rock band. They never made many ripples over here, but hits such as American Woman remain instantly recognisable half a century on. They even bequeathed another major outfit in Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Meanwhile, two competing versions of The Guess Who are still touring. Rob Hughes hears their versions of events...

10 mins

DUO LIPPY

Just as the second act of their careers - either side of a 10-year break - was gaining momentum, personal tragedy hit feminist firebrands SleaterKinney, now reduced to a two-piece. But after returning to work on artfully angular new album Little Rope, they created 10 songs that serve as a reminder that music can help you find your way through the darkness. A little hope: James McMahon

9 mins

Stairway to Avon

Record label Sarah was almost militantly sensitive. The next logical step after Postcard Records' \"worldliness must keep apart from me\" defiantly innocent ethos, its roster (The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Sea Urchins) had a quietly punk-fuelled ethos - feminist, socialist, anti-capitalist - yet was widely mocked and disparaged by the music press. Located in the heart of Bristol, Sarah were as far removed from \"baggy\" and Britpop as you could get. Jane Duffus, author of a new book about the label's enduring legacy, explains its appeal in the introduction below, then selects 14 \"hits\" from its catalogue.

6 mins

33 1/3 minutes with...Carmine Appice

The Vanilla Fudge drumming legend discusses the long-awaited official 50th anniversary Beck, Bogart and Appice Live In Japan box set, losing Jeff, learning from Rod and smokin' with Jimi.

4 mins

RADIO TIMES

BBC Radiophonic Workshop pioneer Delia Derbyshire's archive is in the custodianship of a prestige Manchester archive. Steve Burniston visited in his tardis

7 mins

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Record Collector Magazine Description:

Record Collector Magazine is a monthly magazine dedicated to all aspects of record collecting, from the latest releases to rare and vintage vinyl. It is published by Metropolis Group The magazine covers a wide range of topics, including:

* New releases: Record Collector Magazine reviews new albums from all genres, including rock, pop, jazz, blues, and classical music.
* Reissues: The magazine also reviews reissues of classic albums, as well as box sets and compilations.
* Rare and vintage vinyl: Record Collector Magazine features articles on rare and vintage vinyl, including profiles of record labels, artists, and producers.
* Collecting tips: The magazine provides tips on how to start collecting records, how to care for your collection, and how to find the best deals.
* Record collector interviews: Record Collector Magazine interviews record collectors from all walks of life, from celebrities to everyday people.

Record Collector Magazine is known for its high-quality journalism, its informative and engaging articles, and its commitment to providing its readers with the latest news and information about the record collecting world.