The Great Pretender

They formed in March 1978 and from the very start pretty much defined the sound and look of new wave. Forty-five years later, The Pretenders remain true to their original spirit, despite the tragic early loss of two founder members, and Chrissie Hynde is still conjuring classic pop songs and embodying the essential sass and strut of rock'n'roll. Pete Paphides interviews her about survival and songwriting, the Sex Pistols and narrowly avoiding jail on the road

33½ minutes with...Den Hegarty

Doo wop revivalists Darts were one of the biggest-selling acts of 1978, scoring three hits and considered one of the foremost live bands of their day

Alice Cooper – "We Didn't Mind a Litle Violence"

How Alice Cooper, veteran shock-rocker and influence on every theatrical rock act from David Bowie to KISS to Slipknot, is still with us at the age of 75 is beyond human comprehension. Alcohol and cocaine couldn’t kill him. The guillotine blades and hangman’s nooses he uses onstage every night haven’t killed him (yet). Even being a part of the 80s poodle-rock scene couldn’t finish him off. If anything, the monster created by the sometime Vincent Furnier is stronger than ever. Joel McIver meets the gothfather.

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

TO 'ELLO, 'ELLO, 'ELLO & BACK

Formerly the biggest band on Planet Earth, The Police split almost 40 years ago. Not long before that, in 1978, they were just a trio of blond hopefuls waiting at the nation's gates with a daring hybrid of punk and reggae which seemed to catch the ear of many of the pre-punk old guard. Stewart Copeland's new book, Police Diaries, in words (his diaries circa 1976-78) and pictures (photos and illustrations), takes us back to those early days of The Police. It is, according to the drummer, \"the fun part of the Police story, the starving years when we didn't have any songs to play just crap punk songs, mostly written by me [some of them on a CD in the Signature edition of the book]. \"These formative years,\" Copeland attests, \"are the interesting part of the Police story, which is why the book focuses on the period of formation and exploration that preceded the stadium tours - it shows how three disparate individuals bonded before figuring out what music to play...\"

Survivor

Nineteen seventyeight should have been Cidny Bullens' year, until a record label acquisition brought it to a crashing halt. Now, as Charles Donovan discovers, the musician who once had to choose between Dylan and Elton is back... with a difference, a new album, and 2023's most compelling rock memoir

STUDIO WHIZZ OF THE YEAR TODD RUNDGREN

On pioneering visuals, Meat Loaf, new wave and producing Tom Robinson

MY 1978 LEO SAYER

Hail the bubblehaired balladeer

DISCO AUTEUR OF THE YEAR NILE RODGERS

A pivotal 12 months for the guitarist-writer-producer and the Chic hit factory

SYNTHPOP PIONEER OF THE YEAR GARY NUMAN

The chance discovery of a Moog synth and a total rethink of direction...

THE YEAR IN...POST-PUNK/ NEW WAVE

In 1978, the Sex Pistols were disintegrating, and punk calcifying as literalists like Sham 69 attempted to carry on in its “true”, reductionist spirit, which would eventually degenerate into Oi. John Lydon was growing weary of Sid Vicious’s glassy-eyed nihilism, of manager Malcolm McClaren’s treatment of the Pistols like pawns in his own neo-situationist game. With a parting shot of, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” onstage in San Francisco at the start of the year, Lydon dropped his mic and quit the group

MY 1978 ΤΟΥΛΗ WILLCOX

A film debut is just the start of it all...

MAN OF THE YEAR JOHN LYDON

For John Lydon, 1978 was a pivotal year, leaving the Sex Pistols and forming Pil

33% minutes with...Glen Matlock

In stark contrast with the misinformation and backstabbing aimed at Glen Matlock on his departure from the Sex Pistols in 1977, their reunion in 1996 saw the bassist reinstated and his significance in the band’s history re-evaluated. After spending the late 70s and 80s in a succession of shortlived bands, and a stint with Iggy Pop, Matlock channeled the momentum from the Pistols’ 90s revival into an ongoing solo career. On his sixth album, Consequences Coming, his Pistols-era knack for a sharp tune is paired with politically charged lyrics. “It’s a word to the wise,” he tells Record Collector.

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

33% minutes with...Chuck D

The Public Enemy founder is Zooming Record Collector from his study at his LA home. It’s the middle of the night, which is when he works best, he says. Dressed in de rigueur black T-shirt with baseball cap, he’s sat with rows and rows of neatly filed CDs to one side and, to the other, a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf crammed with art books. He’s just become the subject of his own, Livin’ Loud, which collects over 250 of his paintings, sketches and drawings of musical and sports heroes from Gladys Knight and James Brown to basketball player Julius Irving aka Dr J. In between are political cartoons and satirical skits. Always the restless creative, he’s also just launched the cultural app, Bring The Noise, and published his first of what he calls ‘naphic grovels’ on his own Enemy Books. “I was raised with an artist’s mentality,” he says

musictovisit

Bob Stanley carries pop’s baggage everywhere Britain’s secret radio hits

MYSTERY RUSHENT RECORDING

Ian Shirley uncovers the story behind post-punk/synthpop producer Martin Rushent’s 60s group, The Nett, and meets his band-mate from way back when, Gerry Shadbolt

SACRED & ROUND

Set up by Eddie Singleton with Berry Gordy’s ex-wife Raynoma (Miss Ray) in 1964, the Shrine label, based in Washington DC, has been highly collectable for over 50 years. Shrine had no hits – in fact, they had very few sales at all. What it did have was musical talent and a business plan that ended in glorious failure – thereby making the 20 singles that were pressed sought-after by soul aficonados. As a new Ace Records compilation rounds them up in one place, Ady Croasdell gazes enviously down the list of their releases – with estimated asking prices in Mint condition

SILENT SHOUT

With an acclaimed final album on the shelves, Janis Ian was on one last lap of glory, with a lifetime achievement award and the European leg of her farewell tour to look forward to. Then everything changed. She tells Charles Donovan what happened…

RIGHT SAID 'FRED

Paul Jones celebrates the 60th anniversary of the band formerly known as Manfred Mann, with help from Mike d’Abo and guitarist Tom McGuinness. Man in the middle: Michael Heatley

COOL VARIATIONS

At the start of the 80s Tom Waits felt trapped. Hemmed in by the persona he’d created over the previous decade, his salvation came with the album Swordfishtrombones, an artistic volte-face that celebrates its 40th birthday this month. Wesley Doyle looks at its creation – via an album-byalbum run-through of what led up to it – and reassesses the peerless work that followed

NOT FADE AWAY 1973's IMMORTAL LIVE DEBUT LPs

‘THE 1973 LIVE LP WAS THE ALBUM ON STEROIDS’

"We wanted to sound like Sinatra with a fairlight"

As the UK synthpop scene gathered momentum at the turn of the 80s, a bunch of ambitious modernists from South Yorkshire were thinking bigger. ABC, in a very different yet not entirely unrelated post-punk way to The Human League, Soft Cell, Haircut One Hundred et al, would create a vision of shiny, post-modern pop that endures on their finest recorded hour: The Lexicon Of Love. Leader Martin Fry remembers how, for a short, surreal period, it all went so gloriously right. Alphabet superstar:

Wild At Heart

How the 'best new band in Britain' earned their title...

The Collector

This month: musician/ producer Chasms

CANDID CANDI

The Southern soul, disco and gospel queen tells Ian Shirley about her acclaimed Fame recordings and how real-life pain helped her deliver those heartrending vocals

Divine Intervention

Having conceded that “addiction took years off me” and spent much of the late 20th century in a personal and artistic limbo, Kevin Rowland is now making up for lost time with a revitalised Dexys. As they prepare to release their new album, The Feminine Divine, this soon-to-be-septuagenarian is keen to express an older, wiser worldview and put the finishing touches to a back catalogue he can be proud of. “We haven’t done that much, really,” he tells Rob Hughes.

THUNDER BIRD

While the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal spawned plenty of globe-straddling rock superstars, some of its less high-profile names still made their mark, even if more in influence than record sales. Tyneside terrors Raven were one such pack of unsung heroes, but their reputation has been rightly rehabilitated since their reformation at the turn of the millennium, and as a new album is released they sound revitalised as they come off a triumphant anniversary tour. Murder of crows: Rich Davenport