Music
Record Collector
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
4 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
LOOKIN' AFTER No 1s THE XMAS FACTOR
Does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best? The truth might be more curious and complex, as Chris Roberts finds, tearing off the wrapping paper to discover the full history of the Christmas No 1
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
Behold The Man Friday, The Leader Of The Virgin Prunes
Since the late 70s, Gavin Friday has trod a singular path, whether as part of influential post-punks The Virgin Prunes, soundtracking Hollywood blockbusters.
10 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
THE ENGINE ROOM
The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music
4 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKERS
In 1975, 10cc and Queen reigned supreme with I'm Not In Love and that also happened to be the Christmas No 1. But how did both Bohemian Rhapsody. The former was the chart-topping sound of the game-changing singles happen that year, and which, wonders Paul summer and a production landmark, the latter a multi-part song-suite McNulty, remains the most revolutionary example of 70s songcraft?
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
'WE'D JUST WALLOW IN HOW FUCKING BRILLIANT WE WERE'
Graham Gouldman on I'm Not In Love, The Original Soundtrack and 10cc's next-level pop.
8 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
The Collector
Warren Kurtz began collecting records in the 60s and has written about music since the 70s.
6 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
Heaven From Hell
An exhilarating masterpiece wrung from a period of turmoil and unease, all done up for its 50th birthday.
5 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
33½ minutes with...Brinsley Schwarz
It's 60 years since Brinsley Schwarz made his recording bow, a handful of singles with the semi-psychedelic pop band Kippington Lodge, but he became a more visible presence later in the decade when he lent his name to the pub rock figureheads who also included Nick Lowe in their number.
4 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
TEEN SPIRIT
Of all the first-wave punk bands, Eater were arguably the truest to form.
9 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
BLACK AND WHITE MISFITS
Arty oddities on the late-70s punk scene, The Monochrome Set did things their way, alienating some. Generations that followed have been more appreciative, which is why they have intermittently regrouped and have a new album and book in the pipeline, as they tell Rob Hughes
10 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
I AM A LASER
Laser-etched and hologram discs had their day in the sun. Joe Geesin focuses on some of the landmark innovations that haven't entirely faded away
4 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
THE RHYTHM DIVINE
By the late 70s it ostensibly sucked, but by the early 80s it was enjoying renewed and rude health. It was the dance music that could never die: here, we look at what disco did next after Comiskey Park.Boogie wander: Kris Needs
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
CAN YOU DIGIT?
FLACS, WAVs, MP3s, M4As... to many record collectors, files on a computer hold little interest, even though they may contain the actual sounds that fuel our passion for music in the first place. But even if they don't exist in physical format, the emergence of downloading and streaming platforms since the turn of the century, and the subsequent removal of some of the \"content\" therein, has made some of the music circulated rare and sought-after.
10 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
45 minutes with...Shaun and Bez
Inspired by 1973 film That'll Be The Day, Shaun Ryder formed Happy Mondays in 1980 with a lineup completed by bassist brother Paul Ryder, drummer Gaz Whelan, keyboardist Paul Davis and guitarist Mark Day.
6 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
Bless Whatever
For over 60 years double-bassist Danny Thompson, who died in September, remained a highly respected and in-demand musician.
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
YOU CAN CALL ME AL
Inevitably, the obituaries that followed in the wake of his death in June focused on the work of lead Beach Boy, Brian Wilson.
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
Luke Haines writes the shuk out of rock'n'roll
Luke Haines writes the shuk out of rock'n'roll The piquant power of forgotten fruit
3 min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
BOB'S FULL HOUSE
As our Christmas present to you, Record Collector spent several hours over several weeks in the company of this issue's editor: Bob Geldof, Knight of the Realm, Live Aid hero, sometimes conscience of the world, but deep down a music nut to the tips of his toes.
10+ min |
Christmas 2025 - Issue 578
Record Collector
45 minutes with...Roland Gift
Roland Gift came to prominence in 1985 when, as the lead singer in Fine Young Cannibals, he made the UK Top 10 with their first single, Johnny Come Home. That same year they also reached the Top 10 with their self-titled debut album, although it was their 1989 followup, The Raw & The Cooked, that hit No 1 in the UK and US and yielded US No 1 singles She Drives Me Crazy and Good Thing. When they split in 1996, Gift, who'd previously starred in films including 1987's Sammy And Rosie Get Laid and 1989's Scandal, returned to the screen, starring in 1997 TV miniseries, Painted Lady, alongside Helen Mirren. In 2002 he made his eponymously titled solo album, then, in 2013, went on tour with Jools Holland's band. He is currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of Fine Young Cannibals with FYC40, a career-spanning CD/LP package and an accompanying Roland Gift Presents Fine Young Cannibals tour.
6 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
4 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
"I DON'T WANT TO BE ORDINARY"
Guitar maestro Steve Howe is the sole member of Yes from their 70s prime to still be flying their fantastical, Roger Dean-designed flag.
10+ min |
December 2025
Record Collector
davidquanticklikes
...to write a column for Record Collector. Yay Alternative facsimiles
3 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
Heard Ya Missed Us WELL WE'RE BACK!
Formed in Coventry in 1984, The Primitives managed to shine among some stylish competition on the indie scene. In 1988 they enjoyed a memorable Top 5 UK hit with the shimmering indie pop song, Crash. Four years later, the group went on hiatus, a state which lasted over two decades before a tentative return to the scene. Now, Cherry Red are releasing a long-overdue recap of the first phase of their career, spread across five discs, featuring live sessions and previously unreleased material. Guitarist and founding member Paul Court sat down to talk with RC about unexpected success, the highs and lows of the record industry, and how bubble bath spoiled a potential hit.
4 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
art for heart's sake
Around the turn of the 90s, My Bloody Valentine redefined guitar music with a string of releases whose impressionistic soundscapes would help shape a generation of alternative rock bands.
10 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
Ray Dorset
In The Summertime (1970) became an iconic number almost overnight, propelling the unknown Mungo Jerry – and the band’s creative force, Ray Dorset – to stardom.
4 min |
December 2025
Record Collector
HELLO, IT'S TREE!
Incredibly, Todd Rundgren's debut album, Runt, celebrates its 55th anniversary this year. Less arborist than individualist, he tells RC about his journey from ace producer to true star, being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and whether his job is about to be usurped by AI. Son of 1984: Felix Rowe.
10+ min |
November 2025
Record Collector
SACRED AND PROFANE
While punk history often focuses on the Pistols and the Ramones as the prime movers in a global countercultural scene, in Australia, The Saints were arguably causing just as significant a stir around the same time. Now preparing to tour as The Saints '73-'78, surviving members tell their story
10 min |
November 2025
Record Collector
Sorted For LPS And Gios
From first-ever purchases to formative influences and failsafe floor-fillers, Jarvis Cocker reveals the records that mean the most to him.
10+ min |
November 2025
Record Collector
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
4 min |