William Bell – Ace Venturer

You may not know William Bell, but you'll know his co-writes - You Don't Miss Your Water, Born Under A Bad Sign, his hit duet with Judy Clay, Private Number - his samples (hello, Kanye), or his covers: his songs have been performed by everyone from The Byrds to Billy Idol. Garth Cartwright meets the Stax legend, now in the seventh decade of his career

Ian Shirley is 007 "The man with the Golden Ton"

So, now you know which £100 records to buy. But what if you want more than one disc for your dosh? Ian Shirley, licensed to chill and a secret agent when it comes to tracking down rarities, shows how to spend the whopping £100 he got given as his leaving gift from RC as he heads off to work as Production Manager for Ace Records.

The Beatles – It was 60 years ago today...

On the very first day of 1962, The Beatles failed their audition with one of the biggest record companies in the UK. On the final day of 1962, WITH they had a No 1 single in the can and played their last gig on the Hamburg club circuit – on the verge of conquering Britain in 1963, and the world in 1964. How could just one year change their fortunes so vastly? As the 60th anniversary of Love Me Do approaches, we offer a full appraisal of their 1962 recordings, and the myths and mysteries that continue to surround them. Richie Unterberger delves into the archives.

Take a Beau

At the height of Beatlemania, San Francisco quintet The Beau Brummels crashed the British invasion party with a chart-busting sound that shifted from beat pop to embryonic country rock and psychedelia. But as their creativity grew, sales and label backing fell away. Richie Unterberger recounts their story with help from some of the original California dreamers.

Ex-Monkees Business

Even Monkees fans might not know of a mid-70s reunion involving Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones. With hit songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, they formed pop supergroup, Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. Two tours brought their music to enthusiastic audiences, but a studio album (and a live record) failed to sell, and the 14-month adventure was soon lost to time. Bill Kopp spoke to Hart, band leader Keith Allison (who died last autumn) and tour manager Christian de Walden.

Auteur To Author

Luke Haines writes the shuk out of rock’n’roll Cold War games

Fire Starter

A prominent figure on the 60s London scene, Brian Auger is one of the great missing links. A highly skilled musician, band leader and songwriter, he is, perhaps, best known for his hit version of Dylan's This Wheel's On Fire. But he was also an early pioneer of jazz-rock fusion, later hailed the 'godfather of Acid Jazz'. Now 82, he is entertainingly forthright, with tales of Hendrix, Rod Stewart and the tower of pianos that threatened to put "a huge hole in rock'n'roll". Life of Brian: Garth Cartwright

Billy Idol – "I was a proper 80s rock star"

With pin-up good looks and a refusal to toe the Year Zero party line, Billy Idol was dismissed by the music press as a major-label plastic punk. Yet 45 years on from his recording debut with Generation X, his music has survived to tell a very different story, one of masterful songwriting and unashamed showmanship. Here, the ace face of the late 70s charts his transition to leather-clad staple of 80s MTV on the back of hits such as White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face and Rebel Yell, and confirms his aversion to stasis. "You can't always stay in your comfort zone, it's boring," he tells Lois Wilson.

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, labels, and magazines meriting more attention

STONES IMMACULATE

The first Rolling Stones shows in the capital sans Charlie provide the epitaph he deserves. Good tonight: Kris Needs

NO LAUGHING STOCK

One of the great living Liverpudlians, Michael Head has plenty to smile about. But his has been a bumpy journey, as widely admired albums he’s made first with The Pale Fountains then Shack, under the aegis of The Strands and now The Red Elastic Band, have come either side of addiction-related potholes. Reanimating the latter project in some style at 60, fresh from another withdrawal induced by Covid lockdowns, he tells Pete Paphides how “I got my shit together, got focused” for his latest release, the Top 10 LP, Dear Scott.

Sparks and Re-Creation

It may be the best part of five decades since the brothers of reinvention first made a generation of UK pop-pickers choke on their Angel Delight with their startling first appearances on TV, but Sparks have been enjoying a revival in their fortunes – celebrated on celluloid, endorsed by Hollywood, collaborating with the cream of UK indie-pop and back in the Top 10. As Ron and Russell Mael’s 21st-century studio albums are reissued, they look back on those LPs and three other creative diversions since 2000 and vow to continue confounding expectations. “That muse won’t accept a divorce,” they tell Jeremy Allen.

GIMME DANGER

Andy Ellison's commitment to extreme performance has been lifelong, as has his enthusiasm for music of various stripes, from mod R&B and proto-freakbeat with The Silence and John's Children, to glam with Jet and onto punk with Radio Stars. He could have been a contender, though he was perhaps stymied by a penchant for perilous stunts. "I could've been killed any night," he tells some-time Radio Star, Rich Davenport.

Two-fisted tales from the vault

A Sid Griffin archive revamp is in the offing, and RC asked him and Cherry Red archivist Steve Hammonds to tell us what’s in store

The Collector

This month: music programmer and DJ Miche

ROCK'N'ROLL RIDE No 4

We've visited three rock'n'roll London locales before. This time, Tim Jones got on his bike for an eco-friendly lap around Richmond & Twickenham

MoFi - do you dig?

US record manufacturer Mobile Fidelity in vinyl mastering controversy

Voices Of The People

Quality kitchen sink vignettes from the Marvin & Tammi of miserablism.

In The Affirmative

New York trio get their mojo back on album five.

Electric Dreams

Brit-rock veterans galvanise their comeback momentum with amped-up anthems.

davidquanticklikes

...to write a column for Record Collector. Yay What’s in a name? Everything and nothing

maconblack

Ian McCann wonders if we are willing to waive the flaws of our heroes

musictovisit

Bob Stanley carries pop’s baggage everywhere When Frankie went to Hollywood

Perfect Circle

Across nine studio albums, Orbital have remained at the forefront of dance music trends. On their new compilation, 30 Something, the Hartnoll brothers trace a three-decade path as electronica trailblazers in typically inventive - and re-inventive - style. Younger sibling Paul takes Lois Wilson on a trip through their long-playing history.

33 1/3 minutes with... Scott Gorham

Thin Lizzy, and their charismatic frontman Phil Lynott, are today held in higher regard than during the original band’s latter days.

Lamont Dozier 1941-2022

I’d always written,” Lamont Dozier told this writer in 2018. “It started with poems at 11, then by the time I was 15 it was songs for The Romeos.

“WE WERE DOING A LOT OF DRUGS AND A LOT OF DEEP READING”

In the 32 years since leaving The Stranglers, the group he founded in 1974, Hugh Cornwell has built an eclectic solo career, full of the melody and pin-sharp observations he displayed in his years as co-frontman of The Meninblack. Cornwell’s 10th solo studio album, Moments Of Madness, offers a raw, guitar-led sound, written and conceived during the pandemic, showcasing Cornwell’s perfect balance of optimism, vitriol, despair and passion. On the eve of its release, and forthcoming tour, Daryl Easlea finds him in sparkling form, invigorated by life, music, and film.

Two-fisted tales from the vault

A Sid Griffin archive revamp is in the offing, and RC asked him and Cherry Red archivist Steve Hammonds to tell us what's in store

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, labels, and magazines meriting more attention