Michael Hann

The charm of Robbie Williams

14 June 2025 9:00 am

What could it possibly feel like to be a sportsperson who gets the yips? To wake up one morning and…

Anyone irritated by Springsteen’s speeches hasn’t been paying attention

31 May 2025 9:00 am

No one who went to see Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway residency a few years back came away disappointed because they knew…

I think I’ve found the new Van Morrison

17 May 2025 9:00 am

Young male singers won the right to be sensitive in 1963, when The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was released. And in…

A triumphant show: Self Esteem, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed

3 May 2025 9:00 am

The most compelling character in the newish documentary One to One: John & Yoko isn’t either John or Yoko. It’s…

Divorce are the best young British band I’ve seen in an age

19 April 2025 9:00 am

Can we talk business for a moment? When reviewers like me go to big arenas, we get the best seats…

Metal for people who don’t understand metal: The Darkness at Wembley reviewed

5 April 2025 9:00 am

Midway through their thoroughly entertaining show at Wembley Arena, the Darkness played a song from a decade ago called ‘Barbarian’,…

The death of touring

22 March 2025 9:00 am

Touring’s not what it used to be. When I were a lad, even big bands would do 30 or 40…

Finneas has little to offer without his sister Billie Eilish

8 March 2025 9:00 am

No truth is more self-evident than that there are those whose best emerges only when they are paired with others:…

Lauren Mayberry is terrific – but it’s not music for middle-aged men

22 February 2025 9:00 am

There are nights when one realises quite how much effort the business end of showbusiness must be. On a bitterly…

A cheaper, shinier, more processed Chris Stapleton: Brothers Osborne reviewed

8 February 2025 9:00 am

If you were a frequent viewer of Top Gear in its Clarkson/Hammond/May era, there is a particular laugh you will…

Like lying down in front of a bulldozer: the Jesus Lizard, at the Electric Ballroom, reviewed

25 January 2025 9:00 am

Many indie types from the 1980s and 1990s were secretly metal fans. But it’s not something they ever really wanted…

The problem with Paul McCartney is he wrote too many good songs

11 January 2025 9:00 am

Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer of all time, was once asked if he reckoned he could have maintained his batting…

Kneecap are basic but thrilling

30 November 2024 9:00 am

It was Irish week in London, with one group from the north and one from the south. Guinness was sold…

Perfectly imperfect: Evan Dando, at Islington Assembly Hall, reviewed

16 November 2024 9:00 am

‘Can I have a photo with you, please?’ It’s the most embarrassing question you can ask of someone you’re interviewing.…

The joy of Chris Stapleton

2 November 2024 9:00 am

Chris Stapleton is a barrel-chested man of 46, who hides his face beneath a beard that must have taken years…

An uncompromising master: David Gilmour, at the Royal Albert Hall, reviewed

19 October 2024 9:00 am

It doesn’t matter which dictionary you consult, they all agree on what a song is: words, set to music, that…

The world is on fire – yet navel-gazing still reigns in pop

5 October 2024 9:00 am

There is no better cultural weather vane than pop. It’s not that pop singers possess incredible analytical skills – they…

How some of the most derided bands of all time are making a comeback

28 September 2024 9:00 am

The fate of the pop musician – at least the pop musician below the top tier of stardom – has…

My night with the worst kind of nostalgia

21 September 2024 9:00 am

American Football are a band whose legend was formed by the internet: some Illinois college kids who made an album…

Delightful: Phoenix, at All Points East, reviewed

7 September 2024 9:00 am

A few years ago, my nephew informed me that he and his friend were planning to come up to London…

Triumphant: Big Thief, at Green Man, reviewed

24 August 2024 9:00 am

One of the first things I learned after seeing Big Thief triumph at Green Man is that some long-time fans…

Fantastic – and genuinely indie: Personal Trainer, at the Shacklewell Arms, reviewed

10 August 2024 9:00 am

Remember when we all knew what indie meant? Indie was what John Peel played. It was music that was recorded,…

Charismatic, powerful and raw: Patti Smith, at Somerset House, reviewed

27 July 2024 9:00 am

There are certain long-established rules for describing Patti Smith. Google her name and the words ‘shaman’ and ‘priestess’ and you’ll…

Teenage Swifties restored my faith in strangers

29 June 2024 9:00 am

Taylor Swift is the last of the monocultural pop icons. Put it this way: I bet you’ve heard of her.…

‘Psychedelic folk that twists and leaps’: Beth Gibbons, at the Barbican, reviewed

15 June 2024 9:00 am

A decade ago, a group of people who owned small music venues came to the conclusion that the kinds of…