Taylor Swift is fascinating – but you really wouldn't want to be her
There had been some question about whether Taylor Swift’s Netflix special would actually appear. Last year it seemed that the…
The magic of Bryan Ferry
The accepted line about Bryan Ferry is that his is one of the greatest reinventions in English pop culture: Peter…
Grimly compelling: The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour reviewed
‘No matter what they take from me,’ sang Whitney Houston towards the end of a peculiar evening in Hammersmith, ‘they…
Dazzling and nonsensical in equal measure: Madonna at the London Palladium reviewed
You might have thought Madonna was not a singer but a professional footballer judging by the talk before she took…
You have to be a terrific snob not to see the appeal of Slipknot
Every development in heavy music is derided by mainstream critics. When Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin emerged in the late…
Best gig of the week: the fuzzy, slacker melodies of teenage quintet Disq
Come January, when the proper pop stars are all in the gym working off the pounds before they emerge, blinking…
A son-et-lumière spectacular: The Chemical Brothers at the O2 Arena reviewed
How does one account for the phenomenon that is the Chemical Brothers, a quarter of a century on from their…
Rap that feels like a sociology lecture: Loyle Carner at Alexandra Palace reviewed
A few years ago, I asked the young American soul singer Leon Bridges — a latter-day Sam Cooke, with the…
Range and power – and amazingly she sang all her songs: Christina Aguilera at Wembley reviewed
In every respect bar its austere pews, the Union Chapel is one of the best venues in London: beautiful and…
Fascinating and compelling: Bruce Hornsby at Shepherd’s Bush Empire reviewed
In the unlikely event that Bruce Hornsby and Morten Harket, A-ha’s singer, ended up featuring in the Daily Mail for,…
Mick Hucknall on women, rejection and cultural appropriation
What makes someone become a pop star? Sometimes, it’s true, pop stardom arrives by accident, and its recipient responds not…
The open-hearted loveliness of Hot Chip
Squeeze and Hot Chip are both great British pop groups. But they never defined a scene. Their ambitions extended further…
![Slowthai at the Brixton Academy. [Photo: Visionhaus]](https://spectatorau.imgix.net/content/uploads/2019/10/Pop_1.jpg?auto=compress,enhance,format&crop=faces,entropy,edges&fit=crop&w=410&h=275)
Something great
Those who cherish the notion that the current prime minister really is ‘electoral Viagra’ should have paid a visit to…
At their best the Psychedelic Furs are fantastic
It’s amazing what the movies can do. In 1986, the John Hughes teen flick Pretty in Pink — the one…
An eight-year-old’s dream: Muse at the O2 reviewed
‘Butterflies and Hurricanes’ by Muse was on heavy rotation on MTV at a time, 15 years ago, when my infant…
The most exciting band I have seen for years and years: the Murder Capital reviewed
It’s entirely possible for a band to be quite the most brilliant thing in existence for the briefest of times,…
If you’re a white middle-aged male, Ramblin’ Man Fair is the festival for you
Last weekend, in a pleasant park outside Maidstone, a most unusual rock festival took place. For one thing, it was…
Why I’m done with Fleetwood Mac
There is something inexplicably exciting about pop’s notion of a ‘scene’: young musicians of similar outlooks drawn together by a…
David Coverdale, lead singer of Whitesnake, talks hair, love handles and ‘sexism’
‘Invest in your hair,’ advises David Coverdale, a man with a shag of the stuff glossier than a supermodel’s and…
Enveloping and gorgeous: Cate Le Bon reviewed
The last time Bikini Kill played in London was in a room that now serves as the restaurant of a…
Deeply unpleasant and thrilling: Viagra Boys make Primal Scream look antiseptic
May was a cruel month for those middle-aged liberals who treasure their old alternative rock heroes. There was Morrissey, appearing…
A very odd two hours: Sting and Shaggy reviewed
Many is the pop star who has craved gravitas. Only Sting, however, has pursued it by covering John Dowland on…
A Saturday-night variety show: Take That at the O2 reviewed
Being old is big business in live music nowadays, in a way it wasn’t even 25 years ago. When Take…
At her best Robyn is magical – but her contribution to pop is hardly unique
Last autumn, anyone who a) has an interest in pop music, and b) reads the weightier end of the press,…
The rise and rise of the holographic tour
In March 1968, Frank Zappa released an album called We’re Only in it for the Money. Presumably, then, Zappa —…
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