Music
Frank’s world
‘He never went away. All those other things that we thought were here to stay, they did go away. But…
Barometer
Killer facts The World Health Organisation added processed meats to its list of ‘known’ carcinogens. A few of the other…
Maximum Bob
We were like four hapless contestants on University Challenge. None of us knew the answer. But just like they do…
DVF worship
Girl is back for half-term so I’ve been able to watch nothing but crap on TV this week. Some of…
My Schubert cruise was a transport of delight
Michael Henderson is transported to raptures on a Schubert cruise
It may have a meagre script and no plot but Farinelli and the King is still a major work of art
Philippe V was a Bourbon prince who secured the throne of Spain using his family connections. Claire van Kampen is…
Why I’m stepping down after 28 years as The Spectator pop critic
Pop's place in culture has changed drastically. Marcus Berkmann explains why, after 27 years, it is time to step down as The Spectator's pop critic
Hitler’s émigrés
German-speaking refugees dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn’t go down well in Stepney or Stevenage, says William Cook
Barometer
Available for parties Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said that leaving his party to join the Liberal Democrats would be…
The truth about me, Dave and the drugs
This week I woke up shocked to find myself on the front page of the Daily Mail. Apparently I’m the…
Going for a song
This column does like a bargain. Indeed, it not only esteems and relishes a bargain, it has also worked long…
Music to write books by
I have been writing a book this summer, in the usual mad tearing hurry. (Much as I admire those who…
Reducing poetry to a science
Is it possible to tell a good poem from a bad one? To put the question another way: are there…
Tax return
Make no mistake: the Proms, whose 2015 season was launched last night, would not, could not, exist without the BBC,…
Starr quality
Ringo’s no joke, says James Woodall. He was a genius and the Beatles were lucky to have him
Glastonbury knight
I had meant to write a dispassionate account of this year’s Glastonbury, really I had. But I’m afraid my plans…
Elysian fields
Glastonbury is a model for radical policy reform, says Steve Hilton
Eurovision-speak
Like a reluctantly remembered nightmare, last week’s Eurovision Song Contest already seems very distant. But, in the manner of the…
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner is talented almost beyond measure. His Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and stupidly named Orchestre Révolutionnaire…
Barometer
Out of tune The use of a song, ‘Love Natural’ by the Crystal Fighters, at the launch of the Labour…
The legend returns
Daniel Barenboim is back in town: the South Bank is mounting a ‘Barenboim Project 2015’ in which he’s playing the…
That unmistakable touch of Glass
Philip Hensher infinitely prefers the words to the music of the maverick ‘minimalist’ composer
End of the Rainbow
The golden age of pop music may be long gone, but the golden age of pop musicians’ obituaries is definitely…
High life
End of season is always bittersweet, the melting snows a bit like autumn leaves. But the days are longer and…
Wish list
Annie Nightingale 25 July 2015 9:00 am
Compilation schompilation. Having been in music for as long as I have you would think I had a good idea…