Music
Doomed youth
It’s often said that there are only seven basic plots in literature. When it comes to biographies of rock stars…
Voices of St Joan
I don’t know if this counts as name-dropping, but I recently interviewed a boyhood friend of Elvis Presley’s in Tupelo,…
Roaming in the gloaming
One of the epigraphs to Peter Davidson’s nocturne on Europe’s arts of twilight is from Hegel: ‘The owl of Minerva…
Sound and fury
No one is consulted. No one is held to account. No one has the authority to turn it off. How…
In two minds
There are some operas, as there are some people, that it is impossible to establish a settled relationship with, and…
Starman
The DJ and sage Mark Radcliffe once said that he didn’t think he could ever like anyone who didn’t love…
True dedication
Benjamin Clementine, who won the 2015 Mercury Music Prize for his debut album At Least For Now, received his cheque…
The man who wouldn’t be king
Not that long ago the BBC trumpeted a new Stakhanovite project to big up the arts in its many and…
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…
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…