Pop
Reliably odd but the deranged proggery grates: King's Mouth by The Flaming Lips reviewed
Grade: B- So a queen dies as her giant baby is being born. The baby grows very big indeed and…
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…
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…
Way more fun than the media would have us believe: The Spice Girls tour reviewed
If you’ve paid even passing attention to early reports of the Spice Girls comeback tour, you will be aware of…
Much as I admire Morrissey's refusal to conform, I don't much like his music
Grade: B Rock stars who utter something a little gamey, something a tad right-wingish, are usually coerced by the lefties…
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…
Rocketman is cheesy and clichéd – and all the better for it
There have been claims that Rocketman, the biopic of Elton John, is ‘cheesy’ and ‘clichéd’, but, in truth, you do…
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…
Maybe the best thing this skag head's ever done: Peter Doherty & the Puta Madres reviewed
Grade: A Old skag head’s back, then — older (40 now!), probably none the wiser, still a very good songwriter.…
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,…
Thick 12-year-olds listen to Ariana Grande, smart ones to Billie Eilish
Grade: A– If your 12-year-old daughter’s a bit thick, she probably likes Ariana Grande. Come on, dads — you’ve got…
The greatest Beatle? Pete Best
Which of the Beatles would you most like to have been? Not either of the dead ones, presumably. Nor the…
It’s shocking how many Michael Jackson fans are still determined to take his side
Halfway through the first part of Channel 4’s extraordinary documentary Leaving Neverland (Thursdays), I flicked through the comments on social…
An undervalued songwriter and decent man: Bryan Adams at Wembley reviewed
On 29 June 1991, a record called ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ by Bryan Adams entered the…
As so often, teenage girls called this one right: The 1975 reviewed
The teenage girls are often right. They were right about Sinatra and they were right about Elvis. They were right…
Gary Kemp on pop, Pre-Raphaelites, politics and playing Pinter
Gary Kemp is enjoying a comeback. He talks to Michael Hann about pop, the Pre-Raphaelites, politics and playing Pinter
1975 was a great year for pop – worthy of a better band than The 1975
Grade: C A derided year in pop music, 1975 — and yet a great one. The mainstream was horrible, but…
They. Cannot. Write. Songs: Mumford & Sons reviewed
Grade: D+ I promise you this isn’t simply class loathing. Yer toffs have contributed to British rock and pop and…
Why David Byrne deserves every penny he makes from his tour
Let’s get the ‘was-it-good?’ stuff out of the way first. Yes, it was good. It was better than good. It…
A succession of predigested clichés: Bohemian Rhapsody reviewed
There is a moment in Bohemian Rhapsody when the screen swims with print. The reviews for Queen’s epic new single…
What’s not to like about Christine and the Queens? Her music
Grade: B– Ooh goody — a parade to rain on! You wouldn’t believe the hyperbole expended by the rock critics…
Lady Gaga is a revelation: A Star is Born reviewed
This version of A Star Is Born, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is the fourth iteration (Janet Gaynor and…
No one would want this gig to be the final memory of them: Soft Cell at the O2 reviewed
When Soft Cell first appeared on Top of the Pops in summer 1981, miming along to their version of Gloria…
Brett Anderson on fame, fear and hitting 50
Brett Anderson talks to Michael Hann about fame, fear and hitting 50
The man who’s spent 40 years trying (and failing) to become a pop star
Michael Hann talks to the critically acclaimed musician who has been trying (and failing) to become a pop star since 1979
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