Britpop guitarist Noel Gallagher (b. 1967) was born in Manchester, England. He began teaching himself guitar at the age of 13, later adopting Johnny Marr as his role model. His other inspirations were primarily British guitar bands: the Kinks, the Who, Slade, the Jam and the Stone Roses. After unsuccessfully auditioning for the role of lead ...
Highly respected blues guitarist Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, Ireland in 1948, and grew up in Cork. After learning his trade as a teenager playing in Irish show bands, Gallagher formed the power trio Taste in 1966. The band released two studio and two live albums. Shortly after their appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival ...
(Guitar, vocals, harmonica, 1949–95) Irish blues musician Rory Gallagher fell in love with Delta and Chicago blues as a child, collecting as many records as he could get his hands on. In 1969 he formed the band Taste, receiving moderate acclaim, and a year later he released his own eponymous album to very good reviews. ...
Alt-rock guitarist John Frusciante (b. 1970) was born into a musical family in Queens, New York. While living in Los Angeles after his parents’ divorce, Frusciante became involved with the city’s punk-rock scene. Frusciante was particularly inspired by The Germs, teaching himself to play the songs on their first album before taking guitar lessons. He studied Jeff Beck ...
Indie guitar legend Johnny Marr (b. 1963) was born John Maher in Manchester, England to Irish Catholic parents. He grew up in a household where music was a constant fixture, and he recalled, ‘I always had guitars, for as long as I could remember.’ Guitar technique came easily to young Johnny, and he quickly mastered ...
(Electronic group, 1989–present) Initially working under the name The Dust Brothers, Tom Rowlands and Edward Simons began their career as DJs and remixers. After threats of litigation from US Dust Brothers they began recording under the name The Chemical Brothers. Their eclectic, analogue beat-driven dance tracks won a huge following. Live work and collaborations with John Lydon, ...
The 1990s electronica that came to be known as big beat is recognised by its rhythmic clout and propulsive force. With their freaky FX and mental 303 acid lines set to block rockin’ beats, The Chemical Brothers were the architects of this fusion of hip hop and techno; Norman Cook, a.k.a Fatboy Slim, would later emulate ...
By the early 1990s British pop and alternative fans were crying out for homegrown pop that combined old-fashioned rock charisma with lyrics and a definitively British sound, to counteract the manufactured teen acts, Euro-dance novelties and US imports. This arrived in the mid-1990s in the shape of Britpop: a wave of guitar bands with short, sharp pop songs. ...
Occasionally, a town or city is so integral to a style of music that the music takes its name from the place. In the early 1960s, Liverpool gave rise to the Mersey sound and Merseybeat; in the late-1980s and early 1990s, England’s Manchester spawned so–called Madchester. As much a clubbing scene and youth sub-culture as a style of ...
February Live At Leeds Remastered The box set was the trigger for all the band’s albums to be re-released with additional tracks. The first one to receive this treatment was also probably the most anticipated. Live At Leeds remixed and remastered was released in February 1995, and contained the entire show from Leeds with the exception of Tommy (which followed ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1939) Texas-born Williams worked in 1964 with folk trio The Pozo-Seco Singers. Encouraged by producer Cowboy Jack Clement, his solo career began in 1971, and resulted in gentle hits like ‘Amanda’ (1973), ‘You’re My Best Friend’ (1976) and ‘Tulsa Time’ (1978). He enjoyed immense popularity in the UK, where he had success with ...
Southern-rock guitarist Duane Allman was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1946. Allman was inspired to take up the guitar by his brother Gregg. At first, they played country music, their initiation into the blues coming when the brothers saw B.B. King performing in Nashville. The pair began playing professionally in 1961, first in The Allman Joys ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1968–73) Fronted by charismatic Paul Rodgers, Free was a catalyst in the popular shift from blues-dominated rock to heavy-metal forms. Rodgers left Brown Sugar to form Free with guitarist Paul Kossoff, whose playing on the hit ‘All Right Now’ sealed its popularity in 1970. Not long thereafter, tensions and drug abuse began to weaken the ...
January Grammy For Best Rock Album ‘Is this old hat now ?’ an interviewer from TV Guide asked the band after 21st Century Breakdown won a Grammy for Best Rock Album, ‘No, no, this is never old hat,’ replied Billie Joe, ‘when you put that much effort into a record nothing is old hat.’ At ...
January American Idiot Celebrates 300th Show Billie Joe joined the cast of American Idiot on New Year’s Day 2011 for 50 performances spread between January and February and so was on hand to celebrate its 300th performance on 8 January. He appeared with the cast in a photo call with a cake to mark the event. Plans were being hatched and ...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
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