(Vocal/instrumental group, 1982–present) Glaswegian Bobby Gillespie was the drummer in The Jesus And Mary Chain before forming Primal Scream in 1982. Early releases paid tribute to the 1960s sound of The Byrds and Love before beginning to steer towards Cult-like rock territory on second album Primal Scream (1989). Discovering the acid-house scene was a revelation to the now stable line-up ...
(Vocals, 1929–2000) Ohio-born ex-Golden Gloves champion boxer Jalacy Hawkins evolved a stage show in which his props included a coffin and a skull, and although he never actually achieved any hit records, his larger-than-life stage show brought him great popularity. He also co-wrote ‘I Put A Spell On You’, a song which was a UK hit for Nina ...
(Vocals, 1940–99) The most famous English pop star who never had a hit – and the country’s longest-serving political leader – accrued instant national notoriety for a ghoulish stage act that would be reflected in 1963’s ‘Jack The Ripper’, his best-remembered single. A small army of famous musicians, among them personnel from Led Zeppelin, assisted on 1970’s Lord ...
Malcolm John ‘Mac’ Rebennack Jr., a.k.a. ‘Dr. John the Night Tripper’, was born in New Orleans in November 1940. The singer and pianist began his professional career while he was still a teenager. He backed local favourites including Joe Tex and Professor Longhair on guitar and keyboards, produced and arranged sessions at Cosmio Studio, also frequented ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1997–present) Sometimes likened to proletariat rockers Oasis, Kasabian – Tom Meighan (vocals), Serge Pizzorno (guitar), Chris Karloff (guitar) and Christopher Edwards (bass) – hail from Leicester. There is more to the four-piece than a simple rock template, however, with much of the band’s sound augmented by multiple vocal sections and a chatter of electronica in ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1983–97, 2007–present) MBV began as a thrashy 1960s garage band and ended up redefining the sound of rock guitar on the swirling, distorting but lambently beautiful Loveless (1991). Isn’t Anything from 1988, features slightly more recognizable tunes and song forms. Vocalist/guitarist Bilinda Butcher contributed lyrics and (guitarist/vocalist) Kevin Shields the revolutionary sounds. Deb Googe (bass) ...
(Electronica group, 1995–present) Like fellow Bristolians Massive Attack, Portishead were pioneers of the trip hop sound. Although the band – Geoff Barrow (keyboards), Beth Gibbons (vocals), Adrian Utley (guitar) and Dave MacDonald (drums) – kept a low media profile, their debut album Dummy (1996) with its laid-back, almost trance-like beats over which Gibbons sang was voted record ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1983–98) This irascible, much-lauded Scottish crew featured the Reid brothers, William and Jim (both vocals, guitar) and, for a while, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream (drums). They took The Velvet Underground’s art rock and overlaid surprisingly poppy melodies. Their early gigs turned into riots, but 1985’s Psychocandy was a very good debut ...
Originally coined as a criticism of the bands’ static stage performances – band members were said to stand stock still staring at their shoes – the so-called shoegazers played slow- or medium-paced rock, generally with heavily distorted or heavily reverbed guitars topped by dreamy, melodic and ethereal vocals. Influenced by the use of distorted guitars by The Jesus & ...
West-coast city Seattle was the unanticipated epicentre of 1990s music as grunge, the biggest ‘back to basics’ movement since punk, shook traditional American rock – Nirvana was to enjoy iconic status for a spell until Kurt Cobain’s death. In the UK, the dance-rock of The Stone Roses, a holdover from the late 1980s, put Manchester briefly ...
In 1949, two apparently small events took place, which in hindsight were to have monumental significance for popular culture. The first of these saw Billboard magazine change the name of its ‘Race Records’ chart to the more relevant and politically correct ‘Rhythm & Blues’ chart, reflecting the success of the American dance music of the moment. Meanwhile, ...
Composed in 1787 and triumphantly premiered in Prague on 29 October that year, Don Giovanni reworks the old legend of the serial seducer, drawing on the Spanish play by Tirso de Molina (1630) and Molière’s Don Juan (1665). The opera revolves around the tensions of class and sex that were so central to Figaro. Ensembles and propulsive ‘chain’ finales ...
‘The Triptych’ In constructing an operatic triple-bill, Puccini followed no precedent. He had nursed the idea for some time, to the despair of Giulio Ricordi, who felt it would be a box-office disaster. With the publisher’s death in 1912, Puccini soon felt able to work on the project. His librettist for La rondine, Giuseppe Adami, ...
Master of guitar-generated sound effects, Adrian Belew (b. 1949) makes his Parker Deluxe guitar not only sing but also scream, squawk, roar, tweet and talk in elephant tongue. Best known for his time in King Crimson during the early Eighties as comic foil to Robert Fripp’s relatively nerdy straight man, Belew is one of the most ...
The swooping, full-octave slide-guitar riff that opened Elmore James’s (1918–63) first record, ‘Dust My Broom’, in 1951 not only electrified the legacy of Robert Johnson, it also established one of the basic riffs of post-war blues. Bottleneck guitar had always been part of the blues, but James was the first to use it in a hard rocking ...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.