1. Echo & The Bunnymen
Echo & The Bunnymen are releasing all their albums on vinyl - not just the classics, but also some of their latter period albums. These often get overlooked, but Flowers from 2001 and 2005's Siberia are both fantastic records. Great to have them on vinyl and remember how brilliant their second coming was.
2. Johnny Marr at the Oxford Union
Morrissey was always portrayed as the erudite interviewee, but it's easy to forget how sharp, clever, witty and smart Johnny Marr is. In one of my late night forages on YouTube I came across this, where Johnny demonstrates his gift of the gab and he's more than able for the interviewer.
3. She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music - Lucy O'Brien
Since She Bop was first published in 1995, digital downloading has transformed the music landscape. But has issue of gender inequality changed too? For She Bop, Lucy O Brien conducted over 250 interviews with female artists and women working behind the scenes in A and R, marketing, music publishing, and production to write a groundbreaking exploration of sexism in the music industry.
This revised edition updates that story through many fresh interviews and new perspectives. In a new introduction and additional closing chapter, O'Brien asks why, in 2020, women own just 13 percent of music publishing and are still a minority among festival headliners.
4. Altered Images
After a 38-year hiatus, Altered Images are back and finishing a new album for Cooking Vinyl record label, and will include songs written with Bernard Butler, Bobby from The Bluebells and ex-bass player and Texas member, Johnny McElhone. Yay!
5. Joe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten
I finally got around to watching this fabulous documentary by Julien Temple about the late, great Clash frontman. It's unflinchingly honest about Joe, his life, the amazing songs, the mistakes he made, the fall outs, the egos...it's lovely and loving. Along the way, he hurt people he loved, but it's all a journey. As Joe says at the end - "without people, we're nothing". Great to hear these fabulous songs again and how many huge stars participate and clearly adored him.
See you next week, stay safe, x
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