LILY ALLEN ASTRA CLUB, BERLIN

WELCOME TO CLASSIC POP

CHESS, THE UK CONKERS CRISIS, LATIN ETYMOLOGY AND CNN AS ‘THE THINKING MAN’S REALITY TV’ – IF YOU WEREN’T AWARE OF THE WIT AND WISDOM CONTAINED WITHIN THE BROS DOCUMENTARY THAT ENTERTAINED THE NATION OVER THE CHRISTMAS BREAK THEN YOU NEED IT IN YOUR LIVES RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Madonna pops Inn for New Year

The new year marked the first show of 2019 for Madonna.

MARR’S EMOTIONAL REPLAY

Johnny Marr has made his latest collaboration with

Lifting the lid on early days of New Order and Joy Division

Lifting the lid on early days of New Order and Joy

GODMOTHERS of POP

Long before Amy Winehouse discovered Tammi Terrell

1 TH WONDER

For a band renowned for offbeat pop songs with a swipe

Odyssey gets cutting-edge Blade treatment

Take That’s forthcoming 30th anniversary tour, Odyssey

POP QUIZ

1 Which member of Depeche Mode quit after the tour

FINAL FRONTIER FOR VANGELIS

Movie king Vangelis lifted the (piano) lid on his new

Could Kylie embrace the Great Outdoors?

After Glastonbury, Kylie Minogue could be set to start

LOST & FOUND

Born just a fortnight apart, Dennis Fuller and Edem

NINETIES STARS JOIN FORCES

Crack out the cargo pants and get practising the Running

Partying together for Prince

Prince’s old bandmates are hoping to join forces for

GODMOTHERS Of POP

Tracey Thorn has been making pop music in various guises

IAN PEEL’S A TO Z Of POP

SOMETIMES THEY’RE A CASH-IN. AT OTHER TIMES, THEY’VE REBOOTED THE CAREER OF AILING ACTS. THEY CAN BE AFTER-THOUGHTS OR THEY CAN BE A BAND’S DEFINITIVE RELEASE. ALL HAIL THE BEST OF.

POP FEBRUARY 1985

IN OUR ROUND-UP OF FEBRUARY 1985’s BIGGEST MOMENTS IN POP, WHITNEY RELEASES HER DEBUT ALBUM, SINÉAD O’CONNOR GIGS WITH TON TON MACOUTE AND THE SMITHS TOP THE CHARTS

POP ARAZZI

READERS SHARE THEIR FAVOURITE PHOTOS AS THEY GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN PLANET POP

CLASSIC POP TOP TEN

FRANKIE, MADONNA AND CYNDI LAUPER LAUNCH THEIR CHART CAREERS WITH THREE CLASSIC SINGLES WHILE ONE-HIT WONDERS FICTION FACTORY AND MATTHEW WILDER GET THEIR DAY IN THE SUN

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

*30% saving is available to UK customers paying by

FOR ALL THESE YEARS

TANITA TIKARAM BECAME A BROODING TEENAGE SUPERSTAR WITH ANCIENT HEART. WITH THAT DEBUT NOW RE-RELEASED IN A 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, SHE TAKES CLASSIC POP THROUGH A CAREER THAT HAS BOTH SEEN HER BECOME EVERYBODY’S ANGEL AND ENCOUNTER ELEVEN KINDS OF LONELINESS.

Don’t Look Back In Anger

WRONGLY PEGGED AS AN ‘ANGRY YOUNG MAN’, THE EVER-RESTLESS SINGER-SONGWRITER JOE JACKSON HAS DELVED INTO EVERYTHING FROM POWER POP TO JAZZ AND CLASSICAL. NOW HE’S BACK WITH A FRESHLY-MINTED NEW ALBUM AND A TOUR CELEBRATING HIS LAST FOUR DECADES.

SUPER FAN

DEVOTED FANS SHOW US THEIR COLLECTIONS AND POP MEMORABILIA

REVIEWS

Our round-up of new singles, plus new albums from The

THE SPECIALS ENCORE

WHILE IT’S CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION, THE SPECIALS’ DAZZLING, PROVOCATIVE RETURN BRINGS WITH IT A SENSE OF SADNESS THAT THEY’RE STILL NEEDED SO BADLY

PRINCE MUSICOLOGY/3121/ PLANET EARTH

MANY THOUGHT PRINCE HAD LOST HIS MAGIC TOUCH IN THE EARLY 2000S. BUT A REBIRTH WAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER…

BUZZCOCKS ANOTHER MUSIC IN A DIFFERENT KITCHEN/LOVE BITES

THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS FROM PUNK’S PREMIER MELODY-MAKERS GET A TIMELY REISSUE, WEEKS AFTER PETE SHELLEY’S TRAGIC DEATHZ

ALL SAINTS O2 INSTITUTE, BIRMINGHAM

“Tonight is about one thing and one thing only: have

ADAM ANT ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON

AT 64, THE MAN BORN STUART LESLIE GODDARD SHOWS THAT AGE HARDLY MATTERS IF YOU STILL HAVE PUNK IN YOUR SOUL

TOP 40 POP Artists

IT’S THE ULTIMATE POP FACE OFF AS WE COUNT DOWN THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTS OF OUR FAVOURITE DECADE

SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION

FOLLOWING UP THE ENORMOUS SUCCESS OF VIOLATOR ALMOST BROKE DEPECHE MODE. BUT DESPITE DAVE GAHAN’S HEROIN ADDICTION AND INTER-BAND FIGHTING, WITH SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION THEY EVENTUALLY CREATED A DARK MASTERPIECE.

Every little bit HERTZ

WITH HIS ONLY SOLO ALBUM I TRAWL THE MEGAHERTZ NOW REBRANDED AS A PREFAB SPROUT RECORD, PADDY MCALOON IS READY FOR A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS HIS COLLECTIVE’S WONDROUS LEGACY. THERE MAY BE LESS PREFAB SPROUT MUSIC THAN ANYONE – INCLUDING PADDY – WOULD LIKE, BUT NO-ONE CAN ARGUE WITH THE QUALITY OF WHAT’S THERE. PADDY TELLS CLASSIC POP ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS OBSESSIVE WRITING AND HOW HEARING PROBLEMS MAKE HIM CHERISH HIS SINGING MORE THAN EVER.

2019 The year ahead

GRAB YOUR FILOFAX AND SPIN THAT ROLODEX BECAUSE A PACKED 12 MONTHS OF FRESH POP IS COMING YOUR WAY. AS THE YEARS ROLL BY, A GROWING NUMBER OF MAJOR MUSICAL ANNIVERSARIES REAR THEIR NOSTALGIC HEAD. IN FACT, MANY CLASSIC POP FAVOURITES WILL CELEBRATE SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES THIS YEAR AND, DESPITE CONTINUING FA L L S IN ALBUM SALES, A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM ARE BUSY CRAFTING NEW MUSIC AND PLOTTING LIVE EVENTS. HERE’S A PEEK AT WHAT 2019 HAS IN STORE FOR OUR EARS.

SQUEEZE

SOUTH LONDONERS SQUEEZE WERE CHART REGULARS FROM THE LATE 70S TO THE LATE 90S, WITH SONGWRITERSIN- CHIEF CHRIS DIFFORD AND GLENN TILBROOK LABELLED “THE NEW LENNON AND MCCARTNEY”. APPARENTLY, THEIR EX-KEYBOARDIST IS A FAMILIAR FACE ON THE SMALL SCREEN.

BACK THE FUTURE

ANALOGUE SYNTH-POP ENIGMAS LADYTRON ARE BACK WITH THEIR FIRST ALBUM IN MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS – AND IT HERALDS A RETURN TO THE CLASSIC ‘TRON SOUND OF THEIR BEST WORK. DANIEL HUNT TELLS US HOW THEY FINALLY “FEEL LIKE A BAND AGAIN”.