OUR CONTRIBUTORS

The winner of the Best Writer, Specialist category,

WELCOME

86 @ClassicPopMag LISTEN NOW How many artists

PET SHOP BOYS UNVEIL NEW STUDIO ALBUM AND ROYAL OPER A HOUSE DATES

POP UP

ELLIS - BEXTOR BOUNCES BACK WITH MAJOR LABEL DEAL

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has reportedly signed a big

A DREAM TEAM-UP OF MANC LEGENDS

© Getty Liam Gallagher and former Stone Roses

Gabrielle’s heart-shaped LP return

Soul favourite Gabrielle has released the title track

WIN tickets for UB40’s arena show dates

© Radskiphoto UB40 are hitting the road this

Support needed for SAW blue plaque honour

Iconic songwriting trio Stock Aitken Waterman are calling

Q+A: THE ZUTONS

PRODUCERS NILE RODGERS AND IAN BROUDIE ADD THEIR POP NOUS TO THE LIVERPOOL BAND’S MUCH-ANTICIPATED COMEBACK ALBUM. DAVE MCCABE AND ABI HARDING TAKE US INSIDE THE BIG DECIDER

KNOPFLER HAS TYNE ON HIS MIND

Former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler has

NEVILLE STAPLE CANCELS LIVE SHOWS ON HEALTH GROUNDS

The Specials singer Neville Staple has cancelled his

1-HIT WONDER

TANTALISE (WO WO EE YEH YEH) JIMMY THE HOOVER

My POP life

Robin Ince

Q+A STARSAILOR

AS THE WARRINGTON FOURPIECE RELEASE THEIR FIRST ALBUM IN SEVEN YEARS, FRONTMAN JAMES WALSH REFLECTS ON THEIR CAREER AND TAKES US TO A PLACE WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW...

FR ANK FARIAN

18 JULY 1941 – 23 JANUARY 2024

COMING UP FOR AIR ON 25TH ANNIVERSARY

French duo Air will play a one-off live

Ian Peel’s A to Z of POP

I IS FOR… INTERGALACTIC PUNK ROCK HIP-HOP

This month in POP

MARCH 1983

TOP 5 UK ALBUMS CHART

6 MARCH 1983

TOP TEN

WEEK ENDING 15 MARCH 1980

SUPER FAN

DEVOTED FANS SHOW US THEIR COLLECTIONS AND POP MEMORABILIA

“There’s a streak in me that hates being categorised”

Paul Young ushered in the sound that dominated the second half of the 80s with the eclectic No Parlez, which spanned soul, New Wave, Bowiesque art-pop and even boasted a controversial Joy Division cover. Now celebrated with a new expanded edition, we hear how the album was created from Paul, producer Laurie Latham, bassist Pino Palladino and backing vocalists The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts

KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER

ADAM AND THE ANTS

THE SONGS

1 DOG EAT DOG Ant was the master

THE PL AYERS

ADAM ANT Stuart Goddard, the former bassist of

THE VIDEOS

KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER Treatment wise, it’s

SUCK IT AND SEE

Having celebrated their 40th anniversary last year, James are back with uplifting new album Yummy. The LP maintains a prolific output since the band reformed, vowing to stop their internal chaos. Tim Booth, Saul Davies and Jim Glennie tell Classic Pop of the nine-piece’s eccentric creative process, why they’re so bloody-minded – and of their macabre sweepstake...

ALBUM BY ALBUM KIM WILDE

FROM NEW WAVE ANTHEMS TO SYNTH-DRIVEN GEMS AND PURE POP, THE MIDDLESEX-BORN SINGER BOASTS A WILDLY ECLECTIC BACK CATALOGUE

Black Book Recordings

WITH DOZENS OF UNRELEASED TRACKS AND RARE GLIMPSES INTO THEIR STUDIO PROCESS, COMPREHENSIVE NEW BOXSET 1985 CELEBRATES HOW THE WATERBOYS REALISED THEIR ‘BIG MUSIC’ VISION ON THIRD ALBUM THIS IS THE SEA. WE MEET THE BAND’S FRONTMAN AND SONGWRITER MIKE SCOTT TO FIND OUT MORE…

THE COOL cats

FORMED VIA AN ADVERT IN A TOBACCONIST’S WINDOW BACK IN 1974, SQUEEZE ARE CELEBR ATING THEIR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR WITH A LIVE TOUR AND NOT ONE, BUT TWO NEW ALBUMS. WE MEET SONGWRITERS CHRIS DIFFORD AND GLENN TILBROOK TO HEAR ABOUT LIFE IN ONE OF POP’S MOST ENGLISH OF BANDS...

TOP 20 HIP-HOP SINGLES OF THE 80s

EMERGING STRAIGHT OUTTA THE BRONX IN THE SUMMER OF 1973, HIP-HOP HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, WITH THE 80S BEING A PARTICULARLY FERTILE PERIOD FOR THE GLOBE-CONQUERING GENRE

Ambient

MOOD-ENHANCING SOUNDS TO SOOTHE OUR FEVERED BROWS

Time to Play

A ONE-TIME MEMBER OF WHAM! AND THE STYLE COUNCIL, AS WELL AS A SOLO ARTIST, DEE C. LEE HAD ONE OF THE MOST SOULFUL VOICES IN 80s POP. AND NOW, AFTER 26 YEARS AWAY, SHE’S FINALLY BACK WITH A NEW STUDIO ALBUM

GIANT THE WOODEN TOPS

THE WOODENTOPS COULD HAVE BEEN MASSIVE, WITH A UNIQUE STYLE AND THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS, EVEN INADVERTENTLY HELPING PIONEER BALEARIC BEAT. THEIR INDIE-DANCE FLAVOURS ULTIMATELY PROVED PREMATURE, BUT NOW, WITH A NEW ALBUM FINALLY IMMINENT, THEIR CLASSIC 1986 DEBUT DEMANDS REINVESTIGATION

REVIEWS

James’ latest studio album Yummy leads the

THE HOT LIST

NEW RELEASES THAT NEED TO BE ON YOUR CULTURAL RADAR

JAMES

YUMMY

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

GLASGOW EYES

LIAM GALLAGHER JOHN SQUIRE

LIAM GALLAGHER JOHN SQUIRE

DEE C. LEE

JUST SOMETHING

KARL BARTOS

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI

YARD ACT

WHERE’S MY UTOPIA?

MY LIFE STORY

LOVING YOU IS KILLING ME

PALOMA FAITH

THE GLORIFICATION OF SADNESS

THE DANDY WARHOLS

ROCKMAKER

LAETITIA SADIER

ROOTING FOR LOVE

RIDE

INTERPLAY

GOSSIP

REAL POWER

SARAH JANE MORRIS

THE SISTERHOOD

MASTER PEACE

HOW TO MAKE A MASTER PEACE

KAISER CHIEFS

EASY EIGHTH ALBUM

ED HARCOURT

EL MAGNIFICO

MGMT

LOSS OF LIFE 

ZARA LARSSON

VENUS

SHERYL CROW

EVOLUTION

ALLIEX

GIRL WITH NO FACE

STARSAILOR

WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW

NOUVELLE VAGUE

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

BANANARAMA

GLORIOUS: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

VARIOUS ARTISTS

NOW YEARBOOK ‘90/NOW EIGHTIES DANCEFLOOR SOUL & DISCO/NOW MILLENNIUM ‘04-’05

PAUL YOUNG

NO PARLEZ

PETE W YLIE AND THE MIGHTY WAH!

TEACH YSELF WAH! – A BEST OF

THE WATERBOYS

1985

CUTTING CREW

ALL FOR YOU: THE VIRGIN YEARS 1986-1992

ORBITAL

ORBITAL (THE GREEN ALBUM)

KISSING THE PINK

ANTHOLOGY 1982-2024

THE DREAM ACADEMY

RELIGION, REVOLUTION & RAILWAYS

CLIMIE FISHER

COMING IN FOR THE KILL

KIM WILDE

LOVE BLONDE: THE RAK YEARS/ LOVE BLONDE: THE REMIXES

KYLIE MINOGUE

BODY LANGUAGE

ABC

SKYSCRAPING

SHEENA EASTON

TODO ME RECUERDA A TI

I MONSTER

NEVERODDOREVEN

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE

DAYS LIKE THESE: LIVE 1998-2015

DEATH IN VEGAS

DEAD ELVIS

CYMANDE

SECOND TIME ROUND

SUEDE

THE HALLS, WOLVERHAMPTON

THE GIG CARTEL

THEGIGCARTEL.COM

THE LOVELESS

THE CASTLE & FALCON, BIRMINGHAM

PHEW, EH READERS? THE LIFE AND WRITING OF TOM HIBBERT

TOM HIBBERT

DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER: THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF NEIL FINN

JEFF APTER

REVOLUCIÓN TO ROXY

PHIL MANZANERA

PULP: THIS IS HARDCORE (33⅓)

JANE SAVIDGE

THE JAM RELEASE THE GIFT

12 M ARCH 1982

BRITISH SEA POWER

DO YOU LIKE ROCK MUSIC?