OUR CONTRIBUTORS

The winner of the Best Writer, Specialist category,

WELCOME

81 @ClassicPopMag LISTEN NOW As far as ultimate

POP UP

Boy George strikes it lucky with The Lottery

DEXYS SET FOR NEW ALBUM AND UK TOUR

Dexys have announced their first studio album of

OBITUARY PAUL CATTERMOLE

7 MARCH 1977 – 6 APRIL 2023

THOMAS BANGALTER FINALLY REVEALS REASONS BEHIND DAFT PUNK’S UNEXPECTED SPLIT

They split mysteriously in 2021, but now Daft

MY POP LIFE

THE FORMER LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER AND CURRENT MP FOR WESTMORLAND AND LONSDALE ON HIS MUSIC OBSESSIONS…

Q+A BELINDA CARLISLE

THE 80S ICON ON HER LONG-OVERDUE RETURN TO POP AND WHY SHE’S NOT READY TO RETIRE JUST YET…

1 HIT WONDER

HOW ’BOUT US CHAMPAIGN “Some people are made

OBITUARY

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO

YELLO DOCUMENTARY NEEDS GREEN LIGHT

Filmmaker Nick Canfield has launched a Kickstarter campaign

LOST & FOUND

GET CLOSE PRETENDERS Get Close might be on

DANNII MINOGUE’S NEON NIGHTS SET FOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY REISSUE

© Matthew Donaldson Dannii Minogue is to release

CHRISTINE MCVIE’S CAUSE OF DEATH IS REVEALED

Christine McVie’s death has been confirmed as being

THIS MONTH IN POP MAY 1988

JAMES BROWN FINDS HIMSELF UP IN FRONT OF THE BEAK WHILE TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY BREAKS THE STATES

TOP 5 UK ALBUMS CHART

1 MAY 1988

TOP TEN

SYNTH-POP GOLD, A CHARITY ANTHEM, CULT MOVIE CLASSIC, DANCING UP CLOSE – AND THE HORRORS OF VIETNAM

SUPER FAN

DEVOTED FANS SHOW US THEIR COLLECTIONS AND POP MEMORABILIA

THE NATIONAL

FIRST TWO PAGES OF FRANKENSTEIN

GLEN MATLOCK

CONSEQUENCES COMING

REVEREND AND THE MAKERS

HEATWAVE IN THE COLD NORTH

TOM MEIGHAN

THE RECKONING

SMASH THE SYSTEM

PET SHOP BOYS ARE ABOUT TO RELEASE WHAT COULD BE THEIR ULTIMATE STATEMENT: SMASH, A BOXSET OF ALL THEIR SINGLES. BUT, IN 2023, WHAT IS A SINGLE? WHAT’S THE BEST PET SHOP BOYS SEVEN-INCH? CAN PSB REALLY BE SUMMED UP BY A PAIR OF DOLLS? JOIN NEIL TENNANT AND CHRIS LOWE FOR AN EPIC CAREER-SPANNING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.

ORDER AND UNITY

Rather than being the perfect realisation of a

CHART ATTACK

Although Pet Shop Boys are reconciled to their

DOWN THE DISCO

Between 1986-2007, PSB released four albums in their

HIGH FLYING PETS

Noel Gallagher is happy to rhapsodise about his

PETER GABRIEL III (AKA MELT)

PETER GABRIEL

THE PLAYERS

PETER GABRIEL The album’s sole songwriter would go

THE SONGS

1 INTRUDER The album kicks off with that

THE VIDEOS

GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Of course Peter Gabriel would

THE OTHER FAB FOUR

AS ULTRAVOX’S QUARTET ALBUM GETS THE DELUXE REISSUE TREATMENT, MIDGE URE AND BILLY CURRIE RECALL THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF ITS CREATION WITH LEGENDARY PRODUCER GEORGE MARTIN

“GLASSY, METAL, SHINY”

“One of my favourite tracks on Quartet is

A DIFFERENT HEADSPACE

When CP catches up with Midge Ure, he’s

MADONNA

WE PUT THE IMMACULATE CAREER OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FEMALE POP ARTIST OF ALL TIME UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

POPARAZZI

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

too latte for good byes

IT’S BEEN A HELLUVA THREE YEARS FOR RON AND RUSSELL MAEL. FIRST THERE WAS THE SPARKS BROTHERS DOCUMENTARY. THEN CAME THEIR DEBUT FILM AS SCREENWRITERS, THE BIG-SCREEN MUSICAL ANNETTE. NOW THE DUO ARE BACK WITH THEIR 26TH STUDIO ALBUM, THE GIRL IS CRYING IN HER LATTE...

IN THE HEART OF THE ACTION

OUR PICK OF THE BEST CLASSIC POP- FRIENDLY FESTIVALS AND LIVE EVENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS YEAR

Britpop

YOUR AT-A-GLANCE GUIDE TO SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE SUB-GENRES

KING OF PAIN

MORE CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH HIS FANS THAN EVER BEFORE AFTER NEARLY LOSING HIS HOUSE IN LOCKDOWN, LLOYD COLE HAS EMERGED WITH ON PAIN– A STUNNING ALBUM NEARER TO TALK TALK THAN THE COMMOTIONS, DESPITE HIS OLD BANDMATES’ INPUT. LLOYD TELLS CLASSIC POP HOW HE’S MORE COMPOSER THAN SONGWRITER NOW – AND HOW HIS SON’S SAVAGERY SAVED THE ALBUM FROM ENDING UP LIKE BAD MACCA

Aztec Camera - Love

DEVOTED TO THAT CRAZY LITTLE THING WHICH MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND, AZTEC CAMERA’S THIRD STUDIO ALBUM FOUND RODDY FRAME GOING IT ALONE AND AIMING FOR THE VERY TOP WITH A BLUE-EYED SOUL STYLE THAT OWED MORE TO AMERICA THAN SCOTLAND’S EAST KILBRIDE

TOP 2O ANTIPODEAN SINGLES

FROM POST-PUNK CLASSICS THROUGH TO THOSE EARWORMS THAT YOU JUST CAN’T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD, CLASSIC POP ROUNDS UP THE FINEST SINGLES TO EMERGE FROM AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

WE MISSED YOU

(LIKETHE DESERTSMISS THERAIN)

REVIEWS

Alison Goldfrapp goes it alone on new album

HOT LIST

NEW RELEASES THAT NEED TO BE ON YOUR CULTURAL RADAR

DEPECHE MODE

MEMENTO MORI

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL

FUSE

LLOYD COLE

ON PAIN

SPARKS

THE GIRL IS CRYING IN HER LATTE

ALISON GOLDFRAPP

THE LOVE INVENTION

JAKE SHEARS

LAST MAN DANCING

SHAKIN’ STEVENS

RE-SET

THE ALARM

FORWARDS

ABC

THE LEXICON OF LOVE LIVE

SIMPLY RED

TIME

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR

HANA

PETER COX

SEAGLASS

SMOKEY ROBINSON

GASMS

THE SELECTER

HUMAN ALGEBRA

THE LOTTERY WINNERS

ANXIETY REPLACEMENT THERAPY

THE DAMNED

DARKADELIC

JAMES

BE OPENED BY THE WONDERFUL

JESSIE WARE

THAT! FEELS GOOD!

ANDY WHITE AND TIM FINN

AT

ARLO PARKS

MY SOFT MACHINE

JENNY LEWIS JOY’ALL

BLUE NOTE/EMI

RHODA DAKAR

VERSION GIRL

ULTRAVOX

QUARTET

OMD

DAZZLE SHIPS

THE TEARDROP EXPLODES

CULTURE BUNKER 1978-82

VARIOUS ARTISTS

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL EUROVISION SONG CONTEST/ NOW YEARBOOK ’78/NOW YEARBOOK ’86 EXTRA

B.E.F

MUSIC FOR STOWAWAYS 

BRITNEY SPEARS

THE VINYL COLLECTION  

LOUISE

GREATEST HITS 

PHILIP BAILEY

STATE OF THE HEART 

GO WEST

FUTURENOW/3D

ACE OF BASE

BEAUTIFUL LIFE: THE SINGLES

ALAN BRAXE

THE UPPER CUTS

TV MANIA/DURAN DURAN

BORED WITH PROZAC AND THE INTERNET/RIO CARNIVAL

MARC ALMOND

FANTASTIC STAR

APPLETON

EVERYTHING’S EVENTUAL 

MADNESS

OUI OUI, SI SI, JA JA, DA DA  

BELINDA CARLISLE

REMIXES

TOYAH

LIVE AT DRURY LANE

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CLASSIC ROCK RENAISSANCE

THE WEDDING PRESENT

24 SONGS

TEARS FOR FEARS

SATURNINE MARTIAL & LUNATIC

ATHLETE

VEHICLES & ANIMALS  

ELTON JOHN

RESORTS WORLD ARENA BIRMINGHAM 

NEW PURPLE CELEBRATION

NEWPURPLECELEBRATION.CO.UH

SELF ESTEEM

O2 INSTITUTE BIRMINGHAM

BEE GEES: CHILDREN OF THE WORLD

BOB STANLEY

P!NK: RAISE YOUR GLASS

ANNIE ZALESKI

REACH FOR THE STARS

MICHAEL CRAGG

SEASON OF THE WITCH: THE BOOK OF GOTH

CATHI UNSWERTH

TUBEWAY ARMY RELEASE ARE “FRIENDS” ELECTRIC?

4 MAY 1979