As the 1980s drew to a close, hip hop had reached a pivotal moment. Whilst a potential for empowerment in mainstream rap had so far remained largely un-tapped, in favour of escapist music built for ...

Slave to the Rhythm is an audio biography of Grace Jones produced by Trevor Horn, it’s a sonic treat along the lines of Yes’s 90125 or Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s first album. The music ranges from ...

Hailed as a seminal album of the 2000s, ‘Turn On the Bright Lights’ has been cited as an influence on many indie rock bands, including The Killers, Editors, The xx, The Organ and more.

“If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” – Billie Holiday Why is Billie Holiday still considered as one of the greatest jazz voices of all time? Throughout her ...

“It was while recording at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in New York City on a beautifully hot and sunny day that Roy Ayers would stumble upon the song that arguably defines his career. As the ...

This revelation was frustrated by the intractability of Joyce’s estate, which repeatedly refused Bush permission to use the words as her lyrics on ‘The Sensual World’. She was forced to rebuild from ...

For this month’s Album Club we will be joined by Kevin May and David McElroy, the authors behind the forthcoming book Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode’s Classic Album Violator. They will relay the ...

Music journalist Steven Ivory recalled, “Even the Jacksons had ideas about who should produce Michael’s solo album. They felt they should do it, and told Michael as much in front of me one afternoon ...

Ego Ella May joins Classic Album Sundays’ Tina Edwards as part of our new series ‘My Classic Album’ for a deep dive into Sade’s Diamond Life. Ego is a songwriter and vocalist. Hailing from South ...

On this episode of the Classic Album Sundays podcast, Colleen focuses on Off the Wall, the fifth studio album from American pop royalty Michael Jackson. The record demonstrates the departure from the ...

Life in Queensbridge, NY, was always going to be the beating heart of Illmatic. Although still in his late teens, Nas had already experienced more than his fair share of traumatic, life-changing ...

Paco de Lucia was a huge influence on me as a guitarist and artist as a whole. Besides his superhuman ability to astonish any crowd with his virtuoso technique, he was a phenomenal composer with a ...