King William’s College Kwizz 2019. FT Round 6 9 Jan 2020 1 in whose garden can we both gather nosegays? 2 where was the lofty location of Aritomo’s garden? 3 who is invited into the garden to share the musk of the rose? 4…
King William’s College Kwizz 2019. FT Round 10 22 Jan 2020 1 whose opera was inspired by Virgil? 2 who honoured Queen Anne’s consort with a stimulating voluntary? 3 who wrote music for the attendant to Prospero as he donned his ducal robes? 4…
King William’s College Kwizz 2019. FT Round 12 29 Jan 2020 What currency of which country is suggested by: 1 a nip? 2 6.76 metres for gold? 3 a Balkan amphitheatre? 4 a sweet-tasting carbohydrate? 5 a converted Muslim place of worship? 6 a competitive gathering of…
ELTON JOHN - "Are You Ready For Love?" 11 Feb 2020 Elton John’s best moment at number one comes with a forgotten track from a barely-noticed late-70s EP, lucked onto years later by someone in Sky Sports’ ad agency, remixed (delicately…
King William’s College Kwizz 2019. FT Round 9 20 Jan 2020 1 who started in the Justinian? 2 as what is the black trumpet also known? 3 upon what is the Lord laughing in the sun? 4 where did Dulcibella run aground, lured by…
King William’s College Kwizz 2019. FT Round 15 9 Feb 2020 Which dual enterprise:1 could work wonders?2 took over from West and Wyatt?3 gives one a shot at Double Dutch?4 exploited the unique qualities of Siberian Weasels’ hair?5 created 33 complications…
DANIEL BEDINGFIELD - "Never Gonna Leave Your Side" 5 Feb 2020 To make one Westlife-esque ballad may be regarded as a misfortune. To make two looks like… a bad mistake, as it turned out. Songwriting cameos aside, this is the last…
The Pollards Of Lop Episode 2: 1990 11 Aug 2020 Here's the second episode of our monthly discussion around the Twitter People's Pop Polls - in this instalment, I'm joined by Maura Johnston, Sarah Clarke and Steve Mannion to talk…
About the Author
writer and editor bit by bit fashioning a history of the UK music press HERE https://www.patreon.com/marksink3r/posts
1 Oct 2002
Introduction It was about 2 in the morning and I was trying to get a handle on Alexander the Great. I had a final exam coming up and I’d missed half the syllabus – and something else was missing; a way into the man’s head. Alexander had single-handedly destroyed the world’s largest Empire and put […]
30 Apr 2000
April 2000, Piccadilly The sun comes out over London and the Summer starts: everywhere you look you see people in love, snogging on the tubes and holding hands on the escalators so you can’t get past them. Baggy shorts and halter tops all over the place, kids sitting together on Eros and choking on the […]
8 Aug 2019
Hello Popular readers! After sixteen years, and suffering from (as you’ll have noticed) a much slower posting rate, I’ve come to a decision. I’m going to crowdfund this project, using Patreon. HERE’S THE LINK. This coincides with me leaving my day job and going solo, which opens up a lot of spare time. But billable […]
20 Feb 2007
“[John Thelwall] also had the misfortune to be a mediocre poet — a crime which, although it is committed around us every day — historians and critics cannot forgive.” —E.P.Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class* It was called The Battle of Waterloo, and it was one of the plays offered by J. K. […]
5 Jul 2013
#725, 26th August 1995 BOXING? A “heavyweight battle”, the NME cover-billed it. And if “Country House” vs Oasis’ “Roll With It” was a title bout, the music press were desperate to play Frank Warren. Perhaps they had most at stake. It was, in a way, their last great fight. Many other moments define Oasis. Blur […]
20 Jun 2005
Last week saw the release of not one, but two films about previous films. And I don’t mean Batman Begins (which should be retitled Batman Starts for Essex). Inside Deep Throat, a documentary about the making of and the effect of notorious porn film Deep Throat. And Baadasssss!, Mario Van Peebles film about the making […]
21 May 2012
Huge weepy thanks to Bob, Pete and Sarah for immortalising us in song. And thanks to commenters past and present for making it worth immortalising.
8 May 2018
Eight episodes are now up: Hazel Southwell and Mark Sinker talking through the story of the UK music press from two very different angles (bcz I am old and she is not), to help start the conversation around my upcoming book. pod 1: the pilot! pod 2: uh merry memories of the nme! pod 3: […]