REM of course. And the B52’s. And Pylon I suppose, but REM mostly. I’ve wanted to visit for years. I remember old interviews with the band where they raved about the city. I grew up on REM and I stick by them even now, in their run-out-of[…]
Mike’s Pop Pilgrimages No.2 – Leonard Cohen, Chelsea Hotel, NY The man on reception seemed a bit put out, but reluctantly conceded we did indeed have a booking. “How did you hear about the hotel?” he asked. I said something th[…]
Mike’s Pop Pilgrimages No.1 – Nick Drake, Tanworth-in-Arden I sat on a bench opposite the pub. An elderly lady was sunning herself. “Are you here because of Nick Drake?” she asked. I said I was, um, how did she know? “We[…]
Serendipity in the West Midlands The discovery of art in the provinces is my 2005 ambition. Fuelled by finding a gallery devoted to GF Watts in a small Surrey village, I’ve started looking elsewhere for small-town galleries. So I went to Walsal[…]
New Kitkat Bar Released on 7th March. It’s full of mango and passionfruit and I’m not sure what to make of it. The taste is confusing. It reminds me of the first time I watched the Crying Game and said, “phoar, wouldn’t mind a[…]
February: Teams: Boavista vs Leira League: Portuguese Superliga Entry Price: EUR 20 Programme: Dunno, guv Stadium Architecture: Sturdy EURO 2004 Refurb My new year’s resolution is to visit a new football ground every month. New means new to me […]
Last lesson on a Friday is woodwork. In the workshop, thick with sawdust and the piercing whine of a circular saw, my heart is jumping. I am thirteen and have a date. Lisa is in my English class. She looks a little like Clare Grogan and that’s […]
GF Watts Among the green waves of the North Downs and straight outta the tiny village of Compton is the GF Watts Gallery. No more than a coaching post between Guildford and Godalming, it is a quiet rural place with an extraordinary gallery. ‘Ce[…]
Football Poetry
Not sure if this has been linked before. Some of them are absolute cock, but not all.[…]
THE FT TOP 100 SONGS 89.5 Skeletal Family – “Promised Land” The first of more than forty goth records in the top 100, this track was unanimously agreed upon by everyone at Freaky Trigger in some pub around Christmas. Two even sporte[…]