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Michael Hann

@michaelhann.bsky.social

2K followers 360 following 95 posts

Writer for newspapers and magazines, sleevenotes etc. Two books: Denim and Leather, and The Gospel of the Hold Steady. QPR supporter, hoping always that change really is possible

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Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight. www.ft.com/content/fd38...

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — Americana with a dash of Englishness from Richard and Linda Thompson

Heavily influenced by The Band, the 1974 track by the folk-rock duo also featured a Manchester horn ensemble

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about the late John Lodge. Spent the afternoon listening to the Moody Blues. They were really very good. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

John Lodge was a pioneering force of British rock’s most underrated band

The late musician helped steer the Moody Blues into an exciting and groundbreaking new era of psychedelia

www.theguardian.com

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 14d

I went to see Lady Gaga and the Beths, though not sharing a bill. www.spectator.co.uk/article/like...

Like Gabor Mate set to club beats: Lady Gaga, at the O2, reviewed

Lady Gaga’s show was to begin at 7.30 prompt, we were told. No opening act. And at 7.30 something did happen: the big screen over the stage started showing a film of Ms Gaga, clad in scarlet finery, ...

www.spectator.co.uk

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 19d

This is the most transparent administration ever! The people demanded the files, and the White House is opening them up!

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 21d

I wrote about the late Danny Thompson, who invented a new vocabulary for British music. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

From Kate Bush to Pentangle to T-Rex, the late Danny Thompson’s musical brilliance knew no bounds

The bassist, who has died aged 86, was an extraordinary and wildly versatile presence in British music, bringing his personality into everything he played

www.theguardian.com

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 25d

You’d think the MOTD producers might have looked at Rooney’s management career and pondered whether he had difficulty articulating his undoubted genius for football. But no. He’s famous, so put him on telly.

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · 28d

I went to last night’s Together for Palestine concert. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Together for Palestine concert: Benedict Cumberbatch, Damon Albarn and Neneh Cherry take stage at galvanising and star-studded gig for Gaza

Scores of artists, speakers and activists appear a four-hour fundraiser curated by Brian Eno – but it’s Palestinian voices who make the biggest impression

www.theguardian.com

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

I’m Literally Gonna Sexx You Up

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

She Literally Sells Sanctuary

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Literally

Miller on the Threshold @iammilliam.bsky.social · Sep 13

Ruin a song by adding the word ‘literally’ to the title. I’ll start.

Love will literally tear us apart.

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

Ferdinandesque from Koné. What a joy to look so much better than FC Hollywood. #WREQPR

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

Thanks!

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 13

The other night @dorianlynskey.bsky.social made the point to me that Kirk’s remarks can’t be broadcast by the BBC, because they would breach regulatory standards. Hence the weird silence

Reposted by Michael Hann

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 12

I wrote about Viv Prince of the Pretty Things. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Spinal Tap eat your heart out: the Pretty Things drummer Viv Prince forged the blueprint for rock’n’roll hijinks

Stories of meth drinking, crayfish slinging and laying carpet onstage while Sandie Shaw played briefly made him rock’s most unhinged wild man

www.theguardian.com

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 12

Incredible

Emma Jacobs @emmavj.bsky.social · Sep 12

Viv was out neighbour growing up. He wore a lot of patchouli oil and would sometimes appear at the front door very drunk. Nice tho (I was a kid)

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 12

I wrote about Viv Prince of the Pretty Things. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Spinal Tap eat your heart out: the Pretty Things drummer Viv Prince forged the blueprint for rock’n’roll hijinks

Stories of meth drinking, crayfish slinging and laying carpet onstage while Sandie Shaw played briefly made him rock’s most unhinged wild man

www.theguardian.com

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 11

I reviewed the best festival, @endoftheroadfestival.com www.spectator.co.uk/article/brit...

Britain's loveliest, most thoughtful festival

The last weekend of August is my favourite of the year. That’s when I pootle down to Cranborne Chase to the loveliest, most thoughtful festival in the UK. End of the Road is a festival for those who l...

www.spectator.co.uk

Reposted by Michael Hann

Birmingham 81 @birmingham81.bsky.social · Aug 30

Happy 40th birthday to the glorious Primitive Painters by Felt featuring Elizabeth Fraser, which was released on this day in 1985. Here's the original video from back then (THREAD)
youtu.be/Rp8AvC_ESdM

FELT 'Primitive Painters 4:51

YouTube video by RENOU49100

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 1

The most fun I’ve had all year was playing Merry Xmas Everybody at the @endoftheroadfestival.com silent disco on Saturday night. Love those two hours

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Sep 1

Wayne Rooney is every bit as good a pundit as he was a manager

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Aug 25

Have there been any big pop chart hits in the last 20 years that use 1950s rock'n'roll as their chassis, in the way Faith did, or Love Machine did? Not rock'n'roll revival ones, but ones where you can hear a clear debt, even in something as basic as using the Bo Diddley rhythm.

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Aug 24

I wrote about Baby, Please Don’t Go www.ft.com/content/7d8d...

Baby, Please Don’t Go — haunting delta blues became a hard-rock staple

Big Joe Williams’s 1930s song went through multiple manifestations, most memorably when Van Morrison’s Them covered it

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Aug 21

I wrote about The Seeds, The Sting-Rays and MJ Lenderman www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

The Seeds are primitive but magnificent

I have nothing but admiration for those men who burn a candle for the music of 1966. Partly because, like them, I believe 1966 to be pop’s greatest year, but mainly because being a psychedelic hipster...

www.spectator.co.uk

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Aug 19

Next one’s the best.

Michael Hann @michaelhann.bsky.social · Aug 16

I enjoyed speaking to John Fogerty about Creedence. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/a...

‘I tried to be nice. Sometimes I would explode’: John Fogerty on Creedence, contracts and control

As the driving force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival, he wrote some of the 60s’ most enduring songs. But a poor record deal followed by years in the wilderness drove him to the brink of breakdown....

www.theguardian.com