huw
@huwareyou.bsky.social
david essex apologist
words for shindig! magazine
words for shindig! magazine
Reposted by huw
They deserved more acclaim but couldn't shake the manufactured/pretty boy tag. Once they started writing their own material you got Sunshine Cottage, an overlooked popsike classic with Miss Jones on the b-side - a decent immitation of the Small Faces (no wonder Marriott wanted Frampton to join)
January 7, 2026 at 2:10 PM
They deserved more acclaim but couldn't shake the manufactured/pretty boy tag. Once they started writing their own material you got Sunshine Cottage, an overlooked popsike classic with Miss Jones on the b-side - a decent immitation of the Small Faces (no wonder Marriott wanted Frampton to join)
Heads-up 60s music nerds! The new issue of Shindig! features my article on The Herd, gothic psych idols led by Peter Frampton and Andy Bown, who I interviewed for it. There’s an excerpt from it here! :)
shindig-magazine.com?p=7440
shindig-magazine.com?p=7440
Issue #171 – The Herd -
Psych-pop idols THE HERD were responsible for a string of unforgettable singles in the late ’60s including 'From the Underworld' and 'I Don't Want Our Loving To Die', but behind the hits lay a frustra...
shindig-magazine.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Heads-up 60s music nerds! The new issue of Shindig! features my article on The Herd, gothic psych idols led by Peter Frampton and Andy Bown, who I interviewed for it. There’s an excerpt from it here! :)
shindig-magazine.com?p=7440
shindig-magazine.com?p=7440
Reposted by huw
Agreed with this statement. So much of the "Golden Age of TV" nonsense was based on the false idea that US network TV was all TV (not helped by a generation of Guardian culture-writers who thought American shit was better than British gold), at the same time post-1990 British TV quality cratered.
Got the box set of the BBC Miss Marple series (1984-1992) for Christmas and have started a watch-through. An initial thought is: quality UK TV from the 60s to early 90s is something I enjoy so much it would be easy to just immerse myself in it entirely to the detriment of everything else.
January 5, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Agreed with this statement. So much of the "Golden Age of TV" nonsense was based on the false idea that US network TV was all TV (not helped by a generation of Guardian culture-writers who thought American shit was better than British gold), at the same time post-1990 British TV quality cratered.
Reposted by huw
Phil Upchurch gone? Man, that got NO publicity! One of Stepney's most trusted right-hand men. R.I.P. immense talent; I still can't sit still.
@andrewhickey.500songs.com The new Rotary Connection bonus is a joy - thank you Andrew! I noted that you mention Phil Upchurch, who sadly died only last month; I was wondering if you were familiar with this, the first recording of “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun”? :)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
Black Gold
YouTube video by Phil Upchurch - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Phil Upchurch gone? Man, that got NO publicity! One of Stepney's most trusted right-hand men. R.I.P. immense talent; I still can't sit still.
@andrewhickey.500songs.com The new Rotary Connection bonus is a joy - thank you Andrew! I noted that you mention Phil Upchurch, who sadly died only last month; I was wondering if you were familiar with this, the first recording of “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun”? :)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
Black Gold
YouTube video by Phil Upchurch - Topic
m.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:38 PM
@andrewhickey.500songs.com The new Rotary Connection bonus is a joy - thank you Andrew! I noted that you mention Phil Upchurch, who sadly died only last month; I was wondering if you were familiar with this, the first recording of “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun”? :)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qgzN...
Reposted by huw
I managed in my forties to find a way to make a living from doing the thing my brain is broken for, and both I and (I like to think) the world are better off for it.
Imagine if I could have done it in my twenties, when I had energy, instead of destroying my health for decades with shitty jobs.
Imagine if I could have done it in my twenties, when I had energy, instead of destroying my health for decades with shitty jobs.
I have always said it, I will continue to say it, we are limiting the productive potential of millions of freaks by demanding they earn a wage to survive instead of enabling them to do whatever thing their brain is broken for
December 22, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I managed in my forties to find a way to make a living from doing the thing my brain is broken for, and both I and (I like to think) the world are better off for it.
Imagine if I could have done it in my twenties, when I had energy, instead of destroying my health for decades with shitty jobs.
Imagine if I could have done it in my twenties, when I had energy, instead of destroying my health for decades with shitty jobs.
I’m writing about a really big musical group. To give you some clue, everyone’s talking about them. They are the subject of nepo baby / industry plant allegations. There’s solo stuff by the one of them. You guessed it - it’s Paul and Barry Ryan!
December 21, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I’m writing about a really big musical group. To give you some clue, everyone’s talking about them. They are the subject of nepo baby / industry plant allegations. There’s solo stuff by the one of them. You guessed it - it’s Paul and Barry Ryan!
In case anyone missed it, there’s a Shindig special bookazine out now featuring a lengthy cover story I wrote on the beginning of Sparks! I spoke to three early members - John Mendelssohn, Earle Mankey and Jim Mankey - and there’s a special contribution from Russell Mael.
December 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM
In case anyone missed it, there’s a Shindig special bookazine out now featuring a lengthy cover story I wrote on the beginning of Sparks! I spoke to three early members - John Mendelssohn, Earle Mankey and Jim Mankey - and there’s a special contribution from Russell Mael.
Reposted by huw
In Tune In I quoted a 1960 Paul McCartney letter declaring that the Beatals (yes) had ‘competence, confidence & continuity’ … and just today I’ve found that Paul nicked it from a Midland Bank cheque book, Competence–Continuity–Confidence being printed on the inside back cover. Great nicking, Paul!
December 16, 2025 at 4:36 PM
In Tune In I quoted a 1960 Paul McCartney letter declaring that the Beatals (yes) had ‘competence, confidence & continuity’ … and just today I’ve found that Paul nicked it from a Midland Bank cheque book, Competence–Continuity–Confidence being printed on the inside back cover. Great nicking, Paul!
work party tonight. must not get drunk. must not try to explain who stanley baxter was to co-workers.
December 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM
work party tonight. must not get drunk. must not try to explain who stanley baxter was to co-workers.
Saw Cliff Richard last night (it’s okay I wasn’t cool anyway). A unique experience and I enjoyed every minute of it, to be honest. Reminded me of this great piece from his last tour by @fergalkinney.bsky.social
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
Middle England Gospel: Cliff Richard At Hammersmith Apollo | The Quietus
Underneath the Hammersmith Flyover, parked in single file down a busy street and flanked outside the Apollo, there are coaches booked in package deals from Essex towns. Clacton and Colchester, Chelmsf...
thequietus.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Saw Cliff Richard last night (it’s okay I wasn’t cool anyway). A unique experience and I enjoyed every minute of it, to be honest. Reminded me of this great piece from his last tour by @fergalkinney.bsky.social
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars doing “Starman”. Sick to death of hearing received wisdom about this appearance but I did rinse it on YouTube when I first got into Bowie. It is a wonderful clip. #TOTP
November 14, 2025 at 9:59 PM
David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars doing “Starman”. Sick to death of hearing received wisdom about this appearance but I did rinse it on YouTube when I first got into Bowie. It is a wonderful clip. #TOTP
Alright, “Maggie May“ is one of those songs I grew up constantly being told was a stone-cold classic, used in constant clip shows, referenced everywhere. It ain’t that good is it? “You Wear It Well” demolishes it. #TOTP
November 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Alright, “Maggie May“ is one of those songs I grew up constantly being told was a stone-cold classic, used in constant clip shows, referenced everywhere. It ain’t that good is it? “You Wear It Well” demolishes it. #TOTP
“Lola” is alright but I have never felt it was a great example of one of the best bands Britain ever produced. Hard to love Rootsy Kinks sorry. #TOTP
November 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
“Lola” is alright but I have never felt it was a great example of one of the best bands Britain ever produced. Hard to love Rootsy Kinks sorry. #TOTP
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” was one of my first favourite songs cos I had this thing as a little kid. I think it had been my mum’s. #TOTP
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” was one of my first favourite songs cos I had this thing as a little kid. I think it had been my mum’s. #TOTP
I know people hate “Where Do Go To (My Lovely)” (overexposure, hectoring lyrics etc) but Peter Sarstedt got the last laugh (ha-ha ha-ha) because a lot of young people into 60s music love it unabashedly. #TOTP
November 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I know people hate “Where Do Go To (My Lovely)” (overexposure, hectoring lyrics etc) but Peter Sarstedt got the last laugh (ha-ha ha-ha) because a lot of young people into 60s music love it unabashedly. #TOTP
Reposted by huw
Heartbreaking
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
D'Angelo, Soul's Modern Visionary, Dead at 51
D'Angelo, the soul and R&B great whose three albums — 'Brown Sugar,' 'Voodoo,' and 'Black Messiah' — are all revered as modern classics, has died.
www.rollingstone.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Heartbreaking
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...