The corrosive legacy of Live Aid
Published in the Daily Mail (June 4th, 2011) Like most people of my generation, I can still recall with utmost... Read Full Article
Spotify Sunday: Shuffle…
Published on The Spectator website (April 16th, 2011) Like many music fans, I could spend months pondering a playlist and... Read Full Article
British music can still star as rock finds a new role
Published in the London Evening Standard (February 15th, 2011) Let’s get the party started. Tonight it is the Brits, that... Read Full Article
Record sales plummet but the music plays on
Published in The Times (October 22nd, 2010) The deeply wonderful Elvis Costello has a new record out. It is available... Read Full Article
A wild shrine to music, history and the struggle for human rights
Published in The Independent (June 5th, 2009) We bumped our way down the ramshackle streets of Ikeja in the traffic-choked... Read Full Article
This outburst will strike a chord around the world
Published in The Independent (May 7th, 2009) Abbas Kiarostami’s outburst against British officialdom will strike a chord with artists all... Read Full Article
A brave new world of music
Published in The Independent (May 1st, 2009) As she waited to go on, Souad Massi looked nervous for the first... Read Full Article
Music from the heart of the Congo
Published in The Independent (February 29th, 2008) The tiny stage was packed as a heavy, dancehall rhythm rumbled out into... Read Full Article
Journey into the beating heart of Africa
Published in The Independent (October 13th, 2006) We ducked into a covered alleyway, where two elderly men with grizzled beards,... Read Full Article
Songs of freedom
Published in The Independent (January 18th, 2004) The full moon was bathing the Saharan dunes in light as a middle... Read Full Article