Aug 2022: a great song and two great performances of it described. Sadly, I still cannot locate a clip of Dr Faustus's version. if anyone out the can help, please write to me at this link or just post something... Read more →
Late update: news of Judith’s death has been followed with wretched haste by an announcement that another Australian (albeit UK-born) star, Olivia Newton-John, has also died. She was 73. RIP Olivia *************** Headline coverage of Judith Durham's death, at 79,... Read more →
The revived, evolving discussion at Salut! Live about the origins and differing interpretations of The Bells of Rhymney, Idris Davies's emotive 1930s poem from the South Wales coalfield that became an outstanding song in Pete Seeger's expert hands, reminds us... Read more →
And still they keep coming. No sooner had I added the John Denver version of The Bells of Rhymney to the original file - posted all of 50 instalments of the Cover Story series ago and now updated here -... Read more →
Aug 2022: responses from readers when this item first appeared in 2017 led me to investigate an unexpected treasure: John Denver's version of the song in question, The Bells of Rhymney. I have never been a fan of the late... Read more →
Daddy is Seb Nesta and Daddy is cool. He's the charismatic lead singer of a wonderful reggae, rap and roots band that can be heard making pulsating music around the French resort of Le Lavandou this summer. High Love Roots... Read more →
July 2022: no pressing reason to update what I wrote in 2011. No looming anniversary I'm aware of, no hitherto unknown detail. It's just that every so often, I think about Bert Jansch, the exceptional music he made and the... Read more →
June 2021/July 2022 updates: re-reading this item first published in Salut! Live's Song of the Day series 10 or 11 years ago, I am struck by a phrase I used to describe why the rationale for the Northern Ireland peace... Read more →
