1980s
Iron Ladies review - working-class heroines of the Miners' StrikeTuesday, 14 October 2025
The enduring image of the 1984-1985 Miners' Strike is that of men standing arm in arm against police and of mass protests devolving into mayhem – with protesters being beaten and knocked to the ground.But it wasn’t just men who were on the front... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Marc and the Mambas - Three Black Nights Of Little Black BitesSunday, 12 October 2025
A month after Soft Cell’s "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" single peaked at number three in the UK charts, Marc Almond issued a single credited to Marc and the Mambas. March 1982’s "Sleaze (Take it, Shake it)" / "Fun City" was produced by his... Read more... |
Pop Will Eat Itself's 'Delete Everything' is noisy but patchyMonday, 06 October 2025
Pop Will Eat Itself deserve to be more celebrated. The Stourbridge outfit were one of the first 1980s bands to realise the potential of smashing punky indie-rockin’ into hip hop and electronic dance.They had hits, many great songs, and covered the... Read more... |
Justin Lewis: Into the Groove review - fun and fact-filled trip through Eighties popThursday, 02 October 2025
Into the Groove is Justin Lewis’s follow-up to 2023’s Don’t Stop the Music, in which he traced 40 years of pop history by offering bite-sized facts for every day from January 1st to December 31st, jumping randomly from year to year. I noted in my... Read more... |
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight review - vivid adaptation of a memoir about a Rhodesian childhoodThursday, 02 October 2025
Fans of Alexandra Fuller’s fine memoir of her childhood in Africa may be wary of this film adaptation by the actress Embeth Davidtz, her directing debut. But they should not be. This is an equally fine, sensitive rendering of Fuller’s story, with a... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Chiswick Records 1975-1982 - Seven Years at 45 RPMSunday, 07 September 2025
Chiswick Records 1975-1982 - Seven Years at 45 RPM is a triple album marking the 50th anniversary of the first release on the titular label. That record was a four-track, seven-inch EP by the rough, Rolling Stones-ish pub rockers The Count Bishops.... Read more... |
Album: Wolf Alice - ClearingFriday, 22 August 2025
Wolf Alice are a band who consistently over-deliver. Their presentation is so staid, their cited influences so safe (The Beatles! Blur!), their politics so “bad things are bad, m’kay?”, that they give every impression they’re going to be bland and... Read more... |
Beating Hearts review - kiss kiss, slam slamThursday, 14 August 2025
Andrew Garfield was 29 when he played the teenage Spiderman and Jennifer Grey was 27 when she took on a decade-younger-than-her character called “Baby” in Dirty Dancing. So you’d think that directors and casting experts could find actors to advance... Read more... |
Maiden Voyage, Southwark Playhouse review - new musical runs agroundWednesday, 30 July 2025
As the nation basks in the reflected glory of The Lionesses' Euro25 victory, it could hardly be more timely for the Southwark Playhouse to launch a new musical that tells the tale of The Maiden. That was the boat, built and sailed by Tracy Edwards... Read more... |
Brixton Calling, Southwark Playhouse review - life-affirming entertainment, both then and nowTuesday, 29 July 2025
What a delight it is to see the director, the star, even the marketing manager these days FFS, get out of the way and let a really strong story stand on its own two feet. Like a late one at the Brixton Academy itself, this is a helluva night out.... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: The Pale Fountains - The Complete Virgin YearsSunday, 27 July 2025
The Pale Fountains played their first live show on 12 February 1980 as the support to on-the-up fellow Liverpudlians Wah! Heat. Their final stage appearance – notwithstanding the odd reunion – was on 21 May 1987 at their home city’s The Majestic... Read more... |
The Human League/Marc Almond/Toyah, Brighton Beach review - affable 1980s-themed seaside packageThursday, 24 July 2025
Today gradually blossoms from unpromising beginnings. LouderUK’s On The Beach event series takes place throughout the summer and runs the gamut from indie pop-rock, such as Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party, to dance events featuring DJs such as Bonobo... Read more... |
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