At some point in the early 90s I was persuaded to go to a religious ‘discussion group’ set up by a liberal Anglican friend of my mother’s. These were frustrating affairs – mostly I remember being told repeatedly that doubts an[…]

The KLF’s The Manual famously details the steps required to have a number one hit – but with a caveat: the method outlined will only work once every several years. The dark – though somewhat obvious – marketing arts behind &#8[…]

Appearing briefly on the front page while I finish the next entry!
Every Popular entry gets a mark out of 10: here’s your opportunity to say which of the No.1s of 1970 you’d give more than 6 to. Highest marks from me this year went to Fre[…]

 
“I Hear You Knocking” is a 50s R&B cover, and more than just a cover – the enthused “Smiley Lewis! Chuck Berry! Huey Smith!” yells mark it as a celebration, and the tightly-packed, trebly arrangement seems designe[…]

I was playing this song and my wife walked in.
“Who’s this?” she asked.
“The Jimi Hendrix Experience”
“Oh. Couldn’t he have got a better singer?” (more…)[…]

In the whole Popular project so far, “Woodstock” represents my biggest turnaround in opinion between hearing and writing about it. On first listen it sounded dreary, sappy and self-satisfied – I had it earmarked for a 2, or even a 1[…]

“Band Of Gold” isn’t a particular standout musically – a Motown beat that seems to have gone a bit stale on its journey over to the Invictus label, a string arrangement low in the mix and an enjoyably twangy guitar. It does a […]

The opening of “Tears Of A Clown” is fussy, polite, slightly forced in its capering eagerness to please – a great way of introducing a song about putting a false face on to fool the world you’re happy. This theme was a regular[…]

The first live Number One since “My Old Man’s A Dustman”, and a similar symbol of a singer’s transformation from firebrand to beloved entertainer. Though – just like Lonnie – the entertainer was always part of Elvi[…]

“In The Summertime” comes close to being a genuine guilty pleasure. Not because of the track’s charmingly rickety arrangement, or its lopsided shuffle beat, but because those elements make this pen-portrait of an idle young blade&#8[…]