Top Of The Box

John Martyn sadly died today aged 60. Born in New Malden, Surrey he spent his childhood alternately in Surrey and Glasgow from the age of five, after his parents divorced.
In a career that spanned forty years he released no less than twenty-one studio albums.
John Martyn signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records label in 1967 and [...]

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Hothouse Flowers came and went pretty rapidly in terms of fame and sucess. Not quite one hit wonders, the Irish rock band were courted by Rolling Stone magazine as the best unsigned band in Europe in 1986.
They were picked up by Bono and released their first single through U2’s Mother Records label. A subsequent deal [...]

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Mike Scott formed the original Waterboys in 1983 taking the name from a line in Lou Reed’s song The KIds.
It was their third album This Is The Sea in 1985 that fused traditional celtic music with rock that broke the band in the UK. The single Whole Of The Moon reached number 26 in the [...]

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Simon & Garfunkel had hit after hit in the sixties, creating beautiful harmonies and incredible songs, moving folk into main stream during the middle of the decade.
Despite the geeky look Simon & Garfunkel were both inspiring and influential to later sixties singer songwriter boom.
Homeward Bound was famously written at Widnes station in the UK, by [...]

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Tim Buckley – Song to the Siren on The Monkees tv show
In 1968 The Monkees tv show was prime time. In the UK The Monkees and Dr.Who followed Grandstand on Saturday early evening on BBC1.
It is therefore amazing that on one episode Mickey Dolenz introduces a little known singer/songwriter and friend, Tim Buckley.
This is [...]

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