Todd Rundgren emerged in the late 1960s as guitarist and songwriter for Philadelphia rock band The Nazz. He’s scored a few recognisable hits – the early 1970s soft-rock of ‘Hello, It’s Me’ and ‘I Saw the Light’, as well as…
UK’s most likeable pop star, Jessie Ware is charming where other mainstream acts leave me cold. She has a gorgeous voice, but she’s closer to the sophisticated poise of Sade than the vocal histrionics of Celine Dion. Ware’s body of…
Swedish quartet ABBA were massively popular from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. They were effectively a supergroup when they formed in 1972 – Agnetha Fältskog was already a solo star in Sweden while songwriting team Björn Ulvaeus and Benny…
Singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt came from a prominent Texan family. Prodigiously intelligent, his family groomed him as a lawyer or senator but seeing Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show led him into music. Struggling with manic depression and addictions,…
The Beach Boys emerged from Hawthorne California, with Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love. Their first top ten hit was ‘Surfin’ USA’, derived from Chuck Berry’s ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’, but the group’s ornate harmonies oozed…
Split Enz first reached New Zealand’s attention with an appearance on the New Faces talent show in 1973, where they finished second-to-last. Their early material was too weird for the mainstream, comparable to early Genesis or Roxy Music, and Phil…
Robert Forster and Grant McLennan met at the University of Queensland. Despite McLennan’s lack of musical experience, they formed a band, combining the tunefulness of The Monkees with the edge of The Velvet Underground. Their first album was recorded as…
Dire Straits emerged at the height of punk in the UK, where Mark Knopfler’s smooth and accomplished guitar playing was at odds with the prevailing trends. Along with Mark Freuder Knopfler’s style choices, like sweatbands, Dire Straits were never cool.…
The late John Martyn never enjoyed the mass acclaim that his immense talent deserved. Nonetheless he delivered a string of great records in the 1970s and early 1980s. He started as a folk artist, emerging in the late 1960s alongside…
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in 1953, when they appeared in their school’s production of Alice in Wonderland – Simon played the White Rabbit and Garfunkel the Cheshire Cat. Learning to harmonise together, they released their first single, ‘Hey…
Paul Simon’s songs are part of the American landscape, a thoughtful man documenting his inner dialogue in popular song. From Simon and Garfunkel songs like ‘America’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ to solo songs like ‘American Tune’ and ‘Graceland’, his…
Michigan’s Stevland Hardaway Morris started his recording career young – taking the name Little Stevie Wonder, he recorded his first album at the age of 12. His second album, Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius, and his 1963 single…
