Is this what a “Pop icon” is? Kate Bush burst onto the scene in 1978 with Wuthering Heights, a wildly unlikely and ethereal single. The record industry and radio DJs were bemused, but the record-listening public were instantly smitten. I loved it, but I thought it had ‘one-hit wonder’ written all over it. I was spectacularly wrong. (I have form in that department. I also tagged Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits as a one-hit wonder.) Kate Bush has had a remarkable career, increasingly on her own terms, and earned the highest respect of her peers and the adoration of her fans. She was anxious when she released her eight … Continue reading →

Don’t mention the war! Alwyn Turner is our finest cultural and social historian. His focus is typically on the lived experience of the people, rather than the Sunday papers’ idea of culture or the minutiae of the Westminster Village. He once argued with us that Middle of the Road were a culturally more significant band than Pink Floyd. And he can make the case. Two years ago Alwyn published Little Englanders – a dazzling account of the Edwardian era. A Shellshocked Nation is a companion to that book. Alwyn picks up in the strange and rather sad period between the horror of the Great War and the apocalypse of the … Continue reading →

He was not arrogant enough! Tony Blair is one of the defining politicians of post-war Britain, but he failed to transform the country on the same scale as, say, Margaret Thatcher. For his enemies he was a warmonger and a social meddler. His admirers note that under him public services were restored after the neglect and vandalism of the Thatcherite years, and that he left Britain a better place to live. Steve Richards is unimpressed by the caricatures.  When considering Blair’s actions he always considers how much room he had on the political stage. He has written a typically elegant and thoughtful book, punchily discussing Blair as a leader, his … Continue reading →

Reality doesn’t exist … probably … “Quantum physics is, without doubt, the most disruptive technological transformation in history.” “Really?” you say, “And what has quantum physics done for us?” Electronics. Computers. GPS. Hi-definition television. Smartphones. Lasers. Transistors. Lists of what quantum theory has done for us are peppered through Paul Davies’ book. The theory, a hundred years old, has given you miracles and wonders. And if you think it has been impressive so far, Paul Davies tells us that a second quantum revolution is just getting underway: Quantum computers will be exponentially faster and more powerful than conventional computers. Quantum intelligence will go places human minds cannot follow. Quantum clocks can … Continue reading →

“There are dozens of Beach Boys!” Jack Reiley (Beach Boys manager 1970 to 1973) said: “The Beatles were focussed, strategic, professionally and well-led during the years of their mounting ascendency. During that period, the Beach Boys were divided, unprofessional and horrendously led… There was no career direction to speak of and chaos reigned.” Transcendental meditation, Charles Manson, heroic drug abuse, tragic deaths, the piano in the sandpit, a chapter which asks the question, “Why do people hate Mike Love? Let me count the ways…”, and arguably the worst album sleeve of any major release, but at the same time, peerless vocal harmonies and, in his glory years, a pop writer … Continue reading →

War. Huh! (Dum dum dum!) What’s our brain good for? “Human brains were not built for comfortable lives”, writes Nicholas Wright. Which rather raises the question, what were they built for? Well, among other things, “Every human brain is built to win – or at least survive a fight.” Dr Wright uses the topography and geography of the human brain as a chapter by chapter means of exploring its many functions and show how it does its job. He shows you where your basic drives such as hunger, thirst and sleep are located – the hypothalamus and the thalamous, since you ask – and navigates all the way to the … Continue reading →

In the 70’s, he was a happy drunk … by the 80’s, he was just miserable! It is 1962. Ritchie Starkey – better known by his stage name of Ringo Starr – is widely acknowledged as the best drummer in Liverpool. His current gig is with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He evenhas a featured star slot singing the old Shirelles number ‘Boys’. He is a professional musician. Then two scruffy Beatles turn up and invite him to jump ship and join them. Ringo’s response: Well, I’ve got this gig here at Butlins with Rory for the summer season; I can’t just drop everything and leave them in the lurch. … Continue reading →

Syd Barrett was probably not really an acid casualty! Peter Jenner (Floyd’s first manager): “Syd’s behaviour was avant-garde and I thought avant-garde was good. Of course in hindsight, we should have taken a break, but none of us knew what we were doing and we had an album out.” Nick Mason (Floyd’s drummer): “We wanted to be pop stars and Syd didn’t.” David Gilmour (Floyd’s guitarist): “I heard Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and was sick with jealousy.” Nick Mason: “Other bands seemed so professional.” Bob Ezrin (Collaborator on The Wall): “Roger Waters was fun to write with. He was just difficult to live with.” David Gilmour: “(Atom Heart … Continue reading →

“A gentleman’s hands are [always] clean” Infectious diseases caused by bacteria have killed well over half of all humans who have ever lived on Earth. Historically, bacterial infections have started major pandemics such as the bubonic plague, which is estimated to have killed 50-60 per cent of the population of Europe during the Black Death in the 14th Century. And yet when a person in Oregon came down with bubonic plague in 2024 it was a non-event. The pathogen involved was quickly identified and antibiotics given. There was no chain of infection and no epidemic. And the patient lived. Germ theory is one of the most transformative developments in human history. … Continue reading →

I mean, you’ve got’a laugh, aintcha! Nitrous Oxide made “a picaresque journey from laboratory to lecture hall, variety palace to dentist’s chair.” A substance that does not exist in nature, it fairly blew the minds of the radical scientific community in the late 18th Century when it was isolated and synthesised. Some of them couldn’t decide whether it was more remarkable medicinally or recreationally. What they did know was that it was a wonderful product of a modern scientific sensibility. It is a story that takes in Joseph Priestley, Erasmus Darwin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, Humphrey Davy, Peter Mark Roget (yes, that Roget), James Watt, and at its centre, … Continue reading →