Pop: The History Makers with Steve Blame

‘The legacy of Leigh Bowery, king of queer’, written by Dutch journalist Bamber Delver, looks at the the career of this outrageous shapeshifter of the 80’s/90’s.  Decades after his death, Leigh Bowery’s influence is omnipresent. From Alexander McQueen to Cirque du Soleil, from Lady Gaga to the drag queens of RuPaul. In this book 15 artists (inc. Le Pustra, Trevor Messersmith, Paola Idrontino, Luis...

Dr. Alban, the 7th biggest selling Swedish artist of all time, who has sold over 14 million records, and who is best known for his 90s hits, Hello Afrika, It’s my Life, and Sing Hallelujah is featured in this interview. He talks about growing up in Nigeria, and what life was like in a family of 10 siblings. He also recounts his move to Sweden, the night the DJ didn’t turn up in the nightclub where...

⁠Born in 1947 in post-war Germany, Wolfgang Flür made his name in the Kraftwerk, a band that was formed in Düsseldorf where he has spent most of his adult life. The last time I met him was in 1997 when he released his first post-Kraftwerk album with his band Yamo. His latest album, released last year, Magazine 1, is a masterpiece, a mixture of old and new, a commentary on today's world, and al...

With four new projects on the horizon after last year's release of Electribe 101's second album after 30 years, it was time to catch up with Billie Ray Martin. Her seminal hit was 'Your Loving Arms', a top ten hit in the UK, a massive club hit worldwide, and a song that remains one of the great dance anthems. Her story reads like a Hollywood movie, full of twists and turns. It even...

Robin Scott, or as he's known - M, is a visionary, groundbreaking musician and producer who forever changed the landscape of popular music with his late 1970s hit POP MUZIK. As a pioneer of electronic music and a master of catchy synth-pop hooks, M's artistic contributions have resonated with audiences across the globe and continue to inspire generations of musicians. In 1979, M unleashed...

Katharina Franck, the lead vocalist, and songwriter of the band Rainbirds, is known primarily for her distinctive voice and poetic songwriting. Her musical style blends elements of alternative rock, pop, and folk, infused with introspective and deeply personal lyrics, with themes of love, loss, or the complexities of the human condition. Rainbirds, formed in the late 1980s, achieved significant su...

Meet PER MARTINSEN, the visionary electronic music artist synonymous with innovation and sonic exploration. As Mental Overdrive, Per has left an indelible mark on the global music scene. With a career spanning decades, his unique blend of techno, electro, and experimental sounds has captivated audiences worldwide.  Recently, Per has diversified, by returning to who he was as a teenager and reimagi...

Rasmus Lindvall (sometimes spelled Lindwall) and Robert Wåtz made up the Swedish remixing, production, and scratching duo of Rob 'n' Raz, who came in prominence in the late 80s and scored international hits with Leila K. Got to Get and Rok the Nation charted all over Europe and in the US.  In the 90s they continued their success in Sweden with singer Lutricia McNeal and rapper David Seisay...

In 2022, THE JEREMY DAYS achieved the unexpected with an album on the German charts, the first in 27 years. LOUIS C. OBERLÄNDER is a keyboardist with The Jeremy Days, one of the bands that MTV Europe, where I worked, pushed back in the late eighties. Influenced by Brit-Pop, The Jeremy Days were never identifiable as to which country they came from. They reached number 11 on the German charts in 19...

With his introspective lyrics and soulful melodies, Justin Currie, singer/songwriter of Scottish band Del Amitri, has garnered acclaim for his heartfelt songwriting and powerful vocal performances that have touched the hearts of fans around the world. Born with a natural talent for storytelling, Currie emerged as a prominent figure in the music scene during the late 1980s when Del Amitri's dis...

FISH has made a life-changing decision after meeting someone named after his biggest hit with Marillion - KAYLEIGH. In this amazing UPDATE interview hear all about the next moves that FISH has planned including a final tour and then a final move. Fish, born Derek William Dick, is an iconic Scottish singer-songwriter whose powerful and emotive vocals have captivated audiences for decades. Rising to...

Phillip Boa is a German singer, songwriter, and musician known for his eclectic and dynamic style that blends elements of alternative rock, post-punk, and pop. Boa began his career in the early 1980s, forming the band Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub, which quickly gained a reputation for their energetic live performances and Boa's distinctive vocals. Over the years, Boa has released numerous al...

Toyah Willcox, better known simply as Toyah, is an English pop star and artist who rose to fame in the late 1970s and 1980s. With her distinctive voice and striking appearance, Toyah became a fixture on the UK music scene, producing numerous hits and carving out a unique space for herself in the world of pop. Beyond her music career, Toyah has also been a prolific actress, writer, and television p...

The Fischer-Z (solo) Celebrating Red Skies tour is underway with a sold-out concert in Hamburg, with tickets for dates all around Germany, followed by London, Bath, Brighton, and Manchester - still available. Both this DEEP DIVE and an UPDATE INTERVIEW with JOHN WATTS are available, and tickets for the tour can be bought at fischer-z.com Amongst the multiple stage personas of John Watts, singer, g...

The Fischer-Z (solo) Celebrating Red Skies tour is underway with a sold-out concert in Hamburg, with tickets for dates all around Germany, followed by London, Bath, Brighton, and Manchester - still available. Both a DEEP DIVE and an UPDATE INTERVIEW with JOHN WATTS can are available. Here is the UPDATE INTERVIEW, make sure you go and see John in concert - tickets are available at fischer-z.com Amo...

Mark Wardel is a British artist and sculptor, who is best known for creating the iconic masks of David Bowie for the "David Bowie Is" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He has also worked on other high-profile projects, including the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony and installations for London Fashion Week. If you want to see the full interview and Mark'...

Back in 1989, when I was at MTV Europe, Papa Dee was labeled the next break-out artist from Sweden. ⁠ ⁠After this DEEP DIVE interview look out for the UPDATE INTERVIEW.⁠ ⁠Papa Dee's early career was full of promise, from execs who were determined to make him the next big thing in Europe and the States. But although he didn’t reach the international career heights of Shaggy, whom Clive Davis sa...

Papa Dee's early career was full of promise, from execs who were determined to make him the next big thing in Europe and the States. But although he didn’t reach the international career heights of Shaggy, whom Clive Davis saw him as still maintained a long and successful career in Sweden and the maturity to choose the music he wanted to do.⁠ This is a very human story. Born in Sweden to a Swe...

This is a DEEP DIVE interview with Anne Clark, a poet who delivers her poetry within a world of experimental music, and who remains one of the great pioneers in her field. Her first album The Sitting Room was released in 1982. This was followed by three albums, Changing Places (1983), Joined up Writing (1984), and Hopeless Cases (1987), where she was joined by David Harrow, author of the music and...

In this UPDATE INTERVIEW with ANNE CLARK, she talks about her latest album and her upcoming tour - for all the dates and to book tickets please go to Anne's website:  https://www.anneclarkofficial.com/ If you want to hear all about Anne's career and life then look out for the DEEP DIVE interview with Anne, a poet who delivers her poetry within a world of experimental music, and who remains...

To be back in the charts again, after a hiatus of nearly 40 years is truly beyond Belouis Some's wildest dreams. But it's true, his song IMAGINATION which was a hit in 1985, and from his debut album SOME PEOPLE only reached number 50 in the British charts on its first release, a re-release saw it rise to number 17, and now a remix in 2023 by producer Lee Rose, has seen it get to the top te...

In the UPDATE INTERVIEW which is also online here about how, out of the blue, Belouis Some is back in the dance charts - something which even took him by surprise! BUT for the full story, this full-length, highly entertaining interview with Neville Keighley aka Belouis Some, listen to this DEEP DIVE interview. Here he talks about his early influences and the early recordings which led up to his fi...

With a history of over 35 years in the music business, Larry Flick is probably best known for his 14-year stint at Billboard magazine where he was a senior editor, after which he became a host and producer on SiriusXM. Larry achieved a lot of firsts in the industry, with the ability to break artists into the American market. He was the first to write about Mariah Carey and helped break Britney Spe...

ABBA authority Carl Magnus Palm was featured on a DEEP DIVE interview just before Xmas where we talked about his book ABBA at 50. This is an update of that interview with information about his forthcoming new book on ABBA - On the Record - Packaged - Promoted -Reviewed. For ABBA aficionados, Carl Magnus Palm leaves no stone unturned in his quest to discover everything there is about ABBA. If you a...

ABBA at 50 by Carl Magnus Palm. There probably isn't a better authority on ABBA than author and historian Carl Magnus Palm. His first book on ABBA was in 1994, and his eighth book is titled ABBA at 50, which is available now. ABBA at 50 is a fascinating read, and takes us through the whole ABBA story from the beginnings of each of the members, and takes the date for the band's formation as...