Latest articles by Geoff Barton
In 1979, the fledgling Def Leppard played a small club show in Sheffield, and our man was there
Joe Elliott might decry the phrase "heavy metal" in 2024, but 46 years ago he was ready to embrace it
Meet the man who auditioned to replace Bon Scott in AC/DC and Paul Di'Anno in Iron Maiden
Terry Slesser, singer with Paul Kossoff’s Back Street Crawler, recalls the days when AC/DC were a humble support act
In 1981, Rush's Geddy Lee was ready to blow the boundaries of progressive rock wide open
From Led Zeppelin copyists to sword and sorcery maestros to purveyors of über-prog, Rush have always pushed the envelope
When the call went out to replace Ian Gillan in Deep Purple, only one man got an audition
In 1973, Deep Purple replaced Ian Gillan with an unknown singer. They then went on to make one of rock’s most underrated albums, Burn
"I could stand up with four cardboard cut-outs and still be a star": Steve Harley spent four years of his childhood in hospital and grew up to hate journalists, but all he wanted was an audience
The late Steve Harley was most famous for his 1975 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me), but his story involves so much more
"The scent of cremated steaks and exotic gateaux lingers in the air": Revisiting the secret launch of Deep Purple's Perfect Strangers
In 1984 Deep Purple's much-loved Mk II lineup reformed, and one Classic Rock writer was invited along to a secret location to hear all about it
"A mesmerising snapshot of the nihilistic grunge age": Mad Season's only album may forever be associated with tragedy and loss, but the musicians sound liberated
With members of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Screaming Trees on board, Mad Season's 1995 album Above was gut-wrenching but transfixing
"A full-scale solo stormer: a 90s grunge record made by a marauding horde of evil mutants": Mick Mars has made a would-be classic with The Other Side Of Mars
Former Mötley Crüe man Mick Mars' debut solo album The Other Side Of Mars is as dangerous as a black mamba in your pants
"A low- wattage washout, as if recorded by an Ace imposter": Ace Frehley fails to spark on 10,000 Volts
Ace Frehley's eighth solo album 10,000 Volts in a word: Shocking
"He wanted to stay up and party. Bon just wanted to keep the party going": What really happened on the night Bon Scott died?
Mystery surrounds Bon Scott's death to this day: Classic Rock looks back at Bon’s last hours, the world he moved in and the disappearance of the last man to see him alive
"The sonics are out of this world, as deep and resonant as Phil Mogg’s tonsils at the top of their game": The Deluxe Edition of UFO's Lights Out comes with vivacious and vital extras
UFO's sixth album Lights Out gets the traditional deluxe makeover, just don't believe the hype
“We were the original bearded pirates. Nobody gave us a chance”: the epic story of how Whitesnake became the greatest blues rock band of the early 80s
Before MTV and hair metal, Whitesnake were the greatest blues rock band of the early 80s
"Towards the end it was not pretty. I scraped myself off the walls of insanity. I was barking like a dog": the last days of Deep Purple
On July 19, 1976, Deep Purple officially split up. The ending was horrible, marked by addiction and jealousy
"It's like being forced by Mary Beard, wielding a vicious riding crop, to watch never-ending episodes of The Time Tunnel": Saxon's Hell, Fire And Damnation
Biff Byford lines up the history lessons on Saxon's 24th studio album Hell, Fire And Damnation
"It was a very magical time. The right people came together at the right moment": Ronnie James Dio's track-by-track guide to Dio's classic Holy Diver
Many believed Ronnie James Dio was finished when he quit Black Sabbath, but he proved the doubters wrong with an all-time classic
"I'll be honest here – I think they blew us off stage every single night": what happened when AC/DC went on tour with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
In 1976 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow embarked on the Rising tour of Europe with a young band from Australia in tow: Ronnie James Dio was watching them very closely
"We have one rule: you can have body punches and choke-holds and throw bottles at each other, but we never crack each other in the face": What happens when bands fight
The 40 bitterest bust-ups in rock history: From fisticuffs to wars of words to litigation and beyond, rock'n'roll’s divorce courts are packed with ire and animosity:
Doro's latest celebration of all things heavy metal brims with power, pride and passion
Horns in the air! Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud is the 14th album from Metal Queen™️ Doro
“When I started out I thought: ‘I’ll be able to play guitar, drink, take drugs and shag as many women as I can!’ But we ended up in the prog vein”: Pye Hastings’ lifelong urges
Becoming an archetype of the Canterbury scene with Caravan at least satisfied his creative desires
Aerosmith helped Karen Lawrence on her way, and she wrote a four-times-platinum hit single… but then Barbra Streisand stole all the glory
Is Karen Lawrence the greatest rock singer you’ve never heard of?
The final word on Van Halen's Sammy Hagar era: it's a bit corporate, a bit rock-by-numbers, a bit... uneventful
A five disc roundup of Van Hagar: four studio albums and a disc of rarities, but every home shouldn't have one
"All grinding desperation and lank-haired perspiration": the new album by KK's Priest confirms that they're not a viable alternative to the real thing
The apocalypse is nigh (part 182)
Paul Rodgers and run-of-the-mill band provide flashes of brilliance on new album Midnight Rose as the hyperbole rings hollow
The first new solo album from Paul Rodgers in quarter of a century was perhaps not worth the wait
