
Henry Yates
Henry Yates has been a freelance journalist since 2002 and written about music for titles including The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Classic Rock, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer. He is the author of Walter Trout's official biography, Rescued From Reality, a music pundit on Times Radio and BBC TV, and an interviewer who has spoken to Brian May, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie Wood, Dave Grohl, Marilyn Manson, Kiefer Sutherland and many more.
Latest articles by Henry Yates

Introducing Troy Redfern, the guitarist risking it all for rock‘n’roll
By Henry Yates published
Slide guitarist Troy Redfern, who released five albums last year, on following Robert Plant and playing with Bumblefoot

Why I ❤️ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, by Juliette Lewis
By Henry Yates last updated
"If someone couldn’t see the greatness of Tom Petty as a songwriter, I’d just think they were not playing with a full deck" - Juliette Lewis

Samantha Fish: smashing guitars, hecklers, and the liberating power of not giving a f**k
By Henry Yates published
Kansas City gunslinger Samantha Fish on smashing up guitars, shooting down sexists and shaking off the covid blues

“It was one of those lightbulb moments”: How Press To MECO made their third album, Transmute
By Henry Yates published
Recorded in an ancient castle while a pandemic raged outside, Press To MECO’s third album, Transmute, is the DIY classic that finds Britain’s sparkiest alt-rockers coming off the ropes swinging

Why I ❤️ My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, by Vernon Reid
By Henry Yates published
Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid explains his partiality to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, an album he compares to Jackson Pollock

Michael Schenker on creativity, immortality, and why he’ll never make peace with Rudolf
By Henry Yates last updated
"I don’t follow trends. If anything, I have created trends – and not just one" - Michael Schenker

Phil Campbell's Byson Family: I want this band to be a celebration of Glasgow
By Henry Yates published
After quitting The Temperance Movement under a cloud, their former vocalist Phil Campbell says his new band The Byson Family is his rebirth

Joanne Shaw Taylor goes gleefully back-to-basics on The Blues Album
By Henry Yates published
Joanne Shaw Taylor's The Blues Album is much more than a mid-career shrug of the shoulders

The 10 best Jimi Hendrix songs released after his death
By Charles Shaar Murray, Ed Mitchell, Henry Yates published
Jimi Hendrix released just three studio albums and one live album in his lifetime. These are the 10 best songs from his posthumous albums

The story behind the song: Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival
By Henry Yates last updated
John Fogerty's classic rockabilly-tinged evocation of doom, inspired by an old film noir, is now itself a mainstay of movie soundtracks.

The story behind the song: Rooster by Alice In Chains
By Henry Yates last updated
Rooster by Alice In Chains was Jerry Cantrell’s tribute to his Vietnam veteran dad, and it showed a different kind of dark side to the band

Tigercub: we make music to express the inexpressible
By Henry Yates published
After the album session from hell, Brighton alt.rockers Tigercub have earned their stripes on stunning new album As Blue As Indigo

Agony and ecstasy: How Stone Temple Pilots overcame heartbreak to make Tiny Music
By Henry Yates published
Despite its title, Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop was a huge album for Stone Temple Pilots. A quarter-century on, we spoke to Dean DeLeo and Eric Kretz about the triumphs and agonies behind their third album

Jakob Dylan: "I was brought up thinking records were not supposed to be fun to make"
By Henry Yates published
Jakob Dylan on the return of The Wallflowers, “noisy guitars”, transitioning from Trump, and why songwriting brings out his Mr Hyde

Counting Crows' Adam Duritz: despair, hope, and hunting rabbits
By Henry Yates published
Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz on mental illness, dairy produce, romance, the band’s new EP Butter Miracle, Suite One, and shaving off his dreads

Chris Catalyst on band hopping, mental health, and why he can call Ginger Wildheart “a knob”
By Henry Yates published
From the Sisters Of Mercy to Ugly Kid Joe – via a superb new solo album – Chris Catalyst’s résumé is nothing if not long

Pop Evil: six albums in and still having fun
By Henry Yates published
Michigan rockers Pop Evil on new album Versatile, circle pits, breakfast cereals, having a Brit drummer, and recording at Foo Fighters HQ

The story behind Dropkick Murphys' I’m Shipping Up To Boston
By Henry Yates published
Dropkick Murphys' I’m Shipping Up To Boston was a collision of Celtic punk, legless pirates, and beyond-the-grave lyrics from American folk hero Woody Guthrie

The 10 best BB King songs, by Joe Bonamassa
By Henry Yates published
Joe Bonamassa, one of blues music's current stars, chooses the 10 best by BB King, the late king of the blues

How Jimi Hendrix set rock'n'roll ablaze and rewired the electric guitar forever
By Henry Yates published
Jimi Hendrix’s 1966 touchdown in London started a four-year revolution that tore up the rules of electric guitar playing and terrified the old guard. Over half-a-century after his sonic boom, those ripples can still be felt

Dizzy Reed: 10 records that changed my life
By Henry Yates last updated
Guns N' Roses' keyboard player Dizzy Reed reflects on 10 records that charted his path through rock'n'roll

Six things you need to know about Dirty Honey
By Henry Yates published
In a world over-sweetened with pop syrup, Dirty Honey tell stories from the darker side of Los Angeles

Joe Bonamassa has just released the best damn blues concert you’ll experience all year
By Henry Yates last updated
The release of Joe Bonamassa’s Now Serving: Royal Tea Live From The Ryman is your chance to own the livestreamed concert that saved us from the Covid blues
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