
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

How well do you know Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds?
By Henry Yates published
As Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience makes a triumphant return on May 22nd, take on prog’s toughest quiz – and win prizes including signed records, limited-edition merch and savings on London’s favourite immersive night out

Mick Fleetwood interview: 50 years of Fleetwood Mac
By Henry Yates published
Mick Fleetwood arrived in Swinging Sixties London as a dyslexic school leaver and aspirant drummer – and discovered a world of blues, booze, women and global success

How Brazilian alt.rockers Ego Kill Talent defied a nightmare 2020 with big riffs and tequila
By Henry Yates published
Think your plans were disrupted? Ego Kill Talent should have spent last year on the road with Metallica, System Of A Down, Foo Fighters and Faith No More

Is rock‘n’roll ruining your hearing?
By Henry Yates last updated
With Brian Johnson forced to take a step back from AC/DC or face total hearing loss, we ask the experts about the risks for rock fans. Listen up – while you still can…

Why I ❤️ Happy Chichester, by Dave Grohl
By Henry Yates published
To those in the know, Happy Chichester is one of the most underrated songwriters of his generation, and he almost joined the Foo Fighters. We tracked down the cult hero from Columbus, Ohio

It's time to drop the 'rich man's plaything' snark - The Dead Daisies just wanna rock
By Henry Yates published
Now bolstered by the songs and shriek of new frontman Glenn Hughes, The Dead Daisies are a supergroup to take seriously

Steven Adler: How Guns N' Roses made Appetite For Destruction
By Henry Yates last updated
In 1987, the ‘real’ GN’R bottled the mayhem of the Sunset Strip on their classic debut album Appetite For Destruction. Ousted drummer Steven Adler tells all

The Pretty Reckless find brilliant new life on Death By Rock And Roll
By Henry Yates published
The Pretty Reckless's Death By Rock And Roll is proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

Alice Cooper – 10 Songs That Changed My Life
By Henry Yates last updated
Alice Cooper picks the ten songs that provided the soundtrack to his life

Green Day's Basket Case: the story behind the song
By Henry Yates published
How Billie Joe Armstrong wrote Green Day's game-changing three-minute classic Basket Case in a basement surrounded by pizza boxes

The Moody Blues: stories of nights in technicolour satin and LSD
By Henry Yates last updated
By tapping into the worries and hopes of ordinary people, The Moody Blues became a phenomenon. But a vital part of the band’s inspiration came from tapping into some mind-expanding chemicals

Yes: the story behind Owner Of A Lonely Heart
By Henry Yates last updated
How Owner Of A Lonely Heart saved “old farts” Yes from the scrap heap turned them into unlikely MTV darlings

Phil Campbell: the family that plays together stays together
By Henry Yates published
Former Motorhead man Phil Campbell on his family band, the tyranny of politicians, and what Lemmy would have made of the pandemic

The Story Behind The Song: Slow Ride by Foghat
By Henry Yates last updated
Foghat are in that select group of Brit bands with US hits who never had any success at home. Their defining moment came with this mid-70s single about rock'n'roll mainstay S-E-X.

A conversation with Leslie West
By Henry Yates published
From the archive: Leslie West talks about dropping acid at the Fillmore, kicking methadone with Johnny Winter and missing Jack Bruce

The 100 greatest rock songs of the century... so far
By Malcolm Dome, Paul Elliott, Dave Everley, Polly Glass, Dom Lawson, Fraser Lewry, Dave Ling, Sian Llewellyn, Luke Morton, Paul Rees, Johnny Sparks, Philip Wilding, David Stubbs, Henry Yates published
Many were longlisted, but this is the final selection – the best rock songs of the 21st century thus far, as voted for by you

Don't Let The Devil Take Another Day finds Kelly Jones twisting his standards into fine new shapes
By Henry Yates published
Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones reimagines his songbook on Don't Let The Devil Take Another Day

Household names, hot tips and history-making reunions: How Aftershock Festival is set to rock 2021
By Henry Yates last updated
With Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH joining the likes of Metallica, My Chemical Romance and Limp Bizkit in California, Aftershock 2021 is officially next year’s most mouthwatering US rock festival

How Black Sabbath ditched the hippy dream and faced brutal reality on Paranoid
By Henry Yates published
With themes of war, madness and nuclear holocaust, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid remains the ultimate difficult second album. Fifty years on, we remember how it razed the rock’n’roll landscape

How Show4me are bringing the rock community to the palm of your hand
By Henry Yates published
From interactive fan-only concerts to hook-ups with your favourite artists, the redesigned Show4me music interaction network is breaking down the barriers

John Fogerty and family chime with the times on the heart-warming Fogerty’s Factory
By Henry Yates published
While self-quarantining together John Fogerty and family rolled out the classics... and now they're collected together as Fogerty’s Factory

When Rivers Meet's We Fly Free will leave a boot-print on your heart
By Henry Yates published
Wife-and-husband duo When Rivers Meet are heavy enough to get your attention and quirky enough to hold it on We Fly Free

Michael Landau interview: the return of the master musician
By Henry Yates published
Session ace Michael Landau on punk-jazz, pubbing with Rod Stewart, and pranks with “foul-mouthed” Steve Lukather
Get the Louder Newsletter
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.