
Ian Fortnam
Classic Rock’s Reviews Editor for the last 20 years, Ian stapled his first fanzine in 1977. Since misspending his youth by way of ‘research’ his work has also appeared in such publications as Metal Hammer, Prog, NME, Uncut, Kerrang!, VOX, The Face, The Guardian, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Electronic Sound, Record Collector and across the internet. Permanently buried under mountains of recorded media, ears ringing from a lifetime of gigs, he enjoys nothing more than recreationally throttling a guitar and following a baptism of punk fire has played in bands for 45 years, releasing recordings via Esoteric Antenna and Cleopatra Records.
Latest articles by Ian Fortnam

This 1969 album was a prog leap too far – and it wasn’t even by a prog band
By Ian Fortnam published
Later regarded as a massively inspirational work, it was too demanding a prospect when American quartet made it

The Who's Roger Daltrey on drugs, fights, death and the music that defined a generation
By Ian Fortnam published
The Who: From pill-popping mod figureheads to Woodstock-generation rockers and beyond

What kind of a monster would you have to be not to like Ronnie Wood's Fearless: Anthology 1965-2025?
By Ian Fortnam published
Honest Ron’s finest moments, starring the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, the Faces, Chrissie Hynde and more

“Multifaceted if superficially flawed gem”: Hawkwind’s Hall Of The Mountain Grill returns
By Ian Fortnam published
Box set contains studio and live bonuses along with fresh remaster of the 1974 album

What happened when The Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd played Knebworth
By Ian Fortnam published
In 1976, the Stones pulled a vast crowd to Knebworth. It was a day of surprises, not least how late everything ran

The hypnotic 80s single that gave an apocalyptic post-punk band an unlikely Cold War-inspired hit
By Ian Fortnam published
When Killing Joke became unlikely pop stars

The chaos and tragedy of Hanoi Rocks’ first US tour
By Ian Fortnam published
Hanoi Rocks were heading for stardom – until drummer Razzle was killed in car crash involving Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil

Fifty-one years on, The Revenge Of Alice Cooper finds the old band in majestic form
By Ian Fortnam published
The Alice Cooper group's first full studio album together since 1974’s Muscle Of Love is a convincing recreation of an old landscape

Keith Richards goes solo on Talk Is Cheap
By Classic Rock Magazine published
The polar opposite to Mick Jagger’s synthesised solo clatter, Keith Richards' Talk Is Cheap brimmed with soul

Every album by The Who ranked from worst to best
By Ian Fortnam published
Never the most prolific of bands, The Who have released some of the most enduring and influential albums in rock history

John Lydon on the haters who buy tickets just to abuse him
By Ian Fortnam published
PiL frontman and former Sex Pistol John Lydon on losing loved ones, living near the California fires, spoken-word gigs and underpants

"Fired up, furiously fashioned and bug-shit crazy": His Lordship define rock'n'roll on Bored Animal
By Ian Fortnam published
A second album of fevered garage rock from Pretenders' guitarist

Pete Townshend and the lifelong search for answers
By Ian Fortnam published
The Who's Pete Townshend on parents, partnerships, punk, songwriting, the aristocracy, addiction, the internet and the ongoing search for extraordinary music

The scandalous story of Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies
By Ian Fortnam published
The Alice Cooper Band's outrageous behaviour prompted a statement in Parliament while their songs thrilled a generation

The tragic story of Johnny Thunders, who had it all – and threw it all away
By Ian Fortnam published
Fiends, lovers and the people who knew him best reveal the man behind Johnny Thunders, New York Doll-turned-junkie poster boy

Led Zeppelin albums ranked from worst to best
By Ian Fortnam published
From anonymous sixties session men to globe-straddling seventies rock goliaths - the albums that soundtracked Led Zeppelin's conquest of Earth

We asked Blues Brothers star Dan Aykroyd to give us his 11 favourite blues records, and he delivered
By Ian Fortnam published
John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells - Blues Brothers and former SNL icon Dan Aykroyd knows his blues

Steve Jones on the return of the Sex Pistols and how new frontman Frank Carter joined the fun
By Ian Fortnam published
When the Sex Pistols re-formed with three original members plus singer Frank Carter, they hadn’t sounded so vital in years. And there’s more to come

Peter Perrett and the long road to a genuine late-career masterpiece
By Ian Fortnam published
A late-career starburst in his drugs-hastened twilight years, former Only Ones frontman Peter Perrett’s latest solo album is the best he's ever made

Ronnie Wood’s wild tales of Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and Axl Rose
By Ian Fortnam published
Living with Hendrix? Jamming with Dylan? Giving Axl relationship advice? Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has done it all

The unlikely story of George Murray, the David Bowie bassist who became a school superintendent
By Ian Fortnam published
Plucked from obscurity in 1975 to be in David Bowie’s band, then unceremoniously dumped five years later, bassist George Murray looks back on his time with the Thin White Duke

10 Slade songs that prove they're not just for Christmas
By Ian Fortnam last updated
It may well be Chreeeeesssstttmaaaaaaasssssss, but Slade, like puppies, are an all-year proposition

Still Barking is 20 CDs of Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band comedy genius, but it may baffle younger folk
By Ian Fortnam published
A weighty celebration of Monty Python-preceding trad/psych satirists
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