Latest articles by Jon Hotten
Life in the fast lane and the turbulent tale of the Eagles
Fistfights, ulcers and run-ins with the law were all part of the Eagles’ everyday life: A look behind the rise, fall and unexpected rise again of the ultimate Californian band
The epic story of Journey‘s Escape, the early 80s masterpiece that changed the course of rock
There’s much more to Journey‘s Escape than Don’t Stop Believin’
Marillion look back on the making of the album that tore the band apart
Fish, Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly look back at the making of Marillion's best-known and most successful record, Misplaced Childhood
Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and more tell the epic story of Guns N’ Roses' Use Your Illusion
Use Your Illusion: Drugs, rifts, hirings, firings, and the sound of a band falling apart
How Poison took glam metal to the extreme with Look What The Cat Dragged In
Poison’s 1986 debut album Look What The Cat Dragged In is a killer glam metal album. But not everybody loved it
The tangled history of Rick Wakeman and Yes
Keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman’s history with Yes goes back to the early 70s – but there have been plenty of bumps along the way
The unlikely birth of Velvet Revolver, the supergroup who triumphed against the odds
Velvet Revolver’s debut album, Contraband, was released on June 8, 2004. In this classic interview, Slash reveals how one of rock’s greatest modern supergroups got off the ground
“Do you play real guitar too?”: how smash hit video game Guitar Hero made Slash famous all over again
Guitar Hero was a worldwide smash hit – and it introduced Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash to a whole new audience
"There are no words in any language to express how badly I feel about that night": The strange and terrible story of Great White, and the Station nightclub fire
Great White toured with Guns N' Roses, hit the charts, and dissolved in a blur of betrayal and substance abuse. And, just when it couldn’t get worse, they played Rhode Island
“I was worried about the album. Someone said it was more commercial. I thought, ‘Oh God, what‘s that supposed to mean?”: how Magnum made their masterpiece On A Storyteller’s Night and saved themselves from oblivion
Late Magnum guitarist Tony Clarkin created one of the most beloved British rock records of the 1980s in the shape of On A Storyteller’s Night
The 50 best AOR albums of all time
From big hitters like Journey, Boston and Foreigner to the lesser known lights of AOR, these are the 50 albums that truly sparkle
“We’re all very temperamental in our different ways, but we’ve learned to live with that”: how Black Sabbath were reborn in the 21st century as Heaven & Hell
In this classic 2009 interview, Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi look back at resurrecting Black Sabbath’s iconic second line-up under the namd Heaven & Hell
The Magnum albums you should definitely own
Magnum have never joined rock’s big league, but over the course of 50 years these Brummies have nevertheless produced some of pomp rock’s best albums
"As metal staggered to its feet and limped out of the 80s, it was on the cusp of becoming stronger than ever before": How heavy metal got its mojo back
Big hair and bad spandex almost killed any credibility metal had in the 1980s. But metal not only survived, it also came back bigger and stronger than ever
“I don’t mean to be arrogant, but we had the goods. We knew what we were doing”: how Bad Company hit the bullseye with their classic second album Straight Shooter
Bad Company’s second album, Straight Shooter, was the one that sealed their superstardom
“Peter Grant had tears in his eyes. He gave a little speech and then said, ‘Now get the f**k out of here and knock them dead’”: how Bad Company‘s classic debut album won over the US and turned them into the next Led Zeppelin
Spooky houses, supergroups and the patronage of Led Zeppelin – how Bad Company became one of Britain’s biggest musical exports in the 70s
"I've lived, I really have. I've done it all. I love the fact that I make people happy": The life and times of rock's most outrageous star, Freddie Mercury
How a shy kid from Zanzibar helped propel Queen to superstardom
A beginner’s guide to hair metal in 5 essential albums
Glam metal, hair metal – call it what you want. These are five albums that soundtracked the 1980s
"There was something about this music" - Eddie Vedder and the magical intensity of of Pearl Jam
How the tragic end of Mother Love Bone and a surfing scientist brought Pearl Jam to life, and an album called Ten
Do you need a great singing voice to be a great rock’n’roll frontman?
Dee Snider created a Twitterstorm by suggesting that Ronnie James Dio was a great singer but not a great performer – and rock history is filled with other examples
All aboard! What happened when Status Quo ran their legendary train trip to Butlins
In the years that followed their Live Aid resurrection, Status Quo found themselves more popular than ever, and in 1990 the band held a special event to celebrate. People are still talking about it
Metallica gave birth to thrash metal: within a few years, they wanted to kill it
By the time they recorded Master Of Puppets, Metallica had outgrown the scene they had single-handedly inspired... but two decades later they would embrace thrash again
