
Max Bell
Max Bell worked for the NME during the golden 70s era before running up and down London’s Fleet Street for The Times and all the other hot-metal dailies. A long stint at the Standard and mags like The Face and GQ kept him honest. Later, Record Collector and Classic Rock called.
Latest articles by Max Bell

The trauma and transformation of Stevie Ray Vaughan
By Max Bell published
After almost dying at a London show, Stevie Ray Vaughan was given two weeks to live - it was the wake-up call he needed

How doomed Beach Boy Dennis Wilson made his solo masterpiece Pacific Ocean Blue
By Max Bell published
Beach Boys drummer and singer Dennis Wilson made a much-loved cult classic with 1977’s Pacific Ocean Blue – then spiralled out of control

The wild story of Canned Heat, the badass blues band that death couldn’t kill
By Max Bell published
Booze, barbiturates, suicide and overdoses – the twisted tale of America's first great boogie-rock band

How doomed Beach Boy Dennis Wilson made his solo masterpiece Pacific Ocean Blue
By Max Bell published
Beach Boys drummer and singer Dennis Wilson made a cult classic with 1977’s Pacific Ocean Blue – a few years later he was dead

An audience with Ginger Baker, rock’s most cantankerous drummer
By Max Bell published
From Cream to Blind Faith and beyond, this is how Ginger Baker revolutionised music

The epic life and crazy times of Mick Fleetwood, the heartbeat of Fleetwood Mac
By Max Bell published
Mick Fleetwood was a member of Fleetwood Mac from the start – and lived to tell the tale

Why Marianne Faithfull saw the best and worst of the late 60s and early 70s music scene
By Max Bell published
The late, great Marianne Faithfull had a life like no other

The turbulent story of Arthur Lee and Love, the 60s renegades who helped invent the LA rock scene
By Max Bell published
The Doors were stars but their Sunset Strip peers Love deserved to be equally famous

Jeff Beck on awards shows, the end of Ziggy Stardust, and refusing to audition for the Stones
By Max Bell published
Late guitar innovator Jeff Beck lived rock'n'roll history - but was much more interested in the future

How Tom Petty took on the record industry and won with Damn The Torpedoes
By Max Bell published
The story behind Tom Petty’s classic 1979 album Damn The Torpedoes and its follow-up Hard Promises

How Rod Stewart corralled chaos to make his solo classic Every Picture Tells A Story
By Max Bell published
Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story arrived by accident, was rescued by some last-minute songs, a fat slice of luck and a dozen hard-drinking hombres – and helped launch Rod Stewart’s solo career

The strange tale of Rod de'Ath, the drummer who came back from the dead
By Max Bell last updated
When Rory Gallagher passed away it was widely reported that his former drummer, Rod de'Ath, had died years earlier. Only thing was, he hadn't

The incredible story of The Grateful Dead’s legendary gigs at the Pyramids Of Giza
By Max Bell published
In 1978, The Grateful Dead and their entourage landed in Egypt for three gigs at the Pyramids of Giza. This is what happened

The wild life and crazy times of Joe Cocker
By Max Bell published
Joe Cocker was the unlikely Sheffield superstar loved by The Beatles – but drink, drugs and debauchery almost sent him over the edge

The chaotic night Led Zeppelin jammed with Ten Years After and the Jeff Beck Group
By Max Bell published
"My last memory was of Bonham’s hairy backside disappearing, illuminated by a spotlight"

How London lost its lustre
By Max Bell published
There was a time when all rock and pop roads led to London; you couldn't move without tripping over an icon or a star. Those days are long gone

How 80s cowpunk legends Jason And The Scorchers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
By Max Bell published
Country, rock’n’roll, a whole lot of attitude – Jason And The Scorchers were destined to be huge, but they were their own worst enemies

"I got my left ring finger shot off": The incomparable tales of Dr John
By Max Bell published
Late New Orleans legend Dr John on that time he drank a case of Blue Nun with Frankie Miller, and other stories

Steve Miller on LSD, boredom and salvation
By Max Bell published
Rock's grumpy old man Steve Miller on fame, the Grateful Dead, and why kids should think twice about becoming rock stars

Stephen Stills on the romance that drove a classic and the making of his first solo album
By Max Bell published
Growing tired of the tensions in CSN&Y, Stephen Stills moved to the UK to record his debut album, with a little help from Jimi, Ringo and Eric

For a year Tommy James was bigger than The Beatles. Then the mafia ruined everything
By Max Bell published
With hits like Mony Mony and Crimson And Clover, Tommy James should have had the time of his life. Instead, he found himself robbed and threatened by the Mafia

“I have to thank Eric Clapton for boosting my bank balance by recording After Midnight then cutting Cocaine”: the life and times of JJ Cale, American music’s best kept secret
By Max Bell published
Eric Clapton loved him and Mark Knopfler borrowed his style, but singer and guitarist JJ Cale never had the success to match his massive influence

"You probably think it's easy being up here. Singing and everything, and playing. It's not. It's not easy": Acid days and ragtime jazz with Dan Hicks, an American eccentric
By Max Bell published
The unlikely story of psychedelic pioneer and folk swing vaudevillian Dan Hicks

In the spring of 1967, the newly formed Traffic retreated to a haunted cottage to write their debut album, Mr. Fantasy. Cue in-fighting, an unhappy local with a shotgun, and incredibly strong acid
By Max Bell published
"We were like four students living on top of one another, surrounded by filthy crockery and unmade beds" - Steve Winwood on Traffic's early experiments with communal living
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