Latest articles by Mick Wall
The rise and decline of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd’s original singer and psychedelic icon
Original Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett died on July 7, 2006. This is the story of the rise and decline of a psychedelic icon
In 1970 Free had the world in the palm of their hands... and they let it blow away
How Free made their masterpiece, Fire And Water
The Humble Pie albums you should definitely listen to
Humble Pie were unable to capture the power of their live shows in the studio, but their best albums still include some absolute gems
The Eagles song that was written as a warning but heard as a celebration
Life In The Fast Lane was built on a swaggering riff from Joe Walsh, with a title that reflected the craziness of the Eagles
“Dave Swarbrick would go berserk with his Echoplex”: The origins of Fairport Convention
The folk-rock pioneers’ 80s resurgence was no less unlikely than their earlier years, as they meandered towards success and influence
How Iron Maiden grew up - the story of Powerslave
When it came to making the follow-up to 1983’s Piece Of Mind album, Iron Maiden knew they needed to come up with something a bit special. That was Powerslave
Moby Dick began life as a modest instrumental showcase for John Bonham: Played live, it took on an epic, often drug-fuelled life of its own
The epic story of Led Zeppelin's ever-expanding instrumental tour-de-force, Moby Dick
"Everybody wanted to get in on the action. I wasn't letting that happen": Dio's first platinum album could have been very different
Unencumbered by the curse of the second album, The Last In Line became one of the most momentous metal albums of the 80s
New vocalists lasted five minutes and founder members quit amid the chaos: 1984 was an awful year for Black Sabbath, and by its end they were almost obliterated
Molotov cocktails and member mayhem: The chaotic story of Black Sabbabth's worst year
“Lemmy was standing at the door. He gave me a bullet belt and a leather jacket and said, ‘You’re in!’”: the riotous story of Motörhead’s early years and the birth of “the worst band in the world“
How Lemmy bounced back from being fired from Hawkwind and defied the detractors to launch Motörhead into orbit
Light My Fire turned The Doors into superstars: For a moment, it also turned Jim Morrison into a target for the Mob
The Doors experienced their first taste of big success with Light My Fire, but it infuriated a certain Frank Sinatra
"Those were crazy times. I wouldn’t change it for the world": how Goodbye Yellow Brick Road reinforced Elton John's status as a global superstar
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the second-biggest-selling album released in 1973, with more than 32 million sales worldwide
"I'm like... You sure that's what you want me to sing, honey?": How the Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter represented the death of the 1960s spirit
Written by Keith Richards as he brooded over Anita Pallenberg's dalliance with Mick Jagger, Gimme Shelter represented something truly dark
“Peter Sellers wanted to change places with me on part of my tour. Only if I could play Inspector Clouseau in a movie”: the outrageous story of Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare
Bob Ezrin, Vincent Price, a giant spider and The Muppets - how Alice Cooper made his epic 1975 rock opera Welcome To My Nightmare
“I used to look at myself all dolled up like some guy in Def Leppard, and think, ‘Who do you think you are?’”: how Gary Moore ditched hard rock and saved his career with Still Got The Blues
The epic story of Gary Moore’s journey from 80s hard rock hero to the man who ushered in the 90s blues revival
"We just hadn’t a clue how to make a single. We'd never done one before": how Roxy Music borrowed a motorcycle and broke all the rules to create Virginia Plain
Roxy's glam-era debut broke all the rules: no chorus, a fade intro and a stop-dead ending. So just what was Bryan Ferry's exercise in coolly-aloof style all about?
“People thought the Beatles were God. That's not correct”: the genius of Frank Zappa, the rock’n’roll icon who had no time for rock’n’roll
Musical genius, rock’n’roll outsider, sexual obsessive, the ‘original shock rocker’ – this is the epic story of how Frank Zappa became Frank Zappa
"When I’m happy, I’m writing the heaviest riff possible." From his deeply religious upbringing to fronting the world's biggest metal band, the life of Metallica's James Hetfield, in his own words
Metallica's James Hetfield has certainly lived a life. This is what the man himself has had to say about it
“Led Zeppelin’s fee went from £500 to £20,000 in a year!” Collapsing stages and no toilets: The 1969 Bath Blues Festival that inspired Glastonbury
They sold 7000 tickets – and 30,000 people turned up. How The Bath Blues Festivals became the inspiration to a young Michael Eavis and Glastonbury.
"We'd spend all day farting about and end up with nothing usable": the aggravating story of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Write some songs, get into studio, come out with an album. It worked before. But when it came to making the follow-up to Vol. 4, Black Sabbath couldn’t even get started
Billy Cobham: “It was testing the waters of rock and jazz!"
Jazz fusion drummer extraordinaire Billy Cobham recalls his time with Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra and beyond...
The story of The Stranglers' controversial No More Heroes album: "We got away with murder"
Hugh Cornwell tells the story of the Stranglers' summer-of-punk-classic second album No More Heroes: "We definitely couldn’t get away with that now"
Eddie Kramer's track-by-track guide to Led Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy
Houses Of The Holy was the sound of Led Zeppelin at the top of their game. Producer Eddie Kramer was at the helm, and these are his memories of those eight landmark songs
