Latest articles by Paul Rees
The epic story of Born In The USA and Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s
The Boss owned the 1980s thanks to landmark albums The River, Nebraska and Born In The USA
“We did the album at festivals – it was self-sabotage”: The Decemberists’ prog credentials
Colin Meloy’s band were raised on Roxy Music, British folk and concept albums. He isn’t big on Jethro Tull, but he’s in awe of Rick Wakeman’s King Arthur ice show
Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Blue Öyster Cult DNA lies within Mike Scott and the Waterboys
It might not be obvious in his songs but it’s clear in his progressive attitude – he wants other musicians to get better so he can aim to outdo them
The tangled story of Dire Straits, the million-selling band who quit at the height of their fame
How Dire Straits went from the pubs of London to become one of the biggest bands of the 1980s
The insane story of The Wildhearts’ Earth Vs The Wildhearts, the cult ’90s classic that should have been huge
How cult British reprobates The Wildhearts made a masterpiece in Earth Vs The Wildhearts
How Done With Mirrors put Aerosmith back on the long road to redemption
In 1985, the reunited Aerosmith had a long way to go to recapture old glories – and Done With Mirrors was the first step
Mick Jones looks back on 50 wildly successful and often fractious years with Foreigner
Mick Jones steered Foreigner to instant success, but with a self-confessed "bit of a control freak" at the helm it was often far from plain sailing
How John Mellencamp went from failed pop star to reluctant American icon
John Mellencamp is one of American’s great heartland rockers – and record labels, bad press and a heart attack couldn’t stop him
The night Roger Glover assembled three Deep Purple singers and a cast of stars for the Butterfly Ball
When Roger Glover was asked to soundtrack a film based on a poem by a 19th century botanist, little did he know that soon it would become a one-off live extravaganza
The wild life of The Who's combustion engine, John Entwistle
Delivering a deafening but dextrous bass-in-your-face assault, John Entwistle was a key part of The Who’s sound – and also their chemistry. This is his story
The Wilson sisters reflect on Heart's 50-year roller-coaster life
Heart's long and eventful career has taken the Wilson sisters to thin-air highs and crushing lows in a real rock’n’roll saga
Living the fantasy: Dave Mason on his extraordinary musical adventure
Former Traffic man Dave Mason on playing with Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and more
“Steve Winwood has his failings… I guess you can’t have everything”: The story of Traffic
It seems every member of the groundbreaking band paid a price for their involvement – but a three-album run of rare quality remains as testimony to their lofty creative intentions
Interview: Chris and Rich Robinson tell the story of the Black Crowes
The siblings talk about growing up, breaking out, breaking up, making up, dizzying highs, heartbreaking lows, lost friends, recriminations, reunions… music and much more
Hanoi Rocks' final album set them up for stardom, but fate had other ideas: Instead, it fuelled Axl Rose and inspired Appetite For Destruction
The story of Hanoi Rocks' Two Step From The Move
"MTV was the first time that technology became a rock star": The story of 1984, the year everything changed
Sitting between the heritage of the 70s and the glitzy, big-haired peak to which the 80s would ascend, 1984 was a quietly pivotal time for music, popular culture and the world as we knew it
How Bruce Springsteen's most rage-filled, despairing and misunderstood album was helped into the pop charts by a song he didn't want to write and a future star of Friends
"Look, I've written seventy songs. You want another one, you write it" - Bruce Springsteen
The Replacements intended to subvert the underground scene with Let It Be: Instead, they completely reinvented it
The Replacements' third album was written in thrall to the classic rock and pop canon, but filtered through the prism of their chaotic modus operandi
"We were surrounded by these drums and guitars that The Beatles had used, but the engineers were too stoned to record us": How the stars repeatedly failed to align for Trapeze
Fronted by the future Voice Of Rock, Trapeze were soon on board the Express To Success. But then Deep Purple came calling and walked off with the golden-throated goose
"I was diagnosed with an ulcer on my 21st birthday. The doctor asked me: 'What's the problem, kid? Is there something or someone…' I said: 'Let me stop you right there. There is indeed someone'": the tumultuous story of Jellyfish
Power-pop princelings Jellyfish were the new Beatles, ELO and Queen all in one – until bad vibes and psychic turmoil snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
"The crowd was berserk, and Bruce just beaming. It was like he knew. He'd taken a massive step": Bruce Springsteen and the long road from Sunday matinees to stardom
Like many young teenagers in the 60s, Bruce Springsteen was obsessed with rock'n'roll. A decade and a lot of hard graft later, he was being hailed as its future
In 1979, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow began making their fourth album, Down To Earth. Cue pranks, tantrums, line-up changes, bad vibes and really bad hair days
"I didn’t look like them and I wasn't into their music" - Graham Bonnet on being offered the job of Rainbow singer
Life of Bryan
These days Bryan Adams says he's "a photographer moonlighting as a singer," but before that came decades of making high-grade classic rock
"Sometimes performing on stage with her could be a transcendent experience": the triumph, trauma and tragedy of Sandy Denny
With one of the most captivating voices of her era, Sandy Denny seemed assured of major success. But insecurity, mistakes and finally tragedy meant she never fulfilled her potential
