
Paul Rees
Paul Rees been a professional writer and journalist for more than 20 years. He was Editor-in-Chief of the music magazines Q and Kerrang! for a total of 13 years and during that period interviewed everyone from Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen to Noel Gallagher, Adele and Take That. His work has also been published in the Sunday Times, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Evening Standard, the Sunday Express, Classic Rock, Outdoor Fitness, When Saturday Comes and a range of international periodicals.
Latest articles by Paul Rees

The 100 greatest rock songs of the century... so far
By Malcolm Dome, Paul Elliott, Dave Everley, Polly Glass, Dom Lawson, Fraser Lewry, Dave Ling, Sian Llewellyn, Luke Morton, Paul Rees, Johnny Sparks, Philip Wilding, David Stubbs, Henry Yates published
Many were longlisted, but this is the final selection – the best rock songs of the 21st century thus far, as voted for by you

The Top 10 Best Dire Straits Songs
By Paul Rees last updated
From Dire Straits' big hits to deep cuts, these are the 10 greatest tracks from the biggest British band of the 80s.

Traffic's Chris Wood: Gifted, troubled and perpetually overlooked
By Paul Rees last updated
A musician best known for his work with Traffic, Chris Wood’s real gift was his ability to inspire and gild the work of other others - while he himself remains a mere footnote in rock history

Blues, drugs, fights, cops, jail, death: the incredible story of The Red Devils
By Paul Rees published
The greatest American blues band of the early 90s, The Red Devils were as short-lived as their frontman, Lester Butler, was mortally fated

Fallen Angel: The Life And Death Of Chris Whitley
By Paul Rees published
The cult Texan singer took the blues to strange new places. But he never had a chance to conquer his demons.

Nils Lofgren interview: the ultimate ice cream dish revealed
By Paul Rees published
Veteran sideman guitarist and solo artist Nils Lofgren on back-flips, culinary skills, crying, sugar and more sugar

The War On Drugs: "I've only just scratched the surface of what's possible"
By Paul Rees published
With his latest album A Deeper Understanding, Adam Granduciel has borrowed from some of the greats of the 80s and fashioned a record filled with bittersweet melodies and enveloping drama

Steven Van Zandt: "Rock'n'roll is my religion"
By Paul Rees published
Guitarist with Springsteen’s E Street band, leader of his own band, label owner, actor (Silvio Dante in The Sopranos), radio host… And there’s a lot more to Steven Van Zandt than that

An Englishman in New York: How Mick Jones created Foreigner
By Paul Rees published
In an exclusive extract from his new autobiography, Mick Jones tells the story of how he went from Reading via France to the USA, where he put together a new band called Foreigner

1987: The year hard rock struck back
By Brian Boyd, Malcolm Dome, Dave Everley, Ian Fortnam, Polly Glass, Rob Hughes, Hugh Fielder, Dave Ling, Sian Llewellyn, Luke Morton, Paul Rees, Mick Wall, Henry Yates published
1987 saw classic album releases from Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, U2, Whitesnake, Anthrax, Heart, Motley Crue, Marillion, The Replacements and more...

Restless Soul: Why Joshua James might give it all up for a life making soap
By Paul Rees published
Joshua James may have just produced a deeply personal record of devastating songs, but don’t count on him remaining a musician...

Patto - Patto/Hold Your Fire album reviews
By Paul Rees published
Not yet ratedFirst two albums from cult – and cursed – Brit fusion rockers

Deep Purple: 50 years in, where will the adventure take them next?
By Paul Rees published
As Deep Purple release new album Infinite, all five members look back over almost 50 years of golden days and glittering success, dark clouds and stormy relationships. Where next?

Let's party like it's 1399: The story behind Jethro Tull's Songs From The Wood
By Paul Rees published
In 1977, when punk was washing away the old and bringing in the new, Jethro Tull released an album that could have come from the Middle Ages. Ian Anderson remembers making Songs From The Wood

The second coming: Lift To Experience on their unlikely comeback
By Paul Rees published
After releasing an incredible debut in 2001 – an epic, apocalyptic, double concept album – disillusionment, drugs and death led to Lift To Experience splitting. Now the Texans are back

Aerosmith: How Done With Mirrors took them back to the big time
By Paul Rees published
Aerosmith's 1985 comeback Done With Mirrors served as a crucial bridge between the wild 70s Aerosmith and the smooth-rock behemoth of the 80s and 90s

How Blue Oyster Cult made Imaginos, the longest-gestating album ever
By Paul Rees published
Blue Oyster Cult's wild tales of alien races and the Middle Ages helped make Imaginos one of the best albums of the 1980s

The story behind AC/DC's turbulent 12 months
By Paul Rees published
With the band’s line-up decimated, it’s stick, twist or bust time for Angus, the last man standing in rock’s Aussie rulers

“I was in a bad spot”: the darkness behind the Goo Goo Dolls’ new album
By Paul Rees published
Iris turned the Goo Goo Dolls into stars. But booze and burnout meant they nearly didn’t make it to their new album, Boxes

The Top 10 Goo Goo Dolls songs (that aren't Iris)
By Paul Rees published
There's more to the New York band than one big ballad…

AC/DC: Why Black Ice and Rock Or Bust are the perfect way to end it all
By Paul Rees published
With failing health, their ‘pilot’ Malcolm was forced to take a back seat. But there was rock and roll thunder to be had yet…

The Life And Times Of Nils Lofgren
By Paul Rees published
He’s been Springsteen’s sidekick, Neil Young’s confidante and Ringo’s right-hand man. But does Nils Lofgren miss glory on his own terms? Absolutely not.

The Top 10 Best Bob Dylan Covers
By Paul Rees published
The 10 best Bob Dylan covers that give the originals a run for their money
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