After spending nearly a year with Mrs Bridges (and her preserves, marmalades, chutneys, curds, mustards, relishes, and mayonnaise) we are divorcing. Sadly, unlike Bob Marley, we really weren’t jammin’ and therefore, from 1st August, I’ll be back out on the pull. Let me start as I mean to go on. I don’t have a doctorate, …
Prince Harry seems to be a decent chap and Meghan is a very hot fine actress, those two aside I have little enthusiasm for the Royal Family. Danny Baker also seems to be a decent chap. He’s funny, smart, inventive and a huge music buff. He’s also a football lover, a very readable journalist, a …
At 9:00 this morning (3rd May 2019), my wife, Rachel, gleefully inserted a long plastic tube into my anus along with what seemed like a vat full of potent, fast-acting fluid. Why? I hear you ask. No, it’s not the weird West Country sex-game some of you are imagining; today is my Bowel Cancer Screening …
My Colonoscopy: A Gut-Wrenching Tale Full Of Twists And Turns Read More »
In an annual tradition rapidly taking on as much importance as the Queen’s Christmas Message, remembering to remove the plastic bag containing the turkey giblets, and avoiding Mrs Brown and her Boys until they’ve all been imprisoned on a remote Scottish island without any form of communication, I bring you the first instalment of The …
2018 – The Acoustic Egg Box Top 20 Albums Of The Year Read More »
Below is an article I originally posted on my Facebook page. Writing it was a cathartic exercise and, due to its intensely personal nature, I thought long and hard about whether I should publish it at all. I’m so glad I did, as the response was overwhelming. The most wonderful thing is that a few …
So here we are then, the ten best albums of 2017 as decided by the sole judging panel that is The Acoustic Egg Box. It was great to see new acts like Bette Smith and Childhood releasing music that bodes well for their future success, an outfit as hard-working and talented as Stone Foundation FINALLY …
2017 – The Acoustic Egg Box Top 20 Albums Of The Year (Part Two: 10-1) Read More »
And so, without further ado and after many hours of turmoil, sleepless nights and long conversations with myself, I present for your delectation (and dismay no doubt), the first half of this year’s prestigious Acoustic Egg Box Album’s Of The Year for 2017. I’ve based the chart on nothing more than my own exceptionally good taste …
2017 – The Acoustic Egg Box Top 20 Albums Of The Year (Part One: 20-11) Read More »
Formed in 2001, the American funk and soul label, Daptone Records is, in terms of both recording methods and quality of output, the nearest we now have to classic Stax or Motown. So, when in the space of little over a year, the label lost not only their two biggest stars but two giants of the …
ALBUM REVIEW: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Soul Of A Woman (Daptone Records) Read More »
It still gives me a huge buzz when I discover a previously unheard artist, especially when they’ve got a voice and personality as big and bold as New York’s sensational new soul singer, Bette Smith. Ms Smith was born and raised in the tough Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant and, when you watch the video for …
ALBUM REVIEW: Bette Smith – Jetlagger (Big Legal Mess Records) Read More »
For the uninitiated, The Clientele are a London-based British band from deepest, darkest Hampshire who specialise in a superior and unique brand of intelligent, literary dream-pop. They released “The Violet Hour”, the first of their (now) seven superb albums in 2002, but, despite huge critical acclaim, have never gained the commercial success in the UK …
ALBUM REVIEW: The Clientele – Music For The Age Of Miracles (Tapete Records) Read More »
