Live Aid: in their own words
For the first time, the full backstage story of Live Aid, in the words of the people who made it happen. Interviews by Carl Wilkinson.
Live Aid: the view from the pitch
Nothing was going to stop a schoolboy fan of the Boomtown Rats making it to Wembley on that fateful day. Peter Paphides recalls every high and low from halfway back in the stadium.
Live Aid: the man
For Bob Geldof, Live Aid changed everything. By Simon Garfield.
Anthem for dumb youth
Anthony Kiedis, singer with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, discovered sex and drugs at the age of 12 thanks to his dad, pot-dealing friend to the rock aristocracy of Seventies California. This exclusive extract from the year's most sensational autobiography tells it all.
Gently does it
Clare Teal is the latest young singer to benefit from the patronage of Michael Parkinson. Is she hopping on a new jazz bandwagon or the real deal? Stuart Nicholson spends six months with a down-to-earth Yorkshire lass as she is thrust into the spotlight.
Music to watch girls go by
A fashion show without music would be no show at all. Which explains why so much thought goes into the soundtrack. Zoe Smith sneaks backstage at London Fashion Week to meet the hottest designers of the moment and the people who dictate the sound of their catwalk shows.
Flash forward
Black Wire are a gang of glam-punks with a taste for synth-stomping disco and a knack for causing chaos. Emma Warren admires the racket.
An advert for modern living
Just who would buy a compiliation of music from TV adverts, wonders Paul Morley.
Back where it all began
Guest contributor Jazzy Jeff writes about growing up with Philly Soul, and how Philadelphia International Records influenced his own career.
Live music: Country swingers
In a Republican heartland, Gabriela Pomeroy sees stars sing out in support of Democrat candidate John Kerry. Can they change Nashville's mind?
'Just Lose It' by Eminem
Rapper farts; Garry Mulholland listens.
The ten worst cover songs
Call it hubris or a lack of imagination: some bands feel compelled to cover other artists' songs. Regrettably, the results are, more often than not, appalling. Here are the worst reworkings in living memory.
Last month's 10
Ben Thompson picked the 10 perfect songs to rock a party.
Liza Tarbuck
From the Stone Roses to Irma Thomas, the TV actress knows her music (thanks, in part, dad). Still, recent purchases suggest she needs help ... By Peter Paphides.
Q&A
Radio and TV presenter Lauren Laverne quizzes Paul Heaton of the Beautiful South about the band's new album of cover versions, his long-standing interest in the minutiae of crisps and what it was like to work in accounts with Daphne.
A life through music
He was shocked when his sports teacher alluded to drugs references in Beatles songs, but after a few years in bands, Bill Bailey had his eyes opened to the links between beer and rock, reggae and spliff, fresh fruit and prog ... :
Musical differences
A UK Music Hall of Fame? This is not what we should be doing with music on TV, says Emma Warren.
Lost tribes of pop: the roadie
He can strum 'Stairway to Heaven' and eat his bodyweight in chicken jalfrezi. Tom Cox finds the backbone of British rock in the Midlands.
A poet writes...
Donovan on a first volume of memoirs from his great contemporary, Bob Dylan.
Dissector's cut
This month's video nasty: Alanis Morissette's 'Eight Easy Steps'
