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The Beatles recorded and performed a sizeable clutch of songs by the US rock’n’roll/R’n’B artists who opened the door and influenced them as music-hungry teenagers growing up in ’50s Liverpool. Their early marathon sets in clubs along Hamburg’s Reeperbahn were stuffed with covers. The first five Beatles LPs, bar A Hard Day’s Night, contained favourite songs previously recorded by other artists, and both John and Paul went on to record albums of rock’n’roll standards in their solo careers. Here, in their original versions, we present 15 non-Lennon/McCartney compositions that soundtracked the birth of The Beatles more than 60 years ago……
London based artist Theodor Black returns with ‘Theo’s Room’, an intimate new single arriving 14th August and the first taste of his forthcoming six track EP ‘Tailwind’, set for independent release this October.Stripping things back, ‘Theo’s Room’ pairs delicate guitar melodies with layered synths, leaving space for Theodor’s vocals and poetic storytelling to take centre stage. Raw, vulnerable and quietly hopeful, the track sees him experiment with new vocal techniques and a more organic, live influenced sound, setting the tone for what is to come. View Original Article Here
Starring: Reece Henderson, Gregory Fung, Ka-Yee ChanFilm Review by: Holly Baker49 Miles More is a wholesome comedy drama, centred around insurance salesman Max, who, along with his university friends, is about to embark on their yearly endeavour to Orford. Each year, they make this journey and gather together to honour their late friend. This is Oliver Cox’s second directorial feature, after Lure, a horror film, which was released earlier in 2026 and received a mixed reception. In contrast, 49 Miles More is a brilliant film; it is full of tender moments and a strong testament to friendship and loss. With…
Directed by: Bart SimpsonWritten by: Harvey Kurtzman et al.Starring: Harvey Kurtzman, Adele Kurtzman, Denis Kitchen, Terry Gilliam, Robert CrumbFilm review by: William HemingwayHarvey Kurtzman, along with his closest family members and colleagues, take us through the history of his illustrations and his publishing career, from the highs of creating MAD Magazine in the 1950’s all the way through to his final days as a lecturer in New York.Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) has been considered by some to be more important than Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Woodstock, Flower Power, or LSD ever were in the counterculture movements leading from the 50’s into…
A prog legend’s daughter and The Clash’s former bassist aren’t the most obvious collaborators. But in 2023 Galen Ayers and Paul Simonon released Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day? which featured a laidback Mediterranean vibe reminiscent of Galen’s late father, Kevin.Produced by Tony Visconti and featuring guest spots from Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and others, the album had its roots in a Mallorcan fishing village, where Simonon stayed during lockdown. Just before its launch the pair told Prog its story.How did the collaboration come about?Galen Ayers: After the hard Covid lockdown, Paul was just coming back to London from Spain…
A fantastic-sounding third album from the ‘outlaw prince’ treats us to some great songs and a sublime band.One of the first things that strikes you about this record is just how good it sounds. Many records are produced on a low budget with limited equipment, and whilst artistically, this may not be an issue, when you come across a record that gets the full Nashville production treatment, boy, is it noticeable. It has, for want of a technical term, a big sound which makes you wish you had a bigger amplifier, bigger speakers, bigger everything. The record is sumptuously arranged…
Co-written by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman for The Flying Burrito Brothers’ 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin, Sin City features one of the best lines in the whole of popular music. “On the thirty-first floor, a gold-plated door won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain.” Inspired by their manager Larry Spector’s lavish condominium. It captures the 1970s delusion of wealth perfectly, providing immunity from fate.It’s also a song which, if the cover song directory Second Hand Songs is to be believed, has become a rite of passage for anyone tangentially connected to americana or country music. Since…
Federico Zampaglione understands better than most people that creativity can become a dangerous obsession. As both the frontman of Italian rock band Tiromancino and the director behind horror films including Shadow and The Well, he has spent decades moving between recording studios and film sets and, consequently, understands the less glamorous anxieties lurking behind artistic success. His latest film, The Nameless Ballad, brings those worlds together more intimately than any of his previous music or filmography. Ahead of its world premiere at FrightFest in London on Saturday 29 August 2026, Zampaglione admits that the prospect of showing such a personal…
Crisp are the riffs spewing out of Lee Malia’s guitar. Matt Nicholls’ ride cymbal tease of AmEN! creeps up on us. Itch For The Cure is remixed, while Follow You transforms into a rocked-up symphony during the second verse. Equally, Doomed carries an orchestral edge that takes you back to their one-off Royal Albert Hall gig. A fan called Barni is invited up to sing what is normally Antivist, only for the ScreamStar video game selector to pick Pray For Plagues and send the crowd wild. There are surprises and treats for even the most seasoned fans. “I apologise if…
Following stellar, energetic sets from US punk, and emo icons, The Get-Up Kids, and Rise Against, respectively, tonight’s headliners Jimmy Eat World blast through their classic ‘Bleed American’ album with all of the vibrance and bombast one might expect from one of the 00s greatest alternative exports. Credit: Cuffe and Taylor It’s so wonderful when a band can connect with an audience in this way – from emotive, cherished classics like ‘The Middle’, ‘Hear You Me’ and ‘Sweetness’ to heavier numbers like ‘Get It Faster’ and ‘Pain’, JEW deliver valiantly this evening, and we see parents crying with their children…
Flamenco, tango, disappearing people and a Red Hot Chili Pepper? Those unlikely ingredients combine on the heaviest album yet from Tarja Turunen. Finland’s symphonic prog metal queen tells Prog about swimming away from the shore, finally getting to know her former Nightwish bandmate Marko Hietala, and writing without fear on Frisson Noir.“I want to bring back the riffs,” says Tarja Turunen. In that case, mission accomplished. Frisson Noir is the heaviest release yet from the Finnish soprano, whose return to riffage was born from the desire to replicate the energy of her live performances in the studio.“When I perform live…
Nigerian Scottish R&B artist LOLA! is quickly carving out a space for herself with a sound built around infectious rhythms and a distinct sense of identity. Her debut single, ‘what did you expect’, recently earned its first radio play on BBC Radio Scotland’s BBC Introducing, marking an exciting first step for the emerging artist. With a support slot for multi-platinum soul artist Kenny Thomas at Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele on 29th August, followed by an appearance at PITCH Scotland, an international celebration of hip hop and underground culture, LOLA! is already making her presence known beyond her debut release. As…