Heavy weather

WE WERE THE first band of our generation that started to grow up,” Billy Corgan says, reflecting on the making of the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 grand opus, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. “The b

From a home in England’s West Midlands, to Knebworth and Live Aid with Led Zep and back, via fame, fortune, tragedy and musical resurrection – ROBERT PLANT ’ s come full circle. A new album with local heroes Saving Grace exemplifies his hard rock apostasy, the reason he’d rather worship Nora Brown than hang with Axl Rose. And if all else fails? “I’ll just be an Elvis impersonator!” he tells KEITH CAMERON .

Nik Kershaw is never going to write an autobiography. “There are a lot of people I might have to say things about, and I’m not very good at confrontation,” admits the singer, songwriter and multi-inst

At the start of the 1990s, Nick Heyward was at his lowest ebb. His third solo album, I Love You Avenue, had failed to chart in 1988. Warner unsurprisingly let him go. So had Heyward’s manager and his

Strawbs co-founder Dave Cousins died in July following a long illness. The singer, songwriter and guitarist enjoyed an active musical career spanning more than six decades and has been name-checked by many musicians as a key influence and inspiration. We reflect on his rich legacy and reveal plans for a number of posthumous releases, including the long-awaited new Strawbs album.

In 1974, Mike Oldfield defied the critics and hit the top of the UK charts with Hergest Ridge, the ambitious follow-up to his unexpectedly successful debut Tubular Bells . To coincide with the release of the 50th-anniversary edition, the musician, his siblings and collaborators recount the story of an album created by an overwhelmed 21-year-old taking refuge near the Welsh borders.