Mike + the mechanics

Close harmonies, smooth grooves, infighting and ‘the bag’: making an album on stage

Wendy Rigg is planning a summer of festival fun – but what is it about nostalgic music that makes us feel so good?

Hergest Ridge (50th Anniversary) UMC

The human experience is hard. One of life’s pleasures for Eureka Machines is “having these little tunes, at gigs, that give people a couple of hours to get out of their heads”.

Queen took Live Aid by storm when they ran on to the stage at Wembley to perform their greatest hits – so why do Brian May and Roger Taylor recall the band being so apprehensive beforehand?

Amid the mayhem of his European tour, Joe takes time out to give us a guided tour around his 2025 live gear, delivers the lowdown on some of his more storied guitars, and tells us why his mighty multi-amp rig has to run at breaking point in order to make the earth move and those riffs resonate…