Thirty years after its release, Billy Corgan looks back at the making of The Smashing Pumpkins ’ era-defining big, bold, bombastic masterpiece Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness .

Joan Armatrading refused to change her name, refused to sing covers and baffled session pros with her unique timing. Here, she tells the story of her uncompromising debut album.

Martin Barre MCNIDDER & GRACE

Despite falling record sales and changes in the musical landscape, Tyketto stayed true to their style. Now, they’re finding a new audience, and release their first album in a decade.

The band’s prodigal son, Mike Portnoy, takes your questions on dance music, sausages and recording with Avenged Sevenfold

He turned down Hendrix, butted heads with Lemmy, was saved from a bad trip by Pete Townshend, present at a thousand pop-culture flashpoints… Ten Years After bassist Leo Lyons explains why he’s like “the rock’n’roll Forrest Gump”.