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”.

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 .

Martin Barre MCNIDDER & GRACE

So Paul McCartney said to Danny Francis in 1974. Francis, who passed away last year, spent the best part of 40 years putting himself between rock stars and trouble – and keeping them out of trouble. But, working with some of the rock world’s biggest names, he was more than just a bodyguard.

From Black Sabbath awakening to jam band to Hanoi Rocks to decades-straddling solo artist, via Finland, London, NYC and beyond, he’s been up, down and up again, through thrills, spills, triumph and tragedy. You could say he’s really lived the rock’n’roll life, but that would be an understatement.

New tribute to their former guitarist Brian James is delivered with real passion.