Shapes of things

Reissues PARLOPHONE

Will we ever know the true story of this fabled guitar? For some it’s iconic, for others it was simply a cobbled together working tool for a master…

The ever-active session legend on his love for cheap guitars, Roland gear, and modding his pickups

Fender’s Custom Shop had a precarious start in the mid-1980s, but the story of its formative years is full of big ideas, some bizarre instruments, and a queue of famous guitarists

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.

Album: New Light (Big Sun Records)