Southern harmony… … and musical companions

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 .

WHILE MOST DUAL-GUITAR bands tend to have designated roles in terms of what kind of sonic space their members occupy, Momma six-stringers Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten enjoy being unrestricted,

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

For The Black Keys , 2024 is a year they’d like to forget. But with a new outlook and approach feeding into new album No Rain, No Flowers, they’re hoping 2025 will be one to remember.

THE HAMMER INTERVIEW