Fran healy’s snow globe is well shaken

When Blur won four trophies at the BRIT Awards on 20 February 1995, the band changed forever. Britpop, or whatever you want to call that scene, had entered the mainstream. After the success of Parklif

H.e.a.t frontman Kenny Leckremo on the records, artists and gigs that are of lasting significance to him.

Squeeze ’s songwriting duo are back in harness, toting a rock opera they wrote in the ’70s with an all-new album to come. Given their near-constant strife, it’s a miracle. But as they insist, “the thing that always brings us together is the songs…”

Fifty years on from their first successes, Roger McGuinn, the 12-string architect of THE BYRDS , tells Uncut about their exceptional first 18 months – and his relationship with Gene Clark. As the young group make their jet-powered escape from the folk think tank, we hear about making the scene on the Strip, outraging Iowa and a muted response in the United Kingdom. But ultimately how “Eight Miles High” became the spectacular conclusion of the band’s first era. “I almost left The Byrds entirely to go and be in this space band With Dino Valente,” McGuinn tells John Robinson

Always a great live band, they’ll be a far better bet close to Christmas than the local pantomime.

From the bayou to Woodstock and back – the easygoing adventures of Bobby Charles. By John Mulvey.