Tag: Music review

“The Heart is Strange” by xPropaganda – Heaven from ABBA in Hell

In my previous post I mentioned the appropriateness of finishing a book on nuclear culture having just given a presentation on a related subject at a conference in Cologne, where we also visited a nuclear shelter. That wasn’t the only bit of synchronicity that happened. While I was in Cologne, xPropaganda (the current name for…

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Music Review: Pet Shop Boys Live

Having previously done a review of a concert that featured Altered Images, Tom Bailey, and The Human League, I’m doing one about the Pet Shop Boys concert that I went to last night. This was the second time that I have seen the Pet Shop Boys (one of my favourite acts), and again, like both…

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Book Review: “Heart and Soul” by Carol Decker

One of my favourite bands in the 1980s was T’Pau and I have previously done a post about their album Essential (which is an absolute bargain, and you should pick up if you don’t have a copy). As I noted in my review of Essential, like me, T’Pau hail from Shrewsbury. That was one of…

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Music Review: Altered Images, Tom Bailey, and The Human League

Further to some posts where I reviewed albums (e.g. “Europa” by Holly Johnson, “432-1 Open The Vein” by Nasher, “Transcendance” by Berlin, “Science Fiction” by Tom Bailey, and “Essential” by T’Pau), this post is about a recent concert that I went to. The concert was on 17 December 2021 and the headline act was The…

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The Power of Frankie and Going to Liverpool

Over the past year or so I have been working on a book about Frankie fans and Frankie Goes To Hollywood – see Frankie Fans Say. Due to this I went back to Liverpool last week to re-visit the Frankie exhibition at the British Music Experience and hear a special performance by Nasher. The event…

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“Europa” by Holly Johnson – Frankie’s Third Album?

Continuing with my recent music review posts, this time I am covering “Europa” by Holly Johnson. As I mentioned in my post about influential albums… Europa – Holly Johnson. Great return to form from Holly Johnson. Extra bonus of having a signed copy. The concert in 2014 was amazing too. Some brilliant songs and lyrics….

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Transcendance by Berlin – Contemporary New Wave at its Best

As I mentioned in my post about influential albums when I was trying to pick out just one new album (i.e. since about 2010) by artists that I like… Transcendance – Berlin. I nearly went with their other recent album Animal, but this one is much more powerful with clever lyrics. Didn’t blow me away…

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Science Fiction by Tom Bailey – Wonderful Escapism

As I mentioned in my post about influential albums… Science Fiction – Tom Bailey. Was so happy when Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins started making new material. Doesn’t disappoint. But I wanted to do an additional post, adding to other posts related to albums that I have been doing (see, for example, 432-1: Open…

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Essential T’Pau, Essential Listening

I have done a number of posts that are book reviews related to music, a post talking about the albums have influenced me most, and there are those related to Frankie Goes To Hollywood and the book that I am writing about Frankie fans and Frankie’s music. But, to date, I have only done one…

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Old Bands, New Music

As 2020 draws to a close, I am reflecting on the fact that there were new albums featuring all four of my favourite bands: Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Berlin, Pet Shop Boys and Roxette. The nature of these albums was very different and may point to future possibilities for at least some of them. As…

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