Off-topic Sunday from Sideburn's editor. Frankie Valli. You know the name. As easy-listening as it comes, and with back catalogue of hits big and popular enough to form the basis of a super-successful and long-running live musical, Jersey Boys. The biggest hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons play on the lead singer's falsetto and the often high-pitched harmonising of the backing singers. Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man. If you're of a certain age you'll ha

Guest post from Andy Ford. He knows that Jerry Dammers was always the coolest in The Specials... You'll like this curio, buddy. Jerry Dammers, the tsar of ska, founder of Two-Tone Records and obsessive writer of most of the Specials' most special ones, finds himself sans incisors thanks to a flying pint glass, and sans Specials too; they'd nicked off to the Fun Boy Three thanks to him being rather hard work. His answer is to put the Special AKA together and start all over aga

I wrote a post for the website of Proper mag. It's about Big Audio Dynamite's lead singer Mick Jones. I know he was in another, more famous band, but I didn't write about The Clash's Mick Jones, just B.A.D's. Below is a bit of it, and here's the rest ProperMag.com While Strummer’s star faded, in strode snaggle-toothed Mick. Centre stage, hip cocked, a carbon-fibre Bond Electraglide six-string slung behind his back. This is it. This is the moment that changed things. 32 years

Off-Topic Sunday from occasional correspondent, Serge Fabergè Having had time of late to philosophise, one has become enamoured of the concept of alternate universes. Perhaps where Cezetas and Piaggo Apes are the green alternative rather than a gauche Tesla, where perhaps Audrey Tatou's opinion is revered rather than that of someone selling crystals and genital-scented candles, and where the Beatles were this much fun. The suits, the extra members including a female vocalist