THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

10 OF THE BEST This month: Ed Banger Records

DJ Mehdi Lucky Boy (Ed Banger 6143676, LP, France, 2006) £20

IT WON'T BE LONG THE BEATLES IN 1964: THE FIRST 60 DAYS

As 1964 dawned, The Beatles were still virtually unknown in the United States, although I Want To Hold Your Hand was picking up massive radio airplay less than a week after its American release.

IT'S A LAD, LAD, LAD, LAD WORLD

Dismissed as purveyors of blokeish mediocrity, Shed Seven were one of the most critically derided bands of the Britpop era. Yet the York fourpiece have outlasted their peers: rousing new album A Matter Of Time marked their 30th anniversary with a No 1 chart placing, the first of their career. Singer Rick Witter tells John Earls why he's able to laugh off \"meat and potatoes\" insults.

THE ONE AND Jony

FILM ACTOR, THEATRE STAR, SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND LOVER OF BARBRA STREISAND AMONG MANY OTHER NOTABLE PARAMOURS, ANTHONY NEWLEY WAS A CHARMING MAN AND A PROUDLY UNCONVENTIONAL ARTIST. BUT WHY IS THIS EXTRAORDINARY TALENT SO FORGOTTEN? SPENCER LEIGH DELVES INTO HIS WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD

THE JOY OF APEX

Even at the height of punk, when being different was paramount, X-Ray Spex stood out. Like The Mothers Of Invention a decade earlier, they railed against homogeneity and artificiality via a uniquely insurrectionary sax attack. Lois Wilson speaks to Lora Logic, Paul Dean and the late Poly Styrene's daughter Celeste about their incendiary individualism. Identity parade: Ian Dickson

THE Dwight STUFF

Tulsa, Oklahoma native Dwight Twilley, who died in October 2023, was one of the prime movers of power pop, up there with Badfinger, The Raspberries, Stories, Todd Rundgren, Shoes and Big Star. Combining Sun Studio sonics with Beatles melodics, Jim Morrison-ish good looks and a kinship with Tom Petty, he had everything going for him. He only had two big hits 1975's I'm On Fire and 1984's Girls - and yet this prolific and gifted singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, operating under his own name and the Dwight Twilley Band, released many superb albums. Here, his widow, Jan Rose Twilley, speaks with Bill Kopp about his life and music.

This month: The Vinyl Hunters

Jake and his grandad Dave Kapusta are affectionately known online as The Vinyl Hunters. Dave was a black cabbie who has been collecting records since the 60s, ranging from prog through to heavy metal.

1,200 Pages? What Was I Thinking?

Frontman of the much-missed Rush, child of Holocaust survivors, veteran of 40-plus years in progressive rock, self-confessed germophobe and details obsessive and arguably the Greatest Living Canadian there's a lot for Geddy Lee, 70, to talk about. Fortunately, he's been able to squeeze it all into his new autobiography, My Effin' Life, in which he explores the perils of fame, the pleasures of retirement, and an unexpected dalliance with Peruvian marching powder. Asked to name Rush's best album by Joel McIver, he warns, "Millions of fans are going to disagree with me on this..."

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

WHO CAN I BE NOW?

NINETEEN-SEVENTY-FOUR FOUND IN TRANSITION: FROM GLAM LEPER MESSIAH TO PLASTIC SOUL MAN. HERE, AND BOWIE'S SCHOOLFRIEND AND 70S COMPANION LRHUM TELL THE STORY OF BOWIE'S 74 AS HE MAKES THE CH-CH-CH-CHCHANGE FROM THE QUEASY FUTURE-SCHLOCK CONCEPT ROCK OF DIAMOND DOGS TO THE PHILLY-FIED NEO-DISCO OF YOUNG AMERICANS. EYES WRITE: NICK HASTED

A MESSAGE TO YOU

Give or take Hot Chocolate, well ahead of Hi-Tension et al, Cymande were the first black British band of note. With influences ranging from soul, funk, and reggae to blues-rock, jazz and calypso, they were big in the States but failed to capitalise on early success. A staple for sampladelic hip-hoppers, they are finally getting their due with a brand new documentary. Cymande says: Lois Wilson

MYSTERY MEN

Around the turn of the 70s, as many of their compatriots who are now household names were still building a mainstream profile, The Guess Who were Canada's biggest rock band. They never made many ripples over here, but hits such as American Woman remain instantly recognisable half a century on. They even bequeathed another major outfit in Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Meanwhile, two competing versions of The Guess Who are still touring. Rob Hughes hears their versions of events...

DUO LIPPY

Just as the second act of their careers - either side of a 10-year break - was gaining momentum, personal tragedy hit feminist firebrands SleaterKinney, now reduced to a two-piece. But after returning to work on artfully angular new album Little Rope, they created 10 songs that serve as a reminder that music can help you find your way through the darkness. A little hope: James McMahon

Stairway to Avon

Record label Sarah was almost militantly sensitive. The next logical step after Postcard Records' \"worldliness must keep apart from me\" defiantly innocent ethos, its roster (The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Sea Urchins) had a quietly punk-fuelled ethos - feminist, socialist, anti-capitalist - yet was widely mocked and disparaged by the music press. Located in the heart of Bristol, Sarah were as far removed from \"baggy\" and Britpop as you could get. Jane Duffus, author of a new book about the label's enduring legacy, explains its appeal in the introduction below, then selects 14 \"hits\" from its catalogue.

33 1/3 minutes with...Carmine Appice

The Vanilla Fudge drumming legend discusses the long-awaited official 50th anniversary Beck, Bogart and Appice Live In Japan box set, losing Jeff, learning from Rod and smokin' with Jimi.

RADIO TIMES

BBC Radiophonic Workshop pioneer Delia Derbyshire's archive is in the custodianship of a prestige Manchester archive. Steve Burniston visited in his tardis

The Great Pretender

They formed in March 1978 and from the very start pretty much defined the sound and look of new wave. Forty-five years later, The Pretenders remain true to their original spirit, despite the tragic early loss of two founder members, and Chrissie Hynde is still conjuring classic pop songs and embodying the essential sass and strut of rock'n'roll. Pete Paphides interviews her about survival and songwriting, the Sex Pistols and narrowly avoiding jail on the road

33½ minutes with...Den Hegarty

Doo wop revivalists Darts were one of the biggest-selling acts of 1978, scoring three hits and considered one of the foremost live bands of their day

Alice Cooper – "We Didn't Mind a Litle Violence"

How Alice Cooper, veteran shock-rocker and influence on every theatrical rock act from David Bowie to KISS to Slipknot, is still with us at the age of 75 is beyond human comprehension. Alcohol and cocaine couldn’t kill him. The guillotine blades and hangman’s nooses he uses onstage every night haven’t killed him (yet). Even being a part of the 80s poodle-rock scene couldn’t finish him off. If anything, the monster created by the sometime Vincent Furnier is stronger than ever. Joel McIver meets the gothfather.

THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

TO 'ELLO, 'ELLO, 'ELLO & BACK

Formerly the biggest band on Planet Earth, The Police split almost 40 years ago. Not long before that, in 1978, they were just a trio of blond hopefuls waiting at the nation's gates with a daring hybrid of punk and reggae which seemed to catch the ear of many of the pre-punk old guard. Stewart Copeland's new book, Police Diaries, in words (his diaries circa 1976-78) and pictures (photos and illustrations), takes us back to those early days of The Police. It is, according to the drummer, \"the fun part of the Police story, the starving years when we didn't have any songs to play just crap punk songs, mostly written by me [some of them on a CD in the Signature edition of the book]. \"These formative years,\" Copeland attests, \"are the interesting part of the Police story, which is why the book focuses on the period of formation and exploration that preceded the stadium tours - it shows how three disparate individuals bonded before figuring out what music to play...\"

Survivor

Nineteen seventyeight should have been Cidny Bullens' year, until a record label acquisition brought it to a crashing halt. Now, as Charles Donovan discovers, the musician who once had to choose between Dylan and Elton is back... with a difference, a new album, and 2023's most compelling rock memoir

STUDIO WHIZZ OF THE YEAR TODD RUNDGREN

On pioneering visuals, Meat Loaf, new wave and producing Tom Robinson

MY 1978 LEO SAYER

Hail the bubblehaired balladeer

DISCO AUTEUR OF THE YEAR NILE RODGERS

A pivotal 12 months for the guitarist-writer-producer and the Chic hit factory

SYNTHPOP PIONEER OF THE YEAR GARY NUMAN

The chance discovery of a Moog synth and a total rethink of direction...

THE YEAR IN...POST-PUNK/ NEW WAVE

In 1978, the Sex Pistols were disintegrating, and punk calcifying as literalists like Sham 69 attempted to carry on in its “true”, reductionist spirit, which would eventually degenerate into Oi. John Lydon was growing weary of Sid Vicious’s glassy-eyed nihilism, of manager Malcolm McClaren’s treatment of the Pistols like pawns in his own neo-situationist game. With a parting shot of, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” onstage in San Francisco at the start of the year, Lydon dropped his mic and quit the group

MY 1978 ΤΟΥΛΗ WILLCOX

A film debut is just the start of it all...