Can the Arctic Monkeys REALLY rock?

AS fellow guitar bands Bloc Party and Editors wilfully sink into an electronic swamp, Arctic Monkeys are heading in the other direction. They're rocking it up. But does it suit them? It's a dark place the Monkeys are heading to - it could...

Jack Bruce, Led Zeppelin and those 'death threats'

IT was fascinating to see my interview with Jack Bruce and his revelation of the "death threats" he received from angry Led Zeppelin fans spread its wings across the web yesterday. Jack created something of a furore at the Classic Rock...

Sorry to see Rosalita go

ROSALITA have been Ipswich's brightest rock hopes for some time now. Too long, unfortunately. I don't know the background to their split - announced this week - but a lack of upward momentum must have had something to do with it. That hope, maybe expectation...

Anyone's guess for Mercury Music Prize

I DON'T see an obvious winner in this year's Mercury Music Prize - because there never is one. The bookies must hate it. How do you second guess a panel of judges who have proved themselves so left-field they're over the hedge and into the next meadow?...

Latitude Day 3: Rock, rain and Radiohead

PROBABLY the biggest name at the festival - on first. Latitude really does like turning things upside down. Thom Yorke's solo midday slot meant an early start as I set off up the A12 for the last time this weekend. I really feel like I know this...

Latitude Day 2: High camp, an X Factor star and a 'banned' MP

JEEZ, I felt knackered this morning. I must have walked miles yesterday - in ill-fitting wellies to boot - even if most of it was round in circles. I thought it'd leave it a bit later to make my way over to the festival site today; factor in a little...

Latitude Day 1: Wellie errors and big orange cubes

I THOUGHT I looked a seasoned festival veteran when I trooped through the woods and across the lake in my brand new wellies at Latitude. I'd thought of everything, come rain or shine, and while the organisers had thought of everything too - just...

It's Latitude time - at last

SO the Latitude Festival is upon us at last and, even if it sounds like we might get soaked, I can't wait for the music to start. I've earmarked a handful of bands I'm keen to watch - starting with The Temper Trap at 3.30pm tomorrow - and I'll be keeping...

Where are 2009's great albums?

WE'RE past the halfway mark of this year and, to my reckoning, we're yet to hear a truly great album in 2009. It's not been a vintage year for new releases, and several heavyweight acts haven't really delivered the goods. You begin to wonder whether...

Bands turn up heat on Ipswich Music Day

IT used to seem quite fitting when it rained on Ipswich Music Day; it made the blues bands sound more authentic. But today was a scorcher, and Christchurch Park was loving it. It was a heaving mass of humanity, from the defiantly-dressed goths to the...