I'm doing some walking tours of Seven Dials with @stanfordstravel.bsky.social on Saturday Nov 15. Come for coffee, cheese, & overpriced street food, stay for overexcited historian, whistle stop tour of the Dials, & sideways look at 1920s and 1930s London. www.stanfords.co.uk/event-songs-...

Gary Lineker: "This is the mistake the BBC makes. The BBC tries to appease the people that hate the BBC, rather than worrying about the people that love the BBC."

A seasonal walk around London's most musical neighbourhood.

Our guided walk on 13 December will explore how Soho shaped the sound of Christmas. From wassailing to Wham!, the puritans to The Pogues, the streets of Soho tell a story of how Christmas songs have celebrated, offended, satirised and glorified in equal measure. Join us!

NEW post: In 2001, ‘Penguin Eggs’ by Nic Jones was voted into 2nd place "Best Folk Album of all Time" on the Mike Harding show on BBC Radio 2 (just behind Fairport's ‘Liege & Lief’) @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks 10 tracks from the albums of #NicJones www.toppermost.co.uk/jones-nic/

Our guided walk on 13 December will explore how Soho shaped the sound of Christmas. From wassailing to Wham!, the puritans to The Pogues, the streets of Soho tell a story of how Christmas songs have celebrated, offended, satirised and glorified in equal measure. Join us!

Recents: Sandy Denny, Penny & Sparrow, Marcus Miller, Leo Kottke, Rain Parade, Stray Cats, Billy Mackenzie, Death Cab, East River Pipe @rusky.bsky.social @paulwonvinyl.bsky.social @marcfagel.bsky.social @dlew919.bsky.social @pangurdubh3.bsky.social @mikepress.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk

NEW post: "Listen, Listen (from 1972's 'Sandy') - something timeless about its stately rhythm and lyrical restraint, it could just as easily be a 17th-century lament as a 1970s ballad." @mikepress.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

NEW post: "Late November (from 1971’s 'The North Star Grassman and the Ravens') is perhaps her most cinematic song - full of streams, temples and phosphorous sands." @mikepress.bsky.social picks his 10 best songs from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

NEW post:  Sandy Denny ... "Her voice and vision still resonate: a reminder that the most profound melancholy can also be luminous, alive and simply beautiful." @mikepress.bsky.social picks 10 from the ‘solo’ records of #SandyDenny (photo Keith 'Keef' MacMillan) www.toppermost.co.uk/denny-sandy/

The Hammersmith-born singer-songwriter phone hacks herself, resulting in an album of unvarnished rawness with more in common with Kirsty MacColl or Squeeze than any of her pop contemporaries #LilyAllen - West End Girl buff.ly/N6Kt2kQ

Radio Caroline, the Pirate Radio Ship That Rocked the British Music World (1965)

Join us on Saturday 13 December for a festive guided walk through London’s Soho. From Georgian masquerade balls to Fairytale of New York, we’ll trace how Soho shaped the soundtrack of Christmas. From wassailing to Wham!, it’s a walk that will make you hear Christmas — and Soho — in a whole new way.

Coffee, teenagers, Soho and pop before The Beatles.

NEW post: Leo Kottke – “the richness of his work means that this selection can only represent the tip of the iceberg” @pangurdubh3.bsky.social picks his #LeoKottke top 10 www.toppermost.co.uk/kottke-leo/

So, I wrote a book. It's out in February but there's an offer on this week if you pre-order it from Waterstones. www.waterstones.com/book/atypica...

The new David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse is a remarkable experience, and a unique archive.

The David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse is rather remarkable. The Storehouse itself is awesome.

Our guided walk of the musical history of London's Soho this Saturday - 11 Oct - takes in Bowie, Beatles, punk, jazz, Pulp and much else. Free to attend, but donations invited for Centrepoint homeless charity.

Find out my Top Ten Badly Drawn Boy tracks here. Or don't. Or do.

Coming Soon - to the Music Site with a difference ... Rain Parade, Vulfpeck, Leo Kottke, Penny & Sparrow, Marcus Miller, Hot Chocolate, Sandy Denny, Nic Jones, Tuck & Patti, Cathal Coughlan, Chet Atkins, Betty Davis, Lush, Popguns ... "That's (not) all Folks" www.toppermost.co.uk

There’s another way of looking at AI

🎉Exactly four years ago I published my short story collection which is quite fitting for the hallowe'en season. Once I've published my vampire novel next year, I'll be writing another collection. Obligatory link for any curious folk. books2read.com/b/VIFOF1

This week's Book Choice. @mikepress.bsky.social reviews @stuartmaconie.bsky.social new Beatles book: “A vivid portrait of a rich, diverse creative ecosystem. Maconie writes with his trademark wit, warmth, and unerring eye for human detail, a labour of love, a joy to read” www.toppermost.co.uk

My review of the excellent Beatles book by @stuartmaconie.bsky.social is now on Toppermost.

Our guided walk of London’s Soho on 11 October takes in music, culture and a bit of politics too. Free but inviting donations to Centrepoint homeless charity.

Our guided walk of London’s Soho on 11 October takes in music, culture and a bit of politics too. Free but inviting donations to Centrepoint homeless charity.

A brilliant profile of a wonderful artist.

Now the third and final musician who created this wonderful music has left us - Danny Thompson

Coming Soon to the Music Site with a Difference ... Death Cab For Cutie, Billy Mackenzie, Stray Cats, Sandy Denny, Leo Kottke, Marcus Miller, Hot Chocolate, Nic Jones, Tuck & Patti, Cathal Coughlan, Penny & Sparrow, Chet Atkins ... "That's (not) all Folks" www.toppermost.co.uk

There are still a handful of places left for my Alexander Baron/Lowlife walking tour of Stoke Newington next Saturday. Tickets here! www.faber.co.uk/product/walk...

Join us on our musical walking tour of Soho - Saturday 11th October - a tour led by your musical passions.

Fantastic news for David Bowie fans: the David Bowie Centre is now open at the V&A East Storehouse 🚀 From Ziggy Stardust to Blackstar, more than 90,000 items from David Bowie’s life and work will be available to the public for the first time ever - and it’s completely free.

I’m playing songs from my new album (brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com) live in St.Albans on Sep 25th. It’d be lovely if you could come; I don’t do this very often at all. Tickets here (discount code JNC25): www.ticketweb.uk/event/civil-...

A musical walking tour of London's Soho - Saturday 11 October.

Join our walking tour exploring the music and cultural history of London’s Soho.

This week's new book choice on Toppermost is Justin Currie's reflections on life as a touring musician in the shadow of his life changing Parkinson’s diagnosis, reviewed by @daveamitri.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk

The first part of the XTC Play at Home is here. Never seen this either. Like Andy’s BBC Bristol RPM appearance they’ve done the mural, will we get the Avery Scale Shop? youtu.be/Lh6fi46waIY?...

London, in fact, is the best. I will go to the mat time and time again for my city, and anyone telling you it is scary or dangerous is just a weird racist.

“Another standout is Every Time You Go Away from 'The Secret Of Association' which soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, cementing Paul Young’s place in the Second British Invasion” A #PaulYoung 10 from @dlew919.bsky.social today www.toppermost.co.uk/young-paul/

Teenage Fanclub joint post from @durutti74.bsky.social and @riverboatcapt.bsky.social a cracker obvs www.toppermost.co.uk/teenage-fanc...

Coming soon to 'the music site with a difference' - Paul Young, Howard Jones, Hot Chocolate, Alasdair Roberts, Lush, Vulfpeck ... and others we don't even know about yet ... ??? @dlew919.bsky.social @stevemiller.bsky.social @daveamitri.bsky.social www.toppermost.co.uk

Ezra Collective last night in North Berwick were stunning! A remarkable performance full of energy and joy!

This week's Book Choice on Toppermost is Denmark Street by @peterwatts.bsky.social - my review of the book concludes: "A wonderful read for anyone curious about the history behind the sounds that shaped a nation."

I’ve read it. It’s great!

Johann Sebastian Bach never performed with Ray Charles, but if he had done, it might have sounded much like this. It is perhaps dangerous to attempt to analyse why any particular song becomes timelessly iconic, but I’ll throw caution to the wind and give it a go.

Sad to hear of the passing of Dave Stephens, a music writer with a huge knowledge in a large number of genres old and new. There are numerous Toppermosts which bear this out, he truly loved music. Rest in peace and deepest condolences to his family and friends. www.toppermost.co.uk

"This is another reason I'm unconvinced AI-art is quite the threat some would have us believe. Because if either the resonance of Yellowface or the enthusiasm for The Salt Path story tell us anything, it’s that authorship is not incidental." Another newsletter with a self-indulgent personal opening

#NowPlaying Imagine you & your mates are all precocious genius-level musicians with a really great idea about how you can make English folk music something relevant and vital in the late 20th century. Then Sandy turns up with an acoustic guitar and plays you this. open.spotify.com/track/43IYZ1...