Issue 588 – October 2026
Do people still go to pubs? What, in this weather? And if they do, do they actually, you know, converse, what with all the crowds and noise? Well, if they do, and they can manage to hear each other, surely one of the great hot (though ideally cold) topics of pub debate remains: what are the greatest songs by so-and-so?
Once the obvious Beatles, Stones and Dylan have been exhausted, what better subject of discussion vis a vis Their Greatest Songs than Kate Bush? She’s got the requisite career longevity and tendency to work in “phases”: your favourite Bush track is as likely to be something that got to No 1 in 1978 (no prizes for guessing) as it is an early deep cut or a B-side picture disc from 2005.
Over 14 pages this month, RC’s leading Bush-ologists — at least one of whom interviewed her at the planetarium in 1985 and is immortalised doing so on photo website Getty — choose Kate Bush’s 50 Best Songs; and we take the radical decision to present them in order of excellence.
If we had to rank 80s synthpop outfits in order of greatness, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Blancmange would inevitably occupy the upper reaches of the countdown. Two members of same — Vince Clarke and Neil Arthur — join forces with fellow electronicist Benge for a synth-supergroup called Doublespeak. They explain their music and motives this month to RC.
There are a couple of in-depth reports this issue and they couldn’t be more different: one is on what happened to the 90s Seattle music scene, the other on the Northern soul fan who wound up owning a 7” single worth £100,000.
Elsewhere, we interview Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, 1976 punks turned 1982 lounge lizards Subway Sect and 80s hardcore Cramps devotee Henry Rollins.
So much for the cover story and features. News this month includes a new exhibition celebrating the queens of punk, from Ari Upp to Debbie Harry.
RC Investigates looks at records given away with breakfast cereals. The Collector is (Small) Faces expert, Nigel Adams. Value Added Facts wonders what the value is of post-Jim Morrison Doors while Diggin’ For Gold explores car boot sales and Most Wanted finds goodies under the hammer from Boy George and Mick Jagger.
Things get a bit more opinionated in, hardly controversially, the Opinion column where Catherine Anne Davies examines the threat posed by AI ‘art’.
There are more opinions in the Reviews section: those heavy people (hello again, Kate) at Rise Above Relics have a splendid new compilation out and there is new (old) vinyl from Ten Years After and TRex plus old (new) material from a gentleman by the name of Nirosta Steel and new NEW music from Johnny Marr, Roger Taylor and Fat Dog. I trust you’re making notes here.
Also reviewed: books on The Alan Parsons Project, Andrew Weatherall, Neil Young, Marco Pirroni, Island Records, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sandy Denny and John Mayall; singles by The Rolling Stones, Mike Watt and others; and gigs by Iron Maiden, The Cardigans, Sunn O))), Kraftwerk, Joan Jett and more.
Heading towards the back of the mag, we visit Shop Of The Month Eel Pie Records in Twickenham; there is a Crossword to fill in and prizes to be won such as glorious Felt vinyl, a 4CD Northern soul set and Genesis’ debut album.
Finally, we (re-)introduce Irma Thomas and Michael Weston King, welcome back 80s blond indie-poppers Darling Buds, reveal the records that changed Claire Hamill’s life, pick 10 Of The Best records by Lee “Scratch” Perry and, in Not Forgotten, bid a sad farewell to William Orbit, Vicki Wickham, Derry Brownson, Bill Oddie and more.
Somewhere, someone is doing a mashup — ooo-ooo-ooo, wow wow wow (repeat to fade) — or a tribute mix bringing together EMF’s and Kate Bush’s Unbelievable(s)…
Paul Lester
