In a post-David Bowie world, is there a cooler musician alive than Nile Rodgers? I’m not certain there is. Aside from what he can do rhythmically with an electric guitar, there are the dreads, the sunnies, the beret, the suits and most crucially, the sense of being entirely comfortable in his own skin. Turning 65…
Road Tripping Through South India Part 2: Wayanad To Fort Kochi Top 60 Photos
Part two of my World Journeys southern Indian adventure will be published in the next issue of Let’s Travel magazine, this one starting in the mountainous jungles of the Wayanad region and taking us through to the historic coastal town of Fort Kochi. There was the beauty in seeing such a lush, green side of…
Barry Gibb: ‘You’re living in the now and you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’ – Our Extended 2009 Interview
Bee Gees with their Saturday Night Fever Album Of The Year Grammy, 1979. Barry Gibb once told me this was up there with the favourite interviews he’s ever done. Well Barry, it’s fair to say the feeling is mutual, though more to the point, the gratitude and the pleasure is mine. To mark the…
40 Years Since Elvis Died, The Night That Saved His Career & Sealed His Legacy – My NZ Herald Tribute
Today the New Zealand Herald published my tribute to Elvis on the 40th anniversary of his death. How do you sum up the career of arguably the most important figure in the history of popular music in 800 words? Well, I gave it my best shot. And the angle for me was that the famous 68…
Goodbye To Joy Ramirez – The Stunning Stevie Wonder Song She Had At Her Wedding
Just over 24 hours ago I heard that one of my oldest and most remarkable friends had died in a tragic accident on her honeymoon in Vanuatu. I will never, ever forget Joy Ramirez and right now I feel very much in denial. Because Joy was always there for me. Though as I’m increasingly discovering, she…
Glen Campbell Dies – Watch Him Sing & Play The Bagpipes On Amazing Grace
It’s really sad to hear that Glen Campbell has died at the age of 81, his final years ever increasingly affected by Alzheimer’s. As soon as I heard the news I remembered this clip below and the blog post I wrote back in 2011. I was hosting a late night talk radio show and I’d…
Road Tripping Through South India Part 1: Bangalore To Mysore Top 50 Photos
Out this week in New Zealand’s leading travel magazine Let’s Travel is part one in my new three-part series about my southern India adventure in June. This first article takes in what I saw in the cities of Bangalore and Mysore, including the palaces, temples, gardens, alleyways and cow-dotted roads of these rapidly changing cities. I’m very…
Travel Bugs – My Weekly NZ Herald Column About The Joys Of Moaning About Your Holiday
From getting chased by wild animals to crying during in-flight movies, my weekly New Zealand Herald column Travel Bugs is about all the things that can go wrong on holiday. There’s the time I came down with altitude sickness in the Guatemalan Highlands and sought refuge at a hotel overrun by squawking parrots and an indefatigable steel-drum…
After Breaking Records At Glastonbury, Could Barry Gibb Be Teaming Up With Nile Rodgers?
One week on, the numbers for Barry Gibb’s ‘Legends slot’ at Glastonbury are looking even more impressive with news the latest Bee Gees best of, Timeless: The All-Time Greatest Hits, has shot into the UK top 10 at #9*. This is as a direct result of Barry’s 15-song Glastonbury performance, a setlist that contained no less…
The Farm At Cape Kidnappers – Top 50 Photos
Two years after staying at one of New Zealand’s premier luxury lodges, Kauri Cliffs, for a Herald travel writing assignment, I was pinching myself to be doing it again, though this time at the sister property Cape Kidnappers. With Kauri Cliffs in the Bay Of Islands, Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay and the third lodge…
U2 Stun With A Live, Gospel Version Of ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’
“We want to play for you now a gospel song, a gospel song with a restless spirit”. What a beautiful and succinct way to describe one of the most meaningful hits of the 80s and from an album that’s just as powerful 30 years on as it was in 1987. U2 would’ve performed I Still…
Music With A Message – Why Pop Matters
A few weeks back I was interviewed on another Newstalk ZB show, Total Recall, about pop songs that have a message and a conscience. As someone who loves popular music and the possibilities of the format (including when it’s being highly socially charged) this is one of my favourite topics. In the clip below (approximately…