Copy: The National, May 2012 >> As an indie kid in the late 1980s and early 1990s, disco was something of a dirty word. All those terrible fancy dress nights with curly wigs and flares, soundtracked by Barry Gibb’s grating falsetto and John Travolta dance moves. Couldn’t...

Copy: The National 07/03/12 >> Really fascinating to read that the highest-earning British musical act in the US last year wasn’t Adele. Or Coldplay. It was, incredibly, Sade. I genuinely don’t think I’ve heard anything by her since Your Love Is King. Or maybe I’m...

Copy: The National 07/02/12 >> I love Blur. But there was something seriously depressing about their show at the Brits on Tuesday. Damon Albarn essentially barked through a succession of 15 year old songs; meanwhile, sometime foe Noel Gallagher also featured. He at least played a track...

Copy: The National 06/02/12 >> It was, frankly, bizarre to be in Manchester’s wonderful North Tea Power, chatting to the leader of the famous Wingates brass band… about the formation of a symphony orchestra thousands of miles away. But that’s Andy Berryman’s life...

Copy: The National 19/12/11 >> Yes, yes, Coldplay’s date in Manchester was right at the start of December. I know. However, I was covering it for The National, as Chris Martin’s band are playing in Abu Dhabi on New Year’s Eve, and they’ve only just published the...

Copy: The National 17/11/2011 >> It’s one of the perks of the job – sometimes you come across really talented people who seem on the very cusp of greatness. That’s how it felt when I met RNCM pianist Arsha Kaviani in Manchester this week. In his final year at the...

Copy: The National 9/11/11 >> The Britney Spears’ gig in Manchester last weekend was a really curious experience. Armed with a notebook – she plays in Abu Dhabi in Friday so I was writing a primer for The National – I was sure that the assembled crowd (and there...

Copy: The National, 27/10/11 >> When Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon broke up last week, there were plenty of distraught fans worried that it might signal the end of the band. No more songs like Sugar Kane (my favourite as a teenager – and yes, I know it’s...